Tag: Vanden Brul Award

Holliday – former RBJ publisher and owner – to receive Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award 

Susan R. Holliday has been named the 2022 recipient of the Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award, presented by Saunders College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology. 

Holliday wins Vanden Brul award
Holliday

She will be honored at the Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award Luncheon at Genesee Valley Club in downtown Rochester on Sept. 16. 

The award, established in 1984, is given annually to a successful individual or individuals who developed a business that improved the Rochester economy or whose innovative management skills changed the course of an existing business. 

Holliday led the turnaround and growth of the Rochester Business Journal during nearly three decades as president, publisher and owner. 

“The Vanden Brul award is a Rochester tradition honoring the region’s top business minds, and Susan Holliday is certainly an exemplar of this recognition as an innovative and entrepreneurial leader who changed the course of the RBJ,” said Saunders College Dean Jacqueline Mozrall, in a statement. “We are extremely proud to honor Susan’s transformational career instilling quality and innovation in publishing as well as her inspiring commitment to the Rochester community.” 

After spending 10 years in agricultural finance, Holliday switched careers and purchased the RBJ in 1988, orchestrating the company’s financial turnaround and expanding the scope of the operation with the addition of contract publishing and an extensive events division. 

Under her leadership, the newspaper was highly respected for its integrity in reporting and thoughtful analysis of community issues affecting business in the Rochester area. The newspaper was consistently recognized with numerous national awards for outstanding reporting, photography and design.  

After 28 years at its helm, Holliday sold the company in 2016. 

“I was very proud to work with a wonderful group of professionals—whether they were in the editorial, production, circulation or advertising department—who worked together to produce a news product that earned a reputation for high-integrity journalism, as well as events that were well attended,” she said in a news release.  

The Chili native learned about business from an early age. Her father, the late John Riedman, was a longtime local businessman and philanthropist. 

Holliday graduated from Saunders College’s MBA program in 1985 after obtaining her undergraduate degree from Cornell University.  

In 2013, she established the Susan Riedman Holliday Graduate Endowed Fellowship, to provide scholarship support to Saunders College graduates who are staying at RIT to pursue a graduate degree from Saunders College.  

She also continues to offer her time and expertise by serving on RIT’s board of trustees since 1999, currently as vice chair, and by actively participating in various university events, including Power Your Potential, a women-in-business leadership conference. 

Last year she was named chair of the board of directors of Financial Institutions Inc. and its subsidiary, Five Star Bank.  

In addition to serving as a board member and former chair of the University of Rochester Medical Center, and board member of Complemar Partners Inc., she is board chair of Healthcare Trustees of New York State.  

Holliday also is a trustee of the Riedman Foundation and a former member of the American Hospital Association’s Committee on Governance. 

She was selected as RIT’s Outstanding Alumna of the Year in 2010 and named Saunders College of Business’ Distinguished Alumni Award winner in 2000. Holliday also was recognized with an honorary Athena Award in 2011. 

“This award has recognized such an array of successful individuals whose companies have played such an important role in our region,” she said of the Vanden Brul award. “I am very humbled to have been chosen for this recognition.” 

Saunders College also will honor RIT students with the Hebert W. Vanden Brul Student Entrepreneurial Award. The award recognizes outstanding RIT undergraduate or graduate students who have demonstrated the potential to become successful entrepreneurs. 

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ConServe CEO wins Vanden Brul Award

Mark Davitt

ConServe founding CEO Mark Davitt has been named the 2021 recipient of the Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award from Saunders College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology.

The award was created in 1984 and is given annually to a successful individual or individuals who have developed a business that improved the Rochester economy or whose innovative management skills have changed the course of an existing business.

Davitt founded ConServe in 1985 and has served as president and CEO for more than three decades. ConServe, or Continental Service Group Inc., provides accounts receivable management and collection services specializing in customized recovery solutions for its clients.

This year, the business was recognized with a 2021 Workplace Wellness Award by Rochester Business Journal, a 2021 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Ethics and was named one of the best places to work in collections in 2021 by insideARM and Best Companies Group.

“The Vanden Brul award is one of Rochester’s best traditions of celebrating top business leaders,” said Saunders College Dean Jacqueline Mozrall. “This year we are excited to honor Mark Davitt, who demonstrates the ideals of successful entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, and a commitment to the Rochester community.”

