The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Business expo to feature career fair
Expected to attend are 42 companies seeking workers
MIDDLETOWN — Connecticut Connections, Middlesex County’s Premier Business Expo, will take place Wednesday at the Red Lion Hotel in Cromwell.
This full day of events and activities will include the main expo hall with over 105 exhibitors from a wide variety of industry sectors, a career fair with over 42 employers who are hiring, our annual Small Business Awards Celebration Luncheon which will honor a number of our small business champions, and other content ranging from tourism, economic resilience, entrepreneurship, substance abuse prevention and more.
The morning will kick off with a session hosted by the Middlesex County Substance Abuse Action Council, “The Honest Truth: Opioid Addiction — Resources for the Workplace and for Families.” This workshop will feature a panel discussion covering access to treatment, recovering in the workplace, and the role of insurance in treatment. It is free and open to all, and is a particularly important discussion for employers, professionals and families. I would like to thank MCSAAC President Tony Salvatore and the Advisory Committee for their continued support of MCSAAC through challenging times.
The public is invited to visit with over 105 exhibitors from a number of different industries from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Connecticut Connections is a great opportunity to display and showcase your products and services face to face with potential new customers in your target market.
The Middlesex County Fall Career Fair, featuring over 40 employers that now hiring, will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Labor, Workforce Alliance and Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce.
Professional resume writers will be on site to assist in the development of resumes and cover letters. For a list of participating companies and positions available, visit ctdol.state.ct.us/jobfairs.
The luncheon, sponsored by Comcast Business, will feature remarks from state Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith and CNBC Senior Analyst and Commentator Ron Insana.
I am proud to announce the 2018 Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards recipients: Business of the Year (1-30 employees), Guilmartin, DiPiro & Sokolowski, Middletown; Business of the Year (31+ employees), Essex Savings Bank, Essex; Business Growth & Expansion, Reality Interactive, Middletown; Manufacturer of the Year, Ripley Tools, Cromwell; Minority Owned Business of the Year, Change, Inc., Middletown; Outstanding New Business Under 5 Years, Mizzi Cosmetics, Portland; Retail Business of the Year, Torrison Stone and Garden, Durham; Tourism/Hospitality Business of the Year, The Griswold Inn, Essex; and Family Owned Business of the Year, A&A Office Systems, Inc., Middletown.
Other events scheduled for Connecticut Connections include a professional photo session for business marketing and other purposes, a workshop session, “It’s Your Business - Own it and Rock it!” where attendees will learn to develop essential skills that will improve their business, and a Central Regional Tourism District hosted Tourism Brochure Swap which will connect key tourism stakeholders.
Also featured will be a Tourism Steering Committee-sponsored “Let’s Make A Deal,” event that will create package deals for the winter season, a MEWS+ hosted “Perfecting your Business Pitch” workshop designed for students and entrepreneurs, Elevate Women, a new chamber initiative that will bring women together to share their collective wisdom, build connections and grow, and an important Eversource sponsored workshop, “Is Your Business Resilient to Serious Incidents or Disasters?”
From 3 to 4 p.m., the Chamber Leadership Cabinet and Chamber Insurance Trust, in partnership with Roundstone, will roll out a new medical non-stop captive available to chamber members with 20 or more enrollees. Attendees will learn how employers can gain control of their health benefits by utilizing this cost effective self-funding strategy historically used by large enterprises.
The members only Executive Evening Event from 4 to 7 p.m., will feature a great spread of complimentary food, beer, wine and nonalcoholic drinks, over 105 exhibitors, raffle prizes and terrific networking. Also included is the Witch’s Brew, Lorraine C. McHugh Scholarship Benefit Room. Proceeds will benefit the Business Industry Foundation of Middlesex County.
Following that, stop by Trivia Night presented by the Young Professionals Alliance, where teams of up to six will compete for fun prizes while networking and enjoying each other’s company.
This week also features two exciting grand opening celebrations in Middletown. I look forward to joining chamber Chairman Jay Polke, Mayor Dan Drew and Central Business Bureau Chairman Tom Byrne at a grand opening for Miss Kelly’s Bakery and Café in Riverview Center on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
Kelly Travers and her team will continue to provide delicious baked goods at this great local establishment formerly known as Fusion Bakery.
I will again join Jay, Tom and the mayor Thursday at the grand opening celebration for Cigar Social, which recently opened in Main Street Market. Ericka Whalen is off to a great start with her new business that specializes in cigars and other creative gift options.
Before closing, I want to take a moment to thank Essex Savings Bank, Connecticut Rental and the Connecticut River Museum for their support of our the membership open house and networking reception in Essex last week. It featured close to 100 attendees, great networking between existing members and prospective members, and outstanding keynote remarks form Essex native Brad Galiette, product manager at Google NYC. We will continue to host these important events in the down county region and throughout our service area.
I am afraid I must close this week’s column on a sad note after the recent passing of Phil Murphy, a Middletown native and a 1975 graduate of Xavier High School. Phil was an outstanding player on the field for me and an even better young man. He was a good student and an all-conference player heavily recruited by a number of top colleges and universities.
Phil ended up choosing South Carolina State, where he was an All-American in football and track and field, and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1980 NFL draft. He went on to play for the Rams in the National Football League, and played football in other professional leagues during the 1980s.
He is a member of Xavier’s Hall of Honors and the Middletown Sports Hall of Fame. In 2012, he was also inducted into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in North Carolina.
While his athletic achievements were remarkable, I will remember Phil as a great player who ended up becoming a lifelong friend. He was a large man with a large heart who cared deeply about his family and friends.
A celebration of Phil’s life will be held will be held Oct. 27 at Rock Community Church in Harleysville, Pennsylvania. My thoughts and prayers are with Phil’s entire family and his vast network of friends at this difficult time. He will certainly be missed by many.