The Buffalo Bills Alumni Association presented the 3rd Annual Buffalo Bills Alumni Citizen of the Year Award to Amherst Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Colleen C. DiPirro.

Colleen was the first President of the WNY Chamber Alliance; an organization for Chamber Executives serving an 8 county region. She was identified as one of the top 100 most influential people in Western New York by Business First. Colleen was the first woman honored as the Executive of the Year by the Buffalo Sales and Marketing Executives, an honor she received in 1998. That same year Daemen College named her Citizen of the Year. She received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Business in 1999. She served on the Board of Directors of New York State Chamber of Commerce Executives in 1999. Colleen serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the Buffalo Bills Alumni and was selected by Ralph Wilson, owner of the Buffalo Bills, to serve on the Project 21 initiative. She has served on numerous not for profit and community boards of directors including, WNY Autism Foundation, Hospice Playhouse Project, Executive Women International and the Williamsville Sweet Home Junior Football Association. Additionally, she served as the first Chairman of the University of Buffalo Leadership Development Program. Colleen was appointed to serve on the Peace Bridge Authority by the Governor two years ago and, most recently, appointed to the NYS Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Dr. Andrew Cappuccino, the orthopedic surgeon who treated Buffalo Bills tight end, Kevin Everett, for his cervical spine injury was the 2008 recipient.

Bills owner, Ralph Wilson, was the first recipient of the Buffalo Bills Alumni Association Citizen of the Year Award.