** Member Spotlight **
Hobart Rotary Club
The Chamber shines this week's member spotlight on Hobart Rotary Club.
Hobart Rotary Club is a service organization focused on bringing business-minded people together in service to our community and our world. By focusing on activities that ignite our members passions, each person has the opportunity to make contributions that personally enrich their own lives while helping others.
Regular meetings are Tuesdays, 6 p.m. except the second Tuesday of the month, when they meet on Thursday instead, at The Dinner Plate, 645 Main Street, Hobart.
For more information call 646.279.4175, email membership@hobartrotary.com or click here.
Please support the small businesses that support our communities! #strongertogether
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Let's Build a Culture of Confidence
By Ray Pucci, Chamber President
The New York state government imposed restrictions on everyday activities have been largely removed. Hooray!
We will, undoubtedly, argue for many years whether these executive edicts--from all levels of government - overstepped boundaries, were too arbitrary, lasted too long, or were sound public policy decisions based on science. Let's leave that discussion to historians and experts at the local drinking establishment.
What's really important is that we finally start our transition from a climate of fear (remember #stayhome?) and return to a climate of confidence.
Delaware County and our neighboring counties in the Catskills have fared much better than other regions during the past 15 months or so. Sales tax receipts--always a forward measure of economic activity--are up, way up. Delaware County actually led the state in sales tax increase on a percentage basis. Likewise, our popularity as a visitor destination, as measured by such metrics as occupancy tax revenue on lodging and activity on the Chamber’s tourism website GreatWesternCatskills.com, continues to grow exponentially. Based on the many new faces I see around the county and comments on Facebook, our full-time residential population is increasing as well. Ask anyone associated with the real estate industry and you'll quickly learn that we're in the hottest market since the 1980s.
Perhaps the best news, though, is that private investment in our communities, particularly on our main streets, continues to grow. The American Dream of taking an entrepreneurial idea, nurturing it into a product or service of value to others, and opening a business is alive and well. While storefronts in some urban centers are covered with plywood, our once-empty buildings are seeing renewed life as restaurants, unique retail stores, and professional offices. It's a good time to be in Delaware County.
To celebrate our return to normal, July is “Grand Re-opening” month in Delaware County. The County Chamber and our community partners will host celebrations throughout the county. I encourage all business owners, regardless of chamber membership (if you're not already a member, what are you waiting for?), to participate. Even if you don't own a business, but want to show your support for your local business community, please join us. To find out when we will be in your town, visit DelawareCounty.org.
Let's build our culture of confidence starting TODAY. Plan to go shopping, even if it's just some browsing. Attend a concert, theatrical performance, or movie. Have dinner somewhere and eat inside. Or, try a new beverage at one of our distilleries, breweries, or cideries without food (unless you're hungry, of course). Whatever, but go out! Say hello to those you pass on the street. Let's start acting like neighbors again. And, be sure to return the greeting you'll receive when you enter a local business because we are all happy to see you there.
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Third Thursday: Chamber Connects with NYS Assemblyman Chris Tague
Start your day with a productive and potentially profitable virtual learning opportunity! Stay current on what’s happening in Delaware County and the region, and learn how to effectively pivot toward a sustainable and thriving business model.
Our FREE monthly Third Thursday : Chamber Connects interactive, virtual
Q & A webinar on July 15 from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m., is a terrific opportunity to participate in a leader-led conversation focused on building a better business and better business climate!
The featured speaker for this event is Assemblyman Chris Tague representing New York's 102 Assembly District which includes the towns of Middletown, Kortright, Stamford, Harpersfield and Roxbury in Delaware County.
His district consists of all of Greene and Schoharie counties, along with parts of Delaware, Columbia, Albany, Otsego and Ulster counties. He previously was elected Schoharie Town Supervisor in 2015.
As Assemblyman, Chris has focused on key issues that affect his constituents, including expanding access to broadband internet, COVID-19 recovery, reducing taxes, providing support for local farmers, and fixing Upstate's failing infrastructure. He is also invested in many social issues like combating the heroin epidemic, which he has addressed during his time as Town Supervisor and Assemblyman, and the protection and support of our firefighters, EMS, and first responders.
Assemblyman Tague is a member of the the Assembly's Agriculture, Election Law, Environmental Conservation, Real Property Taxation and Toursim, Arts, Parks and Sports Development Committees.
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Call to Action : Tell DelCo Elected Officials You Want a Say!
Delaware County will receive approximately $13 million in federal stimulus as part of the American Rescue Plan. Those funds can be used to provide assistance to households, small businesses and non-profits as well as industries adversely impacted by the pandemic - like tourism, travel and hospitality. Tell your supervisor, council members, mayor and trustees that YOU want to be part of the conversation and involved in the decision making process for use of this money.
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Chamber Check In
Chamber staff have been hard at work for members this week! For more information visit delawarecounty.org.
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Tobacco Free Communities Seeks Your Input
The intent of the survey from Tobacco Free Communities: Delaware, Otsego & Schoharie (TFC-DOS) is to learn about the tobacco and smoking rules for your outdoor property. Participation in the survey is voluntary. Employers who complete and return the survey by July 6 will be eligible to enter a raffle for a 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗮𝘅𝘆 𝗔𝟳 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘁. If you would like to participate in the raffle, please provide your contact information at the end of the survey. We will ONLY use this information to enter you in the raffle and / or provide any requested information.
To fill out the survey, please click:
Tobacco Free Communities | Delaware, Otsego & Schoharie (TFC-DOS)'s mission is to use current data and research to reduce the devastating health impacts and alleviate the social and economic burden caused by tobacco use in Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie counties. TFC-DOS offers free education, technical assistance and resources in developing tobacco-free policies and in preventing youth from becoming tobacco users. Located on Main Street in Oneonta, TFC-DOS is one of 21 chapter organizations in New York State funded by a state Department of Health grant. We offer free technical assistance, resources and education on DOS.
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Delaware County Travel Guide Now Available |
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The printed version of our travel guide is now available. Rather than the typical endless lists of most guides, ours is more of an experiential guide to our many assets. It’s really a lifestyle publication and can assist you in your recruitment and on-boarding efforts.
Distribution of the guide started earlier this week, bringing a little bit of Delaware County to information centers from Albany to Utica to Binghamton to Northern Jersey and along the New York State Thruway.
If you want some of the 50,000 guides we just received, contact us by calling 607.746.2281 or email info@delawarecounty.organd we can arrange a time for you to pick them up.
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Annual Sexual Harassment Prevention Training |
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The Chamber has partnered with New Haven Consulting Group, Inc. to provide our members with an online “Preventing Sexual Harassment" workshop that meets the requirements of the new law.
This program is available at a Chamber-member reduced price of $20 per participant.
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The Delaware County Chamber is a private, non-governmental, not-for-profit membership organization. We believe that healthy communities begin with healthy businesses. By focusing on key areas–community and economic development, advocacy, tourism promotion, and business engagement–we partner with municipal leaders, community organizations, and local companies to present a unified voice of business for the improvement of our communities. |
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5 1/2 Main Street
Delhi, New York 13753
Give Us A Call: 607.746.2281
DelawareCounty.org
GreatWesternCatskills.com
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