Alan Dillon refuses to be stagnant or even to remain in the throes of slow motion.
The native Argentine-turned-Mamaroneck litigator has taken a grass-roots Hispanic organization and rebranded the group in name and scope.
But there”™s more.
One day he lobbies in Albany against Medicaid funding cuts on behalf of the Alzheimer”™s Association Westchester/Hudson Valley chapter.
The next, he could be providing pro bono counsel to Spanish-speaking residents at the county”™s annual Senior Law Day or planning a Westchester County Bar Association event.
But these days, his presidency of the Hispanic Business and Professional Association of Westchester County Inc. ”“ now the American Hispanic Business and Professional Association Inc. ”“ has led him through much more than a change of brand.
“You can”™t create division between the American mainstream community and Hispanics,” he said. “Right now, we have to figure out how to bring everybody together. You have a large segment ”¦ from 23 to 25-odd countries. We want to send the message that we do not want to be separate. We”™re not exclusive Hispanic. And economically, I think it”™s in everyone”™s best interest to work together.”
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, those of Hispanic origin constitute nearly 20 percent of the Westchester County population.
Dillon”™s work extends beyond the borders of the American Hispanic organization and his day job at Dillon & Dillon L.L.C.
He now serves as spokesman for the newly formed Northern Westchester/Putnam Presidents Council, a body of leaders from varying business groups in the region.
Included are Hudson Valley Gateway, Katonah, Mahopac/Carmel, Mount Kisco, North Salem, Greater Ossining, Sleepy Hollow, Somers, Cold Spring and Yorktown chambers of commerce, as well as his own group.
The purpose of the council is to serve as a sounding board for chamber presidents and executives with collaborative possibilities for events and programs.
An immediate benefit is that group members can partake in other group”™s events at members-only pricing, Dillon said.
The council is non-partisan and each leader has an equal opportunity voice.
“In order to tackle these (current) economic problems, the chambers need to work together,” Dillon said. “You have the same thing with the Alzheimer”™s Association. There are many chapters. It would be great to collaborate on things ”¦ there is not as much money out there.”
People must reach out, he says ”“ both in a cultural fashion between Hispanic and American businesses and among varying chambers of commerce.
“If you stay within a comfort zone, you”™re not going to grow. You need to reach out. And that translates to business,” he said.
“Once you know what”™s out there, then you can come out with a clear plan and change the perception,” says the man who learned English in Japan before beginning a transcontinental life that brought him to Bedford, where he now lives.
“We”™re all different, which makes us rich ”¦ it makes us interesting.”
Keep reading for further viewpoints from Dillon in future issues of the Westchester County Business Journal.
