Stars shone at the 2013 Kings of Kings County Networking Breakfast

The sun shone on the Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator’s annual Kings of Kings County Networking Breakfast, held at El Caribe Country Club in Mill Basin, where hundreds of people came on November 7 to celebrate the dedication and accomplishments of 33 of the borough’s most influential and active leaders.

Veteran traffic reporter Debbie DuHaime was also named Star of Stars for her work both on and off-camera. DuHaime is on the board of the New Jersey State Organization of Cystic Fibrosis and the Drug Alliance board, and serves as a mentor and volunteer with various schools and nonprofits.

Raffle ticket sales raised $2,500 for St. Jude Children's Hospital and Sandy Clause, a city nonprofit that donates toys to children who lost their toys in Superstorm Sandy.

Winners of the raffle included Renee Dorsa of Dorsa Group Realty, who won two tickets to Cancun courtesy of Delta Airlines, and an Investors Bank employee who won a mini-Mercedes convertible.

The festivities began with a networking hour with various businesses at expo tables greeting fellow movers and shakers.

Lana Sorochkin, vice president and Sheepshead Bay branch manager of the banking division at Astoria Federal Savings Bank, described the intimacy of the event as “a great way to network and meet new folks,” particularly as Astoria is a “personal bank that focuses on relationship building.”

Daniel Rodriguez, aka The Singing Policeman, kicked off the award ceremony with a rendition of “God Bless America.”

“It was an honor to recognize such outstanding Brooklyn-based business and community leaders,” said Joshua Schneps, co-publisher of Schneps Communications. “The honorees represent a diverse group of individuals from all walks of the borough. We love bringing people together in a room, not just to recognize them, but to also introduce them to one another in order to develop lasting relationships. It’s also great to keep business in Brooklyn.”

Being named a King of Kings “means being recognized by my fellow peers,” explained Jeff Mann, president of the Greenpoint Chamber of Commerce. “These are people I’ve always looked up to and it’s great to be honored with them.”

“Brooklyn has been my childhood, my life, my playground, and my passion,” said honoree James McHugh, group director and senior vice president at Signature Bank, and chairperson of St. Anselm Catholic Academy. “I grew up in Bay Ridge and was raised to be part of the community, parish and school. [Events like this will] hopefully lead to making new friends and contacts, who can work together to make the community better.”

Another way that Kings of Kings County positively impact the community is by being a role model, leading by example. That is exactly what honoree Dr. Stephen Samuel Carryl, chair of surgery at Wyckoff Medical Center, is, said his colleague and former intern Dr. Brian Hall.

“I was one of his first [graduating] classes at Brooklyn Hospital and as a young surgeon, I was guided from being an intern to a resident,” said Hall, who also noted that Carryl regularly provides free surgical care to people in Haiti, Guyana and elsewhere. “Everything I learned is basically from him. To be a good surgeon, you must have a good mentor. Now, seeing him be recognized and appreciated by people warms your heart.”

The event was sponsored by Mercedes Benz of Brooklyn, Investors Bank, TD Bank, Astoria Federal Bank, Flushing Bank, Healthfirst, Citibank and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center.