Waterbury Regional Chamber Announces 2011 Malcolm Baldrige Award & Leadership & Volunteer Awards

Aug. 1, 2011 - PRLog -- The Waterbury Regional Chamber has announced that Peter Baker, president and CEO of Crystal Rock Water Company/Vermont Pure Holdings with national headquarters in Watertown, Connecticut, is the winner of their highly-prestigious 2011 Malcolm Baldrige Community Award. Richard DuPont, president of Resource Development Associates in Watertown, is winner of the Chamber’s 2011 Leadership Award. Francine Nido, assistant to the president/CEO of New Opportunities, Inc. in Waterbury, is winner of the Chamber’s 2011 Volunteer of the Year Award. All 2011 winners will receive their awards during the 17th Annual Malcolm Baldrige Chamber Awards banquet on Tuesday, September 20th at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, CT coordinated by event co-chairs Carmen Anthony Vacalebre, chairman of Carmen Anthony Restaurant Group, and Jaci Carroll, founder of Jaci Carroll Staffing Services Inc.

The Waterbury Regional Chamber (www.waterburychamber.com) is one of the largest chambers in the State of Connecticut. Currently, the organization represents over 1,000 businesses in the Greater Waterbury region including Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Cheshire, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Oakville, Oxford, Prospect, Southbury, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott, and Woodbury. Lynn Ward, Waterbury Regional Chamber President and CEO, explained, “We present the highly-prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Community Award in honor of business leader, Malcolm Baldrige. The award is given in recognition of individuals whose commitment to the Waterbury community has been exemplified by their vision and leadership in the area of economic development and growth. Malcolm Baldrige believed in community, leadership and volunteerism. That is why we also present our Chamber’s prestigious leadership and volunteer awards to recognize individuals who exemplify the globally-recognized and honored world-wide achievements of business and community leader, Malcolm Baldrige.”

A former resident of Woodbury, Connecticut, Malcolm Baldrige guided Waterbury’s Scovill Manufacturing Company for more then two decades. He was appointed President Ronald Regan’s Secretary of Commerce during which time he implemented new laws to help American businesses grow. Malcolm Baldrige’s accomplishments are chronicled worldwide in newspapers, magazines, documents and journals. His name is well-known throughout United States business arenas, and in Russia and China where he negotiated trade talks during his tenure in Regan’s cabinet. He is acknowledged in America for his legacy of success through quality. Nominees for the Waterbury Regional Chamber’s Malcolm Baldrige Awards are considered for their role in creating new employment opportunities in the region, for enhancing the overall economic growth of the region, and for playing a leading role in initiating new business or development throughout the Greater Waterbury region.

In addition to his position with Crystal Rock, 2011 Malcolm Baldrige Community Award recipient Peter Baker of Southbury, CT, serves on the finance committee of the Waterbury Police Athletic League (PAL), and the board of directors of the Palace Theater in Waterbury. He served as chairman of the board of directors of IBWA between 1998 and 1999. Between 1993 and 2000, he served as co-president of Crystal Rock; president and director of Vermont Pure Holdings, Ltd. since October 2000, and CEO of the firm since November 2005. Between 2003 and 2008 he served on the Chase Collegiate Finance Committee; between 1999 and 2008 on the Chase Collegiate Board of Trustees. Also between 1998 and 2008, he served on the board of directors for the Western CT Multiple Sclerosis Society. In 2009, Peter Baker was recognized as the Watertown Leader of the Year by the Watertown/Oakville Chamber of Commerce for his notable dedication to that community and as one of the top five largest water bottlers in the United States.

Annual Malcolm Baldrige Chamber Awards Co-Chairs Carmen Anthony Vacalebre commented, “For the last 17 years, it has been an honor to select an individual from the greater Waterbury business community who enhances economic growth, drives employment opportunities and is a leader in new business development. Peter Baker epitomizes the award criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige Community Award. Mac once said, “entrepreneurs are dreamers that do”. Peter’s entrepreneurial vision and commitment to our community mirrors that of the late Malcolm Baldrige.”

Recipient of the Chamber’s prestigious 2011 Leadership Award, Richard Dupont of Watertown, Connecticut, president of Resource Development Associates LLC in Watertown, is chairman of the Chamber’s Manufacturing Advisory Council, on the Chamber’s Board of Directors, and is chairman of the board for the Watertown-Oakville Chamber of Commerce, a division of the Waterbury Regional Chamber. Dupont is a past president and active member of the Smaller Manufacturers Association of Connecticut; former director for Waterbury Development Corporation and the State of Connecticut Apprenticeship Council. He is also a consultant to the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, the CT Department of Labor Business Collaborative, the CT Community Colleges, SMART program, and co-chair for Well Path, Behavior Health for Children & Families annual golf fundraiser. Richard DuPont is also a member of the Sacred Heart High School Advanced Leadership Committee.

Francine Nido, a lifelong Waterbury resident, is recipient of the Waterbury Regional Chamber’s 2011 Volunteer of the Year Award. Nido is mother of James Julius Nido, and daughter of Julius and Carol Nido Jr., all of Waterbury. Since age 12, Nido volunteered with Meals on Wheels in Waterbury and since 1980 she has personally delivered meals. Nido also volunteers on the board of directors of the Waterbury chapter of UNICO National. In August 2011, she will run for CT-1 District Governor and National Secretary for UNICO National. She serves on several New Opportunities, Inc., committees for their Golf Tournament, Meriden Black Expo Scholarship, Employee Scholarship, Afro-Latin-Indian Scholarship Reception, Toastmasters, and Basic Needs-High Impact Strategy Team. In 2008, Nido graduated from the Waterbury Regional Chamber’s Leadership Greater Waterbury (LGW) program, and has served on the LGW Steering Committee Member since 2009. She has volunteered with the Chamber’s Duck Day Race, annual Golf Tournament and Membership Drives for three years and was an individual winner in 2011; and in 2009 she hosted a Chamber Out for Business networking event.

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