Bill Sweet has been a busy man about Tuxedo. A financial planner just off the high winds of April’s tax season and one of the driving forces behind the recent rebranding of the Tuxedo Chamber of Commerce, Sweet is an energized and articulate advocate for the Tuxedo business community.

Sweet took over as chamber president from Tuxedo’s Dale Mattola in 2010 and has since helped give the group a fresh look — especially noticeable through the chamber’s website, which actively promotes all things Tuxedo. It’s even possible to tune into @TuxedoChamber for Twitter updates related to news and events around town.

“Former Chamber President Dale Mottola was, in my opinion, the driving force that revitalized the chamber in 2005-2006,” Sweet said recently during a recent impromptu interview at popular local Tuxedo eatery Bentley’s Deli, which itself recently changed ownership. “I see all the work she had done to get us to this point, where we have some 60 businesses or so and are starting to form commonalities and starting to work together on things.”

Sweet is part of Stevens & Sweet, a Tuxedo-based financial planning group, which Sweet said does some 1000 tax returns a year, in between the accounting, life insurance and financial planning business. He’s also a combat veteran, with six years of active duty under his belt and a stint in Iraq from 2003 through 2004.

“My business partner, Greg Stevens, was raised right here in town and knows everyone there is to know,” said Sweet. “And the chamber was a really great way for me, as a business owner, to get to know some of the other folks in town, get to know some of the government officials. I would really encourage anyone who’s looking to establish a presence in Tuxedo or Sloatsburg, or anywhere in the local area, get in touch with your chamber officials because people respond. When you demonstrate that you care and you’re genuine and you’re here to support some folks — that’s an excellent way to get yourself known and to be a part of the community.”

Sweet said that his goal for the chamber is to “get people talking” about Tuxedo. “We’re all in this together — people, businesses, governement,” he said. “We’re all playing for the same team and working for the same goal — to make Tuxedo a great place to live and work.”

Local chambers of commerce have historically been non-profit professional organizations that promote local business interests and serve the community.

“A lot of folks see chambers as a charity, and there is a part of that, where we are charitable. But it’s probably our third function,” Sweet said. “The first is to create synergy, create relationships amongst the business community. The second mission is to serve as a hub, a connection for people who live in the East Village or on Eagle Valley or in the town proper or in the Park. We’re something that connects everyone together.”

Sweet discussed two separate but important chamber successes — the Tuxedo Farmers’ Market and the Tuxedo Chamber of Commerce’s primary charity activity — the Have-A-Heart/Backpack Program.

“The Farmers’ Market was a part of the chamber when it started seven or eight years ago,” he said. “They’ve since spun off and formed their own organization. I see that as a neat model for what Tuxedo could be, or what Sloatsburg could be. To say, hey, here’s what the Tuxedo community can do for residents, for businesses, for people who visit us. It’s not just a community effort where people come to support these local farmers and local product groups. But people come from around the area. People drive from Harriman, from Monroe, from Mahwah to come to our local market.”

“That sort of sustainable business practice is really, to my mind, what chambers of commerce are about,” Sweet said.

The official first Saturday for the Tuxedo Farmers’ Market is June 16.

The Tuxedo Chamber also promotes a fight against youth hunger through its Have-A-Heart fundraising effort from local businesses and residents. The beneficiary of the campaign is the Tuxedo Union Free School District’s and Parent Teacher Organization’s BackPack Program, an all-volunteer effort focused on George F. Baker and George Grant Mason schools.  Every Friday volunteers stuff participating student backpacks with food to cover the weekend menu when free or reduced meals are not available at school.

“The weekly program is 100% volunteer based,” Sweet said, “so, every dollar donated goes to buy food. It’s run out of the school district by a small band of volunteers. It’s very discreet and  private because of some public stigma but in a discreet and quiet manner the program provides food.”

The chamber sets pink Have-A-Heart jars throughout the town and all contributions are matched dollar for dollar by both the Tuxedo Chamber and St. Mary’s In-Tuxedo Episcopal Church.

“The program was hurting two years ago when we decided to support them,” Sweet said about the BackPack Program. “There’s been a big need in the recession. As the recession’s happened, a lot of folks have lost their jobs. Even though, relative to a lot of places, Tuxedo’s a wealthy district, like everywhere else, these can be pretty difficult times. Kids can leave school with a backpack of food to take home to help feed their brothers and sisters.”

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