December Business Connection |
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Board of Directors
Chair of the Board
*Julie Molloy
Compass Real Estate
Vice Chair
*Tim McCabe
The League School
Past Chair
*Robert Ferrini
McGowanPRO
Treasurer
*James Donellon
Gray, Gray & Gray, LLP
General Counsel
*Thomas Flaherty
Bacon Flaherty, LLC
President/CEO
*Thomas O'Rourke
Neponset River Regional Chamber
Kenneth Berman
Kenneth Berman Photography
Anthony Brown
Dedham Savings
Mary Chetwynd
Rockland Trust
Todd J. Chipman, MST, CPA
John T. Chipman & Co., CPAs
Erin Hooker-Thomas, Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane
*Michael Kennedy
Norwood Bank
Michelle Lloret
Fairfield Inn & Suites
Sal Perla
Norwood Hospital
Jill Rossetti
Blue Hills Regional Technical High School
Shonda Sumpter
Brigham and Women's Health Care Center
Tricia White
T. White Creations
Nicole Zea
CertainTeed
*Member of the Executive Committee
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From the President:
Award Nominations Open
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Chamber members make a difference in our communities in a variety of ways. First and foremost they provide products and services that people need and want for their own personal or business reasons. They create jobs that employ thousands of local people. They provide needed tax revenue to our communities. But most do much more than that through their community support of local organizations, non-profits, sports groups, cultural institutions and many others.
Each year, we get to recognize a few of those members whose success in business and support of the community stands out among others. We are currently accepting nominations for our Annual Awards which will be presented at the Annual Meeting on January 27, 2023.
I encourage you to consider nominating a member business or individual whom you feel is worthy of such recognition. Simply download the nomination form and return to it to the Chamber office.
There are four categories of awards:
- Small Business of the Year
- Large Business of the Year
- Business Person of the Year
- Paul Smith Award for Outstanding Volunteerism
Our guest speaker at the Annual Meeting is Jordan Maynard, a Commissioner to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. The mission of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is to create a fair, transparent and participatory process for implementing the expanded gaming law which will include sports betting in 2023.
Tom O'Rourke, CCE
President and CEO
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Restorative Massages & Wellness |
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Chamber members gathered at Debevino Winery last month to enjoy locally made wine, apps and connections. They also heard from one of the winery owners, Al DiNapoli about the journey from making wine in the basement to the great new facility in Walpole.
Conrad's Restaurant hosting our monthly Connections at Work luncheon where Tricia White led a "Jeopardy" themed networking event.
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Aging Customers, Aging Employees
We Need Your Input
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The Neponset River Regional Chamber's Elder Care Alliance is requesting your participation in a survey to assist us in evaluating how businesses are serving older adults in our communities.
We need your input on age-friendly initiatives/best practices you already have in place. Our goal is to better serve you and your senior communities. We will share these results and best practices to re-ignite post-pandemic outreach to seniors and age friendly efforts in our communities.
The survey will only take about 5 minutes. The deadline for completion is Friday, December 16.
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Wage and Hour Law Changes for 2023 |
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On January 1, 2023, the last of five annual increases to the Massachusetts minimum wage will take effect, as well as the final repeal of the retail premium pay requirement. Members are reminded to take note of the following changes:
- Minimum wage increase to $15.00 per hour (currently $14.25)
- Tipped wage increase to $6.75 per hour (currently $6.15)
- Retail Premium Pay mandate is fully eliminated.
As indicated, the retail premium pay requirement for work performed on Sundays and certain holidays has been eliminated from the Massachusetts General Laws (Chapter 136 §6) as of the new year. Retail employees may be compensated at their regular rate of pay for work performed on Sundays and the holidays of New Year’s Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, and Labor Day.
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Donanue Real Estate recently completed a food drive to help the Dedham Food Pantry stock their shelves before Thanksgiving. They are grateful to their friends, family, clients and neighbors for their generous donations.
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Congratulations to Will Krasnow, Constangy, Brooks, Smith and Prophete, LLP on being recognized in Boston Magazine as a Top Lawyer in Boston for 2022.
Will is a past member of the board and active in our HR Alliance.
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For the second year in a row, AAA Northeast was named one of the Nation's Healthiest 100 Workplaces! The awards program was created to recognize companies that invest in the health of their employees and their families.
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On Giving Tuesday Addie's Grocery dropped off over 20 gift baskets filled with fresh treats to local organizations that do so much good year-round for our community including Chamber members Morrill Memorial Library and Norwood Electric & Broadband
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Thank You! The following members have renewed their membership with the NRR Chamber |
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Cullen, Murphy & Co., PC
Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse
IntraSystems, LLC
Kenneth Berman Photography
Lugten, Morin and Nielson, LLP
Mass Installation, Inc.
Minuteman Press, Canton
Mortgage Equity, Nancy Levine
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Red Ball Promotions
Samet & Company, PC
Seven Point Financial
Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics
UMass Boston
VJ Properties
Wilber School Apartments
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Gift Card Drive to Benefit New Hope, Inc.
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Senator Paul Feeney’s Office is requesting donations of gift cards of all kinds to support domestic and sexual assault survivors served by New Hope, Inc. This event is in its second year, and with your help, we will grow our donations even further to benefit survivors in our area.
New Hope, Inc. is a non-profit residential emergency shelter serving those affected by domestic and sexual violence throughout our region. New Hope offers extensive wrap-around support to survivors such as assistance in housing searches, court advocacy, medical advocacy, trauma informed counseling and educational programming. All gift card donations of any denomination will go directly to New Hope, Inc. to continue supporting area survivors.
Join us at our drive-through drop-off event on December 17, 2022 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the IBEW Local 104 at 900 S Main St, Mansfield, MA 02048. Gift card donations to area Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, or Retailers, of any denomination, will be accepted.
To donate by mail, gift cards may be sent to P.O. Box 627, Foxboro, MA 02035. If you are mailing gift cards, please place them in the mail by December 10, 2022.
Please direct any questions at all to Senator Feeney’s Communications Director, Maya Rabinovitz at Maya.Rabinovitz@masenate.gov or our office at 617-722-1222.
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Accessing Workforce Development Funds for your Organization - Free Webinar |
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Join AIM as they speak with Christine Abrams, Executive Director of Commonwealth Corporation, to learn about the MA resources that have been earmarked for workforce development. They will provide an overview of funding available to organizations for hiring, training, and developing your workforce.
Thursday, December 08
1:00 PM - 1:45 PM
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Member Benefit of the Month
Online Coupons and Discounts
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Looking to offer a discount to fellow Chamber members? Or even to the general public? You can easily do so on the Chamber website.
Any member can go from our homepage to the "Membership" scroll down tab and click on "Coupons" .
At the bottom center of the page click the words "Click Here" and you will be directed to a page where you can quickly and easily add your coupons. At the bottom left of the page click "New Coupon".
You will need to login to the website. If you need your login credentials, simply contact Karen Collins at karen@nrrchamber.com or 781-769-1126.
Once logged in simply fill out the form with the details of your offer. You can offer a number of discounts and set expiration dates for them. You can add images, links, logos, etc.
Finally, don't forget to let your employees know that they can access member discounts themselves.
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