Sharon Davis of Freeport has been appointed vice president of the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce board of directors. She is chief executive of S.J. Edwards Inc., a financial services and benefits counselor in Freeport. Holly Munter Koenig, of Westbury. has been appointed to the New York Society of Association Executives board of directors.
“Technology has its place, said Sharon Davis-Edwards, chief executive of Freeport-based employee benefits firm S.J.Edwards Inc., but the essential point is to maintain eye contact.
“My clients and my business associates become my family,” said Davis-Edwards, who frequents the recently renovated Imperial Diner in Freeport and finds the sweet potato casserole at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Garden City nearly irresistible.
“It’s what business is all about these days,” she said. “Nothing beats a smile, and you can’t see a smile through email.”
During the lockdown, Davis-Edwards said, an online grocery delivery service and the e-commerce retailer Amazon.com kept her supplied, but as in-person business returns, she plans to refresh her wardrobe.
“I’m a shopaholic when it comes to business suits,” she said. “I’m definitely ready to buy business suits and shoes. Black pumps.”
“There is definitely more interest in offering health benefits”, said Sharon Davis, president and chief executive of S.J. Edwards Inc., a Freeport company that provides human-resource support, insurance and employee benefit services.
Local small businesses are also boosting benefits to attract workers. Of the estimated 12 small-business accounts her business has added so far this year, three were clients offering benefits for the first time, said CEO S.J. Davis-Edwards.
Left to Right: Phil Andrews, Pres., Vanessa Best, Board Advocate, Honoree Sharon Davis, V.P. LIAACC, John L. Scott, Chairman – Sharon Davis was the recipient of the 2013 Long Island Business News Top 50 Most Influential Women in Business.
The Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce is launching a series of workshops to encourage minority businesses to become New York State-certified as minority-owned firms.
S.J. Edwards Inc., a Freeport-based financial services and employee benefits consulting firm, is sponsoring three free workshops for business owners on the Affordable Care Act and the New York State Health Benet Exchange.
