In what’s already been a historic year for New Jersey legal weed after the doors opened to consumers April 21, business insiders celebrated achievements in the industry at the first-ever Garden State cannabis awards gala Thursday night.
NJ Cannabis Insider, a trade journal and events group that is part of the NJ Advance Media newsroom, hosted the upscale event for some the state’s most prominent business and policy leaders at a transformed Carteret Performing Arts Center.
Enrique Lavin, NJ Cannabis Insider publisher and editor, hosted the awards banquet, which featured a live band under a stylized canopy of light and stage fog. Some 200 insiders, including guests who came from as far as Colorado and Texas, showed off their style and fashion in contrast to business or casual attire typical at most industry events across the country.
Winners in 12 categories, including four Publisher’s Choice awards, were handed a statuette called The Canny to recognized their achievements in the cannabis space. They were:
- CannaCoverage, an insurance company owned by Nichelle Santos, for Minority Business of the Year.
- NJ Cannabis Certified, Sarah Trent, for Women-owned Business of the Year.
- Sapphire Risk Advisory Group and CEO Tony Gallo, for Excellence in Consultancy and Professional Services.
- Cova, a point of sale software company and CEO Gary Cohen, for Excellence in Innovation.
- Hiller, PC, and firm partner Lauren Rudick, for Excellence in Cannabis Law.
- Trichome Analytical, a cannabis testing lab and CEO Kristen Goedde, for Excellence in Healthcare and Life Sciences.
- 420NJEvents, a minority advocacy group helmed by Brendon Robinson and Stan Okoro, for Excellence in Social Equity.
- And Hance Construction and CEO Art Hance, for Excellence in Commercial Building Operations. Hance Construction was also named Founding Sponsor for its support of NJ Cannabis Insider since its inception in 2018.
(For the full list of nominees, go here.)
Earlier in the evening, presenters Amol Sinha from the American Civil Liberty Union-New Jersey, Dr. David Nathan from Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, Trent of NJ Cannabis Certified, and Faye Coleman of Pure Genesis presented the inaugural winners of the Publisher’s Choice award in four categories:
- Lifetime Achievement went to Bill Caruso, an attorney and lobbyist with Archer & Greiner, P.C. and Archer Public Affairs.
- Ambassador of the Year went to Edmund DeVeaux, president of the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association and a lobbyist at Burton Trent.
- Community Game Changer of the Year went to Jessica F. Gonzalez, an attorney at Hiller PC and general counsel at Minorities for Medical Marijuana.
- Excellence in Education went to Rob Mejia, an author, entrepreneur and adjunct professor at Stockton University.
Sponsors supporting the event included: Genova Burns, Cova, Ascend, Cannabist, Treez and the Minority Cannabis Academy, which sponsored the night’s afterparty.
In April the cannabis industry voted who should be recognized as the best in their categories. Six finalists were narrowed down to three, with the ultimate winner announced at the NJ Cannabis Insider 2022 Awards gala.
Look out for more coverage in the coming days.
NJ Cannabis Insider is a weekly subscriber-based online trade journal and events group produced by NJ Advance Media, which also publishes NJ.com, The Star-Ledger and other affiliated papers. Are you interested in the N.J. cannabis industry? Subscribe here for insider exclusives. Follow us on LinkedIn. Contact us here.
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June 11, 2022 at 05:57AM
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Complete list of winners of first-ever N.J. cannabis industry awards - NJ.com
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