In our most recent meetings – on October 10 and November 14 – the Government Affairs Council planned and reviewed the Fall Cape Ann Caucus/ Education Roundtable (October 25),
and Gloucester candidate forums (October 28 & 29). Ken gave progress reports on the Phase One study on the North Shore Blue Economy, including a well-attended “Think Lab” that was held
on October 2 and drew industry, government and education leaders to Cape Ann from across the North Shore region.

At the November meeting, the Council reviewed 2019 initiatives that have been completed, including the following: Candidate Forums; a letter of support for CATA’s “Last Mile” grant proposal; North Shore Blue Economy “Think Lab”, Cape Ann Innovators Collaborative Forum on Local Foods; Division Meetings (winter, spring & fall) for Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea and Rockport; Economic Outlook Breakfast, Spring & Fall Cape Ann Caucus, Small Business Week; and Breakfast with Governor Baker.

At the November meeting, Ken also previewed two upcoming events related to priority areas identified by the Government Affairs Council: Housing and Economic Development. Ken was a
panelist at both. The first, held on Saturday, November 16, was a Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation symposium entitled “Gloucester’s Housing: From Crisis to Opportunity; and the second,
“Growing Your Business on Cape Ann” was a live forum and webinar held on Tuesday, November 19 at Gloucester’s 1623 Studios, hosted by Boston Business Journal as part of BBJ’s
Leadership Series.

For more information about any of these events and initiatives please give us a call at the Chamber.

The Government Affairs Council leads the Chamber’s focus on economic development and public policy, one of our key platforms. This Council meets on the second Thursday of each month
from 7:30 to 9 AM, and participation is open to any Chamber member with an interest in being engaged with our state and local government and helping foster a vibrant Cape Ann economy.
Currently, those who are part of our monthly meetings include representatives from Cape Ann’s industrial, tourism, government, real estate, legal, non-profit and services sectors.
To learn more or join in these meetings, please contact Ken or me. Our next meeting is Thursday, December 14 at the Chamber.

Bill Scott
Chair, Government Affairs Council | Scott Energy Company