Women warriors: 2014 Top Women In Business

The rays of evening sunshine couldn’t compete with the smiles of the 35 honorees as they greeted contacts old and new, posed with Best Man of the Year Geraldo Rivera and accepted their awards at the third annual Brooklyn Top Women in Business Networking Awards Dinner, held on Thursday, March 27 at Brooklyn’s own historic Grand Prospect Hall.

Honorees ranged from entrepreneurs in fashion and food like Yana Benhuri of YBCouture and Margo Lewis of Ms. Dahlia’s Café and Cake Bliss Couture Cakes, to community leaders such as Cynthia Aker of Cornerstone Baptist Church and Mafalda DiMango of Community Education Council District 20 and the Dyker Heights Civic Association, and business mavens the likes of Light of Gold PR CEO Debra Dixon and Broadway Stages President Gina Argento.

“We have a crowd of about 500 people to say yay to these fabulous women,” noted Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator Co-Publisher Victoria Schneps, the spearhead of this special event. “They are what makes things happen in our borough.”

According to Melody Meeter, director of pastoral care at Lutheran HealthCare, being recognized for her work in the community left her feeling “amazed and honored” and also like she had “a little bit of a wake-up call that, yeah, I am a role model.”

“We must remember that women’s leadership involves mentorship,” Meeter said. “I’ve had many mentors [including] an English teacher who was a powerful mentor for me [during a time when] just knowing that women could have jobs” was important.

In addition to the honorees, Fox 5 News reporter Kerry Drew served as Master of Ceremonies.

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer stopped by to congratulate the honorees, stating that in spite of the fact that “it’s a hard time to be a woman entrepreneur”—he noted that “of the $16 billion the city spends on procurement, 2.7 percent goes to women and minority businesses” [down from five percent]—the honorees are among those breaking down barriers and empowering the city and its residents.

All funds raised through auctioning off a trip to Cancun, Mexico generously donated by Delta Air Lines and other exciting prizes were donated to Marine Park-based nonprofit Beating Cancer In Heels and Bay Ridge-based The Guild for Exceptional Children—organizations dedicated to empowering, educating and supporting individuals, particularly youth and young adults, who are navigating their respective challenges of cancer and developmental disabilities.

Marlena Ortiz, breast cancer survivor and founder of Beating Cancer In Heels, said she was thrilled at the opportunity to spread awareness about her nonprofit and the impact of cancer on young women’s self-esteem and sense of self.

“Brooklyn’s my hometown, so I started here and hope to go citywide,” she said. “Networking events like this are important to get the message out, and inspire and be inspired.”

Event sponsors included Investors Bank, Delta Airlines, Mercedes-Benz of Brooklyn, Flushing Bank, National Grid, New York Community Bank, Vanguard Funding, Bayada Home Healthcare, Lutheran HealthCare, Atlantic Dialysis Management Services, Con Edison, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and Ehren Joseph Studio.

Expo presenters included Maimonides Medical Center, J.P. Turner & Co., Flushing Bank, Oh! Orly, Psychic Readings by Rosie, Ramps Lifts for Better Living, TGI Office Automation, YB Couture by Yana Benhuri and Cardinal Trade Group.

Steve Contegiacomo, director of Bayada’s New York City office, noted that participating as a sponsor helps the company gain traction in the community. “We want to establish a reputation in the community,” he said. “It is a challenge, entering Brooklyn markets withlack of name recognition. This [event] provides an opportunity to get our name out.”

For John Nietziel, senior vice president at Investors Bank, the occasion was an opportunity to celebrate those who make a difference while also promoting what the bank has to offer.

“One of the honorees is our Jennifer Smith and we’re thrilled,” he said, adding, “This networking event is fabulous. We are a community bank and it’s great to recognize great performers. Jennifer is a community broker and deals primarily with not-for-profits, building a relationship with those who giving back to the community so that we can support them.”

Raffle prizes were donated by Delta, Green Spa and Wellness Center, American Golf Corporation, Creative Group LLC, and Mercedes Benz of Brooklyn. The grand prize winner of tickets to Cancun courtesy of Delta Air Lines was 12-year-old Demetri Demetriades, and the winner of the Mercedes-Benz kid car was Mark Donati of Atlantic Dialysis Management.

Additional reporting contributed by Helen Klein.