Debbi Milner to serve as new president
By Kevin E. Foley
As part of a reorganization plan and a return to things that have worked in the past, the Cold Spring Area Chamber of Commerce has announced it will bring back its summer concert series after previously announcing the series cancellation. “We were surprised to hear the amount of people upset about the concerts being cancelled,” said Cathryn Fadde, owner of the Tuscan Grill, speaking at the village trustees meeting June 11.
Fadde said there would be four Sunday summer concerts on July 14 and 28 and August 4 and 18.
Vincent Tamagna’s short-lived presidency of the Chamber ended when the Chamber’s board accepted his resignation at a meeting Thursday, June 6, according to a statement issued by the Chamber. Tamagna feels his attention should be focused on his job at the Putnam County Transportation Department, where recent demands have made juggling both positions increasingly difficult.
During his brief tenure, he served as the inspiration behind the 2013 Awards Dinner that took place in March and the Pedal Into Spring Festival in May. Board members appreciate Tamagna’s contributions to the Cold Spring Area Chamber of Commerce.
Debbi Milner, Chamber Vice President, will replace Tamagna, and Alison Anthoine, CEO of Paperlex, will serve as Vice President. New to the board, Laura Anne Shay-Hupe of LASH Arts was elected Secretary along with Teri Barr, owner of Hudson Valley Outfitters, as on-line Secretary. Currently one seat remains open on the Board.
In addition to changes within the board, the Chamber decided to solicit feedback from its 149 current members to determine strategies to unite the business community and leverage resources. The Chamber intends to have a plan of action to share with members by July.
Aside from the revived music series, member response has also led to the return of member social mixers, including a planned boat ride during the summer. Robert Lomino of Robert’s Total Care Salon, Jim Farnorotto, owner of The Gift Hut, Laura Ann Shay-Hupe and Teri Barr will chair the committee for the mixers, which aim to bring members together for networking, educational and social opportunities.
Moving forward, the board plans to concentrate on “internal housekeeping,” which includes the development of a new mission statement as well as improvements to communications and expansion of its membership base.
Good luck to the new Chamber board, and I’m really glad they decided to bring back the music series. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it as the saying goes.
As far as helping out the merchants and business owners of Cold Spring, I think by now it should be abundantly clear what needs to be done — a huge marketing campaign to re-brand the Village and draw tourists and visitors from outside of Putnam County and vicinity. I would guess that 90 percent of our money-spending customers are from New York City, New Jersey, Rockland and places outside the immediate area. These are the people we need to attract, not bike racers whose main interest was to get out of town as quickly as possible.
If the Chamber has any clout with Tourism Director Libby Pataki, they need to get her to spend some of “her” $200K budget promoting Cold Spring. Here’s an idea for the first campaign: “Cold Spring – Come to Where the Shopping Begins.” If anyone has other PR ideas, maybe you can post them here.