Chamber News & Views December 2013 www.westerlychamber.org info@westerlychamber.org 401.596.7761

Check out LuvDowntown.com

Two years in the making, and this unique collaborative effort finally came to fruition. Check out this site to see the all inclusive listing of what is “historic-hip and happening” in 5 partner downtowns. The site features arts, events, recreational activities, historic sites, parking options, and downtown businesses. Chamber members have “featured” status at no extra charge. Thanks to our website sponsors for supporting this effort!

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supported local small businesses on November 30. One each was provided to twenty paying customers that day. Examples- we gave a $10 gift certificate to the first two families with a stroller that we saw patronize a business, the first two paying customers with a holiday hat that we saw, the first 2 paying customers with two purchases from 2 different stores that we saw, etc. By promoting these special give aways on social media and posting photos of winners via facebook, we were able to create an exciting buzz around the day and reward loyal shoppers who actually spent money in small businesses.

9. Ann Cook: Vice President and Branch

Manager, Washington Trust Company (Charlestown)

10. Peter Dandurand: Owner/Broker, Dandurand Real Estate

11. Lori Delfosse: Clinic Integration & Owner, Eden Studio

12. George Dodge: Blues on the Block 13. Marguerite Donnelly: Community

Member 14. Patti DeWardener: Co-Owner, Yawgoo

Valley Ski & Recreation 15. Elizabeth Eckel: Senior Vice President,

Marketing and Investor Relations, Washington Trust Company

16. Darlene Evans: Co-Owner, Padgett Business Services

17. Linda Gagnon: Information Technology Manager, AT&T. Director of the Family Supper Table Neighbors Helping Neighbors

18. Dawn Horstmann: Frosty Drew Nature Center

19. Dr. Seychell Hoffer: Owner/Veterinarian, The Atlantic Animal Hospital and Wellness Center

20. Steven J. King: Managing Director, Quonsett Development Corporation

21. Jim LeDonne: General Manager, Amalfi Catering

(continue on page 4)

The Chamber communicated ideas and strategies to help its small business members make the most of Small Business Saturday. We promoted the event to the public and encouraged shopping local. We also took our commitment one step further. The Greater Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce gave away 20 $10 Chamber gift certificates to shoppers who

Southern Rhode Island’s 40 Brightest Stars Award is produced as a joint effort between the Greater Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce, the Narragansett Chamber of Commerce, the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce, the Block Island Chamber of Commerce, and So Rhode Island. These awards are given to recognize 40 of the best and brightest individuals in our community who have consistently demonstrated excellence in their profession, as well as leadership, commitment, and service to the region. This year’s recipients are…

1. Jeanne Abate: Senior Mortgage Originator, Westerly Community Credit Union

2. Renee Bailey: Customer Service Representative, Savings Institute

3. Martha Ball: Block Island Tourism Council

4. Steve Brophy: Owner, Brickley’s Ice cream

5. Barbara Capalbo: Co-Owner, Lighting & Design

6. Meribeth Carcieri: Manager, KC Shoes at the Pier

7. Barbara Cardiff: Co-Owner of Villa Bed and Breakfast

8. Linda Closter: Block Island Nurse Liaison, South County Hospital.

United Chambers of Southern Rhode Island and SoRhode Island announce Southern Rhode Island’s 40 Brightest Stars Award

honorees

Small Business Saturday Promotion

Rhode Island Marine Simon Oberholzer 401-207-8380 271 Post Road, Westerly www.rhodeislandmarine.com Provides a well priced custom canvas and upholstery service for all types of power boats and sailing yachts using the latest technologies, finest quality materials and highest level of workmanship. In addition, RIM is specialized in the design and construction of ultra-light boat super-structures and enclosures using a combination of marine fabrics and the newest composite materials by closely following international design trends and working with the latest marine materials, They can provide complete styling and technical advice. Whether for new upholstery, re-upholstery or repairs, RIM can reflect the owners personal style and wishes. This can be incorporated in the boats seating/cushions, biminis, dodgers, equipment covers and sail covers, but can also be extended to towels, linen, signature apparel and boat accessories. Please call for details.

