On November 3 at 6 PM, BNT hosted its BNT Annual Benefit – Putting Housing First at the Great River Golf Club in Milford. The annual event raises support for the housing and counseling work BNT provides by showcasing the achievements of the organization with the greater CT housing community and BNT’s generous partners. It is also BNT’s largest networking event of funders, local and state elected officials, real estate professionals, and community nonprofit leaders serving families across Connecticut. There were over 200 attendees. A short video of the event can be seen below.
The evening started with Chip Parrish, BNT Board President, introducing Doris Latorre, BNT’s CEO. Following Doris’ introduction, the event continued with welcoming remarks by Senator Richard Blumenthal, who also presented the awardees with a certificate of recognition from the U.S. Senate, followed by videos from State Representative Jim Himes, and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim. As the keynote speaker and recipient of BNT’s Housing Leadership Award, Nandini Natarajan, CEO of Connecticut Housing Finance Authority said “we need to reframe the way we talk about investing in our community for impact” and reminded everyone how transformational affordable housing can be for generations to come. Terence Floyd, BNT Board member and Vice President/Senior Social Impact Specialist at Wells Fargo, and Franklyn D. Reynolds, President & CEO of UIL Holdings, served as BNT’s Community Impact awardees. Terry spoke about the importance of homeownership to building a family, and Frank said “I truly believe that home is where dreams are made of”, and commended BNT for all the work it does every day.
BNT is very grateful to its sponsors, which included its Diamond Sponsor, Wells Fargo; Gold Sponsors, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co., M&T Bank, Shelter powered by Keller Williams; Silver Sponsors, Avangrid, BNY Mellon, Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, Fairfield County Bank, Elizabeth & Joseph Massoud Family Foundation, TD Bank, Webster Bank; and Bronze Sponsors, Bridgeport Landing Development, First County Bank, and Norcom Mortgage.
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