[John Petrella]: Hello, everyone, and welcome to Method Happenings, a show foreign about the city of Medford, and I am John Petrella. And the purpose of this program is to give Medford citizens facts and information to help you make informed choices and to discover city services or businesses that you may not have been aware of. And today, we have a very special guest, want to welcome Laura O'Neill, who was from the Medford Chamber of Commerce to Medford Happenings. Laura, can't thank you enough for coming on the show. We appreciate it. We really do.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, John. And thanks for having me.
[John Petrella]: Our pleasure. So we get right into the questions here. We don't fool around. And the first question we ask everybody, just some background information on yourself, Laura. Who is Laura O'Neill?
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Sure. I am a Medford high graduate, which I think comes in handy working for the Medford Chamber of Commerce haven't grown up here. I then left Medford for most of my adult life. I was in New York City, Chicago, and I'm currently back in the area in Reading. And I've been back about 20 years. In between then, I was an attorney for first an insurance company, then a large not-for-profit in New York City. And I was home with my three college kids for a number of years. And when I went back in the workforce, I wanted something different. And I had done a lot with events, public relations, and there was a 10 hour position at the chamber. Okay, I signed up for that. And it's now turned into this. And I will add one thing that recently came up when I was giving a talk at the library about MedFed businesses through time. And it dawned on me that really, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for MedFed businesses, because my parents met at the supermarket that was where PharmaCity was, which was where, yeah. So my mom was the cashier and my father worked there. So I really was, they met at a Medford business that is actually, you know, was diagonal from my office. So I really owe it all to Medford business. Awesome, you came full circle.
[John Petrella]: You're back, you're with the chamber, and that's a good thing. And you've obviously been very busy. All right, so, you know, can you give us a brief overview of, you know, what is the Method Chamber of Congress for people that don't know? which is a majority of people.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Because I will say, you know, I have this down to three seconds, I'll give you the minute version. But chambers, you know, there is a national chamber, we have our US Chamber of Commerce, it is an established organization, and then it breaks down to your cities and towns, but the purpose is for businesses to be able to have a voice in their community. Most businesses have specialized groups that they associate with their associations, but the chamber is much broader, and it's for all businesses in a community to advocate on their behalf. And we're different things for different people, you know for a small business we're providing a lot of resources and assistance with their marketing, providing them with people for their accounting, all their professional services. They need a lot more support from the Chamber. And your larger businesses, you know, they're looking at the Chamber on us as a tool to help them find businesses in their community, find the not-for-profits, find the smaller businesses, really become a member of that specific area. So our members use us for different things, but I like to think that we are a crucial person for all of our members.
[John Petrella]: You're an important part of the community is what you are. A very important part.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. I hope so. Thank you.
[John Petrella]: So we know the chamber is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. You've had, I mean, I know a lot of successful events, Oktoberfest. I mean, there's a lot of events you guys do. What other events, what's going on? What's planned for the 100th? It's gotta be something really good, I would assume. Good, yes, we are.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: We've been doing a lot leading up to it. We just did the Medford history, like a historical overview of Medford businesses at the library. We've been doing a lot more of our speaker series meeting with more of the town, and it's this all leading up to our hundred celebration at the bear hall, and we've sort of thrown out our traditional model of what our annual banquet is with speeches. and awards and we give the citizen of the year and we have scholarships and it's a great event. But this year we've moved our awards to a luncheon. And we're very happy that the luncheon is going to actually be at Bistro 489 at the high school. You know, that is such, it's an incredible venue and we wanna, first of all, it helps us to be able to hold it in Medford. It helps the businesses to realize that this is happening in their own city. So it's great exposure for the bistro. And doing this as a luncheon, This award ceremony is for the business people, right? Right. Yeah. So they don't have to take another night to come out and meet with each other and celebrate each other. So by doing that, we've made our hundred. a true celebration. It is a party. It is a networking event. It is a talk to that business you see on the street, but you don't get five minutes to talk to. There's no seated dinner. It's high top tables and casino games. It is I don't want to say supposed to be a good time. It will be a good time.
