EAST HANOVER — Every month, the Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce honors one of its own by selecting a Member of the Month. Members are selected for a variety of reasons. Some are businesses celebrating special anniversaries. Others are honored for long-time service to the community or their great charitable work. And still others are simply deserving of special recognition for being an active member of our ever-growing Chamber family. If you or someone you know is a prime candidate for Parsippany Area Chamber Member of the Month, please fill out a nomination form by clicking here, or contact Board Member Alan S. Golub, Esq. via e-mail at [email protected].

PACC Member of the Month – May 2019

East Hanover COSTCO (Warehouse 244)
156 State Route 10 West
East Hanover, NJ
Chamber Contact: Patricia Harrity
(973) 560-4140

The East Hanover COSTCO Warehouse has been proudly serving our local community since its grand opening in October, 1997. And what was once primarily known as one of the first and best “bulk item” retail stores where you could find tremendous savings on household goods, foods, and electronics, has grown far beyond that into an all-purpose provider of a wide variety of goods and services, some of which may surprise you! For example, these days COSTCO houses its own pharmacy and tire service center, offers a unique haggle-free auto buying program, sponsors a dedicated COSTCO travel program that offers discounts on all phases of travel (vacation packages, cruises, rental cars, hotels), and even boasts a sophisticated COSTCO insurance program that offers life, home, and auto insurance to its members.

Even with today’s expanded services at numerous locations across the country, COSTCO remains dedicated to the folks who live and work in the local community. According to Patricia Harrity, who handles marketing and public relations for the East Hanover COSTCO, “It is so important for us to always be aware of, and supportive of, the community around us – otherwise folks see us as just another big box store, and that’s not who we are.” To that end, Patricia says that Warehouse 244 is very much involved in supporting local community events in a variety of ways – from frequent donations to the Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter, to participating in local events such as the Whippany Fire Co. 5K Run/Walk (May 5) and the Kiwanis Club of Parsippany’s Touch-A-Truck Event (June 15), COSTCO is very much involved through sponsorships, donations, and employee attendance at local events all year round.

Of course, COSTCO’s biggest community support effort is its annual fundraising drive on behalf of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Since 1988, COSTCO has raised over $345 Million on behalf of CMN Hospitals, including over $845,00 just last year alone. This year, COSTCO once again kicks off its annual fundraising drive beginning on May 1st and lasting the entire month of May. COSTCO believes in helping its favorite charity $1 at a time, which is how the bulk of its successful fundraising campaign usually works. For the entire month of May, cashiers at all COSTCO warehouses will be asking customers at checkout if they’d like to make a $1 donation to CMN Hospitals. There is no pressure to donate, only a gentle ask and a hearty thank you for every dollar given. There are also sponsorship opportunities for those interested in participating at a higher level. This year, COSTCO is offering a GIANT Balloon (47”x32”) Sponsorship – for a $250 sponsorship donation, you or your company’s name will be printed on the side of a giant balloon that will hang in the warehouse near the registers for the entire month of May! Interested parties can contact Patricia Harrity via the contact information provided above.

For its long-standing commitment to our local business and residential communities, its welcome return to our Chamber after a few years away, and to provide a friendly Chamber “bump” for its May fundraising drive, East Hanover COSTCO is our May 2019 PACC Member of the Month!

Member of the Month’s Q&A of the Month
Provided by Patricia Harrity, East Hanover COSTCO

Q: What was the greatest piece of marketing or networking advice you ever got?

A: Always stay positive and be out in the community. Face-to-face interaction is essential to building useful and meaningful business connections that really work.

EAST HANOVER — Morris County Sheriff’s Officers from the Bureaus of Corrections and Law Enforcement – along with some of their children and members of Explorers Post 140 – paid their respects on May 18 to servicemen and women by placing American flags on hundreds of graves at Restland Memorial Park in East Hanover.

The pre-Memorial Day tribute was on behalf of American Legion Post 421 in East Hanover, whose Commander, Herman Marmon, a retired Lieutenant Colonel who completed three tours in Vietnam, greeted the group and supplied the flags.

Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, Bureau of Corrections Undersheriff Alan J. Robinson and Morris County Correctional Facility Warden Chris Klein were part of the group that spent hours at the sprawling cemetery where veterans of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and even the Spanish-American War, are buried.

“When you place those flags, keep in your memory those people who have gone before us and made this country the beautiful one that it is. Thank you and God bless,” Sheriff Gannon told the group before they set out across the lawn with their flags.

Bureau of Corrections Officer Dave Wasilewski participated in placing the flags with his son Cross, a student at the Delbarton School. Officer Wasilewski said he brings his mother every Father’s Day to a cemetery in Lodi, where they place flowers on the graves of his grandfather, a World War II U.S. Army veteran, and his great-grandfather, a veteran of World War I.

Morris County Sheriff’s Office Explorers Post 140 members Jeffrey Brodhecker and Andrew Garcia, along with Andrew’s father, U.S. Navy veteran Rick Garcia, volunteered for the activity.

Between placing flags, Bureau of Corrections Lt. Michael Schweizer had the chance to visit the grave of his grandmother, who is buried near the chapel at Restland Memorial Park.