Five community organizations and Central Hudson employee volunteers were honored in May at the utility’s annual Community Service Awards event. “Central Hudson’s employees volunteer in hundreds of ways with hundreds of organizations, but this year’s award winners are particularly inspiring,” Steven V. Lant, Chairman, President and CEO of CH Energy Group, Inc., Central Hudson’s parent company.

This year, recognized employees and the organizations they serve were: Customer Service Representative Denise Bliss, board member and fund raiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; Junior Engineer Kyle Bragg, volunteer for the Highland Fire Department; Working Foreman Ralph Frisenda, fund raiser and event organizer for the Red Hook VFW 7765; Senior Systems Analyst Barbara MacIsaac, Committee Chairperson for Boy Scout Troop 182 of Freedom Plains; and Manager of Regulatory Planning and Budgets Stanley Kardas, volunteer bookkeeper for the Poughkeepsie Farm Project. Each recognized charitable organization received a $500 contribution from Central Hudson.

“Whether it is working with our youth, responding to the needs of the those with disabilities, lending a hand with a local fire department, raising dollars for our active military personnel and veterans who have served our country, or serving as a bookkeeper for the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, each of these volunteers has worked tirelessly without expectation of recognition,” Lant said.
For more than 20 years, the utility’s Community Service Award has recognized employees who carry the spirit of Central Hudson into their communities to help improve the quality of life in the Hudson Valley.  Since 1988, more than one hundred employees and organizations have received the Award.

“Charitable contributions are important, as they fund operations and programs offered by non-profit agencies,” said Lant. “But even more important than money is the time, skills, and the leadership that committed volunteers bring to their organizations.”