Chamber Looks Ahead to Successful Citizen’s Bank 5K Wednesday

We have reached the middle of July and things are really hopping in Middlesex County. Last Wednesday, we were honored to welcome back Middletown’s own Joey Logano for a member breakfast at the Crowne Plaza Cromwell. 

It was a great event and Joey, his family and his entire team could not have been more gracious. The Logano family were neighbors of mine when Joey was a young kid and just getting into racing. I am very proud to see the fine young man that he has turned into.  

He gave a great talk to over 500 Chamber members, answered every question that was asked of him, signed a lot of autographs and even made a youngster’s day by helping him celebrate his sixth birthday. Joey is slotted to gain a berth into NASCAR’s postseason. He is a great ambassador for our community so let’s all get behind him and root him on as the NASCAR season nears its end. 

This breakfast also allowed us the opportunity to honor some fine corporate citizens in Middletown. As we all know, there is nothing more important than supporting the members of our armed forces. This point is certainly not lost on the business community where two great companies have stepped up to support their employees who have been called into duty and placed in harm’s way for months at a time. 

While Staff Sgt. Anthony “Tony” Kierys of MiddleOak, and Lance Cpl. Aaron Boyce of Stericycle, were completing their tours of duty in Afghanistan, MiddleOak and Stericycle, not only held their jobs for them, but made absolutely certain that their families and their personal affairs were looked after, and consistently sent them letters, care packages and other important items to make sure they knew that they were appreciated and missed. We have so many of our soldiers coming home from tough tours of duty in far away and dangerous places. 

They need jobs and our Chamber will continue to support the hiring of veterans and will continue to honor our members who step up. We are all in this together. 

I am pleased to note that the economic activity in Middlesex County has been very brisk. We are seeing a number of relocations into our area and expansions of current facilities. This Chamber will continue to work well with the business community, government officials and other key stakeholders on economic and business development.  Middlesex County is a great place to live, work, and do business. 

I was happy to attend the grand opening at the new Stella D’Oro II Restaurant, located at 200 Main Street in Metro Square.  The place looks great, the food was outstanding and I want to welcome Sammy Cecunjanin and the entire Stella D’Oro team to Middletown. 

Week one of the Chamber’s Summer Youth Employment Program is in the books.  By the end of week two, we will have 80 youngsters working at 37 work sites across the city of Middletown. We also have two sites in the town of Cromwell, and three sites in the town of Durham.  We are receiving great reports from our student workers and our host worksites, and I will continue to provide updates as we move through the summer. 

This is another busy week highlighted by tomorrow’s Member Business After Work Networking event at Lyman Orchards’ new Golf Center and Apple Nine Course, a comprehensive golf learning center with a nine-hole executive course in Middlefield. This event will feature complimentary hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, wine, beer and soft drinks, and of course, terrific networking. 

The following night, Wednesday, will be the Citizen’s Bank 5K Summer Fun Run in downtown Middletown. This is another great downtown event and we hope to see you on Main Street on Wednesday night. 

For information on Chamber events and activities, contact Jeff Pugliese at jpugliese@middlesexchamber.com.

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