The Mattituck Chamber of Commerce has several new faces in key positions — all three have bright hopes for the future.
Mattituck Florist owner Danielle Lascala, the newly elected president, is excited about the direction the chamber will take as they implement several new ideas for pulling local business owners together and improving communication to the benefit of both the businesses and the town as a whole.
“Our direction this year is to get networking — to get more engaged with each other,” said Lascala. “I’ve had local business owners tell me that they’ve lived here 20 years but had never been in some of the shops.”
Lascala feels that improving communication business-to-business will provide support to both new and established businesses in Mattituck. And in doing so, the community as a whole will benefit, she says.
“In today’s day and age with the number of small businesses that go under — the statistics are horrible — networking is crucial,” she says.
One of the ways the new team plans to improve communications is by hosting informal gatherings at different locations where local business owners can meet and get to know each other.
David Perrin, owner of the Cedar House on Sound B&B and the chamber’s new vice president, calls them “social networking events.”
“We want to give people an opportunity to hear each others’ stories, swap some cards, shake some hands, meet and greet and really talk about some issues. We find that at informal gatherings we actually get more information out of the members about what they want and need.”
One of the biggest projects on the new team’s schedule is the expansion of the popular “First Friday” event on Love Lane. For the past two summers, the street was closed off on the first Friday of the month, allowing pedestrians to walk around, visit the shops and sample food and wine while enjoying live music.
Originally focused solely on Love Lane businesses, the enhanced “First Fridays” will include member businesses throughout Mattituck and will be an all-day event with promotions and specials. The block party style gathering will continue to be held on Love Lane and will run every first Friday of the month from May through October.
The team is already working on making the 40th annual Mattituck Street Fair the best one ever, said the chamber’s new secretary, Sandy Lazar, owner of Haircutters of Love Lane.
The new officers have an experienced hand in charge of finances in the person of long-time treasurer Kelly Fogarty.
“We have a lot to learn,” said Lazar. “But we have lots of ideas. We’re excited about 2017; we’ve got some great things up and coming.”
