Sad news to report in the community that a former Chamber Board Chairman has passed, Pete Barile. Pete most recently founded Daniel Paul Chairs along with Richard Thompson in Morristown in 2002 but came to the area years ago with Shelby Williams. Morristown was long known as the “Chair Capital of the World” and Pete and Richard were integral to this part of Morristown’s manufacturing history. Pete and Richard were one of the few furniture leaders to weather the international storm as mass migration, labor rates and logistics allowed furniture manufacturers to relocate overseas and Morristown saw the loss of thousands of furniture jobs over just a few years. Pete always was step ahead and strived to continue to produce a quality product in America. Still today, as I travel around the world, I flip conference room chairs over for that Daniel Paul logo and MADE IN MORRISTOWN. Pete had a pride in his community that not only influenced our Chamber of Commerce but many other non profits and community organizations. Pete was the type of leader to ask tough questions, push for greater efficiency and strive to make his company and community the best it could be. This resiliency truly makes Pete one of the faces of manufacturing in Morristown and our Chamber is proud to say he was one of our leaders!
A Tribute to a Leader