[John Petrella]: Is there a date? Is it set yet?
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Sorry about that. Yes, it's April 28th.
[John Petrella]: April 28th. Okay.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Tickets are on sale now. It's our 100th, and the tickets are $100.
[John Petrella]: That's a good deal.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: I think so. I love it.
[John Petrella]: I love it. I'll be there. All right, John. All right. A lot going on with the celebration. That's great. And I like the way you're doing it. It's nice to change it up. It really is. So one thing that residents, I mean, I notice it, and I'm sure a lot of people that live in Method notice it. I mean, it seems like every business associated with the chamber And I'm aware of quite a few of them. They're always great community partners. They really do. They do a lot for the city. Do you guide businesses to be more community minded? Is that part of it?
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: I hope it is. I hope the businesses understand that from us. But your question is really interesting because it seems to be that the businesses who are invested in this community, they're in the chamber. They join the chamber because they're such strong community partners. you know, since before I've been here, we've had people who've been in this chamber 30, 40 years. You know, they make it a part of their mission and I may not hear from them. I really, I know some of them I don't have much interaction with, but they know that it's important that they're a part of the chamber and they know that their dues help other members, our membership payment structure is based on size. So the larger you are, the more you pay. So these big, a lot of our banks are members, and they're really, by being a member, they help the smaller businesses. That's what it's all about.
[John Petrella]: Yeah, yeah. Helping small business, and I don't know, you guys just do a lot for the city. It's a good thing, that's for sure.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: I would say, I'll just say on that too, one of our things is We want to encourage collaboration among the members. So a lot of times, even if you've been here a while, you don't know of some of the new businesses we have in Medford. Because what's great about Medford is we're still attracting a variety of businesses. So part of our job is matching up the businesses with existing members. They're very receptive to working together and they want to keep the business in Medford. So we try to foster that attitude and just facilitate it.
[John Petrella]: Right.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[John Petrella]: Yeah. You know, that leads me to my next question. You know, what is the Chamber's role? And, you know, I guess it's to help recruit business to Medford.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: You know, it is. To the extent that I want to display that Medford has a vibrant business community that is what the chamber does. For example, recently Boston Magazine needed some photographs for an article they were doing. They'd already written the article and they of course call me and say, I need photos and I need them in three days. So I'm happy to respond to that quickly, go to my member photos, get some things and send it to them because any publicity for Medford I know is good for the business community. As far as me negotiating with businesses coming in, I am not that person, that's City Hall.
[Unidentified]: It is City Hall.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Yep, they have a Director of Economic Development, which is seated in their Office of Planning, Development and Sustainability. Okay. I work closely with that office, but The calls come into them, they have the framework, they have the staff, but we do have a really good working relationship. So a lot of time I hear from the businesses that other business owners go to them. They reach out to them and say, do you like working here? How do I do it? You know, they're doing their market research. So we all, I'd say we all work together, the businesses, the chamber and the city, but it is the city's main job to recruit and we're happy to help and to display Medford in a positive light.
[John Petrella]: So you're all, you basically, you do work in a way with City Hall, you're working with established businesses, I guess, too, right? I mean, that's all part of it. So it's a working relationship with all of them. I mean, it's a lot of work is what it is. I mean.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Well, we all have the same goal, right? Right. That's what I mean. Yeah. Yeah. And so we're happy to assist in any way. The chamber is a staff of one, which is me. So recruiting and going out to businesses is just not our main mission. OK.
