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Date: 1/20/2021
HILLTOWNS – In December 2020, the Jacob’s Ladder Business Association voted in a new slate of officers for 2021.
Emily Smith-Lee, an attorney with practices in Sharon and Chester, is the new president and Laurie Mikalunas, a vice president and branch manager for the Westfield Bank in Huntington, vice president. Other officers include Elizabeth Massa, treasurer; Michele Kenney, secretary and membership director; Linda Greenia, events coordinator; Erin Patrick, clerk, and Brandon Broga, marketing director.
Smith-Lee, who founded SLN Law in Sharon in 2009, opened Hilltown Law in 2019 after observing the lack of legal resources of any kind in the Hilltowns. Chester is where her mother Shirley Winer lives, and where she spent summers as a child growing up in Connecticut. Hilltown Law on Main Street is open Fridays and Saturdays by appointment, but services are available all week long on the internet at hilltownlaw.com.
Smith-Lee joined the JLBA soon after opening, and has been active in the community, also giving free law workshops through the Southern Hilltowns Adult Education Center, a JLBA member which offers free workshops to hilltown businesses.
She called the JLBA “a good group with a lot of good ideas in a year that continues to be strange.” At the December 2020 meeting, the JLBA said their focus this year would continue to be on how to add value to member businesses through visibility and connection to the community and each other.
While many of the signature JLBA events take place in person, Smith-Lee said this year will continue to be a challenge until mid to late summer, “optimistically.” She said the events subcommittee will launch in the next month or two, and they hope to schedule some events in that timeframe. Meanwhile, their focus will be on virtual possibilities.
“Online platforms bring together members and interested businesses,” Smith-Lee said, adding that the JLBA plans to beef up its digital accessibility, including to the Hilltown Destinations Map, one of its signature products. The map lists hiking sites throughout the hilltowns, as well as JLBA businesses in the area.
Smith-Lee also hopes to host some Zoom speed networking meetings, where people can get to know other businesses in the hilltowns. She wants to explore better ways that businesses in the hilltowns could be top of mind for other businesses, member to member, and offer referrals and discounts. “It’s powerful to connect businesses to businesses, and to let people know about their services,” she said.
JLBA membership is still solid, but money is tight for the most affected businesses which are operating on pretty slim margins, according to Smith-Lee. “There is a big difference in how people have fared during COVID,” she said, adding that some have been deeply affected in a negative way, while others are holding their own. Membership in JLBA costs $75 annually, with 60 businesses signed up so far for 2021.
For her practice, Smith-Lee is looking at securing a space in Chester where they can open more days a week. She is currently sharing one. “From what we’ve seen, there is definitely a need,” she said, adding, “We’d be able to serve more people if we were there more often.”