Hartford Business Journal

26 Hartford Business Journal • May 25, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com ▶ ▶ Reach Out and Read recently received a $10,000 grant from the BJ's Charitable Foundation to purchase new books for their Connecticut Early Literacy Initiative. Reach Out and Read was one of 59 nonprofits to receive funding from BJ's Charitable Foundation as part of its quarterly grant cycle that provides support to primarily benefit the underprivileged in the area of basic needs. As part of its quarterly grant cycle, BJ's Charitable Foundation distributed donations to 59 nonprofits to help improve the lives of over 830,000 residents in the areas surrounding BJ's Wholesale Clubs. Pictured (from left) are Shaya Searight, personnel manager, BJ's Wholesale Club; and Christine Garber, Connecticut executive director, Reach Out and Read. BJ'S CHARITABLE FOUNDATION DONATES TO REACH OUT AND READ ▶ ▶ The United Bank Foundation Connecticut has awarded 35 scholarships totaling $65,000 to area high school and vocational school students who achieved excellence in the classroom and in the community. The Foundation's Academic Scholarships, which totaled $45,000 in 2015, were given to 19 college-bound high school students who have demonstrated leadership, community involvement and a strong academic record. In addition, the United Bank Foundation Connecticut presented their 2015 Vocational Awards, totaling $20,000, to 16 area students who excelled in vocational arts and demonstrated a high level of character and integrity in their respective school and community. Pictured are scholarship recipients. UNITED BANK FOUNDATION PRESENTS SCHOLARSHIPS TO GRADUATING STUDENTS ▶ ▶ Members of Engineers without Borders and the Pratt & Whitney Newcomer's Club recently partnered to renovate a garden space at Billings Forge Community Works in Hartford. Through Pratt & Whitney's Green Power Grant program, volunteers were able to overhaul an outdoor space, including planting three raised garden beds for The Kitchen at Billings Forge, a nonprofit learning café. In addition, the team created two patio spaces for café patrons to enjoy the plantings. Pictured are Engineers without Borders members and Pratt & Whitney employees constructing garden beds for Billings Forge. PRATT & WHITNEY EMPLOYEES SUPPORT BILLINGS FORGE PROJECT OF NOTE ST FRANCIS PHYSICIAN RECEIVES ARCHBISHOP'S HEALTHCARE AWARD Dr. Daniel Diver, chief of the cardiology section at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, has been selected to receive the inau- gural Archbishop's Award for Excellence in Health Care. The award is given to a healthcare professional who, by personal service, profes- sional accomplishment and collegial endeavor, has exemplified the fin- est traditions of the medical profession and the purpose of health care. At St Francis, Diver is the director of the cardiovascular service line and Hoffman Heart and Vascular Institute of Connecticut, the state's largest center for heart bypass surgery. He is also a professor of med- icine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. • • • DAY PITNEY DIRECTOR WINS PRESTIGIOUS DIVERSITY AWARD The Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity will present its 2015 Edwin Archer Randolph Diversity Award to Day Pitney Director of Diversity Asker Saeed. The Randolph award is presented annually to individu- als or organizations dedicated to the inclusion and advancement of lawyers of color and women lawyers within Connecticut and sur- rounding legal communities. Since joining Day Pitney in 2012, Asker has been a driving force behind the creation of a sponsorship program for attorneys of color, the formation of the Day Pitney Alliance LGBT action group, and implementation of a lateral hiring policy designed to ensure diverse candidate slates. The firm has been recently recognized by the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey and the New Jersey Law Journal for its diversity efforts and was awarded a 90 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index. • • • WISNER TO RECEIVE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering will present a CASE award for Distinguished Service to its member G. Robert Wisner for his outstanding leadership within the Academy and for his exceptional contributions in support of the Academy's mission through dedicated and outstanding leadership of the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair. The CASE Governing Council created the Distinguished Service Award in 2010 to honor members who have provided outstanding service to the Academy. Wisner was elected to CASE in 2007 and has served on three com- mittees. He formerly worked for the United Technologies Research Center, where he produced 15 patents based on his research of high- energy lasers, adaptive optics, and power electronics. • • • ROBINSON+COLE LAWYER ELECTED VICE CHAIR OF CONNECTICUT LOTTERY CORP. BOARD Robinson+Cole lawyer Patrick M. Birney has been reappointed to the Connecticut Lottery Corp.'s board of directors as vice chair. Birney has been a member of the CLC board since October 2007 and previously served as chair of its finance committee. Birney is a partner in Robinson+Cole's finance and business litigation groups and co-chairs the firm's business reor- ganizations and bankruptcy practice. Please Note: All electronic submissions for Accolades should be sent to accolades@HartfordBusiness.com. For more information about the Hartford Business Journal's Accolades Page, please visit www.HartfordBusiness.com. Patrick M. Birney Dr. Diver receiving award from Archbishop Leonard Blair. ACCOLADES & MORE

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