Chamber News & Meetings & Minutes

Greater Delhi Area Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting Minutes 6/11/2024

May 2024 Board Meeting Greater Delhi Area Chamber of Commerce
Tuesday, June 11, 2024 - 10:00am 

Meeting called to order at 10:06am  

Lisa Wisely, President, presiding 

Board members present: Matt Krzyston Valerie Nichols, Jerry Pellegrino, Christina  Viafore, Matt Marchese, Julian Peploe, Abbey Wilson 

• Financial position 

o Community Bank checking balance as of 6/11/2024 $23,834.38 

o DNBD- Foundation checking account balance as of 6/11/2024 $33,113.34 

• Mixers/Events 

o The next mixer will be at The Island which houses two businesses, Workstation and Bizzy Bee’s. The event will take place on June 20th 5-7pm.  Parking for the event will be at Hoyt Park in the village parking lot. 

o The fall mixer will be held at Strickland Hollow on September 10th o A raffle will be added to the upcoming mixers as it went over well with  attendees at the last event held at Good Cheap Food. If businesses would  like to participate in the raffle, bring your promotional items and they will  be included. 

o The Bridge Run event was a success. Some suggestions for next year:  ▪ signs to promote/encourage spectators 

▪ scholarship topic should specify the business/organization needs  to be in Delaware County 

▪ an admin fee should be allocated for future events 

o The board unanimously voted to add a third scholarship as part of the  Bridge Run event. The first two are $1,000 to the student and to a  

business/organization. The third is in the amount of $500 to the student  and business/organization. A total of $5,000 will be awarded. 

• Pellegrino Grant 

o The winners of this year’s grant are Maple Shade Farm and The Hollow.  Maple Shade Farm is looking to improve signage and website upgrades.  The Hollow is looking to make improvements to the exterior of their  business by painting, adding outdoor seating, and improved signage 

o The winners of the grant were selected by a third-party committee that  was spearheaded by Barbara Sturdevant, a Village trustee. 

o Each business will be awarded $2,500

• Harvest Festival – September 21st 

o Registrations continue to come in for vendors 

• Membership Updates 

o New updates to the website include information on how to post a business  event, Board meeting minutes are now located on the home page for easy  access, past Star Award recipients, and the Pellegrino grant winners announced. 

o The Board discussed adding/improving information on the Chamber’s  website regarding transparency and the organization’s mission statement. • Advocacy Updates 

o Matt K will work on getting better signage for the Village Parking located at  Hoyt Park 

• Everything else! 

o The Board discussed a member concern regarding “Delhi” logoed apparel.  The Board unanimously voted to drop the “.” to avoid any conflict. 

o The Kiosk located on Main Street and the Chamber’s float will be getting an  upgrade giving them a cohesive look with other advertising efforts. 

Meeting adjourned at 11am. Next month’s board meeting will be on Tuesday, July 9th at  10am and membership meeting at 11am


Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting Minutes 5/14/2024

May 2024 Board Meeting Greater Delhi Area Chamber of Commerce

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 10:00am

Meeting called to order at 10:05am

Lisa Wisely, President, presiding

Board members present:  Matt Krzyston, Valerie Nichols, Jerry Pellegrino, James Arrufat, David Rama Sr., Christina Viafore

  • Financial position

  • Community Bank Checking Balance as of 5/14/2024 $28,736.39

  • Monies received from Bridge Run to date $5,391 (sponsorship & runners)

  • Monies paid to Bridge Run to date for expenses $401.40

  • Next Mixer

    • Discussed hosting the next mixer at Workstation/Bizzy Bee’s on June 20th

    • Discussed hosting the summer mixer at the College Golf Course at Delhi

    • Discussed hosting the fall mixer at Strickland Hollow             

  • Farmers' Market Updates

    • The market is back on the square and attendance has been good despite the raining spring weather

