I trust that everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving and is now busying themselves with the end-of-the-year rush on shopping for loved ones, meeting old friends, and planning for the holiday celebrations, all while trying to ensure you finish the year strong from a business and goal standard. The Chamber team is working tirelessly to ensure we serve as an extension of your brand, especially during these crucial weeks for our retail and hospitality businesses. We understand that these next few weeks can turn a mediocre year into a great year, and we're here to support you. An additional email will come that includes various promotions our members are running through the holiday season. If there is something you would like our members to be aware of, please update your chamber webpage or send any promotional graphics to marketing@amherst.org.
As the Chamber moves through December, we are still connecting our members in meaningful ways.
ProLIFT, Thursday, December 5th
Lunch Mob, Friday, December 6th
Open ProNet, Thursday, December 12th
As we look ahead to 2025, the Chamber is excited about our programming. Our Emerging Business Leader's Leadership Program is nearing capacity. This program has continued to evolve over the past few years, and we have prided ourselves on assisting the next generation of leaders at your companies in developing their professional skills while expanding their professional networks. To learn more about EBL or to fill out an application for someone you think would benefit from this program, please click here.
We are also developing new programming and refreshing our more traditional programming. Our LIFT Council is starting the year off strong with its Book Club, the first time we have done such a program. Their goal was to afford our members plenty of opportunities to participate by creating a virtual morning and evening session. The first quarter book is Dare to Lead by Brené Brown, PhD., LMSW. Our evening session is at capacity, but a few spots remain in our morning session, facilitated by Lauren Schellinger from Impressia Bank; to register, click here. We will also host two Lunch & Learn events this January and February. Our first one is on January 10th, with Greg Hennessey from Marketing Tech presenting on how to market your business effectively, and we'll be back in February with Kennedy Schultz on a session for inclusive business practices. We are focused on providing as many educational forums as possible for you and your business.
It's hard to believe the Chamber's Annual Meeting is right around the corner, on Friday, January 31st, at Jazzboline at Reikart House. We will once again unveil our Public Policy Agenda, install our 2025 Board of Directors, and hear from Amherst Town Supervisor Brian Kulpa about the State of the Town of Amherst. We have had a standing-room-only crowd for the past two years, and I anticipate we will once again have that. If you have a concern about a regulatory or tax issue at any level of government, please email us at info@amherst.org so our Economic Development/Public Policy Council can review the issue further.
As the Chamber slides into 2025, our additional January events are as follows:
ProLIFT, January: No meeting due to holiday
Lunch Mob, Thursday, January 16th
New Member Orientation & Open House, Friday, January 24th
EBL Winter ProMix, Wednesday, January 29th
*Sponsorships are available*
New Member Orientation & Open House is a fantastic way for longtime members who aren't fully engaging in their membership to see how the Chamber can benefit them.
While the year is coming to a close, we remain focused on closing strong and starting the new year off fast. I want to express my gratitude to the tremendous team at the Chamber for their hard work this year to ensure all of our members’ needs were met. Our benefits division is headed by Matthew Castaldo, who again did a tremendous job with open enrollment, answering thousands of questions and guiding new members through what is often a cumbersome process. We added two new members to our team this year, Tiffany Dillon and Lauren Harvey. Tiffany, our Member Services Manager, has done an excellent job engaging with our members and helping to facilitate our events. We are all very excited about adding Lauren to our team to assist with membership and marketing, and she has quickly hit the ground running in a very positive way. I also want to thank our Director of Marketing and Operations, Christine Langenfeld, whose efforts have helped us continue to spread our reach across the region, develop meaningful programming for our members, and help us grow our Chamber into what it is today. I am incredibly proud of the work this team does daily on behalf of our members, and I look forward to a very successful 2025.
I wish everyone a safe, healthy holiday season and a very Happy New Year. Please remember my door is always open.
