An Electronic Publication of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce
Inside this edition, you’ll discover the latest Chamber initiatives and success stories from across our region. From economic development projects and upcoming networking events to policy updates and workforce training opportunities, we’re keeping you connected to what matters most for your business and North Central Massachusetts.
June 2026
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The Chamber is pleased to announce two promotions. Sandie Cataldo, who joined the staff in 2015, has been promoted from Economic Development Manager to Senior Economic Development Manager, and Maribel Cruz, who joined the staff in 2021 as our Community Business Advisor, has been promoted to Economic Development Manager. The promotions were made to better reflect their responsibilities and seniority, recognize their success and contributions to our organization, and better align with the changes we have made at the Chamber’s economic development arm, the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation. Please join us in congratulating them on their well-deserved promotions!
Sandie Cataldo, Senior Economic Development Manager
The 38th Annual Meeting and Business Luncheon for the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce is scheduled for Thursday, June 9, 2022 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Great Wolf Lodge, 150 Great Wolf Drive, Fitchburg.
This annual event celebrates businesspeople working together to ensure a bright future for North Central Massachusetts and presents an opportunity for the region’s business and community leaders to build camaraderie among peers. In addition to the Chamber’s annual recognition awards and commencement for the Class of 2022 Community Leadership Institute, a tabletop Business Expo will also be offered. The expo will showcase local businesses before and after the formal event giving exhibitors the chance to reach hundreds of business and community leaders from throughout North Central Massachusetts. The Business Expo will start at 10:30 a.m., the Annual Meeting and Luncheon will run from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and the expo will close out the event from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
The event is funded by the generous support of various businesses and organizations, including Premier Sponsor Fidelity Bank; Business Expo Sponsors MassHire North Central Workforce Board and the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation; and Supporting Sponsors Aging Services of North Central Massachusetts; Great Wolf Lodge; Avidia Bank, Enterprise Bank; Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority; Resource Management, Inc.; and TD Bank.
This year’s keynote speaker is Doug Griffiths, President and CEO of The 13 Ways, a company dedicated to helping communities grow and thrive. He is a popular community strategist and author of the best-selling book, 13 Ways to Kill Your Community. Throughout his career, Doug has supported, guided, and inspired hundreds of communities to create effective change. A former Canadian politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, he retired from politics in 2015 to actively pursue his passion for helping communities. Doug’s mission is to help North American communities identify what is holding them back from finding success, and he works with communities to develop strategies to help them overcome their weaknesses. His solutions have built up many communities and allowed them to get on a better path. He grew up on a ranch outside of a small community, and his upbringing provided practical education, as it gave him a strong work ethic and critical thinking skills. He holds both an honors bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and a bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Alberta and completed the Executive MBA program at the University of Alberta.
To register for the Annual Business Meeting and Luncheon, please contact the Chamber at 978.353.7600, ext. 222 or ext. 235 or email or register online at northcentralmass.com. The cost is just $55 per person for members and $70 per person for non-members and includes lunch. Reservations are required. Supporting sponsorships and tables of ten are also available. Please RSVP by June 6, 2022.
Originally founded in 1924, Foster-Healey Real Estate, Inc. has thrived in the local North Central Massachusetts area for nearly 100 years.
President Richard Healey became a realtor at 26 after graduating from Colby College in 1977, and took over running the family-owned business after his father had passed in 1982. Since then, Healey and his wife has owned and operated the company under his father’s principles, and for the last fourteen years, they have worked together with their son Taylor, who knew he wanted to be a realtor and get more involved with the business.
“Real estate is much more about problem-solving, rather than being a salesman,” said Healey. “People need places to live or had a house to sell, and they needed our help.”
What sets Foster-Healey apart from the other larger national companies is that they are a local-focused firm.
“We are a local firm. So much of local business is talking about shopping local, and when you look at real estate firms, most of them offer the same technology that we’re offering, but they’re owned outside of the local area.
