The Burlington Chamber of Commerce has announced that Joel Ippolito, CEO of Ippolito Group, will receive Burlington’s 2019 Distinguished Entrepreneur Award.
Joel Ippolito was chosen as the award recipient to recognize his leadership role in building a successful, high-profile company that positively represents Burlington both locally and regionally. He reflects entrepreneurship through his company and through his philanthropic endeavours giving back to the community through the Ippolito Group. Mr. Ippolito took over a leadership role in the family business more than two decades ago and has led the organization through remarkable international growth.
Ippolito was notified of the award earlier this month. “I was completely shocked when they told me,” said Ippolito. “I’m very honored to be recognized for this award and I owe this honour to the hard work and dedication of everyone in our organization. I’m proud of all we have done in Burlington and for the tremendous support we have received from the community.”
This is the sixth time the Chamber of Commerce has accorded the honour to local entrepreneurs and the fourteenth time a great Burlington businessperson has been recognized. In previous years the award was called the Entrepreneur of the Year award. The change to Distinguished Entrepreneur is more reflective of the lifetime achievements of the award recipient, according to Keith Hoey, President & CEO of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. “We’re extremely pleased to be honouring Mr. Ippolito with this very prestigious award and we’re looking forward to presenting him with the award at a special dinner this fall,” said Hoey. “The Distinguished Entrepreneur Dinner has a great tradition of recognizing and honouring great Burlington business leaders and it’s important that we acknowledge and thank these people for their contributions to our city.”