Former Chamber President Passes

We are sad to report that former Fort Wayne Chamber president  Domenico J. “Petro” Petruccelli passed away this last weekend, on May 14. Veteran Chamber members may remember him from his tenure at the Chamber during the 70's and into the early 80's.

Mr. Petruccelli made a career out of chamber of commerce work - to say the least. He holds the record of being the longest-consecutive chamber executive in the country – 53 years. He served the chamber's of Bettendorf, Iowa, Rice Lake, Wisconsin, Sioux City, Iowa, La Crosse, Wisconsin, Gadsden, Alabama, and of course, Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1985 he was hired to head up the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce, where he served for 22 consecutive years and retired in 2008. He was serving as the Executive Director of the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce Foundation when he died.

If you've ever had an experience where a former "you" came to visit, then you can relate to an experience our current Chamber president, Mike Landram, had this past winter when Mr. Petruccelli stopped by the Fort Wayne Chamber for a surprise visit. It was completely unannounced, said Mike, who of course introduced himself to the Chamber veteran. Mr. Petruccelli and Mike walked the halls of the Chamber, talking about the differences between then and now. "He was still very familiar with the building, and pointed out some of the black and white photos, telling me the stories behind them. He was a great character. He even gave me some political pointers," Mike told me, with a smile in his voice. "We're saddened to hear about this loss."

Mr. Petruccelli married Marianne McGee in 1952, and together they had five children. Mr. Petruccelli still has family in Fort Wayne. His obituary states: "Petruccelli was a loving, devoted husband and father; and a very highly respected leader of the communities that he served."