Newsletter January-February 2013 Hurricane Sandy Recovery Edition

www.westerlychamber.org info@westerlychamber.org 401.596.7761

Congratulations to our members who were honored at the 1

st Southeastern CT

40 Under 40 Event on January 18. Rosario Cacciatore, age 39, owner of Pizza Place in Westerly. Todd Cambio, age 39, owner of Precision Fitness in Pawcatuck. Sergio Cherenzia, age 30, Engineer and Project Manager for Cherenzia & Associates in Pawcatuck. Tanner Evak, age 27, Strategic Initiatives Director for the Ocean Community YMCA. Suzanne Giorno, age 37, Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch. These outstanding young professionals have achieved great success in their profession while making community service a priority. 430 attendees enjoyed this first time celebration which took place at MGM Grand. We were particularly thrilled to work with our counterparts at the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Norwich Chamber of Commerce. Thank you to The Day for its presenting partnership on this fabulous event and to Jonathan Edwards Winery for their generous support.

$170,000 has been raised to “Bring Back the Beach” ..so far!

Our goal is $400,000 by Memorial Day. The funds raised thus far break down as follows: Leading Grants:

$15,000 each from The Washington Trust Company Charitable Foundation, The Lattner Family Foundation and The Greater Westerly Chamber Foundation.

$11,000 Grant from the Westerly Innovations network TGIF program

$5,000 from Newport Fed

$2,500 from Chelsea Groton Bank

$65,000 in general donations from businesses/the community, and Bash for the Beach I and II $26,000 from the Misquamicut Beach Benefit $23,000 in t-shirt/hoodie sales, $3,500 in donations from donation jars $170,000 has been given out already to businesses. The next round of checks will be sent to them at the end of February. In addition to the grant program, the Westerly Chamber Foundation has raised: $850 for Westerly’s Old Town Beach $1,750 towards lifeguards chairs

Zumbathon Raised $2,100

New Bike Racks Installed

We are pleased and proud to show the newly installed bike racks at the Washington Trust Company Skating Center on Main Street. The Greater Westerly Chamber Foundation partnered with Keepspace Westerly to finance the project. We hope to expand the Victorian style bike racks throughout other areas of downtown. Thank you to Tanner Evak and his staff from the Ocean Community YMCA for installing them.

INSIDE - Business After Hours - New Members - Member News -Hurricane Sandy Recovery Efforts

seeds, gluten free grains and flours, plus herbs & spices are available. A fresh veggie juicing menu is also available. Dave’s coffee brewed fresh with filtered water making it the best cup of coffee this side of Charlestown. A take out menu varies daily, all freshly made featuring muffins, soups and stews. Focusing on a green and sustainable environment, no disposable plastic is used. Forks, knives and spoons are made from polyacticle, a corn starch product and paper goods are unbleached, compostable and/or recyclable. Daily veggie scraps are brought to the Westerly Community Garden for composting. Reuseable glass jars are for sale or bring in your own container each time with a discount on refills. 5% discount on all cash purchases and 2 different frequent shopper reward programs are available. Visit us on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MaizeNMannaWholefoods Joe D’s Masonry LLC PO Box 755 Westerly, RI. 02891 Contact: Joe Degiacamo Installation of stone walls, pavers, walkways, chimneys, concrete flooring. Providing service to the Westerly-Pawcatuck area and beyond for over 15 years. Morrone Excavation 118 Boombridge Road Westerly, RI 02891 401-480-2040 Providing complete site excavation for both residential and commercial. In addition, we are licensed on site waste water treatment system installers. We also offer demolition, trucking, snow plowing and quality sand, stone and loam. Purchasing Group Power of North East 779 Main Street Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 888-410-4106 PGPNE.com Contact: Penny Capolino Purchasing Group Power of Northeast is an organization made up of independent restaurant owners in New England. We represent the combined purchasing volume of our members and negotiate independent operators, we work to get

Pro-Tech Cycleworks 12 Industrial Drive Westerly RI 02891 Contact: Rob Faillace ptcycle.com ptcycleworks@comcast.net 860-599-5636 cell 860-501-2222

We are a Full Service authorized Power sports Parts and Repair Shop for Harley Davidson, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Polaris, Can-Am, Sea-Doo and Ski-Doo. We also have helmets for Street, Dirt and personal watercraft. Large selection of Men's and women's Leather Jackets, vests and Gloves. Leather Saddle bags, leather biker wallets, women's biker purses, vest extenders, Harley Davidson key chains. Bandanna's and head wraps and winter riding accessories. We also stock off road riding gear. We also have a large inventory of street and Dirt bike tires. Services include: Mount and Balance Tires, Small Engine Repairs, Power Coating and Custom Paint