“We like to say, ‘We’ve been here, and we’ll be here.’ If someone has an issue, they know that they can call me,” said Healey. “Our agents are local, have local knowledge, and we have state-of-the-art technology through drone and aerial photography, as well as Matterport technology for 3D tours.”
The 3D Matterport tours are included in every house they sell on the market. According to their website, “A Matterport Tour is an immersive, 360º virtual experience. It is a great tool for engaging our potential home buyers by allowing you to really feel like you are walking-thru the home. What is so neat about the tour, is the fact that you can press the play button at the bottom of the screen, sit back and enjoy a walk-thru video. Or you can click on the circles located on the floor to move from room to room. This is a great option if you are wanting to see a specific room and you don’t want to sit through the entire tour to get there.”
With approximately 800-1,700 consumers viewing the tours each month, they are able to control what rooms they want to view, rather than a standard virtual walkthrough. This game-changing technology provides the opportunity for people to control where they are going in the house listed. The camera revolves 360 degrees and there is a camera every 6 feet, which is then digitally stitched together and measures everything, which can prove to be beneficial for making sure your couch fits, or how high the ceilings are without having to leave the comfort of your own home. As an immersive technology, it allows the consumer to really understand and dive into the question, “Is this my house?”
“Very little replaces the actual touching, feeling everything, and looking around in person,” said Healey, “but the Matterport tours really help to make that first decision for the consumer, and saves sellers from so many people having them walk through the house.”
Through the pandemic there were a lot of adjustments. Fortunately, Foster-Healey and other real estate businesses were described as essential businesses. Although both buyers and sellers are now feeling more comfortable doing things in person, both parties still really heavily on technology to be able to assist them.
The Matterport tours are especially convenient if a consumer is from the Boston area, and looking to move further away from the city, as they realize they can work from home or go into the city once or twice a week, or even once or twice a month. “We want to make sure we get our listings up on the internet in the best possible way.”
In 2024, Foster-Healey Real Estate, Inc. will be celebrating their centennial of being in business in the local North Central Massachusetts area, and for a large portion of that time, they have been a Chamber member with the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. In fact, President Healey was a former chairman of the board in 1995.
“It’s a great opportunity of other local businesses to interact with each other and other local businesses, and the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce provides us that opportunity,” he said.
For Healey, he believes that the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce keeps the economy up and the local businesses thriving.
Foster-Healy Real Estate aims to continue to try to make sure that they have state-of-the-art services and continue to be involved with what’s happening around them. They are located at 50 Central Street, Leominster, MA, as well as 26 Pearson Boulevard, Gardner, MA and can be reached at for more information on finding your next home.
Chamber members are provided with the opportunity to engage with the Mayors of Fitchburg, Gardner, and Leominster who provide updates on projects and other things happening in their Cities. These events are by invitation only, please contact Travis Condon for more details. View
Event
Future Leaders of North Central: Annual Holiday Party & Ugly Sweater Competition
December 8, 2026
Bull Run Restaurant
215 Great Rd. Shirly, MA View
Event
Connect North Central
December 11, 2026
Join us for our last Connect North Central of the year!
Friday, December 11, 2026
8am-9am View
Event
Chamber members are provided with the opportunity to engage with the Mayors of Fitchburg, Gardner, and Leominster who provide updates on projects and other things happening in their Cities. These events are by invitation only, please contact Travis Condon for more details. View
Event
Rent a part of history in the restored Abijah Wyman House located in Ashby Center; 10 Common Road, Ashby, MA. In need of office space? Retail space? A place to meet with your clients? In the heart of beautiful downtown Ashby, a classic New England village. Second floor and mezzanine, 2,270 square feet. Great space with many possibilities for professional, showroom or retail use. Price per square foot negotiable. Gross rent plus utilities. Water and sewer included. Tenant responsible for electric and gas. Owner may consider subdividing or other lease arrangements. Elevator on site. Multiple tenant building including the Ashby Post Office. Building is meticulously maintained with ample parking on site. On street signage is available. High visibility in town and easily accessible. Just minutes away from the Fitchburg Commuter Rail and the New Hampshire border. To check out the space please reach out to Michelle Haggstrom at 978-660-9912 or email mahaggstrom@gmail.com.
