Earlier this year, the Greater New Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce elected its new president of the chamber, Cheryl Fajardo. Recently, Fajardo answered some questions from Anton Media Group about the chamber’s future and the effect that COVID-19 has had on it.
Q: How did you get involved in the chamber?
A: I was the area manager for a company called Monroe Calculator, and I wanted to expand the product to the territory I was assigned. What better way to meet decision-makers and also network with other businesses to grow my business. As I got involved in the chamber, I realized how important the chambers function was in the community. I also enjoyed working on the benevolence side of it.
Q: What challenges does the chamber face with COVID-19?
A: [The challenges are] raising money for our local charities and ensuring that our local businesses are still around to serve our community.
Q: As president, what do you hope to bring to the chamber of commerce?
A: Confidence. That we will make it through the pandemic and come back even stronger. We give our members a place to ask questions and get valuable information from experts in our community. We want to help them thrive by promoting and supporting them. We are an organization of fine businesses that do business with each other and serve our community. We have a pro-active, talented board of directors who I enjoy working with to keep the chamber running well with fresh ideas and good value for our members.
Q: Does the Greater NHP Chamber of Commerce have anything planned for 2021?
A: Yes. We have been having Zoom meetings to educate our members on various topics such as how to use social media and also Zoom networking. We hope to have in-person outside safe social distancing network meetings in May and June. In September, we are looking forward to having our annual golf outing to raise money for our nonprofit organizations. Your readers can go to our website for details and see our directory for a listing of all our members that we urge you to support. Go to www.nhpchamber.org. We also post on Facebook and Instagram.
Q: What is the one thing you want residents to know about the chamber you feel is most important?
A: The Greater New Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce is an organization of outstanding businesses in our community. The biggest thing I can say is to shop local and, by doing that, it keeps the money here in Nassau County. It helps businesses, the community, and each and every person to thrive.
