South West Regional Chamber honors visionaries

What now is called the South West Regional Chamber of Commerce was somewhat nomadic in the 1980s.

Civil engineer Richard Kasmer, who served as chamber president for two years and was on the board of directors for 24, recalls meeting on the upper floors of a Bridgeville bank and dental office before members decided to seek something permanent.

With the purchase and renovation of a former West Penn Power Co. substation, the chamber had a new home as of 1992.

“Within six months, they gave it back as a donation to the chamber,” Kasmer said about West Penn’s generosity. “So we got the building for nothing.”

He and other visionaries who had key roles in the transformation process were honored during a May 11 event at the Bridgeville Area Historical Society headquarters.

Alexis Trbovich, field representative for state Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville, attended to present certificates of recognition on his behalf.

Three decades after the substation project’s completion, improvements continue within the compact brick structure at 990 Washington Pike in Collier.

“We’ve had some slight renovations over the past year, repainting it and modernizing the inside, putting up a new giant smart TV with Zoom capabilities,” chamber executive director Mandi Pryor said.

She and Kasmer acknowledged leaders of the original project, including Dr. Lou Phillips, Frank Romano, Bert Cherry, Frank Exler, Gene Collavo, Peter Dreon, Scott Adams, Frank Chebatoris and Jim Sullivan.

Anderson Equipment Co. helped the chamber financially with the $25,000 purchase of part of the headquarters property, according to Pryor, and Frank Romano of Blanc Printing designed a new chamber logo that prominently featured the renovated rebuilding.

“We wanted to make sure we kept that,” Pryor said about her recent update of the logo with Higher Images of Carnegie, formerly a Bridgeville business. “We actually had a drone go over the building to help us to create this, so it’s picture-perfect. And then we added in some other little buildings to say that we’re not just one building now. We’re a whole community.”

Founded in 1928 as the Bridgeville Chamber of Commerce, today the organization serves businesses and other entities in an area that includes Collier, Scott, South Fayette, Heidelberg, Upper St. Clair and Carnegie.

Representing the historical society at the recognition event, Leesa Shady spoke about the collection of area memorabilia inside the headquarters, a former train station complete with a repurposed caboose along Railroad Street.

“We get things in all the time. I take pictures. I put them into the computer, and then I assign a location,” Shady, who handles archiving, said. “We’re always welcoming information on families, and then artifacts. We have a lot to display.”

She also organizes monthly programs for the society, held from September through June in the Chartiers Room at the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department, 370 Commercial St. Wrapping up the 2023 season:

• “McKeesport 23, One Town’s Remembrance of Viet Nam,” presented by Dale Saller at 7:30 p.m. May 23. A book will be available for sale.

•“The Greatest Movies and the Best and Worst Celebrities,” presented by retired journalist Ed Blank at 7:30 p.m. June 20.

For more information, visit bridgevillehistory.org and southwestregionalchamber.org.