Bellmore Chamber honors its own, volunteers

The Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores honored members of the local business community, in addition to installing officers, at a celebration last Saturday night.

The annual chamber installation dinner was held on Jan. 24 at the Woodbury Country Club. Local business owners dined and danced after the chamber honored four of its members.

Cliff Richner, publisher of the Bellmore Herald Life, sponsored and presented three awards. One of them went to Vincent Montera, the Chamber Person of the Year and a longtime member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2770.

Montera was born in Brooklyn and raised in Baldwin, and has lived in Bellmore for 46 years. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. Thus began his long service career.

Montera was a New York Police Department officer, U.S. Army colonel, Hofstra University assistant professor of military science and the civilian in charge of education services for the Army’s New York City recruiting battalion at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. He also held several leadership roles in Operation Enduring Iraqi Freedom. On the local level, Montera serves as the commander of the Bellmore VFW, and is involved with Bellmore American Legion Post No. 948, the Knights of Columbus and the chamber.

Mary Pallotta was named the Community Person of the Year. She founded the Guardian Brain Foundation –– a charitable organization designed to improve the quality of life for people diagnosed with brain tumors and injuries. She founded the group in memory of her brother Dennis, who lost a battle to a cancerous brain tumor, and her father, who had a degenerative brain disorder.

The Guardian Brain Foundation is growing beyond its Bellmore roots. The group now provides support services to children and adults with brain cancer tumors and traumatic brain injuries in many communities.