Page 12 - Greater Bethesda 2021 Membership Directory
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10 The Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce Membership Directory | 2021 www.greaterbethesdachamber.org
ABOUT THE CHAMBER
Founded in 1926, The Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce is a strong, vibrant association of companies and organizations doing business in the Greater Bethesda area. The Chamber represents a wide spectrum of dynamic businesses, ranging from entrepreneurs and small, home-based companies to large, international corporations. From local, retail, trade and professional services to major healthcare providers and research institutions, Chamber members provide goods, services, jobs, and tax revenue to benefit our residents, our community, and our world.
and G. Wady Imirie (lawyer and owner of a gas station/repair shop) met in Mrs. Everett’s cafe on Wisconsin Avenue
and became the core of the group that organized what is now The Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce.
Through the winter of 1926, speakers from the United States Chamber of Commerce discussed the virtues of forming a Chamber with a larger group of merchants. With the Bethesda business district composed of only one bank, a drug store, a hardware store,
a grocery, a notions store, two gas stations, two barbers, two feed stores, three garages, three cafes and five
coal yards, the Chamber was formally organized on April 1, 1926. Tuckerman was the first president; Sacks, vice president; S. Walter Bogley (teller at the Bank of Bethesda), secretary; and Imirie was treasurer. All remained prominent in the Chamber for many years.
OUR ORGANIZATION
Our Board of Directors oversees policy- making for a membership of more than 500 businesses. Member companies and non-profits commit hundreds of volunteers annually to participate in various projects, work groups and task forces throughout the year, supported by committed professional staff.
OUR HISTORY
Ninety-five years have passed since a
group of local businessmen realized the value of joining together to improve the community’s economy and its quality of life. It was in the fall of 1925 when Thomas Everett (newspaper
man), George P. Sacks (builder and businessman), Walter Tuckerman
(the Bank of Bethesda founder and developer), Lewis Keiser (postmaster, owner of an ice plant and lumber yard), Col. Thomas Hampton (developer and, during World War I, ship builder), William Counselman (feedstore owner),
