YOUR BUSINESS CONNECTION
MARCH - In This Issue:

2017 Board of Directors
Chairman of the Board
*Brian Johnson
Doc Shredding Corp.

Past Chairman of the Board
*Dana Bottorff
G.T. Reilly & Company

Chair-Elect
*Cynthia Peterson
Brigham and Women's/Mass General Health Care Center

Treasurer
*Patrick Powers
Liberty Mutual Insurance

General Counsel 
*Thomas Flaherty
Bacon Flaherty LLC

President/CEO
*Thomas O'Rourke
NVCC

Previous Past Chairman
*Peter McFarland
The Allied Group

Shawn Alexander
Universal Technical Institute

Kim Bassett
Norwood Hospital 

Todd J. Chipman, MST
John T. Chipman & Co., CPAs

John Decker
Dedham Savings

James Donellon
Gray, Gray & Gray, LLP

*Robert Ferrini
NAPLIA

*Alisia St. Florian
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP

Steve Forrest
CertainTeed

Adam Goodrich
Marathon Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine 

Rhonda Kale
Bank of Canton 

Jim Kivlehan
Blue Hills Bank

*Nancy Levine
Residential Mortgage Services

Jon Levy
American Holt Corporation

Ron McCarthy
Dedham High School

Deb Vona
Dedham Medical Associates/Atrius Health

*Member of the Executive Committee
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!

Allstate Financial USA
 
Foley & Foley PC


Copley Court Reporting


Direct Federal Credit Union


Keller Williams Realty-
Michael McDonald



Marilyn & Company


McSweeney and Ricci Insurance


Neponset River House


Rob Peters Entertainment


Subaru of New England
   
Member News

Dedham High Honor Society to Host Charity Golf Tournament

 
The 2017 Dedham High School National Honor Society Jimmy Fund Golf Tournament will take place on May 8th, 2017 at Blue Hill Country Club.  This year, we have set a goal to raise $30,000 in support of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's ultimate mission of conquering cancer and with your help, we can reach this goal together. Your participation is vital to continue making a dramatic impact in cancer research, care, and prevention. Every day, new discoveries are being made, and we are counting on your support to help bring us one step closer to a cure.

If you are interested in participating in the tournament, please register on the sign up page!

On behalf of the Dedham High School National Honor Society Jimmy Fund Golf Tournament committee, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and most importantly, the patients and their families, thank you for your anticipated support of this event. Proceeds benefit Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. 
Bill McGinley Wins Distinguished Award


 
William McGinley CNHA, CALA, CAS, CDAL, FACHCA, Executive Director of New Pond Village, a Brightview Senior Living community in Walpole, Massachusetts, is the 2017 recipient of the ACHCA Distinguished Assisted Living Administrator Award.

The American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) made the announcement in mid-February, and, in a press release, stated the "award recognizes an ACHCA Fellow who has demonstrated the highest professional standards as an administrator in post-acute and aging services, specifically, the assisted living setting... Mr. McGinley's ongoing commitment and service make him an outstanding example and highly deserving of this award."  
HESSCO to Host 6th Annual
St. Patrick's 5k

 
The HESSCO 6th Annual St. Patrick's 5K will be held at Mick Morgan's Irish Pub on the Sharon/Walpole line. A beautiful race route, fun venue, awesome long sleeve tech T-shirts and a spirited St. Patrick's Day celebration are just some of the reasons this race has become so popular! OUR favorite reason is that all proceeds from this race go directly to support HESSCO programs and services! Join us on March 18th and help us continue our mission of providing support and services to seniors, individuals living with a disability and their caregivers in South Norfolk County.

Our Annual 5K coincides with the national March for Meals Campaign which mobilizes hundreds of local Meals on Wheels programs across the country to reach out to their communities and build support - a perfect opportunity for us to shed light on HESSCO's Nutrition Program.

Click here to register.
From the President:
We're Number One!
You may have heard by now that Massachusetts has been ranked the number one state in the country by U.S. News & World Report.  The rankings are based on a number of categories and Massachusetts scored high on many, most notably health care, technology and education.  In fact, we also learned yesterday that the state's high school graduation rate reached an all-time high.  Last year 87.5% of high school seniors graduated within 4 years.

The good news doesn't end there of course.  We are still basking in the glow of another Super Bowl victory by the Patriots, the Red Sox are favorites to make the World Series this year, the Celtics are in first place and even the Bruins are enjoying a hot streak under their new coach.

Life is so good we even have 70 degree days in February!  But this is no time to pull out the beach chairs and lay in the sun.  As sure as we are bound to see more wintry weather in March, we can also be sure that challenges to our success will always exist.

