SYRACUSE, N.Y. — CenterState CEO honored Charlotte (Chuckie) Holstein with its “first ever” Civic Leadership Award during the organization’s annual meeting held last Thursday.
Holstein retired as executive director of F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse on Friday after nearly 20 years of leadership.
F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse, co-founded by Holstein and Judith Mower in 1997, is a citizen-driven organization that enables citizens, organizations, and government to work together to enhance the quality of life and economic future of Central New York.
Rob Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO, called Holstein a “friend, mentor, and a true dignitary in Central New York.”
He also described Holstein as “an amazing force of nature in this community.”
Simpson spoke during CenterState CEO’s annual meeting at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter.
Simpson said he had three sheets of paper with “bullet point after bullet point after bullet point” of the “many things” that Holstein has done in her career “with her leadership and with her vision for this community.”
“She co-founded Leadership Greater Syracuse and Youth Leadership Greater Syracuse; she served a chair of the board at Loretto for more than a decade; she served on [the] New York State Board of Social Welfare, appointed by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller; she served on the advisory committee for the White House Conference on Families at the request of President Jimmy Carter; she is the recipient of more local, state, and national awards, honors, distinctions, as well as two honorary doctoral degrees,” Simpson said in his remarks.
Le Moyne College awarded Holstein an honorary doctoral degree in 1998 and Syracuse University did the same in 2015.
Besides serving as chair of the board at Loretto for 13 years, Holstein also spearheaded development of The Nottingham, the first retirement community in the state, according to a biography that F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse had previously provided BJNN.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com