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Junior Achievement Honors 4 Danbury Area Business Leaders

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Four leading figures in the Fairfield County business community were inducted into the Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut’s Hall of Fame as nearly 300 guests attended the dinner at the Bridgeport Holiday Inn.

John Ciulla, Paul Fonteyne, Edward Mascolo, and Thomas Santa are inducted into the Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut’s “Dr. George R. Dunbar Free Enterprise Hall of Fame.”

John Ciulla, Paul Fonteyne, Edward Mascolo, and Thomas Santa are inducted into the Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut’s “Dr. George R. Dunbar Free Enterprise Hall of Fame.”

Photo Credit: Regina Madwed, Capitol PhotoInteractive

This year’s Hall of Fame inductees were: 

  • John Ciulla, executive vice president of commercial banking at Webster Bank and Webster Financial Corp.;
  • Paul Fonteyne, president, CEO and country managing director of Boehringer Ingelheim USA Corp. in Ridgefield;
  • Edward Mascolo, president and founder of nej inc.; and
  • Thomas Santa, president and CEO of Santa Energy Corp. in Bridgeport. 

Junior Achievement also presented its Outstanding Volunteer Award to Judith LaBella, vice president and business development officer for Union Savings Bank in Danbury.

In addition, Freeman Burr, superintendent of Shelton Public Schools, received the organization’s Outstanding Educator Award.

Both award winners are longtime supporters of Junior Achievement. R.D. Scinto and Webster Bank were the title sponsors of the event, which was held Oct. 8.

The Junior Achievement Hall of Fame Awards, inaugurated in 1977, are presented biennially to four to six outstanding business professionals from the Greater Bridgeport, Greater Danbury, and Lower Naugatuck Valley areas who have made notable and enduring contributions to private enterprise and who are dedicated and committed to their communities.

In 2012 Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut renamed the event to “Dr. George R. Dunbar Free Enterprise Hall of Fame” in honor of the late Dr. George R. Dunbar, who founded and served as chairman of this event from 1977 to 2010. He believed that a strong education was the pathway to free enterprise. 

Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut, founded in 1946 and based in Bridgeport, is an affiliate of the largest, fastest-growing, nonprofit economic education organization in the world. It focuses on in-school and after-school programs promoting work readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. Programs are offered in kindergarten through 12th grade and are taught by volunteer members of the local business community.

Last year more than 22,600 students and 1,450 business and parent volunteers participated in 16 school districts throughout western Connecticut. 

For more information about Junior Achievement, call 203-382-0180.

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