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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, MARCH 10, 2019
Borough biz booster awards entrepreneurs
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce toasts members at its annual Winter Gala
BY MAYA HARRISON
It was an award-winning party!
Hundreds of the borough’s top business
leaders gathered at Downtown’s Brooklyn
Bridge Marriott hotel on Feb. 25 to celebrate
local entrepreneurs at the Brooklyn Chamber
of Commerce’s annual Winter Gala —
an evening chock-full of merriment, music,
and quality hobnobbing, according to an attendee.
“It was an amazing event. There were
great networking opportunities, and the violinist
was incredible,” said Ernesto Perez-
Mir, vice president and chief nursing offi -
cer at Methodist Hospital.
Spectrum News NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan
emceed the festivities, and presented
several awards to notable Chamber supporters,
including the President and Chief
Operating Offi cer of Investors Bank, Domenick
Cama, who won the Corporate Titan
of the Year Award; legal eagle and Senior
Partner of Davidoff, Hutcher and
Citron LLP, Sid Davidoff, who took home
the Power Broker of the Year Award; and
the founder and owner of children’s learning
center Eladia’s Kids, Eladia Causil-
Rodriguez, who received the Outstanding
Small Business Owner of the Year Award.
The Chamber’s recently appointed President
HONORARY TRIO: From left, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Chairwoman Ana Oliveira celebrated with honorees Eladia Causil-Rodriguez, founder and
owner of Eladia’s Kids; Domenick Cama, president and chief operating offi cer at Investors Bank; and Sid Davidoff, senior partner at Davidoff, Hutcher &
Citron LLP; along with Chamber head Hector Batista. Photos by Trey Pentecost
and Chief Executive Offi cer, Hector
Batista , and its Chairwoman Ana Oliveira,
presented each honoree with a trophy, with
Batista telling the crowd of roughly 400
movers and shakers that the award winners
— and all members of the businessboosting
group — play a vital role in keeping
Kings County’s economy strong, and
helping small mom-and-pop shops thrive.
“Brooklyn’s business community has
driven the borough’s emergence as an economic
and cultural force, and the Chamber’s
Winter Gala is a celebration of that.
As New York’s economy continues to evolve,
the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce will
advocate for businesses and help them
adapt to the changing landscape,” Batista
said.
This year’s fund-raising gala raised a whopping
$280,000, according to Chamber spokesman
Michael Johnston, who said the money
would support the organization’s future programming
and initiatives to support borough
entrepreneurs.