Kathleen A. McPadden, senior vice president, relations officer for Ion Bank and executive director of The Ion Bank Foundation, has been chosen by the Naugatuck Chamber of Commerce to receive its 2018 Lewis A. Dibble Award.
The award, presented annually by the Chamber, recognizes an individual’s outstanding contributions to business and the socioeconomic well-being of Naugatuck. McPadden will receive the award during the Chamber’s 97th Annual Meeting on Wednesday, January 9, 2019, at the Crystal Room, 98 School St. in Naugatuck. The meeting will begin with cocktails at 5:30 p.m., followed by the awards program and dinner at 6:30. Over the past four decades, this annual celebration dinner and presentation of the Dibble Award has grown into one of the most prestigious business events in the borough.
In addition to presenting McPadden with the 2018 Dibble Award, the Chamber also will celebrate the success of its 2018 programs and acknowledge members of its board of directors.
Lewis A. Dibble founded the Naugatuck Chamber in 1921, and since 1976 the Chamber has honored his leadership by recognizing a key leader in the local community. Past Dibble Award recipients include Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess; Naugatuck Chamber Chairman and Naugatuck Economic Development Corp. CEO Ronald Pugliese; Laurie Yelding of printing company Yelding Inc., and Rebecca Zandvliet of Coldwell Banker 2000.
McPadden, who has been employed by Ion Bank since 2011, dedicates much of her personal time to volunteer services and supports the Naugatuck Chamber’s mission and its programming, including serving on the Naugatuck Chamber/Naugatuck YMCA Golf Committee. She is the immediate past president of the United Way of Naugatuck and Beacon Falls board of directors, serves on its Golf Committee, and served as co-chair for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 fundraising campaigns. She has volunteered for the organization for more than 30 years and received its Mary H. Connolly Community Caring Award in 2010.
Since October 2011, she has served on the Board of Directors of Wellmore Behavioral Health and currently serves as chairwoman. She is also vice president of the board of Are You Dense? which seeks to educate the public about the risks and screening challenges of dense breast tissue and its relation to breast cancer. She is also the immediate past chairwoman of the board for Jane Do No More, an organization that seeks to assist victims of sexual assault.
Additionally, McPadden has participated in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Greater Waterbury for 24 years, served as Relay for Life event co-chair in 2004 and 2005, and served on its Hope Gala Committee in 2007. She served on the Morris Foundation Board from 1991-97, and from 1999-2005, including as vice chairwoman from 2003-05. She has served on the Board of Incorporators for Waterbury Hospital, and on the Board of Directors of the American Red Cross-Naugatuck Chapter from 1989-98. She also volunteered as a Community Program teacher for Junior Achievement for 24 years.
A lifelong Naugatuck resident, she holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Central Connecticut State University, a master’s in organizational behavior from the University of Hartford, and is a graduate of America’s Community Bankers’ National School of Banking.
To register, visit the Chamber’s website, www.naugatuckchamber.com, or call 203-729-4511.