Hartford Business Journal

22 Hartford Business Journal • May 29, 2017 www.HartfordBusiness.com Business leaders' community connections key to success G reat business leaders are more than just keen strategists or financial wizards. They typically have a much broader purpose, to not only serve their companies' employees, customers and bottom lines, but also the broader community. As part of Hartford Business Journal's 2017 Lifetime Achievement Awards, we are honoring a group of business owners and executives who, over the years, have put as much zeal and effort into their commu- nity or philanthropic work as they have in their company. They include Andy Bessette, exec- utive vice president and chief administrative officer of Travelers Cos., who's been instrumental in shepherding the Travelers Championship into one of the most successful PGA Tour golf events. The tourney has raised millions of dollars for charity over the years. Cheryl Chase, general counsel and now co- president of Chase Enterprises — one of the best-known Greater Hartford realty shops — is another Lifetime Achievement Awards winner. When she's not busy overseeing or tending to her firm's national real estate holdings, she's active with Foodshare, the Connecticut Sci- ence Center and her own foundation. Skip Gengras is the driving force behind Gengras Motor Cars, a giant in the Hartford auto sales industry with 10 New England franchises. Leveraging his car industry suc- cess, Gengras has embraced a passion for philanthropy, supporting myriad local chari- ties. A project dear to him is The Gen- gras Center School on the University of St. Joseph's cam- pus in West Hart- ford, which serves children with spe- cial needs. Finally, Margaret Lawson, who is now a pri- vate fundraising consultant, may not be a house- hold name to all, but her impact has been lasting. Lawson is best-known in Greater Hartford as a fundraising machine, having procured millions of dollars from donors over the years for various organizations and causes, rang- ing from the Hartford Symphony Orchestra to the American School for the Deaf. She's also broken barriers, becoming the first president in the history of The Hartford Club. In our eighth installment of the Lifetime Achievement Awards our winners hail from the private sector and have demonstrated how hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence and the community can trans- late into professional and personal success. As you read their individual profiles join us in congratulating them for their many accom- plishments. We'll celebrate their success Aug. 3, at a breakfast at the Bond Ballroom in Hartford. Also, it should be noted that this year's winners were largely chosen by HBJ's edito- rial team. While we did solicit nominations from our readers, our staff made their own picks and ultimately chose the winners based on who made the largest impact on their organization and the broader business com- munity over at least a decade of service in a top leadership position. And as we congratulate this year's Life- time Achievement class, please remember that we'll be back next year looking for the next group of winners. We encourage all of our readers to nominate worthy candidates. – Greg Bordonaro Editor CONTENTS ANDY BESSETTE 24 CHERYL CHASE 26 SKIP GENGRAS 28 MARGARET LAWSON 30 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 2017 Andy Bessette Cheryl Chase Margaret Lawson Skip Gengras SPECIAL SECTION PGS. 22–32 EvEnt SponSor: Education LEadErShip SponSor: prESEnting SponSor:

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