April Business Connection
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Board of Directors
Chair of the Board
*Robert Ferrini
McGowanPRO
Past Chair of the Board
*Alisia St. Florian
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane
Treasurer
*James Donellon
Gray, Gray & Gray, LLP
General Counsel
*Thomas Flaherty
Bacon Flaherty LLC
President/CEO
*Thomas O'Rourke
Neponset River Regional Chamber
Anthony Brown
Dedham Savings
Mary Chetwynd
Rockland Trust
Todd J. Chipman, MST, CPA
John T. Chipman & Co., CPAs
Peter Ellis
ServPro of Norwood and West Roxbury
Steve Forrest
CertainTeed
Rhonda Kale
Bank of Canton
*Michael Kennedy
Norwood Bank
Paul Kouri
Keller Williams
Jon Levy
American Holt Corporation
Michelle Llorett
Fairfield Inn & Suites
Mark LoVuolo
Liberty Mutual Insurance
Ashley Mansfield
Dedham High School
*Tim McCabe
The League School
Julie Molloy
Compass Real Estate
Sal Perla
Norwood Hospital
Cynthia Peterson
Brigham and Women's/Mass General Health Care Center
Christa Seychew
Legacy Place
*Member of the Executive Committee
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Be sure to
check out our webpage with a complete list of resources for your business during the COVID-19 crisis.
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Help support our local restaurants by ordering Take Out Today.
Click here
to see who is open.
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An Update From Chamber Leadership
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How can we help you?
That is the question we are continually asking here at the Chamber. We are experiencing something none of us ever could have imagined and certainly not planned for. So, in order to fulfill our commitment to providing our members with the connections they need under any circumstance, we have been asking for your guidance as to what you need.
To date that answer has been primarily – information. For the past few weeks we have been inundated with information from the federal government, state government, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Administration, other chambers of commerce and many more. We have done our best to curate that information and share it with you in a timely and easy to understand manner.
Now that the CARES Act is being implemented, we will continue to share information about how you can access benefits that can help your business survive.
In fact, next Tuesday we are hosting a
webinar
describing how you can apply for benefits through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.
We also recognize that social distancing, while important, doesn’t need to result in social isolation.
We are now offering virtual meetings to bring members together to network, share their experiences or just have a friendly face to chat with. Our next
"Chamber Chat" is Tuesday at 11:00 am and we will hold a
"Chamber Social" trivia event on Thursday at 4:30 pm. We will continue to enhance these offerings as long is necessary.
If there is anything else that we can be doing to assist local businesses, please let us know.
How can you help us?
Like many of you, the Chamber is feeling the impact of this crisis. We are experiencing a loss of revenue to due to canceled events and the inability of many of our members to renew their memberships. While this is perfectly understandable, it is causing us to make adjustments to how we do business. Unfortunately, we have had to eliminate a staff position already.
Moving forward we will continue to invoice our members for their dues, and we thank you in advance for your payment. However, we know that everyone’s situation is different, so we have instituted additional payment options, for those who need it.
We will allow partial payments to those who can manage that, monthly, quarterly, whatever it takes. Just reach out to us, so we can talk about your situation and set up payment arrangements. We will also adjust your future billing date to whenever you can make your renewal.
Also, we will not cancel any memberships due to non-payment for the foreseeable future.
What we ask is that for those who can, please do your best to maintain your membership. If you can increase your investment to the Chamber, please consider doing so.
It is our intention to see that every business we serve has the tools and resources they need to manage through these times. We in turn, need your help and support to fulfill that pledge.
Rob Ferrini, McGowanPRO, Chair of the Board
Tom O’Rourke, President and CEO
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Good News! Who's Doing What for Whom
Have more good news? Let us know, so we can recognize it
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Let’s show our appreciation and support for Norwood’s "boots on the ground” fighting this pandemic locally. Friends of Norwood Center is coordinating this effort to support local eateries by purchasing meals to be delivered to Norwood Hospital workers and Norwood Fire Department. Your donation of any size will help make this possible.
Donate today!
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Shipping Up to Boston
Kudos to the Kraft family and New England Patriots for shipping more than 1 million protective masks from China to Boston this week. The much needed masks will be distributed to medical professionals in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York.
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Caramels to Go!
Big News!! You can now have
McCrea's Candies
#caramel
delivered directly to your front door!! They've teamed up with
Mercato.com
so that you shop local and stay safe while enjoying your favorite treat!
Use promo code STOCKUP and receive unlimited free deliveries for 30 days + $10 off your first order!
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Homemade Masks for Local Healthcare Providers
Chamber member, Sue Jacobs-Marshalsea,
Ms. Fix It, LLC, is making masks for our local healthcare providers in need. She's delivered more than 600 to date, but has requests for hundred's more.
She is in need of the following:
Fabric, elastic and of course cash donations can help too. If you are able to assist, please contact Sue at
susan.marshalsea@icloud.com.
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Speaking of protective masks, here is a
great video with some helpful tips about how to properly handle your mask.
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SERVPRO Cleaning Available
Chamber member, SERVPRO is being called on by numerous businesses and community leaders to perform the necessary bioremediation services to clean, disinfect and sanitize their residential and commercial properties. All of their cleanup practices are in accordance with the guidelines provided by the CDC and local authorities.
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UPDATE From the Postal Service About
Business Closed—Hold Mail
USPS is committed to identifying solutions to assist those businesses impacted by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
In an effort to best serve our business customers, we are temporarily modifying how we handle mail that must be returned to the delivery office due to a full box, or the business not being open to receive delivery for an extended period.
Current postal policy is to return the mail to the delivery office, indicate the date the mail is first returned to be held, and hold for 10 days. In order to accommodate businesses during this challenging time, we will now extend the hold period to
30 days
before returning the items to the sender.
(continue reading...)
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Webinar: How to Access CARES ACT Funds
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The Chamber will host a live webinar to walk members through the benefits offered by the CARES Act. Businesses can access a number of programs and loans through the Act.
Join us to find out how your business can take advantage of these programs.
Presented by Stephen McAllister, Executive Director, Eastern Region
Congressional & Public Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Tuesday, April 07, 2020
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Webinar
A link to the webinar will be sent to those that pre-register on the morning of the event.
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Join us for "Chamber Chat" Tuesday
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Join us Tuesday, April 7th at 11:00 for a ZOOM video meeting with other Chamber members. We've all been through a lot lately and business and life have been severely disrupted. Social distancing is important, but so is socialization.
Members are invited to join the meeting to share their experiences and talk about what challenges their business is facing.
You will need a computer with a camera and microphone.
Tuesday, April 7
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
ZOOM Conference
We will email registrants the link on the morning of the meeting.
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Join Chamber Members for a Trivia Challenge! Test your knowledge of Boston Sports, Boston History & Boston Celebrities!
Winner takes home a prize!
Zoom Trivia Challenge, or affectionately known as ZTC is a great way to hang out with old friends, meet some new ones, and play a fun interactive trivia game all at once!
You will need 2 different devices to participate, one device for the Zoom Lounge and the other device for trivia.
Thursday, April 09, 2020
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Online event
Please register below and the links to join will be emailed to you on the afternoon of the event. Don't miss the fun!
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Membership Directory is Online
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Your 2020 Membership Directory and Community Guide should have arrived in your mailbox recently.
Don't forget you can also access the directory from the Chamber website. Just
Click Here
and you can browse the directory any time you want to find other members with whom you can do business.
Now more than ever, it's important when doing business locally, to start with your fellow Chamber members.
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