The U. S. News & World Report study noted that Massachusetts ranked 44 th in housing affordability in the nation.  This is a troubling statistic especially at a time when a significant portion of our workforce is aging into retirement and an influx of young people is needed to fill important jobs in technology, manufacturing, health care and elsewhere.  Balancing the need for affordable housing opportunities with local opposition to 40B developments will continue to be a challenge.


Thomas O'Rourke, CCE
President and CEO
March 8 Deadline to Receive Steps Tee

Do YOU have what it takes to STEP IT UP with us?

April is Stress Awareness Month - and what better way to work off stress than to get some good, old-fashioned exercise? With that in mind, the NVCC's Health & Wellness Alliance is bringing back its 'Steps to Wellness' competition for the second year in a row from April 1 through April 30. Local businesses have until March 1st to organize one or more teams of five who will compete to see which team achieves the most combined steps in that 30-day period.

Register your team of five or as an individual by Wednesday March 8th. Team leaders may pick up their team's gear bags on Thursday, March 23rd, which will include Challenge t-shirts. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winning team as well as to the S2W Social Media Ambassador winner.
Once again, a portion of the proceeds from the Wellness Challenge will go to support The Education Cooperative in Walpole.

We had so many participants last year we ran out of gear bags, so register ASAP! The deadline to register and still get a gear bag and t-shirt is Wednesday, March 8th.


Sponsored by:

Interested in Potentially Cutting Your Energy Costs by More than Half?
Commercial property owners cut their electricity bills by an average of
75 percent after installing solar energy, according to EnergySage, a Department of Energy SunShot Initiative awardee. Average monthly bills decline from $1,950 to $1,450.
 
Transitioning to solar energy also provides future energy cost productivity, increases the resale value of your property, and positively impacts your brand.
 
If you are interested in learning more-from your friendly chamber representative (not a sales rep)-please simply reply to this email by emailing Tom O'Rourke at tom@nvcc.com .  We're here for you. 
Flavors Planning Underway -
Exhibitors Welcome!
There is still time to register as an exhibitor at our annual tasting event. We welcome any business who serves food or drink to participate in this highly-anticipated tasty event! 
 
You DO NOT need to be an NVCC Member to exhibit. If you know of someone who may be interested in participating, please contact Emily Manz at Emily@nvcc.com. In addition to restaurants, bars, catering companies, breweries, etc., we also welcome any business who is willing to think outside the box (hospitals, assisted living facilities) and would like to show off their unique flavor.
 
or
 
Sponsored by:
March Networking Opportunity
Business After Hours
Join the Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce for a casual night of food, fun and friends at a Business After Hours hosted by Joe's American Bar & Grill on Route 1 in Dedham.
 
The event will take place Wednesday evening, March 22nd from 5:30-7:30pm. The NVCC's Business After Hours provides a laid-back environment for networking among Chamber members. The cost is $25 for General Admission and $15 for Chamber members.
 
Joe's is located at 986 Providence Highway in Dedham. Don't forget your business cards!

Board Member Spotlight: Ron McCarthy
Name: Ron McCarthy

Company:  Town Of Dedham

Occupation: Dedham High School Principal

Years in current position: 6

Where do you live? Duxbury

Where did you grow up? Malden

What is the most enjoyable part of your job?
Working with students and families and giving them my best everyday!

Please share any personal history or background: 
I am currently the principal at Dedham High School and I been in that position for six years. Prior to that, I was the principal at Bourne High School , and worked at Duxbury High School for nine years serving as assistant principal, interim athletic director, and interim principal. I started my career as a teacher and coach at Winthrop High School and taught and became an administrator at Middleboro High School. My wife and I have been married for 28 years and we have two children, Olivia and Veronica. Olivia graduated from American University in 2015 and is currently employed at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. Veronica is a senior at Syracuse University. My wife Diane has been a flight attendant with American Airlines for 33 years. I enjoy golfing and travelling. I was inducted into the Bridgewater State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.

Please share something that most people wouldn't know about you.
I have played in a high school basketball game at the old Boston Garden and in a college all-star game at Fenway Park.

If you weren't doing your current job, what would you be doing?
I always wanted to be a teacher and a coach. I enjoy athletics and would have pursued coaching or sports' management positions if I did not decide to pursue teaching, coaching, and high school administration positions.

What does the Chamber mean to you? 
I am looking forward to having a connection with our school and the Chamber. We are in the process of hiring a career counselor and I am looking forward to working with the Chamber to connect with our students. I also want to learn from members what skills they expect our graduates to possess as they enter the work force.

