Chamber News
Recent Press Releases
Professional Women's Forum - April 23
Chamber $1,000 Gifts to Local Programs
Living Well in Glastonbury Winter Seminars Offered
Career Day at Glastonbury High School - February 1
Annual Meeting & Reception - January 17
January Business After Hours at Starbucks Coffee
January Business Forum-Mac Business Solutions
Recent Ribbon Cuttings
The Monaco Center for Health & Healing, LLC opened their doors at 1015 Main Street, South Glastonbury. Their focus is a “whole life” view of your health care including hormone balancing for men and woman, nutrition, supplements, exercise, massage therapy and Reiki stress reduction. Pictured above are Nancy Hayden, Annette Larrabee, Dr. Jack Monaco, Bob Zanlungo, Maribeth Abrams, Lesa McPherson, Celeste Carlton, Jay and Carole Fromer, Jill Beckett, Scott Garcia and Mary Ellen Dombrowski.
Pennachio Jewelers celebrated the opening of their new store located in Eric Town Square on April 1. Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce staff and ambassadors were present for the official ribbon cutting. Pictured above are (l to r) Mary Ellen Dombrowski, Nancy Hayden, Jay and Carole Fromer, Pam Crouch, gemologist David Dalfino, Owners Tracey Pennachio-Drost and Ron Drost and their son, Eric, Kim Meyer, Mary Jane Sullivan, Matt Winkler, Bob Zanlungo and Harry Kiernan.
The long-awaited opening of Whole Foods was celebrated with a Chamber ribbon cutting. Amongst the fresh produce above are (left to right) Chamber staff and members, Michael Keenan, Peter Billard, Nancy Hayden, Jay Fromer, Ethan Reid, Mary Ellen Dombrowski, Harry Kiernan, Phil Bombard, Whole Food staff, Kimberly Hall and Amy Calandruccio, Mike Romanski, Theresa Janeczek, Carolyne Gatesy, Dave Cox, Kim Meyer, Pam Crouch, Mary Jane Sullivan and Bob Zanlungo. Whole Foods is located in the Fox Run Mall on Welles Street.
Glastonbury now has its own Dream Dinners located in the new Eric Town Square. Chamber staff and Ambassadors donned aprons for the ribbon cutting. Pictured above are Mary Ellen Dombrowski, Peter Billard, Kimberly Markey(owner), Bobby DiBella, Carole Fromer, Andrea Bellofiore(owner), Harry Kiernan, Michele Chase(owner), Jay Fromer, Nancy Hayden, Scott Garcia and Linda Jerome. Dream Dinners is a food preparation franchise that provides all the indgredients to assemble meals ahead of time for freezing and cooking at home.
Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, The Wild Rover Irish Pub opened it’s doors and celebrated with an official Glastonbury Chamber ribbon cutting on March 6th. The new pub is located on the Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield. Pictured above is Nancy Hayden, Scott Garcia, Bonnie Johnson, Pam Crouch, Carole Fromer, pub personnel: Ian McDaid, Anthony and Cindy Riccio, Frank Delmastro, Ethan Reid and Mary Ellen Dombrowski.
Due to rapid continued rapid growth, Topcoder, Inc. recently celebrated the opening of their new offices at 95 Glastonbury Boulevard. Chamber staff and Ambassadors joined Topcoder staff (front row) at the official ribbon cutting. Pictured above (l - r) Peter Billard, Bob Zanlungo, Jill Thody, Carolyn Gatesy, Cheun Haas, Bobbie DiBella, Mike Romanski, Carolyn May, Bonnie Johnson, Jessie D’Amato-Fod, Travis Haas, Jay and Carole Fromer, Annette Larabee and Pam Crouch. TopCoder is a leader in identifying, evaluating and mobilizing effective software development resources. Through its proprietary programming competitions and rating system, TopCoder recognizes and promotes the abilities of the best programmers around the world.
Glastonbury Floor Covering, LLC kicked off the year with a ribbon cutting. Its new owners, brothers Cong and Steve Doan, were eager to show off their showroom located at 60 Hebron Avenue (above Pazzo’s.) Pictured above for the ribbon cutting was (l-r) Mary Ellen Dombrowski, Carolyn Gatesy, Jay Fromer, Stanley Zwirn, Jill Beckett, Dave Cox, Scott Garcia, Steve and Cong Doan, Peter Billard, Bob Zanlungo, Pam Crouch, Annette Larabee, Kim Meyer, Carole Fromer, Phil Bombard and Harry Kiernan.
Networking Initiatives
WOW (Women of the Workforce)
WOW is a diverse group of women who gather to address relevant issues that equip, enlighten, empower and bring balance to a professional woman’s life. The Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce invites “women of the workforce” to their monthly educational and networking programs which are held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 8:15 - 9:30 a.m. These gatherings are held in the Cafe in Building 2, 628 Hebron Avenue, Glastonbury. All are welcome!
SPRING (Successful Professionals Rising in the Next Generation)
SPRING is a monthly gathering in Glastonbury for successful professionals under 40 to meet and exchange resources and hear from some of Connecticut's finest. Hosted by Chamber member restaurants and venues from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Member registration is $5 in advance, $7 at the door, non-members/guests $10, unless otherwise noted.
