MEDIA
MEDIA
Scenes From CIANJ ’ s 97th Annual M
The Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey ( CIANJ ) packed the house on October 24 at its 97th Annual Meeting & Luncheon . More than 500 CIANJ members and attendees came together to hear Keynote speaker Steve Forbes , Chairman & Editor-In- Chief , Forbes Media , and celebrate CIANJ ’ s nine-plus decades serving as the voice of New Jersey ’ s business community .
Business leaders networked during the opening cocktail hour at the Hilton Meadowlands in East Rutherford , NJ , before sitting down for lunch . Robert Chatfield , President and CEO of Free To Choose Network ® , a global media organization , introduced Forbes , who spoke to the crowd about the Steve Forbes On Achievement series . The series , produced by izzit . org ® , the educational affiliate of Free To Choose Network ® , presents inspirational stories and lessons from history ’ s greatest innovators .
“ If commerce and industry flourish , we all flourish . If commerce and industry are in trouble , we ’ re all in trouble ,” opened Forbes .
Creating an environment where entrepreneurship can flourish and people can be creative is key , he explained . However , the way we bring the abstract concepts of “ entrepreneurship ” and “ free enterprise ” to life is through stories .
“ Stories about real people , doing real things ,” he said . “ Overcoming real obstacles to achieve the world that we live in today .” To this end , each Steve Forbes On Achievement video has a lesson about entrepreneurship , done in a way to excite people , and excite students . “ The reason we want to excite students is because we want them to be here in the years ahead as they become entrepreneurs ,” he said .
After sharing several examples of entrepreneurship from the series , such the video on Margaret Rudkin , whose quest for healthier bread gave rise to baking giant Pepperidge Farm , Forbes touched on the election and other topics . He noted that he hopes the next president will do a hard examination of the operations of the Federal Reserve . “ Unfortunately , their models are wrong ,” he said . “ They believe you fight inflation by depressing or slowing down the economy .”
“ You don ’ t cure inflation by repressing the economy ,” he continued . “ People doing well is not bad .” His latest book , Inflation : What It Is , Why It ’ s Bad , and How to Fix It , co-authored by Nathan Lewis and Elizabeth Ames , answers questions surrounding inflation .
He then took audience questions and ended noting , “ once upon a time this state was just about the best-performing economic state in the country … and today we are a laggard .” He advised , “ we should see ourselves as top drawer , rather than lagging everyone else and doing things that harm rather than help future entrepreneurs , if we want to help create a better life .”
Top left to right : Steve Forbes delivers his Keynote address ; Trevor Prince of Archer & Greiner P . C .; Joseph Chatfield of Free To Choose Network . Middle left to right : More than 500 people attended ; CIANJ membe Phillip Goldstein of Goldstein Lieberman & Company ; Audrey Murphy of Hackensack Meridian Health wa
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