The Rising Phoenix · The Rising Phoenix CHAMBER HOURS 9am—5pm, ... 247 Bridge Street Melissa...

The Phoenixville Regional

Chamber of Commerce

171 East Bridge Street

Phoenixville, PA 19460

Phone: 610-933-3070

Fax: 610-917-0503

[email protected]

www.phoenixvillechamber.org

Executive Committee Michael Polin Board Chairman

Megan Inmon

Board First-Vice Chairman

Michael Murray, Jr.

Board Second-Vice Chairman

S. Mark Fuga Treasurer

Crysta C. Peers Past Chairman of the Board

Staff

Jessica Capistrant President/CEO

Tom Herrick Front Office Coordinator

Janice O’Brien Front Office Coordinator

Karin Williams Front Office Coordinator

Inside This Edition

Annual Awards Dinner 1

Monthly Mtgs/ Events 2

Community Events 3

Dinner/Member News 4

New Members 5

State of the Chamber 6, 7

Member Milestones 8

Spring 2017

The Rising Phoenix

CHAMBER HOURS 9am—5pm, Mon-Fri

Visit Page 4 for more on the Annual Awards Dinner!

Cheryl Messere named Outstanding

Citizen of the Year at Awards Dinner

Published Quarterly by the Phoenixville Regional Chamber of Commerce

On March 22nd, the Phoenixville

Regional Chamber of Commerce

honored eight individuals,

organizations, and businesses for

their contributions to the

Phoenixville region at its 88th

Annual Awards Dinner.

Cheryl Messere, Co-founder and

Executive Director of The House,

was the recipient of the 2017

Outstanding Citizen of the Year

Award, which is given to an

individual who has demonstrated

an extraordinary contribution of

time, service, and leadership in

promoting the quality of life and

welfare of the regional community.

Cheryl’s contributions, both as an

individual and as part of a host of

community organizations, are many,

including co-founding The House

Phoenixville Women’s Outreach,

which was the recipient of funding

from the 2015 Annual Chamber

Charity Gala.

The awards were presented by Board

Chairman Michael Polin.

“Our winners tonight are fearless and

forward thinking, with dreams of a better

tomorrow,” he said. “Their dreams make

us better and help us achieve great things

year after year.”

Among the winners was the

Phoenixville Area Economic

Development Corporation,

(PAEDCO) an organization that has

served as a conduit for growth in the

area since 1983. PAEDCO President

Kurt Kunsch accepted the Chairman’s

Award on behalf of the organization,

thanking current and past members

of the board for their service to the

community.

January

THE RISING PHOENIX

FEATURING:

Julie Brufke, Phoenix Tax Consultants

Peter Urscheler, 235 Bridge

Christopher White, Forefront Business Services, LLC

Presenting: Helping businesses make the most of 2017

Thank you to video sponsor

for shooting all of our membership

meetings for local programming!

Sponsor:

MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS

February

FEATURING:

Cyber Liability &

Speed Networking

Sponsors:

Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies

at Stirling Storage, Petrucci’s Ice Cream & Water Ice, and Phoenix Village Luxury Apartments

THE RISING PHOENIX

The staff and board of the Phoenixville Regional Chamber of Commerce would like to wish staffer Tom Herrick all the best as he

begins the next chapter of his life in Kentucky. We’ll miss him greatly! Tom, thank you for all of your hard work!

Taking his place will be Karin Williams. Tom and Karin have worked closely together for the past several weeks, and she is looking forward to connecting with our members and making a difference in the Chamber.

COMMUNITY

EVENTS RETURN! In the coming weeks, Phoenixville will welcome back the start of events season for 2017.

