Chamber of Commerce ‘Resurrected’ With Opening of New Office

The Chamber of Commerce could open the doors to its new office as early as this month after a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday evening.

“Thank you for resurrecting the Chamber,” Mayor Mark Dykoff said before cutting the ribbon outside the Worden House along with the officers.

The Chamber of Commerce was located in the same building just a few years ago, before it went defunct, said John Cafiero of Axis Builders and Vice President of the Chamber.

“We put some elbow grease into it,” he said. “All of us volunteered and did our share of spackling, painting and cleaning up the carpet. It’s nothing fancy but at least we have a place to call home.”

The one-room office currently contains a table and shelves holding business cards.

The office would be a “business welcome center” and contain all information that pertains to Lacey for residents and visitors, Cafiero said.

The Chamber is currently in the process of figuring out how the office will be staffed and when it will be open to the public. To start, the office will be open part-time but Cafiero hopes to open full-time with the help of volunteers.

“(The office) would get the word out that we’re in existence,” Cafiero said. “My dream is to make that a Lacey visitors center to find out information about the businesses and happenings in the town.”

The office will be a “one-stop-shop” for anyone in town or considering visiting, providing brochures, coupons, business cards and more, he said.

“This is the second coming of the Chamber of Commerce,” Dykoff said. “They seem very enthusiastic…It just goes to show the resurgence of the township.”

Dykoff was the vice president of the Chamber approximately 10 years ago. He hopes the Chamber will bring camaraderie to businesses in town.

But the Chamber could still use a rise in members as it only has approximately 35, Cafiero said.

“We’re a small chamber,” he said. “It’s open to anyone who does business in Lacey. You don’t have to own a business in Lacey.”

With the high number of businesses in Lacey, the Chamber will be doing a membership drive from Tuesday, March 20 through Wednesday June 20.

“We’re such a small group that we don’t have enough people to man it,” he said.

If the Chamber partners with the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce to have a large enough group and enough funds, they will eventually be able to pay someone to have the office open full-time.

“We’re doing a lot of collaborating with other chambers,” Cafiero said. “We’re learning a lot and having a fun time doing it.”

For more information on the Chamber, visit www.laceychamberofcommerce.com.