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Tioga County Chamber of Commerce Annual Report for 2009
Chamber Annual Dinner, Community
Awards and Silent Auction: The Year 2009
held many exciting activities for the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce starting
with the Chamber Annual Dinner and Community Awards event. 175 friends and business members attended the
dinner which honored local businesses for their contribution to the business
Community. The recipients were: Community Service Award: Lights on the River
Committee, Beautification Award: Taylor Garbage, Small Business Award: Radigan
Broadcasting, WEBO News Radio, Company of the Year: Tioga Opportunities, Inc.
Community Activities:
The Chamber participated in many community activities in the county for
special events. To name a few: The Owego
Strawberry Festival and the Lights on the
River Festival, Tioga Opportunities
Food Drive, and the Tioga County Corrections
Officers Christmas Party. This year the
Chamber facilitated the window decorating contest for the downtown stores. The
Lights on the River event is a collaborative program between local businesses,
organizations, government, and private individuals to bring holiday lighting to
the downtown Owego business district.
The project is an extremely successful community event that brings thousands
of people to downtown Owego.
Coolest Small Town in America: The Chamber celebrated with the entire
community as the Village of Owego was designated the Coolest
Small Town
in America
by Budget Travel. After a nationwide
contest, the village was awarded the title of “Coolest
Small Town
in America.” The chamber worked with Tioga County Tourism
and the village to host a community party celebrating this great honor.
Spotlight on Business:
This year the Chamber continued “Spotlight on Business” to focus
attention on and promote our chamber members.
The recognition begins with a visit from chamber staff, plus a photo to
record the prestigious event. A
marketing piece is included in the chamber newsletter and in the Owego Pennysaver.
This is a new way to recognize and appreciate our business members. Businesses that received recognition: Anything Artistic, Owego - Coolest Small Town in
America, Johns Fine Foods, Martin Plumbing & Heating, Newark Valley Animal
Hospital, Sincerely Yours, Spencer Agency, The Country Décor Shop, Williams and
Mint.
Chamber Annual Golf Tournament:
This year the tournament was held at Pheasant Hill Country Club in Owego. Twenty eight teams participated in this
year’s event. It was an outstanding
event despite a rainstorm and golfers enjoyed an excellent round of golf plus
they received prizes donated by our generous chamber members.
Membership Directory and Buyers Guide for 2009 - 2010. This year the
chamber produced the directory containing a complete list of Chamber members,
mailing addresses, phone numbers, and internet addresses. The directory lists businesses by their
classification, similar to the yellow pages or other business guides. Businesses are also listed on the Chamber website as well. These
attractive publications were distributed to each Chamber member and throughout
the county. The Chamber Membership Directory is included in all relocation
packages and is a helpful tool for new residents and businesses looking for
goods and services. Over 1,000 copies
were distributed.
Networking and Education Events: This year the Chamber increased the program of
work to include more networking and educational events. The response for the Lunch and Learn events were
very successful and we plan on doing more of events in the future.
- Lunch and Learn, Education Events:
E-marketing and Social
Networking, Healthy Lifestyle, Healthy Business, Taking Advantage of an
Economic Downturn, Working with your Blackberry, Dress for Success, CPR Class and a
Teambuilding Workshop.
- Business after Hours Networking
Events: Chemung Canal Bank, Front
and Center, Route 96 Power and Paddle, The John Barleycorn, Tioga Downs,
Women In Charge Breakfast Event.
SCORE: The Tioga Chamber
continues to host SCORE counseling at the Chamber offices. Each week counselors meet with individuals
who are seeking help with their business.
Over 65 individuals met with SCORE at the Owego office.
Leadership Tioga: Leadership Tioga continues to be a successful
program administered by the Chamber. A Leadership Advisory group plans, and organizes, and
runs the program. This year 17 people graduated from the program. Leadership Tioga began in 1999 and celebrated
its tenth year. June brought a celebration of ten years of Leadership
Tioga. A group of Alumni organized an
event that proved to be a fun filled event and raised money for a local
charity. The chamber is the primary
sponsor and administrator of the Leadership
Tioga Program.
Annual
Business Show: This year the chamber chose the
theme Tioga Business 2009 – “Growing
Business”. Despite the
challenging economy, the Chamber secured over 100 businesses for the
event. Each year the show grows in value
and continues to be an event where businesses can showcase their products and
services. We had excellent media
coverage which added to the excitement of the event.
Ribbon Cutting Events:
A frequent activity of the Chamber.
Ribbon Cutting Events are an excellent way to market a business. The Chamber offers this service free of
charge. The following is a list of
events held throughout the year: 2nd Chance Clothing Store,
Better Life, Cellular Connections, Check presentation by HSBC to Tioga County
Boys and Girls Club, French Alley, Furry Babies, Ground Breaking for Owego
Riverwalk, Groundbreaking Tioga State Bank, Home Central, Lindsey Adler
Photography, Punk’s Place, State Farm Insurance Yellow Van Handy Man.
Communications and Promotion:
This year the Chamber implemented a new way to promote our members. Each week the Chamber emails to 680
individuals pertinent information about chamber members’ activities, promotions
and sales events. This e-mail publication has proved to be highly effective in
promoting our members. The list of
recipients grows every week with valuable information going out to the
community.
Other: The Chamber
participates in the Tourism Advisory Board which meets monthly with the Tioga
County Tourism Department to discuss upcoming tourism events in the
county. The Advisory Board supports and
advises the Tourism Department on their activities.
The Chamber is also an active
member of the Regional Small Business Assistance Group which sponsors a
regional website for small business at www.broometiogasmallbusiness.com. This website puts all of the small business partners
in the Broome/Tioga area in one place and allows easy access. This would provide information for new and
expanding small businesses in our area.
The site provides specifics on what each organization offers and directs
them to the service provider’s website.
The Chamber fielded thousands
of phone calls from people looking for information for about the area as well
as provides brochures along with tourism and business information when visitors
stop in the chamber office.
As always the Chamber Board
of Directors and Staff find it a pleasure to serve such a positive and
effective organization. The Chamber is
dedicated to serving the community, now and in the future.
Martha C. Sauerbrey, President & CEO
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Annual Reports 