Events to catch this Spring: A Whole Lot of Lulu Vintage Flea Market

4/29

www.awholelotoflulu.com

First Friday

Starting 5/5

www.phxfirstfriday.com

Phoenixville Food Festival

5/6

www.phoenixvillefoodfestival.com

Dogwood Festival

5/15 - 5/20

dogwood.phoenixvillejayceesfoundation.org

Learn more about additional upcoming events at www.phoenixvillefirst.com

THE RISING PHOENIX

2017 Annual Awards Dinner, continued

Riverworks Luxury Apartments, Stirling Storage, and Uncle B’s BBQ Shack were all recipients of the

2017 Business Development Award for their entrepreneurship, sustainability, aesthetic improvement, and

productivity put forth in their businesses.

Receiving the Community Betterment Award was The Daniel Foundation, an organization which dedicates

time to several community organizations such as Phoenixville Hospital, and Good Samaritan Shelter. This

award was accompanied by a $500 donation, courtesy of Award Sponsor Piazza Subaru of Limerick.

Lauren Coy of the Phoenixville Public Library, and Teresa Haag, a member of the Beautification

Advisory Committee and the talent behind two Downtown Phoenixville murals, each received the

Merit Award for their service to the community.

KEVIN SMITH TRANSPOTATION GROUP MAKES $250,000 COMMITMENT TO BREAST CANCER PATIENTS

Kevin Smith Transportation Group, a luxury limousine and transportation company,

which services the entire Delaware Valley, announced a donation to the Abramson

Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania where, over the next 5 years, they

will provide transportation services to breast cancer patients in-need, a service valued at

$250,000.“We spend a lot of time discussing how we want to be defined as a company”

says CEO and Owner Kevin Smith. “Our hope is that this partnership is just the beginning of how we want

to brand ourselves from a charitable perspective. To be honest, we really hope that our continued maturity as

a company will allow us to not only increase the size of this donation but also allow us to partner with many

other well-deserving local charities.” Kevin Smith Transportation Group also announced the purchase of a

brand new 28-foot Lincoln MKT stretch limousine, which will be branded with traditional slogans of breast

cancer charities, and painted pink. “While the vehicle will be used for services being donated to the

Abramson Cancer Center,” added Mr. Smith. “ Additionally, 5 percent of the proceeds for every direct

booking of the stretch will go directly to the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

Welcome, New Members! (January-March, 2017)

THE RISING PHOENIX

A.L. Coffman & Son

Andrew Coffman

204 Village at Eland

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.alcoffman.org

American Cancer Society

Bridget Kehoe

480 Norristown Rd St 150

Blue Bell, PA 19422

www.cancer.org

Bala Financial

Joe Little

208 Old Lancaster Rd

Devon, PA 19333

www.balafinancial.com

Brooklyn Girl Bakery

Peri Anderson

2208 Kimberton Road


www.brooklyngirlbakery.com

Cameron Peters Floral Design

Cameron Peters

247 Bridge Street

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.cameronpetersfloraldesign.com

CHIKARA Sushi & Asian Fusion

Jay Wang

131 Bridge Street #4

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.chikarapa.com

Compassionate Presence, LLC

Jennifer Lubas

122 Bridge Street

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.compassionatepresencelpc.com

