BY PAUL MITCHELL
North Country This Week

CANTON – The Canton Chamber of Commerce will be alerting its membership that soon it will be time to vote on integrating with the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce.

Members can vote in person at an information session on Monday, July 24, at 6:30 p.m. at the Canton VFW Post, 34 Gouverneur St., or at a membership vote meeting on Tuesday, July 25, at 6:30 p.m. at the Grasse River Heritage offices, 30 Court St., Canton.

All members will be receiving a letter, either by post or email, explaining when and where to vote, background and rationale for the merger, benefits of having an integrated chamber, and what the merger with the county chamber means for Canton.

Members may also complete and mail or email a Proxy Authorization that will be included in the mailing. Proxy authorizations must be received before the July 25 Membership Vote meeting.

Per New York State Statute, at least 10% of the membership of a 501(c)(6) organization like the Canton Chamber is required to vote, and a 2/3 majority vote of those who vote is required for a merger to go through. And, at least 10% of the vote as an active member of the Canton Chamber of Commerce is therefore requested.

“For several years, the Chambers of Commerce of Canton, Massena, Ogdensburg, and St. Lawrence County have been exploring the feasibility of merging to form an Integrated Chamber of Commerce to be known as the Greater St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Partnership. We are excited to inform you that, after exploring the feasibility and benefits of such an Integration, the Canton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has resolved and is recommending a merger of the Canton and the St. Lawrence County Chambers of Commerce,” the letter reads.

Both memberships of the Massena and Ogdensburg Chambers have approved the integration. The Potsdam Chamber has opted not to participate in the merger. The County Chamber will be conducting a vote in late summer.

"It is certainly exciting to have the membership vote of the Canton Chamber scheduled for the 25th. We're driven by the vision of a chamber that can provide a full range of services to the businesses and the community through dedicated staffing, administrative support, shared services, enhanced promotional channels, and many other advantages that present from this integrated model,” stated Ben Dixon, executive director of the County Chamber. “The upcoming membership vote is another huge step toward that vision of an integrated, unified, and collaborative chamber of commerce in Canton and St. Lawrence County. We encourage members of the Canton Chamber and community that want to learn more to attend the information session on the 24th."

Some benefits identified with an integrated chamber include community-specific initiatives and community-dedicated staff; gains on operational efficiencies, cost savings, and shared services; increased capacity of staff for community-specific programming: and consolidated budget and financials but with reserved allocations and accounts for community-specific initiatives.

For Canton, the community would benefit from increased chamber programming while preserving its community identity and Chamber activity would build off the unique resources and assets of the community, the letter explains.

An Integrated Chamber would have locally focused staff; that individual would be a full-time employee of the Integrated Chamber and located in the Canton office full-time. The employee would dedicate half their time specifically on Canton-specific programming, its business community, and chamber members in the Canton area.

Multiple staff from the Integrated Chamber will be able to apply their expertise in various areas (such as business development training, workforce development, economic development, or marketing) to the community and its chamber members as part of their county-wide role.

If approved, legal filings will be made to the NYS Department of State.

Questions may be addressed to Lenore VanderZee, a member of both the Canton Chamber and County Chamber board of directors, at vanderzeel@canton.edu .

Information will also be posted on the Canton Chamber website at cantonny.gov/chamber