The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce has been named an “Award of Excellence” winner in the Communications Excellence awards program presented by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). ACCE, an Alexandria, Va.-based association, represents more than 8,000 chamber of commerce professionals, and 1,300 chambers of commerce, around the world.

ACCE’s annual Awards for Communications Excellence is designed to showcase top communications and marketing work of chambers of commerce and similar organizations. Several thousand award entries have been submitted since the launch of the organization’s Awards for Communications Excellence, which is now in its thirty-fourth year.

The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce received an Award of Excellence for a special digital campaign that showcased video testimonials from businesses. In 2018, the Chamber set out to interview some of its members and hear what they had to say about the work of the Chamber and its affiliates, as well as how they have best taken advantage of their membership. The results were astounding, as members from all industries were interested in sharing their story. Twenty-one different videos were shot entirely using an iPhone and shared through NorthCentralMass.com and social channels allowing people to hear about the benefits and work of the Chamber directly from members enjoying the benefits. The videos culminated in a four minute highlight video that premiered at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting in June.

“Hearing directly from our membership about why they continue to partner with us and having them help us share that story has been a great exercise for our organization” said Roy Nascimento, president & CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. “Every member has the ability to be a representation of our Chamber and the amazing work we can do when we work together towards the betterment of the region. Hearing about their positive experiences fills us with great pride and continues to motivate and inspire us to work even harder for our members and communities.”

A panel of communications and marketing professionals from five U.S.-based chambers of commerce evaluated the more than 150 entries that were received.  The entries were organized by category — based on the chamber’s annual budget — and entry type: advertising and marketing, campaigns, digital and publications.

To view the videos, please visit www.NorthCentralMass.com

Staff photo by Arthur Pollock

The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce is hosting its quarterly Women’s Leadership Connection on Wednesday, September 12, 2018 featuring the First Lady of Massachusetts, Lauren Baker.  The program, sponsored by Fidelity Bank, runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Great Wolf Lodge, 150 Great Wolf Drive, Fitchburg, MA.

Lauren Schadt Baker became the First Lady of Massachusetts when her husband, Gov. Charlie Baker, was sworn in as Governor in January, 2015. As First Lady, Lauren works to improve the lives of the children of Massachusetts, focusing in particular on the children served by their Department of Children and Families, through her work with the Wonderfund, a private, nonprofit she helped launch.

Lauren earned a bachelor’s degree and MBA from Northwestern University. She is a veteran of the advertising world where she managed many brand campaigns for consumer products. She then she spent several years working in higher education at Marian Court College where she served as Board Chair and Director of Institutional Advancement. Currently, Mrs. Baker works as a marketing communications consultant for The Baker Group serving independent schools across the country.

She also serves on the boards of the Wonderfund, the American Red Cross New England Region, Phoenix Academy Charter School Foundation and the Care Institute. The Bakers reside in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Their proudest accomplishments are their three incredible children who are now all grown up.

The Women’s Leadership Connection, a luncheon event held four times per year in, September, December, March and June, focuses on business women empowering women in business.  Core topics will include professional development and career advancement as well as social and philanthropic events.

Pre-registration is required and easy. Simply call the Chamber at 978.353.7600 ext. 235, email mmccaffrey@northcentralmass.com or register online at www.northcentralmass.com.  The cost is $35 for members and $50 for non-members.

North Central Massachusetts Chamber leader part of latest Certified Chamber Executive class

Roy M. Nascimento, president & CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce has been designated as a Certified Chamber Executive (CCE) by ACCE, the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.

ACCE is an Alexandria, Va.-based membership association that represents nearly 10,000 professionals who work for and with more than 1,300 chambers of commerce around the world.

“The CCE program assesses and tests the applicant’s knowledge of core chamber management areas —management, planning and development, membership and communication, and operations,” says Bob Quick, CCE, president and CEO of Commerce Lexington Inc. and CCE commission chairman. “Chamber professionals who are designated CCEs have rightfully earned this outstanding recognition through hard work, countless hours of dedication to their field, and leadership of their chamber to achieve the chamber’s goals. We are proud to have this year’s class join a long tradition of professional excellence.”

Nascimento is one of 11 chamber professionals to earn the Certified Chamber Executive designation in 2018. The 11 leaders represent chambers of commerce in eight states, including Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Since the first CCE designation was conferred more than 40 years ago, about 500 professionals have become certified. CCE is recognized by many as the highest, and most elite, professional designation in the chamber of commerce profession. It’s the only globally-recognized certification program exclusive to the chamber of commerce industry.

Roy M. Nascimento, CCE, IOM has been president & CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce since January 2015.  In this role, he oversees all aspects of the operations of the Chamber and its affiliate organizations, including its finances, economic development, tourism, public policy efforts, member engagement, and sales and communications. The Chamber is a membership-based, volunteer-led organization focused on advancing North Central Massachusetts.