Edward Jones

Jennifer Raynor

33 W Ridge Pike

Limerick, PA 19468 www.edwardjones.com

Friends of Peter Urscheler

Peter Urscheler

PO Box 307

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.peter4pxv.com

Gangster Vegan Organics

Vincent DePaul

6 Gay Street

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.gangstervegan.com

Little Nest Portraits

Audrey Stackhouse

Providence Town Center

171 Market Street

Collegeville, PA 19426 www.littlenestphoto.com

Maddie’s Castle

Diane Klein

178 Bridge Street

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.maddiescastle.com

Phoenix Festival Productions

Tim Hennessey

1178 Foxview Road

Pottstown, PA 19465 www.phoenixfestivalproductions.com

Phoenixville Pediatric Dentistry

Connie Briggs

400 Franklin Ave, St 112

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.drmissyb.com

Phoenixville Photography

Kenneth Trifaro

224 Hall Street, 3A

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.phoenixvillephoto.com

Porter Law

Stephen M. Porter

181 Bridge Street

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.smporter.com

ProCare Property Services

Dan Marovich

423 Highland Avenue

Downingtown, PA 19335 www.procarepropertyservices.us

Prospect Capital Advisors

Brian R. Williams

113 Sibley Avenue

Ardmore, PA 19003 www.prospectmergers.com

The Daniel Foundation

Greg Porter

323 Drummers Lane

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.danielfoundation.net

Weber-Gallagher—

Melissa Iacobucci

Melissa Iacobucci

1 Montgomery Ave, St 1001

Norristown, PA 19401 www.wglaw.com

WorkSpace on Bridge

David Johns

167 Bridge Street

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.workspaceonbridge.com

9ROUND 30-Minute

Kickboxing Fitness

John Martino

785 Starr Street, St 112

Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.9round.com

THE RISING PHOENIX

Thank you to our members for your continuous support!

There really is no place like Phoenixville. We

boast over fifty non—profit and service

organizations, incredible educational

opportunities, access to great health and

self-care, and passionate residential and

business communities to boot.

Even with these elements and developments,

Phoenixville still has growth potential. The

Chamber has the energy to help navigate the

next steps.

Our retention rate remains solid, as does new

member recruitment, and the Chamber is in the

strongest financial position in its 88 year history.

Our members help us understand that this is

due to the number and types of events we host,

access to an extended business team, and our

work in the community.

In 2016, the Chamber hosted over eighty events,

ranging from mixers to card exchanges, and

ribbon cuttings to roundtables. We have also

worked on further establishing our community

event contributions, while helping others

promote their events as well.

The Chamber has also proudly built upon our

relationships within the region, by working with

the other Chamber’s in Chester and

Montgomery counties, bringing opportunities to

meet and make new contacts with businesses

and individuals they may not have the chance to

connect with otherwise. These events have

included educational seminars, speed

networking events, far-reaching business card

exchanges and business expos.

One opportunity in particular, The Chester

County Chamber Alliance Mega Mixer and

Business Expo, will be administrated and

organized by the Phoenixville Chamber this

year. We are excited to lend our talents and time

to this fantastic opportunity for professionals

and business owners alike to gain exposure and

expand their network not only with members of

the Phoenixville Chamber, but members of the

eight other Chamber’s in Chester County as

well.

In members and start-ups utilizing the Chamber

team, we continue to encourage business

owners to use SCORE for free business

counseling. The Chamber is often employed as a

resource for facts and figures. Our front office

experiences multiple visitors per day seeking

maps and residential specifics, and details on

opening a business, demographics or

community events, and everything in between.

With focus, our organization continues to offer

several ways to engage with the Chamber and

our community: through service on committees,

opportunities to expand their network through

interactive mixers, and by fostering business

relationships with members through the use of

programs such as referrals, member-to-member

discounts and our membership directory.

We continue to drive thousands of visitors per

week to the Chamber’s website, which is host to

that membership directory, news, updates, and

the community calendar – one of our most

requested resources.

2016 was a year of persistent growth for the

Phoenixville community, and the Chamber’s

role in that was not a small one. From support

for our local businesses through the Shop Small

initiative to working with Phoenixville First to

2017 State of the Chamber Address Presented at the 2017 Annual Awards Dinner

THE RISING PHOENIX

Visit us at www.phoenixvillechamber.org for details on sponsorship opportunities for 2017!

organize and oversee events that have helped

put Phoenixville on the map in greater

Philadelphia, the Chamber is always working to

create a stronger foothold in our region, to

benefit our members.

This growth has led to partnerships with some

of the most recognizable organizations in the

area, including Visit Philadelphia as one of the

“Top 15 Philly Towns”, and the Philadelphia

Museum of Art, which, along with the Knight

Foundation, brought replicas of some of the

most famous works of art in the world to our

downtown for the Art Inside Out program.

