Fort Lee Chamber, Ridgefield Group Celebrate Merger

On a rainy Wednesday night, the (GFLCOC) gathered at Tutto A Modo Mio in Ridgefield to celebrate their January merger with the Ridgefield Manufacturer's Association (RMA).

Members and non-members networked with area business leaders, enjoyed camaraderie and good food.

“We’re really trying to spread our wings, get to know more people, more towns and service more communities,” said program and event coordinator Margaret Maclay. “This is kind of the beginning of that initiative to make our group more encompassing.”

Danny Lu, assistant branch manager of The Berkshire Bank in Teaneck, called the event great exposure and an opportunity for his company to give back.

“This area on top of the George Washington Bridge is the gateway to New Jersey and it’s extremely important for all our businesses to prosper and grow and benefit from each other,” said Beverly Blum, president of Designworks International in Fort Lee.

GFLCOC president Ken Bruno is also president of the RMA, founded in 1940. Bruno said that since manufacturing left Fort Lee, he saw consolidation of the two groups as an excellent means for survival and to make each chamber stronger. But he stepped away from the process to avoid a conflict of interest and abstained from voting on the merger.

He said the chamber now bears a new name, Fort Lee Regional Chamber of Commerce (FLRCOC).

“We’re growing at a very rapid pace,” Bruno said. “We’re looking at other chambers possibly coming on board the same way Ridgefield did. Other chambers are struggling – they don’t have the financial means that we do, the membership that we do, the clout that we do, so they want to be part of a successful chamber."

Anytime it’s possible to bring a group of people together for more networking, especially in the current climate, it's is a good thing, said Palisades Park Mayor James Rotundo.

“I’ve been in the business many years, the garbage business, sold it back in 2000,” Rotundo said. “But a lot of these people I knew; it’s good to see old friends again.”

Rotundo said he has trusted these people for years, and they’re still here,
still working and hopefully things will start to get better.

“I think it’s going to be an excellent benefit to all our members and allow us to really shape the community a little bit better,” said RMA's former president Fred Goetz.