40 Graduate from CEL Program in UB School of Management

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Forty Western New York business owners, operators and high-level managers have graduated from the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) Core Program in the University at Buffalo School of Management.

The graduates completed a 10-month program for experienced entrepreneurs who wish to grow, refocus or better manage their businesses. They performed an in-depth analysis of their own businesses while developing expertise in key areas such as strategic planning, employee relations, capital acquisition and marketing.

The graduates are: Randall Atwater, general manager, Atwater Foods LLC; David C. Batterson, president, Springville Door & Window, Inc.; Robert Cohen, vice president, United Men's Fashion; Mary Jo Cornell, president/CEO, LINSTAR, Inc.; Joseph Dommer, partner, Baer and Associates; Aaron Er, president, JSP America, Inc.; Donald Finkle, CEO, RCR Yachts, Inc.; Mitch Flynn, president/creative director; Flynn and Friends Inc.; Albert Forster, president; Prentice Office Environments; Kevin Gannon, president, Niagara Benefits; Robert James Gerow, president/CEO, ComesHome Inc., and Charles Griffasi Jr., president, Aero contracting, Inc.

Shelley Hirshberg, president, Physician Advocates, LLC; August Iacovitti, vice president/general manager, United Materials Concrete Products; James Knox II, president, Franklin Traffic Service, Inc.; James Kunkemoeller, executive vice president, Chief operating Officer, Great Lakes Orthodontics Ltd.; Judi Laird, owner-international designer, Judi Laird Deutsch Décor/German Window Innovations; Craig Locke, president, Globaloc LLC; James Lyon, president/CEO, Case Handyman Services, and Susan Makai, CEO, Personal Best.

Edward McDermid III, vice president, Frontier Lumber Co., Inc.; David McKendry, vice president, Peerless Mill Supply Co. Inc.; Michael Phillips, president, PBS Consultants, Inc.;

Patricia Potts, president, Harbison Bros. Inc.; Saverio M. Pugliese, vice president/Transportation Sciences Center, Veridian Engineering; Arthur Rago, Jr., president, RISE Inc.; Andrea Sapone, owner, Buffalo Medical Supply; Terry Saunders, president, Brittany Industries, Inc., and Robert Schofield, owner, Mazia's, Inc.

Maurice Sheehan, president, Central Heating and Cooling, Inc.; Lois Sugar, vice president, NewsTrax, Inc.; Kevin Telaak, vice president, Appliance Associates of Buffalo; Richard Trigilio, president/CEO, Medical Management Services, Inc.; Scott Turner, CEO, Parkside Computing, Inc.; Thomas Ulbrich, president, Ulbrich's Tree Farm, Inc.; Paul Van De Putte, president, Doorway Rug Service; Douglas Vanstrom, vice president, Arcon Management, Inc.; Frank Weber, president, Weber Hydraulics Inc.; Robert Wray, president, Chameleon Pool & Concrete, Inc.

Established in 1987, the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership is tailored for small-to-medium-sized private businesses.

"The small-to-mid-size firm is the heart and soul of our local economy, and the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership provides a crucial link between these businesses and the School of Management," said Courtney J. Walsh, assistant dean and director of UB's Center for Executive Development.

"The Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership is pleased to welcome our graduates into our alumni network, now more than 550 strong," she added. Walsh estimates that CEL alumni employ more than 15,000 Western New Yorkers and are worth nearly $2 billion to the local economy.

The CEL Core Program is currently accepting applications for September enrollment. For more information, contact Althea Luehrsen at 645-3000 or visit http://www.mgt.buffalo.edu/cel.