Fairfield Chamber Awards Dinner Recap

Fairfield, Conn. – The Fairfield Chamber of Commerce held its 71st Annual Awards Dinner on June 28th at the Brooklawn Country Club, Fairfield, CT.

“This was a very special evening," says Beverly A. Balaz, President of the Chamber, "as we awarded Bankwell as Company of the Year (just recently ranked as one of the Top 100 Best-Preforming Banks in 2016 nationwide by S&P Global), accepted by Christopher Gruseke, President and CEO … and we honored Operation Hope, as Non-Profit Organization of the Year, accepted by Carla Miklos, MS. CED, Executive Director. Both Bankwell and Operation Hope have immensely contributed to the community in a variety of different ways, providing help and support where they can … and as such, we wanted to acknowledge and recognize their endeavors, accomplishments and achievements."

Bankwell’s Gruseke, said, “On behalf of the entire team at Bankwell, we are honored to be recognized as Company of the Year. We appreciate Bankwell’s longstanding relationship with the Chamber as two like-minded organizations whose priority is to bring value to the businesses and community of Fairfield, and we remain committed to working our hardest to be a strong community partner.”

Operation Hope'a Miklos stated, “We were surprised and honored to receive this award! It mean so much to Operation Hope to be recognized by our peers – local people and businesses who are part of the fabric of the Fairfield community. I am blessed to represent the staff and clients of OH, and to accept this on behalf of all of them.” 

State Senator Tony Hwang and state legislators Laura Devlin, Brenda Kupchick and Cristin McCarthy Vahey also presented the award honorees with a General Assembly Official Citation.

“The event proved to be a wonderful and magical evening, where the closest of friends, family, and colleagues, all came together to celebrate and honor the contributions of each honoree, reflecting their thoughtful leadership and extraordinary community give-back," Beverly added.