Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • June 3, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 27 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 2019 ON THE JOB Guiding business principle: Share my passion and surround myself with people who share my passion (and who are smarter than me). Best way to keep your competitive edge: Explore, learn and steal great ideas. Proudest accomplishment: Production of the Sandy Hook Run for the families in March 2013. The event drew over 15,000 runners and was the largest inaugural 5K in the world. Event logistics were put together in eight weeks. The expenses ($450,000) were completely paid by donations from our vendors and $475,000 was raised for the Sandy Hook School Support Fund. It proved that a simple road race can lift the spirits of a community. Goal yet to be achieved: Actually run in the Eversource Hartford Marathon! Favorite part of the job: Working with my team on race day. It's a beautiful well-oiled machine. Everyone excels at their role, works together well and truly loves their job. Least favorite part of the job: Figuring out how to pay for everything. Personal touch in your office: My daughter's papier-mache giraffe from fifth grade and my son's clay and beaded head from third grade. JUDGMENT CALLS Best business decision: To create the Hartford Marathon Foundation as a nonprofit organization. Worst business decision: I'll let you know. Biggest missed opportunity: Buying into Rich Rosenthal's Max Restaurant Group. Best way to spot trends: Talk to my kids and their friends. Next big move: Becoming an expert in something new. Your pet peeve: Long lines at events; no excuse for them. PERSONAL SIDE City of residence: Waterford Favorite way to relax: Cooking with my family Hobbies: Running, biking, cooking Last vacation: Island of Madeira Favorite movie: Right now — "Green Book" The car you drive: Audi but wish it was a Vespa Scooter in lipstick pink. Currently reading: "Educated," by Tara Westover. It's a compelling story of self-discovery and the struggle to gain confidence in your own beliefs. Favorite cause: HMF FitKids — bringing running and exercise to kids and schools and showing kids that running is fun! Second choice career: Winemaker causes — the foundation has raised $7.5 million alone from the Eversource Hartford Marathon. And it can bring a community together, as happened with the 2013 Run for Sandy Hook when 15,000 people came to show support for the victims of the 2012 elementary- school shooting in Newtown. "Before we started the race, my hus- band and I rang a ship's bell 26 times, one ring for each victim," Shluger said. "I will never forget how long it felt to ring that bell 26 times, and how mov- ing it was to see thousands of people come together to support the Sandy Hook community. We raised $475,000 for Sandy Hook that day." Shluger and the foundation have be- come so good at what they do that the HMF functions as an event manager for five other races and hosts 30 oth- ers in concert with local community organizations. "My team would tell you the most important thing to me is 'no lines.' And that is true," she said. "Long lines at the portalets or registration or post- race food make me crazy. I think that is because taking care of people and providing them with the best possible experience at HMF is what is most im- portant to me. We strive for excellence in everything we do, whether it is mak- ing sure there are no wrinkles in the banners, to carefully designing traffic flow to avoid lines and to sourcing the freshest local food to serve after a race." Service oriented A former sous chef and executive director of the Hartford Restaurant Foundation, Shluger is passionate about service-industry details. "She never settles for the basics, and leads our HMF staff with an attitude to achieve further and more for our race participants and for our commu- nity," Miller said. Shluger is especially proud of the foundation's focus on healthy children. For the last 12 years, the HMF FitKids in School program has grown to support 15,000 elementary- and middle-school students with a six-week, goal-oriented running program at no cost to the student or their participating school, thanks to generous donors. At the finish is a one-mile fun run with music, the cheering support of friends and family and healthy snacks and fitness activities. And HMF continues to find new ways to bring fitness and commu- nity together in New England with its first-ever RiMaConn Relay planned for August. Teams will travel through 95 miles of roads, trails and paths through 21 towns in Rhode Island, Massachu- setts and Connecticut, finishing at a post-race party at Mortensen River- front Plaza in Hartford. As always, her husband Ken, a state Superior Court judge, will be cheering her on. "He is my support and my partner in this thing," she explained. They are looking forward to their annual hike, this year with plans to go to Portugal. Shluger has two grown children, Da- vid and Olivia, and while her knees no longer allow her to run comfortably, she does bike and walk. "But I miss it greatly," she said. Fortunately, she continues to help others learn to make running, fitness and charity a part of their life. "If you are out there running for an hour or two, you talk about every- thing in life," she said. "It makes best friends." PHOTO | J. FIERECK PHOTOGRAPHY "She never settles for the basics, and leads our Hartford Marathon Foundation staff with an attitude to achieve further and more for our race participants and for our community." Josh Miller , Vice President and Race Director, Hartford Marathon Foundation Inc.

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