The New England Council Announces its 2008 "New Englander of the Year" Awards

Business Wire, Sept 10, 2008

BOSTON -- The New England Council's Board of Directors unanimously voted to present the 2008 "New Englander of the Year" awards to Boston College Chancellor Reverend J. Donald Monan, S.J., Massachusetts Congressman Richard E. Neal, and CVS Caremark Corporation Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas M. Ryan. The awards will be presented at the Council's Annual Dinner on October 7, 2008 at the Seaport Hotel/World Trade Center in Boston.

More than 1,200 people from around the region are expected to attend. The New England Council is the nation's oldest regional business organization.

Rosalin Acosta, Executive Vice President & Managing Director of Wealth Management and Private Banking at Sovereign Bank and member of the Council's Board of Directors is this year's dinner chair.

Each year, the Council selects individuals to receive "New Englander of the Year" awards based on their commitment and contributions in their fields of work and leadership and impact on the region's quality of life and economy.

"We are pleased to honor these outstanding recipients," said Council President James T. Brett. "From business and higher education to public service, these honorees are some of the most influential champions of the region whose contributions are making dynamic changes in the region's landscape."

After serving 24 years as President of Boston College, the longest presidential tenure in the College's history, J. Donald Monan, S.J. assumed the newly created post of Chancellor in August of 1996. Prior to joining Boston College in August of 1972, Father Monan held positions as Philosophy Professor, Academic Dean and Vice President at Le Moyne College in New York. Father Monan entered the Society of Jesus in 1942 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1955. He holds his doctoral degree from the University of Louvain in Belgium. He also conducted postdoctoral research at Oxford, Paris, and Munich. He has received more than a dozen honorary doctoral degrees from institutions ranging from Harvard and Boston College to the National University of Ireland.

Richard E. Neal was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1988. He represents the Second District of Massachusetts, which includes cities and towns in western and central Massachusetts. He is a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee and the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures. Congressman Neal is the lead sponsor of legislation to prevent American companies from moving offshore to avoid paying U.S. taxes. He continues to lead the effort to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax, has sponsored legislation that would increase the national savings rate by encouraging the use of individual retirement accounts, and has worked to make health care and tuition expenses tax deductible for middle class people.

Thomas M. Ryan joined CVS/pharmacy as a pharmacist upon graduating from the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy in 1974. Over his tenure spanning more than three decades, he has held numerous managerial and professional positions in the company and was Chairman, President and CEO of CVS/pharmacy from 1994 until the CVS/Caremark merger was completed in March 2007. Mr. Ryan assumed the additional title of Chairman in November 2007. CVS Caremark is the largest provider of prescriptions and related health care services in the nation. Born in New Jersey, Ryan lives in Rhode Island with his wife, Cathy. They have four grown children.

For reservations and more information about the Annual Dinner, call 617-723-4009.

The New England Council is an alliance of large and small companies, educational institutions, nonprofit and other agencies dedicated to promoting economic development and a high quality of life in the six-state region.