Richard Welkowitz
- Producer
Richard Welkowitz Founder/Owner/President. Richard began working at County News Agency, Inc., a wholesale distributor of reading materials, in 1962 as a Teamster's laborer while also attending the evening division of Franklin & Marshall College in pursuit of his business degree. By 1972, Richard had obtained 50% ownership of the Agency and increased annual sales from $1,000,000 to more than $17,000,000. The Agency was sold in 1988.
Beginning in 1968, Mr. Welkowitz also became involved in real estate development. To date, he has developed more than 11,000 residential units comprised of apartments, townhouses, semi-detached and single family homes, 10 million square feet of office and flex space, as well as 28 million square feet of commercial, industrial and retail space. His company, Blackford Development, Ltd has been ranked the number one commercial real estate development firm in the Central Pennsylvania region for the past fifteen consecutive years by the Central Penn Business Journal. Richard is a member of the Building Industry Association of Lancaster County, the Pennsylvania Builders Association, the National Association of Homebuilders and the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Since 1990, Mr. Welkowitz has provided millions of dollars in funding for research and development of the Triton Immiscible Liquid Separator and Desalinization technology. Triton specialized in immiscible liquid separation and large scale desalinization of sea water. His funding yielded several worldwide and U.S. patents for the Liquid Separator and Desalinization. He acted as Chairman of the Board of Triton Environmental Corporation until it was sold in 2004. In 2011, Mr. Welkowitz agreed to financially help a group of mathematicians and computer scientists complete ground breaking work in Time Domain Analytics as he saw the viability and usefulness of this work. This advanced system is now coming into its own in the advent of understanding and processing Big Data. Enterprise Content Management Library (ECM Library), a technological firm within content management, asked Mr. Welkowitz to join with them and lead the way to producing an unparalleled system used for the safe keeping and tracking of very large quantities of digital documents and content. He recognized the need for secure and safe keeping of corporate as well as government documents, especially where sensitivity is pronounced.
Over the years, Mr. Welkowitz has been the recipient of numerous awards, both industry related and humanitarian. Those most recently received are as follows: . February 2016 Welkowitz, through Blackford, was named the largest real estate developer for central PA by Central Penn Business Journal. . November 2015 Awarded the African & Caribbean Business Council (ACBC) "Person of the Year" leadership award for Job Creation & Business Opportunities . February 2014 Appointment to the Pennsylvania Governor's Advisory Council. As a direct result of his ability to solve highly complex issues and offer ingenious solutions, the Governor requested Mr. Welkowitz to sit on the Governor's Advisory Council. . July 2011 appointed "Grand Chancellor of North America of the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta", in recognition of his exemplary worldwide philanthropic endeavors. . February 2010 Knighted "Knight Grand Cross of the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta" in recognition of exemplary worldwide humanitarian efforts. . 2010 S.M.A.R.T. Real Estate Developer of the Decade Award (Strengthening the Mid-Atlantic Region for Tomorrow) from the combined states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland in recognition of his outstanding development contributions in making the region a better place to live through generating significant employment, infrastructure improvements and substantial tax revenues. . 2008 Letter of Commendation: Presented by Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. . 2008 Certificate of Special United States Congressional Recognition: From the U.S. Congress for improving the quality of life within Pennsylvania and the USA through 40 years of real estate development. . 2008 U.S. Senatorial Special Commendation: Received from U.S. Senate for economic contributions to the growth of Pennsylvania and the United States. . 2008 S.M.A.R.T. Economic Development Award (Strengthening the Mid-Atlantic Region for Tomorrow): In recognition of outstanding real estate development achievements from the combined states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. . 2008 Appointed Lifetime Member of the West Point Society: In recognition of his unwavering support and contributions to our military, Mr. Welkowitz was inducted as a lifetime member into the West Point Society. Richard Welkowitz is the holder of the following Titles of Nobility: . Duke of Malta (Island of Malta, Sovereignty of Lemessos) . Lord of Overhall (British Over Lordship) First Lord - Edward the Confessor after the Battle of Hastings. Second Lord - King William the Conqueror, took over after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. King Richard I, 'The Lion Hearted' was the last Royal to hold the title. He sold the Lordship to finance his battles against the French and Palestine. The Current Lord, by approval of the Queen of England, is Lord Richard Welkowitz, and he has been granted a full over lordship . Baron of Blackford (Scottish Barony) - this title was granted by the Lord Lyon of Scotland, the highest ranking official in Scotland of the British Crown, to Lord Richard Welkowitz. Appointed Member of the House of Lords and British Parliament. Mr. Welkowitz, in addition to his numerous awards as the leading developer in Central Pennsylvania, has been a forerunner in developing and sponsoring cutting-edge companies within Pennsylvania and the United States. Those included are within the fields of entertainment as well as high-technology. Blackford, through Mr. Welkowitz has developed integral business relationships with many influential businesses and corporations that bring and generate substantial cash flow into Pennsylvania. Just to name a few: The Mandela Foundation - Mr. Welkowitz provided funding for joint ventures and assistance as needed, Live Nation - the world's largest purveyor of talent, Ticket Master - the largest distributor of tickets and admissions to events throughout the world, The Sands Corporation - the largest gaming corporation in the world, Service Electric - the first cable company in the United States, Ustream - one of the largest Internet streaming companies worldwide. 