Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 1, 2023 11 Building Ideas That Work... Building Ideas That Work... Contact us at 860.482.7613 or visit us at BorghesiBuilding.com 2155 East Main Street Torrington, Connecticut 06790 © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing ™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. Borghesi Building & Engineering Co., Inc. will guide you in defining your project goals, help analyze your prospective property and provide a realistic budget. For more than 80 years, Borghesi Building & Engineering Co., Inc. has provided quality and reliability with design and energy efficient construction. With an attractive design, it presents to your customers a comfortable relaxing environment to help promote sales. You will appreciate the quality your facility presents. FUJI PLAZA, TORRINGTON MEN'S WEARHOUSE, WEST SIMSBURY WALGREENS, TORRINGTON Morgan Hilyard New leadership wave hits Greater Hartford chambers There's been a number of high-profile chamber of commerce leadership changes in recent months. Here's a rundown: Johanna Bond became president and CEO of the Middletown-based Middlesex Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 1, replacing longtime leader Larry McHugh. Millie Texidor-Maffucci took over as president of the Greater Manchester Chamber in January. In March, the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce announced that Vice President Katie D'Agostino will become president and CEO effective July 1, replacing Cindy Bombard. In April, the Greater New Britain Chamber of Commerce named Dee Babkirk, formerly of the Central CT Chambers of Commerce, as its new president and CEO. events, adding to the challenges, said Millie Texidor-Maffucci, who took over as president of the 320-member Greater Manchester Chamber in January. "I like to think we are shifting our business model, as I am getting out in the community more," said Texidor-Maffucci, who spent most of her professional career in lead- ership positions at various banks. "I come from the banking world and I know how to build relationships." Since taking over the Manchester chamber, Texidor-Maffucci said her focus has been on recruiting new members, which means going out and visiting local businesses as part of a new "Out and About" program initiative. Most Greater Manchester chamber members have between one and five employees, she said. "My presence in the communities is so important," she said. "It's vital that businesses, especially smaller ones, get to know you on a first-hand basis." Her $230,000 annual budget is mostly spent on events and spon- sorships, she said. The Greater Manchester chamber, which added 15 new members during the first quarter of this year, puts on four events annu- ally, including a golf tournament and women's conference. "There is a lot of buzz about people getting back out after the pandemic," Texidor-Maffucci said. "There are many people who miss networking and collaborating with each other." Morgan Hilyard, who runs the 450-member Granby-Sims- bury Chamber of Commerce, said another trend she's seeing both statewide and nationally is smaller chambers merging. Three recent examples include the mergers of the Avon and Canton chambers; Granby and Simsbury chambers; and Southbury and Waterbury chambers. The Simsbury chamber had about 300 members and Granby about 100 when they merged last year, Hilyard said. During the first three months of this year, the combined group has added 25 new members with a goal of surpassing 500 members by January 2025. "We found out that, we really do have power in numbers," said Hilyard on the reason for the merger. "The merger has been what we expected. There are definitely kinks that have to be worked out, as we are doing things differently now, on a somewhat larger scale." The combined chambers, for example, teamed up to host a successful golf tournament. "The sky's the limit if we buckle down and plan out an event that both towns can have pride in," she said.

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