May 8, 2003
Message from the Chairman . . .
After 13 years as Executive of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce,
and after some thoughtful soul searching while on vacation a few
weeks ago (you've all been there I am sure), I have decided to resign
from my position.
Although this decision was extremely difficult and rather sudden
(I have likened it to a volcano that erupted because its time had
come), I believe it is the correct one based on my own current personal
and family needs and for the good of the Chamber organization -
the staff and our many volunteers.
I don't have another position to go to at this time, but have several
opportunities both in the public and private sectors. I felt that
it wasn't fair to the organization or to my own needs to be actively
looking for something new and at the same time carrying on my responsibilities
here. My last day in the office is this Friday, the 9th. I will
be acting as a contracted consultant for the Chamber for a few months
as the Board leadership organizes a search committee to hire a new
Exec.
When I came to this Chamber I had a one year old child and my wife
had a full time job with a major international airline. I also had
hair. Today the "baby" is 13 and there is a nine year
old and soon to be 8 year old that seemed to come out of nowhere,
and I think where has the time gone. My wife now works for a pharmaceutical
company, but on a part time basis, and we won't talk about the hair.
People change and grow and so do organizations, and so the time
has come for our paths to diverge. I have spoken to Kenneth Adams
from the Brooklyn Chamber and he has graciously agreed to step up
and fulfill the rest of my term as CANYS Chair.
I have been blessed to be part of a local Chamber of Commerce and
our state organization. The best of it is the many relationships
built with the people in our community, our industry, the Business
Council, and State government and the many memories I will cherish
from working with you all to create better communities and a business
environment in NY State. It is not an easy battle.
Hopefully our paths will cross again in the future. For now, thank
you for all your support and your commitment to the cause. Keep
fighting the good fight. --- Ray San Fratello
New York Day in Washington . . .
Participation looks strong for this year's New York Day,
next Tuesday night and Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Sen.
Charles Schumer and Sen. Hillary Clinton
are both confirmed for the Congressional Breakfast,
along with a number of other Congressmen and Congresswomen. Rep.
Sherwood Boehlert and Rep. Jerrold Nadler
will host a New York Delegation meeting on transportation and infrastructure
issues, and we'll hear from Dr. Doug Holz-Eakin,
Director of the Congressional Budget Office; John Faso,
leading New York's TEA-21 reauthorization campaign; Joe
Rubin, senior lobbyist on technology issues for the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and Jim Mazzarella,
Governor Pataki's Washington Representative. See you in the nation's
capital!
E-Advocacy Update: Fight the Tax Package . . .
As of May 7, more than 1,935 of your colleagues
and neighbors had used the E-Advocacy system to send a whopping
10,932 faxes to legislators, urging them to reject
proposed increases on the personal income tax, and now to fight
the legislature's bills to increase income taxes, corporate taxes
and sales taxes in New York State.
As of now, the Greater Syracuse, Rochester
Business Alliance, Buffalo Niagara Partnership,
Orange County, Genesee County,
Niagara USA, Manhattan, Chemung
County, and MACNY Associations
and Chambers led participation by their members.
More supporters are becoming E-Advocates each day. Make sure your
voice isn't left out! E-mail maggie.moree@bcnys.org
with any questions on how to participate.
Budget Battle Victories . . .
The Business Council is looking to highlight the accomplishments
of the chamber community in its efforts to encourage the legislature
to adopt a sensible budget that holds the line on spending and taxes.
Congratulations go out to the Greater Syracuse,
Otsego County, Rochester Business Alliance,
Rome, Mohawk Valley and Chautauqua
County Chambers for their great efforts. If your chamber
has passed a resolution, written an op-ed to your local newspaper,
or held a press conference on the subject, please let The Business
Council know in an e-mail to maggie.moree@bcnys.org.
Tell Us About It . . .
The Oklahoma State Chamber is conducting a survey to determine
if other state's chambers have had minority board chairpersons as
Oklahoma currently does. By board chairperson, they mean the volunteer
leadership position (not paid staff), and by minority, they mean
female, Hispanic, African-American, Native American, Asian, etc.
If yes:
- What was their minority group?
- When (approximate year) did they serve?
- What type of business did the chairman represent (i.e., technology,
manufacturing, service industry, agriculture, banking, etc)?
- Approximate size (i.e., number of employees) of their business?
Please respond to Edward Howell of the Oklahoma State Chamber of
Commerce at ehowell@okstatechamber.com.
Don't forget to register for The Power of Partnership: 2003
NAMD/ACCE Chamber Professionals Conference in Denver, Colorado
August 7-9, 2003. Hear from industry experts. Expand your knowledge.
Network with others in our profession. And, learn new ideas and
tools for growing your chamber. Register online at http://www.acce.org/profdev/events/namdacce03/default.asp
The Eastern Regional Office of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is
hosting its first Eastern Regional Governmental Affairs Conference
in Boston on October 22-24. The purpose of this conference is to
bring together state and local chamber staff, executives, and volunteer
government affairs leaders from throughout the Eastern United States
to compare government affairs strategies, discuss priority issues,
and learn from each other's victories and headaches. The U.S. Chamber
hasn’t finalized the content of the conference so that they
can solicit your suggestions. Are there specific issues you would
benefit from learning about? Do you have problems you wish you had
help addressing? Please think about this and e-mail your thoughts
to scrawford@uschamber.com.
The Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce seeks executive leadership
in a vibrant, growing market of 326,000. The new executive will
lead a highly regarded organization to address sustainable development,
infrastructure, and other development-related issues, advance a
technology-based economy, and to sustain the high quality of life
in the region. 1,400 members. Staff of 12. Budget $1.2 million.
Resume, cover by May 16 to orgdynamics@sbcglobal.net
with Ann Arbor Search in subject line or mail to Ann Arbor Search,
Organization Dynamics, Inc., 1204 Main St., #104, Branford, CT 06405.
See www.annarborchamber.com
for additional information.
Got a question you’d like to ask other CANYS members? Send
it to maggie.moree@bcnys.org |
