2017 Business Person of the Year – Carolyn Montanaro
The “Business Person of the Year” is someone who is recognized as having set a standard of accomplishment in both business and the community. Nominations are from the Chamber’s business members who have made a significant impact on the role of business in the community. The nominee must be a member of the Chamber for at least 18 months. They must be an active member who is always willing to go above and beyond, and be a leader that motivates others. They must have a level of community participation by contributing resources in the form of time, talent or money to our community via projects, clubs, churches, and not-for-profits.
This year the Chamber Board of Directors had a number of nominees for this honor – the selection process included several outstanding candidates and the large number of nominees is a testament to the community commitment we see in the Chamber membership.
This year’s honoree is a “behind the scenes” force in the company’s success, a mother, a philanthropist with human and financial resources, an active Chamber committee chair, a daughter and a wife who not only talks about the importance of family, church, school and community, she lives it every day.
.She is an active committed chamber member whose involvement has furthered the Chamber’s mission and its ongoing successes in the Webster community.
We all pleased to introduce the Webster Chamber of Commerce’s 2017 Business Person of the Year: Carolyn Montanaro.
This is a very familiar name here at the Chamber of Commerce. Carolyn and Neubert Financial Services have been very active in the Chamber since they became members more than a decade ago. As the company’s Director of Administration nearly since her Dad formed the company in 2005, Carolyn has been a quiet influence that has helped her company grow and has helped the Chamber grow as well.
Carolyn has been on the Membership Services Committee for many years and is currently serving as co-chair of that committee. Her passion about the Chamber is real and she never misses a chance to remind us all that participation in the Chamber via committee work and attending events and breakfast has helped their business grow and has forged lifelong relationships with fellow Chamber members.
In addition to being the daughter her father called upon when he started Neubert Financial Services after his full career at Kodak – when he needed someone to be the glue behind the scenes – Carolyn is a wife and mother and takes all of those roles very seriously.
She has been a member of the PTSA since here children started school. First at Schlegel Road Elementary and adding Willink Middle school in 2013. As an active volunteer she has seen her share of fundraisers, student directories, book fairs, classroom stores and teacher appreciation luncheons. Many, many of them in leadership roles in both schools. She has been serving on the Principal’s Advisory Committee at Willink since its inception in 2016.
She is an invaluable servant to her church – the United Church of Christ. She has been on the Leadership Council, the Congregational Life Team, and served as Treasurer. She has participated in the UCC/AME Church Hot Lunch Program, Vacation Bible School, Mission Week, contributes to Mary’s Place and supports the church financially.
Carolyn and her husband support a number of charitable organizations with some favored ones being The Veterans Outreach Center, the Open Door mission and the JACK Foundation.
In addition to being on the Membership Services Committee and co-chairing it for over five years, she worked on the Chamber’s 80th Anniversary Gala committee and Neubert Financial has co-sponsored an afterhours networking event. Carolyn is the lead person at the Chamber’s New Member luncheons - walking our newest members through all the benefits of belonging to the Chamber.
It’s pretty rare that Carolyn misses a Chamber breakfast – her commitment to our Chamber, our members, and our community is demonstrated over and over in both her words and her actions. Her humble manner and unending willingness to help make her a clear candidate for Business Person of the Year – she clearly contributes to making Webster a Community of Choice and the place where life is worth living.
Please help us to congratulate Carolyn Montanaro, the Webster Chamber’s 2017 Business Person of the Year!
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