    • Signage will be used directing traffic to the square

    • 9-10 tents need new canopies – the board voted unanimously to purchase the new canopies.  Once these are repaired, there will be a total of 27 tents available for events

  • Pellegrino Grant

    • Discussion on items that need to be clarified before next year

      • Applicant must be an active member

      • Applicant is required to be the owner/proprietor of the business

  • Winners of this years’ grant are still being determined

  • Bridge Run Updates

    • Approximately 150 registrations

    • Promoting the event is the primary focus at this time

    • The Town of Hamden is starting to plan their 200-year celebration and they are interested in hosting a similar event.  Discussion on the potential of a run in Hamden, Downsville, and Delhi.

  • Harvest Festival – September 21st

    • Registrations are starting to come in for vendors

    • Christina voiced concerns with clarifying payment with registration.  This will be looked into further in an attempt to streamline the process

  • Membership Updates

    • The new platform is active.  This allows the chamber to track membership and dues

    • Received a list from the Delaware County Chamber of those businesses with a dual membership

  • Advocacy Updates

    • Matt K spoke of a request for landscaping around the new county buildings

    • Seeking input on how the concessions building located next to the pool should be structured/utilized

  • Everything else! 

    • Lisa met with Julian regarding signage

    • New businesses

      • Pizzo’s Pasta & Gourmet Foods has relocated from Andes to 191 Main Street in Delhi

      • Baker’s Grimm is now open and is located at 116 Main Steet in Delhi

    • Memorial Day event to be held in the square

    • Fair on the Square vendor form is now available and the schedule is being drafted.  The Chamber is interested in sponsoring the R/C cars again.  FOS is not a chamber event but will promote all the activities and encourages local businesses to participate   

Meeting adjourned at 11am.  Next month’s board meeting will be on Tuesday, June 11th at 10am and membership meeting at 11am.

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Chamber Summer Mixer Happy Hour

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Save the date for our next Summer Mixer Happy Hour on Thursday, June 20th! From 5 pm to 7 pm, join us at Bizzy Bee’s Learning Academy and Delhi Work Station for food, drinks, and mingling with fellow local business owners.

PARKING: There is a spacious town parking lot located at Hoyt Park. Please park here for this event and know it is a great option any time you are parking in town.

Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting Minutes 02/13/2024

February 2024 Board Meeting Greater Delhi Area Chamber of Commerce

Tuesday, February 13, 2024 - 10:00am

Meeting called to order at 10:05am via zoom

Lisa Wisely, President, presiding

Board members present:  Matt Krzyston, Valerie Nichols, Jerry Pellegrino, James Arrufat, David Rama Sr.

  • Financial position

  • Community Bank Checking Balance as of 2/13/2024 $29,136.00

  • Recap/Debrief of the Mixer at Good Cheap Foods

    • Great attendance, food, and location

    • Star award recipient does helps drive attendance

    • Items to keep in mind for next event

      • More time to promote the event -planning stage to begin earlier to help with the promotion piece.

      • Clear expectations for food and drink in an effort to appeal to the majority of attendees

  • Next Mixer

    • Discussed hosting an afternoon mixer following the Farmer’s Market so vendors could attend.  Summer mixer seems to be most appropriate.  Possible locations sited – This and That or Strickland Hollow Distillery Tasting Room

  • Budget Review for 2024 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DP8fMSmBif9KoI0yK-m5RQYxhVa6yfj7/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=117446357579273959142&rtpof=true&sd=true

  • Farmers' Market Updates

    • Signs are being used each week to help promote the market in addition to the digital marketing

    • Matt K noted that vendors feel attendance is down.  Traditionally our area seems to have less traffic this time of year – nothing to be too concerned about at this time

  • Bridge Run Updates

    • Lisa Henderson has sent out sponsorship letters

  • Membership Updates

    • The new platform is active.  This allows the chamber to track membership and dues

    • Discussed the creation of a marketing piece that would allow for easy membership recruitment

    • Valerie will follow up with the County Chamber on getting a detailed list when members sign up with dual membership

  • Advocacy Updates

    • Matt K spoke of discussions being had to combine the Town and Village of Delhi Offices.  A potential site mentioned was the old Wickham Garage

    • The Bramley Fire Tower project is continuing to gain momentum with a strong possibility of the tower being constructed this summer.  Lisa will reach out the Ann Roberti – Friends of the Bramley Mtn Fire Tower as the Chamber would like to highlight this achievement with a ribbon cutting.

