Ed Fineran Receives Bruce Lee Service to Silver Spring Award

2024 Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce Awards & Installation Event

On Wednesday, June 26, Atlantech Online president Ed Fineran was recognized with the Bruce H. Lee Memorial Award for Service to Silver Spring. The award was presented during the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce 2024 Awards & Installation Event at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, and those assembled in the audience, including Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, applauded with approval.

Bruce Lee, along with Blair and Brooke Lee, were pillars of the Montgomery County community, and their advocacy for Silver Spring has left a lasting impact. Bruce's absence is profoundly felt since his passing in December 2022, and it is with great respect that we at Atlantech Online and also the GSSCC reflect on his legacy.

Receiving the award was particularly humbling, considering that last year, Jane Redicker, the past president and CEO of the Chamber, was its inaugural recipient. Jane's contributions to Silver Spring and the broader business community are noteworthy, so it is definitely an honor to be mentioned alongside her in the historical record.

Award Presentation by Outgoing Chair Scott Reading of EagleBank

The remarks from outgoing Chairman of the Board Scott Reading of EagleBank read like this:

"The first award is our second Bruce H. Lee Service to Silver Spring award to a person who has contributed to the overall success of Silver Spring as a community. 

The individual selected for this honor doesn’t know that they are being recognized tonight – but they are about to find out. 

The Bruce Lee Service to Silver Spring award is still a bittersweet award for the Chamber to present, but is one small way in which we can honor and memorialize our late friend, Bruce Lee, and the way he devoted himself to the Chamber and the betterment of Silver Spring. Bruce cared about the Silver Spring community, especially the business community. He was the founding force behind the creation of the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce 31 years ago. He was a tireless advocate for Silver Spring and did not shrink from telling unwelcome truths to those in authority. They may not have liked what he said, but Bruce was always “all in” for Silver Spring.

The award honors those who walk the path he forged, by recognizing a person’s cumulative efforts on behalf of Silver Spring. Effort that is based, not on one year or incident, but an extended period of dedication to Silver Spring and its needs.

This year’s recipient is a born and bred Montgomery County native, Northwood High School graduate, who founded and has had their business in Silver Spring since 1995. In the daily running of their business, they have always worked to enhance, protect, and advance the interests of Silver Spring. Through their advocacy for smarter regulations in which businesses can thrive, to being an active part of the commitment the Chamber has made to the overall safety and security of Silver Spring, including help in facilitating the creation of the Silver Spring Safety Alliance, this awardee has had a career that embodies the characteristics that Bruce exemplified. The award itself states this clearly. The award “honors an individual who, through a continuum of effort, embodies the same tireless advocacy; devotion of time, energy and resources; and personal commitment to achieving a better Silver Spring.

Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a welcoming to the stage ED FINERAN, from Atlantech Online who we are honoring with this year’s Bruce Lee Service to Silver Spring Award to recognize his 28 years of investment, commitment and dedication to Silver Spring."

 Bruce H. Lee Service to Silver Spring Award Plaque

The wording on the plaque reads as such:

“Bruce H. Lee Service to Silver Spring Award:  Honoring an individual who, through a continuum of effort, embodies the same tireless advocacy; devotion of time, energy, and resources; and personal commitment to achieving a better Silver Spring. Presented to Ed Fineran”

Final Thoughts and Expressions of Gratitude

Ed would like to extend his heartfelt thanks to Stephanie Helsing, CEO of the Chamber, for her exceptional leadership and for hosting the event. Gratitude also goes to Montgomery County Council Members Evan Glass, Kate Stewart, and Natali Fani-González for their kind words, Commander David McBain and Captain David Reed of MCPD for all of their support and to all the other 2024 awardees for their contributions to our community. A special acknowledgment to Scott Reading, the outgoing Chairperson of the Chamber’s Board, for his announcement of the award and his leadership over the past year.

Finally, congratulations to Juanita Stewart of the Peterson Companies for being installed as FY 25 Chairperson of the Chamber’s Board. We at Atlantech Online are confident she will lead the new board with the energy and the passion that she has exhibited during her time with the Chamber thus far.

About Atlantech Online

Atlantech Online, Inc. is a business-to-business Telephone and Internet Service Provider headquartered in Silver Spring, MD. The company provides high-speed Internet connectivity services, MPLS, and other data networking services, telephone service (SIP Trunking, Hosted PBX, UCaaS, PRI, Analog and even POTS lines), and hosting in its wholly-owned and operated data centers, specializing in server colocation. Atlantech’s multi-terabit per second fiber backbone has the scale to support a wide variety of telecommunications solutions as its customers’ networks evolve.