[John Petrella]: All right. All right. So I mean, it is a tight knit community method. And so I'm going to ask this again. I think you sort of answered it. But what is the relationship with City Hall? I mean, you guys personally.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Um, we have a really good working relationship. Great. Yeah, you know, we are not funded by City Hall. We are a member funded organization. Okay, so, but we do some joint events with the city. And the city gives us a lot of support for Oktoberfest, which we really appreciate. We're allowed to close down the streets. And we make, you know, showcase All the businesses in Medford can participate in Oktoberfest. You know, we do the work to organize that event and we appreciate all their support and making that happen because we couldn't shut down the roads without the city's concern. You know, and their services and the DPW and they really assist with allowing Medford to have this day. But there are times when we have different opinions on how things should go. I also respect that we have, that we're separate. Okay, they are in no way do I report to the city that I report to a board of directors. So when I say I'm the only employee, I don't want to imply that I do this alone. Right? Obviously. Yeah. You know, I have a board and we have committees, and they're very committed to helping the chamber. So I am grateful for all their work, because that's the only way we're able to accomplish so much is with our strong board. And there are times that we need to write to City Hall or call City Hall and be like, we don't think these policies are serving our businesses. Or this is why these policies should be adapted so that the business are able to operate. And a lot of times, some of our conversations are, oh, I didn't realize, no one is trying to curtail business.
[Unidentified]: Right.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: You know, things like that. Now, you know, businesses pay a lot of taxes.
[John Petrella]: Yes, they do.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: They really pay a lot. So we need to respect their opinions. And so a lot, you know, it's a working relationship. And I'm proud of that relationship. And, you know, it's something that we have meetings on a regular basis, and I do appreciate their support, and I also appreciate the fact that they'll reach out to us to ask questions.
[John Petrella]: Okay, yeah. So you get a lot of, now, sort of a follow-up. You do get a lot of business owners that are already established. A new business comes in, and maybe they solicit to join the chamber and explain what it's all about too. Has that happened?
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: In a great environment, yes. Perfect world. In a perfect world, I don't want to say that. But oftentimes, people still don't know what a chamber is.
[John Petrella]: Right.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: They're not sure why they need a chamber. And also, you're opening a business and your checklist is about 30 points long. The chamber is number 50. I understand why I am not the first person people call. I do rely on other businesses to spread the word and say, listen, this is a good resource. But it's a process and it's one of the main parts of my job is showing what the chamber can do for you.
[John Petrella]: Well, I think what we're doing, we're doing that now. So this is a good thing. I'm so happy. People are gonna know what's going on with the chamber.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: I want them to know because I will say it's a different, we're a different organization for everyone, right?
[Unidentified]: Right, yes, absolutely.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: And some people, they're getting the benefit of the chamber. When we go to City Hall and we advocate for them, even if you're not a member, you're getting a benefit of my services.
[John Petrella]: Right, yeah, so they're gonna, yeah.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: So I need you to also understand that even if it's, even if you're not an organization that benefits from direct publicity, right, not everybody wants to be on Instagram or Facebook. Right, yep, I hear you. We still do a lot of work for you.
[John Petrella]: Nice to know, nice to know. All right, so The next question I have for you, and this is like open-ended again, but where does the chamber go from here? Where do you plan on going? I mean, what's your next phase, so to speak?
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Sure. I mean, with our 100th, I've been thinking about this a lot, right? Moving forward, what are we offering people? One of the things we're launching, and I'm very excited about this, is a new website. And this is going to make it a lot easier for businesses to communicate with each other, because as part of this new website, we have a new membership platform to allow these businesses to reach out to each other, share each other's services, share ideas, without having to go through me, without me having to do email introductions. So that's going to save a lot of time. also the website outward facing to the community, the directory is so improved that you'll be able to find where these member businesses are. If you want a service, you'll be able to find it easily. And, you know, people are like, I don't need a directory, I have Google. But if you want your directory, if you want to focus on people who are in the chamber, if you want to focus on companies that are committed to Medford, the directory is the best way to do it. The good thing, yep. So we're excited about the new website. I think it's also gonna help attract new businesses because when you look at a community, a lot of businesses wanna know, you know, how easy is it to get recognized? And if they can see that they can get on the chamber page, get right in the directory, that's easy for them.
[John Petrella]: Yep, I understand.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: They know who their market is. They know who their reach is. So we're very excited about the new website.
