{"id":167739,"date":"2026-03-18T22:08:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/167739\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T22:08:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:08:52","slug":"queens-chamber-annual-st-patricks-day-luncheon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/167739\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens Chamber Annual St. Patrick\u2019s Day Luncheon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"Honoree<\/a><\/p>\n

Honoree Michael J. Dowling (L) and Tom Grech (R). Photo credit: Dominick Totino<\/p>\n

On Thursday afternoon, March 12, hundreds of business and community leaders from throughout Queens gathered at Antun\u2019s in Queens Village as the Queens Chamber of Com\u00admerce honored Robert S. Tucker, former FDNY Commissioner and Chairman and Chief Execu\u00adtive Officer of T&M USA, and Michael J. Dowl\u00ading, CEO Emeritus of Northwell Health, at its annual St. Patrick\u2019s Day Luncheon.<\/p>\n

\u201cSt. Patrick\u2019s Day has always been one of my favorite traditions at the Chamber,\u201d said Tom Grech, President and CEO of the Queens Cham\u00adber of Commerce. \u201cIt\u2019s a great chance to bring people together, celebrate Irish heritage, and rec\u00adognize leaders who have made a real difference in the world\u2019s borough. Robert and Michael have both built careers defined by service and leadership, and it was a pleasure to honor them with the Queens business community.\u201d <\/p>\n

Hosted by Queens\u2019 oldest and largest busi\u00adness association, the event honored the contri\u00adbutions of Irish Americans to the borough while celebrating Celtic traditions with vibrant enter\u00adtainment, classic corned beef and cabbage, and a spirited performance by the Raggle Taggle Pipe Band. Also there to entertain was a live band, The Cobblers. Sophie Chirila from Mon\u00adsignor McClancy Memorial High School sang the national anthem, followed by a flute per\u00adformance by her schoolmate Maeve Roche. There was an invocation from Monsignor Al LoPinto, President and CEO of Catholic Chari\u00adties of Brooklyn and Queens. The program also featured a captivating Irish dance performance by Fallon O\u2019Brien from the Hagen Kavanagh School of Irish Dance.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robert S. Tucker was recognized for his leadership in both the private and public sectors. As Chairman and CEO of T&M USA, he helped transform the company from a small security guarding firm into a global operation. In 2024, Tucker stepped away from the firm to serve as the 35th Fire Commissioner of the City of New York, overseeing the nation\u2019s largest fire depart\u00adment with roughly 18,000 firefighters, para\u00admedics, EMTs, fire marshals, and fire prevention inspectors. Earlier in his career, Tucker served for nearly a decade as a prosecutor in the Queens County District Attorney\u2019s Office. He remains active in civic and philanthropic leadership, serving on the Board of the Gary Sinise Foun\u00addation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot to be recognized by the Queens Chamber,\u201d said honoree Robert S. Honoree Robert S. Tucker (L) and Tom Grech (R). Tucker. \u201cQueens is where my career in public service began when I worked in the District At\u00adtorney\u2019s Office, so being honored here feels es\u00adpecially meaningful. I\u2019m grateful to be part of a community that values leadership, service, and looking out for one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael J. Dowling was honored for his decades of leadership in healthcare and public service. As President and CEO of Northwell Health for more than two decades, he guided the organization\u2019s growth into one of the largest and most innovative health systems in the United States, helping reshape how it delivers health\u00adcare across the region. He is a widely respected voice on healthcare policy and social issues and has received numerous honors for his work, in\u00adcluding being named one of TIME\u2019s 100 Most Influential People in Global Health in 2025 and receiving the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership roles in New York State government, including serving as a top ad\u00advisor to former Governor Mario Cuomo on health, education, and human services, and also worked as a professor of social policy and As\u00adsistant Dean at Fordham University\u2019s Graduate School of Social Services.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always believed that strong communi\u00adties are built when people come together to sup\u00adport one another,\u201d said honoree Michael J. Dowling. \u201cThe Chamber plays an important role in supporting businesses and strengthening com\u00admunities across Queens, and I\u2019m deeply grateful for this recognition and proud to celebrate along\u00adside so many moving the borough forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Queens Chamber of Commerce\u2019s an\u00adnual St. Patrick\u2019s Day Luncheon is always a wonderful opportunity to honor the contribu\u00adtions of our borough\u2019s Irish Americans and to celebrate the richness of Irish and Irish Ameri\u00adcan heritage and culture,\u201d said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. \u201cI offer a heart\u00adfelt salute to the Chamber for its great success in organizing this amazing event. I also salute and thank the luncheon\u2019s distinguished hon\u00adorees, Robert S. Tucker, Esq. and Michael J. Dowling, for their outstanding work on behalf of our community.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Honoree Michael J. Dowling (L) and Tom Grech (R). Photo credit: Dominick Totino On Thursday afternoon, March 12,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-167739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}