Tim Zue of the Red Sox shared a tip for our non-profits with a 501c3 designation- ANY non-profit that writes to the Boston Red Sox through their Charitable Foundation is eligible to receive a gift for an auction or fundraiser each year (usually an autographed ball).

8th Annual Penguin Plunge at the Aquarium to benefit the WARM center of Westerly. Support the homeless in our community and join the fun on January 1, 2014.

Mystic Aquarium in Misquamicut Join Mystic Aquarium for our first "Seal Splash". It's a winter plunge for a great cause and all proceeds benefit Mystic Aquarium's Animal Rescue efforts. Seal Splash takes place at noon on January 11,

Lifeline in Homecare Kristen Hillier 860-864-5453 29 A West Broad Street, Pawcatuck, CT Lifelineinhomecare.com A family-owned & operated home care solution serving the Pawcatuck CT area. We strive for excellence in responsible, affordable and compassionate home care, and we treat you and your family just like our family. Our Mission is completely devoted to excellence in providing non-medical care to enhance and improve the quality of lives of those entrusted to our care with respect and dignity. Client care is our first priority we want to assure loved ones and family we are providing compassion and sensitivity services with a professional attitude and staff. Our services included in excellent personal care are: bathing, grooming, hygiene, mobility assistance, incontinence care, feeding and special diet, Dementia / Alzheimer's care, live-in / 24-hour care. Our services included in excellent companionship care: conversation, medication reminders, meal preparation, light housekeeping, laundry and bed linens, grocery shopping/errands, light exercise, mental stimulation, aid with reading, correspondence and mail, escort to doctor appointments religious services and social gatherings, respite care or relief for family. Clients may rest assured with peace of mind knowing our staff has been: carefully interviewed, background checked, well-trained, insured and bonded through our company, hired with experienced home care background, and are honest, dependable and caring.

NerdWallet, a consumer advocacy website just released a list of the best cities in Rhode Island to raise a family - Congratulations to our region for ranking high! #1 Ashaway and #2 Hope Valley, #5 Westerly and Bradford somehow manages to be recognized as its own town at number 9. To compile this top ten list, they considered the following factors: 1. Public school rating 2. Median home value 3. Ongoing cost of homeownership 4. Median income 5. Economic growth To learn more about how these towns made their list, check out the link below, which includes a detailed methodology. http://www.nerdwallet.com

Denali RX Cindy Drake-Whitehead 36 Governor Ave, Westerly 401-406-1891 www.denalirx.com A membership site designed for those who want to advance their career as a pharmacy technician without paying the high prices charged by local and online schools. Denali Rx Members Enjoy: Lots of games and videos to make learning fun and easy! An award-winning curriculum that teaches you everything you need to know to pass the pharmacy technician national certification exam. The convenience to study at your own pace and in your favorite location: home, the coffee shop, the library, at school or where ever you prefer. An active student forum where you can interact with fellow students and get great career advice from instructors. Community is very important here! Live webinars each week so you have real time with instructors. All webinars are recorded so you can review them at any time. Instant chat sessions with instructors so you get your questions answered in real time. All at an unbeatable price! You only pay a small monthly fee to be a member of the Denali Rx community and you can cancel at any time. Train to be a pharmacy technician for a low monthly price!

