Weekly Newsletter
Upcoming Chamber Events
Thursday, November 21st 5:30-7pm
Business After Hours hosted by Amcomm Wireless

Saturday, November 23rd 8am-2pm
Stuff-A-Truck at Hannaford
Collecting non-perishable food items for the
Claremont Soup Kitchen & Food Pantry

Thursday, December 5th 5:30-7pm
Holiday Celebration hosted by Claremont Savings Bank
Chamber Member News & Events
SCORE Announces Fall 2019 Small Business Workshop Series
SCORE has announced its Fall 2019 workshop series where area residents and those seeking empowerment in business can enroll.
 
The workshops sponsored by Mascoma Bank are held at the SCORE office, 20 West Park Street, Suite 316, Lebanon, NH are offered on Thursdays (and one Wednesday) from 5-8 p.m. The workshop presenters at bring years of experience to the job. As well as being knowledgeable in the workshop subject, they have a down-to-earth approach based on their experience in counseling small businesses.
 
The fee for each workshop is $30. If you invite your spouse or business partner to attend as your guest, the fee for the two of you would be $40. Veterans are FREE.

Social Media Marketing , Thursday, November 7, 2019 from 5:00-8:00 PM
This workshop will provide an overview of the major social media marketing channels – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and LinkedIn. Various tools will be examined to help you not only chose the correct channel for your marketing efforts, but also reduce and streamline your workload. Social media marketing content will also be presented.
 
For more information about the workshops or to reserve a spot, visit Upper Valley Score www.uppervalley.score.org  or call (603) 448-3491.
 
ABOUT SCORE:  a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small businesses start, grow, and succeed nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and has been mentoring small business owners for more than forty years.  Upper Valley SCORE  was founded in 1967 as Chapter 184 and currently has more than 30 volunteer mentors who are all experienced business owners and managers. SCORE offers experience and knowledge to help small business owners and potential small business owners achieve success. Services include confidential, free face to face counseling, email counseling, business workshops
Amplified Arts & TLC Resource Center Collaboration
November 8th will mark the second collaboration between Amplified Arts , A collaborative arts venue in Downtown Claremont and TLC Family Resource Center, a nonprofit serving children, youth, and families with a wide range of free programming.

Back in the Spring of 2018, AMP and TLC partnered to produce The Laramie Project, a theatrical piece about the Matthew Shepard murder and its effect on the community of Laramie, Wyoming. The event included a panel discussion following the live production by AMP’s Teen Academy program. The production would go on to be nominated for three New Hampshire Theatre Awards and would win for Best Actor In a Youth Production in 2019.

This time, AMP and TLC are working together to bring the story of the community that was impacted by the Sandy Hook School Shooting in 2012 with a stage reading of 26 Pebbles to be followed by a community conversation. 6 actors from AMP’s adult Company will take on 19 roles in a stripped down version of 26 Pebbles written by Eric Ulloa. Similar in style to The Laramie Project, the playwright conducted interviews with members of the community in Newtown, CT, and crafted them into an exploration of the impact of gun violence and a small town shaken by a horrific event.

“This is an important piece of theatre that AMP is honored to bring to our small stage. Our goal is to start a conversation about mental health and the impact this kind of violence has on a community as well as finding resilience and hope in the face of such violence. We are looking forward to working with TLC again through a program that brings our community together to see impactful arts at work. The unpacking of what this production means to us as artists and as a community that has struggled with mental health, drug and community violence issues, is an important conversation to have as a community,” says Shelly Hudson Producing Artist Director of Amplified Arts.

TLC Executive Director Maggie Monroe-Cassel says, “I am pleased for another partnership in which we use an art form to have a community conversation about the serious public health issue that gun violence creates and its impact on families.”

26 Pebbles by Eric Ulloa and presented through an arrangement with Samuel French, opens Nov 8th at 7PM and Nov 9th at 4PM at Amplified Arts intimate theatre space in downtown Claremont. Tickets are $12 General Public, $10 for AMP Members and will be on sale midOctober. Members of the panel will be announced on social media so make sure to like Amplified Arts and TLC on Facebook and Instagram. You can visit www.amplifiedartsnh.com or www.tlcfamilyrc.org for more information and to purchase tickets.
The Insurance Center announces the hiring of Danielle Martin
Danielle Martin recently joined the
Insurance Center LLC as a senior 
commercial insurance advisor.   
Danielle brings to the agency many 
years of insurance experience in both commercial and personal lines and will work primarily from the agency’s Newport NH office.  “We are extremely 
happy to have Danielle join our agency as she will bring valuable experience and background as our agency continues to grow”, says Senior Vice President 
Scott Olmstead.    Danielle resides in White River Junction, Vermont with her 
husband and two daughters.  
 
