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Overcast Chamber to honor Person of the Year
Mitchell Allen will succeed Stephen Haller as president
The East Meadow Chamber of Commerce will honor longtime member Walter Skinner as its Person of the Year at the organization’s 60th installation dinner on Friday.
Mitchell Allen will be installed as the organization’s president, succeeding Stephen Haller. The dinner will be at the Cheateau Briand in Carle Place.
It is the incoming president who chooses the Person of the Year, and Allen said the choice was an easy one. Skinner, he said, “has done as much for this community as most elected officials have done. His altruistic nature is frankly unprecedented.”
Skinner, a lifelong East Meadow resident, is a two-time past president of the Chamber. He is also a member of the East Meadow Kiwanis Club, has coached in East Meadow’s Police Activity League, is an active leader in East Meadow Boy Scouts, and has been a trustee on the East Meadow School District’s Board of Education since 2005. He is also a member of the Pope Pius XII Council of the Knights of Columbus.
But Skinner said his volunteerism stems from a love of the community he grew up in, and not for public accolades. “As I always say, I live, work and play here in East Meadow,” Skinner said. “I don’t like to be the center of attention. I like to donate my time quietly.”
Skinner and his wife of 26 years, Kim, have two sons, Cory, 20, and Kyle, 17. He operates his own Allstate Insurance Agency on Front Street, which he opened in 2001.
Haller agreed that Skinner is the right choice to receive the prestigious honor. “He’s a wonderful guy,” Haller said. “He’s a good businessman and he’s very generous to the community.”
Added Haller, “He’s not very good at golf, though.”
It’s not the first time Skinner is being recognized by his peers. In 2013, the East Meadow Parent Teacher Association Council honored him at its annual Founders Day dinner. “I’m not getting used to it,” Skinner said. “Every time, it’s the toughest place to be, up in front of your peers.”
Outgoing president reflects on successful year
Haller, whose presidency will officially end on Friday, said the past year was a rewarding one, full of fundraising, spreading community awareness and integrating new technologies into the Chamber. “I feel like I met my objective, my vision,” he said.
