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09/28/2016 08:30 AMAfter 14 years serving as the president of the East Haven Chamber of Commerce, Mary Cacace is retiring. Jennifer Higham will take over the part-time position of directing the Chamber, scheduling events, contacting members, and reaching out to new members.
“I’m getting old,” says Mary with a laugh. “I thought I did as much as I could do for the Chamber and we needed new leadership—younger kids with new ideas and more energy. I have worked closely with Jen. She knows everything there is to know about the Chamber and she’ll do a great job.”
This will actually be Mary’s second retirement. She worked in banking for nearly 30 years. By the time she retired from that career, she was the AVP and branch manager of the East Haven branch of Bank of America.
Just three years after beginning to work at the bank, Mary got involved with the Chamber. She volunteered at many events and fundraisers over the years and spent many years as the organization’s secretary. When she announced her retirement in 2001, she was approached about taking on the role of president—then known as executive director—of the Chamber.
“I was watching my granddaughter at the time and didn’t think I’d be working, but the hours were flexible,” says Mary, who has two children and four granddaughters. “I decided to take the job and I’ve always enjoyed it and it worked into my lifestyle.”
Mary has seen the Chamber grow over the years and is proud that the organization now has 145 members. Throughout her time as president, she has built many relationships and friendships as she worked with the community and East Haven’s businesses and organizations.
She has seen many businesses reap the benefits of joining the Chamber over the years, noting the monthly Business After Hours networking events as well as opportunities to get involved in the community.
“It always made me happy to see that businesses were responding to what the community needs were by sponsoring an event and showing the community that they care what happens in East Haven,” says Mary. “The purpose of the Chamber is to bring businesses together so they can network and expand their business to the people in town. That was always good to do and was very satisfying.”
In addition to the monthly networking events, the Chamber also hosts a wide variety of other events. The Chamber was involved with the Christmas tree lighting for many years, which Mary loved, especially as her husband of 53 years, John, spent 25 years playing Santa Claus.
Last month, Mary took part in organizing another one of her favorite events, Lobsterpalooza, which drew people from towns beyond East Haven. For the large events, Mary notes that the Chamber receives great support not only from Chamber members and its Board of Directors, but from the town and high school.
“It was a new concept for the Chamber to do such a big event and it was fun to get everyone together,” says Mary. “Any representative of the town has always been strongly supportive of the Chamber, a lot of businesses in town are strong supporters of the Chamber, and the high school kids volunteer at events like the tree lighting. The support makes it easy.”
Now that she is retiring, Mary will miss working so closely with the members on the community activities, but she plans to stay in touch with the friends she has made. She may also attend some of the upcoming events, which include a Back to the ‘80s Party on Nov. 15. She noted that all Chamber events are open to the public.
“It was a rewarding experience to become involved in the community,” says Mary, who grew up in East Haven and now lives in Morris Cove. “East Haven is a nice community with a lot of good, hard-working people. It’s connected to where I live now, which was once a part of East Haven. Since I went to school here, it’s always been my home.”
With her second retirement just days away, Mary is planning on spending more time with her husband, her brothers and sisters, her children, and her four granddaughters—with one attending college in Boston, two at Quinnipiac, and one at Branford High School. She also enjoys reading, crafts, and watching movies.
While Mary now lives in Morris Cove, she will still be connected to the East Haven community as she has been for the past 40 years while she worked and volunteered in town. Mary was one of the original members of the executive committee that founded the Fall Festival.
“I’ve met many people and made a lot of new friends during my time with the Chamber,” says Mary. “I’ve always been committed to the East Haven community and being entrenched in this community has been very rewarding.”