Business people honored for helping community
BY JOHN DUNPHY
Staff Writer

Good business need not be just about how many greenbacks one can fit in the piggy bank.

The amount of business that can be given back to the community is one of the main conditions the Sayreville, Old Bridge and South Amboy Chamber of Commerce looks at when selecting its annual business leaders of the year.

This year’s leaders, John Albert, Shau-Wai Lam and John O’Leary, were honored recently at the Grand Marquee, Route 9 in Old Bridge.

“Their contributions to the community, that’s really all that we look for,” said Patricia Farrell, director of the chamber and chairwoman of the selection committee. “These are very deserving people.”

Albert, a lifelong resident of North Brunswick, is the president and CEO of Progressive Maintenance and Real Estate Services Inc. in Sayreville, which serves foreclosure clients and their properties in New Jersey.

While foreclosure might not initially sound like a very popular vocation, it serves a positive purpose, Albert said.

“Somebody’s got to do it,” he said. “Foreclosure is not just because someone hit a rough bump; it could be involved in things that don’t necessarily thrill the neighbors.”

Once the client has reached his business, foreclosure has already taken place, and a previously blighted property is in the process of being restored, Albert said.

“The work provided on the house is not a charity, but it’s a benefit to the neighborhood and its residents,” he noted. “It prepares the house for sale.”

In addition, Albert has long been involved with the Board of Trustees for the Central Jersey Spinal Cord Association, which makes charitable contributions to central New Jersey residents in need of financial assistance resulting from spinal cord injuries.

Lam, a Chinese immigrant, has for more than 30 years turned the Dah Chong Trading Corp., more commonly known as DCH, into one of the largest car dealerships in New Jersey.

He joined DCH in 1967. By 1988, Lam had been appointed president and had expanded his business to 31 dealerships in California, New Jersey and New York with annual sales of $1.5 billion.

DCH has long been a supporter of local organizations including CentraState Medical Center in Freehold Township, Monmouth County, the Sayreville Police Department and the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program.

Recently, the business pledged to donate $100 for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts for every car sold over the course of one weekend. In total, DCH was able to raise $32,000.

“I’m very honored to be selected,” Lam said. “But this is the effort of all my team members. I’m just lucky to have so many good people helping me.

“I am receiving the award in their honor,” he added.

Lam said a good business needs to have the right people involved to build it into a strong public entity.

“We have to be very customer-focused, taking good care of our customers,” he said. “In order to do that, you have to have very strong principles.”

O’Leary, a lifelong resident of South Amboy, was one of that city’s police officers for 36 years. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and has been the recipient of numerous honors including the Blue Badge Award, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Policeman of the Year and the Lions Club Policeman of the Year.

For the past 40 years, O’Leary has owned and operated Dooling Electric Inc. By the time he was 9 years old, O’Leary had been brought into the business by his uncle, John Dooling, following the death of Thomas O’Leary, his father.

“Throughout his years, both in business and serving his community, John O’Leary has always been known as a fair, honest, community-minded individual,” the chamber stated in a press statement about O’Leary.

Farrell said it is always difficult to choose the annual honorees.

“We have a lot of good people in this area,” she said.

Albert said he was thrilled that he had been selected.

“It’s a true testament that they appreciate good business leaders in the area,” he said. “It was unexpected when they said I was chosen. I was humbled.”

Lam said conducting business with integrity is a must if you want to be successful.

“We can only do that with everyone working together,” he said. “And we have to support each other in order to carry out that mission.”