This past week has been full of personal and organizational landmarks. To say it’s been a busy time would be a tremendous understatement. Some news is fantastic and worth celebrating. Some has given cause to be somber and reflective. But, as with anything in life, you take it in stride and try to focus on your main objective. For me and the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce, the focus is simple: “Do the right thing.”
To begin, we were sad to hear that town of Oneonta Supervisor Randy Mowers stepped away from his position due to health concerns. We wish him a speedy and full recovery from whatever illness he is dealing with. The OCCC looks forward to partnering with Brett Halloran and the entire board of the town as we work together to create a robust business environment and continued economic development in the region.
For the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce, we are happy to announce that we have moved our offices back to 189 Main Street in downtown Oneonta after a five-year absence. This building, on the corner of Dietz and Main Streets, was our home for many years. We were on the second floor before moving onto the fifth floor with Otsego Now. Today, we are in Suite 401. Just take the elevator to the fourth floor and turn right. You can’t miss us! Thanks to Ed May and Mellex for facilitating this move. It is a thrill to be back in the mix downtown.
Joan Fox at Keller-Williams Upstate Properties took great care of us at 31 Main Street in the Keller-Williams Professional Building. Joan, Jamie and maintenance wizard Rodney made our stay there a stellar experience. We were just a little too far away and a bit hard to find. For those who thought we were always at 189 and were not aware that we had moved, we are back! We are planning a networking mixer for mid-March at the new office and would like to invite all to come and visit us. Look for the date in our upcoming newsletter. If you don’t currently subscribe, you can do so at www.otsegocc.com.
The other happenings at OCCC are more personal. Last week marked my third anniversary at the chamber. I began my tenure here living at the Holiday Inn Express until we could find a home. I then went and gathered up my wife, Diana, our son, Matthew, and our dog, Lucy, and made the two-day trip from Minnesota to Oneonta. The last three years have been quite an experience. We lost Lucy more than a year ago to cancer, but we have Daisy now to complete our family of four. As you already know, there is no spot on Earth quite like this one. We have lived as a family for 24 years in places such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Texas, Iowa and Minnesota. And while all these places are beautiful in their own unique way, nowhere compares to this place. Nowhere.
On the chamber side, the last three years have been full of change and excitement. We have met many new members and developed relationships with many new partners throughout Otsego County. We were able to bring back public events after the COVID pause. We have been active throughout the county at events from Gilbertsville to Morris, and Richfield Springs to Milford. Our golf outings are back, and our annual awards celebrations are running at full steam. It has been a pleasure helping area businesses to thrive and succeed in a challenging environment. We have advocated for medium to small businesses with entities from Washington, D.C. to Albany; Cooperstown to Oneonta; and all the towns and hamlets in between. We have spoken with Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Sen. Peter Oberacker, Assemblymember Brian Miller, Assemblymember Joe Angelino, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, former Congressman Marc Molinaro, Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek, Cooperstown Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh, Otsego County Administrator Steve Wilson, county Board of Representatives Chair Ed Frazier, county Rep. Michelle Catan, Otsego Now CEO Jody Zakrevsky, city of Oneonta Administrator Greg Mattice and others to advance the interests of our business community. Because healthy, profitable businesses are the backbone of a successful county.
And finally, on the day I am writing this column, it is my birthday. I can’t believe I have completed another full trip around the sun. The greatest gifts I have received are the friendships I have made along the way. To Cass, Danielle, Joan, Connie, Gary, Ed, Jimmy, Bobby A., Scott, Marie, John, David, everyone at Rotary, everyone at Hill City Celebrations, Geoff, Karen, Stan, Calin, Jeremy, Chris, Dawn, Heather, Chrissie, Patrick and all the others my word count restrictions prohibit me from naming, thank you.
2025 offers new opportunities for us all. Rest assured the chamber will be in the middle of it, trying to do the right thing.