BALTIMORE, Maryland — The Baltimore Business Journal hosted the CEO of the Year and Power 10 awards at the Center Club in Downtown Baltimore on Sept. 7. Sandy Hillman, known for transforming Baltimore’s tourism industry during the 1970s, was celebrated as CEO of the Year alongside 10 other local business leaders, The Baltimore Afro-American reported on Tuesday, September 12, in an article written by Business Writer Megan Sayles.
The Power 10 honorees included Christine Aspell, managing partner at KPMG’s Baltimore office; John Brothers, president of the T. Rowe Price Foundation; Bradley Chambers, senior vice president and CEO of MedStar Health Baltimore region; Frances “Toni” Draper, CEO and publisher of the AFRO; Bruce Jarrell, president of University of Maryland, Baltimore; Troy LeMaile-Stovall, CEO of TEDCO; Tim Regan, CEO of the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company; Shanaysha Sauls, CEO of the Baltimore Community Foundation; Laurie Schwartz, president of the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore; and William Wiedel Jr., president and CEO of CFG Bank.
“What does it take to be a Power 10? It is more than just leading your company to financial success. Anybody can do that,” said Rhonda Pringle, market president and publisher for the BBJ. “It’s really about consistency, understanding what good leadership means and, more importantly, it’s about understanding that we have a responsibility not only to our employees and all of our stakeholders but to the communities we serve. Our Power 10 understands that there’s a commitment on their behalf to help make Baltimore and the region better.”
Hillman currently serves as president of Sandy Hillman Communications, a public relations firm in Baltimore. Much of her acclaim comes from her time as the founder and director of the Baltimore City Office of Promotion and Tourism during former Mayor Donald Schaefer’s administration. She held the role from 1971 to 1984 and was instrumental in creating the Baltimore City Farmers’ Market, Pier 6 and the City Fair.
“Our family has been deeply involved in Baltimore since brought me here kicking and screaming a little over 50 years ago,” said Hillman. “I really thought my life was over, and little did I know that really my life was just beginning.”
During a fireside chat between BBJ senior reporter Melody Simmons and Hillman, much of the conversation involved Hillman’s public life under Schaefer. The public relations executive celebrated Schaefer’s leadership and his iconic “do it now” style of governance.
“He was first and foremost—and I think this is what separates him from some elected officials— a public servant, and then he was a politician,” said Hillman. “You lead and govern very differently if that’s your attitude.”
See complete article in Baltimore Afro-American at https://afro.com/baltimore-business-journal-honors-power-10-leaders-committed-to-making-the-city-better/
