No one has been a stronger voice for the equitable distribution of vaccines, and no one has been a stronger advocate for our business community than our devoted State Representative for the 3rd Hampshire District, Mindy Domb.

She secured $55,000 for Restaurant Relief support that has translated into a three-month winter Dinner Delights program that supported area restaurants while providing meals for our neighbors in need. It ends at the end of this month. Thank you Mindy. And she just announced that January through March, there have been nine rounds of COVID-19 relief grants administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) to small businesses across the Commonwealth. In the 3rd Hampshire District, 66 small businesses have received a total of $2.7 million, many of whom were helped by the Chamber and BID with their applications. Join us next Friday for check-in and hear directly from Mindy, how we have worked together and what we see for our 3rd Hampshire District coming up. Again, join us and register here.

The violence witnessed this week perpetrated against our Asian community, has reminded us that our equity work is never more important. Firstly, we at the Chamber outright denounce such actions or any act of racism, and especially those that occur in the workplace or toward our business owners. We especially want to recognize our Asian-owned businesses who have stepped up in enormous ways to help during the pandemic with our Relief & Resiliency Efforts and our Dinner Delights efforts.

This community has struggled in enormous ways to keep its businesses afloat. Like any small business during this pandemic, the struggle to remain open, and retain employees while doing what they love is what every small business has dealt with but our Asian businesses have long worried about some of the anti-Asian sentiment brewing as a result of outright rhetoric against them. We must continue the work to disrupt racism and violence against women. Most importantly, that we continue to share a message that in our community ALL ARE WELCOME and #HATEHASNOBIZHERE.

Our own Equity & Inclusion Task Force will be immersed in a deep dive of team building and reflection this coming month to emerge with new programming that we believe will come from a place of shared understanding. And we will be powerfully led by Angelica Castro of Co-Creator of Castro Collaborative and Molly Keehn Co-Creator of CoJourn. We must build work that lasts.

Speaking of fabulous women, did you see the new members this week? Three of which are small businesses led by women. Let's show them our support and welcome to our Chamber community!

Also, there are two other incredible women to acknowledge. Firstly, congratulations to Kim Alli of Greenfield Savings Bank for her new leadership role as Vice President and Commercial Loan Officer. You have and continue to be a true champion for our Chamber and our business community and the community at large. Glad your efforts are recognized.

And to Regina Curtis on her retirement from Greenfield Community College, congratulations! Regina and I connected when she sat on the board of the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts, who is now a new strategic partner here at the Chamber, almost coming full circle that we continue that legacy of uplifting others.

Regina has also been an incredible part of our Chamber community and I was so delighted that we could continue our friendship through this shared work. Regina your work as a connector and collaborator will be greatly missed and we wish you the very best in the next chapter. You blazed a mighty trail. Here's a way you can honor her 40 years at advancing the work of our gem, Greenfield Community College.

Here's to breaking down barriers, working to uplift, and to creating opportunities for access across our workforce and in our communities.

Claudia Pazmany, Executive Director

One of the many things we at the Chamber have missed during this time, is getting to meet you in person and overhear the resonance in the packed room at an After 5 as everyone is networking, connecting, introducing themselves, and giving their pitch! So, we want to hear from you! Tell us your story in a 30-second to 3-minute video, send it to or share it with John Page and we will share across our social media channels and right here in the weekly "In Your Corner" Newsletter. Let's make this go viral!

Dan has been an enormous advocate on education, especially meal access for all and a huge advocate in the rebuilding of our infrastructure and expansion of the rail knowing his district in Hadley and South Hadley, sits at the heart of what connects us to the rest of Western Mass. Let's talk about his views on what recovery will look like and what you want to hear from him.

Are You Hiring? Post To Our Job Board

Members can log in and post jobs through the member information center (MIC) - here's how - or just send your job posting to John Page at john@amherstarea.com.

The Chamber is here to support you and help navigate permitting for outdoor dining specifically, but also outdoor retail and personal care services in our communities. If you would like assistance with planning your outdoor dining plans for this Spring/Summer contact John Page at john@amherstarea.com.

Building our capacity we have taken on a talented consultant, Lisa Totz of LT Consulting, to help grow our Amherst Area Gift Card program.

