POTSDAM -- Patrick Kelly of the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency is the 2016 Thomas Plastino Distinguished Service Award honoree.

CITEC Business Solutions gives the award annually “to a person who demonstrates leadership, energy, and dedication to strengthening the North Country,” Citec said.

"Patrick has demonstrated endless energy and clear focus in providing value to regional companies of all sizes and types,” said CITEC Executive Director Reg Carter. “He listens intently, and then proactively pulls together the ideal resources, partners, and funding to make things happen. We are lucky to have him in the North Country."

The award was given at CITEC's annual banquet on Nov. 10 in Lake Placid.

"First of all, I have a great deal of respect for the person this award is named after, Tom Plastino,” Kelly said. “Second, working with a quality organization like CITEC to offer resources to area businesses makes the IDA all the more effective in our efforts. To be recognized in this way, by such an important partner organization, is very special."

Past honorees include Joe Russo of National Grid, Dr. Tony Collins of Clarkson University and Eric Virkler of Lewis County Economic Development.

CITEC Business Solutions is part of the New York State Manufacturing Extension Partnership and offers a variety of consulting and training services in areas of continuous improvement, human resources, sales and marketing, safety, supervisor certification, strategic planning and more. Additional information is available at citec.org.