The Greater Burlington Industrial Corp. is honoring U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy with an award at its annual meeting Thursday.
The economic development agency is giving Leahy the C. Harry Behney Lifetime Economic Development Achievement Award for his contributions to the people and state, said Frank Cioffi, GBIC president.
The award is named after the previous GBIC president, who was at the organization for 20 years before retiring in the mid-1990s. The award was established then.
Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, is the only person to receive the award twice. The first time was in 2004, when he shared the award with then-Gov. Jim Douglas and then-Sen. Jim Jeffords, Cioffi said.
He said the GBIC members strongly felt Leahy deserved the award again. “There is no Vermonter who has done more or does more than Sen. Leahy, especially during the recession,” Cioffi said.
Cioffi said Leahy has done “phenomenal” work for women in business, training and employment in Vermont as well.
“There’s much to celebrate about our state right now,” Leahy said in a statement. “We are routinely found at the top of ‘top 10’ places to live, or spend time outdoors, or for the health of our people and our communities.”
“We’ve got a good thing going,” Leahy continued. “That’s not by accident. Economic and community development is a team sport, and we have a superb team, across our state.”
The GBIC has been around since 1964 and focuses on about 264 employers in Chittenden County, Cioffi said.
It is presenting the award June 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the ECHO center in downtown Burlington.
Cioffi said the organization also will be thanking Martha Maksym, executive director of United Way of Northwest Vermont, for her work in economic development. “She is our go-to person to understand the needs in the K-12 sector,” he said.
The GBIC also will be giving a scholarship to Burlington High School student Mikaela Sinkiewicz, Cioffi said.
