Business Club selects governor hopeful Paladino to keynote annual dinner; names VP Bennett its Business Person of the Year

Buffalo developer Carl Paladino, who is making a bid to win the Republican primary for the 2010 New York State Governor's race, served as the keynote speaker for the 33rd annual Business Person of the Year Awards in April, at which Fredonia’s Tracy Bennett, vice president for Administration, was honored as this year’s selection.

Each year, students in the Business Club select a local business person whom they regard as a role model for demonstrating outstanding business leadership skills, a commitment to public service, ethical business practices and genuine concern for the well-being of employees.

Mr. Bennett, who has held his current title since 1997 and been a part of Fredonia’s administrative team since 1980, oversees nine departments and nearly 360 employees. He is also responsible for developing a $90 million campus-wide budget and a $300 million capital budget plan.

Mr. Paladino, selected by the students not for his political views but because of his considerable success as a businessman, is the CEO of Ellicott Development Company, a half-billion-dollar entity which he founded in 1973. The company manages over 1.5 million square feet of office space in downtown Buffalo, one million square feet of retail space across New York State and Western Pennsylvania, three major hotels in Western New York, and over 550,000 square feet of apartments, condominiums and townhouses in the Buffalo-Niagara region. He was honored in 1991 by the City of Buffalo as Buffalonian of the Year.