Charles Roman, funeral director at Kirk & Nice, will lead the organization through its 70th anniversary year
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
To say 2019 is going to be a “big year” for the Feasterville Business Association is an understatement. It may just be the organization’s biggest year yet. Not only are a slew of changes on the way, including the selection of a new space for monthly meetings, the FBA is celebrating an impressive 70th anniversary.
On Wednesday, Jan. 2, the new officers elected to lead the FBA during this milestone year were announced, with Charles Roman named president. He moves up from his position as vice president, replacing Rick Tyrrell, owner of Cheese Dawgs Restaurant in Feasterville, who will take up a position on the executive board.
A funeral director with Kirk & Nice, the oldest funeral home in the country that opened a location at 333 County Line Road in June 1998, Roman has resided in the Upper and Lower Southampton areas since 1990.
Roman first learned of the FBA through a colleague, and decided to join in 2000. Over the years, he has been highly involved with several committees, including one for the organization’s annual scholarship award, and held his first officer position as vice president in 2018.
When The Times asked Roman his thoughts and feelings on being named president, an election that took place at the FBA’s November meeting through a ballot vote, he was straightforward.
“It’s a challenge,” he said. “We’re going through some transitions right now. We’re changing our meeting venue and some other things are in flux, so we’re just trying to get things sorted out and grounded so that we can move on and be productive in the community.”
For Roman, it’s a thrill to hold this position of leadership during the FBA’s anniversary year. But it doesn’t change the focus of what he is setting out to accomplish. Key goals include increasing attendance at monthly meetings, which currently take place at Brookside Manor, and maintaining a high level of community involvement.
“I really don’t think that’s a great consequence,” Roman said of the milestone. “It’s just a case of keeping the club active and valid, and doing what we do to try to help the Feasterville community.”
This includes the scholarship program, which grants money to local high schoolers heading to college; an annual Easter Egg Hunt; Fourth of July Parade; and the Project Blue Light Holiday Tree Lighting, which honors area police officers who lost their lives while on duty.
“It’s a very progressive, valid organization,” Roman said. “We really provide a lot of financial support to the community in many different ways, but it’s also a great business networking situation. Everyone’s supportive of one another, where in other organizations, it doesn’t sort of cross that line of people becoming good friends and looking out for one another. But this is a genuine, caring organization and it’s a pleasure to be in it.”
Also elected were Steve Castle, owner of Castle Garden Center in Feasterville, and Fran Mishinkash, branch manager of American Heritage Credit Union in Feasterville, as co-vice presidents; Dennis Markowitz, a private business and tax consultant in Langhorne, as treasurer; Linda Pupkiewicz, retired assistant director of the Lower Southampton Township Library, as recording secretary; Erica Markowitz, president of Stream in Bensalem, as corresponding secretary; Tracy Freels, an auto parts representative for SRS Marketing Company in Southampton, as financial secretary; and Michael R. Lesher, senior project manager for Regal Properties in Langhorne, as sergeant-at-arms.
The following individuals were elected to the position of director: Pradeep Kohli, assistant vice president and branch manager of Univest Bank and Trust in Bensalem; Jennifer Gephardt, assistant vice president and branch manager of Beneficial Bank in Feasterville and Bensalem; William F. Wiegman Jr., retired chief of police in Lower Southampton Township; Susan Harrison, co-owner of the Greater Philadelphia Abstract Company in Trevose; Stu Coren, president of Rosen Coren Marketing, Public Relations & Advertising Agency in Langhorne; and Karen Madotto, branch manager of Penn Community Bank in Bensalem.
For more information on the Feasterville Business Association, visit feasterville.biz, email FeastervilleBA@gmail.com or call 215–436–9768. ••
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
