MONTICELLO, NY — Steve Dubrovsky, founder of the Chapin Estate and president of Chapin Construction, LLC will be honored as the 2024 Walter A. Rhulen Award recipient at the annual meeting of the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development.

The meeting will be held on October 3 at Resorts World Catskills.

The Partnership will also recognize George Kinne, CEO of Jeff Bank,  as its Distinguished Service Award winner.

The Walter A. Rhulen Award recognizes an individual or individuals for business excellence, community commitment, and service to humanity. Longtime Sullivan County business owner and former rodeo star, Dubrovsky founded his company in 1985 as Chapin Construction. In 1998, he and his partners purchased 5,600 acres of land formerly owned by NYC railroad magnate Chester Chapin and called it the Chapin Estate.

To market the project they advertised it as an environmentally sensitive gated community on 2,500 acres surrounded by forever wild forests and boating reservoirs. 

Dubrovsky  became the face of the project, selling lots ranging from 5-40 acres and building over 150 handcrafted retreats ranging in price from $500,000 to $16 million.

“With Steve and his cowboy charm at the helm, Chapin Estate has had an extraordinarily positive financial impact on Sullivan County, accounting for millions of dollars in economic growth, including jobs in the construction and trades fields local spending by second and primary homeowners from Chapin Estate,” said Karen Fisher, Partnership board chair.

The project was instrumental in pioneering the Sullivan Catskills as a high-end travel destination and a location for luxury living, a Partnership spokesperson wrote. It helped attract the Dream Hotel Group (now the Hyatt Hotels Corporation) to the Chapin Estate. Steve helped the company design and build the Chatwal Lodge.

Distinguished Service Award recipient George Kinne has served on the board of directors for 18 years. He has served on several committees, most notably the finance and the revolving loan committees.

Jeff Bank has been a valued partnership member since its founding 30 years ago, the spokesperson wrote.  “George has provided service to the Partnership with the utmost integrity and professionalism, always with an eye toward the Partnership’s mission to promote investment and job creation for the betterment of Sullivan County businesses and the economy,” said Marc Baez, president/CEO of the Partnership. “George represents a growing population of home-grown professionals that have come back home to Sullivan County, bringing with them their community commitment and expertise to help Sullivan County continue to grow and prosper.”

The annual meeting will be held on Thursday, October 3 at Resorts World Catskills from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. To RSVP or to become a sponsor, call 845/794-1110 or email Jen Cassaro at cassaro.jen@scpartnership.com.

To learn more about the Partnership for Economic Development, visit www.scpartnership.com.