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Tranum named 2018 Friend of Education

Submitted Photo Todd Tranum, at podium, accepts the 2018 Friend of Education Award with Ray Fashano, executive director and Sylvester Cleary, president, looking on.

Todd Tranum, executive director of the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier and President/CEO of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, is the recipient of this year’s Chautauqua County School Boards Association Friend of Education Award.

He received this award at CCSBA’s annual Meeting and Honors Night on May 23 in the Williams Center on the SUNY Fredonia campus. Tranum was chosen by the CCSBA Executive Committee because of his involvement in promoting education in Chautauqua County. In addition to serving the Manufacturers Association and the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Tranum serves as President/CEO of Dream It Do It Western New York and President of a for profit insurance brokerage company, Chautauqua Benefit Specialists.

During his tenure with the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and the Manufacturers Association, he has provided leadership and championed innovative solutions to the challenges faced by businesses in Western New York.

With Tranum’s leadership, the Manufacturers Association partnered with Jamestown Community College in the startup of the Manufacturing Technology Institute as a means of increasing the regional pool of individuals trained in advanced manufacturing. The Institute opened in 2003. In 2009, he and his team launched the Dream It Do It program. Chautauqua County was the first county in New York state to license and adapt the Dream It Do It program in an effort to encourage students in the region to consider careers in manufacturing and develop a stronger pipeline of talent.

In an effort to align resources and expand the capabilities of the Chautauqua County learning system, Tranum is part of a team that launched the Chautauqua County Education Coalition. The coalition has united more than 60 stakeholder organizations including business, primary, secondary and post-secondary education and a variety of not for profits in Chautauqua County with a focus on enhancing Chautauqua County’s learning system.

He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Fredonia with B.A. in political science. Todd earned his MBA at Penn State University, the Behrend College and has completed training in Six Sigma through Cummins Inc.

Tranum currently serves on the Board of the Manufacturers Alliance of New York State, the Board of Directors for the Workforce Investment Board, The Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Council, The New York Early Care and Learning Council, the Advisory Board of the Chautauqua County Mental Health Association and the Oversight Committee of the Chautauqua County Education Coalition.

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