Networking Before 9 scheduled for Friday, February 26, 7:30-9:00am is CANCELLED.

Please join us for the next Business After Hours on Wednesday, February 24
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm.

Many thanks to Sponsor & Host
Art of Tile & Stone
326B Washington Street
Wellesley, MA 02481

Complimentary beverages and appetizers will be served

To register, email or call Cathy McGrath cmcgrath@wellesleychamber.org / 781-235-2446

Boston Sports Clubs is running a terrific promotion through the end of this month. Many of us are still reviewing and evaluating our 2010 resolutions, and improving health and fitness are a huge part of it for most folks. Boston Sports Clubs in Wellesley wants to be part of the solution.

We have an incentive for small businesses that have employees that are looking to join together and we are happy to provide this for you and the Chamber members! Now through the end of February, for any members that join with 4 co-workers they will receive March for FREE!

The following guidelines apply:

• Must be 5 or more people
• They must join on the same day; add-ons may not come in at a later date
• Each time the group rate is offered, 5 people must be joining on othe same day
• Applies to all types and terms of memberships
• Will exclude Seniors and Couples
• Standard rates apply

On the evening of February 24, the Davis Museum and Cultural Center will host an Opening Celebration, inviting members of the college and surrounding community to enjoy two new visiting exhibitions, Stephen Vitiello's new sound and light installation "Something Like Fireworks," and "Seeing God in Prints," a collection of 19th century Indian lithographs. It will also be an opportunity to meet Lisa Fischman, the new Director of the Davis Museum.

This event will be held from 6:00-8:00pm in the Lobby and Galleries of the Davis Museum and Cultural Center on the campus of Wellesley College. Light refreshments will be served.

An unprecedented event at Babson College: At the End of the Day, a four-part interactive forum. "At the End of the Day" what will be the net value of all you have learned, lived, and created?
Please join us in a four-part series about social responsibility. They will be located in Olin Auditorium, Babson College. These events are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Forum 1: The Challenges of Creating an Enterprise for Profit and Purpose was held on Tuesday, February 9, 67:30pm.

Be sure to mark your calendar for At the End of the Day Forums 24. Upcoming Forum Dates:

• Forum 2: Wednesday, March 31--Influencing Social Enterprise in Boston
• Forum 3: Monday, April 12--Grand Circle Travel: Impacting Communities in Which It Operates
• Forum 4: Tuesday, May 4--Developing and Building a Cultue of Gutsy Leadership for Purpose and Profit

To raise awareness about National Children's Dental Health Month, Drs. Ali & Ali of Wellesley Dental Group are providing free comprehensive exams for all new pediatric patients through February. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that all children see a dentist by their first birthday or within six months of the first tooth, whichever comes first.

The examination appointment allows parents to ask questions and collaborate with the dentist on a oral health plan for the child, and helps the child become familiar with the sights and sounds of the dentist office. To schedule an exam for your child/children, or if you have any questions, please call 781-237-9071 or visit our website.

An article about parental wisdom will be co-written by Allison Sargent and Lisa Leslie Henderson for the summer issue of WellesleyWeston Magazine. What have we learned the old-fashioned way though false starts, trial and error, experience, and luck!

We are asking WWM parents who have children that have graduated from high school in recent years to answer the following questions (be as specific as possible):

1. What do you know now that you wished you had known when you first became a parent?
2. If you could give one piece of advice to a youn parent, what would it be?
3. What do you wish you might have done differently?

Somato Respiratory Integration (SRI) is a form of body-breath integration that can help in many areas of healing. Add even greater richness and depth to your connection as you assist, support and empower each other in your healing process. Together, you will create and explore new levels of mutual safety, awareness, understanding, respect, intimacy, and yes - love.

Course: Couples SRI (Somato Respiratory Integration)
Date: 2/25/2010; Time: 6:30pm-8:00pm
Location: VMC Sanctuary-170 Worcester Street
No. of participants: limited to 6 couples
Cost: $30 per couple

Greig Andrews (DC, MA) Greig sees the spine as a conduit of consciousness, and the body itself as a tool for self-healing, self-growth, self-evolution and self-empowerment. Dr. Andrews has been practicing and teaching NSA and SRI around the world for 17 years. He has led and facilitated many healing groups and events, large and small. Greig emphasizes creating shared respect, trust, and safety, so that participants feel supported in exploring new avenues to their own learning, healing, and growth.

Registration is required by the close of the last business day (M-F by 5pm) prior to the class. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the Administrative Team at 781-431-1333.

WellesleyWeston Magazine recently posted Wellesley Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner Photos - they can be viewed on our blog.

