Tompkins Chamber & Visit Ithaca

🌟 Curious about becoming a New York State Certified Minority or Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE)? Join us for an interactive conversation all about MWBE certification — what it is, how to get started, and how it can benefit your business. 📋 This session will cover: ✅ The application process ✅ Eligibility requirements ✅ Benefits of certification 💬 Plenty of time for Q&A 📍 Location: Tompkins Chamber 124 Brindley Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 This venue is ADA accessible 📅 Monday, October 27th 🕛 12:00 noon – 1:30 PM 💵 $10 for members | $15 for non-members 🥗 Bring your lunch and join the conversation! Presented by: ✨ Gladys Brangman, Founder & CEO, Business Leaders of Colors (BLOC) Gladys brings over 40 years of administrative and public service experience — from the Tompkins County Office for the Aging and NYSERDA to Cornell University and now BLOC. Her work focuses on supporting entrepreneurs, consultants, and social justice leaders, and building a cooperative space for commerce that serves the underserved business community. After becoming MWBE certified and completing NYS training, Gladys is passionate about helping others through the certification process. She’s also the most recent recipient of the Tompkins Chamber Noel Desch Person of the Year Award 🏆 Register Today: https://lnkd.in/e3c_YCZr

📢 There is still time to register for the GARE Local Meeting set for October 20-22 at the Ithaca Downtown Conference Center ✊Theme: From Protest to Policy: People’s Power, Voice, and Vision 🎟️ Details + Registration: https://lnkd.in/ehmQUh9b 🔥 Don’t miss the opening night mixer, dynamic speakers, community brilliance, and all the equity-centered energy you didn’t know you needed! High-Level Convening Themes: 📣A Regional History of Colonialism, Slavery, and Resistance 📣Leading with Community: How Local Government Can Learn from and Lean Into Community-Based Strategies 📣Advancing Racial Equity, No Matter How: Strategies and Insights for Continuing the Work Speaker Spotlight! 👀 Check out the attached image for a sneak peek!!  Breakout Sessions Include: 🎥 Film Screening and Discussion: “¿Are We There Yet?” 🛡 Safeguarding Immigrant Communities & Proactive Immigrant Inclusion 🏡 Redlining, the Racial Wealth Gap, and Housing Justice 🔓 Role of Reentry in Advancing Public Safety 📊 Metrics and Accountability for Public Safety 💵 Reparations and Transformative Economic Policy Agendas 🌱 Environmental Justice: Navigating Rollbacks and Systemic Harms Local vendors and sponsors also are invited to be part of this regional event. Vendor Applications are due October 10th. These are FREE and no cost to you! Do you offer books, art, wellness products, or cultural goods? 👉 Complete the Vendor Interest Form: https://lnkd.in/eZ_8_vXq Would your organization like to support the GARE Convening? 👉 Sponsorship opportunities are available. Please reach out to Cholmes@tompkins-co.org.

⛳ Deadline Alert! Registration closes Friday, September 5 ⛳ Don’t miss your chance to be part of one of the Tompkins Chamber’s signature events — the Annual Golf Tournament. 📍 Trumansburg Golf Club, 23 Halsey St, Trumansburg 📅 Tuesday, September 16 | 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM 🎉 Captain’s Crew / Best Ball format – fun for all skill levels Your registration includes: ✔ Lunch, snacks, and beverages ✔ A delicious chicken BBQ dinner ✔ A full day of networking, golf, and community connection Why play? 🏌️ Build relationships with local business leaders 🏌️ Showcase your business in a fun, relaxed setting 🏌️ Support the Chamber’s mission to foster a vibrant, inclusive community Spots are limited and filling fast — secure yours by this Friday, September 5! 👉 https://lnkd.in/e7E7XzFE Let’s hit the fairway together!

With a wide range of businesses -- offering a diversity of cuisine, independent and locally owned shops, and unique places to explore -- it's little wonder that Ithaca and Tompkins County were picked for CNN Travel's list of America's Best Towns to Visit 2025. Because of our vibrant and special business community that provides so many of the visitor-focused attractions, we have been recognized as the No. 1 town on the list, too! #VisitIthaca #AmericasBestTowns #localeconomy

📢 Lunch & L.E.A.R.N. Alert! Join us for a practical and insightful seminar hosted by Tompkins Chamber and presented by Trade Design Build: 🔍 Project Planning: The Critical Role of Feasibility Studies 🗓️ Monday, June 30 | 12:00 – 1:30 PM 📍 Tompkins Chamber, 124 Brindley St, Ithaca, NY (ADA accessible) 💻 Virtual Zoom option available 🥗 Lunch is included for in-person attendees! Whether you’re planning a new facility or improving an existing space, understanding feasibility studies is essential for avoiding costly missteps and aligning vision with reality. This session will walk you through: ✅ Defining the problem ✅ Setting goals and understanding site conditions ✅ Zoning/code compliance ✅ Budgeting and timelines ✅ Exploring scenario planning ✅ Real-world case studies ✅ What to expect in a feasibility report 🎤 Presented by: • Chris Willett, Partner & Project Manager, Trade Design Build • Michael Barnoski, Partner & Architect, Trade Design Build (Trade Design Build is a NY-based integrated architecture and construction firm specializing in design-driven, high-quality projects.) 🕛 12:00–1:00 PM – Presentation 🗣️ 1:00–1:30 PM – Q&A 💲 $10 Members | $15 Non-members 🔗 Register Now Have questions? Contact Aleshia Akers at 📧 aakers@tompkinschamber.org Let’s build smarter—together. 🏗️✨ https://lnkd.in/eEigdceZ

