Nearly 400 Individuals Pay Tribute to 2024 Lou Miller Award Recipients

Feb 15

On Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2024, 360 individuals from Staten Island’s small business and nonprofit community joined the Chamber of Commerce for the 2024 Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Awards at the Grand Oaks Country Club. The annual award ceremony honors individuals within the business community that make Staten Island a better place to live, work, and shop.

This year’s event, which was co-hosted by Staten Island Media Group, was sponsored by Signature Sponsor Gateway Arms Realty, as well as Partner Sponsors Aurora Computer Technology Inc., Comserv Connect, PRcision, Richmond County Savings Bank, St. John’s University, and Zoltan Kemeny, CPA.

This year’s honorees were: Linda Dianto (The National Lighthouse Museum), Al, Alex, and John Federico (Coastal Supply Group), Zoltan Kemeny (Zoltan Kemeny LLC), Orit Lender (The Joan and Alan Bernikow JCC of Staten Island), Cris Marchionne (Person Centered Care Services), Anthony Rapacciuolo (PRcision), Larissa Schiano-Gonzalez (Be Yoga and Dance), and James Thomson (Thomson Law).

Chamber Chairwoman Carol Decina kicked off the event, the first since she was elevated to Chair in January 2024. Danielle Wiseman (Staten Island Chamber of Commerce) sang the National Anthem.

Awardees are traditionally roasted by a peer, colleague, or family member. This year, the roasters were Massimo DiDonna (for Rappaciuolo), Loren Gregory (for Schiano-Gonzalez), Jackie Scarcella (for Marchionne), Henry Salmon (for Kemeny), Barbara Federico (for the Federicos), John Killcullen (for Dianto), Brandon Patterson (for Lender), and Tom Scarangello (for Thomson).

The event is named after Louis Miller, a tireless community activist who mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs, business owners, and community leaders. Lou Miller passed away in 1994 at the age of 93. Since its inception in 1994, the Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Awards has recognized more than 300 honorees.

The 2024 Selection Committee is led by Michele Esposito, Staten Island Chamber of Commerce. It is co-hosted by Solomon Chemo (Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network) and Janet Langton-Magnuson (Richmond Home Need Services, Inc.). John J. Amodio (Retired, SCORE), Tatiana Arguello (Nonprofit Staten Island), Michael Assenza (Mutual | Stat Land Security Services), Chris Ferrera (Comserv Connect), Donna Long (Crossroads Unlimited), MaryLee Montalvo (MLM Public Relations), and Shawn Stradford, Sr. (Stradford Home for Funerals and Cremations) also serve on the committee.

Photos by Steve White, Staten Arts Photography.