What an extraordinary week it was! The CHQ Chamber team, sometimes joined by friends from partner organizations along the way, visited 500 small local businesses during National Small Business Week, bookended by two press events – one to officially proclaim Small Business Week in Chautauqua County, and the other to honor small businesses receiving awards from the Small Business Development Center.

We began the week at 3 Lakes Café in Cassadaga where our hosts Jake and Abi Landean helped us usher in Small Business Week by greeting dignitaries and representatives from our partner organizations including the Small Business Development Center, County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency, Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau, and more. From there we walked through parts of Cassadaga and Lily Dale, then on to Falconer and Frewsburg. Tuesday took us to Clymer, Panama, Bemus Point, and some Jamestown businesses. On Wednesday we travelled through Fredonia, Silver Creek, Irving, Forestville, and Dunkirk. Thursday began in downtown Jamestown and then moved on towards Celoron and Lakewood. Friday morning, we started out in Westfield where we were delighted to be part of an outstanding celebration at the new home of CK Natural Fruit Juice (more on that in a moment) as well as walk through much of the village before pressing on to Mayville and the Chautauqua area and into Maple Springs.

Small businesses represent 99 percent of the businesses in Chautauqua County. They truly run the economic gamut from retail to restaurants to a wide variety of service industries including finance, law, automotive, agriculture, manufacturing, and everything in between. They employ hundreds of people countywide and also put a unique face on each community in our county.

Friday’s event at CK Natural Fruit Juice was organized by our friends at the Small Business Development Center at JCC in tribute to Melissa Baideme, the owner of the business, who was named New York State Small Business Person of the Year. The local SBDC staff was joined by New York State Director Sonya Smith from Albany, and Victoria Reynolds, District Director of the Small Business Administration from Buffalo.

Melissa Baideme has received this award just as her business is about to take a new and exciting turn. She has purchased and is renovating a building in Westfield that will become her own processing facility and sales center, allowing her to bring her business to an even larger scale. She noted that it hasn’t always been easy, but it has been rewarding. “Discomfort,” she said, “doesn’t mean something’s wrong. It means something worthwhile might be waiting on the other side.” As a fruit juice processor, she is passionate about supporting local farmers, and she also thanked her husband and family for their encouragement and assistance.

The SBDC also presented awards to Julie Ambrose, owner of St. Elmo Spa in Chautauqua, and to Carrie and Levi Swanson, owners of Sweeterson Farms, an online kitchen boutique based in Clymer. Congratulations to all of them!

As we wore down the soles of our shoes walking from business to business in numerous communities, we realized they don’t often get a simple “thank you.” Our purpose was just that – to thank them for being the foundation of our communities. Small businesses are much more

than the places we go when we need to make a purchase or grab a meal. They are where we gather for coffee and meet up with friends. They are central to our sense of place. They are the footings our community is built upon.

Along the way we learned some things. We heard about some of the challenges our local businesses are facing, and also about their plans and goals, and what makes them proud to go to work every day. We made some purchases, heard some great stories, and connected directly with people who have a lot of passion about what they do. Small Business Week may be drawing to a close, but our small businesses are here every day to provide us with goods and services, and to inspire us all to keep pushing forward. Happy Small Business Week to all! We thank you for all you do.

Six New Members So Far in our 31 in 31 Initiative

The first week of May is closing and to date we have six new members of the CHQ Chamber as we work to attract 31 new members during the 31 days of May. Those who have joined the Chamber this month are Beyond Support Network of Fredonia; Impact Internet of West Seneca; Chautauqua Medial Aesthetics of Lakewood; Personal & Home Development LLC of Jamestown; Cotton Thistle Boutique of Lakewood; and Builders Exchange of the Southern Tier in Falconer.

Throughout the month of May, the CHQ Chamber is offering incentives to our current members when they help get a new business to join. Here’s how it works: when a new member joins and lists your Chamber member business as having referred them, the current member will get a six-month banner ad on the CHQ Chamber website. That’s a $300 advertising value. If three new members join and list your business as the referrer, you get a six-month banner and plus two tickets to the CHQ Chamber Awards Banquet in October for a $430 value. If five new members join and list your business as the referrer, you’ll get a six-month banner ad, two tickets to the Annual Awards Banquet, plus a quarter page ad in the CHQ Chamber 2025 Membership Handbook – for a total value of $980. These incentives are open to any current Chamber member business. Referrals can be noted either in our printed membership form or the online join form. In both forms there’s a space that asks, “Please let us know who referred you for CHQ Chamber membership.” You can also let our staff know you’ve referred a business, and we’ll follow up. Just send a quick email to Membership Development Director Bob Lingle at rlingle@chqchamber.org.

What are the real benefits of joining the CHQ Chamber? There are plenty for businesses of all sizes. Our mission is to build vital connections, provide professional resources, and champion our local businesses in Chautauqua County. We do that by providing opportunities that connect customers to local businesses, connect businesspeople peer-to-peer, and offering multiple services such as human resources compliance tools, ribbon cuttings for new businesses, an online business directory featuring integrated Google mapping, and more. Your membership is valuable, but not expensive. All these services, and more, start at just $195 a year. This May, bring a friend, and demonstrate the value of membership in the CHQ Chamber.

Business After Hours With the Tarp Skunks

Join us this month for a unique Business After Hours event with the Jamestown Tarp Skunks! You can mingle with the baseball players and other local businesspeople, enjoy a complimentary hotdog courtesy of 3 C’s Catering, enjoy a cash bar, and get a personalized

baseball card with your name and picture on it – taken by a professional photographer. Then, stay after if you’d like to watch the Tarp Skunks practice.

This event will be held Tuesday, May 27 from 5-6:30pm at Russell E. Diethrick Jr. Park, home of the Jamestown Tarp Skunks. All local businesspeople are welcome.

CHQ Chamber Business After Hours events are free for two people from each Chamber member organization. The price is just $10 for non-members or anyone above the two-person limit. Registration is not required but is very much appreciated for our planning purposes. Advanced registration also gets you on our “Who’s Who in the Room” list during the event. Registration is open now through our web calendar at www.chqchamber.org.

This event is proudly sponsored by Phillips Lytle LLP, Jamestown Tarp Skunks, 3 C’s Catering, AHN Westfield Memorial Hospital, Brooks-TLC Hospital System, LaBella Associates, National Grid, Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union, Jamestown Community College, Media One Radio Group, Observer, and The Post-Journal.