[John Petrella]: Any idea when that'll be up and ready or? April 1st. April, wow. I know. That's far away. And I'll make sure we put that out again on a future show that April 1st, that's good. Oh, thank you. Yeah, we're excited.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: That's a nice thing, yeah. I think that'll help. And I mean, our long-term goal would be to have enough growth that we could hire another person. Because there's over 1,500 businesses in Bedford. Wow. Yes. You don't think about that, but yeah. There is. And we want to be able to support them. So our growth would be to have more staff Also, you know, our social media presence has grown immensely. We have a great communications committee from our board. It's made up of Page Buldini and Gene Kala. And they're really helping us grow on Instagram, LinkedIn. And we do a newsletter. So our communications, I think, to the community is enhanced. And we want to continue that because a lot of things we have for businesses is if I only knew, or I didn't know you had that group. And so anything we can do to connect people, we're gonna work on.
[John Petrella]: Okay, that sounds great. We've covered a lot tonight. I think people are gonna know a lot more about the chamber after we get to show out and everything. You know, the last question I really, if you have any other items you'd like to bring up you know, before we let you go. And then, you know, the other thing is the chamber looking, I mean, I know you're always looking for new members and everything else, but, you know, how do people actually reach out to you? I mean, you've given us a lot of things tonight, but.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'll start with the basic, like the, just the nuts and bolts of our membership, just to highlight it. So we are, funded solely by the businesses, by the memberships. And in addition, any revenue we raise at events. So most of our events, we keep the cost down so that everyone can participate and we receive sponsors and that helps us raise additional revenue. But this year, this 100th celebration, we've set it up and we've been so lucky to receive We have so many great sponsors already, but it's our first event that structured to actually raise money to support our new website, our new membership platform, and get the chamber in a better financial position. We have 2021 platinum members, we just got a new platinum member, and our platinum members pay an additional amount to be a supporter of the chamber. So, I'm happy to say we just had every bank join as a platinum member, and we have six or seven other long term banks who have been supporters of the chamber, and I can't stress enough how crucial it is to have them as members, because knowing. that they're there at this enhanced level and paying more than just their size. It allows us to offer new members $100 membership. So if you are under five employees, Wow. Your first year is $100.
[John Petrella]: That's nothing. I mean, that's great.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Which someone told me yesterday was less than their Netflix. You know, $100 gets you if you're under five. And we're able to do that because of all of our platinums, you know, those people paying extra. And another thing that we launched last year that has been successful thanks to two businesses I need to mention. They are our premier partners.
[John Petrella]: Okay.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: And that's Tufts University. So Tufts University was a long-term platinum member. When we offered this premier, Tufts University upgraded to this level. They met our need and it's a $7,000 level of membership for the chamber, and it really helped us and the other business was new to Medford, and they, we reached out to them, and they met are asked and that's Transom. And as a new business to the community, their contribution is essential for all the other businesses. So we're thankful for them coming in as a leader. So we're really fortunate to have these businesses in Medford. So that's our membership you join on our website. It's based on size. not-for-profits have a lower rate. We do have some not-for-profit members and what's great about the not-for-profits is a lot of time they want to connect with the larger organizations, right? So we help them connect with the other businesses in the area, but also the services that the not-for-profits bring, a lot of companies want or want to allow their employees to do volunteer work. And this allows that connection. And I, you know, we've talked about we have great restaurants in Medford, right?
[John Petrella]: Yes, we do. I agree. Yeah, we got some great restaurants, actually. Yeah.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: And it runs the gamut from food.
[John Petrella]: Yes.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
[John Petrella]: And it's nice. It's nice to have them. A lot more than when I was young, so that's a good thing. Yeah.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: And some of them are still here, right? They've been here.
