Joseph W. Dalton Jr., president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, is most proud of his role in founding the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation in 1978 that has brought tens of thousands of jobs to the county, is responsible for GlobalFoundries and the redevelopment of the central business district. Bringing the Chamber’s staff count from one part-time employee to 10 full-time employees and growing the membership from 330 members to 2,800 firms is also high on his list of favorite accomplishments during his 40 year stint, which will come to an end when he retires on June 1.
I scheduled my date of retirement as June 1 because I know a lot of people don’t want to move their children out of school in the middle of the year, said Dalton. `It gives the selection committee adequate time to do a thorough search`a nationwide search`because this is one of the top chambers in the country and will see many applicants.`
During his tenure, Dalton was recognized as one of about 240 Certified Chamber Executives in the nation, earned the Chamber accreditation by the U.S. Chamber, served on his national Chamber Executive Board and was President of the New York State Association of Chamber Executives.
He has expanded his services beyond the Chamber and has been an instructor in management at five national universities, has been a coordinator of strategic planning sessions for Chambers, governments and non-profits and helped get the Saratoga County Chamber recognized as one of the most effective in the nation in meeting community and member needs.
Most recently, Dalton organized an effort to protect the quality of Thoroughbred racing`which Saratoga is famous for`an initiated the greeter program at the Saratoga Race Course.
Dalton has been integral in many fundraising efforts for local non-profits. He initiated the Bartenders Ball which has raised more than $300,000 for 12 charities around the county, gave a helping hand in the hosting of Medal of Honor Recipients and was involved with the Community of Respite Program that was in response to 9/11. He spends time trying to convince new and existing county residents to become active volunteers in their own towns through a volunteer recruitment video and non-profit volunteer directory. He also helped coordinate the opening of Saratoga Music Hall and the reopening of Alpine Meadows Ski Slope.
It’s these types of mentorship initiatives that Chamber Chair Tim Pehl said are some of his most important contributions.
`his mentorship of a significant number of Saratoga County’s current community leaders who have learned from his examples and wisdom about how to transform businesses, organizations and communities. His personal leadership talents are evident in the extraordinarily low turnover of staff at the Chamber over the decades and he initiated numerous membership benefit programs for the Chamber, including health, dental, energy group purchasing plans along with the annual business trade show,` said Pehl. `His retirement was totally his decision, which took us by surprise but which we honor and understand.`
Dalton said he expects the transition in leadership to be `relatively easy` because of how much time the committee has to search for a replacement and he thinks the Chamber will continue to grow and fare just fine.
`When I first applied for the Chamber it was on a practice interview and I was impressed with the leadership and people in the community who had started to pull it [the community] out of a hole with local efforts and local money,` said Dalton. `That tradition continues today and people in the community, from a cop on the street to a schoolteacher, are very involved.`
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