By TODD TRANUM

President and CEO of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce & Executive Director of the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier

Fredonia is in the top ten for season five of Small Business Revolution! This original series by Deluxe is featured on Hulu and Amazon, and is hosted by Amanda Brinkman and Ty Pennington.

The Small Business Revolution team is on a mission to help small businesses, and in turn, their towns, reignite the spark that drives them and keeps people coming back. Each season, Deluxe® seeks out America’s most inspiring small towns and awards the winner – and several of its small businesses — a $500,000 revitalization and features the transformation in an original series.

The village was nominated by a Fredonia native. After the nomination, the Chamber of Commerce was contacted by Small Business Revolution and asked to submit information regarding our small businesses, the unique assets of the community, and the collaborative work that is being done by a variety of organizations to help support small businesses.

Fredonia Community Chamber of Commerce Chair David Dengler said, “Members of the Small Business Revolution team will be visiting our community on December 11th and 12th to interview small business owners and community leaders.”

“Clearly the Small Business Revolution team likes what they see about this great community and selected us to be one of the top ten communities. If we make it into the top five, which will be determined on January 14th there will be a public voting process for a one week period. It is clear that we need to start to mobilize and rally the community right now around this great opportunity,” he added.

We encourage businesses and community members to start sharing information regarding the Small Business Revolution using the hashtag #MYFREDONIA. When posting on social media, share photos, stories and anecdotes about why you love Fredonia. Importantly businesses in Fredonia should submit an on-line form to request an interview by representatives of the small business revolution team when they come to town on December 11th and 12th. Businesses can submit and on-line form by going to www.fredoniacommunitychamber.org and click on the picture of SBR hosts Amanda Brinkman and Ty Pennington. Also visit the Fredonia Community Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.

For those business and community member interested in more information or who want to support Fredonia in the Small Business Revolution contact David Kleparek, Fredonia Community Chamber Coordinator at 366-6200 or email dkleparek@chautauquachamber.org.

Deluxe has been a proud champion of small business since 1915. As a leading provider of marketing services and products for small businesses, Deluxe Corporation believes that small businesses are the future of the American economy. Other communities in the top ten are Benicia, CA, Bisbee, AZ, Brunswick, GA, Livingston, MT, Oregon City, OR, Spearfish, SD, The Dalles, OR, Waseca, MN and Zenia, OH.

Chamber to recognize Betsy Wright

The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce will present its annual Pam Lydic Coalition Builder Award this year to Betsy Wright, the former long-time President and CEO of UPMC, formerly WCA Hospital. Ms. Wright led the hospital in Jamestown through some challenging years, finding ways to partner with other organizations, and ultimately managing an integration with UPMC that provided improved facilities and services for Chautauqua County residents, while maintaining fiscal stability for this important local asset.

The Pam Lydic Coalition Builder Award is named in memory of the first Executive Director of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce. This award recognizes an individual in the region who has worked hard to bring groups of people together around a common goal or objective. This award is presented to an individual that has helped move the region forward in a positive direction through collaboration and by building partnerships. The award is particularly focused on those who have done their work consistently and often times in the background.

The award will be presented during the Chamber’s Annual Meeting at 12:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6 at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 150 West Fourth Street, Jamestown. Our guest speaker will be Journey Gunderson, Executive Director of the National Comedy Center, with an update on how Chautauqua County’s newest attraction has been drawing visitors to our region and changing our community. Our guest speaker is sponsored by Media One Radio Group. The meeting will also include election of the Chamber board for 2020.

All are cordially invited to attend this event, which is sponsored by DFT Communications, E.E. Austin & Son, Inc., Law Offices of Sheila Starkey Hahn, M & T Bank, Northwest Arena, OBSERVER, The Post-Journal, and WellNow Urgent Care. To register visit www.chamberrsvp.org or call the Chamber at (716) 366-6200 or (716) 484-1101.

Updated HR Dashboard is now online

The Chamber and Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier have successfully provided access to online sexual harassment compliance training for more than 370 local businesses in recent months. Now, that system is changing just a bit. The former Training 360 dashboard that had been used for managing employee access to the training program has been migrated to a new Learning Management System Dashboard. This means that employers will require new login credentials for that system. Information will be distributed by email to all participating employers, so local businesses should be on the lookout for that. In the meantime, any member business that has questions can feel free to call Kevin Sixbey at the Chamber office at 366-6200 or 484-1101.

Order Shoptauqua gift cards for holiday giving

Since the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce upgraded its gift check program to the Shoptauqua gift card just two years ago, the number of participating merchants has doubled and the merchants its inception just two years ago, more than $135,000 worth of Shoptauqua gift cards have been sold. That represents direct sales at local businesses, including attractions, retail shops, restaurants, wineries, and more. With 150 merchants participating from all over Chautauqua County you can use the Shoptauqua gift card to purchase staple household items or a fun day out on the town! The Shoptauqua program boosts our local economy.

Anyone can purchase Shoptauqua gift cards in amounts ranging from $5 to $500. It can be a great gift for groups of employees, or for individuals. To learn more call the Chamber of Commerce at 366-6200 or 484-1101 or visit www.shoptauqua.com.