PEABODY — The Peabody Chamber of Commerce (PACC) is giving residents a chance to hear from their elected officials on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at a virtual state of the region address.
Espresso premier sponsor, North Shore Bank, in conjunction with the chamber, will be holding “Lattes with Legislators,” a virtual Zoom event in which Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt, State Sen. Joan B. Lovely, State Rep. Thomas Walsh, and State Rep. Sally Kerans will discuss the current local business conditions and share their outlooks for the 2021 year.
“The event is our answer to the Legislative Breakfast, our state of the region event of past years, which was a grand in-person event, but obviously we had to find a different way of delivering the message to our members,” said PACC Executive Director Beth Amico. “This is an opportunity for people to hear about the up-and-coming things that pertain to their business interests. In this new world, it is an honor to have the same legislators’ panel, but in a different way we hope will be just as effective.”
Amico said each legislator will have the opportunity to share their outlook for the upcoming year as well as a look back on 2020 with emphasis on small businesses.
“Hope is on the horizon is what I am hoping will be the message,” said Amico, adding that other issues pertaining to downtown Peabody, including transportation, will also likely be discussed. “There are a lot of exciting things happening in our city.”
Bettencourt said he plans to focus on the measures the city put into place to help businesses during the pandemic.
“I want to highlight the positives of this past year, the things we did like testing, the Community Development Commission grants to business and in general just give an overall view of what went well,” he said. “I look forward to taking part and am grateful for the opportunity to hear directly from business owners, as well as from members of our state legislative delegation. Small businesses in particular face unprecedented challenges amidst the pandemic and we need to work together to help see them through it.”
North Shore Bank President and CEO Kevin Tierney will also speak.
“We are so grateful to Kevin and the North Shore Bank for allowing us to have this opportunity to share information and appreciate their continued support for all these years,” Amico said, adding that PACC Chairman of the Board Corey Jackson will speak about the chamber’s focus for 2021. Should time allow, there will also be a short Q & A session.
Bettencourt said a sign that there is light at the end of the tunnel was the transition of power on Inauguration Day.
“We desperately needed a peaceful transition with all of (the) events — the riots, the pandemic — so I believe that (Wednesday) was such a positive sign of things to come,” he said. “I am optimistic about what’s ahead of us and do feel that better days are ahead.”
The event runs from 8-9 a.m. and costs $25 per person.The chamber’s website list of sponsors includes Peabody Wealth Advisors and Citizens Inn (Cappuccino); GraVoc Associates and Reade Law Firm (Cafe au Lait); Perfecto’s Caffe, Breaking Grounds Cafe and Capito Coffee (Java), and Capital One, Hemisphere Development Group LLC, MassPay, Mills 58 and Sandra Network (Diamond).
Sponsorships are still available. The Cappuccino level is $500 and includes five Zoom links, five Cups-to-Go gifts, your business question presented to the panel, a linked logo on the event page on the chamber’s website, presence of your logo on Zoom and social media promotions and two email blasts.
The Cafe au Lait sponsorship includes three Zoom links, three Cups-to-Go links, linked logo on the event page on the chamber’s website, website, logo on Zoom and social media promotions, and one email blast.
To register online, go to the chamber’s website, www.peabodychamber.com, or email Maria Terris at [email protected].
