StatenIslandChamber

Yes, We Discriminate

You know what my wife made for dinner last night? Reservations! She’s Irish. Ever see an Irish cookbook? No one has. There is one old recipe that has been passed down through the generations in my wife’s family for Irish stew: two pounds meat, assorted vegetables, six pints Guinness stout; drink all the stout; forget about the stew.

While my wife is actually an excellent cook, we do go out to dinner once in a while. I always try to frequent a restaurant that is a member of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce. Matter of fact, if I’m choosing between two restaurants and one is a Chamber member, and one is not, I always discriminate and eat at the Chamber member’s place.

That’s because I recognize that they understand that supporting the Chamber is the same as supporting the business community in general. The work the Staten Island Chamber does enhances the business environment for all businesses. That gives consumers better choices. Not to mention many of the initiatives the Chamber works on are geared toward helping all Staten Islanders, not just business owners.

So, in effect, when you choose to support a business that supports your community, you are making the community a better place. When you do business with a company that gives nothing back, not even the support of the local Chamber of Commerce, you are being cheated, and what’s worse is you are short changing your community.

Think about this. You buy something from a local store. Part of the money you give in exchange for the product or service goes to cover costs. Hopefully for the business owner, some of it ends up as profit. What does she do with that profit? She can pocket it all. She can share it with her employees through profit sharing. She can give some of it back to the community that produces that profit through donations to not-for-profits that make the community a better place.

I hope she chooses the latter. And it would be wise to start with the one and only not-for-profit that is diligently working each day to make her local economic conditions better – the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce. She should then give to other not-for-profits that serve other aspects of the community. The reason she should make the Chamber her No. 1 is their actions result in better business for all, which produces more for all the other not-for-profits. It’s common sense.

Of course, we should also think about where the remaining profits go that we help generate when we do business. Are they going to some suits in an ivory tower in some corporate headquarters far, far away? Or are they staying with employees and owners who live and shop locally and pour those profits back into the economic engine we call the Staten Island economy? Again, we need to make sure it’s the latter. So here’s the challenge for you. Next time you are buying something for yourself or your business and you can get it locally from a Chamber member, discriminate in favor of that local Chamber member. Give your hard-earned dollars to the business that gives it right back to your community. Support the business that supports your local economy and local not-for-profits and that understands the importance of giving back. And if you are not a member of the Chamber, you will be losing business by not joining. After this article is read and the wave of discrimination begins, you will be left out in the cold. Don’t delay, join today! Call (718) 727-1900 and ask for Jennifer Fontana and become part of an exclusive group that encourages discrimination!

Tom Scarangello, a principal with Scaran Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing, is foundation chair of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce.

To read the article online, click here! 

Categories: Chamber in the News