The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its rebranding as “CHQ Chamber.”
The Chamber unveiled its new brand at a reception at Roger Tory Peterson Institute Thursday night.
Chamber President and CEO Dan Heitzenrater, in an interview with WRFA, said the county-wide Chamber was established in 2000 and has been using the same logos and branding for the last 24 years.
He said the rebranding process is a direct result of the strategic planning process the organization and Board of Directors did last year and reflects the organization’s new mission statement which is, “to build vital connections, provide professional resources, and to champion our local businesses in Chautauqua County,” “We are really leaning into the CHQ moniker that a lot of folks are using. And it works well for our area because Chautauqua is such a long word, it’s hard to spell for people not from our area, and for us at the Chamber well. When you have a name, Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, we’ve had a lot of confusion over the years as well from people who think we are part of county government or anything like that.”
Heitzenrater said the Chamber hired The Mr. Smith Agency in Buffalo, who has previously worked with national brands like Labatt Brewing Company, “We started talking with Rob there and the team at Mr. Smith and they were very interested in working with us as a Chamber as well, because I think it gave them the opportunity to work with another business in Chautauqua County but also somebody from a different sector. I got the sense that they hadn’t done many projects in the past with non-profits, certainly a Chamber specifically.”
Heitzenrater added that CHQ Chamber will be hosting award-winning writer and filmmaker Travis Carlson for a Business Builder Workshop from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Monday, July 22 on Branding Through Storytelling and Images.
Carlson is a Chautauqua County native and has worked for five years with the Buffalo Bills and Sabres as a cinematographer before co-founding the Pan-American Film Division in Buffalo.
This free Business Builder Workshop will be held in the Key Auditorium at the SUNY Fredonia Science Center. Advance registration is required through the Chamber’s web calendar at https://www.chqchamber.org/.
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