Mission Statement

 "As representatives of the business and professional sectors of an American community compelled by the ideals of liberty and self determination, it is our mission to serve and encourage the continued healthy growth of those ideals in our everyday lives"


Chamber Officers 2008

Brian Brunsch President Sav-A-Tree
(201) 891-5379
Matthew Riccardi 1st Vice President Videoccasions Video Productions
(201) 891-2300
Halina T. Pasmonde Treasurer TD Banknorth
(201) 891-7701
Mina Kozma Executive Administrator BellaRye
(201) 560-1289

Board of Directors 2008

Pat Mazzacano Villadom Times
(201) 652-0744
Stephanie McClure Interchange Bank
(201) 703-2265
Jeff Allan Allen & Allen Insurance Agency, Inc.
(201) 891-8790

History

 "The return of World War II veterans had a profound effect upon all towns in outlying areas, which had formerly been farm communities sprinkled here and there with the summer homes of the well-to-do.  Franklin Lakes was no exception. Where there had been little industrial or commercial activity aside from mills run by waterwheels, there was an influx of young men eager to start businesses of a different kind.  Commerce Street, with its access to the Crystal Lake Station of the Susquehanna Railroad, was the first Franklin Lakes answer to the question of where to locate.

    It was evident that a voice was needed for this new activity, and it was found in the organization of the Chamber of Commerce. The concept that mutual cooperation between commerce and government could benefit the citizenry as well as the businessmen was recognized as a valid one. Early meetings were held at the Crystal Lake Inn, which was a tavern on the first floor of an old hotel known back as far as 1876 as the Van Iderstine Hotel adjacent to the Crystal Lake Train Station on High Mountain Road. In the 1940’s and 50’s it was locally known as “Gus Hilbig’s” and many organizations, including the Mayor and Council, would reconvene at Gus’s after adjourning the main meeting someplace else.

    From small beginnings there are now hundreds of business enterprises in Franklin Lakes, many of which are active members of the Chamber, anxious to be regarded as “Business Citizens” of their community and interested in its well being. In the ensuing years Franklin Lakes has added other business areas including Susquehanna Avenue, the former IBM tract off Old Mill Road, the Becton Dickinson complex on Route 208 and has expanded existing commercial areas on Franklin Avenue and Franklin Lake Road, while in those same years, both Gus Hilbig’s and the Crystal Lake Station have become fading memories.

    New Members continue to join the Chamber as the technological world widens the scope of business being conducted in Franklin Lakes, but the original concept of mutual cooperation between government and commerce remains central to the organization’s reason for being.

 

Submitted by.

    A. Edward Hook

    (Hook, Smith & Meyer)

About Us | Members | Calendar | Events | Contacts | Links | Join The Chamber


Copyright © 2008 Franklin Lakes Chamber of Commerce. All rights reserved.

P.O. Box 81
Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
Email: info@flcoc.org

Website Created by KL Design Group