Nassau chambers council celebrates local business, honors members of each chamber

The Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce held its annual breakfast Friday honoring one member of each of the 38 county chambers of commerce.

The North Hempstead honorees were Joe Pereira of Memories 2 Bar and Grill for the Willistons, Monica Altmann of Douglas Elliman Real Estate for Floral Park, Patricia Schneider of Patricia Schneider Design Consultants for Great Neck, Richard Guilfoyle of Scott and Guilfoyla CPAs LLP for Greater New Hyde Park, T.J. Costello of Hierarchy Architecture + Design for Manhasset, Linda Doerrbecker formerly of Capital One Bank for Mineola, David Heller of Golden Hands Massage and Aesthetic Therapies for Port Washington and Steven Blank of Blank Slate Media for Roslyn.

Roslyn Chamber of Commerce attendees at the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce breakfast. Top row, from left, Diane Duel, Kathy Wong, Wayne Wink, Jr. and Linda Robinson. Bottom row: Barbara Kaplan, Steven Blank, Holly Blank, Melissa Spitalnick, Mike Triunfo and Rich Branciforte. (Photo by Teri West)

Costello, the president of the Manhasset Chamber of Commerce, said that his father influenced his perspective on local businesses.

“My dad years ago was in politics and one of the things that he always used to say is think globally act locally, which is obviously not my quote, but that’s been one of the guiding principles of how I conduct my business,” said Costello, who owns an architecture firm.

Local business is the “heartbeat of the economy,” he said.

Altmann said she was honored that the council recognized someone like her, who supports her chamber from within rather than as a leader “out in front.”

“You don’t have to be the top dog, you just have to get involved and get committed,” she said.

Chef Tom Schaudel and Island Park Chamber of Commerce President Michael Scully. (Photo by Teri West)

Chef Tom Schaudel was the event’s keynote speaker, and gave a humorous account of his journey into the business world.

“All of us here who own businesses, we’re like 10 percent of the people of the world,” he said. “We think that we’re better than everyone else, and I was no different. My capacity for self-delusion is wondrous.”

Since opening Panama Hatties, his first restaurant, in 1983, he has run more than 15 Long Island eateries.

The Manhasset Chamber of Commerce table at the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce breakfast. Top row, from left: Matt Donno, Stephanie Solomon, Rob Donno and C.J. Coleman. Bottom row: Raffaela Marciari, Patricia Grace, T.J. Costello and Elizabeth Johnson. (Photo courtesy of C.J. Coleman)

“Resiliency is the key to long-term success,” he said, ending his speech with words of advice, and encouraging the audience to embrace mistakes.

County Executive Laura Curran also spoke. The breakfast was held at the Crest Hollow Country Club.

The Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce is currently running a “SHOP LOCAL” campaign to encourage residents to purchase from county businesses rather than more distant online merchants.