The Alcott Group President Louis Basso Inducted into New York Business Hall of Fame “Class of 2006”

Farmingdale and Buffalo, NY…

Louis Basso, president and co-founder of The Alcott Group (Farmingdale and Buffalo, NY), a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) providing Human Resources outsourcing services, was recently honored as one of the first inductees into the New York Business Hall of Fame. He, along with James E. Hammer, president and CEO of Hammer Packaging (West Henrietta, NY), were the business leaders inducted into the inaugural class. They were joined by two business inductees: Guide Communications (Brewster, NY) and SeaComm Federal Credit Union (Massena, NY). For Mr. Basso, this honor follows other which recognized his leadership in business, particularly as an advocate for small businesses and increased standards for his own industry.

In 1999, Mr. Basso earned the National Association of Professional Employer Organization's (NAPEO's) prestigious "Michaeline A. Doyle Award" in recognition of his consistent PEO industry leadership on both the local and national levels. In 2000, the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), the nation's primary advocacy group for small businesses honored him with its "Small Business Advocate of the Year" and a few years later, he received the NFIB's "Small Business Champion" award which recognizes 50 individuals - one from each state - who have distinguished themselves through their involvement and participation in NFIB programs and activities that promote the issues of importance to small businesses.

Along with the honors, Mr. Basso's leadership has been evident in the numerous roles he has held, including: NAPEO Vice President, President-Elect, President, Chairman of the NAPEO Federal Legislation Committee' active member of the NAPEO Board of Directors and the Employers Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC), whose certification seal is to the PEO industry what the FDIC is to banking; President of the New York Chapter of NAPEO; and former member of former Governor George E. Pataki's Workers' Compensation Special Funds Study Commission.

He, along with his partner, Barry Shorten, executive vice president of Alcott, have led the company to the top of its field to become one of "Long Island's Top 50 Privately-Owned Companies," a distinction Alcott has held for several consecutive years, as well as one of the region's "25 Fastest-Growing Companies," a placement it has also held for consecutive years, and ranked among KPMG LLP's "Top 50" list, Crain's New York Business' list of  the "New York area's Largest Privately-Held Employers." Mr. Basso and Mr. Shorten both were also named finalists in Ernst & Young's "Entrepreneur of the Year" competition in 2000.

On the community front, Mr. Basso is a staunch supporter of The Leukemia Lymphoma Foundation and an active participant in its "Team in Training" campaign which raises funds on behalf of the organization. He has been a "Team in Training" tri-athlete, Mentor Captain and is now, a Coach. He personally has raised $25,000 on behalf of the organization and continues to raise funds in this campaign for which he and his wife, Diane, remain actively involved.

Mr. and Mrs. Basso reside in Smithtown and have two grown children.