As I mentioned in last week’s column, I’m not good at acknowledging our successes at the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber, and honestly, I think that puts me in the majority. Sure, some organizations have great marketing departments and/or community-minded leaders who set aside the time to make sure that their successes are shared in the moment they happen. Yet, I think most of us are one-project-and-on-to-the-next about what we do and don’t make the time to tell the world about the impact.
December is a great time of year to look back. Annually, I take three columns in December to highlight again some of our great successes and give proper thanks to those who made it possible. Often, as we’re planning for the year to come, it helps to remind ourselves of the whos and the whats that made the current year such a success. 2022 was a whirlwind but also a year of substantial impact for our chamber, and none of it is possible without our supporters. Preemptively, thank you all.
How 2022 started: Our new name, workforce programs and tremendous support
It hardly seems possible that we’ve been the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber for less than a year, but it’s true. Last December, we were preparing for our third round (of four) of polling to the members about potential new chamber names. The new name was the culmination of our evolution. This newest version of the chamber is doing programming and projects that hadn’t been tackled before — and we needed a new name to reflect that change.
For example, our Workforce Advisory Team held three meetings in December and January to determine what workforce programs we would begin work on in 2022. This was a huge undertaking for our small-staffed chamber, but we also knew that workforce was the biggest need of our member businesses. The program got a title — Chamber Works 2030 — and the program was announced at our Awards Dinner in March.
Another instrumental program has been our annual Cornerstone Member program that we launched in 2018. The program was created for businesses that want to be tied to every program and project that the chamber produces in the year. The Chamber After Hours, 12 @ 12s, Golf Tournament, Midcoast Tree Festival, Awards Dinner, Chamber Works 2030 programs, website, e-newsletter, guest guide, WILL Power and Ambassadors committees are just some of the things our chamber produces annually at which our Cornerstone Members get recognized. Side note: Our final Chamber After Hours of the year is being held at Midcoast Humane in Brunswick on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 5-7 p.m. If you’re a business leader, you’re invited (non-members welcome).
Our 2022 Cornerstone Members are led by our top tier, called the Cornerstone Member tier, including:
• Our Cornerstone Commercial Real Estate Member: Priority Real Estate Group.
• Our Cornerstone Healthcare Member: Mid Coast-Parkview Health/MaineHealth.
• Our Cornerstone Residential Real Estate Member: RE/MAX Riverside.
• Our Cornerstone Automobile Dealership & Auto Service Member: Darling’s Brunswick Ford.
Additionally, at our Chamber Partner level, we are thrilled to have: Bath Savings Institution and Machias Savings Bank.
Finally, at our Chamber Supporter level, a big thank you for support goes to: Sitelines, P.A. and Poulin Construction.
Each of these businesses invested into the BBRC in addition to their annual dues, and that money is used to continue to build and grow the programs and projects that support all of the members. In fact, you may notice our chamber does many less community fundraising events than other chambers in the state. Partially, that’s because we have phenomenal community organizations like Main Street Bath, the Brunswick Downtown Association, the Harpswell Business Association and many more that run events that we don’t want to compete with. The other reason, though, is this Cornerstone Member program, where we don’t need to take six to eight weeks of staff time per fundraising event. Rather, we can focus that staff time on creating the programming that most influences and helps our businesses. 2023 Cornerstone Membership is now open for those interested.
Last March’s 2022 Awards Dinner was a big night for us. Not only did we introduce our new name and logo as the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber and introduce the Chamber Works 2030 workforce program, but we also got to honor four incredible leaders and their organizations. For the second consecutive year, we decided that selecting award winners based on our traditional award criteria was bit tone deaf. Many businesses were still dealing with ramifications of the pandemic, thus picking a Volunteer of the Year or Young Professional of the Year when many businesses were in survival mode was too tricky.
Therefore, we looked at the moment and decided that this unique year called for unique recognition, so we honored four organizations for their tremendous accomplishments in overcoming pandemic obstacles with Excellence in Service Awards. Each organization’s leader was also recognized for their work — thus, our 2022 Award Winners were:
• Excellence in Service Award for Adaptability & Perseverance: Curt Dale Clark and Maine State Music Theatre.
• Excellence in Service Award for Community Building & Creative Solutions: Allison Hopkins and Wilcox Wellness & Fitness.
• Excellence in Service Award for Community Promotion & Business Support: Debora King and the Brunswick Downtown Association; Amanda McDaniel and Maine Street Bath.
The winners were honored at the Awards Dinner in March 2022. We’ll actually be filming some videos with each of these winners this January as a lead-up to this year’s awards dinner in March 2023. To be clear, we’ll be going back to the traditional award categories in 2023 (in fact, nominations are now being accepted to all categories including Large & Small Business of the Year, Citizen of the Year, the Joshua Chamberlain Award, Harry C. Crooker Lifetime Achievement award and more).
Next week, we’ll dive into the Chamber Works 2030 successes, look at summer and fall successes, and then onto what we’re launching now — plus a preview of 2023.
Cory King is executive director of the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber of Commerce.
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