Long Island’s BrightestHigh School Students Compete in the Seventh Annual Business Leadership Competition
The Young Professionals Chamber of Commerce (“YPCC”), a program of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, hosted their Seventh Annual BusinessLeadership Competition at Farmingdale State College on Wednesday December 2nd. This year more than 190 high school students from Commack, Deer Park, Half Hollow Hills East, Half Hollow Hills West, Harborfields, John Glenn, Northport, Oyster Bay, St. Dominic’s, Walt Whitman, and WilsonTechnologicalCenter participated. A luncheon and awards ceremony followed the competition.
The competition provided students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge through presentations in the categories of Fashion Marketing, Hospitality Services, Advertising, Graphic Design, Travel and Tourism, Real Estate, Sports Management, Sports Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and Job Interview Skills.
This event was made possible through the generosity of this year’s sponsors: Adelphi University, Assemblyman Andrew Raia, BAE Systems, Briarcliffe College, Farmingdale State College, Five Towns College, Hofstra University, Home Depot, Molloy College, Oyster Bay Rotary,The Bontempi Family and
Verizon.
2009 YPCC Business Leadership Competition Winners
Fashion Marketing:
First Place: Jose Valencia and Brianne Dillon, Walt Whitman
Second Place: Jackie Judsen and Lindsay Miller, Northport
Honorable Mention:Mellisa Guida and Amanda Garcia, St. Dominic’s
Hospitality Services:
First Place: Ray Rizzo and Diana DePaula, Walt Whitman
Second Place: Scott Rabinowitz, Half Hollow Hills West
Honorable Mention: Eric Kessler and Jon Cohen, Half Hollow Hills East
Advertising:
First Place: Anthony Campanella and Mark Egger, Walt Whitman
Second Place:Pavit Lamba and Andrew Kaizer, Commack
Graphic Design:
First Place: Carlee Martin and Belynda Ungurath, Wilson Tech
Second Place: Justin Roethel and Rob Swetland, Wilson Tech
Sports Management:
First Place:Rich Pino, Half Hollow Hills West
Second Place: Molly Costello, Harborfields
Sports Marketing:
First Place: Nick Malazia and Joe Albert, Northport
Second Place: Kymberly Knoph, Harborfields
Honorable Mention: Christopher Costello and David Murphy,Commack
James DePace and John Marsicano, John Glenn
Travel and Tourism:
First Place:Max Sanders, Half Hollow Hills West
Second Place:Ayden Rosenberg and Keith Fischer, Commack
Honorable Mention: Fuschia Ray, Walt Whitman
Entrepreneurship:
First Place: Kelly Benini and Melissa Bloecker, Northport
Second Place: Jordan Stone and Jon Balsano, Walt Whitman
Honorable Mention: Paul Savary, Oyster Bay
Real Estate:
First Place: Sam Kim and Chirag Munim, Northport
Second Place:Tom Quigley, Wilson Tech
Job Interview 9th and 10th Grade:
First Place: Jason Breitstone, Half Hollow Hills East
Second Place: Jake DeLorenzo, Walt Whitman
Honorable Mention: Marissa Ditkowsky
Job Interview: 11th and 12th Grade
First Place: Jillian Baum, Harborfields
Second Place: Francesca Mileo, Commack
Honorable Mention: Claire Bouchard, Oyster Bay
Job Interview (LS)
First Place: Laura Lundi, Deer Park
Second Place: Caitlyn Maloney, Wilson Tech
Honorable Mention: Yasmin Williams, Wilson Tech
The distinguished panel of judges included:Jamie Austin, Austin Travel; Lou Cino, Molloy College;Tom Crosby, Hilton Garden Inn; Michael DeCristofaro, Edward Jones; Anthony DeVito, DeVito Fetterman Advertising; Aaron Foss, Alegean; Ashley Kolarcik, Rexer-Parkes; Maureen Leslie, Adelphi University;Christopher LoPinto, Expert Travel Services;Frank Marchetta, Prudential Douglas Elliman; Jim McGowan, Adelphi University; Bill Mitchell; Lisa O’Brien, T.F. O’Brien & Co.; Krysti O’Rourke, Five Towns College; Brian Rothschild, Adelphi University; Andrew Saluk, Citizens Bank; Vita Scaturro, Community National Bank; David Walsdorf, Walsdorf Insurance Agency; Judy Wasilchuk, Laffey Associates; Jim Werner, Halliday Financial Group; Judy White, CJ2 Communication Strategies; 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, or visit