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66 Hartford Business Journal • November 26, 2012 www.HartfordBusiness.com Celebrating 20 Years of Business News MeMoriuM In wIllIAm "BIll" sAvItt 1901 to 1995 Even 17 years after his death, Bill Savitt's motto for his downtown jewelry story still resonates, "Peace of Mind Guaranteed" or P-O-M-G, as it was sometimes shortened. Savitt made his jewelry store known around the state through constant advertis- ing on television and in print. (Some could say he was the inspiration for Bob's Discount Furniture's marketing philosophy.) According to his obituary, Savitt's store was the largest retail jewelry business operating in any American city the size of Hartford. He had been named ``Connecticut's Small Businessman of the Year'' by the U.S. Small Business Administration because of his imagination, independence, initia- tive and integrity in business. A master of innova- tive advertising techniques, Savitt had developed his jewelry business from a one-man operation to a large scale enterprise employing some 75 persons, including 15 jewelers. In addition to being a strong proponent of Downtown Hartford from his Asylum Street store (between Main and Trumbull), Savitt was also a philanthropist. He was honored by numer- ous groups, including the American Red Cross, the Hartford Jaycees, the University of Hartford, and many Jewish organizations for his volunteer efforts. roBert "BoB" steele 1911 to 2002 Bob Steele may not have been a business leader, per se, but Greater Hartford started its business day to his voice from 1943 to 1991. Steele dominated the radio market to the point that one observer once said, "People in Hartford would buy a new radio, tune it 1080 AM and never change the dial." According to the Connecticut Post, after his 1991 retirement, he continued to host a monthly show on WTIC until his death at 91 on Dec. 6, 2002. WTIC said that Steele's show had about 1 million listeners. Steele was also a crossover star on television. It was considered the most listened-to morning show in the country. For many years, he did an evening sports show on WTIC-TV, which was the predecessor to WFSB. Steele was a man of many accomplishments. According to his obituary in the Hartford Courant, he was an inductee into theNation- al Radio Hall of Fame, Connecticut Sports Hall of Fame, four times named Connecticut Sportscaster of the Year, recipient of Marconi Award for top radio ratings, received Pierpont Edwards Award for distinguished Masonic service, 33 degree Mason, 50-year Shriner, and earned a Honorary doctorate (Doctor of Humane Letters) from the University of Hartford. A wordsmith, he was instrumental in estab- lishing the Bob Steele Literacy Volunteers Reading Center at Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford, and authored ``The Word for the Day: 65 Years of Wit & Wisdom on Mispronunciation'' in the fall of 2002 before his death. Betty tIAntI 1929 to 1994 Betty Tianti was a woman of accomplishments on the other side of the table in business: the labor movement. Chief among her accom- plishments was being elected the first woman in the nation to head a labor federation when she was elected president of the AFL-CIO in Connecticut and being appointed the first female commissioner of the state Department of Labor. From her first job as a machine operator at the American Thread Company in Willimantic, where she immediately joined the Textile Workers Union of America, she recorded a number of firsts. According to information at the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame, "Within a few months, not only was she promoted to machine fixer, becoming the first woman to hold that position, but was chosen union steward. After two years, she was secretary-treasurer of Local 460, and soon thereafter, was elected president of the same union." In 1970, she became the first woman agent of the State Board of Labor Relations. In 1974, she was elected the first woman secretary- treasurer of the Connecticut AFL-CIO federation and then president of the state AFL-CIO in 1985. In 1988, Governor William O'Neill appointed Tianti to be the state's Commissioner of Labor, a position she held until her retirement in 1991. rIchArd weAver-Bey 1944 to 2008 Richard Weaver-Bey was an affordable housing developer, radio station owner and civic leader when he died while out for a morning bike ride. According to his obituary in the Hartford Courant, Weaver- Bey got his big break in business in 1970, when Harold Rothstein, then-owner of Greater Hartford Realty Management Corp., promoted him to run a division of the company. Weaver-Bey eventually took over that business, building affordable housing. Weaver-Bey was also well known as the co-owner for almost 20 years of WKND 1480 AM in Hartford's North End. Weaver-Bey had started there as an on-air talent, moved into sales, and then joined in with others to buy the station in the mid-60s. He eventually became president and CEO of the station. In conjunction with his work at WKND, Weaver-Bey also founded the Greater Hartford Initiative, which has awarded numerous scholar- ships to a range of students throughout the region. Hartford Business Journal columnist Larry Cohen was working on this project when he died in August. Keith Griffin completed the work. Richard Weaver-Bey, left, president and CEO of Greater Hartford Realty Management Co. and WKND 1480-AM, was named the Hartford Business Journal's 1997 Business Person of the Year at a reception held at the Old State House. Weaver-Bey is pictured at the lectern giving his acceptance speech, alongside his father John Weaver-Bey.