Greater Haverhill Chamber to Pay Tribute to History of Commerce at Centennial Dinner Celebration

The Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the 100th Annual Dinner and Awards Celebration. This GALA EVENT will be a time to recognize the history of business and commerce in the City of Haverhill, from Shoe Manufacturing to Creative Economy, and celebrate a century of commerce, business growth and development in our region.

This celebration will also be a time to honor the winners of the Charles E. Billups Award, Jerry Loy Award, Community Leader Award and the Chamber Service Award. In addition, plans to pay tribute to businesses with endurance through special awards, such as the Longevity Award, Half-Century Award and the Centenarian Award are already in the works.

Each year this special event is provided to the membership and surrounding community as a way of celebrating the accomplishments of the Chamber, its membership and the communities it serves. In addition, it is a moment to introduce our incoming Directors. Most importantly, it is a vehicle for recognizing outstanding business leaders vital to the viability of our chamber and our professional community.

Hugely popular this affair will feature a prime rib dinner, historical retrospective of Haverhill’s industry and evolution, and a keynote address from Brian Longwell, owner of Special Projects Group, Inc. and Corporate Comedian. Longwell will also emcee the event.

In conjunction with this milestone dinner, as a way of allowing for the involvement of the local community at large, and in support of the economic growth and vitality of the Greater Haverhill area, the Chamber has launched the “100 for $100” campaign. Any member of the community, including residents, past and current civic leaders, retired business professionals and others vested in the betterment of the Merrimack Valley can participate by becoming an Allied Member.

The event has been scheduled for Thursday, June 2 from 5:30 to 9:00 PM at Renaissance Golf Club in Haverhill. Tickets go on sale April 1st for $100 per person. Tables of ten are available for $950. Reservations may be made by contact Melissa Seavey at the Chamber office at (978) 373-5663. Additional information may be found at www.haverhillchamber.com.

This event is being sponsored by Pentucket Bank our Premier Sponsor; Trinity E.M.S., National Grid and Align Credit union, Major Sponsors and Northern Essex Comm. College and Holy Family Hospital, Business Sponsors. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Ad space in the dinner program is available. Sponsors and advertisers will gain exposure to over 300 premier business leaders, community members and elected officials in the area. Contact the Chamber office at 978-373-5663 or info@haverhillchamber.com for more information.

About Brian Longwell

Brian Longwell has an MS in electrical engineering and spent 11 years working for AT&T’s Bell Laboratories. Radio Shack employees cannot help him. After realizing that he had successfully burned his career path bridges before crossing them (his performance reviews frequently stated that he was “disruptive at meetings”), he left and started his own design consulting company Special Projects Group, Inc. (www.spginc.com) which has employees, vacation policies, and Mr. Longwell vaguely in charge. Parallel to all of this, Mr. Longwell has worked as a professional comedian, successful enough to fund the formation of Special Projects Group, which in turn has been successful enough to allow him to return to performing so that he can once again fund the company to keep it open.

As a Corporate Comedian Brian’s “presentation” gets serious laughs from business owners, managers and entrepreneurs alike. If you are thinking that his time with us will be the same old “RAH RAH” talk typical of business coaches and corporate motivational speakers – stay tuned! Brian starts out telling stories like any other speaker does, but then turns on his overhead projector with stick figure slides, and a seriously entertaining and humorous performance that will have you rolling in the aisles.

About the Chamber

Established in 1888, the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business and the heart of 14 communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We create and foster a prosperous business environment and support the growth and profitability of our members. We provide the resources, advocacy, information, networking and marketing opportunities for our members’ success.