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SouthCoast chamber president building strong support
By Joe Cohen
Standard-Times staff writer
 NEW
BEDFORD — For 22 years, James "call me Jim" Mathes and
"Chamber of Commerce" were practically synonymous on
SouthCoast. Mr. Mathes, smiling and outgoing, was the
local chamber and the local chamber was Mr. Mathes.
Then in 2006, everything changed.
Mr. Mathes followed his passion for education and
helping underserved children by becoming executive
director of the SMILES mentoring program in New Bedford
and Fall River. It was a program he helped create in his
role at the chamber.
And the New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce went out
and hired an outsider as its new president, Roy M.
Nascimento.
He was quiet, reserved and new to the tightly knit
business community of New Bedford and surrounding
SouthCoast towns.
There were people who sized up Mr. Nascimento and
thought that at the very best, this was no Jim Mathes.
But what a difference a year makes, especially for those
who were skeptical about the transition.
Mr. Nascimento, 36, has streamlined the New Bedford Area
Chamber of Commerce, refocused it, tightened it up and
begun a rebuilding effort. Often working quietly, he
typically shares any praise directed at him with staff
and the board of directors.
All of this, observers note, took place after a failed
merger attempt between the New Bedford Area Chamber and
the Fall River Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc.,
something that placed a cloud over both organizations.
To top it off, Mr. Nascimento has tackled the challenges
of managing the chamber in a difficult economy that has
tested the staying power of chambers of commerce
nationwide.
"Roy puts the chamber first; Jim was the chamber," says
Peter Muise, chairman of the board of the New Bedford
Area Chamber. Mr. Nascimento's "quietness is often
mistaken," Mr. Muise said of what he believes is Mr.
Nascimento's formidable talent and experience.
Mr. Muise, whose full-time job is executive vice
president of First Citizens' Federal Credit Union, said
Mr. Nascimento was hired to, in effect, "step into the
shoes of a legend," referring to Mr. Mathes' longevity
and presence while heading the area chamber.
Maureen Sylvia Armstrong, immediate past chairwoman of
the chamber, and president and chief executive officer
of the Sylvia Group of Insurance Agencies in Dartmouth,
has a similar assessment of Mr. Nascimento. Ms.
Armstrong headed the chamber when Mr. Nascimento was
hired.
"Jim (Mathes) and Roy are very different people with
different skill sets and two different time periods" to
deal with, Ms. Armstrong said. Mr. Mathes left "big
shoes to fill."
"Overall, he sees the bigger picture," Ms. Armstrong
said of Mr. Nascimento. "He is very focused ... he's got
the chamber operating at a very efficient level." Mr.
Nascimento is more oriented toward making chamber
activities "valuable" to membership and then through
membership to the community, versus focusing directly on
reaching the community.
"Jim Mathes was in tune with the entire community," Ms.
Armstrong said, and Mr. Nascimento is more likely to do
things that have "direct impact on (chamber)
membership."
Chairman-elect James R. Pratt Jr. agrees, saying Mr.
Nascimento "refocused" the chamber and "re-energized"
the board of directors.
"I'm very pleased with the transition," said Mr. Pratt,
managing partner of the accounting firm Hodgson, Pratt &
Associates PC here.
"He turned the chamber around from a fiscal point," Mr.
Pratt said, and created "new programs at the core of
what the chamber does well."
Mr. Pratt said Mr. Nascimento gets credit for
"re-energizing the board" with a retreat that produced a
business plan for the next three years. "We're very,
very pleased," Mr. Pratt said.
One hiccup that some observers might have seen, Mr.
Pratt said, was that Mr. Nascimento had a "bit of
learning curve to know who the players are" in New
Bedford and larger SouthCoast community, in contrast to
Mr. Mathes, an experienced and longtime local schmoozer.
But that type of criticism, chamber officials suggest,
is more misplaced vanity than legitimate criticism.
"It's going to take time" to thoroughly understand the
community and establish a reputation, Ms. Armstrong
said.
Mr. Muise agreed, saying that comparing Mr. Mathes to
Mr. Nascimento is comparing "22 years to one year."
"It is unfair to compare and contrast" the two men, he
said. "There wasn't anybody Jim didn't know."
"Roy is pushing the chamber forward. Roy is allowing
chamber committees more public roles; he is asking the
directors to take more public roles. There is a need for
a number of voices" representing the chamber, Mr. Muise
said.
He ticks off some of Mr. Nascimento's tangible
accomplishments — creation of subcommittees, greater
attention to new businesses that can yield new members,
new bylaws and improved communications.
Perhaps the most fundamental difference between the old
and the new: Mr. Mathes was very involved in the wider
SouthCoast community and led the chamber along that
path.
It was under Mr. Mathes' leadership the chamber took a
key role in the Summerfest festival in New Bedford.
Under Mr. Nascimento, the chamber pulled back its level
of involvement, saying it was not in keeping with the
primary mission of serving regional and all members'
interests, and it posed an inappropriate financial risk.
