BY PAUL MITCHELL
North Country This Week

CANTON – Members of the Canton Chamber of Commerce overwhelmingly approved a merger with the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce following voting on Monday and Tuesday.

The vote was 36 to 6 in favor of the merger. At the time of the vote

An information session was held on Monday, July 24, at the Canton VFW Post, 34 Gouverneur St. A membership vote meeting took place on Tuesday, July 25, at the Grasse River Heritage offices, 30 Court St., where the votes were tallied.

The affirmative vote meets the criteria to pass - 10 percent of the membership and two thirds voting in favor. At the time of the merger vote, the Canton Chamber had 155 members.

“Today’s vote of the Canton Chamber membership is a huge step toward the vision of an integrated Chamber in St. Lawrence County,” stated Ben Dixon, executive director of the County Chamber. “We are all excited to promote the Canton community and its businesses. In other words, good things are coming.”

“There is a lot that can be brought to the table for that promotion from increased staff capacity and specialties to more resources for marketing, alignment of programming, and many other benefits. We are already ramping up, meeting with the Canton Economic Development Steering Committee, the municipalities, and other stakeholders,” Dixon added.

A job description for a dedicated Canton representative that will work in the downtown office is just about ready to be posted. Canton information will be added to the County Chamber website at www.VisitSTLC.com.

If the County Chamber membership votes in favor as well, the merger is expected to be complete in September. At that time, the Canton Chamber’s executive director position, currently held by Tammy Mackin, will be eliminated.

A business-to-business mixer is scheduled to be held at Applewood Orchards in Rensselaer Falls on Sept. 26.

All members were notified of the merger voter via 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 were also allowed to complete and mail or email a Proxy Authorization.

Per New York State Statute, at least 10% of the membership of a 501(c)(6) organization like the Canton Chamber was required to vote, and a 2/3 majority vote of those who vote was required for the merger to go through.

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 conduct a vote in late summer.

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.