BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//ChamberMaster//Event Calendar 2.0//EN METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:P3D REFRESH-INTERVAL:P3D CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20260319T113000Z DTEND:20260319T130000Z X-MICROSOFT-CDO-ALLDAYEVENT:FALSE SUMMARY:Economic Outlook Breakfast 2026 DESCRIPTION:Please join the Greater Cape Ann Chamber on Thursday\, March 19 from 7:30 - 9 AM at the Magnolia Library & Community Center for our 2026 Economic Outlook Breakfast. \n\n\n\nDownload Flyer \n\n\n\nFrom Data to Decisions: Practical Insights for Local Businesses\n\n\n\nThis year's Economic Outlook Breakfast will offer a practical conversation about the economic forces shaping Greater Cape Ann. Featuring perspectives from statewide retail leadership\, local economic development\, academic analysis\, and a Cape Ann business owner\, the discussion will move beyond national headlines to focus on what's happening locally and what it means for businesses on the ground. Panelists will explore where caution is still warranted\, where opportunity is emerging\, and which local indicators matter most as businesses plan for the year ahead. Designed to be informative\, accessible\, and actionable\, the breakfast offers attendees clear insights to help navigate uncertainty and make smarter decisions in a changing economic landscape.\n\n\n\nFeatured Panelists\n\n\n\nKristen Cooper Ph.D. - Associate Professor of Economics at Gordon College and Academic Chair of the Gordon College School of Business\n\nJon B. Hurst - President of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts\n\nKate Newhall-Smith - Principal Planner\, City of Salem Planning and Community Development\n\nMichael Smith - Chief Financial Officer\, Serenitee Restaurant Group\n\n\n\nFacilitator: Erika Brown\, Editor and Publisher\, The Manchester Cricket\n\n\n\nPanelists Bios\n\n\n\nKristen Cooper (Panelist):\n\nKristen Cooper is an economist who applies her background in behavioral economics and applied microeconomics to the emerging field of wellbeing science. She is a principal of The Well-Being Index Initiative\, a research group which is developing and improving the tools of survey-based well-being measurement. Cooper is currently Associate Professor of Economics at Gordon College and Academic Chair of the Gordon School of Business. She has also studied the economics of wellbeing as a Fulbright U.S. Senior Scholar at the Universidad de La Laguna in Tenerife\, Spain. Cooper earned her B.A. in Economics and Spanish from Gordon College and her Ph.D. in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University.\n\n\n\nJon Hurst (Panelist):\n\nJon Hurst has served as President of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts (RAM) since 1990. As CEO of the 4\,000-member statewide trade association\, Hurst manages the member services\, education and public affairs of the organization. RAM was organized in 1918 as the Voice of Retailing in Massachusetts\, and today represents stores and restaurants of all types and sizes. \n\nHurst also serves as Chairman of the Board of the MA Retail Merchants Workers Compensation Group\, Inc.\, a non-profit group organized by RAM in 1991. He also heads the Retailers Association of Massachusetts Health Insurance Cooperative\, the first non-profit small business health insurance cooperative authorized in 2012 by the state. \n\n \n\nHurst has served on various state advisory boards\, including current roles with the Economic Development Planning Council\, the Statewide Healthcare Quality Advisory Committee\, the Health Policy Commission Advisory Council\, and the Workforce Competitive Trust Fund Advisory Committee. Hurst has served on numerous non-profit boards\, including the Beverly YMCA\, Beverly Main Streets\, the National Retail Federation\, and also served as Chairman of the National Association of State Retail Association Executives. \n\n \n\nPrior to serving at RAM\, Hurst worked in public affairs roles for the Hershey Foods Corporation and the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants\, as well as at the Ohio House of Representatives. Hurst graduated from the Ohio State University in 1981.\n\n \n\nHurst and his wife Jan have three grown sons and reside in Beverly\, Massachusetts.