BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- The St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce has big plans for Massena in 2025, including a new office in the village.

According to Executive Director Ben Dixon, the Chamber is hoping to sell the existing building at 16 Church Street.

He recently told town board members the building is already generating a lot of buzz, with a handful of potential buyers having already looked at the location.

In the meantime, finding a new office is in the works.

"The Chamber is in conversations with some potential landlords and has received several outreaches of locations we could move into, but those conversations are ongoing, and we do not have a new location selected yet," he said.

Dixon said the past year has been one of change and evolution as the Chamber continues to develop a new staff and grow the Board of Directors.

Tourism initiatives are front of mind as the Chamber hopes to continue to expand its membership base while enhancing new member benefits, he said.

"We also affected the four-party legal business merger of the Massena and St. Lawrence County (and Ogdensburg and Canton) Chambers – a process that has required patient and deliberate effort to implement logistically. We continue to seek the financial capacity to achieve our vision and goals of an Integrated Chamber of Commerce," Dixon said.

As for Massena, Dixon said one of the largest accomplishments to date has been tourism outreach and marketing efforts in the Canadian market.

Recreational assets were featured in numerous heavily trafficked digital platforms, including Discover Upstate NY, Thousand Islands Regional Tourism, and the Hearst Times Union, he said.

At the local level, representation has played a big role in pushing the Chamber forward, he said.

Dixon said Laura Pearson, who has represented both Ogdensburg and Massena since the chambers all integrated, will continue to serve Massena.

"Laura Pearson acting as our representative in both Ogdensburg and Massena has indeed been an interim solution as we seek the financial capacity to have a coordinator solely designated in each of those communities, and we are grateful to Laura for working with both," Dixon said.

He said once the sale of 16 Church Street is complete, the Chamber will have funding to hire a representative to solely represent Massena.

"It is our plan that the revenue from a sale of the Church Street building will provide the financial capacity to operate a new office in Massena with dedicated representation. Through that, we would then seek to find financial sustainability for the office through increased programming and business engagement and increased membership," Dixon said.

He commented that in the last year since the chambers integrated there has not been sufficient Massena-based membership revenue to fully support a new office and a dedicated representative in Massena.

He said one of the primary goals of the Chamber for 2025 includes driving engagement with businesses and organizations, connecting them to development opportunities to help them grow and expand.

A Business After Hours event will be held May 27th at the Gristmill Brewery in Massena to help local business owners connect and network.

The Chamber will also host its annual Tourism Dinner at the River Course at Louisville on June 12th, he said.

At the core of the Chamber's efforts are boots on the ground efforts, like ribbon cuttings for new businesses, community-wide festivals and local initiatives like the Shop Local campaign in Massena.

He said that work will continue with the dedicated staff at the Chamber, however some duties may need to change following the loss of Katie Berry, who recently left the chamber to take a new opportunity with VisitRochester.

Dixon said her loss will be felt by the Chamber until a replacement is hired.

He said the Chamber is now seeking a new Community Coordinator and Communications Specialist, which will function as a sort of hybrid role.

Dixon said candidates should plan to manage and execute communication efforts of the Chamber, including member information distribution, social media, tourism industry promotion, digital postings and oversight of press releases, among other tasks.

For more information about the position, visit business.visitstlc.com/jobs/info/marketing-stlc-chamber-communications-specialist-community-coordinators-357

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