Chairman of the Board
*Dana Bottorff
G.T. Reilly & Co.
Past Chairman of the Board
*Peter McFarland
The Allied Group
Chair-Elect
*Brian Johnson
Doc Shredding Corp.
Treasurer
Patrick Powers
Liberty Mutual Insurance
General Counsel
*Thomas Flaherty
Bacon Flaherty LLC
President/CEO
*Thomas O'Rourke
NVCC
Previous Past Chairman
*Mike Moran
Dedham Institution for Savings
Shawn Alexander
Universal Technical Institute
Kim Bassett
Norwood Hospital
Todd J. Chipman, MST
John T. Chipman & Co., CPAs
James Donellon
Gray, Gray & Gray, LLP
Deborah Ellis
QRGA, LLP
*Robert Ferrini
NAPLIA - The Murphy Insurance Group
*Alisia St. Florian
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP
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
*Cynthia Peterson
Brigham and Women's/Mass General Health Care Center
Deb Vona
Dedham Medical Associates/Atrius Health
*Member of the Executive Committee
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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
New Outlook Homecare
Office Gallery International
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MEMBER NEWS
Patricia A. Tarr and John Ivas Join Members Plus Credfit Union
Members Plus Credit Union recently announced that Patricia Tarr has joined the Credit Union as Deposit Product and Service Manager and John Ivas has joined the Credit Union as Information Systems Manager.
Patty will help service and develop the Credit Union's growing portfolio of deposit products and John will be responsible for overseeing the Credit Union's automated systems to ensure secure and effective delivery of all services. Both play an integral role in the growth of the organization.
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Gray, Gray & Gray to Hold Year-End Business Planning and Financial Strategies Through the Decades Seminars
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Blue Hill Country Club Offers Small Business Holiday Parties
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Fantastic Sams Offering Discount in Exchange for Canned Goods
Fantastic Sams Cut & Color in Walpole is offering a 10% discount on any service to customers who bring in a canned good. These items will be donated to a local food pantry in preparation of Thanksgiving.
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Moderna Therapeutics Chooses Norwood for Expansion
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The Town of Norwood scored an economic development victory last week when its Town Meeting unanimously approved a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plan for
Moderna Therapeutics. Moderna is a biopharma company headquartered in Cambridge that is "pioneering the development of a new class of drugs made of messenger RNA (mRNA). This novel drug platform builds on the discovery that modified mRNA can direct the body's cellular machinery to produce nearly any protein of interest, from native proteins to antibodies and other entirely novel protein constructs that can have therapeutic activity inside and outside of cells." Their cutting edge approach to generating transformative new medicines has attracted significant investments from other biotech giants like AstraZeneca, Vertex and Merck.
Moderna will rehab a building formerly used by Polaroid at Upland Woods in Norwood. They plan to invest $110 million in the 200,000 square foot facility. Once complete, Moderna will carry out all manufacturing activities from raw material production to active pharmaceutical ingredients , formulation, filling and finish at the site. They will relocate 100 jobs to the site initially, and anticipate adding more than 100 more jobs in the coming years.
The TIF agreement was negotiated by the Town's Economic Development Committee (EDC), working with Norwood's Town Planner, Paul Halkiotis, as well as chamber member, Lynn Tokarczyk, Business Development Strategies and the Mass Office of Business Development. The agreement calls for Moderna to receive a 40% tax exemption for 10 years, amounting to a savings of about $1.7 million. The Town of Norwood will receive new tax revenue of more than $250,000 a year until year eleven when it will realize in excess of $400,000 a year. In addition, the town will receive hundreds of thousands in permitting fees and the local economy will be enhanced by the prospect of 200 well-paying jobs being added to region.
Moderna representatives made it clear that they were considering many other sites and that they were swayed not just by the location of the facility, but by the willingness of town officials to work with them on a good TIF deal and to work quickly and decisively. This is a significant win for our region because until now, biotech companies have had their sites set specifically on locations north of Boston like Waltham, Woburn, Burlington and others.
Congratulations to Paul Halkiotis, EDC chair, Steve Costello, Lynn Tokarczyk and Norwood's elected officials and Town Meeting members for completing the deal and keeping the big picture in mind. Let's hope this move inspires others looking to expand beyond the city to consider the competitive advantages the Neponset Valley offers.
Thomas O'Rourke, CCE
President and CEO
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Members Encouraged to Attend FREE Labor and Employment Law Update
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NVCC's Human Resources Leadership Council will be hosting a FREE Annual Labor and Employment Law Update next week at the Chamber's offices.
Scheduled for Wednesday, November 16th from 8:00am-11:00am, the guest speakers and topics will include:
Attorney Thomas W. Colomb,
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP
Topic:
2016 Labor and Employment Law Update
Attorney David C. Kurtz,
Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP
Topic: Compliance Challenges for the Modern Employer: Medical Marijuana, Transgendered Employees and "Bring Your Guns to Work" Laws
Attorney Leslie Lockard,
The Law Office of Leslie Lockard, P.C. -
Topic:
Employee Handbook Update: Many Revisions Needed for 2017, After Year of Numerous Law Changes
Attorney Willard Krasnow,
Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP
Topic: What Every Employer Needs to Know About Imm
igration Law
This popular annual event is FREE and all are welcome to attend.
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YP's 'A Case of the Mondays'
The NVCC Young Professionals Committee are hosting a monthly happy hour on the first Monday of each month. We're calling it a "Case of the Mondays!"