\n\n\n\nKate Newhall-Smith (Panelist):\n\nKate Newhall-Smith serves as the Principal Planner in the Department of Planning and Community Development for the City of Salem\, Massachusetts. In this role\, she supports economic development projects\, programs\, and initiatives\, including Salem's Small Business Loan Program\, Storefront Improvement Grant Program\, managing Salem's Economic Coordination Task Force and Business Recruitment Team\, and facilitating downtown development and permitting on behalf of the Salem Redevelopment Authority. \n\n\n\nKate began her career as a Planner for the City of Peabody\, followed by planning positions for the cities of Beverly and Newburyport. Since joining Salem in 2019\, she has played a key role in advancing Salem's economic development goals. She has worked on downtown-focused studies\, creation of design standards for downtown development and signage\, played a key role in Salem's COVID response and small business support throughout the pandemic\, and managed large-scale development projects that bring mixed-income housing and uses to the community.\n\n\n\nHer work emphasizes strong partnerships and collaborative approaches which support Salem's business community to ensure that Salem continues to be an authentic and vibrant place to live\, work\, and visit.\n\nKate holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Conservation from the University of New Hampshire and a Master's degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University.\n\n\n\nMichael Smith (Panelist):\n\nMichael Smith is the CFO of Serenitee Restaurant Group\, the team behind nine locations across Massachusetts's North Shore. In his 15 years with the company\, he's grown alongside the business and today oversees finance\, HR\, marketing\, customer service\, and systems management while working closely with the operations team to keep everything running together. It's a role that gives him a wide-angle view of what it actually takes to run a multi-location hospitality business.\n\n\n\nAs CFO\, Michael sits at the intersection of hospitality and local economic life managing a workforce spread across multiple North Shore communities\, navigating supplier relationships\, and responding in real time to shifts in consumer spending and the labor market. That ground-level view gives him a practical perspective on how broader economic trends actually show up for small and mid-sized businesses in the region. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Please join the Greater Cape Ann Chamber on Thursday\, March 19 from 7:30 - 9 AM \; at the Magnolia Library &\; Community Center for our 2026 Economic Outlook Breakfast. \;
\n
\nDownload Flyer
\n
\nFrom Data to Decisions: Practical Insights for Local Businesses
\n
\nThis year'\;s Economic Outlook Breakfast \;will offer a practical conversation about the economic forces \;shaping Greater Cape Ann. Featuring perspectives from statewide retail leadership\, local economic development\, academic analysis\, and a Cape Ann business owner\, the discussion will move beyond national headlines to focus on what&rsquo\;s happening locally&mdash\;and what it means for businesses on the ground. Panelists will explore where caution is still warranted\, where opportunity is emerging\, and which local indicators matter most as businesses plan for the year ahead. Designed to be informative\, accessible\, and actionable\, the breakfast offers attendees clear insights to help navigate uncertainty and make smarter decisions in a changing economic landscape.
\n
\nFeatured Panelists
\n
\nKristen Cooper Ph.D. - Associate Professor of Economics at Gordon College and Academic Chair of the Gordon College School of Business
\nJon B. Hurst - President of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts
\nKate Newhall-Smith - Principal Planner\, City of Salem Planning and Community Development
\nMichael Smith - Chief Financial Officer\, Serenitee Restaurant Group
\n
\nFacilitator: Erika Brown\, Editor and Publisher\, \;The Manchester Cricket
\n
\nPanelists Bios
\n
\nKristen Cooper (Panelist):
\nKristen Cooper is an economist who applies her background in behavioral economics and applied microeconomics to the emerging field of wellbeing science. She is a principal of The Well-Being Index Initiative\, a research group which is developing and improving the tools of survey-based well-being measurement. Cooper is currently Associate Professor of Economics at Gordon College and Academic Chair of the Gordon School of Business. She has also studied the economics of wellbeing as a Fulbright U.S. Senior Scholar at the Universidad de La Laguna in Tenerife\, Spain. Cooper earned her B.A. in Economics and Spanish from Gordon College and her Ph.D. in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University.
