Gambinos, Business Persons of the Year, to be feted at dinner April 3

The Business Club of SUNY Fredonia will honor David and Polly Gambino, owners and operators of Thruway Super Service, as its “Business Person of the Year” at the organization’s annual awards dinner on Wednesday, April 3, at 6:30 p.m. at the Williams Center Multipurpose Room.

The award, presented each spring for the last 35 years, is given to an individual or individuals in the local community who exhibit outstanding business leadership, public service, integrity and genuine concern for their employees.

Thruway Super Service, located at 10798 Bennett Road, offers towing, roadside service and mechanical repairs in its facility of both light and heavy-duty trucks as well as automobiles. It employs three people.

David Gambino grew up in the business that his father, Jack, started in 1971. He and a partner leased the business and building from David’s father in 1977 and, in 1987, purchased the business and relocated to the current Bennett Road site. David bought out his partner in 1993. The husband-and-wife team diversified the business by adding used-car sales and U-Haul vehicle rentals.

Lifelong residents of the Dunkirk/Fredonia area, David and Polly are well-known in the community and are active members of the First United Methodist Church of Fredonia, where they serve with the Helping Hands Mission and are members of the hospitality and finance committees.

Mark W. Thomas, director of the Western District of New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and a former two-term Chautauqua County Executive, will deliver the keynote address. Appointed in 2007, Thomas oversees the Niagara, Allegany and Genesee region of the state park system.

The dinner menu includes a choice of sirloin steak, tortellini primavera or grilled chicken breast printaniere, along with salad and dessert. Reservations, at $25 each, are available at the SUNY Fredonia Ticket Office and online at www.fredonia.edu/tickets until March 26.