Key Business Leaders Inducted into Inaugural Corporate Mentoring Hall of Fame

ROCKY HILL - More than 130 Connecticut businesses were honored for their commitment to youth mentoring and named to The Governor’s Prevention Partnership’s
Corporate Mentoring Honor Roll, during an award ceremony held in Rocky Hill yesterday.

The event, entitled “Invest In The Future. Mentor A Child.” featured keynote speaker David Shapiro, CEO, MENTOR, the lead champion for youth mentoring in the United States. Shapiro addressed how state mentoring partnerships, like The Governor’s Prevention Partnership, are critical to the success of MENTOR’s efforts nationally, and applauded Connecticut business leaders for their outstanding support of youth mentoring.

“While government leaders know how to react to human crisis, sometimes prevention is overlooked,” said Shapiro. “But by the work that is being done here to support young people with mentoring, it is clear that Connecticut gets it.

“A main goal for MENTOR is to roll-out national quality standards for every mentoring program
across the country, since quality mentoring programs are more likely to produce better outcomes for youth,” said Shapiro. “Connecticut is one of our strongest partners and it will be
one of the states next in line to roll out this concept.”

Janice Perkins, Director of Government Relations, ConnectiCare and a Governor’s Prevention Partnership Board Member, thanked the corporate leaders present for their support of youth mentoring. “There is hope for our young people and if we invest in them today, we in
the workforce will one day benefit from their participation and expertise,” said Perkins.

“Our business community’s commitment to mentoring is second to none,” said Jill Spineti, President and CEO, The Governor’s Prevention Partnership. “Our corporate partners have great reason to be proud. In the months to come, I hope these committed partners will not only continue their good work on behalf of mentoring, but grow it even further to help us meet the demands of the children who need it most. We stand ready to help in any way.”

Diane Hubbard, Program Manager at The Partnership, added, “Currently we have approximately 12,000 caring adult mentors in Connecticut, volunteering in 150 mentoring programs. But the reality is we have over 190,000 youth who could benefit from a mentor in Connecticut. So we have a ways to go.”

Ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to small businesses, employees from companies recognized on the Corporate Mentoring Honor Roll mentor young people in more than 100 communities. They earned the recognition as leaders in mentoring by encouraging employee
participation in youth mentoring, sometimes through release time from work. Many of the companies have formed mentoring alliances with a local school, or school district.

Research has shown that programs that rely on volunteer mentors can play a powerful role in helping youth to reduce drug abuse and youth violence while greatly enhancing their prospects for leading a healthy and productive life. In 2011, The Partnership worked with well over 100
businesses in the state that support mentoring through financial or volunteer resources.

Jill Spineti, President and CEO, The Governor’s Prevention Partnership, stressed the need for continued support for youth mentoring. “This year two federal grants are ending that support mentoring programs for children impacted by incarceration. These and many other children in
the state need our support, and we at The Partnership are dedicated to seeking funding so that we can deepen our reach.”

The corporate audience was inspired when they heard from two young mentees, who told their stories and spoke about the importance of mentoring. “Even though we had some differences, right from the start I could tell that this guy that I just met was going to be an important piece in
my life,” said Jaime, a student at Bristol Central High School about his mentor, John. “Now he is helping me with the tools I need to make bigger steps in my life.”

A highlight of the event was a performance by the Kinsella School for The Performing Arts Choral Group who sang a range of songs, including everything from Journey to “Don’t Laugh At Me,” a song about bullying by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary.

The inaugural inductees of the Connecticut Mentoring Hall Of Fame were announced at the Corporate Mentoring Honor Roll Breakfast. This prestigious award was created to recognize and honor individuals within a corporation or business who have significantly influenced the field
of youth mentoring in the state.

The three business leaders nominated for induction met criteria that included: advocating for resources within their business or corporation, sustaining their corporate mentoring initiative, and acting as a role model for other mentors within their organization

Hall of Fame Inductees:
F. Michael Ayles, AIA, Principal, Business Development, Antinozzi Associates As Principal at Antinozzi Associates and a board member for the ACE (Architecture,
Construction and Engineering) Mentor Program of Connecticut, Ayles consistently applies his exceptional communication and leadership skills to youth mentoring in Connecticut and is truly dedicated to strengthening the future workforce.

Ayles and his fellow ACE mentors work with high school students on projects that provide hands-on experience in design, engineering and construction challenges that industry professionals confront every day. As an accomplished architect, an active member of his community and a dedicated father, Ayles has used his many contacts over the past ten years to
promote and expand mentoring.


Margaret Y. Livingston, President & CEO, The Guilford Savings Bank

As President and CEO of The Guilford Savings Bank, a Board Member of The Governor's Prevention Partnership and a past board member of Guilford's School-Based Mentoring Program, Margaret Livingston uses her leadership skills to sustain youth mentoring in her town.
The Guilford Savings Bank was the founding supporter of the town’s school-based mentoring program over 10 years ago. Since then, the program has grown from a handful of bank employees as mentors, to a town-wide program in which several hundred mentors volunteer their time.

Livingston reminds us that everyone deserves to have someone believe in them unconditionally. As a current mentor, and from being a mentor for over 12 years, both her words and her actions underscore her belief in youth mentoring.

Laurance Selnick, CTP, Senior Vice President, Webster Bank
Larry Selnick’s has been a mentor for over 10 years and shares his passion for mentoring with everyone he meets. He played a key role in the start up of Webster Bank’s mentoring program and over the past 10 years, has grown the program from a handful of mentors to just shy of 100 mentors today. Selnick used his persuasive nature and strong vision for mentoring to convince the bank’s IT department to develop a state of the art, online application process and tracking system that is used to manage over 100 volunteer mentors.

In addition to recruiting mentors internally, he has expanded the bank’s mentoring program to
Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and is a frequent presenter at mentoring events throughout
the northeast. He is a true supporter and is focused on ensuring that the youth involved are part
of quality-based mentoring programs

Celebrating more than 23 years of keeping Connecticut kids safe, successful and drug-free. The Governor’s Prevention Partnership is a statewide, nonprofit public-private alliance, building a strong, healthy future workforce through leadership in mentoring and prevention of youth violence and bullying, underage drinking, and substance abuse. The Partnership is the only statewide organization focusing exclusively on prevention issues affecting youth.