East Haven Chamber Honors Members And Community

The East Haven Chamber held its Annual Members Meeting and Awards Dinner on May 17th at Amarante's. The Chamber installed 3 members to the Board of Directors, Mark Gravino, Mark Azzolina and Anissa Temple Smith.

The awards for the evening began with the New Chamber member of the year, Donald Moffatt from Donnie's Drywall. Donnie became a member this past year and has been very active in the events and networking with other members. He is a great addition to the Chamber.

The Chamber Member of the Year is Douglas Blackwood from Calcagni Real Estate. Doug has been an intricate part of the Chamber this year, attending most events, working on the planning of events, volunteering and dedicating himself to the betterment of the Chamber and our community. We also must add that Doug is very creative when it comes to building things. He has been our creative contractor for the Halloween table. He is also our bilingual translator for the Chamber. It is a well deserved award.

The Chamber Loyalty Award was given to a couple who are civic members from Branford who have been with the Chamber for 10 years. Rich and Kathy Coyle have been to close to all our events. They love networking and just meeting people. They found the East Haven Chamber a great fit for them. They have enjoyed the organic feel of our small Chamber. They are the Chambers cheerleaders, always ready to support.

The Non Profit Award went to East Haven Television. ETV now in its new location on Main Street is offering learning experiences in the marketing field. They are a wonderful group who keep the communication for East Haven going. Check them out on Youtube and Local Access.

The Educators of the Year are John and Heather Profetto. The couple are teachers at the East Haven High School and teach in the culinary department. They have been teaching the students the culinary arts. They are former owners of Rainbow Gardens Bar and Restaurant in Milford. They have plans to work with the students to open Hive Cafe., a student run restaurant with in the school.

The Student of the Year is Natalia Cantarero, a junior at the East Haven High School. Natalia came to the US from Spain, she struggled with the language and getting accustom to her new home. Natalia pushed herself and made her way to the top. She speaks fluently and brought her grades up and is now on a great path for success.

Best Business After Hours of the Year. A Business After Hours is an event for members and non members to participate in to network and promote their business. This Business After Hours was very unique including Chambers members. The night started out at the Shoreline Trolley Museum with a wine tasting sponsored by East Haven Memorial Funeral Home. The guest sampled wine and got to see the exhibits at the museum. The guests then boarded the trolleys for a 20 minute excursion into Branford. At the end of the line in Short Beach the guests got off the trolley for a short walk up to Rosso Vino. Once at the restaurant, they were treated with Rosso Vinos amazing appetizers and a drink or two. Then it was back to the trolley for the scenic trip back to East Haven. This event was the biggest attended and the most unique we have seen in a long time . Each member made the event very special .

It was wonderful to honor amazing Chamber members and dedicated community members. The night was a great success and the Chamber thanks all the recipients for all that they do.