STLC Chamber shares its 2024 Highlights

Top Chamber Highlights from 2024
As delivered by Executive Director Ben Dixon at the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner on October 23^rd…
 
Last year, we:

• Continued to increase our marketing reach and effectiveness, from the more than 10,000 Visitor & Relocation Guides we have distributed to the more than 300,000 visits to our constantly updated website, and the launch of a comprehensive Canadian Marketing Initiative (ad placements and social media are live and we are developing new weekend itineraries). Occupancy rates continue to climb as more people Discover St. Lawrence County!  
• Hosted an impactful Not-For-Profit Conference that shared insights on people-based solutions for Boards of Directors, volunteers, and donors!
•  Provided the administrative support for the St. Lawrence Leadership Institute in graduating 14 new county leaders!  
• Continued to be engaged members of organizations and entities in individual communities and across the county and region – from the Ogdensburg Growth Fund to the Massena Rotary and the Canton Economic Development Steering Committee; from the SLC Workforce Development Board to the county Small Business Working Group and the North Country Alliance (through which we provide advocacy on key business and economic development issues into Albany)!  
• Promoted our fisheries as a major tourism asset. A state-record Smallmouth Bass was caught at the B.A.S.S. Nation event we hosted in Ogdensburg, and the BASSMaster event we hosted in Waddington was viewed on live television and Bassmaster.com by more than 500,000 people across the nation, with 1.7M site visits to Bassmaster.com!  
• Set record participation at our tradeshows and community events such as the Canton Dairy Festival. The recent Holiday Market had thousands of shoppers visiting 113 vendors!  
• Dramatically increased our digital communications with regular business and tourism electronic bulletins and countless posts on our five Facebook pages and Instagram page. Combined followers and readers of these channels number in the tens of thousands. Through business bulletins, we provided information on events, business development and training opportunities, and member news!  
• Partnered closely with the Great Lakes Seaway Development Corporation to maximize the benefits of the new Visitor Center at the Eisenhower Locks, which has already had more than 34,000 visitors from all 50 states and more than 20 countries. (Thousands of Visitor Guides were distributed at this location to visitors around the world this season!)  
• Provided networking opportunities at Business After Hours gatherings in Gouverneur, Ogdensburg, Massena, Canton, Potsdam, and Akwesasne!  
• Launched numerous tourism initiatives, including the sport tourism development initiative, an extensive Canadian marketing campaign with a focus on itinerary development, an online booking platform to enhance the visitor’s trip planning experience, and preparations for marketing of our historical heritage and resources in connection with the 250^th Anniversary of our nation in 2026!  
• We held a tourism dinner to help residents and visitors "SEE the Bigger Picture" with an emphasis on Sustainability, Education, and Engagement, which we are executing through a focus on the above initiatives!  
• Our tourism team attended and spoke as panelists at state-level and international tourism conferences and summits with highlights including the New York State Tourism Industry Association Conference, the Akwesasne / North Country Tourism Summit, and the Thousand Islands Binational Tourism Summit!  
• As the county’s designated tourism promotion agent, we facilitated representation of the county at targeted trade shows across greater New York State, neighboring US states, and in Canada.  
• Our tourism team continued to seek out new ways to collaborate with and support our tourism partners, including collaborative marketing efforts, event support, co-hosting opportunities, content development campaigns, and pursuing educational resources to disseminate.  
• Spearheaded the organization and promotion of the once-in-a-lifetime Total Solar Eclipse for our residents and the thousands of people who came here to experience it!  
• Added community leaders to our Board of Directors and built a winning team on our staff that now includes:
  • Ben Dixon, Executive Director
  • Tif Amo, Director of Tourism
  • Kathryn Puleo, Tourism & Events Manager
  • Laura Pearson, Community Coordinator & Business Development Specialist
  • Abigail Wilhelm, Community Coordinator & Communications Specialist
  • Amanda Gordon, Finance & Office Manager