New president guides county chamber
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Christopher J. Phelan took the reins as president of the county’s chamber of commerce Nov. 3.

The Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce is the premier organization in central New Jersey helping to build a strong foundation for its member companies through networking, education, access to experts, and political action, according to chamber spokesperson Deborah Miller.

"I am honored and privileged to be serving this organization, which has a strong tradition of serving the business community throughout the region," Phelan said in a Nov. 24 press release. "I truly enjoy working in the chamber field; it is an exciting and dynamic profession to be in."

A graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management at Villanova University, Villanova, Pa., Phelan has worked in the chamber of commerce field since 1999. Prior to accepting the new position, Phelan served as president of the Warren County Regional Chamber of Commerce from January 2001 to Oct. 31 of this year.

Phelan earned the title of founding president/CEO of the Warren County Chamber when, as executive director of the Hackettstown Area Chamber of Commerce, he oversaw the merger of his organization with the Warren Hills Chamber of Commerce in 2000.

"At that time, Warren County was the last remaining county in the state of New Jersey not to have a countywide chamber of commerce or business organization," Miller said.

During his tenure with the Warren County Chamber of Commerce, Phelan served on the board of directors for the United Way of Warren County, the board of directors of the Washington Borough Special Improvement District, and on the Workforce Investment Board of Warren, Sussex and Morris Counties.

He is the current vice president of the board of directors for the New Jersey Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.

"I am excited about the opportunity to begin serving the membership of the Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce," Phelan said.

Before becoming involved in the run­ning of chambers of commerce, Phelan owned and operated a trolley bus com­pany in Flemington that earned him the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1993 from the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce.

Phelan and his wife, Antonietta, re­side in Flemington where he volunteers as an emergency medical technician. He enjoys boating in his spare time.

Phelan shares his business expertise with others by teaching as an adjunct professor at Centenary College, Hackettstown, hosting a weekly business radio program on WRNJ Oldies 1510 AM, and by writing a weekly business column for the Warren Reporter.

For more information about Phelan or the Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce, visit www.MCRCC.org.