MARCH 2007 The Newsletter of the Concord Chamber of Commerce

REGISTER TODAY FOR: VISITOR CENTER INFORMATION:

Business After Hours - April 10

SCORE Counseling - April 17

Spring Food and Wine Fiesta - May 3Tickets $25 – available at West Concord Liquors,

the Chamber office and online

Register online or call the Chamber at 978-369-3120

OPENS SATURDAY, MARCH 28TH!

Open daily through October 28th. 10am-4pm

Guided Tours:Friday – 11am

Saturday – 11am & 1pmSunday – 11am & 1pm

Monday – 11amOther times by appointment

Shop Locally

ATown Proclamation was made on January 8th, making2007 the “Year for Shopping Locally”. Selectman PhilBenincasa stated that “It makes every sense to weave

our hard earned dollars through the local community; perhapsto spend a bit more but in so doing, save on gasoline andtime; put the freshest of vegetables on our table and swapnews with old and new friends. Shopping locally is shoppingsmart and shopping smart benefits us all.”

The Chamber is dedicated to promoting business inConcord and kicked off a Shop Locally campaign last year withthe introduction of the Gift of Concord gift certificateprogram. The gift certificates, available at the Chamber officeor at the Main Street location of sponsor Cambridge Trust,may be used at twenty-nine participating businesses.Additional participants are anticipated in the coming months.

In the past 12 months, $12,555 of gift certificates were soldwhich translates into $12,555 of money going back intoConcord and helping to support local business. The certificateshave been popular holiday gifts and stocking stuffers as well asschool teacher/coach gifts at the end of the school year.

The Chamber now has a special “Shop Locally” logo to beused throughout the coming years. CCTV will partner with theChamber to air special segments on the local accessstation about the Concord stores, restaurants and serviceproviders to help acquaint the public with the wide variety ofbusinesses in the area.

Chamber events like the Wine and Food Fiesta to be heldon May 3rd, the Fall Fashion Show and the new Concord ArtWalk to be held in June are designed to spotlight localmerchants and to bring new customers and shoppers to thearea. The Agricultural Committee Chair, John Bemis, will beworking with Chamber Executive Director Stephanie Stillman

to incorporate local businesses with planned agriculturalevents to broaden to scope of the Shop Locally campaign.Stillman is working on new special events to be held in eachof the Town’s retail areas—West Concord, the Depot Districtand the Milldam—to heightenthe awareness of all thatConcord has to offer.

If you are a local merchantor service provider and wouldlike more information aboutthe Gift of Concord, pleasecall the Chamber!

Watch for more eventsand announcements andremember to Shop Locally!

April Membership DriveKicks Off

The Chamber kicked off their 2007 Membership Drivewith a special phone-a-thon day on March 13th. Boardmembers called business owners to encourage them to

join the Chamber and to participate in the many events andprograms offered. April has been named as MembershipMonth so that members can encourage their associates totake part in the Chamber.

Any member who signs up two new members during themonth of April will receive a $25 Gift of Concord certificate.The business who brings in the most new members willreceive a $100 certificate, which can be used at twenty-nineparticipating businesses in Concord.

All members will receive copies of the membership appli-cation as well as a list of membership benefits to help themrecruit new members. continued on page 2

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welcome N E W M E M B E R SActon-Concord ChabadJewish Center Synagogue/Jewish Outreach148 Great RoadActon, MA 01720978-929-2513Rabbi Yosef Polter

Amorello SalesManufacturers Rep1486 Main StreetConcord, MA 01742978-318-1908Dave Amorello

Atkins & AssociatesExecutive Search Consultant199 Sudbury RoadConcord, MA 01742978-371-9794Nancy Atkins

The Balanced Body Muscular Therapy336 Baker AvenueConcord, MA 01742978-505-3791Bunny Black

Beantown Swing Orchestra 20-piece Big Band138 Partridge LaneConcord, MA 01742617-272-5730Frank Hsieh

Capital Retirement Strategies, Inc, Investment Management18 Main StreetConcord, MA 01742978-369-2255David Chwalek

CCTV, Inc.Public Access Cable TV500 Walden StreetConcord, MA 01742978-369-5038Charles Paige

Concord Bike Tours Guided bike toursaround Concord158 Oak Hill CircleConcord, MA 01742978-371-3969Susan Merlino

Concord Web SolutionsWeb design and marketing76 Summer Street, Suite 315Fitchburg, MA 01420978-287-9501Vicki Mills

HPB ConstructionConstruction/additions/decks/remodeling1563 Main StreetConcord, MA 01742508-517-5495Paul Berlied

Inspired IntegrationPsychotherapy and Bodywork50 Beharrell StreetConcord, MA 01742781-752-9599 Jaffy Phillips

