Islip gathers CEOs for summit

About 125 local business representatives attended Islip Town's first chief executive summit, which focused on challenges business owners face and ways they can collectively benefit from one another.

Participants at the CEO Summit discussed such topics as continuing increases in school taxes and health care costs. Some offered advice to fellow business owners with suggestions ranging from ways to more efficiently transport goods to the hiring of in-house doctors. A panel of business leaders spoke about their experiences partnering with local governments.

Larry Lieberman, president of Vision Quest Lighting, a commercial lighting company based in Ronkonkoma, attended last week's event and said the meeting was a "step in the right direction."

"It was a waste of time if there is no follow-up," he said. "There needs to be a task group or a committee that comes out of this."

Lieberman added that he left the event with the understanding that businesses should "collectively pool our buying power in order to further become more competitive."

Town officials plan to follow up with concerns voiced at the summit, said Islip supervisor Phil Nolan, who helped emcee the event held at NBTY in Ronkonkoma.

The intent, Nolan said, was to create dialogue among the business leaders "and to hear what their concerns are."

Several business leaders who attended plan to meet with the town's economic development team to discuss cost-cutting programs offered by the town, he said.

"We need to have the business community come together periodically for education, networking and to facilitate an effective voice for the Town of Islip," Nolan said.