NEW HAVEN – Mark G. Sklarz of New Haven and Carlton L. Highsmith of Middlebury will be honored at the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) 2014 Greater New Haven Torch of Liberty Award Reception, at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13, in Woodbridge. Also at the reception, Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent In Charge of the FBI New Haven Field Office, will officially present the ADL Connecticut Regional Office with the 2013 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award at the reception.

The Torch of Liberty Award is presented annually to outstanding citizens and corporations whose extraordinary work has helped to strengthen the Greater New Haven community.

Mark Sklarz

Mark G. Sklarz is a partner in the Corporate and Business Law Department of Day Pitney LLP’s New Haven office. He is chair and past president of the Board of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, president of First City Fund Corporation, past president of Congregation Mishkan Israel, a member of the Board of Trustees and past chair of the Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven, past president of the Jewish Community Center of Greater New Haven, and a past member of the Board of Trustees of Hopkins School. Sklarz is also an active member of the New Haven County and Connecticut Bar Associations (CBA). He is vice chair of the Business Law section of the CBA and a member of the Tax Section of the CBA. He was a longtime member of the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee and a member of the Business Taxation, Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Sections of the American Bar Association. Sklarz lives in New Haven with his wife, Judy. They have two married sons and two grandchildren.

Carlton Highsmith

Carlton L. Highsmith is a corporate executive-turned-entrepreneur, founding Specialized Packaging Group (SPG) in New Haven in 1983. In 2009, after growing into a 600-employee company with 11 locations throughout North America, SPG merged with PaperWorks Industries to form SPG PaperWorks Inc., where Highsmith served as vice chairman of the Board until his retirement in 2010. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of First Niagara Bank, the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology, and the National Center for Arts and Technology. He is vice chair of Quinnipiac University’s Board of Trustees, a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s New England Community Economic Advisory Council, co-chairman of the Career Advancement Committee of the Connecticut Employment and Training Commission, and a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics. Highsmith lives in Middlebury with his wife, Leta. They have two daughters and one grandchild.

For more information on the ADL Torch of Liberty Award Reception, contact Janet Magid at (203) 288-6500 x313 or jmagid@adl.org.