The West Seneca Chamber of Commerce has announced its annual Community Award recipients, and will celebrate the accomplishments of the winners with a Community Awards Dinner in February at Kloc’s Grove in West Seneca.
The 2019 Citizen of the Year Award will be presented to Joe Cantafio. Previously an Educator of the Year recipient in 2016, Cantafio was nominated for his commitment to the West Seneca Central School District and his ongoing efforts to raise funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. Active in the West Seneca Teachers Association, New York State United Teachers, WNY Area Labor Federation and West Seneca Lions Club, he also serves as chairman of the West Seneca Satellite for the annual Variety Kids Telethon. Whether coaching sports teams in the community, raising money for scholarships or collecting and delivering food and gifts for West Seneca families during the holidays, Cantafio’s efforts have not gone unnoticed.
The award for 2019 Educator of the Year will be presented to Carla Kruszynski, a special education teacher at West Seneca West Senior High School. A district employee since 2001 and department chair for special education since 2008, Kruszynski’s goal is to create a supportive learning environment for all, including students, staff and community. A life-long learner, she encourages all those around her to do the same.
Earning the 2019 Community Service Organization of the Year title are the Friends of the West Seneca Public Library. Under the leadership of President Patricia Wass, the organization serves the youngest and oldest of our community — and everyone in between — by offering funding for programs, equipment and special events throughout the year. The Friends offer continued support of the library through their annual community yard sale, monthly basket raffles, chicken dinners and more.
Business of the Year will be presented to MKS Plumbing Corporation, a commercial, industrial and light residential plumbing contractor serving our community for a quarter century. Company President Joseph Marchitte currently serves as president of the New York State Plumbing Heating Cooler Contractors and is past president and a board member of the Western New York Plumbing Mechanical Contractors Association. He also serves on the board of the Joint Apprentice Training Committee for U.A. Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 22 and is a big supporter of West Seneca schools and the West Seneca Sports Booster Club.
The award for 2019 Chamber Member of the Year will be presented to Foresight Financial Planners, Inc. and its owners David and Rosanne Nagy. In addition to their countless contributions to the West Seneca Chamber of Commerce, David and Rosanne are also very active in the West Seneca Kiwanis and the West Seneca community in general. Through their town-based business, they assist clients with issues such as tax management, investment management, retirement strategies, estate conservation, insurance and annuity products, and Medicare solutions.
The Chamber’s annual Community Awards Dinner will take place at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Kloc’s Grove, 1245 Seneca Creek Road, West Seneca. Tickets are $40 each, $80 per couple or $320 for a reserved table of eight. Half-page program ads are also available for $50. For more information or to purchase tickets or program ads, please contact the Chamber at 674-4900 or di******@we********.org, or visit the Chamber of Commerce office in the West Seneca Community Center & Library at 1300 Union Road.
