 When Karen Davis-Farage lost her job in the tech industry six years ago, she hit a low point in her life.
"We really were in a moment of despair," she said on stage last night at the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce's seventh annual Legends Ball at Casino in the Park, where she and her husband, Eyal Farage, were one of several honorees.
"You never know how things will turn out, because I thought that my 30 years in technology was all I would ever do," Davis-Farage said.
But one day, inspired by their son's fondness for go-kart racing, she and her husband pursued something totally unexpected. Soon afterward, the couple opened Pole Position Raceway in Jersey City -- the first one on the East Coast -- and opened it to great success.
The couple was honored as "Legends" last night in front of more than 300 guests for their accomplishments and charity work. Others honored were Gary Greenberg, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Hudson County; Gerard McGraw, president of Fidelity Institutional, a division of Fidelity Investments; and the Provident Bank.
Greenberg, who started as a van driver for the Boys & Girls Club and is approaching 40 years with the organization, was honored for providing enriching educational and cultural programs for children.
McGraw was recognized for helping make Fidelity Institutional a thriving business unit and for helping the lives and careers of those around him, including being the executive sponsor of Fidelity's Women's Networking Group.
Provident Bank, the gala's first-ever corporate legend, was honored for its 175-year track record for quality service to New Jersey's families, and its deep roots in the Hudson County community.
Maria Nieves, president and CEO of the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce, told The Jersey Journal that the Legends Ball had become an event that the business community looks forward to every year.
"We're really glad to be the organization that can really showcase the Hall of Fame for Hudson County," she said.
The gala's co-chair, Daryl Harrison Rand, president of HarrisonRand Advertising and chair of the chamber's board of directors, added that this year's Legends Ball was the "largest and most ambitious" to date.
"We started here seven years ago ... and we had our first event here. We thought it would be very appropriate to come back," she said.
The event featured live musical performances, holiday decorations, a cocktail hour, a buffet dinner and a silent auction with items such as a personal tour of Mana Contemporary from Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop.
Founded in 1888, the Hudson chamber has nearly 500 members. Sponsors of the Legends Ball are Provident Bank, Fidelity Investments, CarePoint Health, former Congressman Frank Guarini, the law firm of DeCotiis, FitzPatrick and Cole, Jersey City Medical Center-Barnabas Health, Wells Fargo, Connell Foley, LLP, Goldman Sachs, HarrisonRand Advertising, SILVERMAN, United Way of Hudson County, Lord, Abbett & Co., BCB Community Bank, Capital One Bank, HSBC, The Jersey Journal, Jones Lang LaSalle, Liberty Savings Federal Credit Union, Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, Pole Position Raceway, PNC Bank and TD Bank.
This year's gala was co-chaired by Rand and Sharon Ambis, marketing director of The Jersey Journal. Committee members for the event included: Regina Andriolo, executive director of the Liberty Health Foundation; Nina Johnson, chief business officer of Singularity, LLC; Paula Nevoso, vice president of the CarePoint Health Foundation; Sharon Reissman, interior specialist at Maco Office Source, and Thomas Stanton III, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle. |
