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THE BEDFORD BANNER
January 2017
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HAPPY NEW YEAR
I want to begin by sending wishes of health, happiness, and prosperity to all in both your personal and professional lives. Thank you for your contributions through your membership, sponsorship, donations, event hosting, and volunteerism. I ask you to consider what the Chamber can do for you and your business. This is the year of empowerment of our members and our volunteers. Your involvement with the Chamber is what you make of it; the possibilities are endless. The time is now to get involved, stand up and make a difference in our community. We understand that with hard work, here you can be something; this is the place to build a business, this is the place to build a home. What we are working for, in the end, is each other. Will you join us and continue the Chamber's legacy of empowering the business community? The opportunities are endless.
Let's use the momentum we have gathered over the past several years to make 2017 the best year
yet.
My best to you,
Maureen Sullivan
Executive Director
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New Board Announced for 2017
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The Board of Directors welcome new members, Sheena Santos/Barrett Sotheby's International Realty, Ethan Wagner/Elite Freestyle Karate and
Caitlin Campopiano
/Middlesex Community College as of JAnuary, 2017/. Longtime board member SteveTaylor/SERVPRO of Lexington/Bedford will also move onto the executive board as the 2nd vice president. Click
here
for the entire board.
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Chamber Annual Dinner & Celebration
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Invitations will be emailed this week for the 2017 Chamber Annual Dinner & Celebration scheduled for February 2, 2017 at the Doubletree Bedford Glen Hotel. If you have never attended, then you don't know that this is a night of great networking and lots of laughs. We pride ourselves in giving our Chamber members a night of entertainment in a timely manner. Registration begins at 6:00 PM, followed by cocktails, awards, dinner and our keynote speaker. You will be on the road by 9:00 PM.
We are still accepting nominations for our chamber annual awards.
Business Person of the Year: Conducts their business and themselves with regard to their business dealings in a highly ethical and exemplary manner. Is a good citizen within the community, taking time and effort to serve the community in productive and volunteer efforts.
Business of the Year: The business is conducted in a highly ethical and exemplary manner. The business is a good citizen to the town by financial and/or resource support to community activities and operations.
Diversity Award: Has significantly contributed to the diversity awareness in the town. Demonstrates an attentiveness and a willingness to continually improve the atmosphere to work, shop and live in Bedford.
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DASH - Bedford's New Local Bus Service
Off to a Good Start
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By Meredith McCulloch
Launched in mid-September, the first quarterly report on Bedford's new local door-to-door bus service - DASH -was presented to the Selectmen on December 19 by Carla Olson of Healthy Bedford. The report was positive.
"The service is growing at a steady pace and we are pleased to be able to help residents meet their transportation needs," Olson commented to
The Bedford Citizen. DASH is a dial-a-ride service that can be booked ahead weekdays from noon to 6 pm. The van accommodates wheelchairs.
Because the contract for DASH includes a dispatcher, information about ridership is solid. It is also easier to collect information about rider's needs. Due to multiple requests, stops in Lexington have been added. It should be noted that Bedford's original local bus service, the BLT (Bedford Local Transit) is still in operation and complements the DASH schedule. (See
http://www.bedfordma.gov/council-on-aging/pages/bedford-local-transit)
During the first 2-1/2 months of service the rider statistics show that DASH is serving the population forecast as most in need of transportation options - the elderly and teenagers. Selectman Margot Fleischman described the use, "It's exciting to see this project get up and running! I'm particularly pleased by the level of detailed data on how the Dash is being used thus far. Ridership is particularly strong among seniors and youth, and while we thought that the demand would be there, it's still really gratifying to know that the Dash is meeting a need for these age groups, and that the people who most need it are beginning to discover how the service can help them."
The statistics show that passengers over 65 made up the largest group of riders (71) with riders under 19 years (66) and in the 56-64 age category (67) close behind.
Many trips originate from the central "town campus," picking up at the Council on Aging, the high school, the middle school, and the public library. Alison Cservenschi, Director of the Council on Aging commented, "Many seniors use the BLT in town for local shopping trips, hairdressers, local medical rides and more. The Dash adds additional locations including Emerson and Lahey that are frequented."
Cservenschi explained "We hope that more people will take advantage of this new service, especially in the winter as the snow sets in, and enjoy the benefits of door to door rides in and around town. I would also like to see more seniors who use wheelchairs take advantage of the Dash. Being home can be very isolating and lonely. At the COA we have lots of programs available as well as socialization and meals. The BLT can be the way to the COA in the morning and the Dash can be the ride home at the end of the day!"
