Ron Hyman, the newly-elected president of the Feasterville Business Association, has one simple goal in mind as he steps into this leadership position.
“I want everything to come off without a hitch,” he said.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many of the FBA’s highly-anticipated yearly happenings, such as the Easter Egg Hunt and Golf Outing, the latter of which raises funds for local college scholarships, charities and nonprofits, were put on pause.
But Hyman has every intention of offering a full lineup of events, which also include the Blue Light Ceremony to honor fallen police officers each holiday season; the annual Frolic to recognize the FBA’s Person of the Year; participation in the Lower Southampton Township Fourth of July Parade, which sees the FBA’s scholarship winners from Neshaminy High School featured on a float; and the awarding of funds to deserving area charities.
“That was a huge success last month,” Hyman said of the donation ceremony. “We donated $23,000 to local charities. I think the highlight was, there was a special-needs child who was presented a customized bicycle that cost thousands of dollars to build. I got to present that with Brad Marsh from the Flyers Alumni Association.”
There’s also a few fresh additions to the schedule, including a special day for the selected Neshaminy seniors.
“This year, I’m going to start a picnic in June to present the scholarships to the award winners and invite their families and FBA members and just have a picnic to welcome back everybody to the real world,” said Hyman.
The FBA was established over 70 years ago to, as its mission states, “foster and encourage growth for the betterment of the community” and ultimately serve as a voice for local businesses.
Each year, the board of directors nominates and elects a member to lead the group for 12 months as president. For the first time, the nomination process took place after two years due to the pandemic. Outgoing president Fran Mishinkash, branch manager of Feasterville’s American Heritage Credit Union, is taking up a position as a director on the executive board.
Filling his shoes is Hyman, owner of the Insurance Shops, located at 246 Bustleton Pike in Feasterville, which he said is “for all your insurance needs.” Hyman, who joined the FBA six years ago and served on the board of directors for the last three, said his tenure as president “will be a lot of work ahead of me but it should be rewarding.”
Hyman, a resident of neighboring Huntingdon Valley for 32 years, is involved in numerous networking groups throughout Bensalem, Southampton and Newtown.
“But Feasterville’s probably my big one for giving back charity-wise,” he said. “I tend to get involved with a lot of neighborhood community organizations and I just like giving back. Plus, it certainly has great benefits of letting people know what I do [at the Insurance Shops] and how I do it.”
In addition to the appointments of Hyman and Mishinkash, a number of other FBA members were elected to various positions:
– Vice president: Mike Lesher, senior project manager for Regal Properties, Langhorne
– Treasurer: Dennis Markowitz, a private tax and business consultant in Langhorne
– Financial secretary: Tracy Freels, an auto parts representative for SRS Marketing Company, Southampton
– Recording/corresponding secretary: Stu Coren, president of Rosen Coren public relations and marketing agency, Langhorne
– Sergeant-at-arms: Linda Pupkiewicz, retired assistant director of the Township Library of Lower Southampton
Elected as officers were Karen Madotto, a retired bank executive; Jane Ward, development director of the Youth Orchestra of Bucks County, Southampton; Ed MacConnell, president of Total Benefit Solutions, Feasterville; William Wiegman Jr., retired chief of police in Lower Southampton Township; Rick Tyrrell, owner of Cheese Dawgs Restaurant, Feasterville; Susan Harrison, co-owner of the Greater Philadelphia Abstract Company, Feasterville-Trevose; and Ray Greenberg, president of Financial Expertise, Feasterville.
Ted Hauptman, Esq., of the Law Offices of Ted Hauptman in Feasterville, is serving as the organization’s legal counsel.
The FBA holds monthly meetings on the first Wednesday of the month, typically at The Buck Hotel, 1200 Buck Road, Feasterville-Trevose. New members are always accepted.
“There’s thousands of businesses in this area. I’m hoping more get involved,” said Hyman. “I want as many businesses and members as possible in the area to get involved, come on out and meet their neighbors. It’s a great organization.”
Visit feastervillebusinessassociation.com or email feastervilleBA@gmail.com for more information.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
