Submitted by Haley Stafford
(September 15, 2024) — Rodney Bitgood, Chairman of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, has announced the 2024 winners of the Middlesex Chamber’s Distinguished Citizen Award and the Chief Michael L. Green Award.
Each year, the Middlesex Chamber presents the Distinguished Citizen Award to one or more individuals who have served as an inspiration to others and are recognized by the Middlesex community as having unselfishly given their time and talent to produce a lasting benefit to the area. The Distinguished Citizen Committee chose the winners from a list of more than 180 nominees.
The Chief Michael L. Green Award is presented annually to a member of the police or fire community for his or her outstanding service to both the community and to the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber proudly announces that the 2024 Distinguished Citizen Award winners are Enzo Faienza, John Lyman III, and Kristen Roberts.
The 2024 Chief Michael L. Green Award Recipient is Fire Chief James Trzaski, Middletown South Fire District.
This year’s winners will be honored at the Chamber’s Awards Dinner Celebration to be held at The Riverhouse in Haddam on September 25, 2024. To register for this event, please click here.
Enzo Faienza
Enzo Faienza worked his way through the Cromwell School system, graduating from Cromwell High School in the Class of 1991. He went on to the University of Hartford where he graduated cum laude in 1995 with his Bachelor’s in business, and his major in accounting.
Enzo was always involved in his father’s family tile business and in 1996 they started their own business, Universal Ceramic Tile along with his brothers Joe and Tony located in Hartford. The business has grown through the years and in 2006 they purchased the location they are now in and built a beautiful 10,000 square foot showroom and warehousing facility of 40,000 square feet.
Through the years Enzo was always interested in helping the community. In 2007 he decided to get involved with the town and joined the Republican Town Committee, which he helped to rebuild, and eventually became its Chairman. He served on various committees such as Planning and Zoning from 2008 to 2013, Charter Revision Commission from 2010-2011, Board of Selectmen 2011-2013 and in 2013 he was elected the first Mayor of Cromwell.
One of the first things he did as Mayor, along with his dear friend and former Chairman of the Board of Education Michael Camilleri, was establish the Cromwell Arts Alliance, which created events such as Christmas on Main. The group also helped establish the Cromwell Mayor’s Gala, which helped raise money for Cromwell Human Resources, Middlesex Hospital, Hospital for Special Care, the American Legion and Adelbrook Community Services.
During his time as Mayor, Enzo’s big philosophy was working as a “team.” He loved putting people together and working to make Cromwell the best town it can be. As Mayor he had many accomplishments and here are a few:
- Maintained an AAA bond rating which has given the Town great flexibility to refinance some of its older bonded obligations at lower rates. The Town has also jumped on the opportunity to do major road improvements and infrastructure projects throughout Cromwell.
- LED streetlight conversion, which is saving the taxpayers approximately $100,000 per year in energy savings; they also are more environmentally friendly.
- Economic development has been a great strength during his term. He started business visitations, in which he and members of the Town Council and EDC visited well over 100 businesses. It was a priority for him to see how they were doing and if there was anything the Town could do to better support them. The Town had seen an influx of new businesses under his leadership. The infrastructure work done on County Line Road through grants has paved the way for a 403,000 sq. ft. warehousing facility that Amazon calls home.
- Cromwell Parks have been well maintained and the Town added a splash pad and canopy at Watrous Park. The tennis courts have been renovated at Watrous Park and the Town has added walking trails to Hoffman Farm behind Cromwell Dog Park.
- Cromwell Landing improvements for a handicap accessible fishing pier, walking trails, and boardwalk have begun. This is being funded by leftover grant money that had to be used for parks improvements.
Worked with the BOE to help bring the new scoreboard to Pierson Park.
Supported and helped get the Library Renovation and Expansion brought forward to the construction phase with the help of a $1,000,000 state grant. This provided library with a technology and multipurpose room.
Enzo served as Mayor for eight years and in 2021, for family and personal reasons, Enzo decided not to run for re-election. It was time for him to pass the torch and give more time to his family and business. He is still involved in Cromwell and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Padre Pio Foundation of America and Adelbrook Community Services. Enzo is married to his amazing wife Kate, and they have a daughter Adrianna.
John Lyman III
John Lyman, III is currently the Executive Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer of The Lyman Farm, Incorporated, the operator of Lyman Orchards, and is part of the eighth generation of the Lyman family that has farmed in Middlefield since 1741.
Today Lyman Orchards is 1,100 acres in size and consists of orchards where you can pick your own fruits, mazes, a year-round retail market, wholesale pies, wholesale fruits and cider, hard cider, three golf courses, a golf training center, a restaurant, special events, weddings, and outings. Most recently Lyman Orchards expanded into New Haven with two large bakery production facilities.
John’s primary responsibility is overseeing orchard operations. He works closely with the Lyman Board of Directors in strategic planning and product development, and also acts as the face of Lyman Orchards with the media and public affairs. He has done just about every job at the Farm over the years, except for teaching golf!
Like his father, Jack Lyman, and his grandfather, John Sr., John grew up on the family farm, learning from the ground up the challenges and rewards of Connecticut farming and land stewardship, guided by some basic principles on the ability to keep a family business going into the next generation, knowing that success is the result of strong teamwork among the family shareholders, board of directors and employees.
