Mayor-elect delivered keynote at Chamber’s 75Th; Nogueira accepted Lifetime Award
Mayor-elect Ballantyne keynotes Chamber dinner; Gilda Nogueira receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Katjana Ballantyne, immigrant, businesswoman, and Somerville’s Mayor-elect delivered the keynote address at the Somerville Chamber of Commerce’s 75th Anniversary Annual Dinner & Powderhouse Awards on November 17th. Nine-term Mayor Joseph Curtatone was also a featured speaker. Gilda M. Nogueira, President & CEO of East Cambridge Savings Bank, was recipient of the John W. Fitzgerald Lifetime Achievement Award. The Chamber also introduced its new Chair of the Board of the Directors Adam Portney, Loan Officer, Middlesex Federal Savings.
Nogueira was joined by Powderhouse Award recipients for business, economic and community excellence: Distinguished Service to the Chamber, Kevin Gatlin, Winter Hill Bank; Distinguished Service to Greater Somerville Keidrick Roy, Harvard University; Business Neighbor of the Year, David Maher, Cambridge Chamber; Excellence in Dining & Nightlife, Jess Willis, The Independent;
Non Profit of the Year, Food for Free; Green Business of the Year, SparkCharge; Small Business of the Year, RightHand Robotics; Excellence in Public Service, Denise Provost, former State Representative; Excellence in Economic Development, John Fenton, DLJ;
The annual dinner is the foremost gathering of local business, civic, and community leaders. Bunker Hill Community College and Verizon were the major co-sponsors, along with East Cambridge Savings Bank as the opening reception sponsor and Adam Dash & Associates, Gentle Giant Moving, and Tufts University as centerpiece sponsors.
The Chamber is our community’s premier business and employer network. Led by a diverse and dynamic Board of Directors, the Chamber takes on issues that affect the local economy and urban quality of life, and advocates for business and community development. The Chamber has been deeply involved in the redevelopment of Assembly Square and Union Square, the Green Line extension project, and planning and zoning issues in and around the Innerbelt, Davis Square, McGrath, as well as along Somerville Avenue and Broadway. The Chamber’s Dining & Nightlife Group has been instrumental in the development of Somerville’s metropolitan appeal.
