Chambers and Affiliate Partners Join Forces to Support the Business Community Local area Chambers of Commerce and affiliate partners are coming together in a joint effort to support the business community. As a collective group, these organizations urge the business community to reach out to the contacts listed below for resource navigation and support during this time. A strong business community means a strong overall community, so they are also urging consumers to consider supporting local businesses as much as possible. Every little bit counts. For example, you can buy a meal, purchase merchandise or buy gift cards for later use. Some retail shops are also offering personal shopping and curbside pick-up, and lots of businesses have made their services accessible remotely. Our region’s business owners are doing everything they can to keep their doors open right now, which currently looks different for every business. Many of the local chambers and partners have provided pages on their websites, email communications, and posts on their social media linking to important resources. They are urging all local businesses, members or not, to turn to their local chamber and partners to access information and support. “Since our local situation with COVID-19 has escalated, we have been working hard to pull together resources to help businesses navigate through this,” said Meghan Fraser McGrogan, Executive Director of the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce. “We have created a landing page on our website focused on linking to updates from our state, regional and local government, the Small Business Association and The Business Council. We’ve also created a Social Distancing Guide for our local member restaurants complete with phone numbers, ordering links, and links to their websites and Facebook Pages so you can easily support them by placing to-go orders. We are now focusing on featuring our members in a special edition of our Leveling Up webcast where I will interview a different business owner or organization leader daily to let you know how you can support them.” “We are working together to vigorously promote the importance of supporting our local and regional businesses for they are the foundation of our economic livelihoods,” said Bill Guglielmo, President of the Rome Area Chamber of Commerce. “All benefits in a given community are derived from the profitable operations of business. Businesses employ people who are customers in our retail and service markets. Businesses are the major underwriters of the many events and activities presented by nonprofit organizations that add to the cultural and recreational attractiveness and diversity of our community. We collectively urge you to support our area’s business community because they support you. Just as our neighboring chambers are doing, the Rome Chamber will continue to provide timely information via social media to encourage commerce and respond to the concerns of our members. ” “Our chamber members are resilient people and our local businesses know how to navigate through hard times,” said Michele Hummel, Executive Director of the Herkimer County Chamber of Commerce. “During this unprecedented challenge related to COVID-19 please know your chambers are working proactively to support the business community. We will be sending regular updates as information becomes available. This not a time to panic but rather pull together as a community and support each other.” If businesses have specific questions, concerns, or areas they would like to see the local chambers or their partners explore, whether you’re a member or non-member, please reach out directly. They are committed to working together to continue to support the region’s business community during this national crisis. Here are the local chambers and how you can reach them: Boonville Area Chamber - Michelle Bartelotte - chambers2@frontiernet.net Camden Area Chamber - Michael Takacs - contact@camdennychamber.com Clinton Chamber - Jackie Walters - clintonchamberny@gmail.com Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber - Mark Kilmer – president@fultonmontgomeryny.org Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce - Meghan Fraser McGrogan- info@greateruticachamber.org Herkimer County Chamber - Michele Hummel - mhummel@herkimercountychamber.com Kuyahoora Valley Chamber - Leslie Irwin - leslie@ntcnet.com Marcy Chamber - Lesley Grogan - lesleyg.nh@gates-cole.com New Hartford Chamber - Mark Turnbull - mark@turnbull-insurance.com Oneida Chamber (Greater Oneida) - Betsy Mitchell - office@oneidachamberny.org Otsego County Chamber - Barbara Ann Heegan - baheegan@otsegocc.com Rome Area Chamber - Bill Guglielmo - wkg@romechamber.com Trenton Area Chamber - Debby Leiker - trentonchamber@aol.com Chamber Alliance Affiliate Partners Center for Leadership Excellence – Kristen Skobela, KSkobla@mvcc.edu Destination Marketing Corp. for Otsego County - Cassandra Harrington, cassandra@thisiscooperstown.com The Genesis Group - Ray Durso, rdurso@thegenesisgroup.org Hamilton Business Alliance - Debra Forstenzer, Debra.forstenzer@gmail.com Mohawk Valley Association of REALTORS - Ann Rushlo, arushlo@mvar.info Mohawk Valley Business Women’s Network - Sandra Fentiman, sandra@asyoutellit.net Mohawk Valley EDGE - Jennifer Waters, jwaters@mvedge.org Mohawk Valley SBDC - Roxanne Mutchler, rmutchler@mvcc.edu Oneida County Tourism - Kelly Blazosky, kelly@oneidacountytourism.com Waterville Economic Development Corporation - Brian Bogan, bbogan7777@aol.com Workforce Development Board - Alice Savino, asavino@working-solutions.org

Additional services as of 3/25/20:

From Andre Cuda, LCSW-R, Owner at Cuda Counseling, please see the letters below regarding online telehealth services:

Healthcare Worker Letter
Patient Letter
Free soft-phones and video conferencing from Northland Communications : https://www.northland.net/lp/teleworking/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sharpspring&sslid=M7EwMzUwMzQwNDczAgA&sseid=MzIwsjA0NzcxNAAA&jobid=107a33bf-1da9-480b-8f2a-0c99a03fe7a1
WellNow Urgent Care is here to support the Rome community during this difficult time, providing options for safe, accessible and reliable healthcare. They are disinfecting their facilities and using protective gear per the CDC guidelines, rearranging waiting rooms to adhere to social distancing, and performing in-car triage at all locations in order to help minimize exposure to COVID-19. You can also choose to access a WellNow provider through your smart device, no matter where you are or what time it is with WellNow Virtual Medical. Whatever your non-life-threatening illness or injury is, your health is a priority–on-screen and in-person at WellNow Urgent Care. Visit your Rome facility at 103 W Dominick St, or start your virtual visit now www.wellnow.com.