Marshfield Chamber Supports the Community

To hear Rich Roberts talk, you'd think there was no place better than Marshfield. He is extremely proud of his community, the people who call it home and the businesses that have helped build it into what it is today. That's why he relishes being president of the Marshfield Chamber of Commerce.

"I love this organization," Roberts said. "We do so much for Marshfield. To me, it's all about giving back to the community."

The Marshfield Chamber of Commerce certainly does that. The group sponsors several events to promote the community and celebrate its unique qualities, which help to attract visitors and make it a more fun place to live. These activities include the Citizen of the Year, Chowdah Fest, Rid Litter Day, Festival of Lights, Island Award and more.

"We also do other traditional Chamber things, like a Business After Hours program, golf tournament, networking opportunities, even tourism," Roberts said. "But we really like to focus on the community. Most of us live here and take great pride in this town."

For a local Chamber, Marshfield is very busy. The nearly all-volunteer organization (the only staff is two part-time secretaries) counts on its 155-member businesses and groups to pull their weight in accomplishing its lengthy events schedule.

"It's scary sometimes because we are so busy," Roberts said. "Thank goodness we get good support from members who volunteer. We have a core group that is always there to assist us. The challenge, as with any organization, is getting all members to donate their time."

The Marshfield Chamber is also active in helping businesses prosper in the town. The organization works closely with municipal officials regarding issues impacting companies to make sure their interests are adequately represented.

"We've taken on a lot of important concerns," Roberts said. "We've worked with the town on downtown renovation, zoning, parking, traffic and more. We're also getting ready to tackle signage and see if we can lift some of the restrictions."

Serving as president of the Marshfield Chamber would seem to be job in itself. However, Roberts fits in his duties around being manager of the McSweeney & Ricci Insurance Agency in Marshfield (by the way, his building is also headquarters for the Marshfield Chamber of Commerce). It's a lot of work but he gladly does it since he strongly believes in the town.

"No doubt about it, being a part of the Chamber is good for business," he said. "But for me, it's deeper than that. I really believe that businesses need to give back and help others. We're part of the community and we need to do our share to make it as good as possible."

For more information about this very active business group, go to www.marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com. Or call the office at 781-834-8911 and talk to Rich Roberts. He'll be excited to tell you all about it. www.marshfieldchamberofcommerce.com

Copyright Plymouth County Development Council, Inc. Jun 2008
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved