Stars shone at the 2013 Kings of Kings County Networking Breakfast

BY HEATHER J. CHIN AND JAIME DE JESUS

The sun shone on the Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator’s third annual Kings of Kings County Networking Breakfast, held at El Caribe Country Club in Mill Basin, where hundreds of people came on November 7 to celebrate the dedication and accomplishments of 33 of the borough’s most influential and active leaders.

Veteran traffic reporter Debbie DuHaime was also named Star of Stars for her work both on and off-camera. DuHaime is on the board of the New Jersey State Organization of Cystic Fibrosis and the Drug Alliance board, and serves as a mentor and volunteer with various schools and nonprofits.

Raffle ticket sales raised $2,500 for St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Sandy Clause, a city nonprofit that donates toys to children who lost their toys in Superstorm Sandy.

Winners of the raffle included Renee Dorsa of Dorsa Group Realty, who won two tickets to Cancun courtesy of Delta Airlines, and an Investors Bank employee who won a mini-Mercedes convertible.

The festivities began with a networking hour with various businesses at expo tables greeting fellow movers and shakers.

Lana Sorochkin, vice president and Sheepshead Bay branch manager of the banking division at Astoria Federal Savings Bank, described the intimacy of the event as “a great way to network and meet new folks,” particularly as Astoria is a “personal bank that focuses on relationship building.”

Daniel Rodriguez, aka The Singing Policeman, kicked off the award ceremony with a rendition of “God Bless America.”

“It was an honor to recognize such outstanding Brooklyn-based business and community leaders,” said Joshua Schneps, co-publisher of Schneps Communications. “The honorees represent a diverse group of individuals from all walks of the borough. We love bringing people together in a room, not just to recognize them, but to also introduce them to one another in order to develop lasting relationships. It’s also great to keep business in Brooklyn.”

Being named a King of Kings “means being recognized by my fellow peers,” explained Jeff Mann, president of the Greenpoint Chamber of Commerce. “These are people I’ve always looked up to and it’s great to be honored with them.”

“Brooklyn has been my childhood, my life, my playground, and my passion,” said honoree James McHugh, group director and senior vice president at Signature Bank, and chairperson of St. Anselm Catholic Academy. “I grew up in Bay Ridge and was raised to be part of the community, parish and school. [Events like this will] hopefully lead to making new friends and contacts, who can work together to make the community better.”

Another way that Kings of Kings County positively impact the community is by being a role model, leading by example. That is exactly what honoree Dr. Stephen Samuel Carryl, chair of surgery at Wyckoff Medical Center, is, said his colleague and former intern Dr. Brian Hall.

“I was one of his first [graduating] classes at Brooklyn Hospital and as a young surgeon, I was guided from being an intern to a resident,” said Hall, who also noted that Carryl regularly provides free surgical care to people in Haiti, Guyana and elsewhere. “Everything I learned is basically from him. To be a good surgeon, you must have a good mentor. Now, seeing him be recognized and appreciated by people warms your heart.”

The event was sponsored by Mercedes Benz of Brooklyn, Investors Bank, TD Bank, Astoria Federal Bank, Flushing Bank, Citibank, Healthfirst and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center.

The 2013 honorees were:  

• Dominick Ali, Broker Associate, DG Realty;
• Carlos Angelucci, Chief Operating Officer Rapid Realty Franchise LLC & Licensed Real Estate Broker;
• Charles A. Archer, CEO, Evelyn Douglin Center for Serving People in Need;
• Frank V. Carone, Partner, Abrams law;
• Dr. Stephen Carryl, Chair of Surgery, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center;
• Joseph Doolan, Regional Market Manager, TD Bank;
• Peter J. Fasano, Senior Vice President/Area Director, Citibank;  
• Marc J. Freud, Managing Principal, Troutbrook Company/Marriott Fairfield Inn and Suites Brooklyn;
• William Fusco, Executive Director, Dynamic Youth Community;
• Ted General, Bay Ridge Community Leader;
• Anthony Grigos, Executive Vice President, Bay Ridge Federal Credit Union;
• Craig R. Hammerman, District Manager, Brooklyn Community Board 6;
• Ron Hartmann, Senior VP of Commercial Real Estate Lending, Flushing Bank;
• Fredric J. Hugue, Senior Vice President, Business Banking Group, Astoria Federal Savings;
• Timothy King, Managing Partner, CPEX;
• Brian T. Leary, Managing Partner, CPEX;
• Biagio Madaio, Vice President-Team Leader-Business Banking, Investors Bank;
• Jeff Mann, Publisher, Greenpoint Gazette/President Greenpoint Chamber;
• Frankie Marra, Executive Board Member, Fundraising for United War Veterans of Kings County;
• James B. McHugh, Group Director-Senior Vice President, Signature Bank;
• State Senator Kevin Parker, District 21;
• Gary Perone, Director of New Business Development, Brooklyn Cyclones;
• Mohammad Razvi, Executive Director, Council of Peoples Organization (COPO);
• Trevor Romans, Director, Kings County Hospital Center;
• Dr. Moro Salifu, Chair of the Department of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Nephrology and Director of the Kidney Transplant Program, SUNY Downstate Medical Center;
• Edward W. Schloeman, President, Fidelis Services Group;
• David Von Spreckelsen, Division President of New York City Living, Toll Brothers City Living;
• Ralph A. Succar, Owner, Empire Development;
• Nicholas J. Vendikos, Director of Development, Catholic Foundation for Brooklyn and Queens/Futures in Education;
• Nicholas Vlisidis, Branch Manager-Marine Park Branch, New York Community Bank;
• Douglas W. Wells, President and General Manager, Mercedes Benz of Brooklyn;
• Jon Yanofsky, Director, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts; and
• Rick Zimmerman, Regional Vice President for the TD Bank Brooklyn-Staten Island Region of New York City.

(Editor’s Note: Photos will continue to be added as quickly as possible.)