The next edition of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber’s popular Good Morning North Central breakfast series is scheduled for Friday, November 18, 2016 from 6:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at the Doubletree by Hilton, 99 Erdman Way, Leominster, MA.  The November edition is sponsored by the DoubleTree by Hilton – Leominster.

The Good Morning North Central series is a high-profile, fast-paced and educational breakfast program geared towards executives, senior managers, professionals and business owners.  Each of the programs has a business-oriented focus and features popular speakers to present on topics of interest to local businesses.

The featured speaker for the November edition is Francois-Laurent Nivaud, the new executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.  The program also includes a presentation by Jack Maroney, CEO of the new Recovery Centers of America – Westminster, which opened in October.

Mr. Nivaud was appointed to his position in April, 2016.  A native of France, Nivaud brings decades of experience in the hospitality and tourism industries to the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.  In 1998 he created New England Management Services (NEMS), a think tank for the hospitality industry that has been involved in consulting projects around the country and was instrumental in developing a Hotel & Residences complex at Battery Wharf in Boston in 2008.  He was the Managing Director of the Boston Harbor Hotel from 1988-1999, helping to position it as an industry-leading hotel property.  He founded the Boston Wine Festival, now in its 27th year, and the Boston Wine Expo, the first wine symposium in the Northeast. Nivaud also served as the Dean of the Roger A. Saunders School of Business & Hospitality Management at Newbury College.  He is a Director Emeritus of the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau and served on the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce from 1995-2013.  He co-founded the Massachusetts Visitor Industry Council and created the Massachusetts Lodging Association.

Mr. Maroney, co-author of “The East Side of Addiction,” and founder of Spring Hill Recovery Center, was named CEO of the new Westminster facility in July, 2016.  With 26 years of experience in substance use disorder, Maroney will lead a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and offer a broad continuum of care at RCA at Westminster.  RCA supports addiction recovery through various avenues and a lifestyle change approach. While most stays range from 4 to 6 weeks, RCA can support longer stays.

The cost is just $25 for Chamber members/$40 non-members and includes a breakfast buffet. Season Tickets are also available for purchase.  Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, please contact the Chamber at 978.353.7600 ext. 235 or visit www.northcentralmass.com.

The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that the organization has recruited 75 new members as a result of its 2016 New Member Campaign.

The two-week campaign ended on Friday, October 15th and included a mailed invitation to over 3,000 businesses in North Central Massachusetts and personal phone calls from fifty-five business leaders encouraging them to join.  Volunteers competed for bragging rights as the top recruiter and some great prizes including overnight trips, gift certificates to restaurants and stores, and much more.

“We are excited to see so many new businesses join and take advantage of the many opportunities available through the North Central Massachusetts Chamber,” said Tony Mercadante, Principal of Mercadante & Mercadante CPAs and Chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. “The Chamber plays an important role in supporting local businesses and advancing North Central Massachusetts. This new growth will give us an even stronger voice to impact the region.”

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON OUR NEW MEMBER CAMPAIGN CLICK HERE

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The top producing team for the campaign was Workers Credit Union. Tom Littlepage, Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager at Workers Credit Union served as the team captain. The Workers Credit Union team recruited 13 new members and will be recognized with a special award at the Chamber’s next Good Morning North Central Breakfast on Friday, November 18th at the Doubletree in Leominster.

The second place team was the Robert C. Alario CPAs team, captained by Robert Alario, and the third place team was the Vision Payroll team, captained by Greg Mahoney.

The campaign’s top individual recruiter was Robert Alario, President of Robert C. Alario CPAs who personally brought in 11 new businesses to the Chamber. Mr. Alario was recently recognized as the top producer and received a $1,500 travel voucher through Whitcomb Travel for his efforts.  Bob Gallo of Workers Credit Union placed second with five new members and Tom Littlepage of Workers Credit Union came in third with four new members. Other top recruiters included Pam Tortora of Fidelity Bank who recruited four new members; Tony Mercadante of Mercadante and Mercadante CPAs and Greg Mahoney and Lisa McKiernan of Vision Payroll who each recruited three new members.

“I want to congratulate our top recruiter Bob Alario and express our heartfelt thanks to the many volunteers and businesses who participated in this campaign,” said Doug Petersen, President & CEO of Workers Credit Union and Chairman of the 2016 New Member Campaign. “Gaining 75 new members is a remarkable achievement and would not have been possible without the time and effort from our many campaign volunteers.”

The Chamber appreciates the efforts of Doug Petersen for serving as Chair of the 2016 New Member Campaign. The Chamber would also like to thank all of the team captains, volunteer recruiters, and the many members who helped support our successful campaign.

In addition, the Chamber would like to recognize the corporate and prize sponsors who contributed to the success of the campaign. The Chamber’s New Member Campaign was sponsored by Heat Trace Products.  Supporting sponsors included S.J. Mullaney Engineering, Inc.; Mercadante & Mercadante, P.C., CPAs; and HealthAlliance Hospital.  In addition, media sponsors for the Campaign included the Sentinel & Enterprise; Leominster Champion; Worcester Business Journal; WPKZ 105.3 FM, Worcester Telegram & Gazette; AdviCoach; and FATV.

Prize contributors included Aunty Ellen’s Cakes, the Bootlegger Restaurant, the Colonial Hotel, Cutiques, Curves Fitness, ECI Stores, the Fitchburg Art Museum, Gardner Ale House, Il Camino Restaurant, Gariepy Furniture, Great Wolf Lodge, Happy Jack’s Restaurant, North End Diner, Northeast Promotions, Putnam Street Lanes, Roots organic juice bar, Sean Patrick’s restaurant, Settler’s Crossing golf course, Shattuck Photography, Slattery’s restaurant, Starbucks, South Side Grill, Wachusett Mountain, Webster First Federal Credit Union, West End Diner, Workers Credit Union, and Yasmin Loft, realtor.

For a complete list of corporate sponsors and prize contributors please visit www.northcentralmass.com.

Businesses interested in joining the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce should contact Jeff Ardis, Manager of Member Services and Business Development at 978.353.7600, x234 or via email at .

In what has come to be an unprecedented political and social time in our world, thinking about how members of the community can create change could not have come at a better time. In a panel discussion, local leaders, joined by members of the community discussed strategies for making the most out of community engagement.

The panel discussion, moderated by Lea Ann Scales of Mount Wachusett Community College, featured State Representative Jen Benson, Fitchburg City Councilor Mike Kushmerek, Joana Dos Santos of the United Neighbors of Fitchburg and Charlie St. Amand of the Sentinel and Enterprise.

The discussion focused around the importance of being an active and involved member of your community, whether you are advocating for an issue, or thinking about running for office. Both the audience and panelists noted the need to get more youth involved in civic engagement.

“Technology has changed the way I interact with my constituents, and it has made me more accountable to them,” said Benson. St. Amand, editor of the Sentinel and Enterprise noted that the advent of technology has increased everyone’s ability to participate in government and the media.

As part of the Chamber’s public policy agenda, it will continue to create programming that builds consensus on community building, inclusion in the public process, and creating meaningful bonds between government and the business community.