Students Honored at 10th Annual Business Leadership Competition

The Young Professionals Chamber of Commerce (YPCC), a program of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, hosted its 10^th Annual Business Leadership Competition at Farmingdale State College on Wednesday, November 28. This year more than 275 high school students from 13 local high schools, including Commack, Farmingdale, Half Hollow Hills East, Half Hollow Hills West, Harborfields, Hauppauge, Huntington, North Shore, Northport, Oyster Bay, St. Dominic’s, Walt Whitman, and Wilson Technological Center participated. A luncheon and awards ceremony followed the competition.

The competition provided students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge through presentations in categories including Fashion Marketing, Hospitality Services, Advertising, Graphic Design, Travel and Tourism, Entertainment Marketing, Sports Management, Sports Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and Job Interview Skills.

This event was made possible through the generosity of this year’s sponsors: Adelphi University, Astoria Federal Savings, Briarcliffe College, Farmingdale State College, Five Towns College; H2M Group, Hofstra University,  Honu Kitchen and Cocktails, JVC Broadcasting, JW Creations, Kushnick Pallaci, PLLP, North Shore Financial Group and Oyster Bay Rotary.

2012 YPCC Business Leadership Competition Winners

Fashion Marketing Team A: 

First Place:  Ally Johnston and Becca Hedrick, Commack

Second Place:  Alexandra Jannello and Brittany Chammas, Farmingdale

Honorable Mention: Olivia Bernart, Northport

Hospitality Services Team A:

First Place:  Areeta Shah and Eric Gesale, Half Hollow Hills East

Second Place:  Gabriella Mandriota, Huntington

Hospitality Services Team B:

First Place:  Jennifer Matos and Sam Slusher, Wilson Tech

Second Place:  Tyler DuPont and Anna Kippley, Northport

Advertising Team A:          

First Place:  Melissa Guida and Chris Volberg, St. Dominic’s                                                                           
Second Place: Alexander Melton and Sarah Golshahr, Farmingdale

Advertising Team B:          

First Place:  Jonathan O’Kane and Jeffrey Kogan, Commack                                                                          
Second Place:  Daniel Field and Jack Weinstein, Hauppauge

Graphic Design Team A:   

First Place:  Julia Barca, Huntington                                                                                                                    
Second Place: Jessica Hutzel and John Connor, Wilson Tech

Graphic Design Team B:   

First Place:  Zack Jayson and Max Park, Half Hollow Hills West                                                                    
Second Place: Philip Lin and Justin Knispel, Commack

Sports Management:  

First Place:  Johnathan Christoforatos and John DeFalco, Northport
Second Place:  Mike Hoffman, Hauppauge

Honorable Mention:  Brett Davies and John Lopes, Farmingdale

Sports Marketing:      

First Place:  John Elarde and Jon Burke, Commack

Second Place:  Patrick Casaccio, Commack

 Honorable Mention:  Andrew Presta and Denielle Flaherty, Farmingdale

Travel and Tourism:           

First Place:  Dan Urcell and Tyler Wojcik, Northport                                                                                                                                           
Second Place: Brianna Maniscalco and Casey McConnell, St. Dominic’s

Honorable Mention:  Sydney O’Gorman and Ami Munim, Northport

Entrepreneurship Team A:     

First Place:  Sam Federman and Hunter Sharf, North Shore                                                                                                                              
Second Place:  Samantha Dever, Huntington

Entrepreneurship Team B:     

First Place:  Harry Ehrich and Raumaq Singh  , North Shore                                                                          
Second Place:  Misha Patel and Catherine Aiello, Walt Whitman

Entertainment Marketing:              

First Place:  Brian Chueh and Dillon Scott, Commack

Second Place:  John Guido and Ryan Persaud, Half Hollow Hills West

Honorable Mention:  Taylor Veracka and Juliana Veracka, Hauppauge

Job Interview 9^th and 10^th Grade:     

First Place:  Erin Stitt, Hauppauge

Second Place: Kelly Tenbus, Huntington

Job Interview: 11^th and 12^th Grade

First Place: Brandon Hohenberg, Commack

Second Place: William Pickett, Farmingdale

Honorable Mention:  Rachel Smith, Half Hollow Hills West

Job Interview

First Place: Malik Morton, Wilson Tech

Second Place: Ryan Phelan, Hauppauge

Honorable Mention:  John Paul DeSimone, Oyster Bay

Honorable mention:  Christine Starkey, Hauppauge

The distinguished panel of judges included:

 Gioia Bales, Hofstra University; Sara Bluestone, Leadership Huntington; Carmel Burke Bonesso, Pharmacy Times; Robert Bontempi, Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Vincent Casillo, North Shore Financial Group; Jennifer Cassidy, People’s United Bank; Joanne Courtien, Huntington YMCA; Luann Dallojacono, Long Islander Newspaper; Michael DeCristofaro, John W. Engeman Theater; Anthony DeVito, DeVito Group; Karen Fischer, Home Depot; William Hernandez, BAE Systems; Jason Kitton, XO Restaurant; Camille Savino Koorey, CJ2 Communication Strategies; Larry Kushnick, Kushnick Pallaci, PLLC; Joe Maddalone, Power Strategies; Ever Martinez, Bethpage Federal Credit Union; Jim McGowan, Adelphi University; Beth Meixner, Moxxie Network; Bill Mitchell, Huntington Chamber of Commerce; Stefanie Osborne, The Bristal; Diane Portigiano, Digho; Evan Proios, Briarcliffe College; Brian Rothschild, Adelphi University; Jim Werner, Halliday Financial Group; Mark Zecher, Honu; Chesley Zuckerman, Long Island Lizards; Merrill Zorn, Zorn’s

ABOUT THE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE:

As a division of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, the YPCC was established to engage high school students, college students and young entrepreneurs to enhance their leadership skills in a professional environment interacting with business executives, community leaders, educators and other young adults. The YPCC offers guest speakers, networking opportunities, skill and resume building, entrepreneur workshops, internships and more. We believe that the strength of our School-Business Partnership through the Chamber of Commerce enables us to provide educational initiatives to the dynamic students who are our future business leaders of tomorrow.