rachelh@myweeklysentinel.com
CANTON — Canton Chamber of Commerce met on Thursday, Jan. 7, via ZOOM at 8:30 a.m.
Those present included: Eric Briggs from Canton Area School District, Frank Watson of Watson Diesel, Amy Seeley of Canton Borough, Rachel Heitzenrater of the Canton Independent Sentinel, Eric Schoonover of Schoonover’s Plumbing & Heating, Angie Schoonover, Tami Bethune of BTG Solutions, Jennifer Jones of Tri-County Parish, Kerri Strauss of United Way, Crystal Salsman from the Pregnancy Center.
Eric Briggs spoke about the school returning to in-person instruction, as of Monday. So far, the school has reported 27 cases and 247 students and staff quarantined, as of the meeting.
Frank Watson reported a busy couple of days after the huge snowfall in the middle of December. He also took the time to thank Amy and Canton Borough for the quick and efficient snow removal.
Jennifer Jones reported that the parish is still closed.
Kerri spoke about three recent updates with United Way. She said they are currently wrapping up their 2021 campaign. They are at about 95% of their donation goal, and would like to see it get to 100%, so anyone interested in making a donation may contact her.
She went on to discuss that COVID resources are available on their website.
The 2022 grant application for 501c3 non-profits is now currently available.
The final update that she spoke about was the fifth and sixth grade poster contest that is currently going on. She said she had just dropped off posters to Canton Elementary.
Crystal Salsman reported that the pregnancy care center is doing well and took the time to thank donors for helping them. Though they could not do the baby bottle campaign, they were still able to do a Christmas market for their clients, which helped around 20 clients with Christmas and gave them roughly $700 “baby bucks.”
“It’s really encouraging to see people feeling thankful at this time of year,” said Salsman.
She also reported new board members and that they are planning to put an educational center up in the valley.
On behalf of Robyn Cummings, Eric Schoonover reported for the Bradford County Tourism and Promotion Agency.
Cummings wrote about the passport program, saying that due to COVID it was postponed, but this year, they plan to start that in the first quarter.
She said that BCTA also did a joint piece with the Heritage Region and the Endless Mountains Business Bureau, focusing on outdoor recreation. It will be another guide. Cummings also said that the agency is in great financial health and because of that, they would like to do some spending to get people to Bradford County.
“It’s more of a resource guide for the next couple of years,” she said (at the Troy Chamber of Commerce meeting). “The annual guide is in print right now and will be hitting shelves soon. We are glad to be moving forward.”
Finally, Cummings spoke of progress on the train car. “We are working on this in conjunction with the arts council. We’re excited to start off the new year and get our events and organizations back up and going.
Amy Seeley reported on the Christmas raffle, stating the chamber made roughly $1,100.
The Christmas decorating contest was a big success, with winners: Watson Diesel, First Citizens Community Bank, Schoonover’s Plumbing & Heating and Welch Insurance. The chamber thanks all those who participated.
The next Canton Chamber of Commerce meeting will be on Thursday, Feb. 4, with location and time to be determined due to COVID restrictions.