[John Petrella]: And there's a lot of new ones. We have a lot of newcomers too.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: So that's, you know, it's funny. We gave Bob's an award at our last banquet. And it was so great. I had never met him and to meet his sons. It was really special to meet a store that I've been going to my whole life. And they continue to be a big partner with the chamber. Even though, do they need me to publicize Bob's? No, I don't think so. They have a cast of celebrities who mentioned them, but you know, it's great to have them as the chamber. And then we have some newcomers. who have joined the chamber and really been great partners. The establishment over on River's Edge. They have great space. So Avellinos, Razzos, we have our Italian, Bocelli's. I think I've been to every one you mentioned so far. They're great partners. They're such good food and really good. We hosted our January, Welcome back event over at Long Cross. And Lawn Cross Bar was so welcoming. And it was such a great venue. And some of our members were like, I didn't even know this was here. And I'm like, they've been here six years.
[John Petrella]: Yes, I've been here a few times.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: They have this patio. So it is funny that we all get in our routines and we go to the same places. Right. Bistro 5 just joined the chamber. So we want everyone to go to all these different areas In Medford Square, we're really lucky. Mrs. Murphy's opened, Alta Cuba opened, like we're getting some new restaurants. In Haines Square, Caribbean Hut is a nice new, great Caribbean place. When they opened their bakery, rep. I, you know, I just kept going back because I like the food. It's going well. I've been in there.
[John Petrella]: Yeah.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. And it's it's nice to have them in South Method. We have Allegria, which is an acai place. Right. We have such variety. And, you know, we're lucky. And by having these businesses all in the chamber, we can hopefully encourage even Medford residents to try somewhere new.
[John Petrella]: Yeah, yeah. I go to Mrs. Murphy's. He's got the Ford Tavern, too. Another good restaurant. Yeah, we're very lucky. It's been a lot of established restaurants, and we got quite a few new ones. And I've been to a lot of them, so.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Well, that's good. And I do have to mention that Barry Rafferty, who owns both those restaurants, joined our board.
[John Petrella]: Right.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: So it's nice to have the assistance and to have that insight into those industries. We welcome that on our board. We want to have representation from the different industries so that we can serve everyone.
[John Petrella]: Yeah, I live right above Barry. Yeah, at the Fort Allen. He's my neighbor. Yeah, great guy, Barry Rafferty, the family. Very, very nice people. Unfortunately, it's that time again. Laura, I really do. I want to thank you for joining us on Method Happenings. And we, all of us at Method Happenings, wish continued success to you, to the Method Chamber of Commerce. And just, you know, keep up the good work. Thank you so much for joining us. It's been our pleasure.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: All right, thank you. Thank you, John, for having, thank you for inviting me and for doing what you do for Medford, because I agree with you. The more we can share with people the great things. I did forget one thing. Go ahead. You're doing the Citizen of the Year. I forgot the Citizen of the Year nominations are now out. If anyone wants to nominate someone for Citizen of the Year, the form is on our website. Good to know.
[John Petrella]: Good to know. What's the Citizen of the Year? What's the date for that? Do you have a date? I'm curious.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Sure. It'll be awarded at our luncheon on May 4th.
[John Petrella]: May 4th luncheon. And that's the Citizen of the Year.
[XXXXXX00105_SPEAKER_00]: Yep. And the nominations are due by April 2nd.
[John Petrella]: OK. Sounds great. Thank you, John. Oh, no. Thank you. It's been our pleasure. I'm glad we did this show. It's important and it's good for Method. So, all right, we'll see you and thank you so much. Have a great day. You too. I also want to take a minute to thank everyone who has been watching the show and thank you for your feedback. If you would like to appear on the show, Method Happenings, you can contact us at MethodHappenings.org. 02155 at gmail.com. You will be able to watch replays of this program on Method Community Media Access Channel. It's usually Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6 to 7 p.m. I also want to mention to check out our website, methodhappenings.com. And you can now either view or listen to the podcast of this program. And you can also find us on YouTube and on Facebook at Method Happenings. So for the Method Happenings team, Paul, Marco, Bruce, and myself, I'm John Petrella. And remember Method, stay informed. Thank you.
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