Dear Colleagues:

Just before Thanksgiving, Chamber of Commerce Board members volunteered alongside Bill Batson to help the Nyack Soup Angels prepare and serve a restaurant-style meal, complete with tablecloths and candlelight, to nearly 100 Nyack residents who are facing difficult economic times.

What an amazing experience. Everyone had their story, everyone lent their flavor, everyone brought their color to the dinner — young, old, singles and families. All shared the meal together, all were united in dignity, and all were supported by a homegrown charity that has served hundreds of meals to the Nyack community every week for well over a decade.

That’s Nyack in a nutshell: A panoply of backgrounds, interests, and points of view — brought together by mutual respect, love for this village, and dedication to the common good.

The business community and the Chamber have represented and celebrated Nyack’s unique tapestry for over 60 years. The Chamber was formed in 1955 to help businesses take advantage of the economic benefits brought by the newly built Tappan Zee Bridge. Now, 60 years later, we welcome the opening of a new bridge — and welcome the new visitors and residents who will become part of this place we call “Art and Soul on the Hudson.”

This year was a pinnacle year for the Chamber. We celebrated 60 years of service with a gala anniversary event in April. That was followed by the SpringFest street fair, which attracted more vendors and visitors than ever before. Then came the village’s Earth Day celebration, the second annual Motorcycle Expo, Classic Car Night with a Bat-Mobile signed by Adam West, the SeptemberFest street fair, and the 30th annual Halloween Parade — where record-breaking crowds enjoyed more floats and costumes than ever before, plus a pre-parade trick-or -treat trail that brought children and their parents into more than 60 downtown businesses.

Nyack’s Halloween celebration is now ranked by travelchannel.com as 4th best in the nation.

We’ve wrapped up the year with the Holiday Lights tree lighting celebration and Indoor Gift Fair. All the while, our year-round Farmers’ Market provides villagers and visitors with fresh, locally grown produce, craft whiskey, fresh meat, poultry and eggs, artisanal coffees and teas, fresh bread and baked goods, music and fun for the kids —and much more.

Beyond our annual events and activities, the Chamber also manages and funds (with ACADA) a tourism organization known as Visit Nyack. Visit Nyack runs a year-long, multi -media marketing campaign, complete with radio, Internet, train signs, and social media —all designed to invite people to come to Nyack. This year, our joint campaigns attracted thousands of visitors to the village and garnered over 10 million impressions on our social media outlets.

Most important, 29 regional and local businesses linked their brands with ours to support Chamber events and our year-round Farmers’ Market. So if you see new faces in Nyack — it’s likely due to our ongoing promotional programs, but also to the amazing support we receive from the businesses who so generously donate time and resources to our mission.

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Nyack Chamber of Commerce PO Box 677 Nyack, NY 10960 | (845) 353-2221 | www.nyackchamber.org

Nyack Chamber of Commerce
2017 Year-End Message, Page 2.

As 2017 draws to a close, I get tired just thinking about the sheer quantity of work accomplished by our entirely volunteer Board, event volunteers and paid staff. The question that hangs out there is: Why. Why does the Chamber work so hard to produce compelling events and marketing programs for Nyack?

The answer may vary depending on whom you ask, but the common thread is that Nyack is a special place, much more than just a zip code. It’s a home, a place where memories are made. And the more people we invite to share in our community, the more vibrant, colorful and exciting our downtown, our businesses, and our streets will be for all of us.

As we look forward to another 60 years of service, the Nyack Chamber wishes you a very healthy and warm holiday season and prosperity for you and your family in 2018.

Thank you, and all the best,

Scott Baird, President
For the Nyack Chamber Board and staff

BOARD:
Roger Cohen, President Elect Jack Dunnigan, Director
David Collins, Treasurer Tom Lynch, Director
Paul Curley, Counsel and Secretary Joe Ondrek, Director
Nancy Phillips, Vice President Kristin Ozanian, Director
Sean Spicer, Director
STAFF:
Bill Batson, Marketing Manager
Mark Mangan, Event Manager
Pam Moskowitz, Operations Manager, Farmers’ Market Director

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Nyack Chamber of Commerce PO Box 677 Nyack, NY 10960 | (845) 353-2221 | www.nyackchamber.org