Chamber of Commerce Celebrates Women's Council

The Hoboken Chamber of Commerce held a barbecue on Thursday to celebrate the formation of its new Women in Business Council.

About Town went of course, since we try to attend any social function that involves putting meat on fire. We go to all the Chamber events anyway, and we wanted to attend this one especially because we feel its important to recognize the accomplishments of ceiling-shattering women entrepreneurs. Also, we've wildcatted for chicks everywhere else, so why not for look for a Lady About Town with a good job.

As we've said before about previous Chamber events, this ain't your daddy's Chamber of Commerce. The majority of the 120 plus attendees to the barbecue at the Hoboken Business Center were women, and of those we reckon the majority were younger than 40.

We saw several female pillars of the community, including restauranteur Joyce Flinn, attorneys Kim Glatt, Corinne Mullen and Marie Stinson, doctors Laura Brayton and Kathia Roberts, marketing maven Elizabeth Barry, Republicans of Hoboken Chair Diana Davis, Project Play organizers Zabrina Stoffel and Peta Moran, Vanessa Falco of the Jubilee Center's teen program, Hop Bus logo designer Susan Newman and Patch's own parenting columnist and (co-founder of the upcoming Metro Mom Expo) Kathy Zucker.

A few gents were there too, including Councilman Ravi Bhalla, Freeholder Anthony Romano, developer Frank Raia, Reverend Geoff Curtiss, Hoboken Tech Meetup founder Aaron Price and Billy Noonan, who was still shining from running a great .

The guests ate courtesy of Chamber member Ellen Savastano, who owns a catering company called the Secret Chef. Savastano slapped a propane tank to a long grill on wheels and smoked beef all afternoon. It was awesome. People kept coming back for third and fourth servings.

While eating guests listened to Hoboken singer and guitarist Ray Greiche, who serenaded the crowd with an especially nice rendition of Buddy Holly's “Everyday.”

After the meal Chamber president Michael Novak addressed the audience. According to Chamber vice-president Greg Dell'Aquila, the women's council was Novak's idea.

"This is an amazing group that will bring significant and substantial value to the Chamber," Novak said about the new women's council.

Novak then introduced Mayor Dawn Zimmer and thanked her for attending.

“It's great when the Mayor comes,” he said. “She comes to everything.” Just weeks before Zimmer had accompanied several Hoboken Chamber members to a with the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce.

Zimmer, Hudson County's first female mayor, first mentioned the presence of Audra Carter and Maria Diaz, . She then applauded the formation of the new women's council and also promoted her administration's plans to bolster local business, including the and a redesign of the city signage and community bulletin boards (the ones with withering flyers advertising the upcoming Yo La Tengo show on July 19, 2006.)

Mayor Zimmer also saluted the Chamber president. “Who would have thought that it would take Mike Novak to unite all the business women in Hoboken,” she joked. She capped her remarks by announcing that she too would join the Chamber.

“I very much want to be a part of this,” she said.

Nineteen other women joined Mayor Zimmer in registering for the Chamber, making the group more inclusive, more diverse, and more likely to make a positive impact on the role the business community can play in Hoboken.

“We're bringing life to the Chamber,” women's council member Elizabeth Barry said. “It's a unique way for the Chamber to grow.”

Bringing life - a telling phrase about a traditionally male civic group strengthened by adding women. Because just as this ain't your daddy's Chamber of Commerce anymore, it is quickly becoming more your mama's.

Alan Skontra was a big dork who never went anywhere. Then he started writing the About Town column for Patch, and now he's everywhere. Have a hot tip on an event in Hoboken? Send an invitation, questions and comments too, to alanskontra@hotmail.com. And if he gets enough followers he might actually post his first tweet @ twitter.com/alanskontra.