Maize N Manna Whole Foods 40 High St Westerly, RI 02891 401-596-1680 Contact: Susan Champoulion Providing the community the opportunity to purchase staples at reasonable cost by letting you select the quantity. A wide variety of flours, pastas, rices, beans, dried fruits, raw vegan/gluten free nuts, (continued)

the best pricing and savings to each individual member’s benefit. By combining the purchase power of independent operators, we work with national companies, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and local service providers for better pricing, services and rebates. The PGP NE represents not only owners and operators of full service restaurants, but also catering facilities, taverns and pubs, diners, hotels, and hotel restaurants, coffee shops, delis, pizzerias, country club and convenience stores. “As a member of the Greater Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce, we plan to be a strong ally and fully supportive of the Chamber’s efforts on behalf of all small business owners,” said Nick Karkambasis, President of the PGP NE.

Westerly Fitness 231 High Street, Westerly, RI. 02891 401-315-0115 Contact: Dion Luzzi www.westerlyfitness.com

Local Family Opens Fitness Center

Dion and Lynn Luzzi are pleased to announce the opening of Westerly Fitness. Westerly Fitness offers over 6400 sq ft of state of the art exercise equipment. We offer group classes, TRX suspension training, Virtual Training, free Hydromassage Therapy, free tanning and the newest Spin bikes. General Manager and Certified Personal Trainer Derek Vacca has worked with countless people from every aspect of fitness levels. He looks forward to meeting you and helping you reach your fitness goals. Westerly Fitness is opened Monday – Thursday 5:00am – 10:00pm, Friday 5:00am-9:00pm, Saturday 6:00am-6:00pm and Sunday 7:00am-5:00pm. Dion and Lynn would like to extend a personal invitation to everyone a free week trial membership. Westerly Fitness always helping you reach your fitness goals!

New Members

Save the Date Statewide Business After Hours

Tuesday March 19, 2013 Rhodes-On-The-Pawtuxet 4:30-7:30pm

You are cordially invited to participate in the annual Statewide Business After Hours. Each participating Chamber will be alphabetically listed on all marketing materials and will be provided a set number of tables for resale to their members. The cost is $150 per table which includes 2 attendees. Last year over 1,000 members were in attendance! Each Chamber is responsible to register and collect payment from their members. To keep parody, we ask that each Chamber charge $15 per person. Each Chamber retains this fee to help offset their marketing expenses. Our Host, Rhodes-On-The-Pawtuxet, will provide sumptuous array of hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar will be available. Contact our office or fill out the enclosed form to participate at this year’s Statewide Business After Hours! You will receive a confirmation e-mail of your

participation! Display space is on a first come, first serve basis.

Westerly Community Credit Union is pleased to announce…

. Front row from left to right: Shana Bloom and Abe Bloom. Back row from left to right: Scott Sheppard, WCCU Financial Services Manager; Steve Scales, Mini’s Making a Difference Founder & Secretary, WCCU Board of Directors.

Abe Bloom, age 13 of Westerly, RI, reminds us of what this Holiday Season is truly about, spreading joy. Abe came into Westerly Community Credit Union November 30

th with a Mongoose Bike

and a Remote Controlled Rock Crawler Monster Truck to donate to the Mini’s Making a Difference Toy Run! Abe was able to make such a generous donation due to his fundraising efforts. Abe is currently raising money to compete across the country with his Ohio All Star Wrestling Team starting this summer. Abe’s mother Shana agreed to the trip as long as 25% of all funds raised, are donated back to a charity of his choice.

Petroleum Association honors Jamie Lohr of

Guardian Fuel The Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association honored Jamie Lohr, of Guardian Fuel as 2012 Marketer of the Year at its recent annual convention. “We recognize her for being instrumental in fostering inter-association cooperation, as evidenced by this joint conference between ICPA and the Oil Heat Institute of Rhode Island,” said ICPA President Gene Guilford. “We also recognize her for the legislative work she’s done by testifying before state legislatures, advocating for low sulfur standards for heating oil, and a biofuels mandate. She is an example of an active, articulate marketer, willing and able to speak her mind with legislators. We need more like her in Hartford and Providence!” The ICPA recently held its annual convention in conjunction with the Oil Heat Institute of Rhode Island. Jamie and her husband Randy, who live in Stonington, CT, own Guardian Fuel based in Westerly, Rhode Island. Guardian Fuel diversified its offerings to include not only heating oil, but also Bioheat ®, gasoline and diesel. Jamie and Randy are passionate advocates for the use of biofuels. “Not only does Guardian Fuel talk the talk, they also walk the walk; and are converting 100 percent of their customer base to Bioheat,” Guilford noted.

