<![CDATA[Morris County Chamber of Commerce - LEAD Morris News & Info]]>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 03:11:25 -0400EditMySite<![CDATA[Hackettstown Medical Center’s Foundation 3rd Annual Shining the Light Fall Social Event]]>Tue, 12 Aug 2025 14:33:54 GMThttps://www.morrischamber.org/leadmorrisnews/hackettstown-medical-centers-foundation-3rd-annual-shining-the-light-fall-social-eventThe Foundation for Hackettstown Medical Center’s third annual Shining the Light fall social event will feature Greg Stewart, LM'11, as the Community Honoree alongside Physician Honorees Suvid Chaudhari, DO, and the Envision team of Emergency Medicine physicians in Hackettstown Medical Center’s Emergency Department. This year's event will be held on Thursday, October 9 at the Panther Valley Golf & Country Club. For details, please visit https://ahs.atlantichealth.org/about-us/foundations-auxiliaries/hackettstown-foundation/shine-the-light.html]]><![CDATA[Team 'Positive Alternatives' of LM'24 Community Service Project Benefits Cornerstone Family Programs]]>Tue, 29 Oct 2024 19:33:37 GMThttps://www.morrischamber.org/leadmorrisnews/team-positive-alternatives-of-lm24-community-service-project-benefits-cornerstone-family-programsPicture
By Kevin Murphy
The Morris County Chamber of Commerce offers an amazing program called LEAD Morris, where the focus is on Leadership, Education & Development. The Class of 2024 is the largest ever with 40 executives from different organizations all over Morris County. A major focus of the program is giving back to this wonderful community. The class is split into teams and each team decides which specific organization we would like to volunteer for. There are so many deserving organizations, but our team decided on Cornerstone Family Programs & Morristown Neighborhood House.
We are Team Positive Alternatives and our mission is to, “empower children to be more confident, resilient and equipped for success through constructive activity, engaging education, and positive mentoring.” Our amazing team, I am proud to be a part of, consists of our captain, Rob Caridad of Advance Realty Investors, Beth Johns of Fulton Bank, Shana Baer of Interfaith Food Pantry Network, Sarah Ur, LNHA of Saint Clare's Health Stephanie Parise of Garden Savings Federal Credit Union, Claudia Patterson of eXp Realty, LLC and Randall Willms of Minuteman Limousine & Car Service
We decided to spend a day focused on fun, learning, and positive mentoring with seventeen 5th & 6th graders from Cornerstone Family Programs at Anchor Golf of Whippany, NJ.  We also had the pleasure of spending the day with some of Cornerstone’s awesome Counselors as well as their VP of Programs & soccer star, Jacquelyn Looby.

We started the day filling goodie bags for all the kids & counselors with treats we collected as a team. Anchor generously provided t-shirts for all. We then split up into three groups and each took ours to either Pickleball, Bucket Golf or Miniature Golf & Soccer. It was amazing seeing all the smiles and hearing all the laughter throughout the day and it wasn’t just the kids!  We all enjoyed getting to know the children throughout the day and overhearing some of them saying things such as, “this was the best day ever” and “this was the best time I’ve had all summer.” The day wrapped up with a special ice cream treat from Anchor and gave us an opportunity to take some deep breaths and chug some water.

Our focus was to make a positive impact on these wonderful, deserving kids and think we did just that, however, the added bonus was the incredible impact that they made on us.  We will never forget it!
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Thank you Cornerstone Family Programs & Morristown Neighborhood House for all you do each & every day. We sincerely appreciate you letting us enjoy this one!  Special thanks to Jay Weisman, Danielle Grayson, Kimberly Iozzi & Meghan Hunscher and Anthony & Tony from Anchor Golf!
]]><![CDATA[Three of this Year's Leaders in Business Honorees are LEAD Morris Participants.  Coincidence?]]>Tue, 29 Oct 2024 19:11:09 GMThttps://www.morrischamber.org/leadmorrisnews/three-of-this-years-leaders-in-business-honorees-are-lead-morris-participants-coincidenceClaudia Patterson (LM'24), eXp Realty, Stan Puszcz (LM'09), CP Engineers, Architects & Environmental Services and Rob Ward (LM'24), Anserve were honored at the Morris County Chamber's Business Outlook & Awards Breakfast with a Delta Dental Leaders in Business Award on October 29.  Coincidence? Or has their LEAD Morris experience and connections helped them make a positive impact on their company, clients, and community? 
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These LEAD Morris participants stand out not only for their business acumen but also for their impact on their company, clients, and community. Their vision and resilience go beyond the bottom line; they recognize the interconnectedness of their business with the community, actively contributing to its growth and well-being. By celebrating these leaders, we acknowledge their role in shaping a brighter future both within their organizations and the community they serve.  Please join us in congratulating them!
]]><![CDATA[LEAD Morris Alumni Spotlight - Frank Pinto LM'96]]>Tue, 29 Oct 2024 18:54:41 GMThttps://www.morrischamber.org/leadmorrisnews/lead-morris-alumni-spotlight-frank-pinto-lm96Picture
By Britni Orcutt
Frank Pinto's career includes 25 years working in the public sector for the County of Morris. Frank managed a variety of planning and social service programs. He was the Director of the Morris County Agriculture Development Board for over ten years and completed 100 farmland transactions totaling over 6,100 acres and $127 million in easement value. Frank oversaw the county’s Preservation Trust Fund seeing it hit the 20,000 preserved acres plateau. He has served on several non-profit boards and one term on the Chester Borough Council. He graduated from Old Dominion University with a B.S. in Geography and received his Masters in Public Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University.  Frank is now the owner of Pinto Consulting (NJLandowner.com) and focuses on the agricultural industry, land conservation and sustainability measures. ​Please read how his participation in the LEAD Morris class of 1996(!) continues to have an impact.

