North Central Chamber of Commerce’s new Marketing Manager, Ryan Murphy.
(North Central, MA) – The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the addition of Ryan Murphy to its professional staff in the position of Marketing Manager.
In this position, Mr. Murphy will be responsible for the marketing and communications efforts of the Chamber and its affiliate organizations – Visit North Central Massachusetts and the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation. This would include managing our multiple websites, social media platforms, media buys, public relations and other marketing channels.
“We are excited to welcome Ryan to our team,” said Roy M. Nascimento, President & CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. “Ryan will be a great resource to the business community as we look to promote our members and region.”
Ryan comes to the Chamber with experience in marketing and graphic design, which includes work he has done for the U.S. Consumer Healthcare Advocacy Group, Blue Wave Solar, the Sprinkler Factory and Expose Yourself Public Relations. He is a graduate of Roger Williams University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing and Minor in Graphic Design. In his free time, he likes to head to Mount Wachusett for hiking and skiing and also enjoys fishing in North Central Massachusetts.
“North Central Massachusetts is truly a special place that offers so much for residents, visitors and businesses,” said Ryan Murphy. “I’m very excited to work with the Chamber team and our members to help tell the unique stories of this vibrant and dynamic region.”
Existing members or businesses interested in learning more about the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce can reach Ryan at 978.353.7600 ext. 240 or via email at rmurphy@northcentralmass.com.
Fall 2020’s Back-To-School hasn’t been the “jump for joy” moment that many parents typically feel. Across the nation, school districts are pushing back the start of the year, embracing distance learning, and finding workable options to keep students and teachers safe as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Each school district is doing something different, and many parents aren’t given a choice of how students are getting their education.
In response, many companies are continuing work-from-home initiatives and allowing a more flexible schedule for their employees. Gone is the 9-to-5, Monday-through-Friday workweek, and instead, many parents are given more flexible options to complete their tasks while balancing helping children with lessons, acting as caregivers for smaller children or an elderly relative, and still giving their best for their employer.
Working from home, especially for those who aren’t used to it or for businesses that rely on collaboration and teams, can be challenging without adding in extra responsibilities. Many parents were challenged in the spring to finish out the year by fitting remote learning around meetings and other company requirements, and these challenges are back for the fall.
With dozens of childcare centers, especially early learning ones, throughout the area closing, there’s an increasing challenge for parents to find childcare as their offices gradually reopen.
Companies throughout the area have been responsive, allowing more flexible schedules, adding extra personal and sick days, and even offering remote “day camps” to help children stay engaged and entertained as parents work.
Each business is different, and there are some instances where participation in certain meetings or other collaborative events is mandatory. The flexibility and understanding of the company of the different “hats” their staff must wear throughout the day makes a difference in helping employees manage the added stress and responsibilities.
There are a few key things that remote workers should embrace in order to make remote learning and their professional responsibilities both be successful. First, be organized. Create a daily schedule, starting with times that each family member must be available to participate in a classroom virtual lesson or meeting. Then, block out times where children study, and parents work on projects that require their full concentration.
Here’s a tip: schedule your “don’t interrupt” work time at the same time that you’re able to book childcare to occupy younger kids or the time that you schedule for older kids to read a book or go play outside. Don’t schedule your “concentration-time” during the same time that kids are working on assignments that they require supervision or assistance. You’ll be interrupted and you both will get frustrated.
Many companies are adding childcare allowances or stipends to create at-home offices for remote workers. These childcare stipends may allow workers to pay for a part-time nanny or hire a friend or family member for in-home childcare, limiting the exposure to COVID. Whether it’s extra personal time to be used to help care for children and supplement remote learning from the local school district or setting up virtual childcare, many businesses are looking into different ways to support their staff.
This, plus initiatives such as job-sharing and allowing part-time work without penalizing an employee on their career trajectory, can help businesses retain their top talent amid the pandemic and help remote workers reduce their stress and still be a valuable contributing member of their team.
David Ginisi, Lauren Goulet, Chris McDermott (left to right).
The Chamber announces the recent departure of Marketing and Communications Manager David Ginisi and Public Affairs Manager Chris McDermott. Longtime Office Manager Lauren Goulet also departed the Chamber in early April.
