News

February 1, 2007

For Immediate Release

Copper Club's Kennedy To Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

Thomas J. Kennedy High-resolution version of this photo.

NEW YORK ― The Copper Club announced today that Thomas J. Kennedy, its president for the past 25 years, will be given the club's Ankh Award for Lifetime Achievement, for his active leadership in the organization and his contributions to the copper industry over a more than 50-year career.

Awards Committee Chairman Andrew G. Kireta Sr. said Kennedy’s energy, “inspiration and accomplishments helped move The Copper Club to an important role in the copper community. From a re-energizing of the club’s annual gatherings, which foster networking and camaraderie, to the establishment of an educational grants program, the Copper Club Educational Fund, which leads the best and brightest into the copper industry, Tom has shown his great dedication.”

Kennedy, 79, began his copper career with Chemical Bank and Trust after serving as a Marine in the WWII Pacific Theater and majoring in economics at Columbia University in New York.

He later moved to the Mercantile Metal & Ore Company where he worked primarily in hedging operations, a relatively new concept at the time, and then on to Continental Copper and Steel to set up its trading activity. As senior vice president for Continental, he set up successful mining operations in Haiti and Chile and was heavily involved with its wholly owned company, Hatfield Wire and Cable of New Jersey, establishing an in-house rod mill.

Kennedy joined The Copper Club in the early 50s and quickly became involved with several of its committees. That led to an invitation to become a member of the board of directors, and, in 1982, to serve as the club’s president. Kennedy led the way to reformatting the club’s social activities as well as focusing on development of the Educational Fund, which annually provides $10,000 of scholarship assistance to each of four students.

Kennedy will be feted at The Copper Club dinner on February 15 at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel. Information on attending may be found at www.copperclub.org.

The Copper Club was founded in 1944 by members of the Copper Division of the War Production Board. Its membership is international and includes men and women holding position of responsibility in the copper industry. The club’s objectives are to stimulate social contacts, enhance the image of the industry and assist in funding students aspiring to the industry.