Cathy Newell

Judge Cathy newell, president and CEO of Mohawk Ltd., found serving as an Accent on Excellence judge to be a “wonderful” experience.

“All the judges were great and it was wonderful to read all the great things people in the community are doing,” she said.

No stranger to excellence, Newell, who also owns the Village Toy Shop in New Hartford, has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the 1997 businessperson of the year award from the U.S. Small Business Association.

Newell also was named American Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year for 2000 and the Entrepreneur of the Year for Upstate New York by Inc. magazine in 1995. Additionally, she received the YWCA’s Salute to Outstanding Women in Business and Industry Award in 1997, among other awards.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Newell has volunteered with Catholic Charities, the United Way and the Red Cross. She also is an Oneida County EDGE board member.

A native of the Mohawk Valley, Newell is married to Richard Walters. They have a 4-year-old son named Blake.

Debra Altdoerffer

Judge Debra Altdoerffer said choosing the winners of the Accent on Excellence was a difficult decision.

“It’s impressive to see how many excellent people we have in this community,” she said. “It was difficult to judge, but an opportunity to highlight all the shining stars we have in this community.”

Altdoerffer is vice president of communications and development at Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare. She has been with the organization since 1992.

A Colorado native, Altdoerffer is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder. She moved to Central New York in 1985.

She is one of the founding members of the Leadership Mohawk Valley program and a past board member of the YWCA. Altdoerffer is past president of the board of directors of LMV, Mohawk Valley Advertising Club and Small Business Council of the Utica Area Chamber of Commerce.

Altdoerffer also has served on the Grants Committee for the Community Foundation. She received an award from the YWCA — Salute to Outstanding Women in Communications — and was named Ad Person of the Year by the Mohawk Valley Ad Club in 1994.

Frederick H. Hager

Frederick H. “Fritz” Hager is chairman and CEO of HMQ Metal Finishing Group. The company was founded by his great, great grandfather in 1871.

“I had a great time looking over the resumes of all these interesting and accomplished people,” Hager said of his experience judging this year’s Accent on Excellence. “There is a wealth of leadership in this community and that’s what this area needs to develop.”

Born in 1957, Hager began his career at HMQ Metal in 1987 as vice president of marketing and finance. Prior to that he worked at Midway Airlines Inc. in Chicago as director of planning from 1986 to 1987.

He also worked at Empire Airlines Inc. of Utica/Rome from 1979 to 1984 where he held several positions, including vice president of sales and public relations.

Hager graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., in 1975. He received a bachelor’s degree from Vassar in 1979 and a master’s degree in finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1986.

Additionally, Hager is a board member of ECR International Inc. in Utica, Commercial Travelers Mutual Insurance Co. in Utica, The Antique Boat Museum in Clayton and a former board member and past president of Leadership Mohawk Valley in Utica.

He also is a certified electroplater/finisher and a member of the American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers Society. A resident of Clinton, he is married with two children.

Greeley Ford

Greeley Ford is the real estate project manager for the engineering department at Cingular Wireless.

He is one of the eight original employees of the local company, which formerly was Cellular One. He has held several management positions since joining Cingular. Ford has been the real estate project manager since 1988.

A graduate of Utica College with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications and dramatic arts, Ford is a native of Asbury Park, N.J., and has lived in the Mohawk Valley since 1973.

In addition to his work at Cingular, Ford is a contributing columnist for the Observer-Dispatch and the founder and co-leader of the band Classified, which recently opened for K.C. and the Sunshine Band at Harborfest 2001 in Oswego and played two performances at the New York State Fair in Syracuse. The band was voted No. 1 by readers of the O-D two years in a row.

Ford previously played in the band, Mr. Ed, as well as the Todd Hobin Band, which toured with the Beach Boys and the Kinks, among others.

He said being an Accent on Excellence judge was a great experience.

“It was a validation of what I already knew, that there is a lot of incredibly talented people who choose to live and work here in the Mohawk Valley,” he said.

Ford, 46, lives in Lee Center with his wife Lynda, who also is a contributing columnist for the O-D. They have two sons.

Kathleen Davis

Kathleen Davis is principal of Hart’s Hill Elementary School in Whitesboro. She has been an administrator there for 11 years.

Davis said she was moved while reading the applications of those nominated for Accent on Excellence.

“I was amazed to see the level of care and concern that local people have for each other,” she said. “It was certainly a motivator. It makes you reflect on your own life when you see what others are doing. Some of them made you cry. It was just that powerful.”

Davis is a member of the School Administrators Association of New York State, the Association for Curriculum Development, the Whitesboro Administrative Organization, and Phi Delta Kappa International.

Davis studied at several New York State universities, including SUNY Cortland and SUNY Oswego. She has a number of scholastic degrees including a bachelor’s degree in early childhood, a master’s degree in curriculum and a certificate of advanced study in administration. Davis is pursuing a doctorate degree.

A native of Rome, she and her husband, Earl, live in Whitesboro.

Paul Drejza

Paul Drejza is president of Leatherstocking Abstract & Title Corp. in Utica, which he founded in 1996. He was an Accent on Excellence winner last year.

Serving as an Accent judge gave Drejza a whole different perspective on the quality young people living in the Mohawk Valley, he said.

“It’s amazing to see what these people do,” he said. “Not only should the winners be proud of what they’ve achieved and keep doing what they’re doing, but all the nominees should be proud because it was a difficult decision. ... The future of this community is in pretty good hands.”

Drejza grew up in West Utica and attended Marist College in Poughkeepsie.

He is a volunteer of the American Heart Association and was chairman of its Circle of Presidents for the past four years.

He also is chairman of the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce, a member of the board of directors of Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare, and a member of the Genesis Group.

Drejza, 39, lives in Clinton with his wife, Melissa, and their three children, Garrett, 6, Lauren, 3, and Jack, 10 months.