David Ginisi, who began as an intern and worked for over five years at the Chamber recently accepted the position of Chief Marketing Officer at Montachusett Home Care Corporation in Leominster. Chris McDermott worked at the Chamber for over three years and left to become the Economic Development Manager for the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission, a quasi-public agency.Lauren Goulet worked for the Chamber for nearly ten years and left in April to pursue a new career opportunity with a company based in New Hampshire.
“We are saddened to lose Lauren, David and Chris, but also excited for them as they take on new leadership positions and further their careers,” said Roy M. Nascimento, President & CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. “They have been important and dedicated members of our team and contributors to our success. I want to thank them for their hard work and commitment to the Chamber and wish them well in their new positions.”
Article Source: State House News Service
Article By: Chris Lisinski
Departures Don’t Show Up in Improving Unemployment Rate
OCT. 9, 2020…..The number of Massachusetts workers counted as unemployed dropped by more than 250,000 over the past two months, a decline of more than a third that helped the state escape from a short streak of owning the worst jobless rate in the country.
Despite gains in total employment in the past two months, the Massachusetts labor force is shrinking, raising concerns about workers who have given up on finding employment amid the COVID recession. [Graphic: Chris Lisinski/SHNS]
About 114,000 more workers became employed in that span, too, a sign of continued steps toward recovery following the pandemic-related recession’s low point in the spring.
But the improving jobs numbers and unemployment rate likely mask deeper, more lasting damage at both the state and federal level: many people are dropping out of the workforce altogether, hinting that some — particularly women, who disproportionately fill caretaker roles — have given up attempts to find employment amid slow hiring and uncertainty about the COVID-19 health outlook.
“It’s a significant problem,” Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President and CEO Eric Rosengren said in a speech on Thursday. “The longer the pandemic goes on, the more you’re going to see people leaving the labor force, not only because they can’t find a job, but because they have to care for either elderly parents, people that are sick because of the pandemic, or children that are not able to go to school because schools have been closed and there is not availability of daycare.”
The trend, according to economist Alicia Sasser Modestino, indicates that the recent improvement in the state’s unemployment situation might be “not as rosy as it might seem.”
Between January and August, the working-age population in Massachusetts grew 13,400, according to data published by state labor officials based on a household survey. In that same span, the labor force — which counts both people who are employed and those who are unemployed but actively seeking work — shrunk by 290,000.
The drop was not limited to the earlier days of the COVID-19 crisis, when job cuts were severe. In July and August, a span in which the employed population grew and the unemployed population shrunk, the labor force declined by 138,500 — more than the 114,000 jobs added.
While both Massachusetts and the country as a whole have seen workers depart the market, the trends have taken different patterns.
Nationally, the rate of working-age adults participating in the labor force has been slowly but steadily climbing, reaching 61.7 percent in August after dropping to 60.2 percent in April. In Massachusetts, the rate fell to 60.3 percent in April, rebounded to 65.1 percent in June, and then fell back down again to 62.6 percent in August, household survey labor data show.
“We seem to be moving in the opposite direction from the country in terms of the number of people who are participating in the labor force, which means that our improvement in the unemployment rate is maybe not as rosy as it might seem,” Modestino, who is associate director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University, told the News Service. “If some of that improvement is coming from people dropping out of the labor force, that’s not how we usually like to improve the unemployment rate during a recession.”
Both the fluctuating pattern and the scale of the changes are unusual. In general, the labor force shrinks during recessions and grows during expansions, but — like so much else about the pandemic — this economic slowdown is unprecedented.
Alan Clayton-Matthews, another Northeastern professor who is a senior research associate at the Dukakis Center, said the more acute labor-force changes in recent months reflect the new reality of the pandemic.
“In some sectors, you know you can’t get a job right now,” Clayton-Matthews said in an interview. “In a normal recession, you might have stayed in the labor force, but in this one where, because of COVID, there’s a virtual certainty that you’re not going to be able to get a job, you drop out of the labor force.”
Another factor, he said, was the now-expired increase in unemployment aid offered through federal programs to blunt the impact of massive layoffs.
While experts said the volatility in the labor force figures raises red flags, they stressed that the state-level data do not offer a clear picture of why workers have departed.
Some could have opted to halt working over health concerns, some could have resigned themselves to not finding a job in the current strained economy, some might need to shift their focus to caretaking, and some might have simply retired during the pandemic.
Many experts agree, though, that the employment impacts have been disproportionately concentrated among people of color, who are more likely to work low-wage jobs prone to disruption, and among women, who often perform a larger share of parenting and caretaking duties.
