Middlesex Chamber Closes Out Successful Business Year

Happy holidays, Middlesex county! What a fast-paced and eventful year it has been!

As many of us spend time with family and friends, I feel truly blessed this holiday season both personally and professionally. I am very grateful for my terrific friends and colleagues — from my role as president of the Middlesex Chamber and chairman of the UConn Board of Trustees and beyond — for their loyalty and support throughout the years.

I feel equally as blessed that the Chamber continues to grow and thrive with our dedicated members. I am proud to say that over the last year we have had a large number of successful events.

The Chamber’s breakfast meetings continue to be its most popular events, regularly filling the Crowne Plaza with crowds of 500 to 900. Last Friday was no exception as we welcomed Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for the first time to our annual governor’s breakfast meeting. This event was sold out with more than 900 of our closest Chamber friends.

Our Business After Work events continue to offer fantastic networking opportunities for our members; we are now holding these events almost every month. Our last Business After Work at the Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station was a tremendous success with over 300 members in attendance.

The Chamber would like to thank all its members for their continued support of our monthly Small Business Seminar Series as it continues to thrive and grow.  I urge everyone in the business community to take advantage of this series, as we have some great topics to be addressed by some excellent presenters in the coming year.

Our annual golf tournament, under the direction of a great committee, was a huge success and sold out for the 27th straight year.  The Middlesex County Business to Business Expo, chaired by Brian Armet and Pamela Luchka, also sold out, occupying over 120 booths at Cromwell’s Crowne Plaza in October. There is already a waiting list for new exhibitors for Expo 2012. We just ended a successful four-week run of Holiday On Main Street, which brought thousands of visitors to downtown Middletown for shopping and dining.

Exciting things are happening in Middlesex County. Working with our elected leaders throughout the county has been really positive and productive. I am continually amazed by the sweeping improvements in our region. Thanks to strong leadership and tremendous community support, Middlesex County has developed into one of the most desirable areas to live and work in the country.

The Chamber is in the unique position as an organization whose role is to be the glue the holds the business community together. The mentality that I impart to my staff is that we do not sell anything here at the Chamber; we do not make widgets. Instead, our product is goodwill and advocacy. 

While these are not tangible items, they are vital to the success of our business community and ultimately the county. 

We have been very fortunate this past year. This prosperity is a tribute to the working relationships we have cultivated with our state and local leaders and our business community. I would like to thank the Governor and county and elected leadership for being so proactive in Middlesex County. 

With everyone working together as a team, we will continue to put our region in the economic forefront of our state. The Chamber looks forward to working with our legislators in 2012.

‘Tis the season to be thankful, so I would also like to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported Chamber events and programs this past year.  

Many thanks to our board of directors and our chairperson Kelly Smith. One of the best holiday gifts I’ve received was the opportunity to become president of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce. I would also like to praise our staff for the tremendous job it does each month on our events.

I would also like to extend holiday wishes of peace, joy and health to our armed forces men and women who are away from the comfort of their homes this holiday season. During the holidays, we civilians spend our days and nights with our friends and loved ones. While we enjoy the spirit of the season, we should recognize the freedom that these men and women provide. A big thank you goes out to these brave individuals.

The Chamber wishes everyone a happy and joyous holiday!

For information, contact Matt Fraulino at (860) 347-6924 or mfraulino@middlesexchamber.com.