Leg. Spencer and Supervisor Petrone Team-Up to Sponsor Seminar for Local Businesses

LongIsland.com

Sponsored by Suffolk County Leg. Spencer and Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone the seminar was geared toward local businesses to engage with elected officials, key government agencies and neighboring business professionals throughout the town.

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Over 60 members of the business community came out and left equipped with pertinent information and strategies on how to give their business the needed edge to succeed and thrive in Suffolk County.

Photo by: Office of Suffolk County Legislator William R. Spencer.

Huntington, NY - November 4, 2016 - The Suffolk County Legislature is using its successful day-long business forum “Charting the Course” and taking the show on the road; bringing a host of government services and programs directly to local business markets. The seminar made its way to downtown Huntington on Wednesday, November 2 at LaunchPad Huntington, 315 Main Street.

Sponsored by Suffolk County Legislator William R. Spencer and Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone the seminar was geared toward local businesses to engage with elected officials, key government agencies and neighboring business professionals throughout the town.

“In Suffolk County and Huntington, we want the business community to know that they are important to the fabric of our county and that there are programs and services designed to help them start-up, grow and succeed. The goal of our seminar was to provide valuable information for business owners, and to open up dialogue on how to better address the challenges faced by our local businesses; the dialogue was started and we plan to build on the relationships that were created at the event for the benefit of our local economy,” said Legislator Spencer.

The event, kicked-off by Bob Fonti, Director and Co-Chair of the Suffolk County Alliance of Chambers, had a strong line-up of speakers including Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini who discussed pertinent programs such as SCPD Shield, an information sharing and civilian training partnership between law enforcement and the private sector, First Vice President of Astoria Bank, Bob Moore, who discussed security strategies for small businesses, Patty Flores Morales, a small business owner in Huntington Station who talked about her path to business ownership, Ryan Porter of Renaissance Downtowns who presented on the Transit Oriented Development plans for Huntington Station and Phil Rugile, Director of Huntington LaunchPad who discussed the economic and entrepreneurial opportunities in his co-working community.

"In order for our regional economy to thrive, it is imperative that the private and public sector work in lock step to create an environment that supports innovation and entrepreneurship at its earliest stages.

Launchpad Huntington was pleased to host local business owners, Legislator Spencer and town and county agencies to better communicate and align our common goals for growth, with a focus on the small business sector,” stated Phil Rugile, Director of Huntington LaunchPad.

Following the speakers, the event transitioned into lively panel discussion moderated by Vision Long Island’s Director, Eric Alexander which focused on small business resources. The panel included; LI Business News's David Winzelberg, H2M Group Vice President and Huntington Chamber President Robert Schiener, NYS Department of Labor's Pam Bedford and Michael Cohen, NYS Minority and Business Development’s Ibrahima Souare, Suffolk County Economic Development and IDA's Regina Zara and Kelly Morris, and Suffolk County Department of Health's Craig Knepper.

Resources provided for the small business community included available grants, technical assistance on business operations, regulatory compliance and marketing assistance. In addition issues of traffic, parking, new technologies, energy costs and cyber-crimes were addressed. Employers also learned how they can reduce their labor costs through several workforce and economic development programs.

“It has been amazing to see how ‘Charting the Course’ has expanded its reach over the last few months,” said Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory. “What started as a day-long county-wide seminar to open a dialogue between businesses and government has become a road trip of sorts, as we are now hosting similar events in Suffolk’s legislative districts. Legislator Spencer’s comprehensive Huntington version of ‘Charting the Course’ is a prime example of how the county can partner with towns and local business leaders to share information and strengthen collaboration and conversation between the public and private sectors. I commend all involved on a job well done.”

Over 60 members of the business community came out and left equipped with pertinent information and strategies on how to give their business the needed edge to succeed and thrive in Suffolk County. John Marcinka, owner of Quality Island Landscaping stated, “I’m glad I attended. I received a wealth of information through networking with other local business owners as well as from the government agencies who offered useful programs that I wasn’t aware of.”

For more information about the event, please contact Legislator Spencer’s office at 631-854- 4500.