Prior to founding ConServe, Davitt worked at RIT for several years as associate bursar before leaving to start his entrepreneurial journey. He and his wife established the Mark and Maureen Davitt Graduate Education Endowed Scholarship in 2019 with a $500,000 gift to the university. The scholarship helps graduates from the Rochester City School District pursue advanced degrees.

Davitt was honored at the Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award Luncheon at Locust Hill Country Club on Sept. 8.

Saunders College also honored RIT students with the Hebert W. Vanden Brul Student Entrepreneurial Award, which recognizes outstanding RIT undergraduate or graduate students who have demonstrated the potential to become successful entrepreneurs.

Three student finalists were honored this year: Hunaina Abid, a fourth-year mechatronics engineering technology major from Kashmir; Ben Garvey, a 2021 graduate from RIT’s School of Individualized Study from Derby, N.Y.; and Nikolas Kelly, a 2020 graduate of RIT’s supply chain management program from Raytown, Mo.

Due to the pandemic, last year’s Vanden Brul Award recipients also were honored at this year’s luncheon. Sue Butler, retired board chair and co-founder and former co-CEO of Butler/Till, and Tracy Till, president of T4 Verge Inc., and board chair and former co-CEO of Butler/Till, were named co-recipients of the award in 2020.

Also honored were the 2020 student recipients: Hansel Leal, a computing and information technologies major from Miami Gardens, Fla.; Elise King, a 2020 graduate of RIT’s mechanical engineering program from Pittsburgh; and Andrea Gonzalez Esteche, a 2020 graduate of RIT’s industrial design master’s degree program from Paraguay.

Past Vanden Brul recipients include Dutch Sommers, CEO of Graywood Cos., Jasco Heat Treating and Jasco Pharmaceuticals LLC; Joseph Lobozzo, former CEO of JML Optical; John Smith, IT serial entrepreneur; Ronald Ricotta and Michael Nuccitelli, co-owners of Century Mold Inc. and Parlec Inc.; the late Ernest J. Del Monte Sr., E. J. Del Monte Corp.; William K. Pollock, Optimation Technology; Kitty Van Bortel, Van Bortel Group; Thomas Bonadio, founder and chief executive of The Bonadio Group; the late Robert Wegman, Wegmans Food Markets Inc.; and E. Philip Saunders, Saunders Management Co. Inc.

[email protected] / 585-653-4021
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John “Dutch” Summers wins Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award

Serial entrepreneur John “Dutch” Summers was recently awarded the 2018 Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award by the Saunders College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Summers is CEO of Graywood Companies, a Rochester-based holding company managing commercial and residential real estate; Jasco Heat Treating and Jasco Pharmaceuticals LLC.  For decades he also served as CEO of Jasco Tools Inc. a company founded by his father in 1951 that became one of the largest tool-and-die manufacturers in the area. The company was sold in 2014.

The award was presented at Oak Hill Country Club June 6.

John “Dutch” Summers, center, presented with the 2018 Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award. From left, the late Vanden Brul's son, Bill Vanden Brul; Sandy Parker, Summers’ wife; Summers; Saunders College Dean Jacqueline Mozrall; RIT President David Munson; and Vanden Brul's daughter, Pattie Vanden Brul Nunnari.
John “Dutch” Summers, center, presented with the 2018 Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award. From left, the late Vanden Brul’s son, Bill Vanden Brul; Sandy Parker, Summers’ wife; Summers; Saunders College Dean Jacqueline Mozrall; RIT President David Munson; and Vanden Brul’s daughter, Pattie Vanden Brul Nunnari.

In receiving the honor, Summers said, “Ever since I was young, I’ve enjoyed being busy and making money. When I was a little tyke, I mowed lawns, washed windows and was a paper boy. I represent the magic and opportunity of America. I have traveled all over the world and I can tell you that the men and women all over this world want to emulate what we have in the United States.”

Outside of his work life, Summers has been a major contributor to the community. He was a co-founder of the Rump Group, a nonprofit business collective that merged into the Rochester Business Alliance, now the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce. He also founded and is president of the John and Jayne Summers Foundation, which he created with his late wife, Jayne, to support educational, health and human services organizations.

Summers is on the board of directors of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, was appointed to RIT’s board of trustees in 1996 and became an emeritus trustee in 2010. He has served on a number of boards and committees at RIT and supported scholarships for hundreds of students.

“The Vanden Brul Award is one of Rochester’s best annual traditions of celebrating Rochester’s top business successes with more than 30 distinguished recipients who are shining examples of entrepreneurial vision and success,” said the dean of Saunders College, Jacqueline Mozrall.

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