The Massapequa Chamber of Commerce welcomed a new leader into the fold when long-time member and local accountant Susan Martin was sworn in as president at an installation dinner held at The Riviera Restaurant of Massapequa on June 26.
(Photos by Chris Boyle)
Martin, who assumed the duties of her two-year term on July 1, replaces well-regarded outgoing president Patricia Orzano, who stated that her time running the Chamber — itself being the hub of the Massapequa business community — was both difficult yet rewarding.
“It’s been a journey with a lot of passion and vision, but there was a lot of pain, too,” she said. “Pain in the loss of our past president Joe Vasteel, and we also had Superstorm Sandy as well, so I had a lot of trials and tribulations, but it was a success in terms of increasing the membership, being involved in and helping the community, and being involved in two successful street fairs. I’m proud of my term as president.”
Orzano noted that this is the first time in the history of the Chamber that there will be three female presidents of the group in a row, and said that there was no one more qualified to take her place than Susan Martin.
“I am so confident in her,” she said. “She is a wonderful woman who has a CPA and has served on our board for the last eight years…I’m confident that when she takes the reigns that her leadership will be excellent. She has a lot of projects that she wants to implement, and a lot of vision. I’m thrilled to be passing the baton to her.”
Susan Martin, a local Certified Public Accountant and the former Chamber of Commerce vice-president, admitted that the prospect of taking over as the de-facto leader of the Chamber had produced more than a few butterflies in her tummy.
“It’s intimidating…totally intimidating. I’ve got big shoes to fill, and I’m hoping for an amazing amount of team effort from the whole Chamber,” she said. “My plan, if you want to call it that, is to make sure that the members felt that they get a lot of service and networking out of the Chamber, and to help the community around us understand what we do for them, and how important they are to us.”
Martin gave the outgoing president her due respect, saying that she had indeed left rather sizable shoes to be filled; Martin’s only wish is that she measures up to fill them.
“Patricia was absolutely amazing,” she said. “That I make her proud as president is my only goal.”
The duty of swearing in the new president to her two-year terms was left to Town of Oyster Bay Councilman Joe Pinto, who said that he was more than proud to perform such a heartwarming task.
“We’re paying tribute to Patty Orzano, who has done an extraordinary job with the Chamber, and welcoming the new president, Susan Martin, who everyone has the utmost of confidence in,” he said. “The Chamber is a wonderful organization…they’re very in touch with the Massapequa community and they always assist the Town of Oyster Bay and local government, and we’re proud to have them in the community.”
Other local dignitaries who attended the dinner were Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg, Oyster Bay Town Clerk James Altadonna, state Assemblyman Joseph Saladino and Nassau County Legislator and state Senate hopeful Michael Venditto.
Venditto was in charge of an equally-important task at the installation dinner — swearing in the Chamber’s Board of Directors for their own individual terms. A life-long Massapequa resident, Venditto noted that outgoing president Orzano had known his family since before he was even born, making his support of the Chamber that day a genuine privilege.
“What a great job the Chamber has done…all the businesses here, working in tandem, along with their local officials and government,” he said. “It’s just a wonderful group that seems to have formed a fantastic chemistry together, and that’s rightfully attributed to our past president, Patty Orzano. It’s been great to work with her, and to work with Sue, who I think will turn out to be a very worthy successor.”
