CLINTON, N.Y. — The Clinton Chamber of Commerce has a new executive director who is excited to continue the chamber’s many offerings while bringing a few new ideas to the table. Molly Marris took on the role in September, coming from a nonprofit background in California. She and her family moved to Clinton in 2021 […]
CLINTON, N.Y. — The Clinton Chamber of Commerce has a new executive director who is excited to continue the chamber’s many offerings while bringing a few new ideas to the table.
Molly Marris took on the role in September, coming from a nonprofit background in California. She and her family moved to Clinton in 2021 to be closer to her husband’s family and raise their kids here.
Marris recalls being charmed by the village and all it has to offer. “For the small-town vibe, there’s still so much going on,” she says. Marris was particularly excited about the village’s farmer’s market.
“Clinton has such a bustling and vibrant market in the summer,” she says, and that market is what prompted her to apply for the executive director role when it was posted.
Marris replaces Jackie Walters, who served as Clinton Chamber executive director from 2015 until earlier this year.
While the position is only part-time at 20 hours a week, it gives Marris plenty of opportunity to meet with businesses and well as connect with the community. She says her goal is to make sure the Clinton Chamber is meeting the needs of local businesses while also bringing in events and opportunities the community wants.
Marris says she also wants to focus on connecting businesses to each other so they can share information, resources, and needed services.
“I’m hoping to bring some more training opportunities,” she adds. With topics focusing on things like leadership and public relations, Marris hopes to launch something like a lunch and learn series for members.
“I think people have completely changed how they want businesses to provide services to them,” she says, so it’s important the chamber provide training and resources to help keep businesses viable and competitive.
She’d also like to see a new business spring up in a vacant building near the village green. “There’s the hope that somebody will purchase it and open it back into another restaurant or brewpub,” she says, adding that a restaurant helps bring people out and about.
Marris concedes that people are a little more hesitant in these post-pandemic days to start their own businesses, so it’s even more important the chamber keep up with the calendar of events in the village.
“When people come into those events and see the village thriving, it makes them want to come in and open a business and things like that,” she says. Along with the farmer’s market, those events include the Art & Music Festival and the Shoppers’ Stroll. Marris thinks a new event, something like a long-table harvest dinner, would be a great addition to the village. The event could connect farmers from the market with chefs at the village’s restaurants to create a culinary treat for people.
Prior to her new role, Marris worked at several nonprofits in California including Rebuilding Together Sacramento, the International Rescue Committee, and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento.