The next edition of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber’s popular Good Morning North Central breakfast series is scheduled for Friday, January 13, 2017 from 6:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at the Doubletree by Hilton, 99 Erdman Way, Leominster, MA.  The January edition is sponsored by the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts.

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 January edition is Tim Connelly, the new executive director of the Massachusetts Tech Collaborative, or MassTech. The program also includes a presentation by  Charley Valera, author of “My Father’s War: Memories from Our Honored WWII Soldiers”.

Connelly is an experienced leader with distinguished career in financial services, as well as a passion for civic engagement, social impact, workforce development, and regional economic growth.  Prior to his selection to lead MassTech, he was employed at Brown Brothers Harriman, where he spent 30 years working as a managing director, and as a General Partner. At Brown Brothers Harriman, he led service delivery enterprise, innovation and product support, and investor services units. He retired from the firm in December, 2014.

He currently serves on the technology advisory board of BDO Consulting. He is a member of the board of directors of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, and chaired the United Way’s 2014-2015 development campaign. Connelly is also a member of the board of trustees of the Carroll School and New England Disabled Sports, a Corporator of Northeastern University, and he serves on the finance and investment committee at the Cotting School.

Charley Valera has always had a fascination with WWII and its effects on the soldiers and their families. Charley knew his father was a WWII veteran and, like most of us, he never asked what life was like during the war. Years after Valera’s father passed away, taking his stories with him, he was determined to document the lives of other veterans. Within the pages are over two years of interviewing dozens of veterans. Charley writes articles and blogs for various media on topics from real estate to aviation. A licensed commercial pilot, realtor, author, public speaker, father of two boys and husband to Cheryl, Charley also owns and runs the FCA Flight Center, a flight training school in central Massachusetts

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.