A survey Modestino conducted found that 13 percent of working parents either reduced their hours or lost their jobs because they had to take on child care duties during the pandemic. The effects were more concentrated among women, she said.
“Among women who became unemployed during the pandemic, 25 percent of them said it was solely due to child care,” Modestino said.
In February, about 31 percent of Massachusetts claimants seeking unemployment benefits were women, according to Modestino. By July, that rate had jumped to more than 56 percent, “a tremendous shift.”
A similar trend is occurring nationally. Between February and September, the percent of men aged 25 to 54 participating in the labor force dropped 1.6 percentage points, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data based on the Current Population Survey. For women in the same age range, the labor force participation rate dropped 2.8 percentage points over that span.
“In a pandemic, where many schools are closing, when many people in the 25 to 54 age bracket are having children, many families have to make a choice of whether or not they can continue to work because they have children at home,” Rosengren said in his remarks. “Sometimes, that is borne by the husband, but frequently it is borne by the wife.”
The long-term effects of discouraged workers may not become clear for months or years, particularly amid enormous uncertainty over the public health outlook.
Key questions remain unanswered, such as when consumers will feel comfortable resuming pre-pandemic routines, when a vaccine or treatment will be available, and whether Congress will approve another stimulus package — that appears less likely after President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would withdraw from negotiations.
Clayton-Matthews described the risk of federal aid falling through as “the biggest sword of Damocles hanging over us.”
“The economy seems to be weakening, and without another stimulus, I don’t see how it’s going to get by until there’s a vaccine widely available,” he said. “We could see a prolonged recession if there’s not more support for incomes like there was in the beginning of this pandemic.”
As we enter into the fall season, the state has seen the coronavirus test positivity rate fluctuating around 2%. Although this number is promising in that the Commonwealth has not seen drastic spikes in test rates, it is a signal that we all must proceed with caution as we enter into the winter months. By the same token, it is imperative that we review the economic effects of the shutdown and how it has impacted budgets at the municipal and state level.
The challenging work of assessing line items for cost-saving measures within the city budget reinforces the critical role that revenue streams play at the state level and in our community. Cannabis has provided a relatively new source of revenue. Municipalities that host adult-use cannabis operators, like Fitchburg, have benefited from the revenue these businesses produce, a new growth opportunity that has proven helpful when settling municipal budgets across the Commonwealth. Without this source of funding, cuts to budgets could have been much deeper, equating to less services for constituents. For this reason, it is crucial that this new funding source continues to operate to not only provide revenue, but also maintain its workforce.
Since the introduction of adult-use cannabis retail in November 2018, the industry has been a catalyst for growing state and local tax revenues, generating $93 million in taxes until the late March shutdown. Of this, $15 million went directly to the local communities that have embraced legalized cannabis, along with $10 million in host community agreement fees.
While it’s difficult to pin down exactly how much tax revenue was lost during this time due to the drastic behavioral changes of social distancing, data published by the Cannabis Control Commission indicates that the last full week of adult-use cannabis sales, prior to the shutdown, yielded $15.5 million in sales while the first week post-shutdown yielded $13.5 million. Those sales are subject to a state sales tax (6.25 percent), state excise tax (10.75 percent), and a local tax to the municipality (3 percent).
If those numbers sound appealing to you, you are not alone. In April, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham expressed regret and sadness over the absence of legalized adult-use cannabis and the millions of dollars it would have brought to her state budget. This revelation speaks to what I and many of my peers across the Commonwealth have recognized: cannabis sales benefit our communities.
Back in May, I, along with several of my mayoral colleagues, wrote to the Reopening Advisory Board to make this very point. In addition to preparing a rigorous protocol for safely resuming business, the industry’s record of compliance with Massachusetts oversight agencies gave us the confidence that they could operate as effectively as any other industry authorized to be open. Since the reopening on Memorial Day, adult-use cannabis businesses have shown they are up to the task.
The capability to operate without undermining public health should be the most critical component of assessing whether a business should be authorized to be open. We recognize that this must be the priority in a health crisis, especially if cases of COVID-19 begin to rise with the gradual re-opening of the economy. As Mayor of Fitchburg, I am grateful to once again have that revenue stream to curtail further cuts. Given the cannabis industry’s track record of safety and their contributions to Massachusetts, they have proven themselves to be essential to the recovery efforts.