The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts announces the opening of its 2023 Synergy Initiative and Activation Fund grant opportunities to target community-identified health issues and support innovative approaches to addressing health issues in the region. The deadlines for submission of initial application materials are April 12 for the Activation Fund and July 12 for the Synergy Initiative.
The Synergy Initiative provides multiple years of funding (approximately $2 million in total funding over roughly five years) for collaborative projects that address complex health issues in Central Massachusetts with integrated, comprehensive strategies focused on systems change. The Synergy Initiative typically opens every four to five years, with the last round opening in 2019. The Activation Fund supports discrete, one-year projects in Central Massachusetts (typically between $60,000 and $120,000) aimed at helping to move an organization to its next level of capacity and effectiveness that can be sustained over time. The Activation Fund usually accepts applications annually. The Foundation does not name specific health issues or priority areas, instead looking to community-based organizations to define health issues and potential solutions. Funding guidelines and answers to frequently asked questions for each program may be found on the Foundation’s website at hfcm.org.
INFORMATION SESSIONS & STAFF CONSULTATIONS
A series of virtual and in-person information sessions outlining each program’s funding goals, eligibility criteria, and application processes will be held in February and March. To register for an upcoming session, please complete this Registration Form. Foundation staff is available to discuss project ideas and provide feedback. To schedule a consultation for the Synergy Initiative, please contact Dr. Kathy Mills, Vice President for Programs (); for the Activation Fund, please contact Jennie Blake, Senior Program Officer ().
PILOT EQUITY INITIATIVES
In 2023, the Foundation is also piloting several equity-related initiatives aimed at increasing access to the Foundation’s Activation Fund grant opportunity and helping smaller organizations build capacity. Each initiative will be evaluated to assess effectiveness and to inform future implementation.
For those with limited English proficiency, the Foundation is partnering with the Center for Health Impact to make interpretation and translation services available during virtual information sessions if requested in advance through the registration process.
Organizations with annual operating budgets less than $500,000 will be eligible to request up to 10% of direct project costs for unrestricted, supplemental support aimed at building capacity during the grant period.
Joshua Allen Design, a local interior design firm, is celebrating its 5th anniversary in business (officially on Aug 18, 2022) with some monumental changes; excited as they undergo a complete renovation of their showroom, a cutting-edge update to their online client experience, and a rollout of their brand new app.
Joshua Allen Design, a Sterling based interior design company, is undergoing big changes as part of an initiative to celebrate their 5th anniversary. They have been in business since August 18, 2017.
They recently moved to their current location on Clinton Rd and are happy to announce that they’re set to complete renovations on their brand new showroom this spring. Of course the showroom is open to the public, and they are thrilled to have the space to be able to bring the industry’s best materials, surfaces, finishes and fixtures to their projects and community here in north central Massachusetts.
Along with the physical upgrades come some digital ones. They have just released a big update to their client portal, making it easier than ever for clients to view their whole project, make selections, and order pieces from their design at their own pace. In addition they’re in the final stages of developing an app that will further streamline their design experience, for current clients and newcomers alike.Stay tuned for additional information on the app’s expected release date.
When the workday ends and the lights go down, Custom Cleaning Service of Peabody, Inc. gets to work. “We operate as our clients’ silent partner after business hours,” says Adam Paicos, of Templeton, who now serves as Director of Operations and oversees the company’s expansion into North Central MA. “We are not often seen, but we ensure facilities are clean, secure, and ready for business each day while serving as the eyes and ears for our clients when they are not on site.”
Discover local business stories through our Inside North Central Massachusetts Podcast series. Listen as Chamber members share their journeys, insights, and contributions to our thriving regional business community.
From Chamber events and ribbon cuttings to community celebrations and regional highlights, stay connected with what’s happening across North Central Massachusetts. Follow us on social media for the latest photos, updates, and stories.
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