Ramsey Chamber Celebrates First Anniversary, Looks to Continue Growth

The Ramsey Chamber of Commerce is still establishing itself in the borough’s business community. But, leaders of the group who formed it one year ago this month say it has been able to accomplish a lot so far, and they are excited to do more.

Rob Tilton, the owner of Wireless World of Ramsey, and January Bourke of Oritani Bank reformed a then-defunct Chamber last year with a few other business owners in town. Their goal was to create a place where Ramsey businesses could get together to help one another. A year later, they say the Chamber is working to continue to grow and accomplish that goal.

At the Chamber’s first meeting, 30 local businesses joined. Now, the number of members has grown to over 140. 

Ramsey’s Chamber has gotten involved in numerous community events – everything from Home for the Holidays and A Taste of Ramsey to the recent Fourth of July celebration and initiatives at Ramsey High School, like “Behind the Counter,” which connects business owners and high school students, and a Don’t Text and Drive campaign.

“We’ve been able to build relationships with the schools, the mayor and council, the school board, other community groups,” Tilton said. “They know who we are as a [unified] Chamber.

“I also think getting established and being able to build business to business connections between our members has been a big accomplishment [in our first year],” Bourke said. 

“We’ve done a lot, but there is definitely more to do.”

The Chamber’s got a list of goals for its second year, namely increasing its membership to 500 by this time next year. The Chamber will soon be starting a door-to-door grassroots campaign to encourage Ramsey businesses to join.

“We want to get as many as we can,” Tilton said. “We know that we probably can’t get 100% participation [from the over 1,000 businesses in Ramsey], but we do want 100% awareness. We want everyone to know we are here.”

The group also hopes to forge more community relationships so it can co-sponsor events, start a scholarship fund for Ramsey students, and work toward hosting its own Chamber events.

“A Chamber is only as strong as its members,” Tilton said. “We can do really great things, and in order to realize our potential, we want to get more members.”

Businesses that join the Chamber must either have a brick and mortar location in Ramsey, run a business from a borough home, or do 50% or more of its business in Ramsey. Business owners pay $45 a year to join, and get access to monthly meetings and business card exchanges, access to other business owners and promotions within the business community, and the ability to increase visibility by participating in town events.

Any business interested in joining can visit the Chamber’s website and Facebook page.

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