ACG New York, the New York area’s leading association of deal-making professionals, and its executive Lou Halstead, a resident of Fairfield, CT, have been recognized for excellence by the Association for Corporate Growth, a global organization based in Chicago with 58 chapters and 14,500 members.

ACG New York was named Chapter of the Year among the Association’s chapters largest in size. Based in Manhattan, ACG New York is the Association’s founding chapter, dating back to 1954, and is also its largest chapter, with over 1,000 members.

The annual award reflects membership growth and retention and programming quality. “The chapters receiving this recognition have not only achieved exemplary results through membership growth and retention, but have also introduced new and innovative programming to help keep their membership engaged and involved,” said Charles J. Morton, Jr., a partner in the law firm Venable LLC and ACG Chairman of the Board.

“ACG New York holds over 70 events a year across New York City and beyond — from industry-specific conferences focused on verticals like healthcare and manufacturing, corporate-only networking events and ski retreats — there is something for every middle-market dealmaker,” the Association said in announcing the award. It added, “Outside of their events, ACG New York also recently formed ACG New York Cares, an affiliated non-profit organization created to give back to the local community. ACG New York is ACG’s largest chapter, with membership growing by 15% in the last year alone.”

Halstead was selected as the recipient of the ACG President’s Award for Excellence and Achievement by an ACG Chapter Executive. Given annually to a single ACG chapter executive, the award recognizes dedication to ACG over a long period of time coupled with outstanding performance as an association professional.

“Ms. Halstead has served ACG since 2004 and has become a mentor and advisor to many other chapter executives. She has played a key role in the significant growth and success of ACG New York in recent years,” the Association said.

“Lou is the consummate association professional who puts in long hours and makes running our expanding and demanding organization look easy,” said Robert M. (Bobby) Blumenfeld, ACG New York executive director. “It is a pleasure to work with her.”