  • Beautification Committee

    • Lisa met with Belinda of the Beautification Committee to review how the Chamber can assist in their efforts.  The Chamber will continue to support and promote their events.   Lisa offered to build them a website which will help encourage community engagement.

  • Planning for Spring/Summer

    • Review of the following events the Chamber hosts or sponsors:

      • Saint Patrick’s Day Parade

      • Farmers’ Market

      • Bridge Run

      • Fair on the Square

  • Everything else! 

    • James mentioned that the Chamber’s efforts to help promote local events are effective.

    • Lisa mentioned it might be beneficial to educate local businesses on how to utilize social media to its full potential

    • Parameters for donation requests will be drafted and reviewed before they are placed on the website

    • A second opinion will be sought on how the Chamber files taxes

Meeting adjourned at 11am.  Next month’s board meeting will be on Tuesday, March 12th at 10am and membership meeting at 11am

Promote Your Events on Social Media!

One of the perks of being a member of the Greater Delhi Area Chamber of Commerce is that we do our best to promote your events on our social platforms. We do a weekly round up of events happening in the area on our Instagram Stories by sharing posts local businesses have created about their upcoming event. We share the Instagram post in our Instagram story so that interested participants can click on the post and find more information. We have heard positive feedback from local businesses about this process, saying some patrons credit the Chamber Instagram for the reason they found out about the event! 

We love to see our local businesses flourish. If you have an upcoming event and you use Instagram, we recommend you always create an Instagram post on your feed and tag us. If you only use Stories to promote your event, not only does it disappear after 24 hours but it is not always easy for us or anyone else to share. Creating a post in your feed with all the details about your event gives us a place to bring people so they can get all event information easily and quickly. An added bonus, when we bring people to your profile by sharing your post, you are much more likely to gain followers.

We prefer to promote static posts in your Instagram or Facebook feed that does not contain music. Providing a static posts (not animated or video without sound) allows us for a greater capability to share. 

Remember to add your events to the events calendar on our website! Find out how to add events here. Let us know if you have any questions. We are here to serve the business community and support the success of the Greater Delhi Area!

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Thanks for Joining the Winter Mixer Happy Hour!

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Thank you to everyone who attended the Winter Mixer Happy Hour, our first Chamber Mixer of the year! We had a great turn out and a fantastic time. A huge thank you to Good Cheap Food, hosts of the mixer, who provided a cocktail, delicious charcuterie boards, and hors d'oeuvres. Strickland Hollow Tasting Room & Bottle Shop graciously donated a variety of wine, and Kento Igarashi was there taking Valentine’s Day portraits. 

We used the mixer as an opportunity to award this quarter's Star Award. James Bracci, of Mid-County Auto Body and Glass, accepted the award for the Exceptional Customer Service he provides the Greater Delhi Community. When he accepted the award he expressed his gratitude to the community, his passion for helping and connecting with others, and his sustained interest in being there for the Greater Delhi Area, of course all said with his distinctive humor and candor.

The mixer was a great opportunity to hear from Lisa Wisely, who is now the Chamber President. She announced the new Chamber Board members who are Dave Rama Sr., Jerry Pellegrino, and James Arrufat. Overall it was a wonderful way to start the year, meet new people, and celebrate the Greater Delhi Area. We can’t wait to see you at the next one!

Portraits taken by Kento Igarashi

Events Calendar

In January, we implemented a new Events Calendar on the VisitDelhiNY.com website. The new event calendar works hand-in-hand with the new membership platform, and we hope this creates a seamless experience for all members.

