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Hempstead Town councilman teaches business basics at Calhoun High

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Town of Hempstead Councilman Gary Hudes recently spoke to Calhoun High School students about the importance of proper interviewing etiquette and hard work in finding and keeping a job.
Scott Brinton/Herald Life

“How are you doing so far?” Hempstead Town Councilman Gary Hudes bellowed, addressing Peter Palazzo’s class at Calhoun High School on a recent Thursday.

“Outstanding!” senior Spencer Kaufman replied.

Most of the other dozen students muttered “good” or “all right.”

“You’re not separating yourself from everyone else,” Hudes good-naturedly admonished the students. Kaufman, he noted, did.

Hudes came to Calhoun on Nov. 13 for a series of 45-minute seminars, delivered in Virtual Enterprise, a business course for which students create their own mock companies to learn about the fundamentals of running a business. Hudes, who is president of Gennaro Jewelers in Bellmore, in addition to his post as town councilman, said running a successful business starts with “how you present yourself. Your attitude is everything.”

Distinguishing oneself is key in the business world, he said, adding, “You have no idea how competitive it is.”

“Positive gets my attention,” said Hudes, 59, who was dressed in a navy-blue blazer and khaki slacks, a crisp, royal-blue handkerchief in his left chest pocket. “Negative gets my attention also. Nobody likes to hang around with a negative. Businesses want the same thing. Colleges want the same thing.”

When Hudes became a partner at Gennaro Jewelers in 1979, he said, the company had two employees –– one of whom was part-time. Now it has 30 full-time workers.

“I’m talking to you as a business owner…,” Hudes said. “If you work hard and you make a difference in other people’s lives, you’re successful.”

Hudes told the story of “Mike,” who worked at a McDonald’s. Mike was diligent and reliable. When he was supposed to report for work at 9 a.m., he arrived at 8:45. “Mike came ready to work,” Hudes said. He learned all of the skills required to run a profitable McDonald’s, from cooking French fries to operating a cash register. Eventually, investors came looking to buy into the franchise. Mike, Hudes said, suddenly became the most valuable employee at that business, because the investors had no idea how to run a McDonald’s, and Mike was the go-to guy for questions.

“You don’t know where your life is going to go, so you need to be the best you can be,” Hudes said.

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