SSBA Says Good-Bye, Merges with Chamber

Will Make Charitable Donations at Tuesday Night Fete

Members of the Salem Street Business Association leadership, from left to right: Board member and Past President Tom Convery, Board member Barbara North, First Vice President Charlotte Scuderi, Board member Jim Considine, Board member Charles Booth, President Betsy E. Lister, Treasurer Ron Quigley, Second Vice President Ray Borgett, Secretary Maureen O’Mahoney-Purcell (not pictured).  Photo courtesy Charlotte Scuderi.

– Allison Goldsberry

On Tuesday evening, the Salem Street Business Association as we know it will say good-bye in style at a cocktail reception at Century Bank, marking nearly twenty-five years as a potent force in Medford’s business community before it joins forces with the Chamber of Commerce.

According to outgoing president Betsy Lister, the SSBA will make donations to twenty charities at Tuesday’s event, from local groups such as the Medford Family Network to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

“It was a most difficult situation picking the local charities, but we feel we’ve been quite fair and will be able to distribute funds to twenty charities that might not have otherwise received such monies,” said Lister.

The SSBA will also continue to fund two scholarships- a $1,000 one for the next two years and the Tom Convery scholarship, a $1,500 award for a student pursuing a career in education, named for the former SSBA president, for the next five years.

In addition, the SSBA will pay for a one-year membership in the Chamber for each of its 142 business members.

Though there is overlap in both members and leadership between the SSBA and the Chamber of Commerce, Chamber Executive Director Cheryl White says the Chamber stands to gain about 100 new members through the merger and will broaden the business districts it represents.

“The SSBA will certainly be well-represented. We don’t want them to feel like they’re the new kid on the block. We want them to feel from the get-go that they’re one of us,” said White.

Both the Chamber and SSBA see the merger as a win-win for Medford’s business community.