August 17, 2004
CANYS members win ACE Awards . . .
ACCE has just recognized its 2003 Award for Communications Excellence (ACE) winners. The ACE Awards program is designed to honor, reward and celebrate the achievements of outstanding communication programs, campaigns and projects.
- The Greater Syracuse Chamber was one of only five Grand Award Winners for its Guide/Special Publication, “S.A.T.O.P. Success Stories 2003.”
- The Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber won three awards for its www.techvalley.org website, Visions newsletter, and the Summit in Tech Valley event.
- The Buffalo Niagara Partnership won an award for its Who’s Who Business Directory.
- The Greater Syracuse Chamber also won three other awards for its 2003 Annual Video - A Whole New World, Interactive Business Show CD-ROM, and Sponsorship Opportunities Brochure.
- The Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber won an award for its Greater Watertown Web Site.
- The Orange County Chamber won an award for its Member/Community Communications – Newsletter.
- The Rochester Business Alliance won an award for its RBA's Membership Directory.
- The Tompkins County Chamber won an award for its Change: The Video.
Congratulations to all CANYS members who entered ACCE’s competition! Awards were presented last week at the ACCE/NAMD convention in Orlando, Florida. Additional congratulations to Betsy Sherman-Saunders of the Oswego County Chamber, and Karen Delmonico of the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber - who both received ACCE convention scholarships for their work directly supporting small business growth in their communities.
CANYS Issue Survey . . .
Have you sent in your survey yet?? Plans are under way for various CANYS events and seminars in the fall and early spring, and multiple presentation topics are currently under discussion. Please assist us in developing programming you’ll want to attend! Click HERE to participate in a fax-back issues survey from the Governmental Affairs Committee. Your input will control the agenda for future meetings.
Communication best practices . . .
In the July/August 2004 edition of ACCE’s magazine, Chamber Executive, Todd Shimkus of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce shared some advice under the topic, “How do you encourage, foster or ensure the utmost in communication inside your office?” His reply is reprinted here with ACCE’s permission:
“Two things we’ve focused on are efficient communication and reducing interruptions. Outside my office, for instance, there is a marker board listing upcoming events and the latest registration numbers so that I don’t have to interrupt anyone to ask, ‘how many people are coming to…’. The board contains attendance goals as well. Every Friday, our staff sends me an e-mail with their week’s accomplishments. In turn, I e-mail a chamber accomplishment report in bullet form to the Board.”
Corning Area Chamber helps bring IRL to Watkins Glen . . .
After a major push by the Corning Area Chamber and other area groups, the Indy Racing League will compete on Schuyler County’s Watkins Glen International racetrack in September of 2005. The track has hosted NASCAR’s top level Winston or Nextel Cup race every year since 1986. This will be the first time in more than 20 years that an IRL event is held at the site. Corning Chamber President Marty Muggleton led a letter-writing campaign to the IRL’s senior vice president of business affairs earlier this year. He also set up a website - www.fingerlakesirl.com – to inform visitors about the Indy Racing League. “CANYS kudos” to Marty and the Corning Chamber staff for their successful push!
Tell us about it . . .
The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has appointed Lynn N. Freeman as President to fill the vacancy created when Ray San Fratello left the Chamber, after nearly 13 years, in May of 2003. Frank Ferrando has been serving as Interim President since the middle of May 2003. Lynn is a registered professional engineer with extensive background in business and management, and has served more than nine years on the LeRoy School board. He began his duties on Monday, August 9, 2004. Congratulations!
Jim Berg has taken the position of President at the Schuyler County Chamber of Commerce. Jim is the former President & CEO of Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, and has been serving on the executive staff of Success Associates business consulting group. His work history consists of 40 years in business, sales, marketing and education fields. Jim received his BS and MS from SUNY Buffalo. Congratulations!
The Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce won additional awards for excellence in its communications efforts. Visions, the Chamber’s monthly newsletter, and eNews Briefs received Awards of Excellence from the international APEX 2004 Awards for Publication Excellence.
Got a question you’d like to ask other CANYS members? Job opening in your chamber? Great idea you’d like to share? Send it to cathy.jimenez@bcnys.org.