2014 Springwood Development: Another of Mr. Welkowitz's companies, is in the process of donating a substantial amount of land to the Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon, PA to build a cancer center. 2013 Formed Blackford Dental: Providing quality dental care at economically favorable prices. Currently employs more than 1000 associates and is growing every day. 2013 Produced a Motion Picture in PA: Provided hundreds of new jobs for PA. 2013 Universal Streaming Network: Mr. Welkowitz realized there was an effective method to deliver stellar entertainment to the world at very affordable prices. His model was to increase the profitability of the Sands Bethlehem Event Center by increasing the audience and simultaneously providing top quality entertainment to the world through the Internet at prices all could afford. 2012 Sands Event Center - Bethlehem, PA: As a move to provide increased employment, more generated tax revenue, and offer an outstanding facility to Pennsylvania affording a richer cultural environment, Mr. Welkowitz developed the Sands Bethlehem Event Center in partnership with the Sands Casino Corporation, the largest gaming corporation in the world. 2011 Time Domain reflective Analytics: Richard Welkowitz is a forward thinking business man who can see the usefulness of ideas and concepts in many different approaches. When introduced to the concept of Reflective Analytics, he saw a way to improve many aspects of existing businesses as well as a potential analytical force in the future. 2010 ECM Library: Mr. Welkowitz saw the value of safe and secure content within many vertical markets and government facilities. 1990 the Driving Force in the Development of Good Drive: A major improvement to traffic in Lancaster, PA, resulting in enhanced traffic control. This allowed new businesses to be developed on the newly built road, job creation, expanded tax generation, and reduced carbon emissions, while also improving the quality of life for the county. 1990 Triton Immiscible Liquid Separator and Desalinization: When the Liquid Separator was presented to Mr. Welkowitz, he immediately saw the value. He funded the final research and implementation of the Triton Immiscible Liquid Separator and helped to develop the Triton desalinization technology. 1980 Mr. Welkowitz, along with a group of other major real estate developers and bankers, helped to develop the Lease Leaseback concept, a major innovation within the real estate industry. This turned out to be a "game changer" in the commercial real estate market, generating billions and billions of new dollars in funding, cash flow, profits to the national credit tenants, lenders, and buyers. 1980 Mr. Welkowitz, working with major US insurance companies, helped develop Bond Financing as a real estate financial Instrument. He became so renowned in bond financing, some of the leading banks in the country asked his assistance in structuring some of the most problematic and intricate real estate deals at the time. In 1990, this process was used to develop Lancaster Outlet City, one of three major outlet centers being built in the United States. At a time when the interest rates were exceeding 20% in the U.S., Welkowitz was able to develop the outlet and finance it at a rate of 10%, a substantial savings and leverage for the banks financing Blackford projects through bond financing. The Outlet industry in Lancaster County has now eclipsed the main tourist attraction of the Amish. This created thousands of jobs, new businesses, and substantial tax revenues, and has since changed the way people shop as well as the way conventional retailers' market forever. 1979 Mr. Welkowitz, working with major insurance companies in the U.S. and worldwide, developed the concept of the "Lease Bond", a financial instrument that allows companies not holding a national financial credit rating from the major rating agencies (such as S&P) to secure financing through Wall Street. The structure has insurance companies guarantee the full term of the lease. This strategy allows smaller companies to enjoy the credit rating of the insurance company that provides the guarantee for their lease. Hence, the creation of the lease bond. This approach allowed Welkowitz, through Blackford, to acquire over half a billion dollars worth of automobile dealerships throughout the United States. This strategy was modified after the adoption of the Appleton Law, requiring the use of insurance companies domiciled outside the U.S. Mr. Welkowitz has been recognized numerous times for his philanthropic work and generosity: 1998 - Lancaster Jewish Synagogue Mr. Welkowitz contributed heavily to the Shaarai Shomayin Synagogue building fund and their Hebrew school. 2009 - West Point Military Academy: Contributed a substantial amount to the Academy to further their training curriculum and was inducted as a lifetime member into the West Point society. 2010 - 2011 Built a hospital in Burundi, Africa: Which is the 10th poorest country in the world, creating jobs, while improving the quality of many lives. 2014 - Mr. Welkowitz continues to offer freely his time to growing PA and other global markets. He is currently developing advances within the fields of media, communications, and green energy.
