rachelh@myweeklysentinel.com
CANTON — The Canton Chamber of Commerce met via zoom on Thursday, Dec. 3.
Those present included: Amy Seeley of Canton Borough, Mary Beth Schoonover of Rockgirt and the Rialto Theatre, Eric Schoonover of Schoonover Plumbing & Heating, Leon English of the Canton Garden Club and Village Improvement Association, Tammy Bethune of BTG Solutions, Angie Schoonover, Chris Boggs of Boggs Hi-Tech Solutions, Mary Ann Porter of Canton Fitness, Colleen Ritts of Stull’s Flowers, Scott May from Canton Auto, Kim Bailey of Chemung Canal Trust Company, Frank Watson of Watson Diesel.
Much of the discussion revolved around the on-going pandemic and the recent events.
Coming up this Friday will be the raffle drawing for the local businesses and the chamber’s annual raffle as well. Winners for the decorating contest will be announced this day as well.
The annual raffle boasts numerous prizes from different chamber members including a $500 cash grand prize, $400 cash second prize, and donated baskets and goodies from local businesses. A full list of raffle items can be found on the Canton Sentinel Facebook page.
The group also discussed some changes to this year’s Small Business Saturday/week that was in place of the usual one-day event.
Instead one “Small Business Saturday” day, the chamber encouraged chamber members to extend deals into the following week or two to help with COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing.
Group news
Leon English spoke with Eric about sending thank you letters to those who donated greenery to the town’s planters. The Canton Garden Club switched out the harvest decor for holiday decor a couple weeks ago. Eric agreed and on behalf of the chamber, letters were sent out to show appreciation to those who helped make those wonderful plots look even more Christmassy.
The Rialto is having their last popcorn sale of the year this Friday, Dec. 18, from 5-7 p.m. in front of the theatre. Stop in front of the building with exact change, and help support the theatre.
Mary Beth also spoke about the recent donations that helped the theatre secure funding for a new projector for when the theatre opens back up.
Frank Watson recapped on his motorcycle event back in October and discussed beginning advertising for the 2021 event, which he plans to make a two-day event and involve more people.
The next Canton Chamber of Commerce meeting will be on Thursday, Jan. 7, with time and location to be determined.