Centennial Honorees.

On May 19 at the Centennial Celebration, the Chamber was privileged to honor five outstanding leaders who have accomplished a great deal of good for Greater Boston. A s we celebrate 100 years of leadership, the Chamber is proud to honor these accomplished leaders in our community. From all of us at the Chamber, thank you for all you have done to make Greater Boston a better place to live and work for everyone.   

In honor of their significant contributions to our community and the leadership they have demonstrated throughout their careers, we honored two outstanding leaders with the Centennial Award:
  • Thomas M. Menino, Mayor, City of Boston
         Mayor Thomas M. Menino is the longest serving mayor in Boston’s illustrious history, and continues to be a champion for the neighborhoods he serves. Since his election in 1993, Menino has also been a strong advocate for the business community, providing critical leadership through periods of financial growth as well as slowdowns. He continues to prioritize education, affordable housing, public safety, health care, and neighborhood revitalization – all issues that are extremely important to the business community. Menino served his neighborhood of Hyde Park as a city councilor for nine years prior to becoming mayor.
     
  • Jack Connors, founding partner, Hill Holliday
    Jack Connors is a founding partner and chairman emeritus of Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Inc. Under his leadership, Hill, Holliday evolved from a one-room shop to one of the top 20 advertising firms in the U.S. Boston Magazine named him one of the most powerful people in Boston, and he’s been a major force behind initiatives such as Camp Harbor View, The Campaign for Catholic Schools, and The Edward M. Kennedy Institute. Connors is a strong advocate for Boston’s world-class hospitals, and serves as chair of Partners HealthCare, one of the nation’s leading hospital systems and the largest private employer in Massachusetts.
     


On an evening dedicated to leadership, the Chamber presented the first Collaborative Leadership Award:

  • Gloria C. Larson, president, Bentley University
    Gloria Cordes Larson is president of Bentley University, ranked by  U.S. News and World Report as one of America’s best universities and graduate business programs. A public policy expert, lawyer and business leader, Larson has outstanding leadership in both the public and private sectors during the course of her career. She has compiled an outstanding track record as an effective bridge-builder – working to bring together opposing sides on divisive issues. Larson joined Bentley from the leading law firm Foley Hoag, where she co-chaired the Government Strategies Group. Widely influential in economic policy, Larson led a business advisory cabinet for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and co-chaired his transition team. In the administration of former Massachusetts Governor William Weld, she served as secretary of economic affairs and secretary of consumer affairs and business regulation. Larson also served as a senior official of the Federal Trade Commission for more than 10 years. Since 1998 she has chaired the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, overseeing the renovation of the MassMutual Center in Springfield and construction of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. 
     


And as the Chamber has done each year since 1983, two extraordinary leaders were inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Bostonians :

  • Linda Whitlock, immediate past President & CEO, Boys & Girls Club of Boston
         Linda Whitlock is the immediate past Nicholas President and Chief Executive Officer of Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, one of the most highly regarded youth institutions in Greater Boston. Whitlock brought her passion for excellence and inspired leadership to an organization whose high-impact programs enable more than 14,000 children and teens from low income neighborhoods in Greater Boston to become responsible citizens and leaders. During her decade at the helm of the Club, she nearly doubled the number of youths served by its programs, increased the endowment from less than $2 million to more than $20 million, and significantly broadened the giving base during one of the region’s largest fundraising campaigns. Whitlock served in the administrations of Governor Dukakis and Governor King, and has taught at MIT, Tufts, and the University of Michigan. Whitlock has been named one of the Most Powerful Women in Boston by Boston Magazine, and currently serves on the boards of Cambridge Trust Company, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Brandeis University, Boston World Partnerships, the Boston Museum, and Boston Afterschool and Beyond.  
     

      
     

  • Peter S. Lynch, vice chairman, Fidelity Management & Research Company
     Peter S. Lynch is considered one of the most successful money managers in Wall Street history. From 1977 to 1990, he was the portfolio manager of Fidelity's Magellan Fund. By the time he retired, Magellan had grown from $20 million to more than $14 billion, with over 1 million shareholders, making it the largest and best-performing equity fund in the world. Lynch currently serves as an advisory board member of the Fidelity Funds and vice chairman of Fidelity Management & Research. He left the Magellan Fund in 1990 in order to devote more time to non-profit work. He serves as president of the Catholic Schools Foundation (CSF), an organization devoted to supporting the educational mission of the Catholic Church. Over the past 19 years, Lynch has helped raise more than $60 million for CSF’s Inner City Scholarship Fund, which grants scholarships to children living in Boston’s inner city and attending Catholic schools. In 1999 Lynch and his wife donated $10 million to the Boston College School of Education – the largest gift in the history of the school. BC has since rededicated the school as the Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch School of Education. Lynch is the author of three books, One Up on Wall Street, Beating the Street and Learn to Earn. His works have been touted as some of the most successful books ever written about the stock market and investing. 
     

Click here to see a full list of past distinguished Bostonians, dating back to 1983.
 

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