CEO and President October Update

October was an incredibly busy month for the Chamber and Cape Ann! We kicked it off with our BIG $25K Game, another sold-out event held for the first time at the Elks We gave away $25,000 in cash – great fun and congratulations to all of the winners! Then it was on to an incredible Businesswomen’s Luncheon, featuring local realtor Karen Hanson, Licensed Partner of Engel and Volkers. Karen’s presentation was funny, poignant and uplifting. October started out with Cape Ann Plein Air 2021, the largest outdoor painting competition in New England and in the top five in the nation. Susan is the Executive Director and Ken is the Treasurer – the event broke all records for art sales and participation. Read the full report below.

Advertising in our 2022 Greater Cape Ann guide and Director, Map, and Rockport Map is going fast – contact Sam (sam@capeannchamber.com) to reserve your positions today. You can also increase your web presence by advertising on our three websites CapeAnnChamber.com, CapeAnnVacations.com and/or RockportUSA.com

In the October meeting of the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce Tourism Council, our group covered a broad range of topics, touching on activities in all five Greater Cape Ann communities, across all four seasons. We looked ahead to the winter months, picking up our conversations around attracting birders in the off-season. In past meetings, we talked about the wealth of birding information shared across Cape Ann in blog posts, articles, and promotional materials.

The Chamber’s Government Affairs Council met on October 12, with Council members attending in person and via Zoom. The Council discussed a wide range of topics, including Gloucester elections, state policy issues, the pending roll-out of the Phase 1 North Shore Blue Economy report, and planning for the Gloucester municipal elections candidate forums.  

The Chamber’s Health & Wellness Committee, as part of their monthly Wellness newsletter, has come together for the month of November to honor Family Caregivers and Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. Their November newsletter includes resources and programming that focuses on these wellness observances, throughout Cape Ann and the larger wellness community.

Ken Riehl (CEO) and Susan Gould-Coviello (President) of the Greater Cape Ann Chamber wrap up the month of October with Chamber Events Director, Sara Bowen. Watch and listen as they talk about all things events, past and present.

The Cape Ann Regional Grant team would like to remind business owners about the Cape Ann Online Business Directory – a powerful new online marketing platform for Cape Ann businesses and consumers. The online directory includes over 1,700 businesses on Cape Ann and enables businesses to provide information on hours of operation, special discount programs, gift cards, online shopping and much more. Check out and update your listing today at the Cape Ann Online Business Directory webpage.

Please contact Grant Manager Anne Williams at anne@capeannchamber.com with questions or to learn more.

Did you know that our free Greater Cape Ann Gift Check Program sells over $75,000 worth of gift checks every year? With the holiday season soon upon us, we encourage all of our members who are not already participating in the FREE Greater Cape Ann Gift Check Program, to sign up today.

This is a great way to encourage our community to shop local and to gain additional exposure for your business. Please contact Sam at sam@capeannchamber.com to add your name to our list of participants.

We Need Your Brochures

Summer may be over but our visitor centers remain busy. A free benefit of membership is the ability to display your business's brochures, menus and rack cards in our visitor centers. We are currently running low on these promotional items after a busy summer. Please bring them by our office at 24 Harbor Loop, Gloucester or contact info@capeannchamber.com for pick-up

The Cape Ann Regional Grant Presents

Merchandising for the Holiday Season

Wednesday, Nov. 3 | 11 AM - 12:30 PM

The Cape Ann Regional Grant Team presents Merchandising for the Holiday Season, a free workshop with Brand & Merchandising Consultant Jenna Aiello on Wednesday, November 3, 11am-12:30pm at the Beauport Hotel, Gloucester. A complimentary lunch will be served. The presentation will include a discussion on setting the right holiday scene, merchandising for gift giving, holiday scenes from the outside in, and winter themes beyond the holidays. Preregistration is required. To register in person, email Anne at anne@capeannchamber.com. Use the link below to register for Zoom. And don’t forget to check out your business listing at the new Cape Ann Online Business Directory. Update your listing, add promotions and much more. 

Coffee & Connections

Thursday, November 4 | 9 - 10 AM

Occurring on the first Thursday of the month at 9am, the Greater Cape Ann Chamber hosts Coffee & Connections, a virtual networking event! We will continue holding these via zoom so that anyone may join us from anywhere. Meet new people, expand your business connections and stay in touch with friends and colleagues.

Ribbon Cutting - Betsy Frost Design

Friday, November 5 | 1 PM

4 Market Street, Ipswich, MA

Fundraising Auction

Wednesday, November 10 | 5 - 10 PM

Beauport Hotel, Gloucester

Just one week remains until the Chamber’s biggest fundraiser! With over 200 attendees, the auction is one of the largest on the North Shore. This is a wonderful way to support the organization and help build a stronger Cape Ann region. With 100 Live and Silent items and many door prizes, you will not want to miss this terrific opportunity to celebrate our region and find those special gifts for you and your loved ones!

