Walsh Named "Niagara Frontier Executive of the Year"

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- John N. Walsh III, president and CEO of Walsh Duffield Companies Inc., has been named the 2006 Niagara Frontier Executive of the Year by the University at Buffalo School of Management.

The award will be presented to Walsh at the 57th annual UB School of Management Alumni Association awards banquet at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 in the Millennium Airport Hotel Buffalo.

Walsh was selected for the award based on a vote by past honorees and the board of directors of the alumni association who cited his career success, civic leadership and professional integrity.

Entering his 34th year of association with Walsh Duffield Companies Inc., a full-service insurance firm established in 1860, Walsh has been recognized by numerous organizations for his long-standing professional accomplishments in service to individuals, businesses and non-profits throughout Western New York.

The firm's 100 percent participation and highest per-capita giving have led the United Way Campaign's insurance sector for many years.

Walsh serves as chair of the Independent Health Foundation board, vice chair of the UB Foundation and an officer of both the Kaleida and Western New York foundations.

He also is chair of the board governance committees of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and Martin House Restoration Corporation and vice chair of the board governance committee of Independent Health. He is a past board chair of Children's Hospital, Nichols School, the National Conference for Community and Justice of Western New York (NCCJ), the American Red Cross and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Walsh is an emeritus board member of the UB Council, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and a past chair of AAA of Western and Central New York, where he was instrumental in the merger of regional chapters. He is a past director of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the United Way and the Multiple Sclerosis Association.

A Division I hockey and baseball player in college and a member of his high school's athletic hall of fame, Walsh was co-chair of the local organizing committee of the NCAA's 2003 Frozen Four hockey finals in Buffalo and the UB search committee that led to the hiring of Athletic Director Warde Manuel.

He is chair of the Yale Alumni Schools Committee of Western New York and has interviewed more than 500 applicants to his alma mater. He was a founding board member of the university's Association of Yale Alumni and has served as a director of the Yale Alumni Fund, the Yale Development Board and multiple class-gift and reunion committees.

Walsh was chair of the Honors Program division of UB's recent campaign.

With his family, Walsh has been recognized as "Volunteer of the Year" by the United Way, and in 2004 Alfred University presented him with the Galanis Award for Excellence in Family Business. He also has been honored by NCCJ, Nichols School, Yale and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He is the recipient of the University at Buffalo President's Medal and UB's Walter P. Cooke Award.

A life-long Buffalo resident, Walsh is a graduate of Nichols School. He received a bachelor's degree from Yale and a juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School.

He is married to the former Connie Shepard of St. Paul, Minn., and is the father of a daughter, Kyle, and a son, Blake.

He and his wife, along with Paul J. and Barbara Harder, are serving as co-chairs of the inaugural University at Buffalo Scholarship Gala to be held on Nov. 4. to raise funds for undergraduate and graduate student scholarships across the university.

Established in 1949, the Niagara Frontier Executive of the Year award is presented annually to an area resident. Past recipients include the late Robert E. Rich Sr., Paul L. Snyder, Robert E. Rich Jr., Jeremy M. Jacobs, the late Seymour H. Knox III, Sal H. Alfiero, Robert G. Wilmers, Reginald B. Newman II, Randall L. Clark, Marsha S. Henderson and Carl J. Montante.

For more information about the awards banquet, contact John Shellum, assistant dean of alumni relations in the UB School of Management at 716-645-3224.