The Greater Pascack Valley Chamber of Commerce (GPVCOC) has selected Bill McLaughlin and Scott Laughton as Citizens of the Year for 2021.
The GPVCOC 2021 Citizens of the Year Awards Dinner, honoring the recipients for their selfless contributions to the Pascack Valley area is set for October 14th and you're invited! More details will be available soon.
Scott Laughton
Laughton was born in California; his parents, Mary and David, moved the family to Park Ridge when he was very young. Scott grew up in Park Ridge with his brother, Bruce, and sister, Kimberly, who also still love in the Pascack Valley area.
He attended the Park Ridge schools and graduated from Park Ridge High School in 1987 and attained the rank of Eagle Scout from BSA Troop 80 of Park Ridge.
After a year in college, Laughton decided that he needed direction, so he joined the U.S. Army. He is a two-tour vertain of the Persian Gulf War.
After the Army, Laughton worked as a police officer for 25 years. During his final years with the police department, Laughton decided to return to college and in 2016, earned a degree in nursing from Bergen Community College.
Upon retirement from the Park Ridge Police Department in 2019, he embarked on a new career path as a registered nurse, joining Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck in December 2019.
Then, COVID-19 became a global pandemic and Laughton continued his frontline work. Due to his background and training in dealing with crises, he was made the charge nurse of the COVID unit day shift.
Laughton resides in Ramsey and is the father of two teen boys: Andrew, 16, is a wrestler at Ramsey High School. Finlay, 13, as a middle school lacrosse player.
Bill McLaughlin
McLaughlin is very active in support several area non-profit organizations. A Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation Board Trustee, his is a founder and the chairman of the board for The Jillian Fund.
He has served as chair or committee member, responsible for raising funds and awareness, for Christian Health Care Center, Tackle Kids Cancer, Westchester Hospice, Girl Scout Heart of the Hudson, and United Hospice of Rockland County.
McLaughlin is the Chief Customer Officer for Thrive Networks, a NexGen managed services company. Prior to Thrive, he held several leadership positions in the managed services space including SVP of Kaseya, a global software provider, and EVP and CTO at Atlantic, Tomorrow's Office.