Thank you to our sponsors:

Presenting Sponsor: Fish Shack Restaurant

Platinum Sponsors: Beauport Hospitality Group, Institution for Savings

Gold Sponsors: Bank Gloucester, Brookline Bank, Engel & Volkers

Silver Sponsors: Applied Materials, Cape Ann Savings Bank, Intershell Seafood Corporation, Johnson O’Connor, Manchester Athletic Club, Seaglass Law & Mediation

Bronze Sponsors: Beauport Law, Cazeault Solar, Carol Steele, Style Snoop, Horvitz & Frisch.p.c. and our Supporting Sponsors. 

This October the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce held numerous ribbon cuttings for local businesses. We held ribbon cuttings at Backyard Growers, The Chambered Nautilus, Cake Ann and Shore Nutrition. Whether it be a new business, a new location, or grand reopening, we want to help you celebrate! Email Sam at sam@capeannchamber.com to schedule your ribbon cutting today.

On Friday, October 1, the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce wrapped up its Small Business Week with the Small Business Awards Luncheon at the Castle Manor Inn. All the recipients of this year's awards were in attendance along with nearly 100 supporters. The Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce were joined by Senator Bruce Tarr and Gloucester's Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken. Thank you to all who came up to join us in celebrating these dedicated small business people.

This seminar introduced a holistic approach to support hearing wellness and treat hearing loss. Hearing wellness is a lifelong concern that begins with birth. If you enjoy exceptional hearing, WHOLEHearing will help you protect and conserve your hearing. If you are experiencing hearing loss or tinnitus, WHOLEHearing incorporates a broad spectrum of treatment options and lifestyle interventions that support and improve your ability to hear and interpret sound.  Watch the seminar and better understand WHOLEHearing today.

The Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual $25K Game at the Elks at Bass Rocks and gave away $25,000! We were thrilled to be back in person and at a beautiful venue for this year's game. Over a dozen winners had their lucky numbers called which made for a lot of happy people. A big thanks to all who purchased a ticket and those who attended the event. Congratulations to all of our winners!

Over 100 women (and men!) gathered at the Beauport Hotel on Thursday, October 14th for the annual Businesswomen’s Luncheon. This event serves as a key fundraiser for the Carolyn M. O’Connor Scholarship fund which supports women in the workforce. Attendees listened to a message of inspiration from Karen Hanson of Engel & Völkers. A true motivational speaker who spoke about resiliency. By the end of the luncheon, we were all wearing our crowns proudly.

The Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs Committee hosted 4 candidate forums for the City of Gloucester at Gloucester High School. The forums were held over the course of two days and included forums for School Committee, Mayoral, Councilor at Larger and Ward II. Thank you to our sponsors, 1623 Studios and Gloucester High School. Didn't get a chance to watch live or in person? You can still watch the forums on 1623's YouTube page here.

7 Federal Street, Unit 16 | Danvers, MA

(617) 778-0024

OnToMortgage.com

2 Lexington Ave. | Magnolia

happyhumpbackcafe.com

10 University Lane | Manchester-by-the-Sea

(978) 712-8012

happy-ebikes-cape-ann.business.site

105 County Road | Ipswich

(978) 356-2916

brakeandclutch.com

99 Conifer Hill Drive, Suite 300 | Danvers, MA

(978) 705-3371

mortgagenetwork.com/alexandra-costanzo

23 Pine St Apt A | Manchester-by-the-Sea

(617) 777-9929

rebeccasollosy@gmail.com

If you are looking to make your house into a home then Red Barn Architecture is the company for you. Red Barn specializes in custom residential and commercial designs. Their unique styles create an identity for each building or home they create. To find further information on Red Barn Architecture go to https://redbarnarchitecture.com/.

As of Friday, October 29, Russell's Florist has closed. After 29 years in business, Maria & Eric have decided to close the business and take some time off before choosing what's next. Throughout their 29 years, they've had countless fond memories helping people with their special days, beautiful arrangements and even creating the flowers for "The Perfect Storm" movie. Congratulations Maria and Eric, we wish you all the best.

Discover Gloucester is asking for your commitment to decorate your business with lights again this year. Here's an opportunity to showcase the magic and glow of winter on Cape Ann. From November 26 through January 2, our communities will be dressed “in lights” -- enchanting families to visit and experience our region's warm, holiday spirit. It's safe, it's joyful, it’s another chance to be a tourist in your own backyard --.. and make it a family tradition! The deadline to sign up has been extended to November 5, sign up is open to Gloucester and Rockport businesses only.

Zumi's has announced a second location coming to Topsfield in 2022. Zumi's has spent 18 years in Ipswich and loves its community and wants to continue to remain there as long as possible. A space in Topsfield's downtown recently became available and they did not want to see it sit vacant. They took this opportunity to extend their mantra to Topsfield which is "coffee, culture and community". Congratulations to everyone at Zumi's for sharing this exciting news, we wish you the best of luck at your second location in Topsfield.

