South Shore Chamber of Commerce

Member Spotlight: A.W. Perry, Inc. of Boston and the South Shore announces the formation of Perry Brokerage Associates

 
 

A.W. Perry, Inc., a dedicated Chamber Partner, has announced the formation of Perry Brokerage Associates.

Building on the company's more than 125 years of commercial property ownership, management, development and leasing expertise, Perry Brokerage Associates is an independent entity providing leasing, sales and acquisition services, representing landlords and tenants in the Boston and South Shore markets.

"Perry Brokerage Associates provides commercial real estate services commensurate with the high level of quality and client satisfaction that the A.W. Perry name represents." said Richard Beal, President of PBA.

A.W. Perry, Inc. has been an active member of the South Shore Chamber of Commerce for 37 years and current President Jack Spurr serves as Chairman of the SSCC Board of Directors.

 
Richard Beal, President, PBA

Learn more about Perry Brokerage Associates by visiting www.perrybrokerage.com

 

The Chamber Honors the 28 Years of Service of Two Dedicated HRG Advisory Board Members

On Friday June 17, Chamber President & CEO Peter Forman, Board Chair Jack Spurr, and Board 1st Vice Chair Paula Harris joined current and past members of the Chamber’s Human Resources Group Advisory Board in recognizing two members for their 28+ years each of service to the Chamber.

Anne Durgin, Human Resources Manager for VentureTape, a 3M company located in Rockland has resigned from the Human Resources Group Advisory Board.  Over the past 28 years Anne has brought to the table expertise and ideas that have made the group what it is today.  Anne is quick to point out that she is leaving only the Advisory Board, not the Human Resources Group.  She plans to remain an active participant in the Human Resources Group programming.

Catherine (Cackie) Scifres has served more than 28 years on the Advisory Board beginning when it was called the Personnel Committee.  She also is recognized as a pioneer within the Chamber – with the distinction of being one of the first women to serve on the Chamber Board.  After almost 32 years with National Fire Protection Agency, Cackie is retiring.  When asked about her membership and  leadership of the Chamber Human Resources Group Advisory Board, she responded with the following:

“I have been with NFPA almost 32 years.  I joined them just before they moved from downtown Boston to Quincy.  Professionally I had no network on the south shore so we joined the chamber and I got involved.  The first project that I can remember is working on an employee handbook for the chamber.  I joined the HRG early on and served on the Board of the Chamber back in the early 90’s.  I stayed involved with the HRG because it provided me with a network of HR professionals upon whom I could call when I needed some advice.  It also provided me with some professional training that was time efficient and convenient.  Over the years I have enjoyed getting to know different members of the HRG on a professional and personal basis.  They take their jobs seriously and that is reflected in the commitment they bring to the committee and the professional level of the programming.  I will miss the people but hope that I will maintain the relationships after my retirement.”

Please join the Chamber in thanking these two extraordinary women for their commitment and leadership.

-Nadine Pfautz, SPHR

South Shore Positioned for Growth in Changing MA Business Climate

Jim Stergios of Pioneer Institute, a Boston based think tank, recently met with some South Shore Chamber leaders about Pioneer's report on the changing look of businesses in Massachusetts and the discouraging implications for job growth.

We have a net loss of companies that are headquartered here, national/international companies with local offices have reduced the number of jobs in those offices, and the rise in new businesses is with self-employed entrepreneurs who may not even plan on adding employees. The challenge facing the state is doing more to cultivate home-grown growth of local businesses.

The South Shore though is positioned to set a different trend. The extraordinary growth in housing planned for this area means we have the potential to draw more of the entrepreneurs who will be starting their own businesses and more of the workforce that larger employers need. For companies that need to have a solid workforce this could make business re-location or expansion to the South Shore more attractive. We won't change the state trends but to use a tired analogy the South Shore could stand to significantly grow its piece of what amounts to a shrinking state pie.

Our challenge is to attract those people, readily accepting new business growth and working to create a vibrant regional economy that helps business growth. This makes the Chamber's work more important than ever as we begin to see the development that is taking off on the South Shore.

You can the op-ed piece that Jim and I wrote for the Patriot Ledger at  

http://www.patriotledger.com/opinions/opinions_columnists/x1781764727/COMMENTARY-Trend-points-to-need-for-broader-job-creation-effort

You can read the Pioneer report at

http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/pdf/110531_TheBigShrink.pdf

-Peter Forman, President & CEO

State Treasurer Steve Grossman Promotes New Small Business Loan Program

State Treasurer Steve Grossman and local state officials met with some local banks and business leaders last week. He was promoting a new program of depositing up to $5 million in a participating bank to be used for loans to small businesses. While the goal of leveraging state deposits for business growth is positive there were mixed reactions about how effectively the money could be used.

Although state money is being deposited with a goal of seeing it loaned to businesses, the banks must still conform to federal banking regulations and all the new oversight. Those regulations make make it tougher for small businesses to meet some of the standards for what is considered a safe loan.

My sense is that many area businesses are finding it easier to get loans and lines of credit when attached to some asset like property, equipment or even accounts receivables. However, many of our small businesses may need to invest in their own businesses with new staff, marketing, training and other intangibles that are harder to borrow against with current banking regulations.

Give the Treasurer credit on this initiative. He is trying to be creative on how to leverage deposits of state dollars. The problem is still an overly cautious regulatory system that makes it hard for banks to help small businesses as much as they would like to.

For more informatioin on the Trasurer's meeting last week you can go to this link on Wicked Local Weymouth. http://www.wickedlocal.com/weymouth/features/x1534027442/Grossman-makes-case-for-small-business-loans#axzz1PA6L8bYU