The Rockland Business Association’s has announced the winners of its fourth annual Pinnacle Awards:

• Chairman’s Award for overall business excellence goes to Mike Pointing, vice president and general manager of United Water, New York, West Nyack.

• President’s Award for service to the RBA goes to Barry Dorfman, sales representative, Liberty Mutual Group, New City.

• Corporate Citizenship Award goes to Active International, Pearl River.

• Women’s Forum Award for outstanding achievement by a woman-owned business goes to the Byne Group, Suffern.
• Manufacturer’s Award for business excellence goes to Wyeth, Pearl River.

• Outstanding Achievement by a non-profit organization goes to Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Hudson Valley, Tarrytown.

The awards will be presented at a gala ceremony on April 18 at the Park Ridge Marriott in New Jersey. To attend the event, or for more information, call the RBA at 845-735-2100.

The Business Council of Westchester announced the 2007 winners of the Sixth Annual Westchester County Business Hall of Fame awards today. Induction into the Hall of Fame is a lifetime-achievement award for businesses and individuals who have made a significant contribution to their company and the Westchester business community, the council said. Winners are:

• Corporate Citizenship — MasterCard Worldwide, based in Purchase.

• Entrepreneurial — Curtis Instruments Inc., Mount Kisco.

• Small Business — Proftech Corp., Elmsford

• Women in Business — Dee DelBello, Westfair Communications Inc., White Plains

• Family Business — Famous Famiglia, White Plains.

Awards will be presented at the Westchester County Business Hall of Fame Awards Dinner on April 18 at the Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle. For more information contact Pat Nicolais at 948-2110 or pnicloais@westchesternyorg.

A vice president at Armonk-based IBM Corp. has been named the 2007 Black Engineer of the Year by a trade magazine in Baltimore.
Rodney C. Adkins, the vice president of development in IBM’s systems and technology group, will receive the award from U.S. Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine Feb. 17 at an event in Baltimore.

Adkins joined IBM in 1975 after hearing a presentation on technology that an IBM employee made at his high school. He is the leader of the company’s $2.5 billion research and development organization and is responsible for the development of server, storage, printer and other technology devices and products, the magazine said.

He has more than 13,000 technology workers in 12 countries on his IBM team.

The team has produced processors for Sony, Nintendo and Xbox.
The award recognizes those who develop technology.

Donna Riley, vice president of human resources and administration, corporate, at IBM Corp. of Armonk, was one of five women honored recently by the National Association for Female Executives. Riley, a member of the IBM Global Women Leaders’ Steering Committee and a regular contributor to the company’s HR Women’s Networking teleconferences, received the NAFE’s Mentoring Award. She was credited with leadership that helped grow IBM women executives from 185 to 1,014.

Chappaqua resident Gregg Popkin will receive the “Victory Award� from the Friends of Saint Dominic’s for his leadership and contribution to the nonprofit Saint Dominic’s Home in Blauvelt.

Popkin is is senior managing director of CB Richard Ellis in New York City and oversees the tri-state region, including all of Westchester County.
Popkin will receive the award at a fund-raising dinner on Jan. 25 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

Saint Dominic’s Home provides services to more than 2,000 people, including many children, and families that are developmentally disabled, socially disadvantaged and vocationally challenged.

The Business Council of Westchester is calling for nominations to recognize the lifetime achievements of small-business owners, entrepreneurs, corporate citizens, family-owned companies and women in business. You may nominate a client, colleague, vendor, friend or yourself. Nominees will be evaluated by how well they foster economic opportunity, cultivate collaborations and partnerships to better the Westchester community and facilitate community involvement in their own organizations. Nominations should be received by next Friday.

For more information and an application, visit the council’s Web site (www.westchesterny.org) or contact Pat Nicolais, director of membership and special events, at pnicolais@westchesterny.org or 914-948-2110.

Rockland Business Association seeks nominations for award
The Rockland Business Association Inc. seeks nominations for its Fourth Annual Pinnacle Awards, to be held April 18.

Categories include the Corporate Citizenship Award, Women’s Forum Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Woman-Owned Business, Manufacturer’s Award for Business Excellence and Outstanding Achievement by a Non-Profit Organization. Nominees must be RBA members or an employee of a member firm.

For applications and guidelines, contact RBA President and chief executive Al Samuels at asamuels@rocklandbusiness.org or 845-735-2100. Applications should be submitted by Feb. 2.

Pawling resident Patricia Bentley has been named “Realtor of the Year� for 2006 by the Westchester County Board of Realtors.

Bentley, the compliance officer for Houlihan Lawrence, will receive her award at the organization’s annual dinner on Dec. 13. She began her real estate career as a sales associate at Bixler Real Estate, a firm later acquired by Coldwell Banker.

She is also director of the Westchester County Board of Realtors and chairwoman of the group’s professional standards committee. She teaches ethics, negotiating, office procedures and compliance at the organization’s education center.

Bentley is also active in the New York State Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. The Westchester County Board of Realtors is a not-for-profit trade association representing more than 7,000 real estate professionals.

The Association of Education Publishers is inducting Peter Jovanovich into its Hall of Fame in recognition of a lifetime of achievement. Jovanovich, a resident or Rye, is the former chief executive officer of Pearson Education, a major educational publishing company. He also is a past chairman of the Association of American Publishers.

“Jovanovich is recognized globally as an innovator who looked to transform education and make it better at every level� during his 32-year career, Pearson Education said in a news release.

New York Life Insurance Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sy Sternberg is this year’s recipient of an occasional award that recognizes extraordinary philanthropic and civic leadership.

Historic Hudson Valley selected Sternberg and New York Life for their long-standing commitment to philanthropy and advocacy on behalf of organizations that tell the stories of American history, the nonprofit organization said.

Since its founding in 1979, the New York Life Foundation has donated more than $90 million to national and local nonprofit organizations, said Historic Hudson Valley, a network of six historic sites that include Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate, and Philipsburg Manor, both in Sleepy Hollow.

“Since we put down roots in Westchester two years ago, we have worked hard to establish New York Life as a good corporate citizen committed to improving the community and the lives of families who live here,� Sternberg said in a written statement.

Based in Manhattan, New York Life moved its life and annuity operations to Sleepy Hollow in 2004. The company has about 1,000 employees at a 383,000-square-foot office complex near routes 9 and 117.

“Support of corporate partners such as New York Life is crucial to our mission,� said Waddell W. Stillman, Historic Hudson Valley president.

Past recipients of Historic Hudson Valley’s founder’s award include former Goldman Sachs Co-Chairman and Partner John C. Whitehead in 2004; Time Warner Inc. CEO Richard Parsons in 2002; philanthropist Brooke Astor in 1996; and Richard Jenrette, principal, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, in 1994.

Mark F. Rockefeller, trustee and grandson of Historic Hudson Valley founder John D. Rockefeller Jr., will present Sternberg and his company with the award at a gala Nov. 16 in Manhattan.

Proceeds from the event will support educational programs at its historic sites, Historic Hudson Valley said.