Mark Laytin’s primary goal for his last year as president of the Greater New Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce is similar to his goal during his first year in the job – to grow the chamber’s membership.
I want to “just to keep growing the chamber, to bring in more members and give them more value,” Laytin said.
Laytin and six other members of the New Hyde Park Chamber’s board of directors were installed for another three years in a ceremony conducted by Nassau County Legislator Richard Nicolello at last Thursday night’s meeting at the Inn at New Hyde Park.
One-third of the board positions, which are up for re-election each year, were installed on Thursday night and four new chamber members attended the meeting, Laytin said.
Laytin, who runs his own sales agency, ML Marketing, said he hopes to increase the current membership of 240 by 15 percent. He also aims to institute a member-to-member discount program among local businesses willing to offer deals to fellow chamber members.
He said renewing chamber members will receive a membership card that they will be able to show at businesses that extend member discounts.
Laytin said that when his term as president is up at the end of the year he will remain on the board for another two years.
“That’s fine by me. Helping out the chamber is one of the ways I love to give back to the community,” Laytin said.
Jeanette Frisina, 1st vice president of the Chamber, was also reinstalled as a board member at said she is looking forward to stepping up as Laytin’s successor next January.
“I think it will be good. I’m honored to be an officer of the chamber,” Frisina said.
Frisina, president of Market Place Publications, has been a chamber member for nine years and has been a board member for six years.
Her primary goal for the chamber in the coming year is “marketing to promote its growth and its membership.”
Ralph Ventura, the chamber’s 2nd vice president, was carrying on a family legacy with his installation last week. Ventura’s father, Rudolph, was a founding chamber member 50 years ago.
Ventura, senior branch manager at M&T Bank in Great Neck, said his focus is on boosting the charitable end of the chamber’s efforts
“We want to continue to fund our charitable arm, the chamber’s benevolent trust fund,” he said. “Basically we want to continue what we started last year, and to publicize our charitable efforts much more than we have in the past.”
The chamber’s charities include the New Hyde Park Lions club, the New Hyde Park Gladiator Fund, which supports ailing children in the community; annual scholarships to students at New Hyde Park Memorial, Floral Park Memorial, Sewanhaka and Herricks High Schools, and Katie’s Run, an annual fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House that honors the memory of young cancer victim Katie MacBride.
This year, Ventura said, the chamber will be adding United Cerebral Palsey of Nassau County to the roster of charities it supports.
Ventura has been a member of the chamber’s board for the past seven years and is co-chair of the annual golf outing, which is the organization’s largest fundraiser.
At last Thursday night’s meeting, the chamber raised $1,200 from more than 50 raffle prizes donated by members and friends of the chamber.
This year, he said, he’d like to see the chamber add more special family-oriented events to its itinerary.
Last year, the chamber had discounted family night at the Herricks Cinema for chamber members, family and friends. The chamber also held a discounted barbecue at Walk Street Tavern.
