Hi, I'm Catherine White, Executive Director of the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce.

And today is an exceptional day in New Rochelle as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the New Rochelle Racket Club.

Excellent.

So often our role is to help promote and uh let everybody know about a new business.

But sometimes it's almost more important to let people know about the longstanding businesses in our city.

And this is a perfect example.

So to celebrate that, we've got a number of special guests that I'll say in order of how they walked in the door, kind of.

So we have, of course, with us, Mayor Yadira Ramos Herbert.

We have Congressman George Latimer.

Deputy Commissioner of Economic Development, Jorge Ventura.

The small business manager for the city of New Rochelle, Mariana Hussafai.

The City Council rep for this district, Al Tarantino.

From Westchester County, we have with us Westchester County legislator, Terry Clements.

And the constituent services office associate from Shelley Mayor's office, Luis Ocha.

Of course, as always, we have Fire Chief Andy Sandor.

And several members of the Neurochell Police Department.

But more importantly, we wouldn't be here today without the actual members of the New Rochelle Racket Club and their managing partners.

So of course I'd like to introduce Blake Stuchin.

He is the managing member.

His mother Marcy Stuchin, who is the widow of Miles Stuchin, former managing member of Neurochell Racket Club.

And the COO Valerie Ferrara, who helps every day with all the operations, and who I always turn to when we've got an issue going on.

Okay, so now to just say a few words of welcome, I'd like to call up Mayor Yudira Ramos Herbert.

So it's today is really fun for me because I get to combine two of my favorite things.

I am an avid tennis lover.

I'm a New York Junior tennis league kid, and as a point of personal privilege, my first boss, Scott Daly, is here today.

When I was one of the tennis teens at IS238 back in the 90s.

So I did not know he was going to be here, but the universe conspires in your favor sometimes, and this is a really special moment for me.

But to be the mayor of New Rochelle and to be at an event celebrating 50 years of this institution, and I'm going to call it that because it is indeed an institution for us of building community health, friendships.

I mean, I know that so much of my leadership potential came from playing sports and being on courts, maybe not as nice as these in Queens, but very similar to these here.

So thank you for sticking with New Rochelle.

It can't be easy to run a small business, but we are so grateful for all of the effort, the blood, sweats here, the vision and the commitment to bring the community together on these courts, and I'm just thrilled to be here to celebrate with you.

I've been able to play on these courts.

Maybe I have to start making more time to be here a little bit more permanently because y'all are doing a great job with these locations.

So thank you, New Rochelle Racket Club.

Thank you, Mayor.

And I'd like to call up Congressman George Latimer now.

I'm talking with uh my friend Al Tarantino, the councilman for this area, and uh we were reminiscing a little bit because some of us remember 50 years ago very well.

Many of you have no idea 50 years ago.

Uh and I do remember the first time I saw this building.

I was driving, I grew up in Mount Vernon.

I was driving back to Mount Vernon with a buddy of mine.

We'd been up, I think, to Mamarinick.

We're coming down Palmer Avenue, and the great insight that a 22-year-old kid was, well, what the heck is that?

I don't know.

You know.

Well, that's a strange looking building.

Well, here we are, 50 years later.

And it's turned out to be uh an anchor in bolt of recreation uh and athletics, and then also something that makes Neurochelle very proud.

And and as the years went by, I remember before I left Mount Vernon to live elsewhere in the county.

We thought, boy, we'd really like to have something like this in our town.

And I bet there's a lot of towns that wish they had this.

But to the families that have made this business work, a lot of things have changed over 50 years.

Uh everybody's into pickleball today.

There was no pickleball 50 years ago.

Racquet ball, I think was probably the rough equivalent of the hot sport.

But the business has survived, and it's great that you celebrate that and celebrate the people that helped make it survive.

Congratulations.

Okay, thank you, Congressman.

And now I'd like to call up Al Tarantino to say a few words.

Thank you, everyone, for being here today.