Chelsea Groton Bank: A Higher Plane in Banking

BauerFinancial, Inc., Coral Gables, Florida, the nation’s bank rating firm, proudly recognizes Chelsea Groton Bank, Norwich, Connecticut as one of the strongest banks in the nation. Having earned BauerFinancial’s highest 5-Star rating for strength and stability, Chelsea Groton Bank has once again proven its commitment to superiority. To earn Bauer’s 5-Star Superior rating, Chelsea Groton Bank must excel in areas of capital adequacy, delinquent loan levels and profitability to name just a few. The fact that Chelsea Groton Bank has done so for 67 consecutive quarters puts it on an even higher plane of “Exceptional Performance Banks”. This group consists of those institutions that have earned this highest rating for ten straight years.

Local business owners Mary Comstock, Jessica Ferrol, and Melanie Goggin decided to kick off the holiday season and the day better known as “Cyber Monday” with some of their own local holiday shopping deals and Christmas fun. Children’s activities included making Candy Cane Reindeer and Writing Letters to Santa then mailing them in the North Pole Mailbox. Adults enjoyed chocolate smoothies from Real Nutrition and Hot Chai Tea from Community Ayurvedic Herbalist. Delicious Christmas cookies were had by all. The evening was not just about shopping and treats. The night was also about helping the community. They also collected can goods for their neighbors.” The owners described helping their local community as a very important part of their lives. In exchange for a nonperishable food donation supporters were entered into a raffle drawing for great prizes.

Member News

The Westerly Sun is pleased to publish the Greater Westerly/Pawcatuck Chamber Membership Directory again in 2013. The Membership Directory gains the attention of the community in a year-long resource guide complete with a phone directory and index for easy reference. Have your marketing dollars work for you in 2013, for more information contact 348-1000 x264 or your Westerly Sun Sales Executive.

Grey Sail Brewery “Bring Back the

Beach” Blonde Ale

Jennifer and Alan Brinton of Grey Sail Brewery had a creative and generous proposal: create a unique beer that captures the essence of summer and can be used as a powerful fundraising tool to support the businesses affected by the storm. Their brewmaster developed this special ale which is available at local package stores and at the Ocean House fundraiser on February 23. Incredibly, 100% of the product profit is being donated to support The Chamber’s grant fund for businesses.

Chamber Exec. Lisa Konicki and President Deb Turrisi sample the “Bring Back the Beach Blonde Ale”. Cheers to a great idea! Thanks to UBS for donating hundreds of work gloves!

A Hair Cut-A-Thon by Crystal Young raised over $200.

These kids raised $550 for the Westerly Town beach improvements by holding a yard sale!

Nina McCarthy, a Westerly resident, held a fundraising event with friends in Warwick and raised $500.

Misquamicut Beach Benefit Three downtown pubs partnered with the amazing Susan Denice of Jonathan Edwards Winery to present the “Misquamicut Beach Benefit”. The Twisted Vine, The Malted Barley and Perks & Corks generously hosted a simultaneous event with music, auction, artwork, special t-shirts and more. This blockbuster fundraiser raised over $26,000 for the Bring Back the Beach initiative. Bands performed for free and the restaurants donated a percentage of their sales. Susan did an incredible job leading the committee and organizing every detail. Bryan and Jen Keilty of Perks & Corks donated their space, coordinated bands and contributed significantly to the Misquamicut Beach Benefit, along with The Twisted Vine and The Malted Barley.

Jean Trefes of The Windjammer and Sally Sorenson of the Horse of a

Different Color enjoyed the Bash For the Beach I and II at the

Knickerbocker. These events raised about $5,000.

Community Grass Roots Efforts to Support our “Bring Back the Beach” Campaign

Left: Lisa Konicki with Guy Mariano of The Elms.

Right: Jane Holdredge with the incredible raffle

item donated by Celebrations Flowers.

