The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Chamber of Commerce has new director
Greater Oneida Chamber of Commerce: Jennifer Cossette wants to inform, involve the community
ONEIDA, N.Y. » Once a board member of the Greater Oneida Chamber of Commerce, Jennifer Cossette has taken on the role as its executive director.
Cossette has been heavily involved in the greater Oneida community and the Chamber of Commerce. She started as exec- utive director on Aug. 6 following the departure of Royale Scuderi, the former executive director, who accepted a new position as a senior program manager at the Tech Garden in Syracuse In July. The Chamber Executive Committee said Scuderi played a prominent role in assisting the chamber’s mission.
“I know quite a bit about the chamber and how it runs, so it really wasn’t that much of a change,” said Cossette, who sat on the chamber board from 2014-18 and served as president the last two years. “I’m familiar with a lot of the work here. We have a great board who have done a great job with Royale over the last four years. They’ve already had a lot of things in place, so a lot of the job is continuing that and picking up where they left off.”
Committees on the chamber have new projects in the works, Cossette said, and it’s her job to jump in, be there to support them and listen.
“I feel the executive director is the voice of the chamber,” Cossette said. “I want to be accessible to the members, hear what their thoughts are, help themor just know what we could be doing differently. That way, I can take it back to the board and do what’s best for our members and the community.”
Cossette said while the chamber’s goal is to grow and thrive side-by-side with the community, there are a few area she wants to focus on that she believes will help the chamber’s overall goal; Cossette wants to inform the public, clear away any misconceptions and get more people involved.
It’s not just the business owner, the CEO or whoever handles the membership bill that can benefit from the chamber. Cossette said any employee who works for a member can come to any event, volunteer, join a committee or more.
“I think that information is starting to get out there, but I want to get that out even more so more people can benefit,” Cossette said. “If you think about some of the larger employers in the area, like your banks and hospitals, it’s important to make sure the employees are as welcome to get involved as much as their CEO.”
The Greater Oneida Chamber of Commerce has members not just in Oneida, but Sherrill, Chittenango, Canastota and more; something Cossette wants to make clear.
“I think we need to make sure the businesses and organizations out there know we’re greater Oneida, not just Oneida. We’ve had some members who joined and said they thought they couldn’t join because they weren’t located in Oneida,” Cossette said. “That’snot the case.”
Members of the chamber range fromLombardi Chiropractic inOneida, to Ralston Supply Center in Canastota and the Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing in Chittenango.
Cossette said another of her objectives is to get younger members of the workforce involved in the chamber and see the benefits.
“I’d like to reach out and see these younger employees get involved and active, on committees and see what the chamber really is,” Cossette said. “I think the chamber has done really great things and we’re on a great path. We want to continue, but I feel if we put a little focus on these areas, it’ll help our ultimate objective.”
Businesses interested in joining the Greater Oneida Chamber of Commerce or those with questions can contact Cossette at 315-3634300 or email at office@ oneidachamberny.org