EMPLOYMENT

Stephen J. LaFlamme of Windham has joined Jewett City Savings Bank as vice president/commercial loan officer. He will be located at the bank’s Dayville office. Most recently, he held commercial lending posts at Simsbury Bank and Savings Institute. Earlier in his career, he held finance and accounting positions with Chronicle Printing Company, General Building Supply, and Travelers. For more information, visit www.JCSBank.com.

NETWORKING

The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT has announced a new date for its orientation for new members: Wednesday, May 30, 8-9:30 a.m. at the Chamber's office, 914 Hartford Turnpike, 2nd floor, Waterford. Light refreshments and coffee will be provided. There is no charge to attend but an RSVP is requested in advance by visiting www.ChamberECT.com/events or calling (860) 701-9113.

The Young Professionals of Eastern CT will hold their monthly YPsocial networking event at the Center for Hospice Care, 227 Dunham St., Norwich on Thursday, May 24, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free for YPECT members, $10 for guests, and includes food, wine, beer, soft drinks, and door prize drawing entry. Learn more and register at www.YPECT.com or call the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT at (860) 701-9113. YPECT is administered as a division of the Chamber. Its sponsors include Atlantic Broadband, Keith Turner/Homestead Funding, and Charter Oak Federal Credit Union.

WORKSHOPS 

The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT will host a workshop about “Nurturing Leads Through Content” on Wednesday, May 30, noon to 1 p.m. at the Chamber’s office, 914 Hartford Turnpike, 2nd floor, Waterford. Marketing expert Ron Wertz from Miranda Creative, Inc. will offer participants insight on selecting the best customer relationship management (CRM) applications, as well as strategies to nurture leads through email and other business content. Guests are encouraged to bring lunch. Admission is free for any employee who works for a business that belongs to the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT, $10 for all others. Learn more and register at www.ChamberECT.com/events or call (860) 701-9113. 

The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT will present a workshop about "Developing Meaningful Business Relationships" on Tuesday, May 22, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Atria Crossroads Place, 1 Beechwood Drive, Waterford. Michelle Drake, Community Sales Director for Atria Crossroads Place, will show guests how their businesses can connect with other businesses and community leaders on a deeper level. Admission is free for any employee who works for a business affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT, $10 for all others. Light refreshments will be served. Advance registration is requested by visiting www.ChamberECT.com/events or by calling (860) 701-9113.

SCORE will host the following workshops:

"Search Engine Optimization Basics," Wednesday, May 23, 6-7:30 p.m., East Lyme Public Library, 39 Society Road, Niantic. Presenter is Anne Driscoll.

"Effective Financial Planning," Wednesday, May 24, 10-11:30 a.m., Old Saybrook Town Hall, 302 Main St. Presenter is John Porter.

“Web Foundations for Small Business,” Wednesday, May 30, 9:30–11 a.m., East Lyme Public Library, 39 Society Road, Niantic. Presenter is Anne Driscoll.

“How to Start and Run Your Non-Profit Business - Part 2,” Thursday, May 31, 10:30 a.m.–noon, The Public Library of New London, 63 Huntington St. Presenter is Bob Potter.

“The ABCs of a Business Plan and Understanding a SWOT Analysis,” Wednesday, June 6, 6-7:30 p.m., Groton Public Library, 52 Newtown Road. Presenter is Economic Development Specialist Lisa Powell of the Small Business Association. 

“Brand Strategy 101 for Small Business,” Thursday, June 7, 6–7:30 p.m., Acton Public Library, 60 Old Boston Post Road, Old Saybrook. Presenter is Arlene Saffron.

For more information, contact Anne Driscoll at anne.driscoll@scorevolunteer.org. To register, visit www.sect.score.org.

EVENTS

The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT's 30th Annual Golf Tournament will take place on Monday, June 4 at Stonington Country Club, 396 Taugwonk Road. Flight A tees off at 8:30 a.m., Flight B tees at 1:30 p.m. A dinner and awards ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. Visit www.ChamberECT.com/golf or call (860) 701-9113 to register individually or as a team, or to inquire about marketing opportunities.

The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT will hold its Citizen of the Year Celebration Dinner honoring Louis Ziegler on Wednesday, May 23, from 6-9 p.m. at Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa, 625 North Road, Groton. Ziegler is Executive Director of the Mohegan Tribal Housing. Tickets are $85 per person, requested in advance at www.ChamberECT.com/coy or call (860) 701-9113.

GRAND OPENINGS

The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT will host a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Adaptive Prosthetics on Thursday, May 31, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 567 Vauxhall St. Ext., Waterford. Admission is free and open to the public with no RSVP necessary. Learn more at www.ChamberECT.com/events or call (860) 701-9113.

The Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce hosted a Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening at Mystic Massage & Wellness on May 17. The business recently relocated to 60 Willow St., Mystic, Suite 102B in the old spool mill. For more information, visit www.mysticmassagect.com or www.mysticchamber.org.

