WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2025, marking a century and a half of service.
What You Need To Know
- Founded in 1875, the Chamber has grown to become the largest Chamber of Commerce in New England
- The WRCC represents more than 2,000 businesses and organizations across Central Massachusetts
- In honor of this milestone, the Chamber has created the Linda Salem Pervier Restricted Fund within its 501c3, the Worcester Regional Strategic Opportunities Foundation
“Worcester recently celebrated its tricentennial 300 years," WRCC president & CEO Tim Murray said. "And for half of that time, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce for 150 years has been here advocating for local businesses.”
Murray said the past 150 years have been filled with advocacy for economic development and addressing the community’s needs to help the Worcester area grow.
“It really is a great story. And there are certain reoccurring themes that you see over that 150 years," Murray said. "Jobs, workforce training, transportation needs and investment, making sure we have a safe community from a public safety point of view and educating young people and adults for meaningful careers.”
“One of the few organizations, it's actually older than us in the city of Worcester," Saint-Gobain Executive Sales Director in North America Pat Baliva said. "But our partnership goes back a long, long way. And certainly, we get a lot out of that partnership and enjoy it.”
Saint-Gobain, originally Norton Company, has been operating in Worcester for 140 years and Pat Baliva said the Chamber has a big hand in advocating for business-friendly policies.
“That allows us to invest in things in the community of Worcester, like our $22 million powerhouse, our new AB building, and certainly the land transfer to the WBDC on the north side of our campus, 51 acres and $12 million," Baliva said. "So those business-friendly policies allow us to make that commitment to the city of Worcester and continue to it call home.”
Thursday night marked the start of the 150th anniversary celebration for the Chamber and the more than 2,000 organizations they support.
“The Chamber, certainly in Worcester," Country Bank Chief Marketing & Community Relations Officer Shelley Regin said, "provides such great opportunities for us to network with other business minded people to make connections with businesses that we support within our community, and also to learn and grow with them.”
“This is a great milestone for the chamber," bankHometown president & CEO Robert Morton said. "150 years in the making.”
80% of the Chamber’s members are small businesses and Morton said it's all about adding jobs to the local economy.
“I think once again, affordability, it's also supporting small businesses and making sure that they have access to the resources that they need," Morton said, "so that they can grow, prosper, and then add jobs.”
And Murray said the road ahead will expectedly present challenges, but the Chamber is prepared and committed to continue supporting local businesses and the region for another 150 years.
“(Small businesses) need partners in government, and they need, obviously, people in the community and customers to support them," Murray said. "But, staying vigilant on that front, trying to encourage new entrepreneurs, taking advantage of emerging technologies, those are all things that are that I think are our future challenges. But when you study that history have been challenges in the past as well.”