🎉 LAST CHANCE! 🎉 Don't miss the 2025 Tompkins Chamber Annual Celebration & Awards Ceremony — a night of community, celebration, and connection! ⏰ Ticket sales close Monday, June 16 at 5PM — grab yours now: 🔗 Get Tickets Join us for: ✨ Cocktail reception & passed hors d'oeuvres 📸 Jyl’s Photo Booth 🎶 Live music by SingTrece 🍽️ Seated dinner 🎤 Remarks from new Chamber President & CEO, Peggy Coleman 🏆 Annual awards with videos by Jeremiah Craig Media Celebrating local excellence: • Not-For-Profit of the Year: Love Living at Home • Entrepreneur of the Year: Trade Design Build • Distinguished Business of the Year: Warren Real Estate • Noel Desch Key Person: Gladys Brangman, Business Leaders of Colors • Howard Cogan Tourism Award: Rick Manning, Friends of Stewart Park 🎊 Presented by: Tompkins Community Bank, Cayuga Health & Timeless Hearing 👏 With support from: Sciarabba Walker, Hilton Garden Inn, CFCU, WSKG & Ithaca Downtown Conference Center We can't wait to celebrate with you! https://lnkd.in/eSVQ8Tn9

🎉 New to Tompkins County—or just looking to reconnect? Join us for Welcome Home Wednesday at the YMCA of Ithaca & Tompkins County! 🗓️ When: Wednesday, June 4, 5:30-7pm 📍 Where: YMCA of Ithaca &Tompkins County, 50 Graham Rd W Ithaca This free, family-friendly event is your chance to: ✅ Meet neighbors & make connections ✅ Explore local businesses & volunteer opportunities ✅ Take part in fun activities (think: family swim, rec sports, and more!) ✅ Tour the Y’s upgraded facilities — plus enter to win a 3-month membership! Whether you're brand new, recently returned, or a longtime local excited to welcome others—you belong here. 🔗 Pre-register now: https://lnkd.in/eeZFHiyN Welcome Home Wednesday is presented by Visions Federal Credit Union, with support from Cayuga Health System and Ithaca College. We can’t wait to say, “Welcome Home!” 🏡💙 #WelcomeHomeWednesday #TompkinsCounty #IthacaYMCA https://lnkd.in/e-2zE5yu

Last week, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center hosted our Business After Hours at their amazing new Rec Center. This fantastic space gives Ithaca's teens a place to go -- and grow -- and the teen-led tours of the space really highlighted their ownership of the building. Thank you, GIAC, for the important work you do in the community, and for working to meet the needs of the city's youth. We also appreciated the opportunity to celebrate the Community Foundation of Tompkins County's 25 years of fulfilling its mission, bringing Tompkins County residents and resources together to build a more equitable community. Thank you for inspiring a philanthropic mindset and creating a means for supporting the needed programs and services for the people who live here. #TompkinsCounty #community

🎉Come celebrate organizations and people that support and shape Tompkins County at our 2025 Annual Celebration & Award Ceremony from 5:30-9:30pm on Wednesday, June 18. We are excited to host you at the Ithaca Downtown Conference Center, as we celebrate this year's award winners: 🏆Not-For Profit of the Year: LOVE LIVING AT HOME INC 🏆Entrepreneur of the Year: Trade Design Build 🏆Distinguished Business of the Year: Warren Real Estate 🏆Noel Desch Key Person of the Year: Gladys Brangman, founder of Business Leaders of Colors 🏆Howard Cogan Tourism Award: Rick Manning, co-founder and emeritus executive director of Friends of Stewart Park The event will include a cocktail reception, passed hors d'oeuvres, Jyl's Photo Booth, a seated dinner, music by SingTrece, remarks from new Tompkins Chamber President & CEO Peggy Coleman, and our annual awards featuring videos produced by Jeremiah Craig Media. This celebration is open to everyone. Earlybird tickets are now available: $80 for Tompkins Chamber members, $95 for non-members, through 5:30pm May 31. Starting June 1, tickets will be $85 for members and $100 for non-members, until they are sold out. For more information and tickets, visit https://lnkd.in/eSVQ8Tn9 The 2025 Tompkins Chamber Annual Celebration and Award Ceremony is presented by Tompkins Community Bank, Cayuga Health, A Member of Centralus Health, and Timeless Hearing , with support from Sciarabba Walker & Co., LLP, Hilton Garden Inn and Ithaca Downtown Conference Center. Some sponsorships remain available, including table sponsorships. Please contact Event & Program Coordinator Aleshia Akers at aakers@tompkinschamber.org to discuss opportunities. #TompkinsCounty #community

Small business owners not only make a living for themselves, but they also make their communities amazing places to live and work. Support your local small businesses during National #SmallBusinessWeek and every day! Learn more: www.sba.gov/nsbw #TompkinsChamber #SupportLocal