E-Newsletter
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.
The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce is here to help – with trusted resources, a strong business network, and a support system to keep your business and the region moving forward
$46,000 awarded to the region’s most outstanding high school seniors.
Families, friends, fellow graduates, and business and community leaders recently gathered for the annual Chamber Foundation of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce scholarship program to recognize the region’s most outstanding high school seniors. The awardees were acknowledged during the Annual Scholar’s Breakfast held on Friday, May 10, 2024, at Great Wolf Lodge in Fitchburg.
Proceeds from the breakfast program benefit the Chamber Foundation and help support Chamber scholarships in future years. Maria Milagros, an award-winning speaker, award nominated author, TEDx speaker, storyteller and empowerment life coach, led the ceremony and delivered the keynote address.
For the Class of 2024, a total of $46,000 in scholarships were awarded from either endowments or funds provided by local companies and individuals. The Scholarship Committee selected the recipients from among college-bound seniors who live in one of the 27 communities served by the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce based on a student’s overall merit, including academics, sports, volunteer work and employment.
Twenty-three scholarships of $2,000 were provided to the following seniors:
Since the establishment of its scholarship program, the Chamber Foundation has awarded more than a million dollars in scholarships to more than 680 students. Many of these awards are made possible through contributions from members of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, with scholarships endowed through the Chamber Foundation often named in honor of prominent members of the North Central Massachusetts business community whose philanthropy and commitment to the community have helped shape the region.
“The North Central region is exceptional in its generosity, investment and commitment to supporting its future leaders,” said Roy M. Nascimento, president and CEO, North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. “These scholarships are one way we can recognize local students as they continue their education through the support of organizations and individuals who help make these scholarships possible for our graduating seniors.”
The Chamber wishes to thank the Scholar’s Breakfast Premier Sponsor: Rollstone Bank & Trust; Recipient Ticket Sponsor: Great Wolf Lodge; Supporting Sponsors: AIS, Inc. and Steel-Fab Inc.; Program Sponsor: North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation; Center Piece Sponsor: Leominster Credit Union; Gift Sponsor: Fitchburg State University; as well as the many Chamber members who contributed towards the scholarships.
The Chamber Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization focused on assisting in the betterment of the region through charitable activities. Funds raised by the Chamber Foundation are utilized primarily for education and workforce development initiatives and charitable activities in North Central Massachusetts.
For more information on the Chamber Foundation of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce scholarship program or to view a list of the named scholarships, please click here or call 978.353.7600, ext. 225.
Click Here to View the Annual Scholar’s Breakfast Program BookletChamber of Commerce | North Central Massachusetts | North Central Massachusetts Chamber | Massachusetts Education System | Massachusetts Education Investments | Massachusetts Community Investments
We want to remind our Tourism Members of 2 very helpful ways we can promote your business but we need your help to do it.
Send us your calendar of special events. We want to expand our online calendar of events. You are able to post your event here. We will feature you events on visitnorthcentral.com which has seen a significant increase in traffic in the past year. We will also include selected events on our social media posts on Facebook and Instagram. (Our Facebook following ranks 3rd in the state among the 16 Regional Tourist Councils.) Whenever possible we will also feature upcoming events on our email newsletter.
We are also working on expanding our photo files. We have constant need for updated photos for our:
You may submit photos here.
If you have any questions, please contact Vicky Tippawong at . Thanks you for your ongoing support of all our marketing efforts to promote North Central Mass.
Chamber of Commerce | North Central Massachusetts | Worcester County | Local Business | Visit North Central Massachusetts | Visit North Central Local Tourism
Here is a recap of efforts over the Spring from the Chamber’s destination marketing arm, Visit North Central Massachusetts (VNCM).
Website
We continue to see strong growth in our website traffic to our tourism website – Visitnorthcentral.com. Users for FY24 are up 54.99% compared to the same timeframe the previous year and pageviews are up 54.66%. We are averaging about 18,237 pageviews each month for FY24. Furthermore, efforts are underway to align the content of Visit North Central’s seasonal landing pages with our SEO strategy to ensure consistency with its SEM campaign.
Tourism Advertising
We have continued with our efforts to effectively promote the region through a combination of print and digital advertising tactics tailored to our targeted markets. Our winter & spring campaigns have been featured on AAA Northeast, Boston Magazine, Boston Spirit, Hearst WCVB, LocaliQ, and MassLive. We actively engaged with travelers at the Dream Destination Travel Show held in Springfield this April, and we’re gearing up to participate once more in October. These efforts underscore our commitment to showcasing the region as a desirable travel destination.
Branding
As we transition into spring and summer, we are collaborating with photographers improve the Chamber’s photo library to capture the essence of North Central Massachusetts, focusing on its vibrant restaurant scene, exciting events, and abundant outdoor recreation opportunities.
Social Media
Our Visit North Central Massachusetts Facebook & Instagram accounts have a combined following of 39,217. Our ongoing priority is to expand our social media reach and nurture meaningful engagement with our audience.
Shoulder Season Campaign
In collaboration with two other Regional Tourism Councils, we have been continuing to implement an off-season marketing campaign funded from a federal grant. We have advertising campaigns with Hearst Digital Story Studio, Yankee Magazine and several regional publications.
