Nicki Reimart and her 9-year-old twin daughters, Camryn and Lydia, at the 23rd Annual March of Dimes Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Awards. (photo by Scott Stoneback)

About 20 weeks into their pregnancy, Nicki and Matt Reimart learned that their twin daughters were diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. This rare condition, in which identical twins share a placenta, results in abnormal blood vessel connections forming in the placenta, making blood flow unevenly between the babies.

An emergency cesarean section was necessary when Nicki was only 27 weeks pregnant. When Camryn and Lydia were born, they weighed only 1.5 and 2 pounds, requiring two full months of attention in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Fortunately, they survived, and are healthy 9-year-old girls today. Matt Reimart believes the work of the March of Dimes organization was a major part of what allowed their daughters to survive.

“We say all the time that 10 years earlier – certainly 20 years earlier – and they would not be with us, and I think a lot of that is due to the March of Dimes and the work they do,” he said.

The Reimart family, who live in Fogelsville, were featured at the 23rd Annual March of Dimes Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Awards, held Oct. 14 at DeSales University Center in Center Valley.

The event raised a record-high $99,246 this year, and has raised more than $1.1 million since the Lehigh Valley event’s inception in 1994, with proceeds going toward helping improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

“It is through all of your generous support that this record-breaking year was possible,” said Costas Hrousis, chairman of the March of Dimes Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Awards Committee, of which the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) is a member.

Charles Chrin accepted the Project of the Year award on behalf of the Charles Chrin Interchange. (photo by Scott Stoneback)

The event’s honorees this year were the Charles Chrin Interchange, which was recognized as Project of the Year, and David Weinstein of Sunburst Property Management, who won Individual/Organization of the Year.

“In 1981, I started Sunburst Property Management on a very simple premise: provide our customers with superior customer service and surpass industry standards of integrity and fairness,” Weinstein said as he accepted the award.

“After 36 years, our mission remains the same,” he said. “We strive to use Lehigh Valley contractors, suppliers, and vendors because we want to support the community where we live and work, and I urge all of you to do the same. Support the Lehigh Valley and be Lehigh Valley proud.”

Located on Route 33 between the ramps for Routes 248 and 191, the Charles Chrin Interchange first opened to traffic in July, and represents a great opportunity for high visibility development projects and will attract top-tier companies to invest in the Lehigh Valley.

David Weinstein of Sunburst Property Management was awarded Individual/Organization of the Year. (photo by Scott Stoneback)

Made possible by a collaborative effort led by Charles Chrin, the interchange incorporates the region’s strengths in manufacturing and transportation with the mixed-use spaces available in the Chrin Commerce Center. It is expected to create 5,000 new jobs and generate $16 million in tax revenue annually.

“I really can’t believe I’m here today,” Charles Chrin, 91, said as he accepted the award. “Thank you everybody for coming and thank you for this honor. It makes me feel extremely well.”

Funds raised by the Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Awards help support prenatal wellness programs, research grants, neonatal intensive care unit family support programs, and advocacy efforts for mothers and babies.

Today, one in every ten U.S. infants is born premature, according to the organization. The March of Dimes is committed to funding research to find the answers to problems that continue to threaten the lives and health of babies.