The Ronkonkoma Chamber of Commerce met to swear in their new slate of officers as well as outline their 2023 agenda at Flanagan’s on Hawkins Avenue on Wednesday.
Newly sworn-in president, Ed M. McNamara, looked proudly upon the new board as the entire year’s worth of events was read to the packed room by Michael DelRosso, vice president. The event was attended by Assemblyman Doug Smith and Legislator Leslie Kennedy, as well as Comptroller John M. Kennedy.
The group is looking to expand its footprint in the community through the introduction of a Young Professionals group designed to both mentor and connect the young professionals in the area.
“We want to become more focused on business development in the community and promoting businesses,” said McNamara. “I think that it’s very easy to get sidetracked with the elected officials and other aspects, but when it comes to the chamber, our focus should be laser-focused on promoting businesses in Ronkonkoma.”
“It’s important that we have a board that is more reflective of the community that we live in, in terms of both age and diversity,” McNamara said of the board, which took up the entire back wall of the catering room. “We want to make sure that all voices are heard in the business community; we don’t want to have a preaching to the choir mentality.”
McNamara pointed to Michael Gulotta, a young local attorney, for his “fresh ideas.” Gulotta will be taking the helm of the young professional group.
McNamara also points to the secretary of the organization, Ann Marie Pizano, for her new perspective.
“We didn’t add numbers just to add numbers,” McNamara quipped. “We added numbers to make it more reflective of the community.” McNamara himself is a Sachem graduate who was raised in Ronkonkoma, while his wife is a Connetquot graduate— both with deep ties to the area, participating in other local organizations.
McNamara appears well-equipped to guide Ronkonkoma’s four commercial areas to success, with a commitment to reach out to all varieties of businesses that call Ronkonkoma home.
It certainly is expected to be an interesting presidency, with federal, state and local dollars flowing into Ronkonkoma via MacArthur Airport and development projects in the region.
However, McNamara urges policymakers that the money would be “welcome[d] more in the downtown areas… for the ‘mom-and-pop’ shops.”