Retina Group of New England has recently purchased 174 Cross Road, Waterford. The retinal specialists will move their New London location to Waterford in the August-September period. They also have an office in Norwich. Ron Lyman and Geri Jacobson of Lyman Real Estate were the buyer’s agents.

HONORS

The Annual Southeastern CT Education Leaders Breakfast, sponsored by The Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce, Groton Utilities, Peoples Bank and Perkins Murphy, will be held May 24, 7:30-9 a.m. at the Groton Inn & Suites. One junior and one senior are chosen from each school. Seniors are given a topic and deliver a speech to the audience. Seniors are each given a $100 scholarship from People's United Bank, a certificate for consultation from Perkins Murphy College Admission Consultants, and a certificate of congratulations from the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce.

The 2018 student recipients are East Lyme, Andrew Zhang and Sumeet Kadian; Ella T Grasso SECT Vocational Tech, Lawrence Ravel and Sequoia Hood; Ledyard High, Julia Paul and Virginia York; Marine Science Magnet, Danielle McIlquham and Cooper Olson; Robert E. Fitch, Mitchell Shapiro-Albert and Olivia Carney; Stonington High, Abby Wang and Caroline Morehouse; Waterford High, Sophie Wang and Cadin Maynard; Wheeler High, Anjum Shaikh and Sarah Spracklin; and The Williams School, Rachel Goldstein and Jielei "Klaire" Li.

The public is invited to attend at $15 per seat. RSVP at www.mysticchamber.org/events. For more information, contacat Kristin Hartnett at kristin@mysticchamber.org or 860-572-9578.

Charter Oak Federal Credit Union has received the Chairman’s Award of Excellence from the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut for its longtime partnership with the agency and extensive employee contributions to help those in need throughout New London County. In addition, the social services agency bestowed its Coordinator of the Year Award to Maria Tuneski, Charter Oak’s Payroll Administrator, for leading this year’s successful United Way campaign.

During the 2017-2018 annual United Way campaign, Charter Oak and its employees raised nearly $89,000 for the Gales Ferry-based agency, a 25 percent increase from its giving efforts for the 2016-2017 United Way campaign.  

The Center for Financial Training recently honored 12 Chelsea Groton Bank employees: Susan Bailey of Norwich, Alyssa Bryan of Gales Ferry, Jessica Charette of Groton, Stephanie Han of East Lyme, Dorothy Houde of Bozrah, Lisa Lamphere of Quaker Hill, Kerri McGrath of Waterford, Amy Prince of Richmond, R.I., Jennifer Seuferling of Groton, Allison Silva of Richmond, R.I., Lori Tracy-Dufficy of Groton, and Kayla Trenholm of Hope Valley, R.I. CFT provides banker education and training. To learn more, visit www.cftnow.org. For more informaton on the bank, visit www.chelseagroton.com.

GIVING

The Thames River Heritage Park water taxi season passes are available for purchase at www.thamesriveheritagepark.org. For a limited time Chelsea Groton Bank will donate $20 to the park for every season pass sold up to $1,000. For $50 for adults and $30 for children 12 and under (new this year), a season pass holder gets unlimited rides on the water taxi all days, all season. Now in its third season the water taxis will begin operation Friday, May 25. The service connects Fort Trumbull in New London to the downtown New London Historic Waterfront District and Fort Griswold in Groton.

Thames River Heritage Park 2018 sponsors include Groton Utilities, The Day, Atlantic Broadband, Thames Valley Communications, WNLC 98.7, The Resident, Crockers Boatyard, and Connecticut Port Authority, with additional support from The Cities of New London and Groton and the Town of Groton.

The tenth annual Holy Smoke! Cigar Dinner will take place at Enders Island on Saturday, June 16, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. The evening will feature premium cigars, a raw bar, a lobster and steak dinner, live music, and open bar. The funds raised benefit the recovery program at Enders Island. For more information, visit www.endersisland.com/holysmoke.

American Ambulance Service, Inc., took part in an AED donation ceremony, along with Paramedic Mark Greczkowski, to Lowe's in Lisbon. Mark’s father, Chester Greczkowski, experienced cardiac arrest on Sept. 25, 2017 while working at Lowe's. His co-workers performed CPR and saved his life. ZOLL Medical Corp. of Chelmsford, Mass., donated the AED, and American Ambulance Service, Inc. donated a first aid bag. Mark will be donating his services to educate the Lowe's team.

Coastal Connecticut Life, a real estate team associated with Randall Realtors and Christie's International Real Estate, has begun offering the U.S. Military on the Move rebate program. This allows military homebuyers and sellers to get 20 percent of commission at closing, in the form of a credit rebate. For more information, visit www.coastalctlife.com/USMOM.

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