Pictured left to right are Chautauqua Leadership Network (CLN) 2018 award winners Andy Goodell, Madeline DeJoy, Richard Rupprecht, Alexandra Gren, Jeffrey Kroon, Ayrianna Brady, Bradley Galeazzo, Christian Pumford, Abby Brunenavs, Cecelia Eklum, Dawn Eklum, Siena DeAngelo, Denise DeAngelo. Missing from photo were KWAC members Annika Spitzer, Cecelia Johnson and Natalie Reinhardt.

The Chautauqua Leadership Network, developed in 1993, recently honored four outstanding recipients at their annual Leaders of the Year Awards on Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at Chautauqua Suites in Mayville.

The master of ceremonies was CLN President Daniel Heitzenrater while Rev. Amy Rohler of United Way of Southern Chautauqua County provided the event’s invocation.

Special recognitions included County Executive George Borrello; City of Jamestown, Office of the Mayor, Samuel Teresi; NYS Senator Catharine Young; Assemblyman Andy Goodell; and US Congressman Tom Reed.

KIDS WITH A CAUSE

Kids with a Cause (KWAC) was awarded the CLN Student Leaders of the Year which is presented to a student(s) kindergarten through college who has distinguished him or herself through service to their school and the community. This individual (group) has demonstrated excellence, leadership, scholarship, personal integrity, and dedication to their school.

The 11 KWAC award winners are Ayrianna Brady, Abby Brunenavs, Siena DeAngelo, Madeline DeJoy, Cecelia Eklum, Bradley Galeazzo, Alexandra Gren, Cecelia Johnson, Christian Pumford, Natalie Reinhardt and Annika Spitzer. The award was presented by Dr. Lillian Ney and Jeff Smith, Executive Director of St. Susan’s Center.

Kids with a Cause, under the direction of parent coordinators Dawn Eklum and Denise DeAngelo, is a local community service group formed by middle schoolers representing Chautauqua County.

KWAC was formed when some friends were sitting at a lunch table at Washington Middle School and decided they wanted to make a difference in their community. Since this particular group would be the graduating class of 2022, their goal is to serve 22 different organizations by graduation. So far, they have been involved in donating time and/or money to at least nine local organizations and continue to actively serve in most of them in some way.

RICHARD RUPPRECHT

Richard Rupprecht was honored by CLN Board President Daniel Heitzenrater as the CLN Volunteer Leader of the Year which is presented to an individual who as an active volunteer has demonstrated outstanding volunteer leadership by contributing their time and talent at either the local or the county level.

Rupprecht was a math teacher at Jamestown Community College from 1976 until his retirement in 2016. In 1985, he received the Faculty Award for Excellence and in 2012 he received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

He also served as an Assistant Dean from 1995 until 2005. Rick was on the Executive Board of the New York State Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges from 1983 through 1994, serving as President of the organization from 1992-1993.

In the early 1990s he was aware of the “Round-Up For Roswell” campaign to raise money for Roswell Park Cancer Institute and decided to sell his famous chocolate chip cookies to faculty and staff at JCC on Valentine’s Day 1991, beginning a tradition which ran for 24 years and raised over $51,000 for pediatric cancer research.

Rupprecht has also been a long time member and volunteer at the Audubon Community Nature Center, and is the “go-to guy” for Bald Eagle presentations.

In 2014, Rupprecht became involved with the Greater Chautauqua Chapter of AMBUCS and now serves on their board and has focused his fundraising efforts there the last four years.

He has also been a member of the Lucile M. Wright Air Museum Board of Trustees since 2007 and a member of the Jamestown Skeet Club Board of Directors since 2002.

Rupprecht is active in the Bemus Point United Methodist Church and this spring participated on a mission trip to replace roofs in North Carolina. Each Christmas, Rupprecht assumes the role of Santa Claus volunteering his time at School 7 in Dunkirk and also coordinates and raises the funds to provide warm clothes, toys, and food for as many as 17 needy families in the Dunkirk area.

JEFFREY KROON

The CLN Community Development Leader of the Year Award which is presented to an individual or organization who demonstrates an ongoing and deep commitment to community development by providing meaningful service or learning opportunities was accepted by Jeffrey C. Kroon.

The award was presented by Rex McCray.

Kroon has been the Executive Director of the Winifred Crawford Dibert Boys & Girls Club of Jamestown for the past 10 years and employed with the local Boys & Girls Club a total of 33 years.

A Jamestown High School and Jamestown Community College graduate, earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from SUNY Brockport in 1981, and later lived and studied in Sweden which led to teaching Swedish Language classes at Jamestown Community College since 1985.

