Candace McGraw, CEO of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) is the recipient of the 2021 Metropolitan Award, presented by the Metropolitan Club.
Candace McGraw has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) since July 2011. She leads a team that has been recognized by SkyTrax as the “World’s Best Airport Serving Less Than 10 million Passengers” and as the “Best Regional Airport in North America” for seven of the last nine years.
McGraw is very also involved in the airport industry serving as Immediate Past Chair of Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA); Airports Council International-World Board; and the National Aeronautic Association. She has also been appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to serve on two federal advisory boards: NextGen Advisory Committee; and Women in Aviation Advisory Board.
“Candace McGraw is an outstanding recipient of the Metropolitan Award as she has bridged our region through her collaborative professionalism and commitment to a multitude of community efforts,” said Kay Geiger, Regional President for PNC Bank, and the 2017 Metropolitan Award recipient. “Her visionary and innovative leadership has benefited not only local organizations but has brought the world to our region. Candace leads with a sense of purpose combined with an enormous heart for impact. Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will be forever changed by Candace’s attention to strengthening our communities, our organizations and ourselves for decades to come.”
Candace serves on a number of local boards, including Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Chambers of Commerce; Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; Northern Kentucky Tri-ED; Cincinnati Convention and Visitor’s Bureau; and Northern Kentucky Regional Alliance and the Regional Tourism Network. She also serves as a member of Kentucky’s Economic Development Partnership Board. In addition, Candace serves on the Fifth Third Bank Advisory Board.
“Candace exemplifies the meaning of the Metropolitan Award’s core of making significant contributions toward the unification of our community,” said Delores Hargrove-Young, Vice Chairwoman of the Board of d.e. Foxx & Associates, and the 2019 Metropolitan Award recipient. “Her visionary leadership makes it all come together, as she’s a servant leader that is well-respected for her business acumen and her collaborative approach to getting the job done. Candace builds partnerships that create a village, which makes her among the best-in-class in our community.”
Candace has a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Duquesne University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh.
The Metropolitan Award is presented to a citizen in Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky who has exhibited exponential effort toward improving the lives of our citizens, and who has made significant contributions toward the unification of the community. These efforts take place within both the business and social worlds and are indicative of the devotion that the recipient holds towards others.
In addition to Kay Geiger and Delores Hargrove-Young, previous Metropolitan Award honorees include George Vincent, Otto Budig, Jr., Robert Castellini, Patricia Corbett, Victoria Buyniski Gluckman, Judge Nathaniel Jones, William Keating, A.G. Lafley, Ed and Carol Rigaud, and William T. Robinson III.
The 2021 Metropolitan Award Dinner is scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, April 27 at the Metropolitan Club, pending Kentucky’s Healthy At Work restrictions, guidelines and protocols at that time.
Corporate, private entities and individual attendees are invited to attend, and sponsorship opportunities are available; for more information contact Nancy Grayson, Chair, Metropolitan Award Committee, at 859.757.1552 or ngrayson@horizonfunds.org. Reservations are available by calling the club at 859-491-2400 or reception@metropolitanclub.net.
The Metropolitan Club supports local organizations and has contributed more than $1.6 million to several charitable organizations since the Club’s founding in 1991. The Club shares equally seventy percent of its bottom-line results with three not-for-profit associations: Life Learning Center, UpSpring and Be Concerned.
Since its founding, the Metropolitan Club has been Greater Cincinnati’s and Northern Kentucky’s most unique and distinctive business and social club, with a mission of connecting communities in the region through giving back, under the vision of Business Matters, Community Matters and Belonging Matters. The Club recently completed an over half- million-dollar update and renovation. Discover more at MetropolitanClub.net and follow @MetClubCov.
