(Utica, NY- Dec. 2013) The Greater Utica Area Board of Directors is working hard for its community and was recently recognized by the American Heart Association National Board for being one of the top local boards in the country with the prestigious American Heart Association Bronze designation for excellence. This recognition covers the 2012-2013 board term. This is the first year the board has received the Bronze recognition.
This is the first major initiative of the national American Heart Association to identify and recognize best practices of its local boards and to measure the subsequent impact in the community. “As we launched our 2020 Impact Goal, we recognized that we will only achieve it if we engage more volunteers, more deeply,” said Executive Director Dick Mattia. “Strengthening the core of our volunteer leadership, our local boards and committees, is one of the keys to our success.”
A major focus of this past year’s board was to educate Mohawk Valley residents on how to react in a cardiac emergency, and how to prevent one. Board members worked to increase the number of Utica area residents who are trained in CPR and know how to use an AED by holding several Hands-Only CPR training sessions throughout the year, including sessions at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare, the Utica Boilermaker Expo at MVCC, the Kids Walk at MVCC, and several businesses and corporations in the Utica area. Board members also worked with American Heart Association staff members to increase the number of Fit-Friendly Worksites in Mohawk Valley. Worksites recognized as Fit-Friendly take extra steps to protect the health of their employees. Through the work of board members and American Heart Association staff, more than 16,000 local employees now work at Fit-Friendly Worksites.
Together, board members are driving results toward the achievement of the American Heart Association’s 2020 Impact Goal “to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20 percent.”
2012-2013 Utica board members recognized include:
Chairman Stephen Zogby – Scalzo, Zogby & Wittig, Inc.
President Frank Dubeck, Jr. MD, FACP – Excellus BlueCross BlueShield
Immediate Past Chair Alex Carbone – Carbone Auto Group
Immediate Past President Darlene Burns, RN, MHA
President-Elect Jennifer Carbone Zuccaro, MD
Fred Ashforth – Ashforth Associates
Sue Carbone – Carbone Auto Group
Raymond Carnevale, CPHRM – Rome Memorial Hospital
Gerald Capraro, PhD – Capraro Technologies, Inc.
Ronald Cuccaro – Adjusters International
Kathleen Dyman – Oneida County Medical Society
Denise Flihan – NJ Flihan & Co., Inc.
Steven Gassner – Mohawk Valley Water Authority
Christopher Giambrone – Coughlin Giambrone
Daniel Jones – Northwestern Mutual Financial Network Greater NY Group
Robert Lancey, MD – Bassett Healthcare Network
Albert Pylinski, Jr. – NYCM Insurance Company
Thomas Norton – Mohawk Valley Heart Institute
Patricia Roach, MS, RN, CNAA – Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare
Jim Stasaitis – CJ Burth
Theresa Swider – Utica Observer-Dispatch
Marolyn Wilson – Holland Farms Bakery & Deli
Andrew Zygmunt, PhD
To get involved with the board or with the American Heart Association in general, please contact the Utica office at (315) 266-5403.