[Viewfinder] East Granby Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards

The East Granby Chamber of Commerce will merge with one, and possibly two other local chambers of commerce, according to the East Granby Chamber president.

Chamber President Mark Hann said during the East Granby Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards event Monday evening at Joining Technologies that the chamber will merge with the Windsor Locks Chamber and possibly the Suffield Chamber by early 2013.

"Individually we're not as strong as we are regionally," Hann said.

Hann also provided an update on the chamber's finances, stating that the chamber is just about breaking even, though it had to cut back on some of the charitable donations it usually makes.

Hann said that the chamber's investments were doing well, however.

"Financially, we're in good shape," he said.

Awards

Rebecca Taylor of DSI Marketing received the Small Business Leadership Award, while Bob Wild of Allstate Records Center received the Business Leader of the Year.

Keynote Speaker

Karen Jarmoc of the Connecticut Airport Authority gave the keynote speech, describing the authority's role of getting Bradley International Airport and the state's five general aviation airports "out from under state government control and bureaucratic processes and giving them more autonomy."

"One of our key priorities is to strengthen Bradley's marketing capability to extend our market reach so more people and companies understand the many benefits of the airport," Jarmoc said.