Page 14 - Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce - 2023 Membership Directory

ABOUT THE CHAMBER
F ounded 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.
OUR ORGANIZATION
Our Board of Directors oversees policymaking for a membership of more than 550 businesses. Member companies and nonprofits 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-seven 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),
DONEL E. CHAMBERLIN AND WALTER TUCKERMAN (THE 30TH AND FIRST PRESIDENTS OF THE GREATER BETHESDA CHAMBER).
William Counselman (feedstore owner), 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.
In the very first year, the Chamber was instrumental in founding the Bethesda Fire Department and raised $3,000 toward supporting it. During the first decade, the Chamber also lobbied for funding for the building of Bethesda- Chevy Chase High School and the placement of the first traffic light at
the intersection of East-West Highway and Wisconsin Avenue. In 1929, the organization was formally incorporated as the Bethesda Chamber of Commerce by Emory H. Bogley, longtime Counsel to the Chamber. In 1956, it became
the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce and was accredited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1972. Fast forward to 2016 and the name was changed one more time to The Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce, reflecting the regional focus of our organization and given the geographic location of our members (from the DC line to the Rockville City line and from the Potomac River to Rock Creek).
Throughout the years, the programs and activities of the Chamber have helped this fast-growing community to cope with the many challenges it faces and helped to make it the success it now is. Those who work in, live in and visit the greater Bethesda community are encouraged to patronize Chamber members’ places of business, for it is through their spirit of civic-mindedness that the Greater Bethesda area has become the best place in which to
live and make a living — truly an environment that encourages business to grow and prosper.
12 The Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce Membership Directory | 2023 www.greaterbethesdachamber.org