The Young Professionals Chamber of Commerce (“YPCC”), a program of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, hosted their Fifth Annual Business Leadership Competition at Farmingdale State College on Wednesday November 28th.  Over 150 high school students from Commack, Deer Park, John Glenn, Half Hollow Hills East, Harborfields, Manor Plains, Northport, Walt Whitman, and Wilson Technological Center participated in this event.

The competition provided students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge through presentations in the categories of Fashion Marketing, Hospitality Services, Advertising, Graphic Design, Real Estate, Sports Management, Sports Marketing, E-Commerce, Entrepreneurship, and Job Interview Skills.

“I am proud of the tremendous success our competition has achieved,” said Linda Mitchell, Executive Director of the YPCC. “In the last five years we have expanded the number of students that compete — clearly demonstrating the value and impact that a program like this can have for our local students, teachers and school districts. It’s a privilege to witness first-hand the confidence and composure of our future business leaders and it is amazing to see the incredible work and wonderful presentations that each student demonstrates”.

This event was made possible through the generosity of this year’s sponsors:  Adelphi University, Assemblyman Andrew Raia, BAE Systems, Briarcliffe College, Farmingdale State University, Five Towns College, JP Morgan Chase and JVKellyGroup.


2007 YPCC Business Leadership Competition Winners

Fashion Marketing: 

• First Place: Brittany Quinones & Emily Brenseke, Walt Whitman          
• Second Place: Christie Carillo & Kristen Davro, Harborfields
• Honorable Mention: Josh Gomez & Samanatha Kloeckner, John Glenn         

Hospitality Services:

• First Place: Mike Balot & Sander Kravet, Half Hollow Hills
• Second Place: Brian Rosen & Meredith Walter, Wilson Tech
• Honorable Mention: Melissa Bloecker & Kelly Benini, Northport         

Advertising:          

• First Place: Dylan Berkenfeld & Mike Mead, Half Hollow Hills   
• Second Place: Niki Montazaran & Stavros Christophorou, Commack
• Honorable Mention: Andrew Meltzer & Christian Laskaros, Half Hollow Hills     

Graphic Design:

• First Place: Nicole David & Judith Sass, Wilson Tech       
• Second Place: Suzy Peng & Angela Kim, John Glenn
• Honorable Mention: Daniel Mihnovich & Walter Dziemiancyzk, Commack        

Sports Management:

• First Place: Carmine Soldano & Adam Sprachman, Deer Park   
• Second Place: Scott Schwartz & Adam Aronson, Half Hollow Hills
• Honorable Mention: Matt Langer, Commack   

Sports Marketing:

• First Place: Sabino Curcio & Matt Collins, Walt Whitman       
• Second Place: Caitlin Meuser & Katelyn Simone, Walt Whitman
• Honorable Mention:  Stephanie Cheung & Geraldine Cheung, Northport   

E-Commerce:

• First Place: Vincent Benini & Yang Yu, Northport       
• Second Place: Greg Albert, Northport       

Entrepreneurship:

• First Place: Marco Fanelli & Sierra Fontaine, Northport        
• Second Place: Eli Johnson, Harborfields
• HonorableMention: Matt Garton & Jon Balsano, Walt Whitman

Real Estate:

• First Place: Danny Marcus & Paul Rittenhouse, Northport
• Second Place: Pavit Lamba & Andrew Kaizer, Commack       

Job Interview 9th and 10th Grade:

• First Place: Zachary Birnheimer, Commack   
• Second Place: Erica Portnoy, Commack   

Job Interview:

• First Place: Melissa Magnani, Commack   
• Second Place: Elise Damilatis, Northport

Job Interview Life Skills:

• First Place: Toniann Lopez, Manor Plains
• Second Place: Diana Wischer, Manor Plains
• Honorable Mention:  James O’Connell, John Glenn       

The judges for the event included  Cora Brettler, Coach Realtors; Dominick Citera, AXA Advisors,LLC; Aaron Foss, Alegean; Dr. Francine Federman, Farmingdale State College; Tara Filasco, You’re Invited Too; Meredith Gordon, BAE Systems; Maureen Leslie, Adelphi University; Christopher LoPinto, Expert Travel Services; Kevin McCourt, Citibank; Jim McGowan, Adelphi University; John McQuaid, Sylvan Learning Center; Beth Meixner, Target Group Media;  Alyssa Nightingale, Nightingale & Nightingale; Ellen O’Brien, Huntington Chamber of Commerce; Krysti O’Rourke, Five Towns College; Jill O’Sullivan, Farmingdale State College; Phil Perlman, Big Ideas; Margaret Pettit, LI Educational Opportunity Center; Allison Puff, Farmingdale State College; Maria Sneden, Coach Realtors; David Walsdorf, Walsdorf Insurance Agency;  Jim Werner, UBS Financial Services; and Stacy Zager, Briarcliffe College.

ABOUT THE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE:
As a division of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, the YPCC was established to engage high school students, college students and young entrepreneurs to enhance their leadership skills in a professional environment interacting with business executives, community leaders, educators and other young adults.  The YPCC offers guest speakers, networking opportunities, skill and resume building, entrepreneur workshops, internships and more.  We believe that the strength of our School-Business Partnership through the Chamber of Commerce enables us to provide educational initiatives to the dynamic students who are our future business leaders of tomorrow. For more information, contact Linda Mitchell at (631) 423-6100, Ext. 16.