The Newport County Chamber’s mission has always been to enhance the business, civic, and economic vitality of Newport County by promoting a healthy economic climate of goods, capital creation and honest responsive government. We do this by providing information and access on important issues to the business community and other stakeholders throughout our region. This past fall alone, the Chamber has sponsored events and forums on issues of tremendous importance to our region.
We co-sponsored a multi-state Congress of City & Town Councils to solidify and broaden our opposition to the Hess LNG project; the negative impact such a project would have on the economy and quality of life for our state would be catastrophic. We hosted a Health Care Breakfast Forum, bringing Health Insurance Commissioner Koller, Lieutenant Governor Roberts and experts on the implications to businesses, to help members navigate through the new federal healthcare legislation. With the Southeastern New England
Defense Industry Alliance and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, we co-hosted a Rhode Island Defense Expo at the Naval War College bringing our federal legislative delegation and officials from the Secretary of the Navy to showcase the importance of the defense industry to Rhode Island’s economy.
With the November elections now behind us, we are proud to have helped our members to understand the issues and the platforms of the candidates, the Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee hosted Gubernatorial and Congressional Forums and a state and local candidates ”Meet and Greet”, providing business leaders access to the candidates.
These many events and opportunities would not have been possible without the tremendous support of our members, so we held our first Member Volunteer Appreciation Reception in October to thank the hundreds of volunteers, sponsors and donors who offer their priceless time, expertise services and products to support this Chamber.
Thank you all for your membership. We will continue to work on your behalf to provide quality opportunities on behalf of our members and our community. Please remember to utilize your member benefits. Call us with any concerns or suggestions you may have; we welcome your input to help us work on your behalf.
Jody Sullivan