Valdes: “These are great numbers you want to invest in”
NEW WINDSOR – Over 700 local business leaders packed into Anthony’s
Pier 9 in New Windsor Tuesday night, to celebrate the 30th Anniversary
dinner event for the Orange County Partnership, one of New York’s
leading economic development organizations.
The $140 per plate gala featured power-networking cocktails, party favors from Legoland, and a keynote address from Alan Valdes, director of Floor Trading at the New York Stock Exchange, one of the most preeminent Traders in the world.
Valdes, whose firm Silverbear Capital handles about $1.8 billion in portfolios, noted Orange County’s phenomenal growth – from $1.85 billion in retail sales when the Partnership formed in 1986, to $6.22 billion today. Population also grew from 285,000 to almost 400,000 during the same 30 years.
“For traders, and investment bankers, this is what we look at,” Valdes said of the financial industry. “These numbers make us salivate, to be honest. These are great numbers you want to invest in, you can see the growth. I think the next 30 years are going to be fantastic for this region of the country.”
Other topics discussed included the recent presidential election, national debt, regulatory reform, and a humorous anecdote relating how he originally thought, by mistake, that this speech would be delivered in sunny California. “I hope it doesn’t snow; I have to schlep back to Hoboken tonight.”
Annual awards were presented during the dinner. Angry Orchard, a hard cider manufacturer in Walden, won the Spirit of Innovation Award; Woodbury Common Premium Outlets of Central Valley won the Quality of Life Award; and Matrix Development Group won the Golden Shovel Award, for bringing AmerisourceBergen, a large pharmaceutical distributor, to the Town of Newburgh.
Outgoing board Chairman Dominic Cordisco, will be passing the baton to Doug Sanstead in 2017. “The last two years have been among the most successful in our 30-year history,” noted Partnership President Maureen Halahan.
