GLBPA salutes Margaret Toohey: 2004 Business Person of the Year

by Sandy Hays-Mies, Executive Director, GLBPA
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, May 29, 2004

As part of its recognition of area business and community members for this year's Celebration of Greater Lewiston Gala -- "The River Region" -- Sunday, June 6 at the Niagara Falls Country Club, the GLBPA continues its profiles on the 2004 honorees.

In today's Sentinel, we recognize the efforts of Margaret Toohey of The Lewiston Insurance Agency, honored as GLBPA's 2004 Business Person of the Year .

A dynamic community can always point to certain individuals who accept some measure of responsibility for the community's shared concerns.

Margy Toohey has accepted way more than her share of such responsibility. In fact, if you scratch the surface of our organization, you will find systems that a have been put in place by a true leader with the ability to envision success. Margy is president of The Lewiston Insurance Agency. She has served the association for over 10 years, working on nearly every GLBPA committee.

For five of those years, she served as our president.

Because of Margy's foresight and creativity, the GLBPA is a highly visible, effective, full-service, financially sound personalized Chamber of Commerce that serves its ever-growing membership and the entire community through its staff and programs. It was her vision that shaped the associationís decision to take over the administration of the health insurance for the membership, resulting in a steady stream of income and the ability to now offer eight different health insurance options for small businesses.

In addition to the time that she has spent working for the GLBPA, she has also dedicated countless hours to the community. She currently serves on the Niagara County Commission on the Status of Women; the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center board; chair of the hospital's community outreach Alliance and the American Lung Association.

Margy also has served on the village of Lewiston Zoning Board, the Joseph Davis Golf Course Committee, and the Modern Committee for the town of Lewiston. She has served as a volunteer for the Porter Cup, is a graduate of leadership Niagara, and she and her husband, Tim, chaired the Niagara University Scholarship Ball. In additio she chaired the Small Business Division of the United Way's Fund Drive and assisted the GLBPA in securing the Sharing Cup Award. In her spare time, she co-authors "The Foodies," a column in Buffalo Spree magazine, and serves as an elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Youngstown.

The GLBPA has truly benefited from Margy's many years of experience and her understanding of both the business and civic communities of Lewiston.

In thanking her for taking on this responsibility, we must also recognize the sacrifice and support that she receives from her staff at the Lewiston Insurance Agency, her husband and their three children.