Invitations are going out for the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce 75th Anniversary Gala Celebration dinner dance to be held April 28 at the Maine Maid Inn, The restaurant is a member of the chamber. The Maine Maid Inn General Manager Nancy Gorman, attended the recent Business After Hours and Chamber President Bryan Morrison and Paige Dawson, co-chairs of the gala met with Ms. Gorman on Wednesday, Feb. 1. They picked out a date, planned the room, the menu and are talking about choosing a band.

Ms. Dawson said the cost for the evening will be reasonable, it is not a fundraiser. The cost is still being finalized. There will be a one-hour cocktail hour with hot and cold hors d'oeuvres served, a buffet dinner with a choice of meat, chicken, fish and pasta, an open bar and a band for dancing the evening away.

"We still have to decide on the invitations and maybe getting door prizes. We need to know how many people will attend. The important thing now is to tell people to save the date, April 28," said Ms. Dawson. If you would like to attend or want more information, you can call the chamber at 922-6464 and leave a message and they will get back to you.

At their meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at Harbor House, Mr. Morrison had a list of dates for people to save. He said the chamber has scheduled their Business After Hours for the last Thursday of the month; and general board meetings will be every other month; their Classic Car Cruise Night will be on Tuesdays, in the spring, summer and fall; ArtWalk takes place on July 15 with a July 16 raindate; the 10th annual golf outing takes place on a date to be announced; the Oyster Festival takes place on Oct. 14 and 15.

The chamber will also take good advantage of the Long Island Rail Road bus tours that come to Oyster Bay on July 7, 21 and Aug. 4 and 18. John Specce explained that the LIRR promotes a Gold Coast mansions bus tour in the area that includes a 90-minute stopover in Oyster Bay for lunch and stolling around town. Chamber members will be on hand to greet the bus as it arrives around noon, and will give out packets of information with coupons, and information about local attractions. "Hopefully they will come back to Oyster Bay when they have more time," said Mr. Specce.

Board member Steve Gourlay of Evolution Fitness and chair of this year's Health Fair said his event will take place on May 20 with a rain date of May 21. The chamber works closely with NYS Senator Carl Marcellino's office on the event. The very first Health Fair was rained out in 2004, but was a successful event in 2005 and therefore the 2006 event is being called their second annual Health Fair.

Mr. Gourlay said, "We have to really come together to put Oyster Bay on the map. Every year the healthiest-living-city is chosen. Last year it was Seattle and this year it's Baltimore. There is no reason we can't be recognized as the place people come to for a healthy lifestyle." He said the Health Fair will be bigger and better and said he welcomed ideas. "We'll do our best to do it the best we can," he said.

Board member W. Adam Mandelbaum, Esq. said their next meeting will be about the renaissance of the chamber and will include speakers from Renaissance Properties, the new name of Island Properties. "If you were at the earlier Island Properties meetings, you will see a significant difference now," he said.

New residents in the Oyster Bay area are invited to call Joe Mimmo at Cove Point Realty for a welcoming basket of information on the Town of Oyster Bay, local cultural destinations such as Raynham Hall, Planting Fields and the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and local store discounts to introduce them to the neighborhood. The baskets are a joint project of the Oyster Bay Civic Association and the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce. Please call 624-7600 for more information for this free service.

The chamber is providing an incentive for members. Mr. Morrison introduced the new Member to Member Discount saying, "You and your employees are members." John Specce, board secretary said the practice was done informally in previous years.

Mr. Morrision said chamber membership provides important incentives and benefits and listed the discounts. They include: one-half hour free personal training session at Evolution Fitness and the waiver of the $99 initiation fee; a free market analysis from Cove Point Realty. State Bank of Long Island will give you the first order of checks free.

Several members are giving a 10 percent discount including: 10 percent off a dinner bill at Fiddleheads restaurant (excluding prix fixe dinner); 10 percent off advertising cost in Northern Exposure magazine; 10 percent off a dinner bill at Il Piatto restaurant; 10 percent off a dinner bill at Canterbury Ales restaurant; 10 percent off at Morrison's Antiques and Consignment; 10 percent off your printing work at Sagamore Graphics.

Trading Places is offering a free home market analysis; and attorneys W. Mandelbaum and William DiConza are each offering a free half hour consultation.

Mr. Morrison said, "Hopefully this will be very successful. It is something that used to happen in Oyster Bay very frequently."

"We are looking for feedback and input on how to work better with the community," added Mr. Specce. For more information about the chamber please call 922-6464 and they will call you back.