Middlesex Chamber Announces 2013 Distinguished Citizen Award Recipients

Chandler Howard, Chairman of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, has announced the 2013 recipients of the Chamber’s Distinguished Citizen Award. Each year, the Chamber presents this award to an individual or individuals who serve as an inspiration to others and are recognized by the Middlesex community as unselfishly giving his or her time and talent to produce a lasting benefit to the area. The Distinguished Citizen Committee chose the winners from a list of over 225 nominees. The Chamber proudly announces that the 2013 Distinguished Citizen Award recipients are: Edwin “Ted” H. May III George “Sonny” W. Whelen IV William E. Wrang III Again this year, our Distinguished Citizen Committee has chosen three outstanding individuals. They are committed to making Middlesex County a better place to work and live and we are extremely proud of all of them. The Chamber’s Distinguished Citizen Award recipients will be honored at the Chamber’s Annual Awards Dinner event, to be held on Wednesday, June 5, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Cromwell. About the Recipients: Edwin “Ted” H. May III Partner, May, Bonee & Walsh Greater Hartford Community Foundation, Inc. (Travelers Championship) Board of Directors Chairman of the Board, The First Tee of Connecticut Edwin “Ted” H. May III grew up in Wethersfield and graduated from Wethersfield High School. He received the 2011 Bo Kolinsky Distinguished Alumni Award and was inducted into the Wethersfield High School Sports Hall of Fame. Ted received his Bachelor of Arts from Williams College, where he was co-captain of the Golf Team that won the New England Intercollegiate Tournament, a victory that qualified the school for the NCAA Championship. After serving on active duty for the United States Army National Guard, Ted entered a sales management training program with Phoenix Mutual Insurance Co. in Hartford. In 1985, he helped form May, Bonee & Walsh, a privately-held insurance and financial services agency, now located in Glastonbury. He is a Certified Insurance Consultant and has received numerous industry awards, including Qualifying and Life Member of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). Ted began volunteering for the Sammy Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open in the mid-1970’s with the goal of raising funds for the many charities supported by the Greater Hartford Jaycees. He was Chairman of The Last Blast at Wethersfield in 1983 and helped oversee the tournament’s move to TPC River Highlands in Cromwell. Since 1982, Ted has served on the Board of Directors for the tournament, now called The Travelers Championship. He served for many years as PGA Tour Liaison with responsibility for getting player commitments. His wife Debbie has also been a long-time tournament volunteer and has served as Chair of a number of different committees. Their children, Heather, Ned and Kevin, were all tournament volunteers over the years in Cromwell. Last year, The Travelers Championship surpassed over $30 million in total proceeds to charity since the inaugural tournament in 1952, a remarkable figure. Through his ongoing role with long range planning for the tournament, Ted was instrumental in facilitating the development of a new 23-acre practice facility at TPC River Highlands, a key asset in the expansion of tournament operations and an important recruiting tool for PGA Tour players. The new complex was also designed to become headquarters for The First Tee of Connecticut, a youth development organization that uses golf to teach life skills and character development to children. More than 60,000 children from across the state have benefitted from The First Tee of Connecticut programs which include in-school instruction, group lessons, regional teams, after school programs and scholarships. Ted serves as Chairman of the Board for The First Tee of Connecticut and helped oversee the planning and fundraising for the new learning center building and golf facility which have received national acclaim. In 2008, Ted was recognized by the Connecticut Sportswriters Alliance with the prestigious Gold Key Award for his contributions to Connecticut sports. Ted’s professional focus is estate planning, business insurance and employee benefits. He specializes in closely-held business owners and professionals. Ted is active with a number of professional associations including Society of Financial Service Professionals, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Estate and Business Planning Council of Hartford, and Financial Planning Association. He is also active with the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Hartford Alliance. Ted and his wife Debbie have three children and two grandchildren, Heather and Mike Eckert and their children Cormac and Reece Eckert, Ned and Barbara May, and Kevin May. George "Sonny" W. Whelen Executive Vice President, Whelen Engineering Company, Inc. George "Sonny" W. Whelen has contributed countless hours to community initiatives over the years and has been a prominent donor and fundraiser for a variety of causes that are important to him. Sonny served on the Board of Directors of the Valley Shore YMCA for many years and was a founding Board Member of Maritime Bank which had branches in Essex, Old Saybrook and Old Lyme before it was purchased. Sonny was elected, and served on the Old Saybrook Board of Education, and later served as Vice Chairman of the Old Saybrook Board of Finance. