The Great Neck Chamber of Commerce held its 2016 Annual Awards Dinner on May 11, which saw four members of the community and one community group receive awards for their achievements on the Great Neck peninsula.

The honorees of the event, which took place at Leonard’s Palazzo on Northern Boulevard, were state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, Great Neck South High School Technology Department Head John Motchkavitz, Camp & Campus owner Mark Wolf, Travel Express International founder Judy Litner and the Rotary Club of Great Neck. 

“Our honorees have been selected because they are all strong leaders, demonstrate their commitment to Great Neck and have excelled in their fields of service,” Chamber of Commerce President Scott Zimmerman said. 

DiNapoli received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his lengthy political career and efforts in supporting the Great Neck community, as well as in Nassau County.

“Since taking office in 2007, Tom DiNapoli has aggressively fought misuse of public resources, strengthened one of the nation’s top public pension funds and consistently spoken out against fiscal gimmicks, imprudent actions and governmental inefficiency,” a chamber biography said.

Efforts to reach DiNapoli for comment were unavailing. 

Prior to serving as state comptroller, he served as Assemblyman for the 16th state assembly district for 20 years. 

DiNapoli chaired the Local Governments Committee, Consumer Affairs Committee, Ethics Committee, Governmental Operations Committee and Environmental Conservation Committee during his tenure as assemblyman.

He was also the first 18-year-old in New York State to hold public office when he was elected to the Mineola Board of Education in 1972.

Motchkavitz, who is known in the Great Neck community as “Motch,” received the “Jesse Markel Award.”

He has been a member of the Great Neck Alert Fire Company for 31 years and in 2014 was named one of the top five teachers in America, which saw him appear on ABC’s “Live! With Kelly and Michael.”

“It was truly an honor to be recognized by the chamber of commerce for my extensive involvement in the community,” Motchkavitz said. “It’s so imperative that we realize the importance of connecting our various community organizations together, such as the fire departments, schools, businesses and clubs in order to form a better Great Neck.”

Wolf received the “Robert E. Freedman Retailer Award.”

Camp & Campus first opened in 1955 and celebrated its 61st anniversary this year. 

Wolf began working at the female clothing store when he was in eighth grade, and in 1971, began running the store full-time. 

While he said he appreciated the honor, he also said retail business in Great Neck has suffered due to an increase in national chain stores and large shopping centers like Roosevelt Field Mall and the Americana Manhasset,

“People from Bayside to Huntington used to come to Great Neck to shop,” Wolf said in his acceptance speech. “Now they don’t have to.”

He also said a change in demographics has impacted businesses in Great Neck.

“The older generation is moving out of Great Neck, but the younger generation, who grew up in Great Neck, is not moving back,” Wolf said. “Unfortunately, the newest population moving into Great Neck does not patronize the local businesses and we do not have the luxury of waiting for a decade until they do.”

He added that the internet has also become a main source of competition for Great Neck businesses.

The Rotary Club of Great Neck received the chamber’s “Not-for-Profit Award.”

“Everyone was very pleased that the chamber, as a community organization of that stature, has recognized Rotary for what we do,” Rotary Club President Leonard Katz said. “It is a very special privilege to be in this town.”

Katz also said it was an honor for the Rotary Club to receive an award that many other notable community groups could have been selected for. 

The Rotary Club of Great Neck supports local organizations such as the children of COPAY and seniors and veterans at the Great Neck Social Center.

For the past 26 years, the club has been donating over 1,000 turkey dinners for needy families on Thanksgiving.

Litner received the “2015 Business Person of the Year” award.

Her business, Travel Express International, specializes in planning luxury tours and vacations to Italy.

“It made me extremely proud to receive the award because selling travel is a passion,” Litner said.

Travel Express has been open since May 1972 at The Atrium Building on Cutter Mill Road. 

Litner said she has been able to succeed for so many years because her business offers services that the internet cannot.

“The contacts that we’ve made over the years is incredible, so I get my clients upgraded and get them perks and when they check into a hotel, the manager knows they’re coming and they’ve arrived and there’s fruits, wine and water,” she said. “You don’t get that when you book on Expedia.”