Natasha Taylor and Kerrie Foley Bates aren’t small business owners or business owner. But they are being celebrated as two of five of the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business People of the Year.
As office manager of the Essex Historical Society & Ship Building Museum, Taylor plays an “incredibly important role” in Essex’s economy, says Sam Bevins.
Bates works for the town of Ipswich as director of ReCreation and Culture.
Bevins, who for the past four years has served as the chamber’s interim director, said the honoring of Taylor or Bates is a sign of the times. Culture, he says, is playing an increasing role in driving local economic development. Historical heritage — which the region is steeped in — has, with creative initiative and vision of nonprofits such as the region’s museums — become vital cultural capital.
A Gloucester native, Bevins has seen his hometown’s waning fishing industry bolstered by a burgeoning tourism sector built on its cultural heritage, with an increasing emphasis on its arts and literary legacies
People such as Bates and Taylor, says Bevins, create a cultural environment in which business can thrive, bringing customers to shop, for instance, at stores like Gloucester’s The Weathervane, or Rockport’s Sandcastles, or Manchester-by-the-Sea’s Ace Hardware — all of which are also being celebrated Monday, June 2, through Friday, June 13.
Every year since 1981 the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce has honored the achievements of small business entrepreneurs and their employees in contributing to the economic vitality and community life of Greater Cape Ann. Honorees are decided by a group of past winners, and each is celebrated with an event hosted at a local restaurant, the first of which, honoring Allen Houle of Manchester Ace Hardware, is Tuesday evening at Cala’s in Manchester-by-the-Sea.
In addition to Houle, Taylor and Bates, this year’s honorees are Joe Ciolino, owner of Gloucester’s The Weathervane gift shop, and Kimberly Cameron-Tibert, owner of Sand Castles & Wharf Rat Trading Co. in Rockport.
Cameron-Tibert’s journey to Small Business Person of the Year, began 45 years ago when she started as a teenager, working part time at Sandcastles, a beloved apparel and gift shop in Rockport. By 1987, she owned the place, and relocated it from Broadway to 9 Mount Pleasant St. with a harbor view of Motif No.1. and window displays that stopped pedestrians in their tracks.
Along the way, she married, raised seven children, earned a nursing degree, and three years ago, while working full time as a nurse at O’Maley Innovation Middle School in Gloucester, expanded her retail presence with the addition of Wharf Rat Trading Co., specializing in coastal men’s wear.
Ciolino, who since 1991 has owned and managed The Weathervane on Gloucester’s Main Street — is no stranger to recognition. Heavily involved in the political life of Gloucester, he has served as City Council president, and in 2017 was named by the Gloucester Rotary Club as a Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary’s highest honor.
Houle, owner and operator of Manchester’s Ace Hardware and Winer Bros. Hardware in Salem, good old elbow grease and outstanding customer service have been key to growing a loyal customer base serving two regional communities while growing a family that now includes four grandchildren.
Each small business person of the year will be honored throughout the weeks of June 2-13 via the chamber’s social media, websites and email communications. The honorees will also receive a special citation from their respective local government, and beginning Tuesday, each will be honored at a series of events (see below).
These casual but festive affairs are complimentary, run from 5-7 p.m., are open to all, and serve the double purpose of introducing people to restaurants and establishments they may not have had a chance to try before. The idea, says Sam Bevin, is just to “pop in, say hello,” and toast the winners.
The winners and events are:
Tuesday, June 3: Allan Houle at Cala’s, 7 Beach St,, Manchester-by -the-Sea.
Wednesday, June 4: Natasha Taylor at The James Pub, 55 Main St, Essex (formerly The Village restaurant).
Thursday, June 5: Kerrie Bates at True North Ale Co., 116 County Rd, Ipswich.
Monday, June 9: Kimberly Cameron Tibert at The Emerson Inn, 1 Cathedral Ave., Rockport.
Tuesday, June 10: Joe Ciolino at Oak to Ember, 9 Rogers St, Gloucester.