SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Raymour & Flanigan Furniture and Wireless Business Group, LLC are among the companies chosen as Business of the Year recipients during CenterState CEO’s annual meeting held Tuesday morning.
Raymour & Flanigan won in the “More than 50 Employees” category, while Wireless Business Group was honored in the “Fewer than 50 Employees” group.
CenterState CEO also recognized Liberty Resources Inc. in the “Nonprofit” category, Gwen Inc. in the “Minority-owned Business” category (presented in partnership with the Upstate Minority Economic Alliance), and Kinney Drugs Inc. in the “Community Involvement” category.
Besides the Business of the Year Award announcements, Robert Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO, also addressed attendees at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter in Syracuse.
In his message, Simpson spoke about how the Central New York region is experiencing a “moment of exceptional opportunity” as it emerges from the pandemic, per CenterState CEO’s news release on the event.
“We are incredibly excited to be back in person for this event, which has always been a moment for our business community to come together and renew our shared sense of purpose to advancing the trajectory of our community and region,” Simpson said. “The past two years have tested our resolve, but Central New York has always faced its challenges head on. Data driven strategies set into motion over the past decade have laid the foundation for progress we are seeing today, be that population gains, businesses investing in and creating jobs in the region, growth in our innovation ecosystem, or being positioned to compete for major federal investments, such as the Build Back Better Regional challenge.”
The annual meeting included a keynote panel featuring Naria Santa Lucia, general manager of digital inclusion and U.S. community engagement at Microsoft Philanthropies, and Jennifer Cruickshank, head of public policy and community engagement at Amazon New York. The panel conversation focused on digital transformation, workforce inclusion, and the impact of community investment and collaboration.