2016 SouthCoast Media Group Readers’ Choice
The One SouthCoast Chamber of Commerce want to congratulate our following members for being awarded 2016 SouthCoast Media Group Readers’ Choice! The Readers’ Choice list is best of the best businesses, organizations and even people around the area. The list below was nominated and voted by the general public. We are very proud of our member’s positive recognition and hopes they continue to thrive in their areas.
Auto
- Auto Body/Collision
(First Place) APC Auto Body
(First Place) Check Collision/Toyota of Dartmouth
(Second Place) Neighborhood Auto
(Honorable Mention) Carl’s Collision
- Auto Dealer Service Department
(Second Place) Toyota of Dartmouth
(Honorable Mention) Ashley Ford - Auto Glass Repair
(First Place) Glaser Glass - Auto Repair- Independent
(Second Place) Glassman Auto
(Honorable Mention) Muffler & Brake
(Honorable Mention) Ralphs Auto Center
(Honorable Mention) Tom’s Auto Repair - Used Car Dealer
(Second Place) Ralph’s Auto Center
(Second Place) Toyota of Dartmouth
(Honorable Mention) Tasca Nissan
Beauty
- Massage
(First Place) Divine Massage
Dining
- Bakery
(First Place) Sunrise Bakery
(Second Place) The Black Whale - Burger
(First Place) DNB Craft Burgers
(First Place) Mary’s Steamed Cheeseburgers & Mini Hot Dogs - Catering
(Second Place) Russell Morin - Chowder
(Honorable Mention) Mike’s, Fairhaven - Dessert
(First Place) Acushnet Creamery
(Honorable Mention) Sunrise Bakery - Dinner
(First Place) Not Your Average Joe’s
(Second Place) The Pasta House
(Honorable Mention) The Black Whale - Family Dining
(First Place) Not Your Average Joe’s - Ice Cream
(First Place) Acushnet Creamery - Italian
(First Place) Pasta House - Local Coffee Shops
(Honorable Mention) Dunkin’ Donuts - Lunch
(Honorable Mention) No Problemo - Other Ethnic
(First Place) No Problemo - Pizza
(Second Place) Pa Raffas
(Honorable Mention) Not Your Average Joe’s - Portuguese
(First Place) Antonio’s - Seafood
(Second Place) Waterfront Grille
(Honorable Mention) The Black Whale - Waterfront Dining
(First Place) The Black Whale
(Second Place) Waterfront Grille
Health
- Dentist
(First Place) Coastal Dental Fairhaven - Hospitals
(First Place) South Coast Hospital Group
(Second Place) Tobey Hospital
(Honorable Mention) Charlton Memorial Hospital
- Rehabilitation Services
(First Place) Community Nurse Fairhaven
Kids & Education
- College
(First Place) UMASS Dartmouth
(Second Place) Bristol Community College
(Honorable Mention) Bridgewater State - Museums
(First Place) Whaling Museum
(Second Place) Fort Tabor - Preschool
(Second Place) YMCA Southcoast – New Bedford
Services
- Carpet Cleaning
(First Place) Cyclone Cleaning - Financial
(First Place) Bay Coast Bank
(Second Place) Fall River Municipal Credit Union
(Honorable Mention) Citizens Bank
(Honorable Mention) New Bedford Credit Union
(Honorable Mention) St. Anne’s Credit Union - Funeral Home
(First Place) Saunders-Dwyer Funeral Home
(Second Place) Perry Funeral Home
(Honorable Mention) Aubertine-Lopes Funeral Home
(Honorable Mention) Hathaway Funeral Home - Home Care Agency
(First Place) Community Nurse - Insurance
(First Place) Sylvia Insurance
(Second Place) FB Insure
(Second Place) Liberty Mutual
(Second Place) Tomlinson and O’Neil - Nursing Home
(Second Place) Our Lady’s Haven - Photographer
(Second Place) Miss Z Photography - Realtor or Real Estate Agency
(First Place) Arruda Realty
(First Place) Jack Conway
(Second Place) Pelletier Realty - Senior Living
(First Place) Whaler’s Cove
(Second Place) The Residence at Cedar Dell - Solar
(Second Place) Solar City - Veterinarian
(First Place) Chase Farm Veterinary Hospital
- Florist
(First Place) Garlington Florist
(Second Place) Hawthorne Florist
(Honorable Mention) Eden Landscapes - Home Electronics Store
(Second Place) Handy Andy - Pawn Shop
(Second Place) Empire Loan - Pet Supplies
(First Place) Melissa’s Pet Depot
Spirits
- Bar / Pub
(First Place) Rose Alley - Liquor Store
(Honorable Mention) Freitas
Sports & Fitness
- Fitness Center/Gym
(First Place) Healthtrax
(Honorable Mention) Gleason Family YMCA Wareham
(Honorable Mention) YMCA Southcoast – New Bedford - Golf Course
(Honorable Mention) Country Club of New Bedford
(Honorable Mention) Little Harbor Golf Course
New Bedford Declared America’s Top Fishing Port
In its annual report, Fisheries of the United States, NOAA announced today the latest data on U.S. recreational catch and commercial fish landings and value. For the fourteenth consecutive year, the Port of New Bedford is the number one fishing port in the nation.
New Bedford, had the highest valued catch, 130 million pounds of fresh seafood valued at $379 million. The Port of New Bedford has been the number one fishing port in America since 1999.
New Bedford vessels landed two-thirds of the total value of all seafood landings in Massachusetts, and fully one-third of the value of New England’s landings. For comparison, Gloucester, Massachusetts landed 3.6% of New England’s catch value, while Portland, Maine landed 2.7% of New England’s catch value.
