CMTA's highest honor was presented recently to two of the Association's most influential and hard-working members.
Please Meet the 2019 Jeanne Czel Persons of the Year:
Our first 2019 Award Winner, Dawn Schieferdecker has long served the industry and its customers – perhaps a lifetime in fact. Growing up in the family business at Essex Island Marina and learning from the bottom up – literally.... bottom clean, bottom wax and bottom paint and moving through the ranks learning every aspect of marina operations before, during and after college.
But her work didn't stop on the Island. Dawn's dedicated significant volunteer time included to her town and community from the Essex Board of Trade to the Conservative Women’s Committee and beyond. However it has been her dedication to CMTA that has lifted up so many others.
Joining the Board in 2002 she tackled education and workforce before it was on the industry’s radar, spearheading scholarship efforts for school students looking to careers in the marine industry. She invested hours upon hours in work with the DEEP and others in the creation of the Clean Marina Program. She continued to serve on several committees until assuming the Chairman of the Board position in 2015 with an agenda focused on education and taxation.
Known for her passion about safety and training she put more people safely on the water as she broadened her industry knowledge branching into sales and customer service….which sadly for us…has lead her to the warm shores of Florida and a career changing roll with a major manufacturer.
But her Connecticut roots run deep as does our appreciation. It is the pleasure of CMTA to award the 2019 Jeanne Czel Person of the Year to Dawn Schieferdecker formerly of Essex Island Marine, American Boating Service and MarineMax.
A big thank you with deep appreciation to Dawn Schieferdecker.
The application nominating Stephen Tagliatela read “Stephen's dedication to the industry, the community, education and the environment is truly inspirational”.
For the marine industry Stephen has long managed an outstanding gateway to CT from one of our most beautiful rivers Saybrook Point Inn & Marina. Leading the charge on such critical issues as dredging and an early leader and supporter of the Clean Marina Program. Stephen followed that with ongoing commitments to ensure the most sustainable practices, continually looking to the future and investing in what environmental initiatives he truly believes-in for his business.
But that’s just the beginning.
Stephen is passionate about not only promoting the Marine Industry, but tourism in our state, forming the state’s first-ever Connecticut Tourism Coalition, an alliance of advocates from all sectors of the Connecticut tourism industry to rally for a more reliable source of annual funding, pro-business policy, and stronger public support.
Stephen has managed the Louis F. and Mary A. Tagliatela Foundation which has helped to preserve and protect one of Connecticut’s most sacred ecosystems: The Preserve a swath of 1,000 acres of coastal forest along the towns of Old Saybrook, Essex and Westbrook, which will help to conserve this important coastal forest forever as a natural asset for the region and our state.
Further the Foundation under his leadership has donated more than $10 million to support local non-profit organizations including hospitals, schools and churches. The organization helped establish the Tagliatela School of Engineering at the University of New Haven and Tagliatela School of Business at Albertus Magnus College.
Nominated by one of his employees, it is our honor to present the 2019 Jeanne Czel Person of the Year Award to Stephen Tagliatela of Old Saybrook Point Inn Marina and Spa.
