Chamber honors Golisano with Lifetime Achievement Award
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — “Businessman.” “Philanthropist.” “Entrepreneur.” Those are some of the words used to describe Tom Golisano on Wednesday night, when he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce.
Golisano was selected for the award for his philanthropic work — most recently, his $360 million donation to local nonprofits, hospitals and schools.
Golisano talked about his decision to donate in his acceptance speech.
“I applied for immortality, and I didn’t get it,” Golisano said, to audience laughter. “Why make these nonprofits wait for me to croak? Why not give it to them now? They can utilize them now.”
The Chamber also presented its top 100 list of the fastest growing private companies in the region.
The top three on that list were UTC Retail, Taylor the Builers and Greenlight Networks.