Public Relations
As part of the shoulder season campaign, we hired CM Communications, a Boston-based PR Agency that specializes in destination marketing, to assist us with generating more interest in the three regions among the travel media and other travel influencers. Visit North Central Massachusetts hosted Press Familiarization Trips in February and March as part of a tour of Central Massachusetts. The tour of our region included visits to Great Wolf New England, Wachusett Mountain Ski Area, Wachusett Brewery, Letz Rage, the Icon Museum and Fitchburg Art Museum. The Fam Trips, attended by travel writers, regional bloggers and social media influencers specializing in ‘Family Travel’ and “Arts & Culture” also included stops in the Discover Central MA and MetroWest areas.
MA Office Of Travel & Tourism
Several members of the Chamber staff attended the MA Governor’s Conference on Travel & Tourism in early April in Boston. This was the first statewide tourism conference since before COVID and provided excellent networking opportunities with other tourism leaders and state officials, as well as valuable seminars on a variety of topics, including public relations, AI and sports marketing. The Chamber also met this spring with the new Director of the Mass 250th Celebration to review ways to coordinate the event with the celebration surrounding Johnny Appleseed’s 250th Birthday.
Visitor Center
Our Johnny Appleseed Visitor Center in Lancaster is entering its busy season. We have continued to make improvements to the center, including investing in a new electronic door counter to give us more accurate estimates of traffic at the center, and adding an additional National Park style informational sign on the grounds. A new furnace is scheduled to be installed this Spring. Our vision is to not only be the best visitor center in the state, but to also transform the center into a destination in its own right that provides an engaging experience and encourages visitors to learn more about the region’s communities and local attractions. Retail sales at the gift shop are up modestly about 5%. We had 28,176 visitors at the center from January to April 30. Our visitor count has been going up each month, and we expect the numbers to climb much higher now that we are entering our busy season.
Email Newsletter
We recently launched a monthly Visit North Central Massachusetts (VNCM) subscription based email newsletter to help promote the region to visitors. The our VNCM email list already has 2,897 subscribers and has an average open rate of 49% and click through rate of 9%.
Chamber of Commerce | North Central Massachusetts | Worcester County | Local Business | Visit North Central Massachusetts | Visit North Central Local Tourism | Johnny Appleseed Visitor Center | Small Town Economy | Community Development | Business Growth | Visit North Central Massachusetts Tourism Updates
The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts is pleased to announce the launch of the FY2025 Nashoba Valley Community Health Grant Program.
This grant program aims to advance the community health of residents in 12 communities: Ashby, Ayer, Bolton, Devens, Groton, Harvard, Lancaster, Littleton, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Shirley, and Townsend.
Priority will be given to, but not limited to, proposals pertaining to (in no particular order):
Grants typically range from $5,000 to $20,000; however, larger-scale collaborative projects with requests exceeding $20,000 will be considered if the impact justifies the funding request.
Requirements
All proposals will be reviewed and considered for funding based on each proposal’s ability to:
Proposals for the following will not be considered:
Informational sessions for interested grantees will be held on December 12, at 10:00 a.m. and December 19, at 1:30 p.m. via Zoom. (https://zoom.us/j/9452255403)
The application deadline is Friday, January 3. Award decisions will be announced by Friday, February 7.
Please note: we recently migrated to a new online grant portal, so you will need to create a new account if you haven’t done so already.
Link to apply: https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=cfncm

The Big Dill Pickleball Tournament
Saturday, January 4, 2025
Doors Open at 7:30AM | First Play at 8:00AM
Pickle-It Pickleball
471 Lancaster Street | Leominster, MA

The gala will feature a delightful dinner followed by a live performance of “Into the Woods,” a beloved musical that intertwines the tales of various fairy tale characters. This event aims to raise critical funds for student scholarships, program enhancements, and campus development projects that are vital to the success of our students.
As a valued community partner, your support as a sponsor will significantly impact our efforts. Here are some key ways your sponsorship will help:
We have several sponsorship levels available, we would be thrilled to discuss how we can tailor a partnership that aligns with your organization’s goals.
The Fairy Godmother – PRESENTING SPONSOR $10,000 (one available)
The Royal Feast – DINNER SPONSOR-$5,000 (two available)
The Glass Slipper – Theatre Sponsor- $5,000 (two available)
The Woodland Spirits Sponsor – Cocktail Hour Sponsor- $1,500
UNAVAILABLE
THANK YOU TO STERLING CONSTRUCTION!
The Baker & His Wife- Dessert Table Sponsor- $1500 (One Available)
The Jack & The Beanstalk – $500- Centerpiece sponsor (20 available)
Purchase a table of 8 for a donation of $2,500
Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a lasting impact on our community. I will follow up with you next week to discuss this further, but please feel free to reach out to me anytime at (978) 630-9276 or .
Learn MoreWhen 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.
Looking for your next opportunity? Explore current job openings from employers across North Central Massachusetts on our Jobs Board. Whether you’re starting a new career or making a change, you’ll find a variety of local positions available to help you take the next step.
CapEx Facility Services & Construction · Leominster, MA
TaraVista Behavioral Health Center · Harvard, MA
DRS Power Technology, Inc. · Fitchburg, MA
AIS · Leominster, MA