Minutes of the Tri-Boro Area Chamber of Commerce
At Lina’s Restaurant
April 8, 2009
In Attendance
Jerry Vinci President Acu-Data Business Products Inc
Jim Murasko V. President Allstate Insurance
Karen Austin Secretary Valley National Bank
Denise Brewster Treasurer Brewster Chiropractic
Howard Ball Trustee WGHT
Lina Pagliarulo Trustee Lina’s Restaurant
Bill Stanton Trustee Columbia Bank
Dave Warfield Trustee
Debbie Arena State Farm
Lisa Bendel Lia Sophia Jewelry
George Brewster Brewster Chiropractic
Jodie Bross Glenwild Garden Center
Brandon Ciercieli Suburban Trends
Helyne Czajkowski The Health Center at Bloomingdale
Frank Davis Finishing Touch Landscaping
Michael R. Hauck Air Expo LLC
John Napolitano Pry Automotive
Dona Monfelt Space Stor Self Storage
Bernice C. Oberndorf The Health Center at Bloomingdale
Joe Ragno The Ragno Law Firm
K. C. Smith Suburban Trends
Jessica Ragno Sprague Petrie Cotroneo & Reenstra LLC
Vivian Vinci Acu-Data Business Products Inc
Isabel Young Local Ad Link, Kinnelon
GENERAL MEETING
The general meeting of the Tri-Boro Area Chamber of Commerce was called to order by Jerry Vinci at 12:21 with a salute to the flag. All four officers and four trustees were present.
A motion to accept the minutes from the March 11, 2009 meeting was made by Howard Ball and seconded by Dave Warfield.
APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
Two new membership applications were submitted for approval.
Frank Davis from Finishing Touch Landscaping and Isabel Young from Local Adlink were the applicants. A motion was made by Howard Ball to accept the members. The motion was seconded by Vivian Vinci.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Checking Account - $3,746.53
Money Market - $5,002.14
A motion was made by Mike Hauck to accept the Treasurer’s report and seconded by Lina Pagliarulo.
BILLS AND COMMUNICATIONS
Bills to be approved for payment were as follows:
A. Postage $58.20
B. Tri- County Chamber of Commerce Dues $250.00
C. Tri-Boro Little League (sign at field) $150.00
A motion to pay the bills was made by Howard Ball and seconded by Bill Stanton.
OLD BUSINESS
Jerry Vinci reminded attendees to take advantage of the member to member discounts available on our website.
Three items of note are half price gift certificates offered by Lina’s Restaurant to Chamber Members, Tri-Boro’s interactive website and the Suburban Trends “Advertorial” feature.
NEW BUSINESS
The committee reports are as follows:
Membership – Karen Austin, chairperson, has delivered most of the membership certificates and will continue to distribute them over the next month. Membership was urged to contact Karen with the names of new prospects.
Fundraising – Jim Murasko, Chairperson, reminded the group of the upcoming Annual Golf Outing to be held on May 18, 2009 at Wallkill Golf Club. Both golfers and sponsors are needed.
Scholarship – William Stanton, Chairperson Proceeds from the upcoming Golf Outing will be used to fund scholarships for local HS graduates. Bill has already sent letters to the Guidance Departments of local High Schools. KC Smith of the Trends has offered to make the community aware of the availability of the scholarships.
Program & Publicity – Howard Ball, Chairperson, informed attendees the special speaker for May 13th will be New Jersey State Senator Richard Codey. The meeting will be held at Lina’s Restaurant. Reservations are required due to anticipated heavy attendance. Our June meeting, at which our Scholarships will be awarded, will be held at the Outback in Butler. Howard indicated there may be a “surprise guest speaker” for the event. In September, Passaic County Sheriff, Jerry Speziale will address the group. In October, Sandra Rostek, VP of Intercounty Mortgage Network will speak about reverse mortgages. November will, once again, bring our annual elections. In lieu of a December meeting, the Chamber will hold our Holiday Party.
Website Development – Jerry Vinci reminded attendees of the interactive calendar available on the website.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Chamber will join Sal and Lina Pagliarulo to celebrate the Grand Opening of “Pizza King” on Route 23 in Butler. More information will follow.
The May 13th meeting will have a Special Guest Speaker, NJ State Senator Richard Codey.
The Golf Outing is scheduled for May 18 at Wallkill Golf Club.
On June 10th, we will meet at the Outback in Butler to award our Scholarships.
CHAMBER SPOTLIGHT
The first spotlighted speaker of the day was Jodie Bross from Glenwild Garden Center. She spoke of her long time devotion to community service which has helped build a loyal customer base. Jodie directed the attendees to her website www.glenwildgardens.com where special events, such as seminars, are listed. Those who sign up can expect monthly emails and special offers. Her discount to Chamber Members is 10%. Some of the items available at Glenwild Garden Center include organic vegetable and herb seedlings, annuals, perennials, bulk stone, mulch and topsoil. They also refill of propane tanks. Jodie can be reached at 973-838-0174 or by email at Jodie@glenwildgardens.com.
Second in the Spotlight was Karen Austin of Valley National Bank in Butler. She spoke of business relationship banking and Valley’s Small Business services. Being IRA season, she let the group know about the safety and flexibility of Valley IRAs. Finally, Karen mentioned Valley’s low cost $499.00 (all inclusive) residential mortgage refinance product for New Jersey Homes. She can be contacted at 973-838-8310 for further details.
BUSINESS SURVIVAL SKILLS
Jim Murasko spoke of the importance of cultivating and rewarding business referrals. He mentioned the importance of sending a “Thank You” together with a gift card to someone referring him new business. Mike Hauck discussed success found in building a database by holding a raffle. Finally, Isabel Young mentioned the use of voice mail broadcast in order to spread the word to existing and potential clients.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion to adjourn the meeting at 1:00 pm was made by Dave Warfield and seconded by Bill Stanton.
GUEST SPEAKER
William E. Beardslee of Beardslee Engineering was the guest speaker. He spoke about how “New Jersey Environmental regulations have reduced usable property” in the State of New Jersey. |
This month
Chamber Golf Outing 
