Letter from the President
Tony Daniels

Hello and Welcome to the Greater Boston Business Council:

For those of you who do not know me. My name is Tony Daniels and I have the privilege of being the President of the GBBC. My photo is the one with the coffee cup in my hand and as you can see, I am enjoying my job.

Let me ask you this. Could 2004 have been better? The Patriots won another Superbowl The Red Sox won the World Series. We got to show of the city by hosting the Democratic National Convention. We won the marriage battle, the Big Dig is almost finished (excepts for the leaks), and we got the Rockettes to come to the Wang. But wait there is more!

For the GBBC, we made tremendous strides in that both of the city's GLBT newspapers now cover the Boston GBLT Business Community. We formed great partnerships in the arts with the Sponsorship of “Out on the North Shore” at the North Shore Music Theatre (if you haven’t been you should go). We also introduced the North Shore Breakfast Networking Group at the Sheraton Danvers. We had a great Boat Cruise, and who could forget our Awards for Excellence?

With all this happiness happening, you may not have noticed that Boston lost some serious clout and even a part of our history. Bank Boston/Fleet is now Bank of America; John Hancock is now Manulife; and Gillette is now Proctor and Gamble. Clutch your pearls — FILENES will be renamed and become, of all things, part of a New York Icon: Macy’s. Don’t misunderstand me, these are all GREAT COMPANIES that have proven that it is better to buy then be bought. I tip my hat to the leadership of these companies for managing their growth and returning shareholder value.

All that being said, it is more important today then ever that the Boston Gay and Lesbian Community flex its Muscle that is its Marketplace. As these companies reduce staff, presence, and charitable and community dollars and as Boston is reduced to a mere part of the North East market (that includes New York to Bar Harbor) we must make our presence known as a separate market place. The most effective conduit for that marketplace is your Chamber of Commerce, the GBBC.

I urge you as an individual, small business owner and employee to join the GBBC. We will continue to represent the interests of our marketplace and our members.

The Greater Boston Business Council continues to connect you to your customers, prospects, and community.

Please drop me a line at president@gbbc.org, or if you should see me out and about ,come and say hello. I can’t promote you if I don’t know you.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you.

Best wishes,

Tony Daniels
President

P.S. DID YOU KNOW? We are not only counted among the largest Chamber of Commerce in Massachusetts, we also have the lowest membership fees of any chamber listed.

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Last updated October 24, 2005