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The Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce Press Release 114 Main Street, Norwich CT 06360 Phone: (860) 887-1647 Fax (860) 887-9238 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, FEBRUARY 7, 2019 The Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce that Nancy Cowser has been elected to serve as its new Chairman. Nancy has lived in the area for 25 years, and currently resides in Uncasville with her husband, Nathan, and son, Donovan. She received her BS in Finance from Boston College, and her MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Nancy joined the Chamber Board of Directors in 2011 and became an Officer serving as Secretary from 2015-2017, quickly moving to Vice-Chairman in 2018. Nancy serves on the Chamber's Economic Development Committee, as a mentor for the Leadership program and served as past chair of the Healthcare Committee for many years. Nancy has worked in a number of industries, including banking, manufacturing, social services and health care. She is currently the Executive Director of the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region (seCTer); southeastern CT's designated Economic Development Organization. Nancy appreciates having so many opportunities to give back to the community and serves on many volunteer boards, including the Eastern CT Workforce Investment Board, the United Way, the Thames River Heritage Park, the Thames River Innovation Place, and the Naval and Maritime Consortium. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, hitting the beach, and fishing with her son. Nancy follows in the footsteps of Chris Jewell, who served as GNACC Chairman from 2017-2018 and states "Chris is an inspiration and will be a hard act to follow. He set the bar extremely high, and I appreciate having his guidance and mentorship!". As for her plans for the Chamber, Nancy was quoted as saying "Our membership has just hit 500 due to the passion and determination of the services provided to our members. Is it too audacious to say "600 by 2021"?" Chris Jewell welcomed Nancy and was quoted for saying, "I know I am leaving this seat in the very good hands of Nancy Cowser and am excited to remain involved in our group (but maybe a bit more from the sidelines)." At the annual meeting, the following were also elected: Officers: Vice-Chairman, Fawn Walker; Vice-Chairman, Marissa Miller; Treasurer, Andre' J. Messier, Jr.; Secretary, Lisa Griffin; Theodore N. Phillips II, Esq; Attorney-At-Law, LLC; Past-Chairman, Chris Jewell. Incoming Directors: Steve Dumont, Chelsea Insurance; Paul Siefert, Billy Wilson's Ageing Still; Pamela Kinder, UCFS; Jeffrey Blayman, Ideal Skateshop; and Deb Tavernier, Putnam Bank. The GNACC Annual 2018 Community Awards were also presented at the Annual Meeting and sincere congratulations go out to the following Community Award Recipients: 2018 Business Supporter presented to US FOODS, Norwich. US Foods supports the National Red Cross and donates $100,000 in cash to every natural disaster relief fund that strikes the US. In addition, they donate food, supplies, water, logistics and labor to all of the natural disaster's events. US Foods has over 300 associates who live, eat and play in Southern New England and support the businesses in the Greater Norwich area. Their culinary program, "Training the Next Generation of Culinarians", provides individual awards of up to $20,000 in financial support and professional development to outstanding under-served students seeking to achieve their dreams in the culinary arts. Fourteen (14) US Foods Scholars to be named by December 2018 and $280K in scholarship funding have been offered to date. 2018 Volunteer Award presented to Gary Young,GNACC Ambassador. Gary was born in Norwich and has been a Norwich resident for over 60 years. He is a NFA Graduate Class of '65 and US Navy Veteran 1968-1972. Gary was the "G" of the former RL&G (Insurance) Agency, serving as President and CEO from 1992 - 2010. He was also a founding member of the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce, serving on the Board of Directors until 2010; he served as Chairman of the Insurance Committee and has been a GNACC Ambassador since 2006. Gary has been a member of the Norwich Rotary Club since 2004 and volunteers at the Norwich Soup Kitchen and the Norwich Arts Council. 2018 Volunteer Award presented to Renee Benoit, Opens Arms LGBTQIA+ Support Group. Open Arms is dedicated to educating and supporting one another through bi-weekly meetings and support groups hosted at the United Services in Dayville and Backus Hospital in Norwich. Renee has been a proud GNACC Chamber Member since 2016. She is very active on the following GNACC Committees: Healthy Living; Ambassador Committee; and Rock the Docks. She is an employee at Backus Hospital in the emergency ward and serves on the UCFS Board of Directors. Renee is currently enrolled in a nursing program for continuing education; is a volunteer speaker in schools throughout Southeastern CT, and is a regular on Access Public TV (Atlantic Broadcast). Angela Adams, Executive Director of the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce states "We not only celebrated our 15th Anniversary of GNACC but it was such a pleasure to announce our 500th member. It shows the commitment and hard work of our Board of Directors and Staff, and the continued support of our members and volunteers recommending and supporting our efforts and mission. I am very proud to be a part of the organization. We have many more exciting things happening in the near future, so stay tuned!" The Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce is the voice of the northern region of New London County. If you own a business and are not yet a member of the Greater Norwich Chamber, you cannot afford not to be. Give us a call at (860) 887-1647 or join online at www.norwichchamber.com For More Information Contact: Angela Adams, GNACC Executive Director (860) 887-1647 | AngelaAdams@NorwichChamber.com