The Boston Bruins captivated the city during an historic playoff run that resulted in hockey's ultimate prize – the Stanley Cup – coming back to Boston for the first time since 1972. Congratulations to MBR member and Bruins Executive Vice President Charlie Jacobs and the entire Bruins organization for delighting fans throughout the region and providing an important economic infusion for the region.
Thanks to the tremendous turnout from members, this year's annual meeting was an enormous success. This year's meeting featured keynote remarks from Liberty Mutual's Ted Kelly and provided a poignant celebration of Alan Macdonald's extraordinary legacy and leadership of the Roundtable during the past 23 years. Governor Deval Patrick made a surprise visit to thank Alan and the Roundtable for being "true partners" in key reform efforts including health care, education, pension and transportation. Alan's leadership of the Roundtable has positioned the organization as a thoughtful, constructive voice for the business community working with policymakers throughout the state. NStar's Tom May introduced Alan, who was joined by his wife Jane, son Alan and daughter-in-law Mimi, for the celebration that honored a man who dedicated his career to making Massachusetts a better place to live, work and raise a family. MBR will build upon Alan's legacy working with members to engage in a productive discourse with the Administration and legislative leaders to strengthen the economic vitality of the Commonwealth.
MBR Chairwoman Donna Cupelo and Executive Committee member Michael Hogan continued to work with Secretary Greg Bialecki and the Patrick Administration as members of the Economic Development Planning Council, which held several meetings this week. The Council provides a forum for MBR members to use our Competitiveness Agenda to help shape the state's economic development policy. Donna worked with a team on the subcommittee that is advancing education and workforce development opportunities. A key priority identified by the group is to develop a well- managed, coordinated, integrated system that improves the responsiveness of workforce programs for workers and businesses. Michael is working with a group on increasing the ease of doing business in Massachusetts. The group is identifying meaningful, measurable priorities in areas that would help speed up the local permitting process and strengthen the ability of local governments to work effectively with businesses. MBR member Suffolk Construction, led by John Fish, offered priority items focused on addressing the cost competitiveness in the Commonwealth with a major focus on reducing energy costs and the costs of government. For more information about the work of the Economic Development Planning Council, please contact JD Chesloff jdchesloff@maroundtable.com or Chris Kealey ckealey@maroundtable.com.
Working as part of a coalition of business groups, MBR called on the legislative conference committee considering municipal health care reforms to release a workable plan that will be passed by the Legislature and implemented by municipalities this year. The coalition weighed in on several major issues which would help significantly as the state attempts to control health care costs. The state's quality-of-life is one of the competitive advantages highlighted in MBR's Competitiveness Agenda. Municipal health reform is an important initiative to preserve this competitive advantage.
MBR's Task Force on Education & Workforce Development, Chaired by Eaglepoint Advisors Partner Gary DiCamillo, submitted public comments advocating for improvements to the educator evaluation regulations being promulgated by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Following a recent meeting of the Task Force, which featured a presentation from Linda Noonan, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, MBR members discussed ways to improve education in the Commonwealth and agreed that MBR's position on changes to the educator evaluation regulations should include the following: establishing a clear, results-driven process for the entire state; making student achievement the central factor in evaluations; recognizing, encouraging and rewarding excellence in teaching; and, supporting the recruitment and retention of top quality educators. MBR supports and applauds the Department's focus on excellence and establishing statewide principles of evaluation, which we believe can also catalyze efforts to recruit and retain top quality educators. A full copy of the MBR letter is available on the homepage at www.maroundtable.com.
MBR is pleased to welcome Fidelity Investments back as a member of the Roundtable. Fidelity is a key player in the state's robust financial services sector. MBR now has 67 top executives at companies who collectively employ 210,000 people across the state. Thanks to the work of Membership Committee Chair and Korn/Ferry Managing Director Bob Sullivan and members who are helping with peer-to-peer recruitment, the ranks of MBR continue to get stronger. Please contact Bob Robert.sullivan@kornferry.com or JD Chesloff if you have a peer in the business community who you think would make a solid addition and contribute to our statewide competitiveness agenda at MBR.
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