As we ring in the New Year, we look forward to new beginnings and new opportunities. It’s also a chance to look back at what we’ve accomplished in the past year. At the Back Mountain Chamber, 2018 was an active and exciting year.
The Fourth Annual Mardi Gras Awards Dinner was held Feb. 13 at the Apple Tree Terrace in Dallas. Ten local businesses and individuals were honored and celebrated for their contributions to the community. The crowd of 130 thoroughly enjoyed the celebration.
The BMC held a very successful food drive from March 4-24. We collected 2,410 lbs. of food and $440 in cash for the Back Mountain Food Pantry. Donations from this community event benefited families in the Dallas and Lake-Lehman School Districts.
We formed the Business Growth Committee on April 17. The purpose of which is to promote all of the municipalities in the Back Mountain area, and encourage suitable new and additional business investments.
The Ninth Annual Back Mountain Chamber Business & Community Expo was held at the Sandy and Marlene Insalaco Hall on the campus of Misericordia in Dallas on April 25. The Expo was a success again this year with 50 vendor tables and 275 members of the public in attendance. At the conclusion of the Expo, an historic presentation was given by Tony Brooks, Wilkes-Barre City Councilman, on the Butler House Restoration in Wilkes-Barre.
May 2018 marked the debut of the new BMC website. If you haven’t had the opportunity to check it out by now, please do so soon. It’s much more user-friendly and easy to navigate. We are very pleased with the new website and hope you are, as well.
We held our first ever Legislative Breakfast on June 15 at Irem Temple in Dallas and welcomed Senator Lisa Baker, State Representative Karen Boback and State Representative Aaron Kaufer, who each gave us an update on their legislative efforts and answered questions from the audience. This will be a new annual event, and we are already looking forward to next year.
The BMC hosted its first Volunteer Appreciation Summer Event on July 16 and volunteers were treated to a cookout by the water at Harveys Lake. This will also be a new annual event to thank the many people who volunteer their time and energy on behalf of the Back Mountain Chamber.
Our Back to Motown event was held Aug. 31. This is always a great event hosted by the Cultural Event Committee and this year was no different. It’s safe to say a good time was had by all at the Beaumont Inn in Dallas. The band was fun and interactive and it was definitely a night to remember.
The ribbon cutting ceremony and reception for the new, larger BMC office at the Twin Stacks complex in Dallas was held Oct. 4. With the larger space, we are better able to serve our members.
We held our annual Federal Reserve Breakfast on Oct. 5 at the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus. For the second year in a row, we had a very interesting presentation from Ryo Tashiro of the Philly Fed, who provided us with his insights regarding national, state and regional economic trends.
We had a variety of luncheons and mixers throughout the year, which are typically open to members of the public as well as our BMC members. In addition to hearing the interesting speakers, these events allow us to network with other members and to make new friends and business contacts.
Last, but not least, we had our final board meeting at Huntsville Golf Club on Dec. 19, followed by our annual holiday party. At that meeting, we said goodbye to departing Board members Lynn Banta, Carl Goeringer, Hildy Ide and Cheryl Summa, and thanked them for their considerable service to the Back Mountain Chamber. We also voted upon and welcomed the following persons as the new officers and directors of the BMC for 2019:
2019 OFFICERS
President — Cynthia Post-Mitchell, Carrie Flower Company
First vice president — Dawn Wiringer, Berkshire Hathaway
Second vice president — Pam Bonomo, Luzerne Bank
Treasurer — Amy Campbell, UGI Energy Services
Secretary — Sandy Race, Penn State Wilkes Barre
EDC chairman — Jim Reino, UGI Energy Services
Past president — Tom Mosca, Mosca Law
2019 BOARD MEMBERS
Susan Slocum, Senator Baker’s Office
Kelley Zionce, FNCB Bank
Brenda Pugh, AMP Global Systems
Kathi Bankes, Metz Companies
In closing, I’d like to say that it has truly been my honor to serve as the president of the Back Mountain Chamber for 2017 and 2018. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these Chamber Notes articles as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. I’d like to offer my sincere thanks to our executive committee and board of directors for all working together to help the BMC move forward and continue to grow.
May you all have a happy, healthy and blessed new year.
As always, if you wish to have your community event placed on the BMC Events Calendar on our website, please email details to [email protected] and we will include your event.
