Have you ever wondered what happens inside a factory you drive by each day? Perhaps you have a friend or family member who proudly makes a product at a local manufacturing facility. Saturday, October 10th is the opportunity to step inside and see what goes on at Falconer area manufacturers day in and out! CHQ Chamber is proud to present the inaugural “Made in Falconer” day, borrowing the model of the annual “Doors Open Jamestown,” offers the opportunity to tour six local manufacturing facilities while dining and shopping in the greater falconer area. The event occurs between 10:00AM – 2:00PM with tours happening every half hour at participating manufacturers. Opening their doors for the day include Dahlstrom Roll Form, Ellison Bronze, Falconer Printing, Fancher Chair, Hanson Sign, and Stuart Tool & Die.

The CHQ Transit Trolley will also be making loops, allowing participants to park in one location and easily navigate to others while enjoying the County’s new tourism trolleys. People are also encouraged to grab lunch and shop at Falconer area restaurants between tours and throughout the day, to explore the growing options the community has to offer. Individuals may enter to win numerous prizes donated by participating businesses such as a Fancher Chair, official Buffalo Bills logoed football, local product give baskets, gift cards and more. Each participating location will have a key word that participants must text into the Chamber’s texting contest, and each key word entered gains an additional entry for the drawing.

Made in Falconer is proudly sponsored by CCB, Live CHQ, and Choose CHQ.

HELP HONOR CHQ CHAMBER AWARD RECIPIENTS OCTOBER 10

Local businesspeople work hard year-round, but rarely do they get celebrated for the outstanding service they provide and the true sense of place they build in our communities. Now you can help celebrate them as the CHQ Chamber presents a variety of business-based awards during its Annual Awards Banquet, which will be held Thursday, October 10 at the Williams Center at SUNY Fredonia.

The CHQ Chamber reimagined its awards process this year, and through a process involving public nominations, and lots of volunteer review, our Board of Directors named seven award recipients for 2024, plus seventeen Legacy award recipients that will be recognized for years of service and/or multi-generational efforts.

Award recipients for 2024 are:

Emerging Business of the Year – Whizz-n-Smash, Dewittville

Hospitality Business of the Year – Central Station, Dunkirk

Service Business of the Year – Kravitz Tree Service, Fredonia

Producer of the Year – Ghostfish Brewing Company, Westfield

Not-for-Profit of the Year – Prevention Works, Jamestown

Business Champion Award – Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau, Chautauqua

Business of the Year – Persnikkity Pies, Falconer

Seventeen businesses from throughout the county will receive Legacy Awards for longevity, major milestones, and multi-generational commitments to family businesses.

Anyone is welcome to attend this event. Registration is open now through the CHQ Chamber web calendar, and we hope you will join us to honor these exceptional businesses and organizations. The CHQ Chamber Annual Awards Banquet is also an excellent opportunity for networking, as it is one of the largest business gatherings in Chautauqua County each year.

We hope you will join us to honor these exceptional businesses and organizations. Major sponsors for this event are Brooks-TLC Hospital System/Kaleida Health, County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency, DFT Communications, Jamestown Community College, LaBella Associates, Lake Shore Savings Bank, Media One Group Radio, Observer, and The Post-Journal. Advanced registration is required by October 4. Anyone may register at www.chamberrsvp.org.

BUSINESS BUILDER WORKSHOP IS OCTOBER 21

The calendar is about to turn from summer to autumn, and that means the weather will be turning cooler and leaves will be starting to change soon. That also means businesses will be gearing up for the holiday season very soon.

To help facilitate this transition for businesses, the CHQ Chamber will hold a Business Builder Workshop October 21 at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. Topics will include Small Business Saturday, and the Chamber’s programs aimed at helping support small businesses such as the ShopLocalCHQ Gift Card and our countywide Holiday Window Decorating Contest. Also on the agenda will be social media strategies to help you market your business – not just during the holiday season but all year round.

Business Builder Workshops are free for all local businesspeople to attend, and always include opportunities for networking. We appreciate advanced registration for our planning purposes. You can learn more or register now through our web calendar at www.chqchamber.org.

BUSINESS AFTER HOURS AT DOWNTOWN BREW IN FREDONIA IS OCTOBER 24

The CHQ Chamber is pleased to add another exceptional venue to our lineup of Business After Hours sites for this year: Downtown Brew, 13 Water Street, Fredonia. This next Business After Hours networking event will be held Thursday, October 24 from 5-6:30pm.

Business After Hours is a great way to get to know a wide variety of local businesspeople from all over Chautauqua County. Enjoy complimentary appetizers and a cash bar, while getting to know Who’s Who in the Room. It’s an engaging experience for all! We always encourage attendees to bring business cards for networking.

Each Chamber member business may send two people for free to each Business After Hours. The cost is just $10 per person for non-members or for anyone over the two-person limit. We appreciate advanced registration for planning purposes. Register now through our web calendar at www.chqchamber.org.