Chamber celebrates season at Open House

“It’s the most wonderful time of year/With those kids jingle belling and everyone telling you to be of good cheer.”

Those iconic lyrics were rather appropriate for the North Central Chamber of Commerce’s annual Holiday Open House – held at the non-profit’s headquarters at 255 Greenville Ave. in Johnston – where there was plenty of holiday happiness made much more special than usual by five young girls.

The youngsters weren’t decked out in any kind of special holiday garb, nor did they hold those special sounding bells.

All they did – much to the amazement of many Chamber members and guests – was dazzle the mid-day gathering by singing such popular Christmas songs as “Jingle Bells,” “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and “Silent Night.”

“We all know the true meaning of Christmas,” said Deborah J. Ramos, the Chamber’s executive director who planned the party and arranged for the day’s special guests. “But don’t children just make the holiday? They were so cute, and Carolyn Fritz was very nice in coordinating the children’s appearance.”

And those five youngsters, Ramos explained to the day’s guests, represented The Children’s Workshop based in Smithfield and performed their musical magic courtesy of Jamie Dufresne, the school’s marketing director.

People raved about the stuffed mushrooms and pizza provided by Chamber member Palermo Salumeria Italiana of Johnston and the ham, brie and chicken salad wraps from Ocean State Sandwich Company, while the day’s most talked about offering was soup.

But it was just any old soup. As she does with most food-related items, Ramos enlisted the services of the Ocean State Sandwich Company – located on Hartford Avenue in Johnston – for the breakfast, lunch and catering company’s version of kale soup.

“It’s called Ribaletta,” Ramos told Chamber members. “It’s the executive director’s favorite.”

To which Anthony Ursillo, a Chamber member who sits on the board of directors for the Johnston Historical Society, mused: “Ditto!”

“This is a great time of year to introduce some of our Chamber member restaurants to our membership,” Ramos said. “The food at Ocean State Sandwich Company and Palermo Salumeria Italiana is some of the best around.”

Last Friday’s Holiday Open House also served as a culmination for the Chamber’s giving season. Back in November, the organization began collecting non-perishable items, which last Friday totaled over 200 items and over $50 in grocery gift cards.

Ramos, who coordinated this year’s food drive, announced that it will benefit the Cucino family of North Scituate, who lost their home and all its contents in a devastating fire back in October.

“I’m honored to have coordinated this drive for Richard and Rhonda [Cucino] and their four children,” said Ramos. “We chose to actually help one of our own this year … their dad is a Chamber member and owns Shred ‘n Go of Johnston. As much as we wish we could do more, we hope the food collected is a big help to the Cucino family.”