Mark Grygiel, New Chamber Chairman, Hopes Political Action Will Define Term

 2-12-10

By JIM KEVLIN : EDMESTON

Wilber Bank President/CEO Doug Gulotty’s speech was a clarion call for Mark Grygiel.
At the Otsego County Chamber’s annual State of the State luncheon last month, Gulotty compared the state Capitol in Albany to Fort McHenry, where rockets glared red and bombs burst in air.
Otsego County’s state delegation needs to go forth to the Albany ramparts and do battle on behalf of local business, Gulotty declared.
Grygiel, New York Central Mutual Fire Insurance Co.’s assistant vice president, was recently elevated to chairman of the Otsego Chamber board of directors, replacing Peter Livshin, Milford Central School superintendent.
Taking Gulotty’s rallying cry to heart, he plans to intensify the chamber’s efforts to make Albany more business-friendly by promoting political awareness back home.  (Second priority:  increasing chamber membership and revenues.)
“Every segment in the community, every business, has its own issues to work with,” Grygiel said, citing banking, health care and insurance. “...Unless we let them know how we stand on an issue, (Albany) is going to think we’re satisfied.”
Quoting Gulotty, he said the local delegation – state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, as well as state Reps. Bill Magee, Pete Lopez and Mark Butler – needs to “fire the cannons” for business.
Grygiel, an Oneonta native, graduated from OHS and Drew University in New Jersey, where he majored in economics and political science.
Three weeks later, he joined New York Central Mutual, and has been there since, working his way up to manager of the underwriting department and an officer in the company.
He and wife Michelle, an OHS English teacher, have a son, Zachary, 3.
The Edmeston-based insurance company has always been a strong supporter of the Otsego Chamber: President/CEO Dan Robinson was board chairman, and Senior Vice President John Holdort and Vice President Kathy Bell have served on the board.
So Grygiel stepped up three years ago to maintain the tradition.
In addition to political action, he hopes his one-year term will see a 10 percent increase in membership, from 650 to over 700.