ANCA annual meeting focused on building belonging

LOWVILLE — The Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) on Sept. 8 held its 2023 annual meeting, titled “Building Belonging in the New Economy.”

The afternoon event focused on “belonging, what it is, what it looks and feels like, and how creating welcoming spaces directly benefits businesses, communities and the people they serve.”

ANCA had invited community members; small-business owners and employees; nonprofit professionals; and others interested in “building welcoming and belonging” in New York’s North Country to attend.

ANCA held the meeting and reception at the Tug Hill Estate in Lowville in Lewis County.

ANCA describes itself as an independent, nonprofit corporation with a “transformational approach to building prosperity” across northern New York. Using “innovative strategies” for food systems, clean energy, small businesses, and equity and inclusion, ANCA says it “delivers targeted interventions that create and sustain wealth and value” in local communities.

About the gathering

The meeting sought to build on the economic-development organization’s vision — “a New Economy that Works for All” — and recent collaborative efforts to increase awareness and skills related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) in North Country businesses and communities.

“Over the last several years, our board and staff have been mindful and intentional about centering diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in our work,” Elizabeth Cooper, ANCA executive director, said. “Building belonging is integral to ANCA’s New Economy approach which focuses on growing an economy that provides equitable access and opportunity for people of diverse backgrounds and experiences.”

Tiffany Rea-Fisher, director of ANCA’s Adirondack Diversity Initiative, facilitated a community conversation that included a lineup of speakers with different perspectives on belonging.

Speakers shared personal and professional stories before taking questions from audience members and opening a discussion about what belonging means to them.

The speakers included Scott Gilbert, owner of Tug Hill Artisan Roasters; Tamara Jolly, a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) educator who attended SUNY ESF’s Ranger School; and Emily Russell of North Country Public Radio, ANCA told CNYBJ in a Sept. 11 email.

ANCA wanted all attendees to leave with “actionable ideas to incorporate principles of belonging” in their businesses, organizations and communities.

“Belonging goes hand in hand with safety, and exploring the multitude of ways that people can feel unsafe in our communities is a worthwhile venture,” Rea-Fisher said in a release. “We who call this region home have so much to offer, and it is important that we are generous with those assets and not work from a place of scarcity or fear.”

ANCA leadership, including directors of the organization’s small business, food systems, clean energy, and Adirondack Diversity Initiative programs, provided updates for meeting attendees.

The annual meeting’s focus on belonging follows a series of programs delivered to small businesses, organizations, and individuals on workplace communication and DEIB practices. Through virtual and in-person events, ANCA says it aims to demonstrate how “welcoming and belonging can help businesses retain existing and gain new clientele, improve their bottom line and build resilience for the future.”

The annual meeting location, Tug Hill Estate, is a business, farm winery, distillery and event venue that transitioned to new owners Jonathan and Taren Beller in 2021. It happened with support from ANCA’s Center for Businesses in Transition (CBIT) and local assistance from CBIT partner Naturally Lewis, ANCA noted.