The Brookline Chamber of Commerce and the Brookline business community would like to express our sincerest thanks to Marge Amster, who will be leaving her Town position as Commercial Areas Coordinator on October 21, 2011. The crucial nature of the Commercial Areas Coordinator position has been demonstrated time and again during Marge’s tenure as the Brookline business community has adapted to changing regulatory and business conditions.
The Commercial Areas Coordinator has been a crucial liaison between town government, the business community and the residents of Brookline. This role linking these disparate groups has helped streamline the crucial communication elements, which has helped the different groups find common ground to reach agreements. The Commercial Areas Coordinator also helped new and potential businesses in Brookline work with and through the various licensing and approval processes that make the process of opening a new business in Brookline a significant challenge. The Commercial Areas Coordinator has also spearheaded important community events and has worked with other community groups to produce quality programs for all the residents of Brookline.

The Recent Advisory Committee debates over whether the Commercial Areas Coordinator position would be funded have demonstrated a strong support by the business community and residents for keeping the position in place. We would like to reconfirm that the Brookline Chamber of Commerce firmly backs the continued funding of the Commercial Areas Coordinator position in future years to come. We sincerely hope that the sometimes rancorous Advisory Committee debate over the position and the regrettable statements against the current Commercial Areas Coordinator will not be repeated and we hope that new rules will be put in place to prevent or punish such future behavior.

The Brookline Chamber of Commerce, its members and the Brookline business community wish Marge Amster a huge THANK YOU for her many years of service to Brookline as its Commercial Areas Coordinator.

Harry Robinson
Executive Director, Brookline Chamber of Commerce