Bob Elmer of The Elms, Donna Ursillo of Westerly Sun, and Lisa Nelson of Janie Appleseed.

Bernadette Drennen of Cardinal Honda with Karen Hawthorn of The Elms.

Young professionals make valuable connections at BAH events. Blunt White of Chelsea Groton Bank, Dennis and Melanie Goggin of Melanie’s Downtown Creamery.

Scenes From Business After Hours at

Our Board Members In Action The Chamber’s Board of Directors sprung into action just days after the Hurricane. Starting with an unprecedented “emergency meeting” that had perfect attendance, members learned of the Bring Back the Beach initiative, need for volunteers, outline of an aggressive fundraising program, and the many ways we could rally our resources to help Misquamicut.

Maria Allen and Deb Turrisi jumped in and helped the staff and volunteer Barbara Stillman process literally thousands of passes for residents and contractors during the 3 week restricted access period. Many Board members volunteered in the destruction area. Bruce Morrow of Valenti Auto donated us of a van for The Chamber to transport volunteers and deliver lunches. Theresa Cavalier helped create donation jars, agreed to process internet t-shirt orders, and also helped coordinate the TGIF receipt collection which netted $11,000 for the grant fund. Paul Donahue of Westerly Paints distributed 60 donation jars throughout town and makes regular pick ups of funds. Michelle Pinto helped circulate t-shirts for sale, promote fundraisers, and provide lunches. Tony Spino of Dunns Corners Market and Rosario Cacciatore of Pizza Place donated a large amount of food to support the volunteers working at the beach. Rosario also donated over $2,000 to the grant fund when he contributed 25% of his sales on one specific day to the cause. Jan Chamberlain of First Physical Therapy bought Bring back the Beach t-shirts for

her entire staff and donated $1,000 to the grant fund. Matt Cunningham of Geraldine Cunningham and Associates donated $1,000 and Rudi Hauser of Hauser Chocolates donated $500. Stephanie Shawn of CoCo’s salon held a Ladies Night fundraiser at the Twisted Vine and raised several hundred dollars. Mike Benevides of Benevides & Turano CPAs was one of the first volunteers at the beach, helping Maria’s Seaside Café shovel out. The Chamber staff has worked a large amount of extra hours, unpaid, to support the businesses. It has been our pleasure to deliver lunches, recruit volunteers, secure needed water and supplies, host information meetings, host events, process passes, and all the other extra duties we have assumed during the past 14 weeks. While it has been exhausting for sure, there is no greater joy than knowing that our work truly matters and that we have made a positive difference in our community. We would like to thank everyone who

has bought a shirt, donated a raffle item,

attended a fundraiser, dropped money in

the donation jars, or contributed in any

way whatsoever to the Bring Back the

Beach initiative. This has truly been a

beautiful example of a caring community

coming together to help their fellow

citizens. The Chamber, Misquamicut

Business Association, Serve RI and

Jonnycake Center could not have

accomplished so much good without

widespread generous support of the

region and beyond.

Please join us February 9- for the Beach

Bowl-A-Thon at Alley Katz Bowling Alley.

7-9:00 pm. Sponsor a team and join in

the fun or sponsor a lane to advertise on.

Lots of raffle prizes will be available. 25%

of beer/food sales at Cleats will be

donated to the fund as well. Goal is to

raise $10,000.

February 17- Blues For the Beach concert

at the Knickerbocker, 2pm. 100% of the

proceeds to benefit improvements to

Westerly Old Town Beach

February 23- Black & White Masquerade

1. Within 24 hours of the hurricane we established the Jump Start Small Business Recovery Grant Program and donated the first $15,000

2. Within 36 hours of hurricane we developed the “Bring Back the Beach” slogan and logo and ordered t-shirts/hoodies.

3. For nearly 3 weeks, we served as an arm of the The Town by providing a satellite office of Town Hall at The Chamber where we processed access passes for residents, businesses and contractors.

4. We hosted informational meetings with state departments to disseminate information to businesses

5. We secured donations of lunches for volunteers and delivered the food to businesses at the beach, such as Tom Jasulavic at Purple Ape (below).

6. We collected 2 palettes of bottled

water, hundreds of work gloves, cases of sodas, hundreds of dust masks, and other supplies for the businesses.

7. We provided constant communication to the businesses regarding access to their properties, sand disposal, permitting, etc.

