Greenwood Lake’s Small Business of the Month: Lake Effects Co.

The Town of Warwick is comprised of three villages and eight hamlets, with the population of the Village of Greenwood Lake (at 3,055 people) placing it slightly ahead of the Village of Florida, but only about half the size of the Village of Warwick.

Greenwood Lake, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, is fertile ground for a number of unique, thriving small businesses, of which Lake Effects Company (the Greenwood Lake Trading Post), at 73 Windermere Ave., is a good example.

Owner Melissa DeLeon Milligan launched her business only a few years ago. She is a mother of two girls, Angelina, 11, and Aviana, 9, and wife to husband, Aaron Chad, a deeply rooted Ramapough-Lennape native of Ringwood, N.J., where his family ancestry can be traced back for centuries and who helps balance her life into what is essential: family.

Bringing wellness and health programs to underserved communities

Melissa’s passion to help communities has led to her collaboration with the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, the N.J. Department of Children and Family Services, NYU School of Environmental Medicine and Ramapo College School of Nursing.

Her objective is to help bring wellness and health programs to underserved communities and from whom she has received recognition and awards for her efforts.

Her entrepreneurial spirit, meanwhile, brought her to Greenwood Lake where she could combine her enthusiasm for community and travel into a flourishing business in the place she and her family call home.

Community concierge

Lake Effects Company’s mission is to promote tourism and economic growth in and around Greenwood Lake, by sharing the region’s natural beauty, talent, and rich history through memorable experiences.

It’s a kind of community concierge in Greenwood Lake, where residents and visitors alike can drop in and discover many of the activities happening in their own backyard.

“Our desire to provide visitors with a unique shopping experience gave us the opportunity to offer locally crafted gifts and one-of-a-kind items at our retail store” Melissa said. “What sets us apart is the ability to collaborate and connect all the dots of all of customer needs under one roof,” she added.

Customers can book tours of the lake in her store and learn about many of the unique events and activities that are happening around the village. Like the start of this season’s Lakeside Farmers Market on Windermere Avenue, the date for the popular Fourth of July fireworks celebration on the lake or where to purchase tickets for the upcoming Centennial Ball Drop event on June 10.

That’s the day 2,000 ping pong balls will be released from the Greenwood Lake fire department ladder truck into a large collection funnel and tube, as part of a fund-raising event for the upcoming Greenwood Lake Centennial celebration that will take place throughout the village next year. When you purchase a ping pong ball you will be entered into the contest to win. If the ball with your number is the first, second or third to land in the tube, you could win $1,500 (First place); second place, $500; and third place, $250.

Essentials

To learn more about Lake Effects Company and the upcoming events for Greenwood Lake’s Centennial, click or tap https://gwlcentennial.org or https://lakeeffectcogwl.com/.