Community Corner
New Leadership at Chamber of Commerce
Officers are announced for 2012 at last meeting of the year.
At the last general Chamber of Commerce meeting of the year, Richard Trpicovsky, outgoing president of the Sayville Chamber of Commerce, reflected on his last term.
Having been a part of the Chamber for the past 30 years, he noted how there are a lot of great people to work with; how some things don’t change, but how they keep working to improve them. “There are some new members. Some seasoned members. Please always make yourself heard. There was a time I was afraid to speak out. Everybody’s friends here,” he said.
Jay Miller, nominating chairman, spoke regarding the proposed slate of new leadership: President Bill Etts, First Vice President Stephanie Behan, Second Vice President Jackie Amato, Secretary Dave Smith and Treasurer Eileen Woolley.
Find out what's happening in Sayville-Bayportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
About the presidency Trpicovsky said, “It’s an honor – not a job – to be part of the Board and it is a serious task. We will ask: have you, as our leaders, promoted what we are doing at the Chamber to other businesses?” He went on to advise: “Take it seriously. Participate. We will all prosper from it.”
Pamela Raymond, co-owner of The Sayville Inn, informed the group of Al Graf’s efforts to bring a petition to Albany to cut LIPA bills in half. Graf needs 2,000 signatures to bring it to the Governor. The petition can be signed by logging onto www.plugLongIslandin.com. “We’re in a crisis," Raymond said. "It’s insane not to sign it.”
Find out what's happening in Sayville-Bayportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Trpicovsky noted how “there have been major improvements to parking this year and there is more to come. South Main Street has been totally redone. Stephanie Behan worked on this. Kay Cameron has gotten a $35,000 grant from the County for parking lot lighting and aesthetics. There is a new illuminated kiosk on South Main Street. That’s another thing Kay Cameron got grant money for. There’s a lot that the Chamber has done behind the scenes.”
President-elect Etts will be meeting with web companies later in the week to discuss revamping the Chamber website to drive more traffic to the site as well as member websites.
There was also talk about inviting the general public to participate in Chamber meetings. Trpicovsky suggested that members invite neighbors to the meetings: “It’s not always things we want to hear, but that we need to hear," he said.
