EGC Group Wins LI Award For Campaign Ran In Jonathan Diller's Memory

MELVILLE, NY — Melville-based EGC Group recently won the Public Relations Professionals of Long Island's (PRPLI) PR "Campaign of the Year" award for its management of the NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller Scholarship Fund Campaign it ran pro bono for MGD Investments last fall, according to a news release.

The award was accepted by EGC Group Public Relations Manager Christopher Collora — who organized and executed the campaign — at the PRPLI’s 34th Annual Awards Luncheon held at Westbury Manor.

"I believe that good storytelling is the root of a good PR campaign," Collora said in his acceptance speech. "People need to be able to understand, relate to, and cheer on the effort. This campaign was made up of several strong story elements. From compelling, relatable people involved to supporting student education, to a community coming together to create a lasting honor to a fallen hometown hero — this campaign had it all."

Diller, 31, was a member of the department for three years. He lived in Massapequa Park with his wife and toddler.

Guy Rivera, 34, was accused of fatally shooting Diller during a traffic stop in Far Rockaway in March 2024, authorities said. At the time of the shooting, Rivera had been arrested more than 20 times in the city and had nine felonies on his rap sheet, officials said.

The PRPLI awards selection committee says there were several factors that made this public relations effort stand out as "Campaign of the Year."

"The judging committee selected this campaign from among several strong contenders, impressed by its exceptional blend of creative innovation and strategic execution that delivered measurable positive outcomes while maintaining professional integrity throughout its implementation," said Jerry Allocca, past president of IPRO and chair of the awards selection committee.

The scholarship effort was supported by Jonathan’s widow, Stephanie Diller, MGD Investments President Larry Weinberger, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joe Saladino, St. Mary’s High School, Mulcahy’s Pub, NYPD, SCPD, NCPD, and many other local community organizations that donated money or raffle prizes. EGC Group Founder and Chairman Ernie Canadeo saw this scholarship fund as an important community project and agreed to support the effort early on.

"We are thrilled to be awarded for our pro bono efforts promoting this very special cause," Canadeo said. "Kudos to Christopher Collora and his public relations team for their outstanding efforts obtaining extensive coverage and generating over $70,000 in scholarship funding. It is for causes like this that enable us to do our best work."

The strategy and methods EGC Group used for this campaign were "extraordinarily successful in generating major media coverage from nearly every news outlet that covers Long Island," according to the release. In less than two months — from the press conference announcement to the main fundraiser event at Mulcahy’s Pub in Wantagh — the fund raised over $70K for scholarships for students at St. Mary’s High School.

"When I committed to raising the funds to create the NYPD Detective Johnathan Diller (JD) Scholarship, I knew I needed support and assistance reaching the media outlets, to spread the word and get the message out," said MGD Investments President Larry Weinberger. "I immediately thought of EGC. I know the founder of EGC, Ernie Canadeo, to be a man of strong character and values. He’s always shown his willingness to contribute his assets to a good cause and he jumped right in connecting me with his amazing PR teammate, Christopher, and Christopher took the ball —and the rest is history, as we had a wonderful experience and successful event that will ensure detective Diller’s legacy as the JD Scholarship is awarded annually to a deserving young person that lives and pursues a future that contributes to our society in a similar fashion that JD did."