By Nick Buglione
Established in 1977, the 15-member board offers technical and management assistance for the startup, running and growth of small businesses the state. The board, which falls under the auspices of the Department of Economic Development, also advises state elected officials about laws and regulations affecting small businesses.
"It's a great honor," Bivone, 45, said. "I thank the governor, and I thank the senators for putting my name in."
Bivone was selected about two weeks ago from a pool of candidates that underwent a four-week screening, he said. The governor picks all board members, with the advice and consent of the state Senate. The unpaid position spans a three-year term. The board meets four times a year in Albany.
"You couldn't have a better person in Albany representing small business," said Hempstead Town Councilman Gary Hudes (R-Levittown), when he learned of the appointment.
According to Bivone, who has almost 20 years experience as a small-business owner, having an East Meadow resident on the board will benefit the community as well as the entire county.
"Now I can let them know what's going on here and what our businesses are all about," he said. "Hopefully, on a state level, we'll be able to bring about some change."
Moving to East Meadow in 1984, Bivone started RMB Drafting Services Inc. one year later, initially working out of his home.
The company offers research, drafting and inspection services -- creating blueprints and designs for projects as well as helping clients apply and file for the appropriate variances necessary during work.
As the business grew in size, Bivone moved it from his house to an East Meadow Avenue office that now employs around 30 people.
In 1992, the enterprising Bivone started his second business - -Electrical Inspectors Inc. -- a company founded to help homeowners get the electrical inspections they need.
Before starting the company, he discovered that obtaining electrical inspections was one of the harder procedures in getting a building's certificate of occupancy.
Aside from his businesses, Bivone is one of East Meadow's more outspoken civic leaders. He is the vice president of the Council of East Meadow Community Organizations as well as a member of the Nassau County Jail Advisory Committee and the East Meadow Kiwanis.
A past president and current member of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce, Bivone is also head of the Nassau County Council of Chambers of Commerce, an organization that represents more than 6,000 businesses from 52 chambers.
"He's very committed to the community, and as president, he did an excellent job for the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce, so I can see why they picked him," said John Tufarelli, a sales manager of Century 21 Art Kaufman Realty in East Meadow. "If there's something that needs to get done in the community, Rich is the guy to do it."
