Volume 1, Issue 1
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

U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton had some good news, some bad news, and some advice, for the 270 non-profit leaders gathered for the first Non-Profit Leadership Summit, held in Rockland during May.

The good news, said Sen. Clinton, was that she is working hard to bring more federal dollars to the suburbs—which, of course, include Rockland. The bad news? After wrangling with other leaders in the Senate over the current budget the previous week in Congress, there wasn’t too much hope that would happen, with Clinton noting that federal nonprofit dollars rarely fund their way to the suburbs.

“It’s important that a we get as smart as we possibly can and to use every single dollar that comes your way,” she said.

Sen. Clinton was the keynote speaker at the Non-Profit Leadership Summit, which was hosted by the Institute for Non-Profits, part of the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Rockland.

The daylong event also included seminars and lectures on a wide range of topics including staffing, succession planning, and legal issues for non-profits. The Senator’s speech bulleted the various ways that legislation she proposed would benefit the suburbs.

Also in attendance were County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef and Chairwoman of the County Legislature Harriet Cornell. The Summit was sponsored by Union State Bank, along with Rockland Graduate Campus of Long Island University, Orange & Rockland Utilities, Dominican College, Rockland Teachers’ Center Institute, United Hospice of Rockland and the Bank of New York.

Jawonio was a sponsor of the first non-profit summit held in Rockland, and its Director of Development, Jeffrey Kassover, played a key role in arranging for nationally known speaker, Diana Aviv. "As part of our core values, we believe passionately in serving our own consumers and the greater community," says Paul Tendler, Executive Director of Jawonio. "When we participate in community wide efforts to highlight our work, it gives us the opportunity to proudly share the work of our dedicated staff as well as give voice to people with disabilities who go to school, live and work in Rockland County."

The first Non-Profit Leadership Summit
drew a tremendous response for its
series of workshops and keynote speakers.

Diana Aviv, President and CEO of Independant Sector,
focused on funding streams as she addressed the crowd
during the breakfast kickoff.

The Non-Profit Leadership Summit attracted
270 non-profit leaders for the all-day affair
partially sponsored by Union State Bank.

Diana Aviv, President and CEO of Independent Sector, a national leadership forum for the non-profit sector, addressed the crowd during the breakfast kickoff. Her concern was how the non-profit sector can maintain its viability without secure funding streams, especially in the face of various social, economic and legislative challenges. Among the topics covered by Aviv was the proposed elimination of the estate tax, the retirement of the baby boom generation, and the philanthropic choices of the newly wealthy and the importance of ethics.

Like Sen. Clinton, Aviv said, “My intention is to encourage; not incite pessimism. We hold a special place in American social life. Our responsibility is a shared one.”

Aviv has been working closely with Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Committee on Finance on some important legislation now in front of Congress that would affect the non-profit sector. As Executive Director of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, Aviv headed an independent panel of charitable and philanthropic leaders convened by Independent Sector in October 2004.

The panel has recommended over 120 necessary actions to be taken by charitable organizations, Congress, and the Internal Revenue Service, in order to strengthen the sector’s transparency, governance and accountability. In her address, Aviv said all 120 measures must be implemented in order to maintain the sector’s viability, and said Senator Grassley and his colleagues had recently offered the first part of his reform to Congress. Aviv, said the Senator, believes there is a good chance legislation will pass this year.

Aviv also stressed her hope that more charities could create off-shoots to attract younger philanthropists. Right now those philanthropists tend to create their own foundations. “It could be the dawn of a new era,” she said. She also expressed her belief that the American economy was equipped to adapt to global change.

Naomi L. Adler, president of the United Way of Rockland County, found Aviv’s presentation most helpful. She was concerned that additional regulations proposed by Congress would lead to higher costs for the sector.

Diane Serratore, Director of Communications and Special Events for the Rockland County Girl Scouts, was on the Committee that helped bring the event together.

“We got a tremendous response,” she said. RBD

Profiles of Three Not-for-profit Leaders:

Naomi Adler
President, United Way of Rockland County
Advocate for Women and Children

Naomi Adler has always been something of a community activist. From her early days as a prosecutor, where she solidified a reputation in defending the rights of women and children against domestic violence, to the national recognition she received for establishing a Hate Crime Task Force in Cleveland, to her appointment as director of the critically acclaimed SAFE (Stop Abuse in the Family Environment) prosecutorial program, Adler has always advocated for those who could not stand up for themselves.

Today, Adler is the President of United Way of Rockland County. A graduate of Leadership Rochester and a member of the 2003 Leadership Rockland class, Naomi is currently serving on the steering committee for the Global Hudson Valley Initiative, the policy board of Taconic Region’s 211 helpline and the executive board of Rockland’s 21st Century Collaborative for Children & Youth.

Paul Tendler
Executive Director, Jawonio
Advocate for the Disabled

The Paul Tendler Independent Living Center in New Hempstead, a $3.1 million facility that opened last year, honors Tendler, the Executive Director of Jawonio, for his 40 year career as an advocate for the disabled. Jawonio’s mission is to advance the independence, well-being and equality of people with disabilities or special needs. An innovative community designed to allow adults with disabilities to live independently, the project will allow 19 physically and developmentally disabled residents of this “rampless, stairless” cluster of homes to maintain a sense of independence.

Tendler has been a dedicated and dogged voice for those without a voice. He began his career at Jawonio as an assistant director in 1977, and became head of the agency in 1986. During that time, Jawonio has grown, adding services and programs. Tendler was also instrumental in expanding Jawonio’s reach and programs from its base in New Hempstead to New City, Westchester and New Jersey.

Ricky Lennett
President, Rockland Housing Council
Advocate for Affordable Housing

Former Provident Bank Vice President Ricky Lennett was never content to stand on her laurels as one of the financial industry’s keenest minds. Instead, Lennett has worked tirelessly on a number of non-profit programs, but especially affordable housing. Lennett, President of the Rockland Housing Council, has led that group to become one of the leading affordable housing agencies in the region.

For fifteen years Rockland Housing Action Coalition has worked to build affordable housing and provide financial and homeowner counseling for low and moderate income people living in Rockland County, including volunteer firefighters and emergency service groups. RHAC has built 44 affordable single family houses and over 200 affordable apartments for seniors in the last five years.

Lennett has also served as a member of The United Way Rockland Families 2001 Disaster Fund, among other charitable causes.