The breakfast will focus on talent and workforce efforts in the region.

(North Central, Mass.) –The next edition of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce’s popular Good Morning North Central breakfast program is scheduled for Thursday, September 15, 2022, from 6:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and will take place at Great Wolf Lodge, 150 Great Wolf Way, Fitchburg, MA. The September edition is sponsored by bankHometown.

The Good Morning North Central breakfast series is the Chamber’s longest running program. The breakfast series started in 1984 and has evolved into a high-profile, fast-paced and educational morning program geared towards executives, senior managers, professionals and business owners from throughout North Central Massachusetts. Over the years, speakers have included governors, senators, prominent business and civic leaders, authors and celebrities.

The featured speakers for the month of September are State Senator John J. Cronin and Dr. Mark Melnik, Director of Economic and Public Policy Research at the UMass Donahue Institute. Dr. Melnik will present initial findings of a workforce study commissioned by the Chamber to assess and recommend ways to enhance the available labor pool in the region. Senator Cronin will highlight regional workforce efforts and announce funding for the North Central Massachusetts Education Compact.

Dr. Mark Melnik is the Director of Economic and Public Policy Research at the UMass Donahue Institute. Dr. Melnik specializes in demographic, socio-economic, and labor market issues and leads an over 20-person team working on variety of economic and public policy research projects informing clients in government, private industry, and the non-profit sectors. In his time at the Institute, Dr. Melnik has served as the principle-in-charge on projects with such clients as the Boston Foundation, the City of Boston, the City of Cambridge, MassDOT, the New England Foundation for the Arts, MassEcon, MassDevelopment, the Boston Private Industry Council, and the North Central Massachusetts Chamber. In addition, Dr. Melnik serves as the Senior Managing Editor of MassBenchmarks, the journal of the Massachusetts economy published by the Institute in cooperation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He holds a doctorate in sociology from Northeastern University. He received his master of arts from Northeastern University and his bachelor of arts from Youngstown State University, both in sociology.

State Senator John J. Cronin is a former Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army and combat veteran and has spent his entire career in public service to the country. He was born in Leominster and raised in Fitchburg and Lunenburg. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and commissioned as an Army Officer in 2013. After being honorably discharged from the Army as a Captain, Cronin began work at the Harvard Law School Legal Services Center working with professors and students to provide legal advocacy to indigent veterans. Earlier this year Cronin completed his Juris Doctor at Suffolk Law. Senator Cronin has represented the Worcester and Middlesex districts since taking office in 2021.

The cost to attend the event is just $30 for Chamber members/$45 non-members and includes breakfast. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, please contact Kathleen Deal at 978.353.7600 ext. 235, or visit www.northcentralmass.com.