Economic Development Coordinator Alyssa Sandoval saw the economic benefits, "From an economic development perspective, the Dash is another boost to the local economy by giving residents and employees easier access to local businesses and services."
In November a fixed lunchtime route service on Great Road was added. It runs on Fridays from 12 noon to 2 pm. The hope is that this service will reduce traffic by providing an option other than one passenger in one car on a crowded road.
To book a ride call 781-275-DASH (3274) Monday through Friday between 8:30 am and 4 pm or use the Contact Us link at
www.bedforddash.com.
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Jessica Casserly honored at Hanscom
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C
h
amb
er member, Jessica Casserly was recently honored as an "unsung Hero" for her work on Hanscom Air Force Base. She has seamlessly taken on the community engagement role for Hanscom Air Force Base. Her can-do attitude and pleasant demeanor has improved working relationships with our surrounding communities - a critical role that's often overlooked. She leads PA's efforts in this area, including engagements with industry titans and high-level state and government leaders. Working diligently behind the scenes, Jessica set smooth paths for interactions with our governor, many members of Congress and other community leaders. She also highlighted Hanscom/state partnerships through a number of feature articles that showcased collaboration. She vets potential opportunities for Airmen to participat
e
in community eve
nts, ensuring our military members are consistently presented in the best light. More notably, she personally prepared the base commander and other senior leaders for dozens of key community interactions, providing precise details and perceptive insights, ensuring that Hanscom always put its best foot forward. Because of this selfless, often-unseen dedication, Jessica Casserly is clearly the absolute epitome of an "Unsung Hero."
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From The Chamber Office
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Boy Scout Troop 114 here in Bedford is in need of equipment storage space as well as meeting room space. The troop has been located at the VA in Bedford for decades. Currently they are undergoing expansion and can no longer host the troop. Hence we are looking for space.
Regarding equipment storage we currently occupy about a 1 car garage type of space. Having space to store Boy Scout equipment is essential for the troop. It would be beneficial to the troop if we could find a place in town to store the equipment either in an existing building or land where we could locate a storage container (Eagle is vendor that is typical in this area), dimensions of container are 8 feet wide by 20 feet long by 8.5 feet high. We need to find space soon as I believe the VA needs the space in early January.
Regarding meeting space. This is a place for the troop to meet once a week, it has been on Tuesday evening from 7 to 8:30 PM. The space is used for meetings, and teaching by demonstration (e.g. tying knots or how to set up a tent, etc.).
If your business can help out this toop, please contact Larry Murphy at
[email protected]
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The business development committee is working with the town on the rezoning of the Great Road. The first step is putting together a Great Road Market Study Action Plan.
The group is also working with the town to develop a brochure to help attract new businesses to Bedford by touting all the unique opportunities for retail and restaurants.
The business development committee would love to get additional feedback from Chamber members. Please email [email protected] for more information.
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What the Chamber did in December
How many of these events did you attend ?
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2nd Annual Walk about
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CHAMBER CONNECTIONS
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Each month, Executive Director Maureen Sullivan tapes the Chamber Connections at the Bedford Tv Studio. Check out the links below of who she has interviewed and if you are interested in being a guest, email her at
[email protected]
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CHAMBER CALENDAR
January 12
Board of Directors
Town Center
7:30 AM
January 11
Catch the Net
Holi
20 North Road
5-7 PM
Click here to register
January 19
Open House & Ribbon Cutting
AFC Urgent Care
154 Great Road
Bedford, MA
Time TBD
Chamber Annual Dinner & Celebration
Doubletree Bedford Glen Hotel
6-9 PM
Invitations will be emailed this week
February 9
Board of Directors
Town Center
7:30 AM
February 9
Multi Chamber Networking
Crowne Plaza
15 Middlesex Canal Park
Woburn, MA
5-7 PM
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Welcome Our New Chamber
49 Great Road
Bedford, MA
781-572-6781
Ryan Webster
77 4th Ave
Waltham, MA
781-808-6094
Membership renewals were emailed in December
AFC Urgent Care
Atlantic Capital
Baldwin Insurance
Barre 3
Baudanza Electric
Bedford Historical
Bedford Research Foundation
Bedford VA Research Corp
Brown & Brown, P.C.
Carlton & Duran, CPAs
Chestnut Dental
Cil Cangiano
The Debbie Spencer Group
Doubletree Bedford Glen
DSA Publishing
Elite Freestyle Karate
Extend Barre Burlington
Formulatrix
Fujifilm Microdiscs
Gorgeous.etal
Great Road Gallery & Framing
Insperity
Metller Toledo
Middlesex Community College
North Road Chiropractic
Patriot Pediatrics
Quinstance
The Goddard School
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