DECEMBER 2009 FIRST MONDAY

 

FROM COLLEEN DIPIRRO/PRESIDENT

 

 

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! 

It is hard to believe that just a year ago the recession was beginning, we were worried that a depression was to follow and the Holiday's were filled with stress and uncertainty.  I hope this holiday season finds you less stressed and filled with hopes for a brighter and more prosperous future.

 

The Chamber has worked hard all year to provide our members with the products and services to assist them during these difficult economic times.  Our membership ranks have grown, our events have seen increasing attendance and member to member business alliances are being developed each and every day.

 

While we have seen some business failures, we have also experienced some business growth.  While ‘doing more with less' has become an overused expression it is also so relevant to how so many of us are operating currently, including the Chamber.  Like you, our expenses increase and our profits decrease.  So, now more than ever, we need to work together.  We need to strengthen our partnerships, increase our synergy, communicate more regularly, and depend on one another.  The Amherst Chamber of Commerce is available to assist our members in facilitating introductions, market their products and services, hosting their meetings, brainstorming their ideas and/or respond to specific challenges.  We won't always be the agency that provides the solution but we will be the agency that serves as the conduit to the solution. 

 

I will finish this column as I started; wishing you a Happy Holiday.  And, with a reminder to take advantage of your Chamber membership; membership is not a donation-it is an investment. 

 

DO YOU READ THIS NEWSLETTER??

 

As I stated in my earlier column, the Amherst Chamber of Commerce is focused on cutting expenses while adding value for our members.  One example of our efforts is our electronic newsletter.  It saves money on printing and postage and allows us to communicate with our members in a more timely fashion.  But, are you reading it?   Our technology expert tells us only 30% of you are opening the weekly newsletters.  Is it because you don't like the content, the format, the print or just because you get too many emails?  We made a conscious decision not to provide our members or the public with our membership email addresses to prevent you from getting inundated with junk.  We hoped that by only communicating with you in a structured format on a regular basis, you would recognize the value of our messages and not delete them.  Please email me at cdipirro@amherst.org with your critique of our current methods.  Are we communicating to frequently?  Are there topics you would like to see addressed?  Do you prefer hard copy?  If you don't want to take the time to offer suggestions, please email me to inform me that you read this so we can accurately predict our saturation. 

 

CHAMBER ANNOUNCES BOARD OF DIRECTORS

SLATE FOR 2010-2012

 

In an earlier newsletter we asked for nominations from members for individuals to serve on our Board of Directors.  Board members serve a three year term and are selected based on a number of criteria including; industry, Chamber involvement, geographic service area and size of business.  It is our goal to have board diversity to ensure our membership is well represented.  We are pleased to announce the following slate:

 

Terry Elberson*                        Schunk, Wilson & Company

Stewart Haney*                         WENDEL Companies

Christopher Lane*                    Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital

Peter Peterson*                         MJ Peterson

Malini Sridhar*                         Compsys Technologies Inc.

William Stark*                          Ciminelli Development

 

Jack Colocousis                       Bryant and Stratton

Dr. Rohini Srihari                      Janya Inc.

Jeff Buckley                              Next Financial

Mark Hogan                             Auto Club of Central & WNY

Nick Malagisi                            Fox Television Network

 

The * indicates incumbants.

No response is counted as a vote in favor of the entire slate.  We accommodated all requests for consideration, therefore, the vote is a formality.  Should someone have requested consideration and not been included on the slate, they would have had the opportunity to circulate petitions, however.

 

Please join us Friday, January 26^th at Classics V for our Annual Lunch when we install our Board and present the State of the Town Address with our new Amherst Town Supervisor Barry Weinstein.