rachelh@myweeklysentinel.com
CANTON — The Canton Chamber of Commerce met via Teams on Thursday, March 4, at 8:30 a.m.
Those present included Amy Seeley from Canton Borough, Cain Chamberlain from the Endless Mountains Heritage Region, Eric Briggs from Canton Area School District, Eric Schoonover from Schoonover Plumbing & Heating, Frank Watson from Watson Diesel, Jennifer Jones from the Tri-county Parish, Kim Bailey from Chemung Canal Trust Company, Misti and Janet from First Citizens Community Bank, Robyn Cummings from the Bradford County Tourism and Promotion Agency, Tami Bethune from BTG Solutions, Christopher Boggs from Boggs Hi-Tech Solutions and guest speaker Jessica Parks from Supporting Area Families Everyday.
Secretary’s and Treasurer’s reports were both approved unanimously within the chamber.
Robyn Cummings spoke about updates in the tourism and promotion agency, citing that there are three new guides.
Amy Seeley reported 67 members to date, with eight new or returning after a year or so lapse. Eric Schoonover reminded members to get their memberships in for this year.
Guest speaker this month was Jess Parks, from Supporting Area Families Everyday, or S.A.F.E.
Supporting Area Families Every Day, or S.A.F.E., is a non-profit that is dedicated to strengthening families and building a healthier community for Bradford County and the surrounding area.
The focus on the program is safety and providing safety measures for children of families who have history of domestic violence or drug abuse history, for example.
For more information on S.A.F.E., go to safebradco.com, call 570-250-7401, email safebradco@gmail.com, or stop at their location at 908 S. Main Street in Towanda.
Robyn Cummings and Cain Chamberlain spoke about the Bradford County Tourism and Promotion Agency updates in conjunction with the Endless Mountains Heritage Region.
The outdoor recreation guide is now available. It’s a regional guide planned with the Endless Mountains Heritage Region and Business Bureau. It’s for hiking, biking, camping and more. It will be linked to their website, as well as the Local Goods Guide.
The Local Goods Guide identifies all the items in the county that are produced here in Bradford County, such as maple syrup, farmer’s markets, farms, and more.
This year, they had 62 producers in the guide. The annual guide is also out.
Finally, Cummings spoke about the train car project and how she is looking for painters to help paint the mural. Currently, painters are wanted in Athens where it is located, but she plans to bring the job to Canton/Troy in the coming weeks and asks that anyone interested contact her. This can be individuals, school classes, art classes, anyone.
This is partnered with the Regional Arts Council. In the fall, it will be installed onto the train car.
There will be a grant workshop on Friday, March 12, via online. It will help answer questions on where to find grant money, how to apply and more.
For more information or to contact Cummings, go to www.visitbradfordcounty.com.
Canton Area Superintendent Eric Briggs noted that the high school is putting together a socially distanced drama production.
He also noted winter sports has concluded. They will review the health and safety plan to update it to spring guidelines provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for softball, baseball and track and field.
His administration is also working on an academic loss and recovery plan.
Frank Watson stated it was a tough winter in the snow removal business and spoke about his new wing plows and where they were shipped out to. He also spoke briefly of his 2021 adventure bike ride scheduled for the fall.
He is planning a two-day ride. More information will be available at a later date. Tami Bethune has been helping him create a website for the event.
Tami Bethune also spoke with chamber members on the new chamber website and gave them a sneak preview of what it’s going to look like.
Wine and Cheese committee members spoke about the event. Rekindle the Spirit, at the time of the meeting, had said they did not want to host the event. Since the meeting, the committee has met and made the decision to bring the event into Canton’s business district, with a new name. Plans for this event are in the works still and more information will be released at a later time.
Members also spoke about the plans to purchase a building on Main Street for the chamber’s use. Right now, they are in the application process with the bank for a grant to purchase the building However, the bank requests that the chamber provide donations to go toward the building, such as cash, sweat-equity and more. The support will be documented to the bank that will be part of the application. Chamber members are asked to participate in helping get this building. Email Eric Schoonover if you have any questions.
Chamber members are urged to turn in their 2021 application so that they may still receive email reminders. So far, the chamber has 67 members for this year. Seeley noted that eight of them are new or returning from previous years.
The next Canton Chamber of Commerce meeting will be this Thursday, April 1, at noon via Teams.