WellesleyWeston Magazine is always interested in posting your newsworthy items in the INBOX section of our magazine. - For the WWM 2010 summer issue please send your text by March 11. Appropriate topics: expansions, promotions, special events, office moves, sponsorships, or any other news that is unique to your business and the towns of Wellesley and Weston. For more information call Beth Furman at 781 235 6980 or e-mail your head shot and 75 words to Beth@WellesleyWestonMagazine.Com

The Wellesley Rotary Club is offering a limited number of new membership opportunities to interested chamber men and women and is extending an invitation to attend as a guest a gala get-acquainted Cabaret-Pops Nite featuring a full-course buffet dinner, wine and great entertainment featuring the acclaimed Wellesley Choral Society in their exciting new "Broadway Bash Musical Program."

This special event will be held on Tuesday evening, March 2, from 6:00-8:30pm. If you are interested in attending this delightful evening, as a guest of the Rotary Club, please rsvp by February 25 by calling Fred Garmon at 781-237-0054.

Jeff McLinden from J.M. Construction is raising funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as a participant in their "Team In Training" program by running the 2010 Boston Marathon on April 19. He hopes to complete the Boston Marathon in four hours.

Thanks to all who have already contributed. Thusfar, $2,095 has been raised, which is 64% of the goal of raising $3250 by February 28. So there is less than 14 days left to raise $1155.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Mission is: To cure Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin's and Myeloma and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

If you would like to sponsor Jeff, click on the link below. No amount is too small or too large; for example, donate as little as .50 per mile or $13.00. You will receive a confirmation of your donation by email and Jeff will be notified as soon as you make your donation.

On behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, thank you very much for your support.

Do you have prom dresses, semi-formal dresses, cocktail dresses, mother-of-the-bride dresses, or bridesmaid dresses cluttering up your closets? Have you thought about how you really should do something with those dresses?

Well, here's your chance. Donate the dresses to this Communities Without Borders fundraising effort. Not only will you empty your closets of dresses that won't be worn again, you'll be generating income for two very worthwhile causes: Haitian relief and a village in Zambia called Fumbelo that has been particularly hard-hit by HIV/AIDS.

Items can be dropped off at the home of Liz King (207 Weston Road, Wellesley). Liz will gladly pick up the items at your house as well. Call / email her to arrange for this: 781-431-1282 / kingswells@comcast.net.

Both long and short dresses, wraps and evening purses are needed. Dresses don't need to be dry-cleaned or on hangers. It would be great to receive donations asap.

Also, mark your calendars for April 10 and plan on attending the sale. It will be held at the Wellesley Village Congregational Church (2 Central Street, Wellesley). There will be no admission fee; and it is open to the public. Items will be sold at hugely discounted prices. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale will go to Haiti and Zambia.

Dear Chamber of Commerce Member,

As you know from our conversations over the last three years, from the very beginning of this administration our number one goal has been to create good jobs at good wages now, while laying a stronger economic foundation for the people of Massachusetts going forward. That's our mission, and a global economic crisis has not deterred us.

Building off of earlier job creation and business-friendly efforts--lowering the corporate tax rate; investing in infrastructure repair; fostering innovation industries like life sciences, clean tech and information technology; funding education at the highest level in history; enacting zoning and permitting reform; and so on--this morning I unveiled a small business jobs plan at the Boston Chamber of Commerce. Small businesses account for 85 percent of Massachusetts business, and if we want new jobs, we need to focus special attention to meeting the needs of small businesses.

After conversations with hundreds of small business owners across the state, we have developed the following measures:

First, businesses with up to 50 employees will receive a $2,500 tax credit for each net new job created and retained for at least one year, on a first-come-first-served basis, up to a total value of $50 million.

Second, we will establish the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) through the merger of the three agencies responsible for small business finance, to be funded by a $25 million capital bond authorization and a $15 million transfer from the Emerging Technology Fund. The MGCC will have broad authority to use its resources to leverage private funds, including loan guarantees, to ensure our small businesses have the access to the capital they need to continue to grow.

Third, we will use existing powers, as well as additional tools, to hold down health insurance premiums for small businesses. Today, I am directing the Commissioner of Insurance, on an emergency basis, to require health insurance companies to file any increases or changes to rates before they take effect and to disapprove the increases if they are unreasonable or excessive. Any increases significantly higher than the current level of medical cost inflation, which today is 3.2 percent, will be challenged.

Fourth, we will freeze unemployment insurance rates at the 2009 rate, schedule E, which is projected to save businesses $391 million or an average of $158 per employee. We will also seek to provide for the long-term solvency of the system and make some other changes that will benefit the system.

Fifth, we will segregate the workforce training funds that businesses contribute now into a separate trust, dedicated exclusively to the original mission, namely the training of workers.

Lastly, we will introduce a collection of additional supports for small business, such as another $50 million for the highly successful Growth Districts Initiative; extending existing land use permits for three years to enable developments to move forward as financial markets recover; and require state agencies to evaluate the impact on small business of any proposed regulation.

Overall, these measures are about improving the commercial climate and creating jobs. They are also about restoring people's optimism, about opening new avenues of opportunity. By working together today, I am certain we can shape a brighter tomorrow.