Greater Manchester Chamber Celebrates Grand Opening
Manchester, NH (January 12, 2010)—The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce opened its doors to its members and the public on Tuesday, January 12th at 9:00 a.m. at a new street level location at 54 Hanover Street. The Chamber celebrated a Grand Opening of its new street level location in the historic Daily Mirror Building. Robin Comstock, President and CEO will speak on behalf of the Chamber and will be accompanied by Mayor Ted Gatsas, and the Chamber’s past Chairman of the Board Mike L’Ecuyer, President of Bellwether Community Credit Union.
The Chamber’s move to a street level comes after 24 years at 889 Elm Street. In 1985 the Chamber was the first tenant at 889 Elm Street when it occupied the second floor. On October 11, 1989 the Chamber moved to the third floor of 889 Elm Street. The move is part of an internal and external reorganization of the Chamber. Recently the Chamber restructured its staff, creating a leadership team. In conjunction with the move, the Chamber will unveil a new membership model this month and a marketing campaign as it positions itself to celebrate its 100 year anniversary in 2011.
The move to 54 Hanover Street was supported by a team of Chamber volunteers. Alison Stebbins of Fidelity Investments and Mike Reed of Stebbins Commercial Realty spent two years seeking out a new space for the Chamber, ultimately selecting 54 Hanover Street, the space is owned by Ron and Gerry DuPont of Red Oak Apartment Homes Inc. Once a space was selected, the construction and build out phase began in August of 2009. Bill Norton of Norton Asset Management provided leadership to the team as project manager, Phyllis Stibler of Stibler and Associates provided interior design and consulting, and Nick Soggu, CEO of SilverTech Inc. advised the Chamber on its technology infrastructure.
In addition to the volunteers that supported the construction phase of the project, several local businesses supported the Chamber through in-kind and charitable contributions. The list includes: A Cleaner Solution, Computer Networking Services LLC, Creative Office Pavillion, Image 4, John W. Hession Photography, Jutras Signs Inc., Manchester Historic Association, Mesh Interactive Agency, PELMAC Industries, Inc., PHD Communications, Red Oak Apartment Homes Inc., Studio One Photography, and wedü.
“This is such an exciting time for the Chamber and the community,” says Robin Comstock, President and CEO of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. “We will be so much more visible to our members being on the street level and we are excited to be embedded into the community through this move and our new location,” said Comstock.
