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 In July 1991, 13 members of the board of directors of the Spring-Ford branch of TriCounty Chamber of Commerce met in a basement conference room on Lewis Road, Royersford, to declare their independence and form a brand new, full-fledged chamber of commerce.
Saturday night, the Spring-Ford Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 15th anniversary in a gala dinner dance at The Loft at Limerick Golf Club. Following a dinner of stuffed chicken or prime beef, past presidents were honored for their years of service.
Introducing the past presidents, current chamber President Christine Sabol said the honorees “have made this chamber what it is today.” She added, “This dinner is for them.”
Presenting a plaque to the first Spring-Ford Chamber of Commerce president, Walt Kalil, Sabol remarked, “Someday I’d hope to be just as good as Walt Kalil.” In addition to his first term, Kalil again “stepped up to the plate to help us out” in 2004, Sabol noted.
Kalil noted the thing he was really proud of in his time of service was “when we decided to pull away from Pottstown for financial reasons and other reasons. We split it and did it,” he proclaimed.
Kalil also said he was proud of “being able to serve all the years I did and being able to come back when they had nobody.”
Now retired, Kalil was the owner and general manager of Kalil’s Printing, Limerick.
Joe Giunta, vice president and branch manager of Harleysville National Bank, served as chamber president in 1993. His fondest memories include the golf outing, the office on Main Street, Royersford, and chamber executive director Charmaine Wilkerson.
He added that one of the best things to happen during his term was the sidewalk sale in downtown Royersford and the chamber’s involvement in that. He especially remembered “the famous dunk tank.” “We had one heck of a great time,” he remarked. “That was a lot of fun.”
Joe St. Pedro, president and CEO of St. Pedro and Associates, Upper Providence, served in 1994 and 1995. He saw his biggest accomplishment as helping the chamber establish a positive cash flow, enabling the Spring-Ford organization to maintain its independence and never have to merge with another group.
Carol Pollitz, a CPA and manager with the LaMastra Group, Royersford, was chamber president in 1996 and 1997, when she served as controller at Valley Forge Christian College. Her fondest memories are of “the dedication of the board members and chamber members to see the further growth of the community, and working together as a team … we had some people that really worked together.”
She laughingly recalled that her fun memories are of the chamber’s first spaghetti dinner.
Karl Wolfram, then owner of Springford Pharmacy, followed as chamber president in 1998 and 1999. He reflected on the great relationship with all the business owners, which brought the community together.
Sue Bartholomew, partner, manager and educator at Camelot Salons, Royersford, served as chamber president in 2000. She fondly recalled the chamber’s teddy bear auction. “I had so much fun working on it … creating it, orchestrating it,” she noted.
Bartholomew also paid tribute to former executive director Wilkerson. “Knowing and meeting Charmaine and having her as my instructor” was a highlight of her term, Bartholomew said. “She was fabulous. I wouldn’t have lasted two weeks without her.”
Terry Knox served as Spring-Ford Chamber of Commerce president from November 2000 through the beginning of 2003. He saw a major accomplishment of his years as “being able to bring the chamber back after Charmaine’s departure, and the difficulties of not having staff for six or eight months.”
Chamber executive committee member-at-large Linda Knox added, “He helped to unify the chamber.”
He also noted the move from the Main Street office to the current location on Lewis Road brought more visibility to the chamber. In addition, during Knox’s term, the chamber became even more involved with the community, including taking part in the annual Halloween parades.
At the time of his presidency, Knox was a partner at MacElree Harvey. Now he serves as a worker’s compensation judge in Reading.
Rick Storms, vice president of St. Pedro and Associates, who served as chamber president for 2004 and 2005, said he particularly enjoys “the camaraderie of it.” “It’s really about friendship and goodwill,” he commented. “If you don’t have those two things it’s really difficult for an organization to function.”
Additional past presidents who were unable to attend the anniversary celebration were William Ferrier, 1992; Greg Berry, 2006, and Rick Garofolo, 2006.
“I’d really like to say thank you to all the presidents who served throughout the years,” Sabol concluded.
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