Waterbury Regional Chamber Announces Recipients Of Harold Webster Smith Awards For 2018

WATERBURY, Conn. - Jan. 29, 2018 - PRLog -- The Waterbury Regional Chamber's Small Business Council announced the recipients of its 21st Annual Harold Webster Smith Awards. The annual awards were established to recognize companies and individuals that have shown achievement and excellence in small business.

Recipients of the prestigious 2018 awards are Campion Ambulance Service Inc. in Waterbury, as Small Business of the Year; Nicole "Nicki" Maiorano, owner of Karmic Inspirations in Middlebury and director of Maiorano Funeral Home in Waterbury, as Entrepreneur of the Year, and The Siemon Company in Watertown as Manufacturer of the Year.

The 2018 breakfast will also recognize James C. Smith, son of Harold Webster Smith. Mr. Smith, who recently retired as CEO of Webster Bank, and is a long-time supporter of the Waterbury Regional Chamber. The breakfast will be held Friday, February 9 from 7:45 to 9:30 a.m. at the Aria Wedding & Banquet Facility at 45 Murphy Road in Prospect.

Harold Webster Smith founded First Federal Savings of Waterbury in 1935 to help people build and buy homes. He served as CEO until 1937 and as chairman of the board until 1995, when First Federal was renamed Webster Bank in his honor. Today, Webster Bank is the largest financial service organization in New England, and each year, the Chamber honors small business leaders who, like Smith, have the vision to expand, diversify, and prosper. "In honor of Harold Webster Smith's legacy and small business inspiration, we recognize small companies and entrepreneurs who share his passion for business development and his commitment to the positive economic progress of the Waterbury region," said Lynn Ward, president, and CEO of the Waterbury Regional Chamber. "Throughout his career, Harold Webster Smith served as an inspiration for countless small businesses. We are very pleased to recognize the many companies that share his ideals."

James C. Smith has been a longtime champion of the Chamber and its mission to serve as a resource, network and advocate for business and economic development in the region. He provided leadership and expertise in the areas of public policy and economic and community development, and contributed to the Chamber's efforts as a member of the Community Vision for Waterbury Task Force, addressing economic development and quality of life issues in the city during the mid-1990s. In 1999, he received the Chamber's prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Community Award.

William J. Pizzuto, Ph.D., chairman of the Chamber's Board of Directors, said Jim Smith has been an "exceptionally outstanding contributor to the Greater Waterbury community, with his extraordinarily generous outreach and engagement."

The 2018 Harold Webster Smith Small Business of the Year Award recipient, Campion Ambulance Service, Inc., was established in 1948 by Ned Campion and William Campion Sr. The company provides emergency ambulance response service in several communities in western, central and northwestern CT. Campion employs over 230 people and has 60 vehicles, operating from five locations in Waterbury, Cheshire, Torrington, and Winsted. The Waterbury location houses the administrative offices and Emergency Call Center. Daily operation of this second-generation family business has been managed by William Campion Jr. since 2008.

The 2018 Harold Webster Smith Entrepreneur of the Year Award recipient is Nicole "Nicki" Maiorano, the first female owner and fourth-generation director of Maiorano Funeral Home in Waterbury, and owner of Karmic Inspirations, LLC, in Middlebury. For Maiorano Funeral Home, which opened in 1907, she is involved in many industry and civic organizations, including the National Funeral Directors Association; the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association; UNICO, and the American Business Women's Association, for which she served on the board from 2010 to 2012 and was named Woman of the Year in 2012, and as a member of the Waterbury Regional Chamber Board of Directors.

The 2018 Harold Webster Smith Manufacturer of the Year Award recipient, The Siemon Company, at 101 Siemon Company Drive in Watertown, was founded in 1903 by Carl F. Siemon. Today, the global company focuses on providing high-quality, dependable and innovative IT infrastructure solutions that enable Local Area Networks (LANs), Intelligent Buildings and Data Centers. As a pioneer in plastics, the company developed its first telecommunications product in 1906 that became a staple product for AT&T, plus a variety of plastic innovations that led to the company's well-earned and respected global reputation as a technology leader. That leadership stems from over 400 patents, several first-to-market cabling products, contributions to industry standards, and its research and development capabilities.

For tickets to the breakfast and learn more about the Waterbury Regional Chamber, visit www.waterburychamber.com, call 203-757-0701, or email to info@waterburychamber.com.