Chamber Inducts New Leadership, Maps Out Fundraising Strategy

The Babylon Village of Chamber installed its new officers at an induction ceremony Tuesday night at the with Village Mayor Ralph Scordino leading the swearing-in ceremony.

Patty Vorilas, owner of , is the new president. John Taylor, the outgoing president and the properietor of , is now the vice president of membership. Walter Levins, who owns , is the vice president of special events. The new secretary is Mauricio Salazar, manager of and Andrew Mullane, an investment advisor at Omnia Financial LLC, is the new treasurer.

As he passed the leadership torch to Vorilas, Taylor said it was heartwarming to see such a turnout at the meeting and thanked everyone for their support.

“There are so many things we accomplished in the past year and so many things we still want to accomplish. I take great pride in our efforts and am very proud to be a part of them,” said Taylor.

“We have the potential to do so many wonderful things and to promote this wonderful place where we work,” he added, showing emotion during his remarks.

In taking the helm Vorilas thanked Taylor for his leadership over the past several years and all the work he’s done for the chamber. She also thanked the village administration for the success of chamber events throughout the year.

She announced that the chamber would begin a series of fundraiser events this year aimed at developing a more robust advertising budget in order to promote Babylon Village as a destination spot as well as publicize the chamber's many events during the year.

Levins announced the first effort will be a Chinese Auction on March 28 at the American Legion Hall with a goal to raise about $5,000. As Vorilas has already run such events for her church, the new president is confident that the chamber can benefit fromt he fundraising approach. Other potential fundraisers may include a bay cruise dinner dance excusion.

“The goal is to get money to promote an ongoing advertiising campaign that focuses on promoting the village as a whole,  and not just focus on one event,” explained Levins, adding that he’s looking for help on the special events committee. “Anything you can do is helpful, whether that’s making calls or running a booth at an event,” he said.

In concluding the meeting, Vorilas said she hoped to continue the success of Taylor's legacy as president.

“We all have to work together,” she said. “We can definitely grow this year."