What is your favorite spot in the Neponset Valley region? 
Dedham High School (easy answer)!
February Photos
Congressman Kennedy addressed what Massachusetts businesses can expect out of Washington this year.
Congressman Joe Kennedy III kicks off our 2017 Speaker Series, sponsored by Blue Hills Bank.
The Congressman took questions from Chamber members, shown here with a question from Board Member Dana Bottorff of G.T. Reilly & Company.
Noon Networking event sponsor Norwood Bank's Mike Wiseman thanked everyone for coming to yesterday's event at The Bradley Estate in Canton.
 
Julie Early of The Trustees gave an overview of the Estate's history and information on the beautiful grounds, which exceeds 90 acres of land.

NVCC President Tom O'Rourke thanks Blue Hill Country Club for hosting our February Business After Hours.
Your Input Counts - Please Complete Survey
Facing a $600 million healthcare budget deficit, the Baker Administration is proposing to resurrect and expand the old "fair share assessment" under RomneyCare. The parameters look like this: a $2000 per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee-with full-time defined as 35 hours-tax will be assessed on any employer with 11 or more FTE's which doesn't achieve an 80% annual participation rate in their health plan coverage, and which doesn't contribute at least $4950 of the premium for their employees.

The Massachusetts employer community believes this proposal will hurt small businesses, because they tend to have higher premiums and higher deductible plans than do big businesses and big government which self-insure and cross subsidize no one outside of their own risk pool. But large non-governmental employers also will be taxed for failure to reach the 80% participation rate.

In order to battle this job killing, anti-small business Medicaid Bailout Tax, please help the business community by taking this vital survey. This will be absolutely confidential, but the data we collect will be important for our efforts up on Beacon Hill and in the public. The survey will only take a few minutes, but your support will arm us in this battle. Thank you for your time and important contribution to the survey!
Education Brief from the MBAE
The Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education's (MBAE) recent employer survey found that 75% of Massachusetts employers have trouble filling open positions and find job candidates and new hires seriously lacking in skills needed for success in the workplace.   There is unanimity that the public education system should put a greater emphasis on teaching these skills.  Yet, schools generally lack the information and incentive to make workforce preparation a priority.

That could change. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the federal law passed last year that governs education, gives states more control over how to measure school success.  Right now, the state holds schools accountable based on achievement on assessments, student growth, and graduation rates.  Under the new law, Massachusetts could add a measure of career readiness.  Massachusetts is putting the finishing touches on its ESSA plan, and seeking input through a short survey.  This is an opportunity for employers to call attention to the need for a greater focus on career readiness and perhaps adding a measure of that in our accountability system.  We encourage you to share your comments with the state no later than March 9!

Thank you for your partnership,
Linda M. Noonan, Executive Director
Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education
400 Atlantic Avenue
Boston, MA 02110
617-737-3122
Travel to Tuscany in 2017
The Chamber has arranged special pricing for members and guests to vacation in Tuscany from November 1-9, 2017.

The discounted rate for this trip is $2,699 per person and includes airfare from Boston, meals, day excursions, ground transportation and hotels for 9 days and 7 nights.

Leave everyday life behind and escape to Tuscany! Known for its beautiful landscapes, its rich artistic legacy and vast influence on high culture, Tuscany is widely regarded as the true birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, and has been home to some of the most influential people in the history of art and science. 
 
Visitors to Tuscany come for many reasons. Many come in search of fine art,others to explore the extraordinary countryside with charming medieval hill towns and sweeping hillsides full
 
of vineyards. Join us as we explore the endless opportunities that Tuscany has to offer.

The NVCC will be holding a FREE, non-committal info session on Tuesday, April 11th at 5:30 here at the Ch amber. Click here
for more trip information, or contact Tom O'Rourke at Tom@nvcc.com

New NVCC Member Benefit:
Staples Business Advantage Program
Click here for more information and to start saving using the NVCC Staples Business Advantage program.
Norwood Office Space Available
The Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce has office space currently available for lease at its new location at 520 Providence Highway, Norwood for just $350/month!

The office is conveniently located on Route 1 North and has easy access to all major highways and to Norwood Center. We have a single office of 9' x13' within the Chamber's space. The space includes access to the Chamber kitchen facilities and conference rooms.

The space is ideal for a professional person looking for a convenient office location that is not in the home but without taking on excessive overhead.

For more information, please contact Tom O'Rourke at 781-769-1126 or tom@nvcc.com.


Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce
520 Providence Highway, Suite 4
Norwood, MA 02062
(t) 781.769.1126 (f) 781.769.0808