Letter From
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Working Together To Grow
The heart of what the Chamber does is advocacy – advocacy on legislative affairs, on the relationships between government and business. The Chamber brings a private sector perspective to issues of public importance. It is a form of public collaboration. It is key to a well-functioning community.
Whether it’s transportation, health care, education, tax levels or development issues, the Chamber is involved. It doesn’t matter if a business is small or large; the Chamber is a place to meet; discuss public policy concerns; to figure out what we share, and how we differ. The Chamber is nonpartisan. We work equally and openly with members on both sides of the aisle. We look to forge productive relationships – productive relationships, which will provide benefits to our members.
We will work to expand our advocacy. We will seek to bring issues to you in a timely manner and to give you the opportunity to voice your opinion with elected officials. Together, we will work to unite interests across individual agendas and across philosophical divides.
I want each of our members to know we belong to a fantastic network. It’s a powerful network. Each of you should seek to take advantage of it, and to be empowered by it. We unite business, academia, nonprofits, labor, and government. Our members employ a half million people in Queens. I applaud all of our achievements as a chamber network, but we are only scratching the surface of what we can do – if we work together. And, work is really what it’s about. The issue of the day, the month, the year, is JOBS. Queens is a magnet for the world. We have 178 languages spoken here. It’s a place where people can retain their cultural identity while living and working side by side. Multiculturalism, equality, access and hope – this is the soul of Queens.
But we still must work together to get it exactly right. Workforce development is – and will remain -- one of our primary challenges. Developing educational partnerships is instrumental in workforce development. LaGuardia and Queensborough Community Colleges, Queens College, York College, Plaza College, St John’s University – all contribute to the rich academic landscape where we live. All are great assets to our community and to your businesses. We will work to expand these partnerships. Expect them to contribute to the spirit of entrepreneurship that the Chamber fosters.
Carol Conslato
President