Beginning in 1968, Mr. Welkowitz also became involved in real estate development. To date, he has developed more than 11,000 residential units comprised of apartments, townhouses, semi-detached and single family homes, 10 million square feet of office and flex space, as well as 28 million square feet of commercial, industrial and retail space. His company, Blackford Development, Ltd has been ranked the number one commercial real estate development firm in the Central Pennsylvania region for the past fifteen consecutive years by the Central Penn Business Journal. Richard is a member of the Building Industry Association of Lancaster County, the Pennsylvania Builders Association, the National Association of Homebuilders and the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Since 1990, Mr. Welkowitz has provided millions of dollars in funding for research and development of the Triton Immiscible Liquid Separator and Desalinization technology. Triton specialized in immiscible liquid separation and large scale desalinization of sea water. His funding yielded several worldwide and U.S. patents for the Liquid Separator and Desalinization. He acted as Chairman of the Board of Triton Environmental Corporation until it was sold in 2004. In 2011, Mr. Welkowitz agreed to financially help a group of mathematicians and computer scientists complete ground breaking work in Time Domain Analytics as he saw the viability and usefulness of this work. This advanced system is now coming into its own in the advent of understanding and processing Big Data. Enterprise Content Management Library (ECM Library), a technological firm within content management, asked Mr. Welkowitz to join with them and lead the way to producing an unparalleled system used for the safe keeping and tracking of very large quantities of digital documents and content. He recognized the need for secure and safe keeping of corporate as well as government documents, especially where sensitivity is pronounced.
Over the years, Mr. Welkowitz has been the recipient of numerous awards, both industry related and humanitarian. Those most recently received are as follows: . February 2016 Welkowitz, through Blackford, was named the largest real estate developer for central PA by Central Penn Business Journal. . November 2015 Awarded the African & Caribbean Business Council (ACBC) "Person of the Year" leadership award for Job Creation & Business Opportunities . February 2014 Appointment to the Pennsylvania Governor's Advisory Council. As a direct result of his ability to solve highly complex issues and offer ingenious solutions, the Governor requested Mr. Welkowitz to sit on the Governor's Advisory Council. . July 2011 appointed "Grand Chancellor of North America of the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta", in recognition of his exemplary worldwide philanthropic endeavors. . February 2010 Knighted "Knight Grand Cross of the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta" in recognition of exemplary worldwide humanitarian efforts. . 2010 S.M.A.R.T. Real Estate Developer of the Decade Award (Strengthening the Mid-Atlantic Region for Tomorrow) from the combined states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland in recognition of his outstanding development contributions in making the region a better place to live through generating significant employment, infrastructure improvements and substantial tax revenues. . 2008 Letter of Commendation: Presented by Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. . 2008 Certificate of Special United States Congressional Recognition: From the U.S. Congress for improving the quality of life within Pennsylvania and the USA through 40 years of real estate development. . 2008 U.S. Senatorial Special Commendation: Received from U.S. Senate for economic contributions to the growth of Pennsylvania and the United States. . 2008 S.M.A.R.T. Economic Development Award (Strengthening the Mid-Atlantic Region for Tomorrow): In recognition of outstanding real estate development achievements from the combined states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. . 2008 Appointed Lifetime Member of the West Point Society: In recognition of his unwavering support and contributions to our military, Mr. Welkowitz was inducted as a lifetime member into the West Point Society. Richard Welkowitz is the holder of the following Titles of Nobility: . Duke of Malta (Island of Malta, Sovereignty of Lemessos) . Lord of Overhall (British Over Lordship) First Lord - Edward the Confessor after the Battle of Hastings. Second Lord - King William the Conqueror, took over after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. King Richard I, 'The Lion Hearted' was the last Royal to hold the title. He sold the Lordship to finance his battles against the French and Palestine. The Current Lord, by approval of the Queen of England, is Lord Richard Welkowitz, and he has been granted a full over lordship . Baron of Blackford (Scottish Barony) - this title was granted by the Lord Lyon of Scotland, the highest ranking official in Scotland of the British Crown, to Lord Richard Welkowitz. Appointed Member of the House of Lords and British Parliament. Mr. Welkowitz, in addition to his numerous awards as the leading developer in Central Pennsylvania, has been a forerunner in developing and sponsoring cutting-edge companies within Pennsylvania and the United States. Those included are within the fields of entertainment as well as high-technology. Blackford, through Mr. Welkowitz has developed integral business relationships with many influential businesses and corporations that bring and generate substantial cash flow into Pennsylvania. Just to name a few: The Mandela Foundation - Mr. Welkowitz provided funding for joint ventures and assistance as needed, Live Nation - the world's largest purveyor of talent, Ticket Master - the largest distributor of tickets and admissions to events throughout the world, The Sands Corporation - the largest gaming corporation in the world, Service Electric - the first cable company in the United States, Ustream - one of the largest Internet streaming companies worldwide. 