Last Thursday night at Spinelli’s in East Boston, Scott Heigelmann of Heavy Advertising took the oath as the East Boston Chamber of Commerce’s new president.
After being sworn in by City Councilor Sal LaMattina, Heigelmann reflected on the Chambers successes of the past and how it will shape its future.
“Let me begin by saluting the remarkable leadership of Diane Modica,” Heigelmann began. “Her passion for East Boston and her mentorship and guidance have been vital to the success of the Chamber and to the visibility of Eastie as a whole. Diane brought a sense of urgency to the Chamber and to its mission. She taught us how to approach issues bravely but also with a political sensibility.”
Heigelmann said that while he did not go to business school he got his business education right here in Eastie.
“I got it by being a student and a customer of East Boston’s businesses,” he said. “I got it by watching how their founders have done it. By watching how hard they’ve worked, and how much they’ve put into it, and the risks they’ve taken to succeed. I got it by watching how sincere and genuinely concerned they are for their customers. I learned about pride, resilience, toughness and character in business. I got a first-class education in ‘whatever it takes’.”
Heigelmann said Eastie is Boston’s gateway to the world, and has always been a place where ambitious people have come to create, to work, to start a business, to make a life and to build their dreams from the ground up.
“It’s a place where people know they can put a stake in the ground without ever forgetting where they came from or compromising their heritage. And that character is such a big piece of East Boston’s business landscape,” he said. “Eastie has always meant opportunity, and because of this, the entrepreneurial spirit will always be alive here.”
Heigelmann said since 1962, the mission of the East Boston Chamber has been to inspire economic growth in East Boston by strengthening our neighborhood’s competitive position and facilitating investments that build capacity, generate prosperity and catalyze the economic vibrancy of City life as a whole.
“Our board, which is comprised of some of the most dedicated, talented and sincere business advocates you’ll ever meet, represents a cross-section of the diverse commercial landscape of East Boston,” he said. “And thanks to the hard work, vision and uncompromising determination of this board, the Chamber has firmly positioned itself as one of the strongest, most visible and most influential economic development forces in our City.”