A 1979 graduate of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, John holds a BA in American Studies. After college and before joining the family business full time in 1980, John worked on an apple and pear orchard in Holland where he claims to have received his ‘formal’ education in fruit growing. John remains actively involved in Connecticut Agri-tourism, and his industry involvement throughout the New England region has been extensive. He is currently a Director of the New England Apple Council, and a Trustee of Red Tomato. Past appointments include serving twelve years as a Director on Farm Credit East’s Board of Directors (an agricultural bank, current loan volume: more than $11 billion), President of the Connecticut Agricultural Businesses Cluster, Director and Vice Chairman of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s Board of Control, President of the Connecticut Pomological Society, Chairman and Director of the New England McIntosh Growers Association, and President and Director of the New York and New England Apple Institute.
John is a member of the Middlefield Federated Church and currently serves as its Moderator. John resides in Middlefield with his wife Elaine. They have three grown children, Adam, Sarah, and Laura, daughter-in-law Chrissy, and three grandchildren, John, Daniel, and Charlotte.
Kristen Roberts
Kristen (Lemley) Roberts is the Vice President of Communications for Comcast’s New England Region, which serves customers in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. In this role she is responsible for public relations and employee communications, and serves as a company spokesperson. She oversees media relations, strategic communications and serves on the region’s senior leadership team.
Kristen first joined Comcast in 2002 as Manager of Public Affairs for Connecticut and was promoted to Area Director of Government and Community Relations for Connecticut in 2004. While in these positions, she was responsible for overseeing all aspects of government and public affairs, including franchise renewals and regulatory compliance, and directing community investment strategies and employee volunteer opportunities. She went on to serve as the Senior Director of Public Relations and Community Investment before being promoted to Vice President in 2010. In 2016, she assumed her current role of Vice President of Communications.
Kristen’s efforts extend beyond the workplace and into the community. Her civic involvement began in 1992 when she joined the Middletown Jaycees where she held the position of President from 1996-1998. She has held several other leadership positions for professional and community organizations, most notably serving two terms as President of the New England Chapter of Women in Cable and Telecommunications (WICT). She sits on several community Boards, including the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, where she held the position of Chairwoman in 2022; the Middlesex United Way, where she held the position of Chair of the organization’s 2016 campaign; and serves as a Trustee of Goodspeed Musicals and is a Corporator of Middlesex Hospital. Locally, she served as President of the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce in 2012-2014 and serves on the Town of Old Saybrook’s ARPA Committee and is Co-Chair of the town’s Saybrook Cares Committee, an ad-hoc committee formed to help residents during the COVID pandemic.
Kristen also has received many accolades over the years. In 2019, the Middlesex United Way presented her with the Community Service Award, their highest and most prestigious honor for a United Way volunteer. She also received the Leadership Award from the New Haven Boys and Girls Club in 2016 and in 2015 she was recognized as a “Women in Business” honoree by the Hartford Business Journal. In 2014, she was an honoree at the Urban League of Southern Connecticut’s Women’s Empowerment Summit.
Kristen holds a Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Hartford, a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Central Connecticut State University, an Associate of Arts degree from Middlesex Community College and she graduated from the Paralegal Program at the University of Hartford. She is also a graduate of WICT’s Betsy Magness Leadership Institute, Wharton’s Women’s Executive Leadership Program and received a Certificate of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from Cornell University.
James Trzaski
Fire Chief James Trzaski began his career as a volunteer firefighter with Beacon Hose Co. No. 1 in 1985. Over the course of his membership, he held the officer ranks of Assistant Secretary, Secretary, Assistant EMS Director, Fire Captain, and Fire Chief. In 1991 he was appointed a career Firefighter in the Town of Naugatuck, where he served until 2014, and held the roles of Assistant Department Mechanic, Lieutenant, Captain/Shift Supervisor, and served as the Secretary of the Naugatuck IAFF Local 1219.
In 2016, he was hired by the South Fire District, Middletown, where he quickly rose through the ranks and where has been the fire chief for four years.
Chief Trzaski has been an instructor at the Wolcott Regional Fire Training School, the Valley Regional Fire School, and the Connecticut Fire Academy, where he served as the Recruit Program Lead Instructor.
Throughout his professional career, he has been a member of the New Haven County Fire Emergency Plan, Valley Fire Chiefs Association, Middlesex County Chiefs Association, Connecticut State Firefighters Association, Connecticut Irregulars Association, Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, and the Connecticut Career Chiefs Association.
Chief Trzaski received the Naugatuck Fire Department’s 2003 Firefighter of the Year Award, several Naugatuck Fire Department Unit Citations, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Waterbury Hospital, and the Connecticut State Firefighters Association’s Firefighter of the Year Award in 2018. He was inducted into the Connecticut State Firefighters Association Hall of Fame in 2021.
A past Chairman of the Connecticut Joint Council of Fire Services, he currently serves as the President of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association.
Chief Trzaski is an active Mentor with the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce’s Hal Kaplan Middletown Mentor Program, which provides mentoring for elementary aged children attending Middletown Public Schools.