The Insurance Center, LLC., is a new England based, family owned, full service insurance agency with offices in Claremont, Newport and with agent representation in the upper valley of Lebanon, New London and Keene.     
Places we LOVE in
Sullivan County
Choose your favorite outdoor place, building, restaurant, business or historical site. Any place where others can visit is perfect to share. Use your smart phone to snap a photo, then visit bit.ly/LoveSullivan to upload and describe what makes it special to you!
Bar Harbor Bank & Trust - 31st Annual Food for Good Food Drive
Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is hosting their 31 st  Annual Food for Good Food Drive beginning October 21 through November 22, 2019. Non-perishable food items are being collected at all bank branches to benefit local food pantries throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Join us is helping our neighbors in need by visiting your local branch with a donation for the collection bin. Cash donations are not being accepted. 
 
“As a community bank, we prioritize giving back to the people in the places we call home,” said Joseph Schmitt, SVP, Chief Marketing Officer at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. “We are proud to continue the tradition of our fall Food for Good food drive for the 31 st  year to help stock the shelves of our local food pantries.” Interested to know which organization will receive your donation? Ask your banker the next time you visit your local branch!
 
Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE American: BHB) is the parent company of its wholly owned subsidiary, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. Operating over 50 locations across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is headquartered in Bar Harbor, Maine and has more than $3.6 billion in assets. As a leading Northern New England community bank, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust offers a full range of personal and business banking services, as well as wealth management services through its subsidiaries Bar Harbor Trust Services and Charter Trust Company. For more information about Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, visit  www.barharbor.bank  or call 888-853-7100. Member FDIC.
Taverne on the Square is now offering a 15% discount for lunch to all business members of the Claremont Chamber of Commerce. Lunch is served from 11:00am to 4:00pm

For your convenience you may consider calling an hour ahead of your desired pick up time. Then simply pick up your lunch order to go. If you prefer, we will be happy to have it ready to serve to you!

Simply mention promo code: Jasper56
Sullivan County Announces
3rd Annual Employee Service Awards and
2019 Community Partner Award Banquet
Sullivan County held its 3 rd  annual awards banquet to recognize employees who reached milestone anniversaries. The County Board of Commissioners also presented the 2019 Outstanding Community Partner Award to the Claremont Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center. 
 
Representing SAU 6 to accept the award was Superintendent Mike Tempesta, Tech Center Director, Dr. Alex Herzog, and the Construction/Building Trades Instructor, Mike Bennett. 
 
According to Jeff Barrette, Chair of the Board of Commissioners, the decision to name the Tech Center was an easy one. “Alex and his team went above and beyond this year to partner with the County on several important projects. They enthusiastically supported the night school program for our Department of Corrections TRAILS participants which led to the construction of a wonderful gazebo at the county complex in Unity. In addition to that, Alex has been a key member of our workforce development task force. That group developed a plan to launch some adult education classes at the Tech Centers in Claremont and Newport later this year and the County provided the seed funding. We are excited to see if this pilot project can help our local businesses meet their workforce needs.” 
 
The rest of the night was focused on Sullivan County’s employees. Certificates were presented to those achieving 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25-year milestones. All employees with over 20 years of service were recognized as well. The longest tenured team member is Melissa Dube, who celebrated her 47 th  year with Sullivan County!
Full Press Release including the list of employees honored can be found here.
Community News & Events
Business & Industry Survey
The  New Hampshire State Workforce Innovation Board , which has oversight of the  NH Works system , is in the process of updating its Strategic and WIOA State Plan for workforce development services in the state and will be gathering input from a variety of leaders and stakeholders across New Hampshire. Through this planning process we hope to ensure that our system of services is providing the best value possible to our customers, and that is where you come in. We would like to hear from businesses across the state to understand your employment trends, challenges, and opportunities, and how you currently utilize the public workforce system. 

This survey contains 8 questions and should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.
Upper Valley Land Trust - Corporate Volunteer Program
The Upper Valley Land Trust has an exciting opportunity to offer Upper Valley businesses and employees! Now in its second year of operation, the Corporate Volunteer Program puts your employees to work in the community, volunteering with our local environmental nonprofit to make a difference socially and ecologically. This offering is designed to provide an opportunity for your Upper Valley business to spend time volunteering in the outdoors and strengthen bonds between your team members. This program will benefit your business in many ways:
 
·         Engaging employees in team building activities in a beautiful environment outside of the typical workplace
·         Involving your group with our local social and natural communities
·         Providing a philanthropy opportunity for a business and its employees
·         Reenergizing and resetting a team dynamic before diving back into work projects
 
We are ready to create a volunteer experience tailored to the needs of your company! Contact Paul Blazevich ( (603) 643-6626 x 201) for program offerings, more information on CVP, or to begin customizing your own volunteer experience. UVLT’s current project offerings for CVP are attached below, which also includes program logistics and a recommended packing list for participants.
 
The Upper Valley Land Trust is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, committed to preserving natural areas, working farmlands, and priority habitat so residents and visitors alike can enjoy the scenic landscapes that make the Upper Valley so special.