Under his leadership, the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce has been recognized among the top chambers of commerce in the country for its impact and operations. Among its many honors, the Chamber was a 2017 runner up for the prestigious National Chamber of the Year award, the first chamber in Massachusetts and New England to have ever been recognized as a finalist.  The Chamber also achieved 4-star accreditation in 2018, an honor achieved by only 204 of the 7,022 chambers in the country.

“I am honored to receive this industry designation that marks a major career highlight for me,” said Roy M. Nascimento, president and CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. “I am so thankful to our members and professional staff for their support and encouragement. This designation only motivates me to redouble our efforts to make a positive difference in the lives of our members, their employees and the communities in North Central Massachusetts.”

“We are very proud of Roy in achieving this professional designation,” said Stephen J. Mullaney, president of S.J. Mullaney Engineering, Inc. and Chair of the Board of the North Central Chamber of Commerce. “This designation is a positive reflection of our Chamber’s commitment to excellence, professional development and leadership for the benefit of our members and the North Central Massachusetts region.”

Certified Chamber Executives were recognized on stage July 18 at the 2018 ACCE Annual Convention in Des Moines, Iowa.

Here in North Central Massachusetts, local businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. These companies make quality products, provide good jobs, and pay above average wages. In so many ways, we want to support them, because they support our communities.

Yet even as we celebrate all that our business community contributes to the region, we can see a cloud on the horizon. Energy costs are rising quickly at a time when we are already among the five most expensive states to do business in.

Why does New England pay such high energy costs? In part, it’s supply and demand – we have a lot of the latter and too little of the former. Most of our electricity is generated by natural gas-powered facilities, which are cleaner than the oil and coal plants that have closed in recent years. Those retirements are actually the single most significant reason we’ve been able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 63% since 1990, even as our electricity usage has gone up. But every year we pay an additional $1 billion because we lack access to enough natural gas – particularly when temperatures drop in the winter.

This past winter, we saw the consequence of inaction. The region’s independent, non-profit grid operator, ISO-New England, had already reported that the looming retirements of older power plants meant the state could soon face rolling blackouts. When temperatures dropped to historic lows the day after Christmas, we turned to burning oil for as much as a third of our electricity and it almost happened. We were just two to three days away from running out of oil as well.

To say that this all has severe economic implications would be a massive understatement. A recent report published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that, absent upgraded energy infrastructure, New England would lose almost 23,000 jobs and $2 billion in state GDP, including a loss of 8,700 jobs and $792 million in state GDP in Massachusetts alone, over a four-year period.

There’s also something fundamentally wrong about a state as forward-looking and proud of its environmental heritage as Massachusetts still using oil and coal to fill its energy gap. In fact, according to a recent study by the Mass Coalition for Sustainable Energy, we used so much oil in just 13 days during the December/January cold snap—2 million barrels in all—it was as if we added 6.4 million cars to the road or shut down 75% of solar panels in the Commonwealth.

That’s unacceptable. As we move boldly to a renewable energy future, building the wind, solar and hydropower infrastructure we need to power our economy, we should be doing everything in our power to utilize the cleanest possible alternatives.

We’ve already seen some companies leave the state due to the high cost of energy. North Central Massachusetts’ communities are already doing everything they can to attract and keep businesses. They simply can’t stand by as reliability concerns, costs and threats to our environment increase.

The time has come to act. Our families, businesses and communities depend on it.

The Johnny Appleseed Trail Association is pleased to announce its first ever Farm to Table Dinner being held on August 2^nd, 2018. This special event, starting at 5 pm, will feature dining among the orchards and fields of Hollis Hills Farm, 340 Marshall Road, Fitchburg, MA.

In celebration of our local foods and beverages, the Johnny Appleseed Trail Association is partnering with local chef Kevin Williams of Roots Natural Foods. Born in Leominster, Chef Kevin knows the foods of North Central Massachusetts well. Chef Kevin’s career has afforded him the ability to travel and explore the world to expand his cooking knowledge after spending 10 years as a chef in California. Most recently, Chef Kevin took his culinary travels to Mexico, bringing back several recipes to the Roots Kitchen.

“We wanted to create an opportunity for people to connect with local food in a meaningful way but also support the Johnny Appleseed Trail Association’s mission to highlight and market North Central Massachusetts” said Roy Nascimento, President & CEO of JATA.

The Farm-to-Table event is designed to highlight seasonally appropriate food and beverages grown, raised or produced in North Central Massachusetts, connect attendees to this special resource and create a shared of sense of community.  The event will also feature an extensive raffle of local items.

Sponsorships are available for the Farm to Table dinner. Enterprise Bank & Trust, Hollis Hills and new member Little Leaf Farms have all signed on as partners for the event. A variety of sponsorship levels ranging from $250 to $5,000 are available for any business wishing to participate.

Seating is limited. Tickets are $99 per person and must be purchased in advance. To register, sponsor or offer an item, visit www.northcentralmass.com  or contact Maria McCaffrey, events & programs manager at mmccaffrey@northcentralmass.com or (978) 353-7600 x. 235.