“Heroes” in mythology are endowed with great courage and strength; they are celebrated for their bold exploits. “Heroes” can also be people who risk or sacrifice their lives. My heroes are those entrepreneurs noted for building thriving regional corporations and for nurturing our communities through their generosity of time, treasure, and talent.

Communities grow and prosper in large measure because their business leaders recognize that each generation serves as a building block for the next. Our predecessors handed this generation a heritage, a shared meaning of something beyond just the material — a special spirit. It’s our responsibility to expand and pass this legacy on to those who follow in our paths.

That’s why The Business Journal created the Legacy Awards — to recognize our inheritance and to honor those who keep the spirit alive. This year, we recognize a half-dozen, area titans of industry: Bill Pomeroy of CXtec and TERACAI; Frank Berrish, recently retired CEO of Visions FCU; Frank Giotto, the CEO of Giotto Enterprises, a complex of 10 companies; Jay Bernhardt, CEO of JGB Enterprises; Norm Swanson, CEO of the Woodbine Group; and Terry Wood, the CEO of Willow Run Foods Inc.

These six companies employ nearly 2,000 people, generate about $1 billion in annual revenue, and own or lease about 2.7 million square feet of space. Three are manufacturers/distributors of products including communications and networking gear, hoses and couplings, and fiber optics. One is in financial services; another in the development of commercial real-estate, warehousing, and hospitality; and the last is a food distributor. Three are headquartered in the Syracuse area, two in Greater Binghamton, and one in the Mohawk Valley.

All six heroes are active in their respective communities. They are enriching their communities and making all of our lives better. As one so aptly put it: “I’m not just developing a business; I’m developing people.”

Please join us Dec. 5 at the Museum of Science and Technology (MOST) in Syracuse to recognize these Legacy honorees for their accomplishments. Together, we can pass our heritage to the next generation to keep the legacy alive.

Norman Poltenson is publisher of The Central New York Business Journal. Contact him at npoltenson@cnybj.com

This no doubt happened to you at points in your life. My guess is that it left a bitter taste. Something similar is leaving that bitter taste with millions of Americans today.

It happened to me when I was a young executive with a small manufacturer in upstate New York. The owner promised me a bonus — 15 percent of any profits the company made. To the owner, it was a painless promise, because the company had made no profits for years, and he expected little or no profits in the future.

Ah, but circumstances and good work lifted the company into the black. Within a few years, we notched huge profits. The 15 percent bonus grew accordingly. Alas, the owner could not bear to see me make so much. So, he cut the bonus — first to 10 percent, and then to 5 percent.

I knew the owner for another 30 years — and never trusted him again. It was as if he had stenciled “Deceiver” onto his forehead.

Our president made solemn promises about his health-care law. Obama promised Americans they would not lose their health-insurance policies. They are losing them. By the millions. One study estimates 50 million may lose their policies.

The president promised Americans their insurance costs would go down. For millions, those costs are shooting up.

Obama promised Americans they could keep their doctors. In many cases, they cannot.

Regarding all these promises, some say the president lied. And some say he misled. The New York Times said in an editorial that Obama misspoke. There are videos of about 35 occasions when the president made promises, such as: “If you like your health-care plan, you can keep you health-care plan.” That makes for a helluva lot of misspeaking.

The president’s supporters now say the cancelled policies were inferior, with some using the term “junk insurance” to describe the policies. They deserved to be cancelled. Obama says something similar. He also says that what he meant to promise was not exactly what he did promise. His supporters make similar claims.

Millions of Americans are left with that bitter taste. Why? Because they feel their president and various leaders deceived them. They know what was promised. And now they learn that what their leaders promised is not what they delivered.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s flunkies cannot re-package this into something more palatable. Deception is deception is deception.

The president’s defenders spin any number of excuses for it. The point is that he and his cohorts and lawmakers promised various things. What they delivered did not live up to the promises.

The owner of my company promised something. What he delivered fell short of his promises. He made various excuses for this. His wife and co-owner backed him up. I did not buy it then. I don’t buy it now. He deceived. He is in the ground now. “Deceiver” remains stenciled on his forehead.

Americans tend to remember deceptions. They maintain a little Hall of Shame in their minds. On the walls are plaques. One of them reads: “Read my lips. No new taxes. — George Bush I.” 

Another reads: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman. — Bill Clinton. And: “I am not a crook.” — Richard Nixon. 

No matter what he says now, President Obama’s promises have been inducted into the Hall of Shame for many: “If you like your health insurance, you can keep your health insurance. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” — Barack Obama.

From Tom…as in Morgan.

Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home near Oneonta, in addition to his radio shows and new TV show. For more information about him, visit his website at www.tomasinmorgan.com