Table of Contents
Miscellaneous
• From The Publishers
• Last Look: Syd Farber
Cover Story:
Where’s Everybody Going?
What’s causing some small businesses to pack up and leave? And what should we
be doing to stop them?
Feature Story:
The Excessive Costs
of Doing Business in New York
A productive Small Business Day in Albany, but worries still exist for Rockland-ites and other New York based businesses.
Feature Story:
How’d They Do That?
Follow Provident Bank CEO George Strayton’s strategies for success.
DEPARTMENTS:
Economics Roundup
• The Smart Investor
• Money Talk
Business Roundup
• Unlock Your Potential
• Marketing By Design
Retail Round-Up
• Talking Shop
• Odds & Ends
Ask the Expert
• Estate Planning
• Mortgage Advice
Invest in Your Community
• The Bottom Line
• First Annual Non-profit Leadership Summit
Dedicated Section:
Rockland Business Association:
The President’s Desk
A new voice for Rockland County and a new advocate for its hottest issues and concerns.
Pinnacles of Success
RBA’s best honored at the
Third Annual Pinnacle Awards.
RBA Happenings
• Committee and Council Info
• Calendar of Events
• New Members
Last Look:
Goodbye to a Friend,
Facilitator, and Philanthropist: Syd Farber
In one of his last articles on sydspeaks.com, Syd Farber wrote
this about networking: “It has been said that ‘it’s
not what you know;
it’s who you know that counts.’”
Well, in the case of Syd Farber, that was truth plainly spoken—and there were few in Rockland’s business community who did not know him either personally or professionally. Farber, the founder and owner of SydSpeaks, Inc., a local company that provided quality education and training to corporations, non-profits, and schools, passed away from complications of leukemia on April 6th of this year.
“Syd Farber gave me the confidence to start my own networking group. He taught me not to be afraid of myself,” says Paul Rafanello, a local CPA. “He also stressed the importance of small things, such as remembering people’s names at events. All his tips have made me a better networker today and successful in my business.”
“Last year, Syd started his own series of networking lunches in a new format,” says Rafanello. “They were wildly successful, averaging between 30 and 45 people each time.” When Rafanello started the Orange Networking Alliance, Syd came to the first meeting. More than 50 people came. “After everyone introduced themselves, Syd went up and down each table and remembered their names.”
To those who knew him personally, Farber was not only an inspirational speaker, who drew on his lessons as an educator to teach today’s business people, but a facilitator, coach, consultant, volunteer, and family man. Before founding his business, he was an Assistant Principal and then Principal of Spring Valley High School from 1988 until his retirement in June of 2001. Prior to that he was an English teacher, counselor and coach in the New York City School System. It was through the skills he honed over thirty-five years in education that made him a success in his new endeavor, he often said.
“Syd was a long-time client and played an integral part in the evolution of the Consultants Council,” says Steve Powell, of Co-Oper8 Marketing Group in Goshen. “He was a good man, an adoring father and husband, and leaves a loving family to remember him. Like many of us, Syd aspired to become something or someone more than he was. I think that he succeeded in that regard more than anyone I’ve ever known.”
Indeed, Syd became something of a celebrity in his “second” career, appearing in a prominent TV commercial. He spoke regionally and nationally with local business owners, corporate leaders, agency executives, and school personnel. He also was a speaker at The Learning Annex in New York City.
“The attribute that struck me the most about Syd was his genuine interest in helping others,” says John M. O’Sullivan of Aberfoyle Associates. “Regardless of whether it was feedback on a presentation, or making an introduction to a potential prospect, his sincerity was always evident and totally without guile or self interest.”
He was also a philanthropist, donating his time and expertise to various charities throughout the county. He lived by the motto‚ “Helping others will make the world a better place,” says his daughter Michelle. Among others, Syd served on the Board of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Rockland County, and the Board of SHARE (the Society for Hospital and Resources Exchange).
Through his work with students, his flair for facilitating, his great personal style, and his enduring devotion to causes great and small to the Rockland Community, Syd still speaks. RBD
