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With its spring membership drive underway, the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce is on record pace for new member participation. We are talking to businesses all across the county about how and why to become a member. The “how” is simple: you can join online or call the Chamber at (716) 366-6200 or (716) 484-1101 to get a membership form. The “why” may be different for each business, but here are some key reasons to consider joining now. The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce is one of the largest business associations in Western New York. With more than 900 business members, we provide a variety of tools to help each business run smoothly. Whether you have a sole proprietorship or hundreds of employees, the Chamber can help to drive foot and internet traffic to your business, increase business to business connections, provide employee benefits and compliance resources, advocate on behalf of the business community, and support economic, workforce, and tourism development. Through our newest offering, the Chamber and Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier provide a new resource that offers New York State compliant workplace harassment guidance and tools, and much more. By providing an online platform, the Chamber and MAST can offer a round-the-clock human resources package that provides compliance recommendations, tools and video solutions for real world employee situations. Access to the online compliance system is a quick and easy way for businesses to meet the state requirements. Many businesses may not realize that the New York State Sexual Harassment Law applies to them, but it is crucial that all businesses comply under the state Department of Labor regulations. There is no additional cost beyond the annual membership investment to access the HR compliance tools and sexual harassment compliance video. Our staff is happy to discuss this in more detail. The Shoptauqua Gift Card is one of the Chamber’s tools to directly drive sales for our local member businesses. With more than 130 local businesses participating, this is a growing program. In 2018, the Chamber saw a 100% increase in sales of the Shoptauqua Gift Cards. Overall the program has had over a $3 million dollar impact on our local economy. That’s money that is returned to local businesses to benefit our local economy. The Chamber also directly drives business to local companies and organizations through referrals. Last year online and in-person referrals to Chamber member businesses totaled more than 469,000. As Chamber staff and volunteers visit local businesses in the next few weeks they will be happy to explain more about how the Chamber makes a tangible difference for each member business and for our local economy. You can also visit us online to learn more at www.chautauquachamber.org.