Let me share some of the specifics. We're at 860 members. Roger Scheiber, with assistance from our Ambassadors, will help us crest 900 by the end of the year.
We launched a Hospitality & Tourism Alliance, a new Home Improvement group and we are working with our colleagues in the chamber community to create a Local Chamber Alliance. I would like to thank Gregg Parseghian, Best Western of Nyack; Pat Murphy, Advantage Alarm, Richard Franco, Closet Concepts; Chuck Smith, Smith Properties; Lynn Teger; Rockland Reality and Scott Milich, Beth Carrie's, for their help in launching these new initiatives.
We hired a Communications Specialist, Dylan Skriloff, who has helped us start a weekly online newsletter and has written some great copy on our recent Ready, Set...Grow symposium. In addition to RSG, the association also had a terrific golf outing, chaired by Bob Salmon, H&S Sales & Consultants and Barry Dorfman, Liberty Mutual. We also had our 2nd Annual Pinnacle Awards Dinner which exceeded all expectations. Congratulations to this year's honorees; Burt Steinberg, George Strayton, Safe Harbour Group, Prudential Rand Realty, Meals on Wheels and Rockland Bakery.
We had an Open House at Blue Hill that brought five more members into the association. We had a great Business After Hours at the Castle on the Hudson, with our friends from the Westchester Business Council. And, at our June Luncheon, we hosted the County's 1st Annual Recycling Awards, which were presented to three RBA members; Wyeth, O&R and RCC.
We presented our Rockland 20/20 perspective at three more Rotary Luncheons (Nyack, Chestnut Ridge and So. Orangetown) and at an RCC convocation on strategic planning. Also, we were honored to make this presentation as the Keynote Speaker at the Rockland County Municipal Planning Federation's Annual Dinner.
We were invited to serve on the Bi-County I 287 Task Force and Orangetown's Community Advisory Panel on the disposition of the RPC site. We thank County Executive Vanderhoef and Supervisor Kleiner for their confidence.
The RBA has been recognized in Albany for its leadership in fighting a proposal to create an additional tax on real property transfers and, another, to secure a small business exemption for yet another unfunded healthcare mandate.
We are working with our colleagues in the chamber community to secure passage of the Association Health Plan legislation in Washington and Bob Salmon advanced our efforts in meetings with senior staff for several of our Federal legislators, during a recent trip to the Capitol.
Yours truly also made time to attend an American Chamber of Commerce Executives Regional Education Seminar in Hackettstown, NJ. Titled, "OPERATION: Perfect Chamber," it was designed to provide a blueprint for effective chamber management and focused on systems to improve both management and governance. Who knows, maybe something was learned to help us move further, faster. Giddyup!
— Al Samuels
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