Annual Meeting Luncheon Draws Largest Crowd to Date

A total of 165 members registered for the Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting Luncheon held on Wednesday, November 15, 2017 at the Best Western Royal Plaza, marking the largest attendance to date for this annual event.

Officially opening the Chamber’s Annual Meeting, President & CEO Susanne Morreale Leeber explained that the main purpose of the meeting is to elect new board members for 2018.

“I just want to thank each and every one of you for the opportunity to lead you,” said Morreale Leeber.   She thanked the event sponsors and said, “Without generous sponsors we could not bring you this wonderful program today.”

Morreale Leeber also talked about the role of the chamber and the benefits of membership.  While different size companies may have different goals, all members benefit from the huge value of face-to-face interaction, and by getting involved, members become a part of the Chamber community. Chamber networking events provide the opportunity to promote yourself, your products, and your business.

“The more involved you are, the more you will receive from your Chamber membership,” said Morreale Leeber.

Attendees also heard from the 2017 Chairman of the Board of Directors, Frank Collins, who gave a brief overview of current year achievements, including the establishment of a new program for large employers to meet and discuss their particular challenges.  He also spoke of the board’s retreat where the discussion focused on identifying and segmenting the value of chamber membership for large and small businesses.

“I call on each of you to reach out and introduce yourself to one of your fellow members,” said Collins. “Help us to help you; get involved.”

The highlight of the luncheon was keynote speaker, Emmy Award-winning anchor of WCVB Channel 5’s nightly newsmagazine Chronicle, Anthony Everett, who addressed a topic frequently in today’s news; informational overload and the trustworthiness and accuracy of what is being reported and by whom.

Everett also spoke of his career with Chronicle, which he joined in September of 2005.  Approaching its 36^th anniversary in two months, Chronicle is the longest running locally produced news magazine on air, and Everett attributed much of the program’s success not only to the history, cultural diversity and the vibrant business environment found in New England, but also to its viewers.

“All factors come together to sustain Chronicle,” said Everett. “We’re able to do that because you are all watching.”

Everett explained details of the show, including how long it takes to produce a show.  From start to finish, it takes about one month to produce the half hour show, with the steps taken broken down into four overall processes that include 1) ideas, 2) shooting and interviews, 3) writing and logging, and 4) editing.

“We take the responsibility to get things right,” said Everett.  And he explained how the station is committed to Chronicle and has maintained its ratings, even when pitted against a time slot that includes the game show Jeopardy.  Looking toward the future, he said that quality journalism will always win the day and that he hopes that someone will be here to talk about Chronicle in the next 35 years.

Speaking as a Chamber member and Annual Luncheon attendee, Rick Levin said he enjoyed everything about the event.

“I enjoyed it; the wonderful table and the great group of people,” said Levin. “The meetings just get better and better.  Anthony Everett was an excellent speaker. It [the luncheon] was a home run!”

Photos from the Annual Meeting Luncheon, taken by David Fox, Photographer can be viewed on the Chamber’s Facebook Page.

2018 Board of Directors confirmed at the Annual Meeting Luncheon include:

Hitesh Aurora of Managed Staffing
Jon Barooshian of Bowditch & Dewey
Emily Greenwood of EKG Networking
David McCabe of Main Street Bank
Elaine Osgood of Atlas Travel & Technology
Philip Richards of IC Federal Credit Union
David Rose of Commerce Bank, a division of BerkshireBank
Mack Rubley of Boston Biomedical, Inc.
Lucy Servidio of Capaccio Environmental Engineering
Joe Trolla of APEX Center of New England