Thank You!
It’s that time of the month again when a President’s Message is due. Anyone miss November’s message? I looked and looked for it, but couldn’t find it! Here we go for this month, which includes my Top Ten List of Things For Which I am Thankful.
We had a heart-stopping election season that surprised and shocked. Changes are in the air—what they’ll mean, we’ll have to wait and see. As always, we’re confronted with challenges—new ones and old. How do we acquire customers? How do we keep customers? How do we compete? How can we grow our businesses? In the never-ending sagas of our businesses, we continue to move forward, innovate, experiment and connect with each other to learn, succeed and grow. The only constant is movement and change—if we stand still, we become petrified. Who today doesn’t take advantage of social media to market their companies? Who ever thought of such a thing just 10 years ago? What will we be doing different in the next decade? Let’s watch, see and learn.
We’ve just celebrated Thanksgiving, which is one of the best American holidays and traditions. We all know about the Pilgrims’ landing and how they celebrated their first year in the new world. Our modern holiday of Thanksgiving took a couple of hundred years to get established: Various states, including New York, declared it to be a holiday. One advocate for the holiday, Josepha Hale, (author of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”) championed a campaign to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. (Good thing she didn’t compose “Mary had a Little Turkey.”) In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln called for a national day of Thanksgiving in the middle of the Civil War, declaring the last Thursday in November as the day to celebrate. At the tail end of the Depression, in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an attempt to spur retail sales (“Shop Local!”). Opposition to the move resulted in national legislation making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.
Not only is it traditional to celebrate with family and eat Turkey on Thanksgiving, it’s traditional to count our blessings and give thanks. Here’s my Top Ten List of Things For Which I am Thankful:
10. I’m thankful that the Plainview Water District is having an election on December 13th; I didn’t get quite enough excitement from the just-held Presidential election, so I’m hoping this will fill the void.
9. I’m thankful for Saturday Night Live–it’s given a boost to Alec Baldwin’s career. Also, who knew that Kate McKinnon 
was so talented and could sing so beautifully Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah?
8. I’m thankful for the Chamber’s Fair Committee and the absolutely great work they did in organizing our Fair
. I’m also thankful for our Networking Committee and the Golf Committee for their tireless work in creating great events. Don’t forget our December 5th Holiday Party at Chris & Tony’s that promises food, raffles and networking!
7. I’m thankful for Marcia Finkelstein and her uncanny ability to secure the best raffle prizes ever!
6. I’m thankful that the Chamber has a community mindedness to it that supports local charities in order to promote the important work they do. This year we’re supporting POB Cares/Project Pace, whose mission is to provide programs and services to enable seniors to remain in our community and live independently at home.
5. I’m thankful for the support our members and community demonstrated which resulted in the design, construction and dedication of the 911 Memorial Sculpture at the POB Library
. I’m also thankful for living in a country that has a holiday like Thanksgiving and where liberty and freedom are cherished.
4. I’m thankful for our MapToons project which literally put Chamber members and the Plainview-Old Bethpage Community on the map.
3. I’m thankful for the great team we have in the Chamber’s Board of Directors and Officers, and to our Chamber members who volunteer their time for events and projects. Their efforts make our Chamber go-go-go. I am also very thankful for Barbara Mars, our great Administrative Assistant, who makes everything professional, perfect and pleasurable!
2. I’m thankful for a business community that is energetic and robust and recognizes that the Chamber is a forum for connections, business, education and commerce! I’m also thankful for each of you renewing your membership! It’s easy: Click on these links to renew/join and take advantage of free workshops in January (Leadership—Jan. 12th; Stress & Hypnosis—Jan. 29th) and our Free Paid Up Membership Dinner on February 9th that promises to be a great night of fashion, fun and food!
1. I’m thankful for my loving wife Gail and my two children, Josh & Matt
, who help make everything that I do for the Chamber and my practice of law worthwhile and rewarding.
I look forward to seeing you all at Chris & Tony’s on December 5th and at our regular meeting on December 21st, which will be featuring Dr. Penny Stern speaking about Stress Management, and Matt Schuller of Stone Media Consulting and Dr. Michael Berlin of the Family Wellness Center as our Spotlight Speakers.
Lastly, Best Wishes to you and your families for a Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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