2014 Springwood Development: Another of Mr. Welkowitz's companies, is in the process of donating a substantial amount of land to the Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon, PA to build a cancer center. 2013 Formed Blackford Dental: Providing quality dental care at economically favorable prices. Currently employs more than 1000 associates and is growing every day. 2013 Produced a Motion Picture in PA: Provided hundreds of new jobs for PA. 2013 Universal Streaming Network: Mr. Welkowitz realized there was an effective method to deliver stellar entertainment to the world at very affordable prices. His model was to increase the profitability of the Sands Bethlehem Event Center by increasing the audience and simultaneously providing top quality entertainment to the world through the Internet at prices all could afford. 2012 Sands Event Center - Bethlehem, PA: As a move to provide increased employment, more generated tax revenue, and offer an outstanding facility to Pennsylvania affording a richer cultural environment, Mr. Welkowitz developed the Sands Bethlehem Event Center in partnership with the Sands Casino Corporation, the largest gaming corporation in the world. 2011 Time Domain reflective Analytics: Richard Welkowitz is a forward thinking business man who can see the usefulness of ideas and concepts in many different approaches. When introduced to the concept of Reflective Analytics, he saw a way to improve many aspects of existing businesses as well as a potential analytical force in the future. 2010 ECM Library: Mr. Welkowitz saw the value of safe and secure content within many vertical markets and government facilities. 1990 the Driving Force in the Development of Good Drive: A major improvement to traffic in Lancaster, PA, resulting in enhanced traffic control. This allowed new businesses to be developed on the newly built road, job creation, expanded tax generation, and reduced carbon emissions, while also improving the quality of life for the county. 1990 Triton Immiscible Liquid Separator and Desalinization: When the Liquid Separator was presented to Mr. Welkowitz, he immediately saw the value. He funded the final research and implementation of the Triton Immiscible Liquid Separator and helped to develop the Triton desalinization technology. 1980 Mr. Welkowitz, along with a group of other major real estate developers and bankers, helped to develop the Lease Leaseback concept, a major innovation within the real estate industry. This turned out to be a "game changer" in the commercial real estate market, generating billions and billions of new dollars in funding, cash flow, profits to the national credit tenants, lenders, and buyers. 1980 Mr. Welkowitz, working with major US insurance companies, helped develop Bond Financing as a real estate financial Instrument. He became so renowned in bond financing, some of the leading banks in the country asked his assistance in structuring some of the most problematic and intricate real estate deals at the time. In 1990, this process was used to develop Lancaster Outlet City, one of three major outlet centers being built in the United States. At a time when the interest rates were exceeding 20% in the U.S., Welkowitz was able to develop the outlet and finance it at a rate of 10%, a substantial savings and leverage for the banks financing Blackford projects through bond financing. The Outlet industry in Lancaster County has now eclipsed the main tourist attraction of the Amish. This created thousands of jobs, new businesses, and substantial tax revenues, and has since changed the way people shop as well as the way conventional retailers' market forever. 1979 Mr. Welkowitz, working with major insurance companies in the U.S. and worldwide, developed the concept of the "Lease Bond", a financial instrument that allows companies not holding a national financial credit rating from the major rating agencies (such as S&P) to secure financing through Wall Street. The structure has insurance companies guarantee the full term of the lease. This strategy allows smaller companies to enjoy the credit rating of the insurance company that provides the guarantee for their lease. Hence, the creation of the lease bond. This approach allowed Welkowitz, through Blackford, to acquire over half a billion dollars worth of automobile dealerships throughout the United States. This strategy was modified after the adoption of the Appleton Law, requiring the use of insurance companies domiciled outside the U.S. Mr. Welkowitz has been recognized numerous times for his philanthropic work and generosity: 1998 - Lancaster Jewish Synagogue Mr. Welkowitz contributed heavily to the Shaarai Shomayin Synagogue building fund and their Hebrew school. 2009 - West Point Military Academy: Contributed a substantial amount to the Academy to further their training curriculum and was inducted as a lifetime member into the West Point society. 2010 - 2011 Built a hospital in Burundi, Africa: Which is the 10th poorest country in the world, creating jobs, while improving the quality of many lives. 2014 - Mr. Welkowitz continues to offer freely his time to growing PA and other global markets. He is currently developing advances within the fields of media, communications, and green energy.
