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The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce announces the hiring of Patrick Stokes as Community Chamber Coordinator. Patrick comes to the Chamber through a shared service agreement with the Empire Zone, where he begun his duties in 2008 as an Empire Zone Coordinator.

Stokes will be working with the six community chambers in an initiative to support the development needs of the communities of Chautauqua County. Specifically, he will interact with the local chambers and act as a link between the needs of the business community and the role the Chamber plays to support business. In this position he will seek to enhance the local presence of the community chambers as well as expand local events and business-building initiatives.

In this position, Stokes will be working with the community chambers including: Dunkirk, Fredonia, Jamestown, Chautauqua/Mayville, Silver Creek and Westfield & Barcelona.

Todd Tranum, President and CEO of the CCCC, said that Stokes brings "proven leadership as exemplified by his management of the Empire Zone program and he has a thorough understanding of Chautauqua County, its resources and its opportunities."

Prior to his work as Coordinator with the Empire Zone, Stokes worked as an Independent Broker and Registered Representative with New England Financial/Met life, New York. In addition, he was promoted from Assistant Manager to Area Supervisor for five Taco Bells in New Hampshire and later, three Burger Kings in New Mexico with annual incomes ranging from $3.4 million to $6.2 million.

Since moving back to the area, Stokes said that he has, "enjoyed rediscovering Western New York."

Stokes graduated from Fredonia High School in 1988 and received a B.A from the State University of New York (SUNY) Fredonia in 1995.

He resides in Fredonia with his wife Tracy.