Chamber Members can add events by signing in to their account and filling out the Add New Events form. Non-members must email hello@visitdelhiny.org with the Event Title, Start & End Date & Time, Event Description, Event Location & Address, Event link, and Images. Once we receive the email, we will add it to the Event Calendar.

Visit the events calendar here.

Feel free to reach out to us with any questions at hello@visitdelhiny.org

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Winter Mixer Happy Hour & Star Award

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The Greater Delhi Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to invite you to the Winter Mixer Happy Hour and Star Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, February 7th at Good Cheap Food. From 5pm-7pm, enjoy cocktails and hor d'oeuvres prepared from the great selection of items at Good Cheap Food. 

This quarter's Star Award for exceptional customer service to our community will be awarded to James Bracci from Mid-County Auto Body and Glass. Mid-County Auto Body and Glass provides quality auto-body and collision services led by the charge of James Bracci who greets each customer with friendly professionalism. 

Come have fun with us! RSVP to attend the Chamber Mixer and Star Awards to enjoy quality food and drinks, and to celebrate the vibrant community of the Greater Delhi Area.  RSVP by emailing: hello@visitdelhiny.org

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Upcoming Chamber Mixer! Wednesday, February 7th, 5-7pm

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Save the date for the upcoming Chamber Mixer at Good Cheap Food!

On Wednesday, February 7th from 5-7pm, the Chamber will give away a Star Award and Good Cheap Food will provide food, cocktails, and will be offering Valentine’s Day Portraits! This is a great evening to mingle with the business community of Delhi while enjoying a sampling of food from Good Cheap Food.


Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting Minutes 01/09/2024

January 2024 Board Meeting Greater Delhi Area Chamber of Commerce

Tuesday, January 9, 2024 - 10:00am

Meeting called to order at 10:03am

Lisa Wisely, President, presiding

Board members present:  Matt Krzyston, Valerie Nichols, Jerry Pellegrino, James Arrufat, Matt Marchese, Julian Peploe, David Rama Sr.

  • Marketing Updates

    • Primary focus has been on the Farmer’s Market

      • 4 signs were ordered which will be placed in four strategic locations on Wednesdays to enhance the awareness of the market’s location during the winter months.  The frames arrived and Lisa will follow up on the statis of the inserts.

  • Events for 2024

    • Mixers

      • Committee formed - Jerry and Matt K.

    • Farmers' Market

      • Review of price structure to vendors, expenses associated, vendor growth, and how it is being facilitated.  All agreed no committee needed as current facilitator does a good job

      • Payment sent out to County Workforce for setting up tents

    • Bridge Run-June 2024

      • Committee formed - Christina, Julian Peploe and Matt M

    • Fair on the Square-July 2024

      • Although this is not a Chamber event, discussion was had on how we can help support the event.  Jerry volunteered to attend meetings

    • Harvest Festival-September 2024

      • Committee formed – Christina and Matt M

    • Holiday Parade-December 2024

      • Committee formed – Christina and Lisa

      • Discussion on ways to entice more participation

  • 1st Quarter Mixer 

    • Details still being finalized but slated to held at Quarter Moon Café in February

  • Star Awards 

    • Quarterly awards honoring outstanding community members in the following categories:  Community Volunteer Star, Community Business Star, Customer Service Star, and newly added Community Event Star

    • Awards to be presented at quarterly mixers

    • Nomination form to be added to our website

  • Budget Discussion

    • Tabled to next month’s meeting

  • Donation/Sponsorship Discussion 2024

    • Discussion on a budget and guidelines for donations

    • Donation request form to be added to our website

    • More details to come once budget discussion is had at next month’s meeting

  • DTC Voice Mail

    • This is no longer needed and will be removed

  • Committees

    • Marketing – Lisa and Julian

    • Events – broken out by event and members listed above

    • Fundraising - TBD

    • Membership – Jerry and Lisa but all will work on recruitment

      • Creation of a postcard and or rack card to be used during the recruitment process

      • Discussion on broadening membership beyond Delaware Academy School district

  • Meeting Minutes Process

      • Minutes will be posted on the chamber’s website

Meeting adjourned at 11am.  Next month’s board meeting will be on Tuesday, February 13th at 10am and membership meeting at 11am.

