Chamber Hosts More than 250 Small Business Professionals for the 2023 Annual Meeting

On Thursday, October 12, the Chamber hosted its 2023 Annual Meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn. More than 250 representatives from the small business community were present to network, hear updates from the Chamber, and learn from the event’s keynote presentation.

The event was sponsored by Presenting Sponsor Amazon, Signature Sponsors Con Edison and National Grid, and Partner Sponsors Aurora Technology, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Northfield Bank, and Tekie Geek.

The event was kicked off by Chamber Chairman Frank Scarangello, who led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance; followed by Danielle Wiseman, Business Outreach Coordinator of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, who sang the National Anthem. Introductions were capped by David Sorkin of D.H. Sorkin Consultation Group, who ushered in a moment of silence and a call for reflection in response to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Linda Baran, President and CEO of the Chamber, provided a recap of the Chamber’s efforts in the past year and provided a look at what is coming next.

The Annual Meeting also serves as an opportunity to thank the Chamber’s long-term members. This year, 14 members celebrated milestone anniversaries with the Chamber, including Coastal Supply Group and the YMCA, both of which are celebrating 50 years. The remaining long-term members, Alpha Laser Richmond Corp., Brioso Ristorante, Ciro Pizza Cafe, DiBona and Scamardella Dental Studio, Family Limousine, Kitty’s and Family Florists, John Vincent Scalia Funeral Home, McKernan Law, New York Center for Interpersonal Development (NYCID), Relax on Cloud Nine, Troinet, and W.H. Roth & Co. are each celebrating 25 year anniversaries. All of the long-term member stories can be found here.

The Chamber also presented its annual Volunteer of the Year Award, which honors an individual from the business community that has displayed exemplary efforts to better their community. This year, the award was presented to Roosevelt Board of Chick-fil-A of the Staten Island Mall.

The event’s keynote was presented by Jimmy Newson, founder of Moving Forward Small Business. His keynote, entitled The AI Advantage: How Small Businesses Can Leverage Artificial Intelligence for Growth, discussed how small businesses can benefit from A.I. tools in a variety of ways.

Photos by Steve White, Staten Arts Photography.