\n
\nJon Hurst (Panelist):
\nJon Hurst has served as President of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts (RAM) since 1990. \; As CEO of the 4\,000-member statewide trade association\, Hurst manages the member services\, education and public affairs of the organization. \; RAM was organized in 1918 as the Voice of Retailing in Massachusetts\, and today represents stores and restaurants of all types and sizes. \;

\n\n

Hurst also serves as Chairman of the Board of the MA Retail Merchants Workers Compensation Group\, Inc.\, a non-profit group organized by RAM in 1991. \; He also heads the Retailers Association of Massachusetts Health Insurance Cooperative\, the first non-profit small business health insurance cooperative authorized in 2012 by the state. \; \;
\n \;
\nHurst has served on various state advisory boards\, including current roles with the Economic Development Planning Council\, the Statewide Healthcare Quality Advisory Committee\, the Health Policy Commission Advisory Council\, and the Workforce Competitive Trust Fund Advisory Committee. \; Hurst has served on numerous non-profit boards\, including the Beverly YMCA\, Beverly Main Streets\, the National Retail Federation\, and also served as Chairman of the National Association of State Retail Association Executives. \;  \; \;
\n \;
\nPrior to serving at RAM\, Hurst worked in public affairs roles for the Hershey Foods Corporation and the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants\, as well as at the Ohio House of Representatives. \; Hurst graduated from the Ohio State University in 1981.
\n \;
\nHurst and his wife Jan have three grown sons and reside in Beverly\, Massachusetts.
\n
\nKate Newhall-Smith (Panelist):
\nKate Newhall-Smith serves as the Principal Planner in the Department of Planning and Community Development for the City of Salem\, Massachusetts. In this role\, she supports economic development projects\, programs\, and initiatives\, including Salem&rsquo\;s Small Business Loan Program\, Storefront Improvement Grant Program\, managing Salem&rsquo\;s Economic Coordination Task Force and Business Recruitment Team\, and facilitating downtown development and permitting on behalf of the Salem Redevelopment Authority. \;
\n
\nKate began her career as a Planner for the City of Peabody\, followed by planning positions for the cities of Beverly and Newburyport. Since joining Salem in 2019\, she has played a key role in advancing Salem&rsquo\;s economic development goals. She has worked on downtown-focused studies\, creation of design standards for downtown development and signage\, played a key role in Salem&rsquo\;s COVID response and small business support throughout the pandemic\, and managed large-scale development projects that bring mixed-income housing and uses to the community.
\n
\nHer work emphasizes strong partnerships and collaborative approaches which  \;support Salem&rsquo\;s business community to ensure that Salem continues to be an authentic and vibrant place to live\, work\, and visit.
\nKate holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Conservation from the University of New Hampshire and a Master&rsquo\;s degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University.
\n
\nMichael Smith (Panelist):
\nMichael Smith is the CFO of Serenitee Restaurant Group\, the team behind nine locations across Massachusetts'\;s North Shore. In his 15 years with the company\, he'\;s grown alongside the business and today oversees finance\, HR\, marketing\, customer service\, and systems management &mdash\; while working closely with the operations team to keep everything running together. It'\;s a role that gives him a wide-angle view of what it actually takes to run a multi-location hospitality business.
\n\nAs CFO\, Michael sits at the intersection of hospitality and local economic life &mdash\; managing a workforce spread across multiple North Shore communities\, navigating supplier relationships\, and responding in real time to shifts in consumer spending and the labor market. That ground-level view gives him a practical perspective on how broader economic trends actually show up for small and mid-sized businesses in the region. \; \;
\n
\n \;

\n LOCATION:Magnolia Library & Community Center UID:e.2981.46199 SEQUENCE:3 DTSTAMP:20260409T175536Z URL:https://business.capeannvacations.com/events/details/economic-outlook-breakfast-2026-46199 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR