Rain Doesn't Deter PennSuburban Chamber

SKIPPACK—In the more than 10 years she served on the board of directors of the PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce in the 1980s, Marion Keller never missed a meeting; to commemorate her perfect attendance, the chamber had a plaque made with Keller’s name engraved on it. It still hangs on the wall in the chamber’s office today.

Keller, a long-time instructor at the Lansdale School of Business, has also attended her share of business card exchanges the chamber holds every year, with Wednesday being no exception.

“Oh, sure, I’ve been to a lot of these events,” Keller said, adding that the School of Business is the Chamber’s oldest member. “I remember when the chamber was called the Lansdale Board of Trade. That was a long time ago.”

Wednesday’s event took place at The Wooden Duck, the collectible and women’s apparel shop at 4033 Skippack Pike. Owners Art and Jane Berger bought the store about 10 years ago, and, despite a dismal economy, the Bergers say business is good. Sponsoring events like the business card exchange only make it better.

“It’s a good way to network, meet new people, and keep our business thriving,” said Art Berger, who worked in the corporate world for years before devoting himself full-time to the store. “We always wanted to own our own business. Now, I control my destiny. I love it.”

Jane Berger said her husband takes care of the books, the “business end” of things, while she prefers to be “the face of the store.”

“We’ve been very lucky that the economy hasn’t really had a negative impact on us,” she said. “What woman doesn’t need a new outfit?”

John Rooney, a digital sales consultant at Fraser Advanced Information Systems, stood outside the parking lot of The Wooden Duck, where food and live music were being served in spite of the rainfall. He said he comes to business card exchanges to “drum up some contacts.”

“I like it a lot,” Rooney said. “I don’t tend to see familiar faces, which is a good thing. That means different people keep coming out.”

Donna Keller, director of operations at PennSuburban, said the chamber holds two to three card exchanges a month. On Sept. 27, the chamber is holding a breakfast business card exchange starting at 8 a.m. at Asher’s Chocolates in Souderton. Tours of 10 to 15 people start at 8:15 a.m.

“Networking is one of the things our chamber does very well,” she said. “(Networking) is so important people came out today in the rain.”