The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Breakfast to feature David Benedict
The chamber team continues to be on the move as the summer draws closer in Middlesex County. Another busy week kicks off Monday morning in Cromwell with the chamber’s May Member Breakfast Meeting sponsored by Farmington Bank and the Real Estate Finance Association. This important event, to be held at the Red Lion Hotel, will feature UConn Athletic Director David Benedict as keynote speaker. Benedict became director of athletics at the University of Connecticut in March 2016 and has had a dynamic impact on Husky athletics ever since.
We look forward to his visit and his remarks, and I thank him personally and on behalf of the chamber for joining us. I also want to thank John Patrick and his team at Farmington Bank for their great support of this event and our chamber. Immediately following Monday’s Breakfast Meeting, the chamber will partner with REFA’s Hartford chapter for an event
that will feature some of the top commercial real estate professionals in Connecticut. This open forum, scheduled from 9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., will focus on commercial real estate investment, including the retail, office and industrial sectors, local projects and developments, current market conditions, and expectations for the future.
Featured speakers will include several REFA members: Mike Riccio of CBRE Capital Markets, Mark Duclos of Sentry, Pat Mulready of CBRE, and Marty Kenny of Lexington Partners. The session will be moderated by REFA members Derek Ezovski president of Outsource Risk Management Solutions, and Paul LaMonica, SVP Farmington Bank, who also serves as the president of REFA’s Hartford chapter, and a member of the chamber board of directors. I would like to thank REFA for their partnership on this event and, especially, Paul LaMonica, who has worked very well with our team as this productive morning came together. We look forward to a great session.
Tuesday features meetings of our Women’s Business Alliance, the Hal Kaplan Middletown Mentor Program Core Committee, and the first session of the Side Street to Main Street Supplemental Program Business “KnowHow” Class Seven. Business “Know-How” is an intensive, four-session program that provides practical knowledge for starting and building a small business in Connecticut.
Designed to be a companion to the chamber’s award-winning Side Street to Main Street Business and Leadership Development Program, sponsored by Aetna, Inc., Business “Know-How” offers a bridge for small business owners hoping to participate in the program now entering its 22nd year this fall. Eversource, which supports a wide variety of community causes and is committed to diversity in its workforce and throughout its vast network of operations, is the sponsor of this important program. . I continue to appreciate the support of Eversource and thank them for their support of this and many other chamber initiatives.
On Wednesday afternoon, I look forward to attending the May meeting of Goodspeed Musicals’ Board of Directors in East Haddam. The Goodspeed Opera House and The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester continue to be very important tourist attractions in our region and in Connecticut. “The Will Rogers Follies” is running at the Goodspeed until June 21, and “You are Here, A New Musical” is running at the Terris Theatre from May 18 to June 10. I am honored to serve on the board of Goodspeed Musical, s and I look forward to another productive meeting on Wednesday.
A very busy Thursday kicks off in New Haven with the May meeting of the Workforce Alliance Executive Committee. Workforce Alliance works to improve the delivery of workforce services in close collaboration with business, education and training providers, and local
elected officials. They serve the public through the American Job Centers, one of which is located on South Main Street in Middletown.
The chamber continues to enjoy a very strong working relationship with Workforce Alliance. Among other initiatives, Workforce Alliance supports the Middlesex County Job Seeker and Employer Outreach Initiative, which is under the direction of our Workforce Development Director, Lorenzo Marshall. We continue to appreciate the support of President and CEO Bill Villano and his terrific team.
Thursday afternoon features a visit to Middlesex Hospital for the May meeting of the chamber’s Board of Directors. Vin Capece and his team at the hospital has hosted this meeting in May for many years, and it is always great for our members to visit this outstanding health care facility that we are lucky to have in Middlesex County. In addition to reports from chamber members and key staff, the meeting will feature remarks from Wendell Davis, regional Administrator for SBA Region I, which covers all of New England.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is a cabinet-level agency of the federal government that was created to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of the American small business community. I appreciate Wendell’s willingness to visit with our group during what is undoubtedly a very busy time for him, and also want to thank chamber board member Derek Phelps for facilitating Wendell’s visit. We look forward to a very productive meeting on Thursday.
In addition to supporting our members and pursuing strategic economic development, the chamber also values mentoring and shaping the leaders of tomorrow. The Hal Kaplan Middletown Mentor Program year-end picnic will be held at the picnic grounds at Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown on Friday.
I would like to first thank Helene Vartelas, chief executive officer of CVH, for annually hosting this picnic for the mentors and mentees of this important community program. The Hal Kaplan Middletown Mentor Program, initiated in 1992, is a partnership between the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce and the Middletown Board of Education that provides local students with mentors in the community.
Mentors are good listeners who want to help young people bring out the strengths that are already there. Mentors are employees of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce member business affiliates, employees from the City of Middletown, and private individuals. I look forward to celebrating another successful year of mentoring with Program Coordinator Sylvia Webb, mentors, mentees, sponsors, supporters and friends of the program. A special thank you goes out to the program’s sponsors, Liberty Bank Foundation, Middletown Board of Education, MiddleOak, Seasons Federal Credit Union, and Connecticut Valley Hospital.
Looking ahead to next week, a Business After Work Networking Reception will be held on Thursday, May 24 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat. The event will feature a terrific spread of food, drink and, as always, the best networking around. The Valley Railroad Company, which operates the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat, has been serving the lower Connecticut River Valley since 1971.
Their unique facilities and programs attract visitors from all over the state and the northeast region. In fact, Essex Steam Train and Riverboat is one of the top tourist attractions in Connecticut. We are very proud of the work that Kevin Dodd and the entire team is doing to make sure Middlesex County continues to be a great place to live, work and play. Our membership certainly looks forward to the Business After Work event on May 24.
One of the most important events that the chamber holds every year is our annual awards dinner. This year’s event is scheduled for June 6, from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Red Lion Hotel in Cromwell. Each year at this event, the chamber presents a series of Distinguished Citizen Awards to deserving individuals who serve as an inspiration to others, and are recognized by the Middlesex community as unselfishly giving his or her time and talent to produce a lasting benefit to the area. The Distinguished Citizen Committee chose the recipients from a list of over 230 nominees.
The Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce proudly announces that the 2018 recipients of the Distinguished Citizen Award are: Steve Gorss, Carter Gowrie, and Richard and Joan Tomc. Once again, our Distinguished Citizen Committee has chosen four outstanding individuals. In addition to the Distinguished Citizen Awards, the chamber also presents the Michael L. Green Award, presented annually to a member of the police or fire community for his or her outstanding service to the community and to the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce. The 2018 recipient is Gary Wallace of the Middletown Police Department. Each of these deserving recipients are committed to making Middlesex County a better place to work and live, and we are extremely proud of all of them.
I will have much more on our Annual Dinner and it honorees as we get closer, but members should be sure to save the date.