Attendees of the 2021 Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce Pride Awards gathered at the Villa Roma Resort and Conference Center last Wednesday to reflect on the past couple years and look to what’s ahead.
They also honored several award recipients. Honors went to Jacobowitz and Gubits, LLP (Business of the Year), Franklin Trapp (Distinguished Achievement), Dawn Ciorciari (Distinguished Service), Marie Smith (Distinguished Service), Matt Sush (Young Emerging Leader), Samantha Dorn (Young Emerging Leader) and the Bethel Business Association (Township Award).

Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Jaime Schmeiser incorporated the night’s theme, “Back to the Future,” a reference to the popular 1985 film, into her speech.

“I’m turning on the flux capacitor in the DeLorean because we’re going to spend a few minutes in other times, places –– in the past, present and future,” said Schmeiser.

She started in the past, in the year 2019, when Sullivan County’s economy was turning around.

“We were experiencing an upswing in new businesses, many main streets were starting revitalization projects and the quality of life was improving,” she said. “We talked about attracting new residents and partnered with our economic development friends to keep the momentum going.”

Schmeiser then set the flux capacitor to March 2020 when the world shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Schmeiser, the Chamber worked with their economic development partners, disseminated information, and created new programs for struggling businesses, helping them to weather the pandemic storm.

Schmeiser then took the audience to the present, 2021.

“It has become the year of re-evaluation. A re-examination of how we get back to the future,” said Schmeiser.

She said the Chamber launched several initiatives designed to bolster the region’s economic strength and enhance its competitive advantage. Some of their projects included creating a main street taskforce to help downtowns to revitalize and reenergize, assisting their economic development partners, business associations and chambers with their business advocacy and support.

Schmeiser added that they also raised the profile of the Chamber with government relationships.

“Despite some setbacks, we had 13 ribbon cuttings in-person,” said Schmeiser, “we assisted many businesses in our area to help them obtain much needed recovery funds from the state and from the federal government to help them regain their business footing, position and start the process of rebuilding.”

This included the Chamber applying for and receiving grants to help businesses with their PPE so that they didn’t have the burden and the cost to reopen.

The Chamber also partnered with local, state, and federal business programs to bring training and development.

Schmeiser ended her speech taking a look at the future, and said as they move into 2022, the Chamber will continue to be a partner for success, champion of revitalization and the voice of business.

“We provide the knowledge, tools and connections to help you strengthen your business’s operations,” she said. “We create innovative programs and initiatives, while helping you to develop your brand and boost your business’s community impact. We offer professional development, online resources and peer engagement opportunities.

“Let’s get back to the future with the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce in 2022,” concluded Schmeiser. “We’re open for business.”

Disclaimer: The author of this piece is a Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce Board Member.