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and has served for many years on the Old Saybrook Republican Town Committee. Sonny and his wife Jessica have also been active with the Community Foundation of Middlesex County. In his spare time, Sonny enjoys flying planes, photography, skiing, and tennis. Sonny Whelen is the owner and Executive Vice President of Whelen Engineering Company, Inc. in Chester, Connecticut. Whelen Engineering Company, Inc. designs, manufactures, and assembles safety lighting and siren systems for emergency management personnel. The company produces automotive, aviation and industrial products including rotating beacons, light bars and high powered sirens. Whelen Engineering was founded 60 years ago when Sonny’s father, George W. Whelen III, developed a rotating aircraft "anti-collision beacon." This concept was expanded to create a magnetic mounted beacon used by various public safety departments. Over the years, the company expanded to create a diverse array of lighting products and is currently the only American manufacturer of emergency warning equipment that still manufactures its products entirely in the United States. The three Whelen facilities in Chester, Connecticut, Charlestown, New Hampshire and Coventry, England, are supported by warehouses and global support services in 25 locations around the world. Whelen Motorsports, a division of Whelen Engineering, has a close partnership with the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, or NASCAR. Whelen products are known as the "Officially Licensed Warning Lights of NASCAR.” The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour are different series under the NASCAR umbrella that Whelen sponsors and promotes. In the Whelen All-American Series, more than 10,000 drivers compete for the championship at 55 NASCAR sanctioned short tracks in the United States and Canada. Sonny retired last year after a distinguished racing career as one of the main drivers competing for Whelen Motorsports. Sonny competed in various Road Racing series such as the Viper Racing League, the Pirelli World Challenge and the Grand Am Rolex Series. Sonny drove Corvettes and Vipers and has won two national championships in the Viper Racing League. Since 2005, he has regularly finished in the top 10 or 15 in the Sports Car Club of America, Inc. Pro Racing Series. William E. Wrang III Executive Vice President, Webster Bank William E. Wrang III has been a lifelong resident of Middletown, and a champion in many Middlesex County organizations. A graduate of Xavier High School, Bill served for over ten years on the Xavier Alumni Association Board of Directors where he held various positions including Secretary, Vice President and President. He has been inducted into the Xavier Hall of Honors and has endowed a perpetual scholarship in memory of his grandfather, Dr. William E. Wrang. Bill currently serves on the school’s Board of Directors and Finance Committee and has been an active member of the Saint Francis Xavier Society which is dedicated to fundraising for the institution. Bill is also very active in St. Mary’s Church where he has served as a Lector and a Eucharistic Minister. For over ten years, he sat on both the Parish Council and the St. Mary’s School Board, serving three years as Chairman of each. He has also served as Chairman of the school’s Development Fund. Bill has a passion for supporting the Middlesex United Way. Since 1998, he has held various leadership positions including Campaign Chair in 2005, and President from 2006 to 2008. Bill has been a member of The United Way Tocqueville Society which was formed in 1984 to deepen individual commitment to supporting the organization’s work. He received the Community Service Award in 2011, the highest honor bestowed upon a volunteer, and continues to sit on the Middlesex United Way Board of Directors. Bill served as Treasurer of Aetna’s 1997 United Way campaign and Chairman of Webster Bank’s United Way campaigns in 2000 and 2001. Bill has been an active member of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce since 2000. He currently sits on the Chamber’s Board of Directors and has contributed to the work of the Affordable Housing Committee and the Legislative Committee. Bill has coordinated Webster Bank’s support of the Chamber and was instrumental in securing Boston Red Sox President & CEO Larry Lucchino as keynote speaker at a Member Breakfast meeting following the 2004 World Championship season. Bill was active in coaching at the Little League level for both his son and his daughter and served as an Assistant Coach for Middlesex Youth Hockey. Professionally, Bill was recently promoted to Executive Vice President at Webster Bank where he has worked for 15 years leading the bank’s commercial real estate business. Prior to joining Webster, he spent 17 years at Aetna working with the company’s commercial real estate group. Bill began his career at Liberty Bank as a management trainee. Bill received a Bachelor of Science from Merrimack College in North Andover, MA, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Hartford. He and his wife Heidi have been married for 29 years and they have two children, Billy IV and Catharine. Each of these individuals are truly deserving of the 2013 Distinguished Citizen Award.