SLP Enterprises, LLCChildren’s Sunglasses60 Thoreau Street, Suite 207Concord, MA 01742Tel. 978-371-2900David Scheinberg

John Hancock Financial Services Long-term Care Insurance& Fixed Annuities121 Assabet AvenueConcord, MA 01742978-369-0031Donna Carlson

The Muse’s Window Galleryof Fine ArtsCraft gallery/gift boutique80 Thoreau StreetConcord, MA 01742978-287-5500Karin Biow

Perennial Landscape ServicesLandscape construction,maintenance and masonry955 Main Street, Suite 204Winchester, MA 01890781-729-1719

Scott Carzo

Membership Drive, continued from page 1

New members will be recognized on a new page on theChamber website which will be posted at the end of themonth as well as receive a welcome bag.

The Chamber Board has formed new committees andencourages members to consider joining one of thecommittees and participating in the planning and work ofthe Chamber. Current committees are: Website, Events,Membership and Visitor Services.

Please help us grow the Chamber and add benefits andprograms for our members!

CCHS IINTERN AT CHAMBERTom Krueger, who is finishing his junior year at ConcordCarlisle High School, has begun an internship at theChamber office. Tom will be helping with the Chamber’stourism initiative and will be contacting tour companies togather information about their scheduled itineraries and toprovide them with information that may help them considerConcord as a destination for group tours in the future. Tomwill be making calls, filling orders for information and settingup a database he will use to track the information gathered.Tom will also be helping to create a new information pack-age to send to tour groups.

Tom is an Honor Roll student, is involved with the CCHSInvestment and Stock Market Club and plays guitar anddrums in a band. He has worked doing database mainte-nance for Demandware Inc. and does volunteer work withthe Teen Buddy Program. He is hoping to gain businessexperience through the internship program.

The CCHS internship program is for juniors and seniorsand is being organized by school counselor Kate Reidy. Theprogram requires students to be in an unpaid internship for

approximately 4 hours per week through the end of the semes-ter, which is the second week in June. In coordination with theirinternship placement, students also take a course at the highschool concentrating on career exploration, resume buildingand final projects related to their sites and their interests.

MERCHANT’S MEETINGThe Chamber hosted a merchant’s meeting on Thursday,February 8th featuring Concord Police Detective SergeantJoe Morahan who discussed merchant safety, fraud andemergency situations. The meeting was a follow-up to theMerchant’s Alert Program information collected over the lasttwo months. Special notes on Merchant Awareness proce-dures are now available from the Chamber. If you would likea copy of this business aid, please contact the Chamber.

If you are a local merchant and have not returned aMerchant’s Alert form, please do so now! The program willassist the Police Department in helping to make Concordbusinesses safer. Call the Chamber office for more informa-tion or a form.

PATRIOT’S DAY SCHEDULE AVAILABLEThe schedule for the 2007 Concord and Lexington Aprilevents is available online at http://www.concordchamberof-commerce.org/concord_visitor-info.htm .Copies will also beavailable at the Visitor Center at 58 Main Street. Thanks toCambridge Savings Bank for their support!

NEW LOOK FOR THE GRAPEVINEWe hope you like our new look and format for the quarterlynewsletter. We thank Priscilla White Sturges of WatermanDesign for her efforts to improve our print format.

2007BOARD MEMBERS

PresidentSharon BuehrleDeaconess Abundant LifeCommunities

Vice PresidentBeth SheldonBest Western

Treasurer Kathy RetickerDirector Business School

Clerk Danner DeStephanoTown Recreation

DIRECTORS:

Glenn BurlamachiMacRae Tunnicliffe’sConcord Funeral Home

Laurie CadiganJ.M. Barrett & Co.

David GrossbergConcord’s Colonial Inn

David HeselToy Shop of Concord

Fritz KussinFritz & Gigi

Nancy NelsonMinute Man National Historical Park

Alex OrtigosaCambridge Savings Bank

Christine SchusterEmerson Hospital

Stephanie ShepardThe Gatehouse

Van SmickAction Business Coaching

OFFICE STAFF

Stephanie StillmanExecutive Director

Jean Ellis-LaBossiereAssistant to the Director

To Concord Chamber of Commerce Members,

I am very excited about: our new look for the newsletter – our new ambassador – our newand very active Chamber committees – and the many planned new events and programs thatwill roll-out through the rest of the year. As we open the Visitor Center for the season, we willwelcome several new staff members and will focus on providing outstanding service andinformation to Concord’s guests. And, we will be announcing new website advertisingopportunities and some new pages to highlight new members! Watch for announcement ofnew events in the coming months as we reach out to all our member interest groups.