How did LEAD Morris shape your perspective on leadership? 
At the time I was a low-level County government employee, and it really showed me how I could advance my career; and how leaders do that through team building and having a broad understanding of a wide variety of subject matter.

Did you implement anything you learned during LEAD Morris?
This is going to date me, but our team project back then was to create a county website -which was cutting edge at the time, but also controversial. Local governments were asking, “Why do we need it? It’s expensive, and what info even gets put out there?” Things that today that are no brainers, but it was not the way things were handled back then, especially in County government.

We had to pitch the value of a website and meet with government officials. We used the library model (they had a website at the time) and shared how they benefited from the world wide web how that could be applied to County government. It was initially seen as a lot of work without benefit, and we had to convince County government officials otherwise.

I used that experience as I went through my county career in the planning department. I ended up running the Morris County Preservation Trust Division and overseeing all the preservation programs in the county, which involved tracking data. Some specific experiences in LEAD Morris gave me the framework to know what was important to track in data and database management.

How have the connections you made with others in your class/other alumni benefited the community and/or your career?
It gave me a nice network of individuals in private, non-profit, and government that I could call on when I had an issue or question that was related to their field of work. It opened doors to an easy ask of information and assistance.

What was your favorite day when you attended LEAD Morris?
Oh, it was definitely Environment Day. I went through the program and afterwards I ended up getting to be the presenter for LEAD Morris Environment Day for many years. I would lead a field trip to farms and open space properties, talk about land preservation and farmland preservation, and educate people about the programs.

What would you say to someone considering applying for LEAD Morris class of 2025?
I would say absolutely do it- it’s a great opportunity to get out of a zoom call, meet others in person, and learn things about your community that you may not be aware of. It is a fantastic opportunity to learn about issues that are grappled with in private, non-profit, and government sectors. And it’s not a heavy lift! Definitely do it! ​
]]><![CDATA[LEAD Morris Alumni Council Co-Chair's Message Oct 2024]]>Tue, 29 Oct 2024 17:45:25 GMThttps://www.morrischamber.org/leadmorrisnews/lead-morris-alumni-council-co-chairs-message-oct-2024Michael Lupton, Wells Fargo Advisors (LM'12)  
Christy Ward, MC Ward Images (LM '15)     

Welcome to Fall 2024 LEAD Morris Alumni! I hope that you all enjoyed the summer with your friends and family. As we head into the later part of the year, I would like to bring to your attention all the new and exciting things awaiting us.

​We have been active recently in our continuing efforts to ensure that your Lead Morris experience adds value to both your personal and professional life. As our LEAD Morris alumni base continues to grow it is important that we all stay connected. There is truly strength in numbers and collectively we represent a powerful group.
To that end, the Alumni Council has been working closely with the Morris County Chamber to provide you with opportunities to build stronger bonds with your fellow alum and the local community. Our next opportunity to connect will be the LEAD Morris Graduation & Alumni Achievement Awards event December 11th, where we will honor Michael Powers, President & CEO, Garden Savings Federal Credit Union  (LM’11) and Beverly Natale, Director Natale, Atlantic Health / Morristown Medical Center (LM’17). We hope to see you there!

As a council, it has always been our goal to offer our alumni base an opportunity to network, build business and strengthen our alumni connections. Whether it be community service projects or networking events, we have committed to always keeping in mind the true mission of our organization: Giving Back. We all should work to support and grow LEAD Morris’ impact in the community and ensure that LEAD Morris remains relevant. We warmly invite all of you to join us in support of this fine organization. 
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