Franzoso is New Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce Chairman
Mark Franzoso, president of Franzoso Contracting of Croton-on-Hudson, was recently elected the new chairman of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce (HVGCC).
Franzoso succeeds William J. Powers, president of Powers Public Relations. Powers served as chairman for the past two years; its bylaws limit the chairman to two, 1-year terms.
In a message to the HVGCC’s members last month, Powers reflected on his chairmanship
“As I conclude my tenure, I am writing to remind us all what a great chamber we have,” Powers wrote. “In two very short years, we have been able to re-engage our loyal members, expand our benefits and services, energize the chamber’s signature events and inspire an entirely new generation of business leaders to join us. Our accomplishments were not without challenges, but despite a sluggish economy, I am proud to say that we have been able to increase membership to the highest level in more than 20 years and simultaneously reduce churn (the number of members who drop each year) to what I believe is an all-time low. Many chambers see a 20-perent member loss every year; ours is about half that. That tells me our members are seeing a good return on their membership investments.”
Franzoso has been a member of the HVGCC since 1984 and had served as its vice chairman of for the past two years. In a phone interview last Friday, Franzoso said he’s excited about the current state of the chamber and its prospects for future growth.
“The Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce is going in a very good direction, a very positive direction,” Franzoso said,” and although filling Bill Powers’ shoes is going to be a difficult task, I’m going to do my best and try to make my own mark on expanding the chamber.”
Franzoso said his main goal is to get more Croton businesses to become members. He noted that the HVGCC was originally the result of a 1919 merger of the Croton and Peekskill chambers of commerce.
Franzoso said he’d like the HVGCC to offer more functions like its Business After Hours Networking Events, which take place once a month at a member’s business, as a means of bringing local business people together. But he noted that in order for a business to reap the full benefit of chamber membership, it must become involved in its activities/
“You can’t join a chamber of commerce and then not show up at Business After Hours, or some of the events we have throughout the year, and then say, ‘I’m not getting anything out of the chamber,’” he said. “The first Thursday of every month, we have a breakfast where there’s 75 to 100 people there. We have an excellent turnout. And it gives other businesses the chance to announce possibly if they have some specials, or what’s going on with their particular business, or if they have any community- or civic-minded events tied into their business. It’s a powerful networking opportunity.”
For more information about chamber membership and activities, log on at www.hvgatewaychamber.com.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.