Join us live online with Congressman James McGovern and Congresswoman Lori Trahan on October 8, 2020 starting at 12:00 p.m. for our annual Congressional program. This is a great opportunity to hear from them on the progress on Capital Hill on important issues, including PPP forgiveness and the recovery bill. Members will also have an opportunity to submit questions. Matt Bruun of Fitchburg State University will serve as the emcee and moderator.
The cost is just $10 for members. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, please visit www.NorthCentralMass.com. Thank you to our Sponsor Fitchburg State University!
While some of us were learning to bake or binge-watching Netflix during quarantine, others, especially those who were away from their regular workplace, were doing something entirely different. The number of new businesses that opened during COVID-19 is, well, a start-up pandemic.
Here at the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, we are taking note of how new and existing businesses are taking advantage of the changing economic landscape to serve customers in new and unique ways. The Chamber’s economic development arm, the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation, also works in partnership with local banks, credit unions, chambers of commerce and area nonprofits to support emerging micro-enterprises, small businesses, and community projects with loans and business assistance.
Are you ready to go into business for yourself? If you are, you aren’t alone. The week of August 10th, over 111,000 applications to start a new business were filed, according to the US Census Bureau, with 113,000+ filed the week before. And while the economic climate now may not be a bad time to start your own business, there’s a big difference between vision and success.
We’ll give you some tips on how to start your new business off on the right foot – and we look forward to welcoming you into the Chamber.
Vision Plus Experience Makes the Dream Work
Many small businesses start with a dream, a vision, and an understanding that there’s a niche to fill. Having a “big picture” concept of your business is essential to your purpose and helps shape your business plan (an essential document if you plan to apply for a Small Business Loan).
However, a successful start-up needs three kinds of personalities: Visionary, Expert, and Detail-Oriented.
Your vision for your company launches the blueprint for your purpose and goals. However, to get off the ground, you need the experience of someone who has actually done what you plan to do. They can give you practical advice on how to solve common problems as they come up and reference their own background in dealing with business growth and what their customer experience has been.
Finally, you need someone to mind the details. This is the person who may help balance your finances, spot little things that you miss, and make sure that your vision, plus the expert input, forms into a workable plan.
Watch Actions, Don’t Listen to Promises
When you hire someone for your start-up, it’s important they contribute to getting your business off the ground. You, as the founder and business owner, should be the visionary – and your team is there to help support the purpose of your business. When you set goals for your team, make sure that they follow through with what they say they’ll do, offering practical solutions for problems you encounter.
The advice from your expert should be practical and insightful. The assistance from your detail person should help you put it all together. A successful start-up doesn’t just start – it keeps going, and that’s why you need the expertise of someone who has managed or owned a business in the same field as yours. Your expert creates an action plan for you, and your detailed person puts it all together into a road map that you can all easily follow together.
Starting your own business is hard work, but for many, it’s also a labor of love. We’re all in this together, and at the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, we understand the challenges and the triumphs of small businesses. Our mission is to support local businesses, our community and local economy, whether you’re an online business, a brick-and-mortar, or a click-and-mortar hybrid.
To learn more about the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, please visit www.NorthCentralMass.com or call (978) 353-7600.
Article Source: State House News Service
Article By: Katie Lannan
OCT. 1, 2020…..U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said she’s optimistic that Republicans and Democrats can reach a deal on the next round of coronavirus stimulus funding and that she hopes to bring a bill to the floor for a vote later in the day.
“Right now, we are at the table discussing how we can go forward with a possible COVID bill,” Pelosi told reporters Thursday morning.
She said, “We’re hopeful we can reach agreement because the needs of the American people are so great, but there has to be a recognition that it takes money to do that, and it takes the right language to make sure it is done right.”
Pelosi and Treasurer Secretary Steven Mnuchin met for 90 minutes Tuesday in hopes of finding an accord, and a potential Wednesday evening House vote on the legislation was scrapped to allow time for more talks.
“We’ve had constructive conversations, Secretary Mnuchin and I, but they are not finished,” Pelosi said.
She said the two sides are “coming closer” on small business measures but “still way off in terms of state and local government.”
“We are coming closer on money for our health provisions in the bill,” Pelosi said. “It’s just a question of the language.”
Budget writers on Beacon Hill, who have not yet produced a full spending plan for this year while the state runs on temporary budgets, have been looking toward Washington to see if any additional federal aid emerges.
In filing a spending bill to close the books on fiscal year 2020 yesterday, Gov. Charlie Baker wrote that while “the need for public services continues unabated…the extent of federal support remains uncertain.”
