An entrepreneurship project delegation visited Chenango County on May 14 and 15 to explore the feasibility of including the area in a multi-state network of entrepreneurial hubs.
The visit was arranged by Martha Ryan, DCMO BOCES Public and School Liaison, who co-wrote the grant supporting the initial phase of the project, according to a BOCES news release.
The $189,720 grant from Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies “seeks to lay the groundwork for developing a network of community-based small business incubators to provide resources to support and grow small businesses in rural areas of six Appalachian states, including New York,” the release stated.
“My goal for this effort is to develop a stronger network to connect our DCMO BOCES CTE students to careers as business owners,” Ryan said.
The team was in Chenango County to conduct interviews, focus groups, and tours to identify resources and opportunities that could be included in the initiative. Pamela Lankford, from Building Bridges 2 Careers, an economic development organization based in Marietta, Ohio, and Denny Hummer, assistant director of Business Incubation at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, toured local businesses including Chobani and Golden Artist Colors in Columbus, Rentals To Go in Norwich, and also met with Chris Hayes, an owner of multiple businesses in Norwich.
“It was a fun and insightful day getting to tour local businesses, learning about all the ways Chobani gives back and the history of Golden Artist Paints,” Lankford said. “But the highlight for me was learning about RTG and their evolution, and most importantly getting to see the longhorns,” she added, referring to the distinctive cattle raised on the RTG property.
They also met at the DCMO BOCES Support Services Center with a group of government, business and non-profit agency leaders, the release stated.
“There is certainly no doubt that community leaders want to make sure entrepreneurs have all of the resources and support they need to be successful,” Lankford said.
After their two days in Chenango County, the team returned to their home states to continue work on this phase of the initiative. “We are very excited to finish up our visits so that we can begin compiling the data and information and find similarities and ways these rural communities can help each other build their base of entrepreneurship,” Lankford said.