Last year’s 25th annual Lehigh Valley March of Dimes Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Awards was held at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks on Nov. 2.

Sponsorships are still available for the upcoming 26th Annual Lehigh Valley March of Dimes Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Awards.

The event, which has raised $1.5 million for the March of Dimes over the last 25 years, will be held on November 1, 2019, at the Musikfest Café at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

Questions about sponsorships can be directed to Rose Anema, March of Dimes Development Director for Northeast PA Market, at RAnema@marchofdimes.org or (610) 814-7008.

Each year, the event presents awards for Individual of the Year and Project of the Year, and this year’s honorees have just been announced.

Scott Fainor, community leader and former bank executive, will be the 2019 Individual of the Year. Projects of the year will go to The Gateway at Greenway Park in Bethlehem, and Madison Farms, a commercial and residential community in Bethlehem Township.

The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) will serve as the event’s video sponsor for the second consecutive year. Last year, the Project of the Year award went to Lehigh Valley’s overall manufacturing sector, and LVEDC’s sponsorship supported the creation of this video:

Colin McEvoy, LVEDC Director of Communications, serves on the Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Awards committee, which was formed in 1993 by commercial and industrial real estate professionals in the Lehigh Valley, some of whom still serve.

The event has grown from approximately 175 attendees to a sold-out crowd of nearly 500 comprised of realtors, bankers, architects, engineers, construction professionals and others in the real estate community.

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. Last year’s event alone raised $95,000.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide, March of Dimes helps mothers reach full-term pregnancies and research the problems that threaten the health of babies.