8. We provided free office space to the SBA for 3 weeks so they could assist businesses with loan applications.

9. We provided free office space to FEMA for 3 weeks so they could provide services to businesses.

10. We provided free office space to the RIEDC so that they could conduct business outreach.

Leadership: How This Chamber Responded to Hurricane Sandy

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Applications are now available for Charter Oak Federal Credit Union’s Community Scholarship Program. Six student members will be chosen and each awarded $2,000 scholarships in April 2013. Scholarship applicants must be well-rounded student members who have made it a priority to give back to their communities while excelling in academics and extracurricular activities. Applicants must also attend an accredited institution of higher education in Fall 2013. Applications and guidelines

can be found on Charter Oak’s website,

www.CharterOak.org/community/scholar

ships.

Ed Haberek Jr. and The Stonington Board of Selectman Meeting presented Chris DiPaola and WBLQ with an official commendation on behalf of the tremendous work they did during Superstorm Sandy.

Congratulations to Chamber Events Manager Molly Evak and her husband Tanner on the birth of their daughter, Hazel. Mom and baby are doing great. While Molly is out on Maternity leave, Chamber President Deb Turrisi and volunteer Celina Bulzone have volunteered up to cover her duties.

Globe Magazine’s January 13 "Wedding Issue" was entitled "Rhode Island Lovely- a celebration to remember". The feature story is about the Shelter Harbor Golf Club being the idyllic setting for a wedding. The article inside is titled "Alfresco Fabulous- A pretty outdoor ceremony and reception in Westerly, Rhode Island" and has many large photos. This publicity is awesome for our community albeit very unusual for a major Boston publication to give such top billing to a venue out of their state. Kudos for Westerly! We have no plans to reciprocate and feature a Boston property on the cover of "Go Westerly" Magazine.

Chelsea Groton Bank: A Higher Plane in Banking

BauerFinancial, Inc., Coral Gables, Florida, the nation’s bank rating firm, proudly recognizes Chelsea Groton Bank, Norwich, Connecticut as one of the strongest banks in the nation. Having earned BauerFinancial’s highest 5-Star rating for strength and stability, Chelsea Groton Bank has once again proven its commitment to superiority. To earn Bauer’s 5-Star Superior rating, Chelsea Groton Bank must excel in areas of capital adequacy, delinquent loan levels and profitability to name just a few. The fact that Chelsea Groton Bank has done so for 67 consecutive quarters puts it on an even higher plane of “Exceptional Performance Banks”. This group consists of those institutions that have earned this highest rating for ten straight years. Dime Bank Foundation has awarded $55,150 to 17 non-profit organizations located in New London County and Westerly/Pawcatuck areas in January 2013 under the direction of its newly appointed administrator, Dee Sullivan. Local grant recipients include: Westerly Area Rest Meals, Inc. (WARM) and Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center, Inc.

Bold R Dash is coming to Misquamicut Beach! Rhode Island’s own challenging 5k military style mile obstacle course race will take place on May 18 and 19. It will test endurance strength and coordination. 3,000 participants will compete in a course that is laid out entirely in the sand at Misquamicut Beach and Westerly Town Beach. Participants will face 20+ obstacles including walls, cargo nets, boulders, chains, mud, etc. The 2 day race will begin at 9am and festivities will conclude at 5.

On Friday, December 14th

Wave Federal Credit Union held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its new Westerly Branch Office at 2 Wilder Avenue, Westerly.

Shown (L-R) Heather Carter, Wave Loan

Officer/MSR; David Dupéré, Wave Executive Vice President and COO; Colleen Walsh-Jervis, Wave

Teller; Mildred Stolgitis, Wave Westerly Branch Manager; Brent Burdick, Former Chairman, Cottrell

Federal Credit Union; Ron Racine, Wave Chairman

of the Board; Paul Archambault, Wave President & CEO; Steve Hartford, Westerly Town Manager;

Mari Rodriguez, Wave Mortgage Consultant; Lisa

Konicki, Executive Director, the Greater Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce; Ken

Parrilla, Westerly Town Councilman; Debra Turisi,

President, the Greater Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce; Pier-Mari Toledo, Wave

Director of Mortgage Lending; Jim Cahoone,

Coldwell Banker Cahoone, Realtors; and Wanda Grillo, Wave Director of Retail Banking and

Marketing.

Façade Improvements Downtown

The Chamber Foundation contributed $500 grants towards the replacement of glass windows at Melissa Ashley Bridal and Miceli’s Furniture.

Member News