Chamber of Commerce proudly introduces its new board members for 2023. Elected to the Chamber Board during its Annual Meeting Friday were Dr. Courtney Curatolo, John Felton, and Dr. Stephen Kolison.

Dr. Curatolo is the Director of the Small Business Development Center at Jamestown Community College. She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, a master’s degree in Public Administration, and a Ph. D. in Educational Leadership and Research Methodology with a focus in Adult and Community Educational Leadership.

Mr. Felton is Chief Executive Officer with Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union. He is the second generation to lead the credit union, taking over when his mother retired after 53 years with the organization. He has been with Southern Chautauqua FCU since 1987 and during that time has grown programs, locations, and assets to serve varied needs for the people of Chautauqua County.

Dr. Kolison serves as the 14th President of the State University of New York at Fredonia, a role he assumed in August of 2020. Prior to Fredonia, Dr. Kolison served as Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Indianapolis. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Liberia, and his Master of Science degree and Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Economics from Iowa State University at Ames.

Re-elected as Board Officers were Chair, Fred Johnson of Johnson Estate Winery; Vice Chair, Heather Brown of The Resource Center; Treasurer, Kris Maytum of DFT Communications; Secretary, Emily Reynolds of Cornell Cooperative Extension Chautauqua County; and Immediate Past Chair Brian Bugaj of Nestle Purina PetCare. Additional At-Large members are Kris Sellstrom of the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities and Ben Webb of Webb’s Captain’s Table. Also serving on the board are the chairs of each Community Chamber Committee: Dunkirk, Ellen Luczkowiak of KeyBank; Fredonia, Larry Fiorella of HBKS Wealth Management; Hanover, Rick Klisiewicz of Golden Arrow Logistics; Jamestown, Vicki McGraw of Elegant Edibles Catering; Mayville-Chautauqua, Sorena Gilkinson of ERA VP Realty and Handcrafted from the Heart; and Westfield-Barcelona, Fred Johnson (serving in a dual role) of Johnson Estate Winery.

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING SMALL!

It was heartwarming to see so many shoppers enjoying our small locally owned retailers on Small Business Saturday!

The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce has been priming that pump for years now, and this year we incentivized consumers to support small businesses by offering up a prize drawing. The Chamber gave away $500 in ShopLocalCHQ Gift Cards to shoppers who visited small local businesses and checked in on Facebook or Instagram with #ShopSmallCHQ. We had dozens of entries from all over Chautauqua County. But more importantly, local businesses got some much-needed recognition and a marketing boost! In fact, a few local businesses posted at the end of the day that they enjoyed record sales days!

The numbers tell the story. When you shop at a small locally owned business, 67 cents of every dollar you spend stay right here in our local community. That’s compared to less than 45 cents on purchases at chain stores. We encourage you to support small local businesses throughout this holiday season and all year long, because it’s the small local businesses that reinvest in our local economy and make our communities the vibrant places they are to live, work, and play.

CYBER MONDAY DEAL EXTENDED

On Cyber Monday, the Chamber offered consumers a great deal for shopping locally online. Through our web platform www.shoplocalchq.com we gave a 20% discount on merchandise purchased when your shopping cart was $200 or less.

Shoplocalchq.com is an online sales and marketing platform offered by the Chamber of Commerce through Shop Where I Live. This site features over 70 local merchants offering more than 300 products for sale, and all of these businesses are LOCAL!

Because of the success of our Cyber Monday experiment, the Chamber has extended the 20% off offer through December 19. When you shop on www.shoplocalchq.com please use the coupon code SHOPSMALL through December 19. Your items must be for sale directly through the platform and not redirected to another sales site.

CHAMBER ADDS OFFICE HOURS IN DUNKIRK

The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce will staff its office in Dunkirk Mondays – Wednesdays through the month of December. The office at the Jamestown Community College North Training Center is normally open by appointment only, but for this time we are establishing regular office hours in order to accommodate sales of our ShopLocalCHQ Gift Cards in the north county region. The office will be staffed from 8:30am-4:30pm Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.

Regular office hours in Jamestown at 300 North Main Street are 8am-4:30pm Monday-Friday. The final day to purchase gift cards before Christmas is December 22. For faster service, please call in advance to place an order at (716) 484-1101.