“This is very positive news for our City and the region but, there is much work to do to ensure New Bedford retains the competitive advantages that have enabled our domination of the industry,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell.
The Port of New Bedford’s number one status is the direct result of the nation’s highly-valued scallop fishery, which is centered in New Bedford. Scallop landings account for more than 81 percent of New Bedford seafood landings.
The nation’s scallop industry is now both profitable and sustainable. The fishery has recovered over a twenty year period, as the industry worked in conjunction with University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, School of Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) to improve stock assessments and management controls efforts.
Unfortunately, this success has not been replicated in the groundfish industry. The value of landings from groundfish vessels declined by 30% in 2013 in New Bedford. Federal disaster money has just started to reach the businesses affected by the disaster.
Moving forward, industry, academics, and regulators must once again work together to improve stock assessments and develop management controls which provide sustainability in the ground fish industry as they have for the scallop industry.
SouthCoast Chamber Announces New Member Campaign
The One SouthCoast Chamber of Commerce will be holding a Membership Campaign on June 11th & 12th, 2013. This new member campaign will include reaching out to nearly 5,000 businesses in the Greater New Bedford Area that are not yet benefiting from Chamber membership. The campaign will include a mailed invitation and personal phone-calls from business leaders in the region encouraging them to join the Chamber.
Sheila McGlinchey, Director of Sales & Marketing for SouthCoast Media Group will chair this special campaign. In addition, nearly 80 business leaders have volunteered to help recruit new members to the Chamber by sharing information about their positive experiences and the many benefits of Chamber membership.
“Chamber membership positions local businesses to be more successful which has a positive impact on our overall economic growth as a region,” said McGlinchey of the campaign.
The Chamber provides numerous services for members, including networking and professional development, export services, an electricity discount program, free and low cost marketing, school to career initiatives, trade shows, as well as government affairs programs and advocacy to encourage a positive business climate for the New Bedford Area.
In addition, the Chamber’s New Member Campaign will feature several “join now” incentives for businesses and organizations that enroll with the Chamber, including free advertising, web site listings, admission to Chamber networking programs and more. (download the “join now” incentives mailer)
Highlighting the campaign will be a two-day, four-session phone-a-thon at the Chamber’s offices on June 11th and 12th. Volunteers will be competing for bragging rights as the top recruiter and some great prizes including overnight trips, gift certificates to restaurants and stores, and much more. Grand prize for the top recruiter is 4 nights and 5 days in ARUBA!
Businesses interested in joining The One SouthCoast Chamber of Commerce or supporting the New Member Campaign should contact Ian Abreu, Manager of Members Relations at (508) 999-5231 ext. 24 or email [email protected].
SouthCoast Chamber Leadership in Transition
Today, The One SouthCoast Chamber of Commerce announced that Roy M. Nascimento, the Chamber’s President & CEO, has accepted an offer to take on a new leadership position with another larger chamber in the state. Nascimento’s departure comes after eight years of distinguished service in which he helped advance the Chamber’s goals and helped strengthen the SouthCoast business community.
“Roy will be sorely missed.” said David Maher, Senior Manager at Lockheed Martin Sippican, Inc. and Chair of the chamber’s board of directors. “He was a great leader for our organization. He consistently challenged our chamber and community to deliver on its potential. His fresh approach, collaborative leadership style and professional management expertise helped transform our organization into one of the most effective chambers of commerce in New England.”
Maher added that the Board is beginning today to set in motion a search aimed at finding a strong new CEO for the near-thousand-member business organization. “We have a very aggressive agenda dedicated to continue helping individual businesses, growing the region’s economy and enriching the communities across SouthCoast in the process,” Maher said. “We pledge to secure top new leadership that will take that agenda to a new level going forward.”
During his tenure, Nascimento is credited with stabilizing the Chamber’s finances and revitalizing the Chamber’s advocacy, events and communications programs. He was the catalyst behind the regional effort to revive the Southeastern Massachusetts Convention & Visitors Bureau and led the effort to create the “Rail to Boston” Coalition of business and economic development groups to collectively advocate for the restoration of rail service to southeastern Massachusetts. With the help of the talented chamber staff, other accomplishments included establishing the SouthCoast Young Professionals Network to help develop, connect and empower young professionals in the region as well as expanding the Chamber’s education, workforce and economic development initiatives. Some of the new programs that were established under Roy’s watch include the Good Morning SouthCoast Executive Breakfast program; A Chance to Meet the Buyer Procurement program; the International Seafood Buyers Mission; the CHOICES Drop-Out prevention program; the Lemonade Day entrepreneurship program in the middle schools; the Health Insurance Cooperative; the SouthCoast CEO Roundtable; and the SouthCoast Legislative Luncheon.
“It’s been an exciting and rewarding eight years at The One SouthCoast Chamber,” Nascimento said. “I am proud of the work the Chamber’s Board and professional staff at the Chamber have been able to accomplish during my tenure. We have accomplished a great deal working together and I believe that our work will have a significant impact on the business community and quality of life for SouthCoast residents for years to come.”
Nascimento will leave his post on January 16th and move into a similar role at the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce serving the Fitchburg and Leominster region. Maher said the Board will be appointing a committee to lead the search for the next chief executive officer of The One SouthCoast Chamber and to assure a smooth transition.
Massachusetts Tech Tax Repealed
Effective immediately, the state law removing the exemption from sales tax on computer system design services has been repealed. CLICK HERE FOR THE LAW
What about those companies that collected the taxes and those that collected and remitted the taxes?
1. Businesses who collected the tax, but have not filed returns or remitted the tax to the DOR, should simply refund customers.
2. Those who either filed a return creating a self-assessment or filed a return and remitted tax must file an electronic application for abatement. For instructions, CLICK HERE.