Business Forum
The Business Forum, formerly the Small Business Resource Group, meets the 4th Thursday each month from 8:15 - 9:30 am at Gateway Financial Group on Winding Brook Road, Glastonbury.. A guest speaker shares information and insights to assist entrepreneurs, small business owners, independent contractors and home based businesses to become more successful. There will be a time of "Q&A" following the presentation. Pre-registration for each meeting is $6, $8 for walk-ins and includes continental breakfast.
New Associate Member Category
The Board of Directors has approved a new membership category for retired people in the community 65 years and older. Associate Member dues are $95 annually and this category is exempt from the new member discount. Associate members will be included in the membership directory and receive regular communications from the Chamber including the monthly newsletter, The Pulse. The membership affords retired people the opportunity to stay engaged with members of the business community through Chamber programs and events; they are invited to attend at the member rate. There are also many opportunities to volunteer for events such as the Business Expo, Apple Blossom Open, Glastonbury Riverfront Music Festival and the Apple Harvest Festival. Associate Members will be exempt from voting rights. For more information contact the Glastonbury Chamber at 659-3587 or visit our website at www.glastonburychamber.com.
Government Relations
Elizabeth Gara & Associates, LLC is a full-service government relations and political consulting firm has been contracted by the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce to monitor the 2007 Legislative Session identifying and focusing on issues of specific interest to our members. With more than three decades of combined experience in legislative and regulatory affairs, Elizabeth Gara & Associates, LLC will directly monitor legislation affecting the Glastonbury Chamber members, including attending all relevant committee meetings and public hearings, reviewing all legislation and amendments introduced to ascertain the impact on Chamber members. Chamber members will be issued a user name and password to the firm's on-line bill tracking system at www.elizabethgara.com which is automatically updated twice daily. Draft sample testimony/talking points/legislative alerts for Chamber members will be distributed as needed for use in testifying and lobbying before the legislature as well as updates on pending legislative issues with e-mail updates and periodic news briefs offering a comprehensive on-line resource to the legislature.
Communications
Major changes and enhancements have been made to the Chamber website, www.glastonburychamber.com. In conjunction with Zagnutz Web Development, the Chamber is revamping our website to better serve our members by providing more current information and pertinent resources. In addition to an online membership application, we will be adding online event registration capabilities, a Community Event calendar and our newsletter, The Pulse on Business, is in a downloadable format. In addition to a current Chamber Events calendar, most registration forms are available on-line. A Glastonbury High School who came highly recommended by his Technology Education Teacher and Tomahawks Online Co-advisor is updating our website and doing some graphic design for the Chamber. Over the next year, the Chamber will be communicating with our members electronically and more frequently to increase efficiency, expedite communication and reduce expenses.
Poster Version of "Glastonbury" Painting Now Available
The Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce is now making reproductions of Cristopher Gurshin's painting, "Glastonbury," available to the general public. The colorful 16 ½ inch x 21 inch poster, printed courtesy of NewAlliance Bank, features a scenic composite of structures and landscapes in Glastonbury. The Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce originally commissioned the painting in the fall of 2004. The poster is now available at the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce, located at 2400 Main Street, for $10. A limited number of posters signed by the artist are available for $20. These colorful reproductions make great holiday gifts and mementos. Christopher Gurshin moved to Glastonbury two and a half years ago from Newburyport, Massachusetts, a beautiful town bountiful with historical landmarks. A prolific artist, Gurshin is well known for his exceptional talent for paintings on canvas, glass, old tins, furniture and wood pieces, and his watercolors and drawings in pen and ink or pencil. Much of his artwork has been reproduced into note cards, prints, calendars, and books. A self-taught artist, Christopher Gurshin was raised in Marblehead, Massachusetts, a town rich in tradition, history, and classic architecture that inspired his unique "old" New England style of primitive painting. In 1966 he moved to nearby Essex, famous for its shipbuilding heritage, and established "The Yankee House," a business specializing in old tavern signs, paintings of country and coastal scenes on wood, decorated old furniture, and mural paintings. The shop had the feel of an old country store, complete with penny candy. Christopher moved to Newburyport in 1972 and by 1975, was asked by the United States Information Agency to create a collection of tavern signs representative of the country's heritage. The signs were to become part of a display in different embassies around the world in recognition of the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976. In 1986, he had the honor of being commissioned to paint two Easter eggs for the White House, both of which are now in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Christopher lives with his wife, Janice, next door to the Old Cider Mill on Main Street, where he renovated an old garage on the property into an artist studio. Since moving to Glastonbury he created the painted image used for the 2003 Apple Harvest Festival promotional poster, which became the impetus to create a painting especially for Glastonbury. For more information about the artwork of Christopher Gurshin, go to his website at www.christophergurshin.com or call (860) 633-7707 for an appointment. To purchase a copy of the "Glastonbury" poster, stop by the Glastonbury Chamber office, which is open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Inquiries about the poster should be directed to the Glastonbury Chamber at (860) 659-3587.