CATA is redoing their office and were wondering if you or any business you might know of may be interested in some modular desk setups. They have wall partitions, file cabinets, drawers also wall file cabinets and some other miscellaneous office-type furniture. They are hoping someone can use it and not have to just get rid of it. Email Jackie LaFlam for more information at LaFlamJ@canntran.com

Beverly Hospital and Addison Gilbert have begun conducting their triennial Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The primary goal of the CHNA is to identify the priority health needs in the community, including various social, economic, and environmental factors that impact the ability to achieve optimal health and healthy equity, i.e. economic insecurity, transportation, access to care, housing insecurity, employment, economic development, education, etc. We greatly appreciate you taking the survey below.

Volunteers work about two hours in the late morning, picking up and delivering meals to older residents. This provides several benefits—the elder receives a nutritious meal (sometimes the main meal of their day), they get a quick visit from a friendly volunteer (sometimes the only person they see that day), and as the volunteer gets to know the elders on their route, the volunteer sometimes notices when the elder’s circumstances and/or status changes and can have SeniorCare check-in with the elder to make sure everything is all right.

The goal of the Gloucester Racial Justice team in issuing this survey is to gather the perspective of our BIPOC Gloucester community members and/or all that love and/or support them. We hope the results will help us to focus our attention on the areas where we can make the most impact. Thank you for your time.

Sip & Shop Holiday Trunk Show

Thursday, November 4 | 3 - 10 PM

Join GMGI for their November Science Hour as they welcome Mote Marine Laboratory scientists Dr. Erinn Muller and Dr. Hanna Koch to discuss their cutting-edge research studying and restoring Florida's coral reefs.

This talk begins at 7:30p on Thursday, November 4th and is free to attend. Click this link below to register and reach out to Ashley Destino at ashley.destino@gmgi.org with any questions.

You’re invited to In Home Design Center’s GRAND OPENING this Friday. Join us for drinks and nibbles, music, and conversation around a cozy fire pit (weather permitting) as they celebrate their new location and showroom–filled with curated items to inspire and delight! Please RSVP to dc@inhomedesignbuilds.com or call 978-504-2054. 

Wine Dinner with Live Music

Friday, November 5 | 6 PM

Broadway at the Castle

Friday - Sunday, November 5, 6 & 7

Fall Movie Nights at Hammond Castle Museum - Robbin Hood

Sunday, November 12 | 7 - 9 PM

A folk pop singer-songwriter known to many for winning the 8th season of American Idol, Kris Allen has since released five acclaimed records and toured the world. This spring he’ll be taking his infectious and easy melodic style to Rockport for the first time, touring behind the release of his retrospective album 10.

Capt. Lester S. Wass American Legion Post No.3 will again be sponsoring its annual Thanksgiving Holiday Meal on Thursday, November 25, 2021. The process is laid out in the attached flyer. In the 2020 Thanksgiving Holiday meal, they served and delivered more than 690 meals. The need is clearly still there and the American Legion stands ready to support. Please stress to your clients that the deadlines have to be hard and fast to ensure that we have enough meals to satisfy all requests.

Posting an event on our community calendar is a great way to gain exposure and promote your business's upcoming events. Take advantage of this FREE member benefit and post yours today by logging into your account!

*Contact Sam at sam@capeannchamber.com if you need assistance

November 1-5, 2021, is National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW). During NVSBW, SBA and its extensive partner network will celebrate the strength and resiliency of the veteran business community by hosting events across the country and sharing information about the resources available to veteran entrepreneurs.

Throughout New England during NVSBW, the SBA and our local stakeholders will host a variety of events and webinars for the military community. View the full calendar below.

SCORE Local Small Business Webinars

Onsite COVID Vaccinations for Businesses and Employees Available for FREE at Conley's Drug Store - Ipswich

The GCACC serves the 4 Cape Ann communities, including Boxford, Ipswich, Hamilton, Middleton, Topsfield and Wenham. Vaccines are free to all Massachusetts residents age 12 and above. Identification and health insurance is not required. Walk-ins will be accepted while supplies last at each clinic.

Join the team at Todd Oil as they search for motivated individuals for positions such as Oil Burner Technician and CDL Driver. They are willing to train the right candidate. Todd Oil offers a full benefits package, profit sharing, and a 401K plan. Send your resumes to info@toddoil.com or mail to Todd Oil P.O. Box 238, Rockport MA 01966

Backyard Growers (BYG) is a grassroots community-based organization in Gloucester, MA. They are a small but mighty group of committed people who love what we do, and have fun while we work hard. As their Development Director, you are responsible for our vital revenue streams, which allow us to achieve our mission and maximize our impact in the community. You plan and organize fundraising activities, manage the development budget, and assemble team members to raise funds

Senior Care is Hiring for Multiple Positions

Immediate Openings for Home Health Aides, Certified Nursing Assistants & Nursing Students!



Local Colors Artists' Cooperative is Looking For Artists

 

Posting a Shop Our Member deal is a great way to gain exposure for your business by highlighting your special promotions. Take advantage of this FREE member benefit and list yours today by logging into your account!

*Contact Sam at sam@capeannchamber.com if you need assistance

If you are interested in promoting with the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and sponsoring this newsletter, please contact Ken Riehl at ken@capeannchamber.com