Our Business After Hours Events have been so well attended and have created helpfulnetworking opportunities, especially for new members. Our hosts for upcoming events will beNP James Insurance and CCTV, the Samuel Brooks House at Minute Man National HistoricalPark, 1 on 1 Self Indulgence Spa, the Best Western Hotel, Middlesex Savings Bank, VerrillFarm, Upstairs Antiques and Emerson Umbrella. Don’t miss these special evenings!

Think about joining one of the Chamber committees, hosting a Business After Hours orspeaking at a Business Breakfast. And, remember that April is Membership Month and bring anew member to the Chamber!

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member news ?

from theE X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R

H A V E Y O U H E A R D

Special anniversaries:• McWalter Volunteer Insurance Agency is celebrating their 100th anniversary of service to

the community.• Nancy James’ NP James Insurance Agency will celebrate 25 years in business and host a

special Business after Hours on April 11th!• West Concord Wine and Liquors is proud of their 25 years in business and is a sponsor of

the 2007 Spring Wine and Food Fiesta on May 3rd!

Special recognition:• Nicole Marie Fashion Boutique was featured in the Boston Globe Magazine’s “Best of the

New” section for wonderful places to shop.• Concord’s Colonial Inn was featured on the Weekend Today Show when they visited to see

the ghost in Room 24! They were also featured in a March 21st Boston Globe article!• Lise Stahl Brown of Artful Productivity is an author of “Exploring Productivity; Ideas from

Industry Professionals on Getting More Done in the Workplace”, a collection of ideas bypracticing trainers and consultants.

Special Welcome:• The North Bridge Visitor Center at Minute Man National Historical Park will open The North

Bridge Cafe, serving lunch and tea Tuesday through Sunday from April through October. Theoutdoor café will be the only dining facility in the park and will overlook the Concord River.

WELCOME TO OUR NEW CHAMBER AMBASSADORDavid Chwalek of Capital Retirement Strategies, Inc. has joined us as a Chamber Ambassador.He joins Van Smick of ActionCoach as a volunteer professional who serves the CCC in the areasof public relations, member retention, new member recruitment and event hosting.

David recently moved his residence and business to Concord and is “proud to be in such ahistoric and beautiful town. I would like to share my enthusiasm with others and help supportthe local business environment.”

UPCOMING CHAMBER EVENTS SPRING 2007

CONCORD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE • PHONE: 978.369.3120 • FAX: 978.369.1515info@concordchamberofcommerce.org • www.concordchamberofcommerce.org

SAVE THESE DATESMAY 15: SCORE Counseling

MAY 16: Business After Hours – Samuel Brooks House in Minute Man National Historical ParkJune 13: Business Breakfast with the Concord Historical Collaborative at the Colonial Inn

June 13: Business After Hours – 1 on 1 Self Indulgence Spa

APRIL 10 Wednesday: Business After Hours – NP James Insurance Agency at CCTV, Concord/Carlisle High School, 5:30-7:30 pm. Joinus to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this community insurance agency. Get to tour the CCTV studios and learnmore about Concord’s public access cable TV station and meet new director, Charley Paige. Enjoy refreshmentsand bring your business cards and brochures for our information table. You will have the opportunity to networkand introduce yourself and your business to new contacts. Please pre-register with the Chamber.

APRIL 17 Tuesday: SCORE Counseling – Service Corps of Retired Executives provides FREE one-on-one small business counselingsessions at the Chamber office. Only 6 one-hour appointments available. Please call the Chamber at 978-369-3120to make your appointment.

MAY 3 Thursday: 2007 Spring Wine and Food Fiesta – Concord Café at SolidWorks, 300 Baker Avenue, 6:30-9:00 pm. Join us for afun evening highlighting the wines of Spain, Portugal and Brazil, as well as many other from around the world.Special food tastings presented by Concord’s many restaurants and food purveyors. Live music! Silent auctions!Tickets $25. Special Wine Seminar, “Introduction to Wine Tasting” offered from 6:00-7:00 pm. Tickets are $50and include Fiesta event. Tickets available at West Concord Wine and Liquors and the Chamber office andonline at www.concordchamberofcommerce.org.

MAY 10 Thursday: Business Breakfast Educational Series – “Creating Revenue (not expense) through Marketing”, 7:30-9:00am.Learn how to create marketing materials that generate more revenue than they cost. Presented by Van Smickof ActionCOACH Business Coaching. Join us for breakfast, networking and helpful business information in aclassroom setting at Emerson Hospital in the North Assembly Room. Come and learn helpful new businessskills. Breakfast and validated parking provided.

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The Concord Chamber of Commerce15 Walden Street, Suite 7Concord, MA 01742

R E T U R N S E R V I C E R E Q U E S T E D