Announcing the New Chamber Membership Platform

We are beginning to use a new platform to manage Chamber Membership. This platform will allow us to track membership, accept membership payments and provide each member with a profile that you can edit at any time. You can add images, update business information, and add events. We will be switching over to the event calendar that is hosted through the same platform on January 1, 2024.  

If you have already signed up as a member we have a profile started for you. This means you can Request a Password on the website. If this isn’t the case, please email us at hello@visitdelhiny.org.

Below learn how to Sign-In to your account and how to Add New Events. If questions arise, please email us at hello@visitdelhiny.org.

SIGN-IN TO YOUR ACCOUNT 
-Go to visitdelhiny.com

-Click on OUR MEMBERS on the top navigation bar (If using a smartphone, find the navigation drop down menu on the top right) 

-Click on MEMBER LOG IN

-Notice a request for your email address and password. If you do not have a password set up, click REQUEST PASSWORD.

-Check your email and follow the steps for password setup.

-Return to the MEMBER LOG IN page and access your account. 

ADD AN EVENT
Members have the ability to add their own events to the Event Calendar. There are two ways to add new events. 

Option One: 

-First begin by signing into your account

-Once signed in, you will see your Membership Area with multiple gray tabs: “About,” “Profile,” “Additional,” and “Events.” Click on EVENTS.

-On this tab you will see a “Click here” option. That link will bring you to the Add New Event form. Fill out the form with as much detail as possible and add catchy, beautiful images to draw attention. There is not an option for recurring events. You will need to enter your event multiple times for recurring dates.

Option Two: 

-First begin by signing into your account

-Once signed in, click on the EVENTS tab at the top of the visitidelhiny.com website navigation. 

-Above the list of events you will click the gray “Add New Event” button.

-Fill out the form with as much detail as possible and add catchy, beautiful images to draw attention. There is not an option for recurring events. You will need to enter your event multiple times for recurring dates.

You will also start to receive automatic emails from the platform when membership is set to renew. You can choose to pay for one year and/or set up automatic renewal. 

We are excited to introduce this new platform in hopes of having the most up to date information about all the members and additional tools to promote the business community and area. 

If you have any questions, please contact hello@visitdelhiny.org.

How to Promote an Event

We wanted to take a minute to let our members know how to go about promoting an event that you are hosting. As board members and those active in the Chamber, we currently get phone calls, text messages, messages through Facebook, messages through Instagram, people stopping us on the street. We are not able to keep track of the volume of requests and information you are sharing so we’d love to tell you how we can best help you.

Follow these steps to get your event on our radar:


Option #1— Submit your event to our EVENTS calendar.

Our calendar can be updated by you directly. We are alerted when an event is submitted. This allows us to approve your event and then promote it through our social media and/or wherever appropriate.

Click here to find our EVENTS listing page and go to the upper right hand corner and click SUBMIT EVENT.

We suggest you also do the same for the County tourism site which can be found here.

Option #2— Tag us in your Instagram Post

If you are an Instagram user, the easiest way for us to share information about your event is for you to create an Instagram POST that we can easily share. Include us by using @visitdelhiNY or tag us #visitdelhiny. We search both often, we will find your post and we will share it if appropriate.

Option #3— Send an email

Provide all the details that we will need including an image or graphic to hello@visitdelhiny.org. Sending us just the name and the date of the event is not enough. Full details are required in order for us to promote properly.

Following these methods over text or messages on other platforms will allow us to do a better job promoting. As always, the more time you give us to promote the event, the better.

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