The Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce held their 29th annual Small Businessperson of the Year and Legislative Breakfast on Friday at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.
The breakfast featured keynote speeches from Seth Pinsky, the executive vice president of RXR Realty and investment manager of the company’s Metropolitan Emerging Market Strategy, and Bruce Ratner, the executive chairman of the real estate developer Forest City Ratner Companies, which developed the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Ratner is now heading a group that will redevelop the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Also in attendance at the breakfast were Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, and various members of the Nassau County Legislature and town councils.
The 37 participating chambers of commerce recognized their small businessperson of the year with an awarded citation signed by Mangano.
The Great Neck Chamber of Commerce honored Dennis L. Grossman, the president and chief operating officer of DMI Business Consulting Group, which he founded in 1981.
The chairman of the Village of Great Neck’s board of zoning appeals, Grossman has also been involved in the construction of housing developments and commercial real estate projects, and also founded companies in jewelry manufacturing and the smelting of precious metals.
The Mineola Chamber of Commerce honored Cynthia Cruz, a second vice president and branch manager of Roslyn Savings Bank as well as a member of the bank’s Premier Business Banker Team.
Cruz has worked with the chamber and the bank to participate and sponsor numerous community and charitable fundraising events, and she is currently the co-chairman of the Habitat for Humanity of Nassau County’s 2013 Walk-A-Thon.
The Greater New Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce honored Jerry Baldassaro, owner and publisher of The Town Planner Community Calendar of Greater Long Island, which has nine editions that serve more than 30 communities in Nassau County.
An East Meadow resident, Baldassaro has been a chamber member since 2008 and serves as its secretary and third vice president, chairing its events committee. Baldassaro is also a member of eight other chambers and is an active member of the Sons of Italy Cellini Lodge.
The Roslyn Chamber of Commerce honored Jean Schachter, who has held several positions in the communications field and helped grow the chamber’s membership in 2009 from 0 members to 235.
Schachter currently works in community relations for “A Place for Mom,” which provides free resources to senior citizens.
In 2011, Schachter was honored by the Women’s Council of Realtors as Sponsor of the Year and was an honored at Roslyn High School’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Fund Dinner.
The Chamber of the Willisons honored Joe Polansky, who has owned and managed the Williston Park Deli for the last 18 years.
An East Meadow resident, Polansky worked at delis while going to college at SUNY Oneonta, where he earned a degree in business economics with a minor in business communications.