His volunteer community involvement includes 35 years with Jamestown Area Youth Soccer, serving as JAYS President for over 25 years. He also currently serves as President of the American Scandinavian Heritage Foundation, Treasurer of the Scandinavian Folk Festival and is a member of JCC’s Scandinavian Studies Program Advisory Board.

Recognized as a Jamestown Community College Distinguished Alumnus in 2004, Kroon’s previous honors include the Chautauqua County Board of Realtors 1996 Citizen of the Year, the NYS Council of PTA’s Honorary Lifetime Member Award and earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1975.

A lifelong Jamestown resident, Kroon and his wife Kelly, an RN with UPMC Chautauqua, have two grown children Krista, a Licensed Physical Therapist in East Aurora and John, a Geologist in Oklahoma City.

ANDY GOODELL

Andy Goodell was selected as the CLN Leader of the Year presented by Elisabeth Rankin, Jacqueline Phelps and Vince Horrigan. The award is presented to an individual or organization who leads, inspires, and engages other members of their community for the betterment of Chautauqua County.

Goodell was elected Assemblyman for the 150th Assembly District in 2010, serving all of Chautauqua County. He is currently the Assembly minority floor leader, the second highest position in the Republican Conference, and coordinates all the debates on the floor of the Assembly.

He is also the ranking member on the Assembly Social Services Committee, where he champions welfare, reforms designed to help people become more financially successful on their own.

Goodell previously served as county attorney in the 1980s and as county executive for eight years in the 1990s. As county executive, he cut the tax rate six years in a row and left county government with record financial strength.

During his term as county executive, Chautauqua County had the strongest economy in Western New York and enjoyed record employment levels.

Goodell has been an active leader in many community and charitable organizations, including the First Covenant Church, founding member and former officer of Chautauqua Leadership Network, past President and five-time Paul Harris Fellow for Jamestown Rotary, former Secretary for Bemus Bay Pops, former Co-Chair of the United Way professional division, former President of the SUNY Fredonia Business Administration and Accounting Advisory Board and former Board Member and Co-Chair of the successful Girl Scout Capital Campaign for Camp Timbercrest.

Goodell has received various awards including being named in 2018 as the 40th most influential person in Western New York by Buffalo Business First newspaper; he previously received the Business First “40-under-40” award in 1993.

Goodell was also recently honored by the Vietnam Veterans of American with a national meritorious service award for his support of area veterans.

Recognizing his unflagging support for agricultural programs, Goodell has been named by the New York State Farm Bureau to its “Circle of Friends.”

He consistently has one of the highest rankings of any Assembly member by the New York State Business Council and other business organizations.

In addition, he has received recognition awards for establishing the Fire Service Enhancement Program and the Chautauqua Child Care Council.

He is a recipient of the Ed Crawford Award, the highest award of the New York State Association of Counties, for his welfare and Medicaid reform work.

Goodell was appointed by Governor George Pataki to serve on a state task force to restructure employment, health, and social services.

Goodell is a magna cum laude graduate of Cornell Law School, where he received the American Jurisprudence Award for Administrative Law and was a member of the Cornell Law Review. He also has a degree in political economics and mathematics from Williams College.

Goodell was born and raised in Chautauqua County and graduated as salutatorian from Maple Grove High School.

He is married to Lisa Goodell, Executive Director of the Chautauqua Blind Association, and has three grown daughters, a stepson, and several grandchildren. He is a PSIA-certified ski instructor and a licensed marine pilot engineer. He enjoys skiing, hiking, biking, rowing and boating.

Past CLN Leader Recipients from 1998 to 2017 were Dr. Lillian Ney, Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Daniel Bratton, Gregory Peterson, Esq, Gebbie Foundation Board of Directors and Staff, Dr. Robert Berke, R. Bard Schaack, Esq., Kurt W. & Mark R. Maytum, Jamestown Area Medical Associates, LLP, Vincent W. Horrigan, Thomas J. Whitney, Michael P. Sullivan, Dr. Susan F. McNamara, Dr. Dennis L. Hefner, Larry Robinson, Penelope Hutton, Dr. Gregory DeCinque, Gary R. Lynn, Kristy B. Zabrodsky, Tom and Jane Becker, Thomas Benson, Asha DeHarder, Bob Crane and Jennifer Gibson.

CLN is currently recruiting for a 2019 class. The year-long training programs begins in February and meets once a month through December. For more information and to apply, visit the CLN website at www.chautauqualeadership.org.