Harris county marriage certificate

Chamber's First Woman President: Cathy Frank-White Talks About Her Role

"I've always known when it was time to move on to a more complex and interesting challenge. I already love this job and look forward to many years of accomplishment."

Those sentiments expressed by Cathy Frank-White, the first woman president in the 135-year history of the Greater Mercer County Chamber of Commerce are indicative of her enthusiasm.

Frank-White, who started in her new position on February 14, was selected by unanimous vote by the Chamber's Search Committee. She beat out some 20 other qualified applicants for the post which requires extraordinary people skills, high motivation, strength in organizing and the ability to communicate effectively with the membership and others interested in promoting the progress of Mercer County and its Central New Jersey and Bucks County neighbors.

Frank-White comes to the Chamber presidency after serving 12 years as government relations manager of the Wakefern Food Corporation, Elizabeth, parent of the Shop Rite supermarket chain.

Previously, she was executive director of the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police. In addition, she served as mayor of Montgomery Township in Somerset County, while simultaneously directing the affairs of Branchburg Township as administrator. She also spent 12 years as a teacher in the Bridgewater-Raritan School District.

Born in the Chambersburg section of Trenton, she grew up in Villa Park, was educated in the city's public schools before moving to Hamilton where she graduated from Hamilton High and moved on to Montclair State College where she earned her B.A. Later, she received a Master's Degree in Education at Trenton State College.

Frank-White has two sons, Robert Beacham, an attorney who has a general practice law firm in Hillsborough, and Michael Beacham, vice president of marketing and membership services for the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce. Her husband, Ken White, is a New Jersey state investigator with the Division of Criminal Justice. The couple make their

home in Lambertville.

Her list of awards, plaques and other honors would fill the space on several walls if they were all on display. She is currently chair of the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) Appeals Board, and a Commissioner of the New Jersey Police Training Commission, and holds, or has held, other important posts to which she was appointed by Governors Kean, Florio and Whitman.

A charter member of the Montgomery/Rocky Hill Rotary Club, Cathy has maintained more than 10 years of perfect attendance by attending weekly meetings at her club and make-up meetings whenever she travels. A Paul Harris Fellow recipient, she served as club president and secretary of District 7510.

For several years, she chaired the Rotary Youth Leadership Program (RYLA), a weekend conference for high school students from schools in the counties of Mercer, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Union. She brought in dynamic guest speakers to train these student leaders in areas of group dynamics, communication skills, and ethics in the workplace.

She was the Princeton Elks' "Woman of the Year," earned a congressional Recognition Certificate for service to the law enforcement community and has been honored by the Mercer County Board of Freeholders, the New Jersey Department of Veteran's Affairs and Rotary International, and has received plaques of appreciation from the FBI, State Police and the Fraternal Order of Police, among others.

She is also a "Former Mayor of the Year" as proclaimed by the New Jersey Conference of Mayors. The New Jersey Business and Industry Association honored Cathy with the Leonard C. Johnson Award and she received the National Spirit of America Award from the National Grocers Association in 1999. She is also a recipient of the New Jersey Food Council Good Government Award.

What can the membership and the community expect from this petite, soft spoken dynamo? First, she says that she will use her "strengths."

She has vast experience in dealing with lawmakers on every level, tracking and reporting legislative developments on the state and federal levels. "So many of the bills, such as OSHA regulation changes affect small businesses. I worked for a large corporation that could afford to track all of this (Wakefern), but smaller firms cannot. If they belong to the Chamber, that's a huge advantage because I plan to be their watchdog and to be on the alert for laws that will affect them." She plans to give a legislative update in her monthly "President's Message" column in this magazine.

"I want the facilities of the Chamber to be available to members while in Trenton doing business with the government - we can help cut red tape and jump over bureaucratic hurdles. I like using networking and my business contacts to help people overcome problems in difficult areas," she said.

"I a] so want to look into some benefit plans that I feel would be suited to smaller groups that could use affordable benefit packages. By the way, there is no friend of mine who is safe from my membership campaign, if they live within our boundaries," she smiles.

As she starts her new job, Frank-White is busy on the banquet circuit attending breakfasts, luncheons and dinners where she can get acquainted and expound on her philosophy and goals.

"You can't help people until you know who they are," she says. "I'm a people person. I want to give value for the dues members pay and I especially want to contact those who have dropped Chamber membership for one reason or another.

want them back and I plan to give them plenty of reasons to come back. Being part of the Chamber can be a huge asset. I firmly believe this.

"This geographic area is close to my heart. My dad was born in Titusville, my mother in Stockton and we've lived in several Mercer communities. Our priceless history is so important. My Texan husband only talked about the Alamo when he came here. I guess he got tired of me taking him to all of our historic sites when he moved here after our marriage," she laughs.

"We need to promote our historic attractions in ways that will attract tourists. I plan to visit every mayor of every community in our service area and get them to

spend a day with me touring their municipalities. We can learn so much by actually seeing what they would like to show off, such as Kuser Mansion and Veteran's Park in Hamilton, for example. Some of these towns have treasures that few of us know about. I want to learn all I can learn."

In 1983, Cathy helped obtain funding to open Triad House, a home for abused teenagers located in Ewing Township, and again in 1990 she assisted in opening Rainbow House in Trenton for teen mothers and babies with AIDS. At present, she serves as chair of the Board of Trustees of Lifeties, the non-profit organization covering both homes.

Cathy was involved in the State House dome renovation project. She convinced her former employer to sponsor the production of a film showing the project from beginning to end called, "A Legacy in Gold." The film was aired on Channel 52 and other public TV stations and will be distributed to every public school in the state.

The new president has a lofty goal for the Chamber. In five years she wants to see it as "the strongest Chamber in the state."

"We have a great chamber," she says, "thanks to a hard working board of directors, our chairman, Dr. (George) Pruitt, our wonderful staff and the membership. We have the strongest of foundations to build on. I'm confident that we will succeed."

"Do I want members from other counties? You bet I do. By networking with others, we can accomplish so much. Businesses out of the county want to do business in Mercer County."

Dr. Pruitt, who is president of Thomas Edison State College as well as Chamber chairman, is pleased with her appointment. He called her "articulate and committed there is a passion about her."

What does this busy executive do for recreational fun? She enjoys fishing. She and her husband often vacation in the Cayman Islands to relax and fish. This year the couple plan to vacation at the Gogama Fishing Lodge in Northern Ontario, Canada.

She once caught a prize-winning marlin in the Atlantic City Marlin Tournament. Although her marlin trophy, which was 84 inches long and weighed more than 100 pounds was on display in her home for many years, when her new husband brought his even bigger sailfish from Texas, the couple kept the peace by not displaying either fish. So the two trophies sit in storage, perhaps to be superceded with even bigger fish in the future.