Kushner's son, Jonathan, president of KRE Group, introduced Ladell to present the award to his father.

“Many people know what it means to be in a family business, but I've always felt lucky to work with my father, because he doesn't conduct our business the way most families do,” he said. “Despite his role as our chairman, our leader, and our father, he is open-minded, detail-oriented, fair, respectful, humble, and modern.”

In accepting the award, Kushner joked about New Jersey's notorious traffic, saying, “I only had to leave Bridgewater on Monday to be here tonight.”

Kushner noted that his parents came to the US as Holocaust survivors in 1949, and their hard work taught him important life lessons that guided his business career.

“Not only did they rebuild their lives and their families from the ashes of World War II, but as partners in life they built a remarkable business and set an incredible example for me to follow,” he says. “From my mother I learned the three 'Ps,' perspective, persistence, and patience. From my father I learned humility, integrity, and character. One needs a little ability and much confidence to be successful in life, but as my parents instilled in me, never lose sight of these other characteristics to be truly successful and to be a leader.”

Hughes is a nationally recognized academic expert on demographics, housing, and regional economics, and frequently provides his insights on New Jersey commercial real estate in interviews with GlobeSt.com.

“Receiving the Service to the Industry Award is a great honor to me, particularly since the roster of past awardees is particularly impressive,” Hughes says. Previous awardees were Caren Franzini, formerly CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Ted Zangari Esq., attorney with Sills Cummis & Gross; and Donald Moliver, dean of the Leon Hess Business School at Monmouth University.

You can watch a video news report on the dinner in the player below.