Mnuchin, in a Wednesday evening Fox Business appearance, said he brought Pelosi “a very fair proposal that provides a lot of relief for hard-working Americans that have been hurt by this virus, particularly many of the small businesses, kids and jobs that are impacted by this.”
He said this is the first time the two sides have “seriously reengaged” in several weeks. He said President Trump “instructed us to come up significantly, so we have come up from the trillion dollar deal that we had been working on earlier.”
“We’re not going to do a $2.2 trillion deal,” Mnuchin said. “The good news is, the speaker has come down from her $3.4 trillion deal. If there’s a fair compromise, we’re prepared to do it.”
In coming up with lower price tags, Pelosi said the House Democrats are “not undermining our priorities but realigning some things in terms of the timetable, how long they would last.” She said a vote is important “for people to see that we completely identify with the concerns that they have and how we have allocated the resources necessary to get the job done.”
The Chamber’s economic development affiliate, the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC), completed its fiscal year on September 30, 2020. The NCMDC works in partnership with local banks, credit unions, chambers of commerce and area nonprofits to support emerging microenterprises, small businesses, and community projects in North Central Massachusetts with loans and technical assistance. The NCMDC provided a total of 47 loans in FY2020 totaling $1,130,401. These included 31 conventional microloans totaling $852,500 and 16 loans under the SBA’s Payroll Protection Program for $277,901. The average size of the loans was $24,051 with the smallest loan at $2,607 and the largest at $54,177. Our conventional microloans were leveraged by another $495,626 in financing from local banks and credit unions and $188,249 in equity from borrowers, and helped retain 169 jobs and create 22 new jobs.Our PPP loans helped retain another 47 jobs by covering critical payroll and operating expenses to businesses adversely affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic.During the year, the NCMDC also provided over 1,200 hours of direct technical assistance to start-up and existing small businesses and hosted several successful workshops and forums in partnership with the Chamber. The NCMDC also launched an Economic Recovery Fund to provide emergency loans with $415,000 in contributions and secured grant funding from the state and the Mass Growth Capital Corporation to assist with its efforts to provide technical assistance to small businesses.The NCMDC is certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) program and is a micro-loan intermediary for the U.S. Small Business Administration. For more information on the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation, please visit www.choosenorthcentral.com.
Brothers Thomas and Richard Bagley, president and executive vice president, respectively, of Anderson, Bagley, & Mayo (ABM) Insurance Agency, Inc. combine their unique and personalized service to the North Central Massachusetts area with approximately 100 years of tradition in the insurance industry.
ABM Insurance is a family-owned business, and grew through word of mouth and the acquisition of other insurance agencies, which helped to expand on the business. Rich and Tom’s grandfather became involved in the 1930s, and their father took over in the 1970s. In 2006, they took over ABM Insurance, practicing what they preach – providing efficiencies to clients, but with a personal touch.
ABM Insurance is the largest, independent, and locally-owned insurance agency in North Central Massachusetts, providing both personal and business insurances from Workers’ Compensation to Home Owners’ Insurance.
“We want to provide the best insurance for our clients’ needs,” they said. “We especially have a lot of close relationships with local and family-owned business owners, and want to meet the needs of any individual in the area.”
In a recent Arbella Insurance article, Rich and Tom were recognized for their commitment to charity within the community.ABM gives to a wide range of charities every year, asking their employees where they feel is the greatest need. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of holiday parties, the Bagleys are utilizing that budget and putting it toward charitable purposes.
Although walk-in appointments have been greatly reduced to the pandemic, ABM ensures that they work closely with customers to understand the availability with online transactions and communications.
“Fortunately, most of the work we do can be done remotely and safely from home,” said Tom. “We’ve always tried to invest in technology and keep up to date with it. People’s lives are busy, but it’s something that is also convenient and useful for them.”
Tom and Rich feel that the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce is a great advocate for local-owned business in the area, connecting unique people their skill sets together through the community.
“North Central Massachusetts is full of unique people, identities, and skill sets that set us apart from other counties,” the Bagleys said. “The Chamber is great at making sure that that difference is recognized and promoted.”
ABM Insurance is a proud member of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce and has four different locations in the North Central Massachusetts area: Leominster, Gardner, Westminster, and Princeton. They can be reached at 800.783.5133 and to learn more information on ABM Insurance, visit their website at www.abminsurance.com.
