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LONG BEACH GUIDE
www.liherald.com
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BIOS MICHAEL J. KERR Michael was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He came to Long Beach at age 1, thus beginning the fourth generation in Long Beach. He attended Long Beach Schools and graduated from Long Beach High School in 1964. Since its inception in 1969, Michael J. Kerr, the founder and owner of Fire Command Co. Inc., a firm providing a wide range of fire protection services and equipment, serving Nassau, Suffolk and the five boroughs. Mr. Kerr holds a certificate of fire technology from SUNY Farmingdale, attended Brooklyn Polytechnic University and holds a certificate from Hofstra University in occupational safety and health. Michael is currently serving his eighth year as president of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. He had served as executive vice president of the chamber four years prior to that. He also is currently commencing his fifth six-year stint as presidential officer of the Exempt Fireman’s Association. Michael is a city fire commissioner, a position he previously held from December 1998 to April of 2006, at which time he donated his salary for the purchase of Fire Department equipment. Michael has been a member of the Long Beach Volunteer Fire Department for the past 48 years, serving first as its treasurer, then lieutenant, captain, assistant chief and rising to chief from 1973 to 1975, holding the distinction of being their youngest fire chief when elected. He is a member of the Long Beach Lions Club, Long Beach Historical Society, the Nassau County Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Fireman’s Association of the State of New York, Nassau County Fireman’s Association, South Shore Fireman’s Association and on the Board of Trustees of the Long Beach Medical Center, just to name a few. Michael loves the City of Long Beach. It has been in his blood for his entire life. He has the talent to know the addresses and descriptions of many buildings in Long Beach. A devoted family man, Michael has been married to Janice for more than 20 years. They have three children: Jennifer, Andrew and Joshua.
MARK TANNENBAUM, CLTC, LUTCF Mark Tannenbaum, CLTC, LUTCF, is the executive vice president of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce and has been a resident in the Long Beach/South Shore region of Nassau County for more than 45 years. He lives with his domestic partner, Michele Kivolowitz, and they have three daughters and three grand children between them. In 2005, after a 35-year career in business management in New York City, Mark set up his professional practice on Long Island. As executive vice president and a member of the Board of Directors, Mark devotes his time and skills in giving back to the community by organizing and helping to develop many projects to promote and benefit the business community and members of the Chamber. Mark has used his business management skills to create and organize a highly successful biannual Restaurant Week for the Long Beach community. When Mark first joined the Chamber he founded and developed the annual Summer Blast event. During his tenure with the chamber, Mark has served as chairman of the Summer Blast as well as being instrumental in the planning and execution of the Winter Blast. Mark
has developed numerous advertising campaigns and was instrumental in developing the chamber's website. The president of the chamber has relied on Mark to represent the chamber membership at various City Council meetings, community meetings and state initiatives. During the tenuous months after Hurricane Sandy, Mark organized a series of meetings involving FEMA, SBA, Nassau County government and our elected officials to help the business community of the Long Beach Island and Island Park deal with the recovery process. In the spring of 2012, Mark pioneered with The Guardian, a Group Dental Plan for the chamber's membership. The Group Plan is the first ever to be offered to a chamber of commerce. Currently, Mark is working with the city government on a series of street fairs for the chamber's membership. The street fairs will be held during July and September. Mark is a financial advisor, specializing in financial, protection and retirement strategies for individuals and businesses. Mark uses his more than 40 years of business management experience and skills to guide his clients in setting and achieving their financial objectives. His commitment to his clients is to work diligently in being a trusted, lifelong advisor. Mark also writes a financial column for the Tribune. Mark is an active member in The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, the National Care Planning Council for Long Term Care, a Charter Member of ElderCare Matters Alliance and the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance. Mark is a graduate of the American College and The Corporation for Long-Term Care Certification achieving the designations of Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow and Certified Long Term Care Planner. In 2010, Mark received the Vision of Hope’s Professional of the Year award. Mark also was a recipient of the chamber’s Professional of the Month Award in February 2012.
FRANK TRIFARO Vice President Frank Trifaro is a vice president and branch manager with Community National Bank, located on Long Beach Road in Oceanside. He has been in the finance industry for more than 10 years. Frank has served on the annual Dinner Dance and Restaurant Week committees. He currently lives in East Islip with his wife, Maureen, and his son, Andrew. Continued on page 22