by Rachel Hunter
The St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce and the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency hosted the third “Nature & Networking” event at the Gouverneur Community Center at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 22nd. Business owners and managers from all over St. Lawrence County were encouraged to attend the networking opportunity.
All were welcomed by St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ben Dixon and St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) CEO Patrick Kelly.
“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we held a series of events trying to connect with the businesses and employers in the county with the service providers from Economic Development, Workforce, Community Development and we had a handful of events, primarily in Canton. We wanted a central area and to bring people in,” Mr. Kelly said. “We decided right before the pandemic hit that we wanted to take it around the county… bring the show on the road, so to speak. This is our third event, getting people out and getting people together, connecting them with the service providers and with each other. And also to highlight some of the really unique and impressive parts of the county.”
CEO Kelly then spoke about the wonderful features of the Gouverneur Community Center – from its Halford Brothers Community Room to the Kinney Drugs Foundation Kitchen and the Howard Van Norton Media Room. Special mention was also made of the facilities at the Riverview Recreational Park in Gouverneur.
“We wanted people to get out, see this facility, see some other parts of the county, get people in the different regions and get them together with one another. We’re focusing primarily on workforce in this series because we are hearing in talking with different companies is the difficulty with retention and finding workers… If the businesses and employers don’t know who the resource providers are, it’s hard for us to help with anything. So the idea is to get everybody out together with one another and have a nice, easy back-and-forth discussion with networking opportunities.”
Those in attendance included: SLC IDA CEO Patrick Kelly, SLC Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ben Dixon, SLC Director of Tourism Brooke Rouse, Gouverneur CSD Superintendent of Schools Jacquelyn Kelly, St. Lawrence County Workforce Development Executive Director Barbara Lashua (also the Village of Heuvelton Mayor), Gouverneur Minerals Manager Jamie Knowlton, Eric Tessmer of Riverside Iron, Town of Gouverneur Supervisor/Community Center Director Dave Spilman, Jr., Village of Gouverneur Mayor Ron McDougall, SLC IDA Business Development Specialist Bob Ahlfeld, SkinStitch Marketing and Operations Manager Mark Todd, Town of Gouverneur Councilman Curran Wade (also advertising specialist for the Gouverneur Tribune Press), SLC IDA Administrative Services Coordinator Lori Sibley, SLC IDA Business Development Specialist Brian Norton, Small Town Supply Lead Cashier Lee French, Richard Pray of MLS Equipment in Gouverneur, Town of Gouverneur Deputy Supervisor Eldon Conklin, Pro-Act Director of Operations Michael Howard, MaryKay Ind. Beauty Consultant Alicia Hollenbeck, Pro-Act Facility Manager Amanda Atkinson, Pro-Act Customer Service Manager Trudy Davis, Economic Development Director for the Village of Canton Leigh Rodriquez, Village of Gouverneur Trustee Rick Wood (also of RJ Wood Real Estate in Gouverneur), Kinney Drugs Pharmacy Coordinator Lisa Wood, John Pinkerton of the SLC IDA, Atlantic Testing Laboratories CEO and owner Marijean Remington, Local Ace Hardware Store Chain Owner Clark Porter, SLC Chamber Workforce Development Coordinator Laura Pearson, and Gouverneur Tribune Press Editor Rachel Hunter.
A program commenced at the Gouverneur Community Center at 5 p.m. with the topic of discussion centering around employee retention. At a time when businesses are struggling to meet their workforce needs, the event organizers sought to open a dialogue with business leaders about their efforts to retain employees and give participants the opportunity to share successful strategies and resources.
A 40-minute discussion commenced, facilitated by John Pinkerton of the St. Lawrence County IDA, on employee retention. Afterward, door prizes were drawn and distributed. The door prizes were made available from the generous businesses, local dignitaries, St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, etc. throughout the county. Much gratitude was extended to all who participated.
At the conclusion of the program, all in attendance were invited to enjoy the buffet of three pizzas, 60 chicken wings and 36 garlic knots made available by Gouverneur’s own New York Pizzeria. The wine was made available by Mrs. Beasley’s Liquor and Wine in Gouverneur, and other drinks were made available by Town of Gouverneur Supervisor and Gouverneur Community Center Director Dave Spilman, Jr. of Gouverneur. All were the invited to check out the Gouverneur Community Center and the grounds of the Riverview Recreational Park in Gouverneur while continuing networking discussions.
Much gratitude was extended to all who made the event possible.