As the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce conducted its annual installation of officers Tuesday night, the group reported a year of growth in membership and a readiness to build on it.

One new officer and two new members of the board of directors were inducted during the event, which took place at the organization's holiday cocktail party. Upon welcoming them into the leadership of the organization, Chamber President Mary Ann Paras, of EAB, announced that the group's membership grew by 51 in 1998 to a total of almost 200. The organization, which three years ago had about 125 members, seems to have been energized by the increased participation.

In an interview that evening, Paras, who will serve a second term, expressed pride in the group's accomplishments during 1998. "It was a very exciting year in that I had never been president before," she said. "It went well because I had a lot of support from the board as well as the members."

The marked growth did not occur by chance. The chamber made a concerted effort to gain new members in 1998, first through word of mouth throughout the year, and then in September, through hiring a recruiter. The recruiter is Sylvia Claase, an active local community member and resident who also heads the Village Beautification Committee. In addition, a spot in the chamber's 1999 business directory, which is distributed to 2400 businesses in Farmingdale, was offered as an incentive to join, according to Paras.

This past year has also seen the establishment of new committees, such as the public relations committee, which Paras aims to develop in 1999, as well as a web site. "These are all things that we're looking to do in '99, and we've laid the groundwork in '98," she said. The chamber also plans to continue to work with Operation Downtown, a program sponsored by Nassau County which provides free marketing consulting services to downtown areas. In addition, the group plans to create strategies to help Farmingdale's downtown capitalize on the ongoing commercial development of Route 110 and the anticipated U.S. Open 2002 at Bethpage State Park.

Meetings with community groups, which began in 1998, will also be key in 1999, according to Paras. "We will continue to meet with community groups to get their input," she said, adding that the chamber plans to continue to work with the government of Farmingdale Village for the improvement of Main Street.

This past year was also one in which the chamber put forth much effort on a proposal to create a Business Improvement District, which was ultimately rejected by property owners within the area. Asked what the chamber has taken from the experience, Paras responded, "What we've taken is that we need to work closely to find out what people objected to and why they objected to it." She added that the chamber plans to conduct focus groups in order to determine what steps businesses and community members in Farmingdale want to take "to ensure the future success of downtown Farmingdale."

The newest additions to the chamber's leadership also expressed enthusiasm for their work. The Farmingdale Library's Dina Chrils is the new secretary, while Angela Cowan, CPA and George (Bear) Winter of Century 21 Dallow Realty are new board members.

Chrils, who is the director of the public library, commented, "The library has been a member of the chamber for at least 10 years, and I'm very honored to have been asked. I hope that I'll be able to help the chamber, and assist them in all of their endeavors for the Farmingdale community."

Cowan, a 20-year resident of Farmingdale who has made her accounting office on Main Street for 3 years, hopes to help preserve the "small-town feeling" and sense of pride in Farmingdale that she values. "It's always a privilege to give of your time to help the community," she said. "I hope to help the community keep Main Street as it was when I moved here 20 years ago."

Winter said he plans to focus on further increasing the chamber's membership. He noted that he highly values the services the chamber provides to local businesses, such as the directory, and that he would like to increase outreach to offer these services to entrepreneurs as they are setting up shop in Farmingdale. He is heartened by what he describes as an upturn in the Village of Farmingdale, and said this was made possible by such municipal, grant-funded improvements as Victorian street lighting, new brick sidewalks, and additional commuter parking. "I think this is the turn-around that I've been looking for, for the village," he said. "More people are talking positively about the village."

Laura Tavolacci of Creative Baskets & Gifts, Inc. and Edwin J. Lucie of Sullivan, Shugrue & Lucie both moved from the position of board member to that of vice-president, where they will serve alongside President Paras and Secretary Chrils.

Ruth Sattig Betz, CPA, moved from the position of vice president to executive vice president. Like her fellow leaders, at the installation Tuesday night, the 31-year resident of Farmingdale expressed a desire to help the community and its chamber of commerce grow. "I have strong ties to Farmingdale, having been here so long, and I would like to see Main Street and all the businesses do well," she said.

Frank Bondietti, a resident of Farmingdale for over 40 years and an active community member, remains as treasurer for 1999. The following board members also remain: Pete Yovine of State Bank of L.I., Charles Federlin of Roslyn Savings Bank, Maria Thies of Golden Bear Golf Center, Kevin Bagnasco of Avanti Furniture, Allen Breslow of Frank & Breslow, Miriam Blau of Here and There Travel and Robert Sayles of Negri Camera. Margaret Bertolotti of the Farmingdale Federation of Teachers moved from vice president to board member.