The club's early years were spent at the Shady Brook outdoor rink before it moved to Essex County's South Mountain Arena in West Orange. For decades, South Mountain was the hub - the place where young skaters took their first wobbly steps on ice and where serious competitors trained for national events. In 2005, the aging arena underwent a major renovation, reopening as the Richard J. Codey Arena with modern facilities that matched the club's growing ambitions. The new name honored a New Jersey governor, but the continuity mattered more than the rebranding. The same ice, the same community, the same commitment to developing skaters from beginners to champions had carried through half a century of change.

Three skaters who grew up performing in the Essex Club's ice shows and training at South Mountain Arena went on to represent the United States at the Winter Olympic Games and World Championships: Suna Murray in 1972, Elisa Spitz in 1984, and Karen Courtland in 1994. Anya Davidovich, who with partner Ivan Gyliaev won the 2009 National Showcase championship through the club, later represented Israel at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The coaching staff reflects the same caliber: JoJo Starbuck, a two-time Olympic competitor and World Championships medalist in 1968 and 1972, has coached at the club, alongside Kay Barsdell, a 1976 Olympian who competed on British, European, and World teams from 1974 to 1978.

Synchronized skating - the discipline where teams of skaters perform choreographed routines in precise formation - became the club's signature program. The Synchroettes, founded and coached by Geri Lynch Tomich, grew into a powerhouse with ten teams ranging from beginner to junior level, encompassing 180 skaters. In 2010, the Juvenile team won gold at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in Minneapolis. U.S. Figure Skating recognized the program's success in its Guide to Basic Skills and Beginner Synchronized Skating, featuring the Essex club as one of two models for clubs nationwide. By 2012, the Junior-level Synchroettes had been selected for Team USA, competing at the Leon Lurje Trophy international competition in Sweden, where they brought home a bronze medal.

The club's ambitions extended beyond traditional figure skating and synchronized competition. Bravo!, the club's Theatre on Ice program, became the first of its kind in New Jersey. Combining skating with theatrical performance, the program earned national silver medals in the novice division in both 2012 and 2013, and in 2012 was selected by U.S. Figure Skating to represent the United States at the Nations Cup in Spain. The Essex Blades, the club's adult synchronized team, competed nationally in the Masters division. Each January, the club hosts the Winter ESCapade, a U.S. Figure Skating-sanctioned competition that draws clubs from across the northern East Coast. Clinics featuring Olympic medalists and Disney on Ice performers round out a program that has made a single suburban arena a center of American figure skating.