Board members say Mr. Nascimento has the chamber more
focused on membership and sees the membership —
sometimes through the chamber — as having positive
effects on SouthCoast.
"It is an organization to forward the business
environment on the SouthCoast," Mr. Muise said. "It is
not a (social services) nonprofit ... that is not our
primary mission ... it is not a government entity."
"I'm sure some people see it supporting political or
(other) causes," Mr. Muise said, but its primary
function "should be to support business."
That has positive community impact, but not in as direct
a fashion, Mr. Muise said. For example, the chamber
makes a priority of work force education, and that
"circles back" to the chamber and its members becoming
involved in improving schools and supporting education.
None of this surprises Mr. Mathes, who now heads SMILES,
the SouthCoast Mentoring Initiatives for Learning
Education and Service organization.
"I knew Roy for seven years before he was hired," Mr.
Mathes said. "He is going to make a distant memory of me
(at the chamber) very quickly. I see the direction he
has taken to make it a strong chamber ... the best in
the state."
"He has his own personality that lends itself well to
the role he plays," Mr. Mathes said of his successor,
noting that "I was not a traditional chamber guy" and
Mr. Nascimento has a strong chamber background.
"I believe Roy is running a stronger chamber than I left
him with," Mr. Mathes said, pointing to improved
communication with members and the use of committees to
tackle tasks.
Mr. Mathes said he has intentionally stayed away from
some chamber activities during the past year to give Mr.
Nascimento room to take over and shape the organization
as he sees fit. "We're both good with it," Mr. Mathes
said. "Roy has a lot of ideas. He needs the same
opportunity I had when starting out."
"Jim's legacy and contributions to the chamber were
extraordinary and will certainly not be forgotten," said
Minerve N. Saleh, chamber board member and a senior
official with Sovereign Bank. "I do not think Roy is
looking to fill Jim's shoes. I think he is aspiring to
create a new path with the shoes on his own feet."
Matthew A. Morrissey, executive director of the New
Bedford Economic Development Council, said he believes
Mr. Nascimento "has positioned the chamber extremely
well for an increased role in assisting businesses" on
SouthCoast.
"New Bedford needs strong partners, and in particular
strong partnerships, to help our businesses through what
clearly will be a very challenging period," he said.
The New Bedford Chamber encompasses 10 communities from
Westport to Wareham. About half the membership is from
New Bedford. Membership peaked a while ago at about
1,100 businesses, fell to about 900 and has been
climbing back from there. It is now at about 1,000
members.
The chamber describes itself as an independent, private,
nonprofit association that represents businesses.
The price of membership in the chamber is based on the
size of the organization. It ranges from $275 for an
organization with less than five employees to $3,500 for
an organization with more than 500 employees. Nonprofits
receive a 20 percent discount.
The chamber says about 90 percent of its members are
"small" businesses, ranging from sole proprietorships to
small manufacturing companies. Two of the largest area
employers are members, St. Luke's Hospital/Southcoast
Health System and Acushnet Co./Titleist.
The Standard-Times is a member, and Joel H. Burns, the
newspaper's head of human resources, is a vice chair of
the board of directors.
Roy Nascimento came to the chamber in a somewhat
circuitous route. He was selected for the position from
30 candidates after a nationwide search.
Mr. Nascimento is of Portuguese background. He was born
in Fall River to immigrant parents and grew up in
Taunton watching his parents operate a small "mom and
pop" business.
"I saw how hard they worked," he said of his parents.
"Most of our members are small businesses. ... I see how
hard they struggle."
He said he "fell into working at the chamber." His
original plan was to go into economic development. He
has an undergraduate degree from UMass Dartmouth and a
master's in public administration from Suffolk
University.
Mr. Nascimento's background includes a stint at
BankBoston followed by seven years at MetroSouth Chamber
of Commerce in Brockton, where he was vice president
when he left.
He then served as president of the Attleboro Chamber of
Commerce before coming here in October 2006.
Has he had a good first year in New Bedford? He says
yes. "This job is a challenge; it changes every day. I
have a great team. This is a wonderful community."
"The SouthCoast and New Bedford have a bright future.
Yes, we have challenges, but we are poised for
tremendous growth. ... I absolutely believe that," Mr.
Nascimento said.
Told that he sounds a lot like the proverbial chamber of
commerce booster, Mr. Nascimento said, "We should point
out the positives. A lot of communities would be
envious" of New Bedford, and he checked off the
following: cobblestone streets, historic district,
museums, art galleries, colleges, new condos, and new
and old businesses catering to a range of groups. In
addition, Mr. Nacimento said, New Bedford has its
working waterfront, industrial park and airport.
"The community is thriving; there are a lot of
positives," Mr. Nascimento says, sounding an awful lot
like — what was his name?
Oh, yes: Jim Mathes.
Contact Joe Cohen at jcohen@s-t.com
March 16, 2008 |
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