The successes of events such as Food Truck

Festival and First Fridays have been substantial.

In the years since these events were launched,

we have developed a core volunteer base that

has helped these events evolve into well-oiled

machines that residents and visitors by the tens

of thousands have come to love.

Never content with the status quo, Phoenixville

First and the Chamber moved into 2017

wondering what we could do to further develop

the comprehensive marketing program for the

borough. Discussion delivered many new ideas,

including a goal of creating a signature event

each month, to diversify our calendar, and

designed to showcase Phoenixville.

You may have heard of the television show

“Parks and Recreation”. While Phoenixville does

not share the same problems as the fictional city

of Pawnee, Indiana, one thing holds true - a

large scale fall festival, in a month currently

lacking events, is one thing that Phoenixville is

missing, and I am proud to announce the new

Harvest Fest coming to Phoenixville November

2nd through the 5th. This multi-day event may not

contain pumpkins the size of jeeps as inspired by

the show, but will continue the spirit, fun, and

liveliness of our events season into November.

Harvest Fest will celebrate Phoenixville’s

beautiful parks and community gem, and the

best news is, we won’t be closing any roads or

eliminating any public parking at any time

during this great community celebration.

When reflecting on the successes of Phoenixville,

everyone in this room knows that these

accomplishments are not things that happen

overnight. Grants and other initiatives, such as

the former Main Street program, do what they

are supposed to do, but there is no magic behind

sustained progress; it’s work that must endure

when these grants and other opportunities come

to a close. And that work is something that we,

and Phoenixville First, are doing and will

continue to do.

And when these successes are attributed

vaguely, it is all of our responsibility to retell the

tale, that this has been a lot of work, by a lot of

people, over a long period of time; and would

not have been accomplished any other way.

A relevant African Proverb states, “If you want

to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go

together.” This is the embodiment of

Phoenixville’s success. Through the collective

efforts of organizations, businesses and

individuals, Phoenixville had entered a time of

renewal, and we keep pressing on as new

businesses continue to open, new living

communities are developed, new signature

events fill the calendar, and new faces discover

this extraordinary place, bringing residents,

visitors and businesses together to enjoy

Phoenixville, and that makes it a real pleasure to

serve this community, onward and upward.

Delivered by: Jessica Capistrant, President/CEO

Written contributions also by the Chamber Staff

THE RISING PHOENIX

The Rising Phoenix

Phoenixville Regional Chamber of Commerce

171 East Bridge Street


35-Year Members

Baer Romain, LLP

Stephen I. Baer, Esq.

144 Chester Avenue


30-Year Members

Gateway Pharmacy

Henry Katra

165 Nutt Road


25-Year Members

Dominick’s Auto Body

Dominick J. Aquilante

488 Nutt Road


Phoenixville Area Community

Services (PACS)

Carol Berger

257 Church Street


15-Year Members

EmCee Entertainment

Mark Edwards

PO Box 138


Pennsylvania Financial Group

Paul Masalki

1033 Winding River Lane


Richard A. Zuber Realty

Richard A. Zuber

830 Chestnut Street

Royersford, PA 19468

10-Year Members

Edwards Business Systems

Nicholas Phillips

616 High Street

Pottstown, PA 19464

Elizabeth R. Howard, Esq

Elizabeth R. Howard, Atty.

301 Gay Street


Health Care Access

Tracy Schantz

723 Wheatland Street

Suite 2C, PO Box 591


Mom’s House

Wendy McKeon

145 South Main Street


Phoenixville Country Club

Tony Lucas

355 Country Club Road


5-Year Members

Kiddie Academy

Janel Work

10 Chrisevyn Lane


Main Line Today Magazine

4445 West Chester Pike

Newtown Square, PA 19073

Wrightbrain Design

Christine Wright

415 Montgomery Avenue


Member Milestones

The Rising Phoenix · The Rising Phoenix CHAMBER HOURS 9am—5pm, ... 247 Bridge Street Melissa...

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