With gavel officially passed, Rochester chamber looks to build on successes in 2020

2020 Chamber Chairman of the Board Alan Johnson of Atlantic Broadband and Anne Brown of Daystar pose during plaque presentation at Friday's meeting of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce at the Frisbie Conference Center. (Rochester Voice photo)

ROCHESTER - The Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce unveiled a new and improved website at Friday's annual breakfast meeting as well as a new challenge to members to be more active in the chamber so that the Rochester business community and the city can both continue to thrive.

The meeting was held at the Frisbie Memorial Hospital Conference Center and attended by more than 100 chamber members who enjoyed a delicious breakfast buffet before speakers took to the podium.

2020 Chairman of the Board Alan Johnson of Atlantic Broadband, who was formally installed during the meeting, said his focus will be on member involvement.

"We want to grow our membership, make sure we retain existing businesses and do more outreach with businesses coming to Rochester," he said.

Johnson is taking over for Anne Brown of Daystar, Inc., who talked a little bit about her year as chair and the outstanding work volunteers did on events like the Christmas Tree Lighting, Holiday Parade and Chamber Expo.

"The incredible Christmas Tree Lighting and Holiday Parade are some of the finest holiday events on the Seacoast, and it doesn't just happen," she said. "It takes a lot of work by volunteers who care about the community."

Brown also praised the enormous work that was done to put on last year's annual Chamber Expo, adding that the job fair component it added greatly expanded its scope and attendance levels.

She also encouraged everyone in the Chamber to go to a Chamber 101 session that teaches members how to get the most out of the Chamber to help grow their business.

As part of her final appearance as the former chair, Brown announced Sharla Robbins of First Seacoast Bank as the winner of the Chamber Ambassador Award and Tory Martin as the Young Professional of the Year.

.Chamber President and CEO Laura Ring added that this year would see "a big push" for new members. She also thanked all the volunteers who worked hard the past year and encouraged all chamber members to get involved.

Ring also unveiled the newly designed website, which features a large photo on the home page, adding a scrolling feature will be added soon.