Cayuga County Chamber joins CenterState Chamber Alliance

SYRACUSE — The addition of the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce to the CenterState Chamber Alliance gives the region an even stronger voice on state and national issues, chamber leaders say.

“Now we’ve got a cumulative voice of 3,000 plus, 3,500 members and that says something,” says Andrew Fish, executive director of the Cayuga County Chamber.

The alliance announced the Cayuga County Chamber, with more than 400 members, as its newest member Nov. 26. Syracuse–based CenterState CEO, with 2,000 members, and the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce, with 900, formed the alliance in June.

The partnership allows members of each chamber of commerce access to services and benefits across all three organizations.

That includes networking programs, education and training sessions, and member discounts. The three groups remain independent with their own local identities, management teams, board control, member-relations efforts, and services.

The groups will cross-promote their services and events in addition to partnering on advocacy. CenterState will also handle some back-office operations, such as financial bookkeeping, for the Cayuga County Chamber.

The move will allow the Cayuga County Chamber (www.cayugacountychamber.com) to provide interim executive-director services for the Cayuga Economic Development Agency, Fish says.

“There are so many ways we are looking for this to continue to grow,” Fish says of the CenterState Chamber Alliance. “This is not the culmination of these discussions. This is the beginning.

“How do we help the businesses in Central New York and the CenterState 12-county region grow and become more successful? That’s really what we’re trying to do,” Fish says.

Alliance leaders say Cayuga won’t be the last chamber of commerce to join.

“We’ve been trying to build a broader sense of regional identity, regional collaboration for the better part of a decade now,” CenterState CEO President Robert Simpson says. “The CenterState region is looked upon throughout New York state and increasingly across the country as a model for how that kind of collaboration takes off.”

The mutual benefits offered by the partnerships naturally draw interest from chambers around the region, Simpson adds.

Members are expecting their chambers’ leaders to learn from peers and share best practices, he notes. They want to see efficiency and cost-effective solutions to problems.

CenterState had a relationship with both the Cayuga and Mohawk Valley chambers of commerce for a long time prior to forming the alliance, says Jane Amico, vice president of chamber services at CenterState CEO. Formalizing those bonds makes sense.

“This just broadens our pool of businesses that benefit from the networking and training and education programs and cost savings,” she says.

The relationships with the other chambers will also allow for the annual CenterState Business Showcase to become a more regional event, Amico says. This year’s event in October drew thousands to the Convention Center at Oncenter in downtown Syracuse.

The showcase featured talks from Syracuse University football legend Floyd Little and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. David Faber, a journalist at CNBC, delivered the keynote at the Economic Champions Luncheon, which was combined with the showcase this year.

Partnerships with other chambers will allow the event to grow further, Amico says.

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com

SYRACUSE — The addition of the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce to the CenterState Chamber Alliance gives the region an even stronger voice on state and national issues, chamber leaders say.

“Now we’ve got a cumulative voice of 3,000 plus, 3,500 members and that says something,” says Andrew Fish, executive director of the Cayuga County Chamber.

The alliance announced the Cayuga County Chamber, with more than 400 members, as its newest member Nov. 26. Syracuse–based CenterState CEO, with 2,000 members, and the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce, with 900, formed the alliance in June.

The partnership allows members of each chamber of commerce access to services and benefits across all three organizations.

That includes networking programs, education and training sessions, and member discounts. The three groups remain independent with their own local identities, management teams, board control, member-relations efforts, and services.

The groups will cross-promote their services and events in addition to partnering on advocacy. CenterState will also handle some back-office operations, such as financial bookkeeping, for the Cayuga County Chamber.

The move will allow the Cayuga County Chamber (www.cayugacountychamber.com) to provide interim executive-director services for the Cayuga Economic Development Agency, Fish says.

“There are so many ways we are looking for this to continue to grow,” Fish says of the CenterState Chamber Alliance. “This is not the culmination of these discussions. This is the beginning.

“How do we help the businesses in Central New York and the CenterState 12-county region grow and become more successful? That’s really what we’re trying to do,” Fish says.

Alliance leaders say Cayuga won’t be the last chamber of commerce to join.

“We’ve been trying to build a broader sense of regional identity, regional collaboration for the better part of a decade now,” CenterState CEO President Robert Simpson says. “The CenterState region is looked upon throughout New York state and increasingly across the country as a model for how that kind of collaboration takes off.”

The mutual benefits offered by the partnerships naturally draw interest from chambers around the region, Simpson adds.

Members are expecting their chambers’ leaders to learn from peers and share best practices, he notes. They want to see efficiency and cost-effective solutions to problems.

CenterState had a relationship with both the Cayuga and Mohawk Valley chambers of commerce for a long time prior to forming the alliance, says Jane Amico, vice president of chamber services at CenterState CEO. Formalizing those bonds makes sense.

“This just broadens our pool of businesses that benefit from the networking and training and education programs and cost savings,” she says.

The relationships with the other chambers will also allow for the annual CenterState Business Showcase to become a more regional event, Amico says. This year’s event in October drew thousands to the Convention Center at Oncenter in downtown Syracuse.

The showcase featured talks from Syracuse University football legend Floyd Little and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. David Faber, a journalist at CNBC, delivered the keynote at the Economic Champions Luncheon, which was combined with the showcase this year.

Partnerships with other chambers will allow the event to grow further, Amico says.

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com