2014 at Pleasant View Inn on Misquamicut Beach in Westerly, RI. It's just $25.00 for adults and $15.00 for children 18 and under to register. Everyone who pre-registers will get a Seal Splash towel to wrap up in after the plunge. Click here for more details. Register by December 1st and you also get a floating key chain or create a fundraising page, raise $100 and get a special Animal Rescue mug. If the water is a little chilly but you still want to support this great cause, click here to make a donation towards our animal rescue efforts. The event will be meeting at the Pleasant View Inn on Misquamicut Beach in Westerly, RI at noon. So bring a change of clothes, and jump on in- the water’s fine! For questions, please contact Theresa Mullin at tmullin@searesearch.org

NEW MEMBERS

NON PROFIT NEWS

It was a packed house to come support the Jonnycake Center in November. The event featured terrific shopping, special sales, networking and excellent food generously donated by Dunn’s Corners Market. If you have not been to their recently remodeled thrift shop, you really should visit. Furniture, clothing, jewelry, home accessories, children’s toys and boys and much more are available.

Business After Hours at the Jonnycake Center of Westerly

Business Networking Luncheon featuring Tim Zue, Vice President, Business Development of the Boston Red Sox

November 19 at The Haversham

Red Sox photos and to Michelle Colucci Pinto who won 4 Red Sox tickets for next season!

If you were not there, you missed a terrific speaker and an incredible story of personal perseverance as well as using crisis as an opportunity to strengthen your brand. The audience did not want to leave! Thanks to The Haversham for hosting with a delicious lunch. Congrats to the 6 winners who won autographed

We discovered Cyndi Chrostek Myers last year while working together on Hurricane Sandy clean up. She was the Serve Rhode Island representative who helped coordinate that major program. When the grant that funded her position ended, and we learned she was unemployed, we quickly brought her on board to fill Molly’s shoes. (Molly had decided to be a stay at home). We knew that Cyndi was here temporarily. She lives in Foster and needed a full time job closer to home. This position kept her active while she sought that next career move. We wish we could have kept her as she was an incredible addition to our team and we experienced our best ever results with Riverglow and Brews and Blues. We already miss Cyndi very much but we are happy that she landed a terrific job with Lifespan. Cyndi wrote these parting words: “I wanted to let you all know that it has been a pleasure working here at The Chamber. I appreciate the opportunity to get to know you all and this area—what a great experience! The level of professionalism combined with the boundless enthusiasm of everyone here has made this an absolutely great 6 months- thank you for your patience and help with all the events we have done during that time. Although it is nice to be moving to a full time position, I will miss working in this organization and will especially miss all of the folks that work and volunteer at The Chamber.”

Continued from page 1 22. Derek Lombard: Vice President/

Director of Human Resources, Embrace Home Loans

23. Pam Lyons: Vice President, Ocean House Marina

24. George McAuliffe: Business Manager, Mews Tavern

25. Vanessa Miller: Enrichment Teacher, Narragansett Pier School

26. Adrian Mitchell: Caretaker, Block Island Nature Conservancy

27. Megan Moynihan: Partner, Oyster Works

28. Robert Nadolillo Jr.: President, Nardolillo Funeral Home

29. Trysten Payne: Chief, Block Island Fire Department

30. Timothy Pelleccione: Owner, Pelly’s Place

31. Kirk Pickell: Narragansett Lions 32. Ray Quinlan: Co-Owner, Hi Tech

Profiles 33. Perry Raso: Owner, Matunuck

Oyster Bar 34. Andrew Robinson: Randall Realtors 35. Donna Simmons: Senior

Executive/General Manager, The Ocean House. President, Watch Hill Memorial Library

36. Lisa Sprauge: Block Island Rescue Squad.

37. Nick Stahl: Executive Director, Westerly Hospital Foundation/ L&M Healthcare

38. Lydia Teixeira: Co-Founder / Vice President of Finance, HTP Meds

39. Howard Thorp: President, Thorp and Trainer

40. Carrie Todd: Ecumenical Choir

The celebration will take place at The Village Inn in Narragansett on Thursday February 06 at 6:00 PM. Tickets are available for $60 each and may be purchased at any of the participating chambers, the Block Island Chamber of Commerce 1.800.383.2474, Charlestown Chamber of Commerce 401.364.3878, Greater Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce 401.596.7761 and the Narragansett Chamber of Commerce 401.783.7121. Corporate tables are also available for the event; the cost is $675 and includes 9 tickets at a reserved table with one of the award honorees and a half page ad for the honoree of your choice. Price includes dinner, awards ceremony and a live band.

