By Elizabeth Reynolds

As the newly elected president of the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce, I am proud to be a part of this unique community. I view this position as an opportunity to assist the business owners and citizens of our village and town, toward creating a new era of development and growth.  We are fortunate to have a Chamber Board that comes from varied backgrounds and has a collective passion to foster economic improvement within the area.

In addition to myself, the newly elected officers are Jim Aiken (retired teacher) as vice president, Jane Gendron (teacher) as secretary  and  Stan Woodward (Stan’s Appliance Repair) as treasurer.

Stepping into this leadership role will be an enjoyable challenge.  I take the helm from Scott Ray (Skenesborough Gardens), whose dedication and commitment to the betterment of commerce in our town and village has been apparent in the many community projects that he and his wife, Stacy, have undertaken over the years. I want to say thank you to him and to all the other people who have helped to make this transition easy. Scott, along with Dana Grant (Adirondack Natural Stone), Carol Matheny (business consultant), Marge Mohn (Times Emporium), and  Stephanie Safka (Nicholas Auction) complete our very dedicated board. You can see the excitement on their faces as we brainstorm new ideas to help foster a business friendly environment in Whitehall.  I can assure all of the existing and prospective members of one thing — we care about Whitehall businesses — period.

We intend to build on past successes and look  forward with enthusiasm to offering events and programs that will benefit Whitehall businesses and subsequently, the community as a whole. We will continue to develop new and innovative ideas.  It is our mission to provide an environment where businesses will continue invest and customers will gladly patronize.  The Whitehall Chamber of Commerce is committed to do everything in our power to make this an attractive place to do business.