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News of Otsego County

Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce

Coop Mayor Launching Welcome Initiative Tomorrow

Coop Mayor Launching Welcome Initiative Tomorrow

COOPERSTOWN—“Welcome Home Cooperstown,” a new initiative from Cooperstown Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh, will kick off a series of monthly meet and greets on Tuesday, May 2  from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Village Hall at 22 Main Street. The goal is to welcome area newcomers, assist them in building connections to established residents and institutions, and encourage them to make Cooperstown their permanent home. Information about community events will be available and refreshments will be served. All members of the community are invited, including those new to the area as well as longtime residents who would like to meet and welcome others. In general, events will take place on the first Tuesday of each month—May 2, June 6, July 11, August 1, September 5, October 3, November 7 and December 5. Members of the “Welcome Home Cooperstown” committee include interested citizens and representatives from Bassett Healthcare, Cooperstown Central School, and the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce, with support from the Friends of the Village Library. Everyone is welcome to attend and participate in the work of building a stronger, more diverse, and welcoming community.

Auction Ends Friday Evening

Auction Ends Friday Evening

COOPERSTOWN—The Cooperstown Chamber is currently running its annual “Scoop It Up!” Online Auction, the proceeds from which go toward the chamber’s year-round efforts to support and promote the local business community.

More than 50 items generously donated by chamber member businesses are up for grabs, including memorabilia, gift cards, overnight stays, gift baskets, gift cards and more.

“The auction is a lot of fun, and we are so grateful to our members for taking the time to donate items each year,” said Chamber Executive Director Tara Burke.

“This is a unique way to holiday shop, and to often get deals on some great items, while supporting the local business community.”

The auction can be found at 32auctions.com/scoopitupauction2022 until 7 p.m. on Friday, December 16.

Mural Moment

Mural Moment

COOPERSTOWN—The Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the completion of a mural project on the back of its cottage with a ceremonial ribbon cutting on Friday, November 18 at 10:30 a.m. The mural, created by artist Kelcy Kimmerer, was an initiative of the chamber’s 501(c)3 arm, The Cooperstown Foundation, to help build the presence of public art in Cooperstown. (Photo by May-Britt Joyce)
Cooperstown Chamber Mural in the Works

Cooperstown Chamber
Mural in the Works

“Art has always been a big part of my life since I was a kid,” Artist Kelcy Dakota said. “I went to art school in NYC and it’s always been a natural part of my being.” Ms. Dakota is doing two commissioned pieces right now, one at The Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce and one at Mohican Flowers, both in Cooperstown. “These are the largest murals I’ve ever done!”
Music on Main with Tim & Friends

Music on Main
with Tim & Friends

If you take a stroll down Main Street in Cooperstown, and you happen to hear what sounds like live music coming from somewhere, be sure to make your way to Pioneer Park at the intersection of Main and Pioneer streets. Local musicians have been known to set up and play just for the fun of it.

On Monday, August 1, we caught Tim and Friends playing a few of your favorite tunes, including covers of the Beatles, R.E.M., Sting, Grateful Dead and others.

All concerts are free. Musicians who would like to perform are invited to notify the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce to be added to the schedule. Visit the chamber’s website at wearecooperstown.com to sign up, to learn when the next Music on Main is scheduled, and for other Otsego County events.

Cooperstown Chamber seeks mural support

Cooperstown Chamber seeks support for mural

Through its 501(c)(3) arm — The Cooperstown Foundation – The Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce is looking for business sponsors to support the creation of a mural by local artist Kelcy Kimmerer for the back of the Chamber’s 31 Chestnut Street cottage.

A letter from Chamber Executive Director Tara Burke tells donors the mural’s theme, “Why Cooperstown,” challenged artists to visually encapsulate why they think locals love to live in Cooperstown and why visitors return repeatedly to the region. Her letter says the Chamber’s Board chose Ms. Kimmerer’s design for its “thorough representation of our scenic beauty, baseball connection, rural and agricultural nature, ties to Native American history, prevalence of live music and opera, and the solidarity and diversity of our community.”

Hoping to have the mural completed as soon as possible this summer, the Chamber has set a fundraising goal of $2,500.

“This is a first step for the Foundation of what we hope will be several more projects to create more public art in Cooperstown,” the letter states.

Contact the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce at 31 Chestnut Street for more information.

HAPPENIN’ OTSEGO: Noon Networking with the Landmark Inn 04-26-22
HAPPENIN’ OTSEGO for TUESDAY, APRIL 26

Noon Networking with
the Landmark Inn

14-19eventspage

NETWORKING AT NOON – Noon – 2 p.m. Come out to meet business community members. Free to chamber members. Non-business or organization representatives, admission is $15/person. Bring a business card to be entered to win a Landmark Inn Gift Bag. Registration required. Landmark Inn, 64 Chestnut St., Cooperstown. Visit www.wearecooperstown.com/chamber-events/#!event/2022/4/19/networking-at-noon

Chamber Seeks HOF Nominations For 2021 Induction

Chamber Seeks HOF

Nominations For 2021 Induction

The Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce has announced that it is taking nominations for its 2021 Chamber Hall of Fame Award.

The award recognizes a business or organization that has been in operation for more than 10 years and is a pillar in the community, demonstrating excellence and impact beyond their own walls.

The Freeman’s Journal, which was founded in 1808, was an inaugural Hall of Fame member, inducted in 2017.