Maria DiMaggio Events Manager

Maria has been hired as The Chamber’s Events Manager, beginning December 9. She comes to us with experience managing events at the Coast Guard House in Narragansett. She has also organized numerous conferences and special events in the field of higher education. She has experience with development and sales and is familiar with many of The Chamber’s events having lived here all her life. We look forward to welcoming her to our team!

Lauren Sposato Events Intern

Newly graduated from college with a degree in Communications, Westerly resident Lauren Sposato is seeking experience to help build her resume and land a job as a full time Events Coordinator. We plan to use her to her fullest potential and provide her with a great learning opportunity. Lauren has agreed to volunteer at The Chamber to help execute the Holiday Stroll, coordinate the Southern RI 40 Brightest Stars event, and work on a signature event for summer of 2014. Please give Lauren a warm welcome.

Staffing Changes at The Chamber

Congratulations to Maria Allen of Bella Vita! Our fabulous Chamber Board member was honored by the Dante Society as their "Person of the Year" for her many community service activities. Congratulations to Angie Smith, yet another fabulous Board member for being honored by the Dante Society with the award. This award is given to one of the club’s members for their outstanding commitment to advancing the club and supporting its activities.

ATHENA Event on TV 18 The Athena Award program will be broadcast on public access 18 tv at the following dates/times: Wednesday, December 4

th and 11

th at 10AM and

Saturday, December 7th

at 9PM.

Each year The Chamber reaches out to non-members and invites them to consider joining. While we don’t have a commissioned sales person like many groups, our devoted Board members make those calls. If you know a business that should be a member, please ask them to join. You and that potential new member would be eligible to attend the great event listed below.

Chamber Hits 2,000 Facebook Likes

Thanks to our supportive Board and some wonderful members such as Sandy Bliven and Gil Bricault, we were able to increase our Facebook likes by over 150 in just 4 weeks. Of 56 Chambers of Commerce that attended the New England Association Chamber conference, we now rank 5th overall for the highest number of “likes”. Sorry Cape Cod Chamber, but you just got bumped out of the top 5! Please recommend our page to your friends so they can stay in touch with local events, volunteer opportunities and business news. While some Chamber facebook pages are liked primarily by out of state tourists who like the destination area served by The Chamber, ours is liked primarily by people who live here, work here, shop here and are likely to care about and attend YOUR business and events. You know how competitive we can be, so it won’t be a surprise to learn that we’d like to topple Killington Vermont next. They have about 1,000 more likes than us (from tourists) but we aim to close that gap with your help. Please use the “suggest this page to a friend” feature and ask your local friends and family to like the Greater Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce on Facebook.

Waste

Management of

Rhode Island

Commercial Trash Services

(800) 955-0518

Mel's Downtown Creamery has made it to round 2 of the Indie Award Competition. They are the only CT business to make it to round 2 and only 1 of 2 businesses in New England (the other business is in Mass). Please help them get to Round 3 by voting. You can vote once every day per ip address through December 1st! Why not set a reminder in your phone to vote daily? They will need to make it to the top 10 to proceed to Round 3. Good luck to Melanie L. Goggin, Owner, Mel's Downtown Creamery, 37 W Broad St, Pawcatuck, CT 06379 South County Hospital was named Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of healthcare organizations in America. The Hospital is one of only three hospitals in the state to achieve this distinction. The Joint Commission recognized the Hospital for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions.

MEMBER NEWS

December Membership Drive

“Not Yet” Chamber Members Invited to Reception

Tuesday, December 3, 5:00-7:00pm Grey Sail Brewing

Learn about member benefits, meet the Board and Staff Enjoy food, beer

No obligation to join RSVP to klombard@westerlychamber.org

Cleaning Service

House and Small Office