New chair to helm Lynn business group

LYNN – For the third time in its 17-year history, the Lynn Business Partnership has a new chairman.Gordon R. Hall, president of The Hall Co., a property-management firm, was elected Wednesday as the organization’s chairman, assuming the role held by James D. Berk since 1996.The LBP was founded in 1992 with Andrew J. Riddell, former chief executive of AtlantiCare, as its first chairman. Hall was elected during the partnership’s annual meeting at Eastern Bank. A founding member of the LBP, Hall has served on the executive board since 1995.The LBP is an association of senior executive officers from the top 50 firms doing business in Lynn. Its mission is to improve the economic vitality and overall quality of life in the city.”I think the partnership has had a way of quietly getting things done and I hope to continue that,” Hall said. “I think I have a sense of what makes the city tick and what it can aspire to.”Hall said the LBP will continue to advance ideas that allow businesses to do better, adding that Lynn is certainly a better place than it was in 1992.Berk, also a founding member of the LBP, was president of Standard of Lynn, a plumbing supplies business, when he assumed the LBP chairmanship. The company was acquired by Ferguson Enterprises in 1997, but Berk stayed on for two years as president and general manager of the Lynnway location. He has since become involved in the real estate industry.According to Berk, the LBP has been successful in its goal to “create a public-private partnership that can work together for the benefit of the city, businesses and citizens.” He echoed Hall’s sentiments about the manner in which the LBP has gone about its business.”The aim of the partnership was not to call attention to itself, but rather to act as a facilitator to get things done,” he said.Berk cited a series of LBP accomplishments in which he played a role, such as the drafting of a Downtown Comprehensive Plan for the city; the $7.7 million Washington Street/Rt. 129 project; staging the Lynn Summits, a series of community-wide meetings that won a Best Practice Award from U.S. Department of Urban Development for Citizen Participation; planning for a new police station; consolidation of inspectional services into one city department; establishment of the Cyber and Arts & Cultural districts; and advancing the idea of expanding the Blue Line rapid-transit rail to Lynn.”The Lynn Business Partnership has had one primary objective: to make Lynn a better place in which to live and work. I think we have made a significant contribution and will continue to do so,” Berk said.Also elected as officers and directors were John M. Gilberg, vice chairman; Edward M. Grant, president; Robert F. Conlon, treasurer; James D. Moore, clerk; Eric H. Ciccone, Thomas P. Costin Jr., Patricia A. Driscoll, Peter H. Gamage, Robert E. Gaynor, Richard E. Holbrook, Thomas P. Iarrobino, Paul R. Keating, Mark S. Kennard, Nunzio L. Leuci, Maura P. Lynch, John A. McGrail, David J. Solimine Jr., Steven M. Solomon and ex officio, president of Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, John R. Olson.