Other businesses who have been inducted into the Chamber’s Hall include: The Inn at Cooperstown, The Otesaga Resort Hotel, The Clark Sports Center, Church and Scott, Mohican Flowers, Hyde Hall, Fly Creek Cider Mill, Ommegang, the Cooperstown Graduate Program, The Farmers’ Museum, Spurbeck’s Grocery, Susquehanna SPCA, Cooperstown Bat Company, Cooperstown Fire Department, Cooperstown Farmers Market, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Pathfinder Village (Community for Down syndrome), Stagecoach Coffee in Cooperstown, and the Lake ’N Pines Motel.

Public vote will determine the 2021 recipient.

Submit nominees, with a brief explanation of why they should be in the Chamber’s Hall, to office@cooperstownchamber.org by Friday, May 7.

Here’s Evidence That The ARts Can Be Entrepreneurial, Too
EDITORIAL

Here’s Evidence That The Arts
Can Be Entrepreneurial, Too

When the going gets tough, the entrepreneurs get going.

At the first “Coffee With Coop,” Glimmerglass Festival’s Francesca Zambello outlines plans for the Andrew J. Martin-Weber Lawn Stage, which will ensure a robust 2021 season, despite COVID.

A corollary: The entrepreneurial spirit isn’t limited to entrepreneurs. (Per Merriam-Webster: “A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater-than-normal financial risks in order to do so.”)

So it was telling to watch the Cooperstown Chamber’s first “Coffee With Coop” panel discussion via Zoom last Friday, March 19. Kudos to the Chamber, and Executive Director Tara Burke, who was also an adept emcee.

It was a little disheartening to hear a recitation of all the Hall of Fame cancellations, although the scope of its undertakings – an estimated 80,000 fans were expected at Derek Jeter’s Induction – make them particularly fraught, not to mention dangerous, in Time of COVID.

And yet, the entrepreneurial spirit lived in presentations by, first, Fenimore President/CEO Paul D’Ambrosio and then, in Glimmerglass Opera General & Artistic Director Francesca Zambello.

Youth Has Its Day At Village Hall

Youth Has Its Day At Village Hall

Benton, Now Bergene, Trustees Under Age 30

By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

Bergene

Newly elected Village Trustee Hannah Bergene was already sold on Cooperstown.

But her first Induction Weekend working for the Chamber of Commerce – in 2015, the Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez year – she got sold all over again.

Baseball fans were jammed onto the front steps of Chamber headquarters in that yellow-and-white cottage at 31 Chestnut St., trying to catch a glimpse of their heroes passing by in the Legends of the Game parade.

“They were so in awe,” said Bergene. “They had waited all their lives to come here. We” – who live here – “take it for granted.”

She maintained that excitement for her five years at the Chamber, where she rose to marketing director under Executive Director Matt Hazzard, and for the past two years as social media director at Paperkite Creative, the Internet marketing firm.

Tuesday, March 16, Bergene and Trustee Cindy Falk, the deputy mayor, ran unopposed and received 139 and 136 votes respectively. Both are Democrats.

She ran, Bergene said in an interview Saturday, March 13, “because Mac asked me too” – Trustee Mac Benton, 23, who with County Democratic Chairman Clark Oliver, 22, have been recruiting young people here, in Oneonta and countywide to run for office.

The new trustee, her interest piqued by her work at the Chamber of Commerce, had considered elected office at some point, but “in my mind, it was years in the future.

“But why not? Why not get involved?” she asked herself. “The village needs young people to attract other young people here.”

HAZZARD: Bergene Supported Businesses
LETTER from MATT HAZZARD

Bergene Supported Businesses

To the Editor:

It is a true honor to write to you today and encourage residents to get out and support Hanna Bergene as trustee for the Village of Cooperstown.

I had the distinct privilege to work alongside Hanna during her tenure at the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce. For more than three years, Hanna worked diligently on behalf of both the businesses and residents of our community. On a daily basis her tireless work ethic and passion was on display, skills that she will bring with her to the trustee position.

In our next trustee, it is essential we have someone with a vision for the future of Cooperstown. Having been born and raised here, Hanna would bring her local knowledge and insight to the position. As a young professional, she has grown expediently, from her days at Stagecoach Coffee, to her role at the Chamber, she now serves as a key figure in marketing our county in her role at Paperkite Creative.

All of these experiences have positioned her as the right person at the right time to serve in this role.

While working together, we spoke frequently on the amazing opportunities and potential for our beautiful village. For key issues that have been discussed in this community for years, such as more affordable housing, creating a vibrant Main Street, and embracing younger generations, we need a Trustee that will go the extra mile. She has proven it time and time again with her volunteerism and involvement in local community groups.

For anyone that knows Hanna, her love for our community is evident, and I am confident that she will serve the entire community well.

MATT HAZZARD
Cooperstown

GREEN: Candidate Sees Bigger Picture
LETTER from SUSAN GREEN

Candidate Sees Bigger Picture

To the Editor:

It is with great enthusiasm that I write this letter of endorsement for Hanna Bergene, candidate for Trustee for the Village of Cooperstown.

I have known Hanna for over six years, first when I was a board member for the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce while she was the director of marketing and events. Hanna’s work ethic and dedication impressed me in all of our interactions; she was prepared and professional at all times. She was particularly successful in executing the Chamber’s many events, which required a lot of collaboration, creativity, and dedication.

For the past two years I have been fortunate enough to have Hanna join the team at Paperkite as our social media manager. She has added tremendous value to the agency with her creative approach and ability to see the bigger picture for our clients and agency to achieve results.

It is these qualities that I believe will make her an effective and successful trustee.

Having seen Hanna operate in these roles over the years, I know she will bring the same dedication, creativity and vision that the job requires.

Hanna Bergene for Trustee!

SUSAN GREEN
CEO, Paperkite

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21 Railroad Ave. Cooperstown, New York 13326 • (607) 547-6103