Every month we'll visit one of our Chamber members for a casual happy hour. The events will be free with light appetizers
and a cash bar.
The November event will be held next Monday, November 7th at 5:30pm at Joe's American Bar & Grill. Come meet up with your friends, bring new friends, get some networking in, and just have fun with fellow young professionals!
Joe's American Bar & Grill is located at 985 Providence Highway in Dedham. This is a FREE event and all are welcome - there is no age restriction to attend Young Professionals events.
November Business After Hours
Join us for a night of food, fun and friends at a Business After Hours hosted by Blue Hills Bank in Norwood.
The event will take place Thursday evening, November 17th 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.
This event will take place at their Norwood office, located at 111 Lenox Street.
All are welcome to attend. Don't forget your business cards!
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Chamber Opposed to Question 4
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Question #4 on the November, 2016 ballot seeks to allow the use, cultivation, possession and distribution of recreational marijuana for individuals at least 21 years old. It will allow users up to have 10 ounces of pot in their home, or one ounce on their person. Marijuana could be purchased in buds, edibles, drinkables, oils and ointments, and allows six home-grown plants for anyone over the age of 21, with a maximum of 12 plants per household. The Ballot question also sets up a state marijuana control board and advisory committee to regulate the sales and growth of recreational cannabis.
This question was written and placed on the ballot by The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol and The Marijuana Policy Project, the industry's leading national lobbying group.
The Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce opposes Question 4, primarily from an employer's perspective because:
- Legalization of recreational marijuana will impact Human Resources policies for thousands of Massachusetts employers. Specifically it would: o Create a multitude of workforce issues including employee and workplace safety, potential for lost productivity, as well as significant liability if an accident occurs on the job.o Limit an employer's ability to prevent employees from working while impaired by marijuana consumed outside the workplace.
- Create considerable uncertainty for employers relative to their legal rights and obligations, particularly as it relates to workplace drug policies.
- Cause employers to operate in an environment in which state law permits private use of marijuana, while federal law prohibits marijuana use.
- Put employees at risk as there are no field testing means or thresholds to establish safe levels of use for employees who may be operating machinery or driving vehicles.
- This bill was initiated by the commercial marijuana industry with no input from the general public, local government, law enforcement and businesses
* The 24-page ballot initiative is too complicated and broad in scope
* It allows highly potent edibles and infused candies, cookies and flavored soda products that could be potentially marketed to innocent children
* Marijuana was already decriminalized in 2008 and medical marijuana is currently legal under a doctor's supervision.
* There are not enough checks and balances to endorse
Question 4.
Please vote "No" on Question 4!
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Students Spellers Shine at Bee
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Last week at the NVCC's Annual Business After Hours/Spelling Bee, the School to Careers Partnership team from Norwood High School took home the coveted HoneyBee Trophy.
The runner-up team last year, the Norwood High spellers beat out the Law Offices of Clifford A. Monac TEAM, who placed first in last year's Bee. Other spellers included teams from Dedham Medical Associates/Atrius Health, Marathon Physical Therapy, the NVCC Young Professionals, Sauer & Sauer, Canton High School, Dedham Savings, Bank of Canton, Blue HIills Bank and a second team from the Law Offices of Clifford A. Monac.
Congratulations to the students from Norwood High on their impressive victory!
The NVCC would also like to thank event sponsor Dedham Savings, Emcee and Fox25 News Anchor Elizabeth Hopkins, our judges Katherine Touafek from the School to Careers Partnership and Norwood High School Assistant Principal Purnima Vadera, and our host Showcase live for a fantastic event!
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The event sponsor Dedham Savings team.
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NVCC President Tom O'Rourke President Katherine Touafek of the School to Careers Partnership with a portion of the event proceeds.
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Fox25 News Anchor Elizabeth Hopkins kept the crowd laughing as Emcee.
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Runner-up team from the Law Offices of Clifford A. Monac.
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NVCC Chair Dana Bottorff with Judge and NHS Assistant Principal Purnima Vadhera, Katherine Touafek of the School to Careers Partnership and NVCC President Tom O'Rourke with the 2016 Spelling Bee Champions from Norwood High School.
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FREE MegaBusiness EXPO NEXT WEEK
at Gillette!
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There is still time to exhibit! For complete details on the 2016 multi-chamber EXPO - including registration - please visit the event page
here.
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Workforce Training Fund Program Announces New Developments
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The Commonwealth Corporation has just announced two new developments at the Workforce Training Fund Program (WTFP).
The first is a refresh of our website now found at: www.WorkforceTrainingFund.org. The site includes all the relevant information you have come to expect in an easier to
navigate format, including details on the Express, Dire
ct Access and General Grant Programs, News, Events and Resources.
The second update is that Commonwealth Corporation is implementing a new application system for the Workforce Training Fund General Program Training Grant. The new online system is cloud-based and allows for a smarter, more flexible application. The new system reflects Commonwealth Corporation's commitment to continually improving our programs to increase access to training resources and maximize operational efficiency for our customers.
Benefits include:
*Access from any internet-connected location
*Ability for applicants and their partners to share and edit draft application documents
*Reduced potential for math errors with auto-calculated budget
*Streamlined contracting process
*ROI worksheet is eliminated
*Financial statements no longer required with application (only required upon request)
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New NVCC Member Benefit:
Staples Business Advantage Program
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Click here for more information and to start saving using the NVCC Staples Business Advantage program.
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Norwood Office Space Available
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The Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce has office space currently available for lease at its new location at 520 Providence Highway, Norwood.
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.
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