Over $17K worth of Amherst Area Gift Cards have been purchased and those dollars stay in our community. For the Cooley Cash Gift Card, roughly $80K remains to be spent in the community. Your business can benefit by accepting these unique cards! Lisa will be reaching out to check-in and ensure the utmost efficiency for you and your team. She will be contacting you through a trusted email with us at: giftcards@amherstarea.com to get you connected.

In addition, we are proud to officially announce two student interns, Shaunak Shah is returning to work with us, and we are welcoming Grace Tredo to our team! Learn more about Lisa, Shaunak, and Grace here.

Elbow Grease is a family-run commercial and residential cleaning company offering many services, including window washing, scheduled cleanings for businesses, deep cleans, power washing, steam cleaning, and more.

The Story of Auntie Elsie's from Founder and Owner Elsie Adoboe: To me home is in the kitchen, and in there, there are very simple rules: to cook with love, to cook passionately, and to never compromise quality. I spent my childhood in the kitchen watching my grandmother cook with these simple rules. Since then my fondest memories are pleasing the palates of family and friends with my cooking. About 14 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter, I had cravings for oatmeal cookies, and although I’ve always loved the flavor of oatmeal cookies, I found them a bit heavy. This led me to develop the perfect tasty treat, the Classic Oatmeal Crisps!"

As the years went on and I kept making them, everybody wanted more and more, especially kid. The first thing they would say when walking in the door would be “Auntie Elsie, did you make cookies today?” Their enthusiasm confirmed I had something special. So, here we are, several thousand batches baked, two additional cookie flavors, with my now 13 year old daughter (best helper ever), and we are in business. It’s a Labor of Love!

Our commitment is to produce premium products made from All-Natural and Organic ingredients. Our Oatmeal Crisps are handcrafted in small batches, using only the finest ingredients and never with any preservatives, artificial colors or flavors. Auntie Elsie’s Oatmeal Crisps are thin oatmeal treats with a very delicate crisp.

Nestled conveniently in southwest Amherst on Northampton Road, Aspen Heights is located across from grocery, shopping, restaurants and more. Whether you’re coming home from a busy day in the office or being on-campus, Aspen Heights provides modern luxuries like our 24-hour fitness center and meeting spaces. They’re building you a home unlike anything else because it’s time to love where you live!

Gerry Insurance & Financial Services serves the Hampshire County educator community in insurance and financial solutions. Retirement, home, auto, short-term disability, cancer, hospital, accident and life insurances. Meet Melissa and learn more here.

Founder and CEO Suzanne Sheldon shares the company's story: The concept behind Art of Intimates, AoI, originated in 2018 when I had the creative idea to capture the artistic beauty of both lingerie and the female physique. Over the years, my vision has expanded beyond image and has evolved into an online boutique. AoI provides comfortable, quality, fashion-forward lingerie to consumers around the world, while only offering brands with the same vision and mission. We do not discriminate against shape, age, nor race and is a LGBTQIA friendly place to shop. The store carries a variety of high quality lingerie brands which allow the individual the freedom to express their personality and accentuate their beauty. Now let’s start shopping and know I am here to answer any questions. 

In honor of Regina’s 40-year path, beginning in 1981, when she started at GCC part-time at night while working full time... to today as she prepares to retire as Executive Director of the GCC Foundation, GCC has set an exciting goal to raise $40,000 for the Regina Curtis Student Success Fund.

Together, we can help make sure GCC students succeed today while we honor Regina’s 40-year GCC journey. Please click here to make a gift today:

The Greenfield Recorder: Tim Grader and Shardool Parmar are the newest Greenfield Community College (GCC) Foundation board members.

“I am honored to serve with such a talented and dedicated group of volunteer leaders,” commented Mitch Anthony, president of the GCC Foundation’s board of directors. “Especially now, during the pandemic, our work to raise funds and build community relationships that advance the mission of the college has never been so important.”

Greenfield Savings Bank (GSB) announced the promotions of Kim Alli to vice president and commercial loan officer, Andrew Bresciano to first vice president and commercial loan officer, Tina Flagg to assistant vice president and commercial loan administration manager, Panna Royal to vice president and senior network administrator, and Aleta Smith to commercial lending assistant.

Kim Alli has been promoted to Vice President and Commercial Loan Officer. As a Commercial Loan Officer, Kim is responsible for meeting with local business customers to determine their financial needs and helping them with a wide range of commercial loan products and services. Kim joined Greenfield Savings Bank in May 2017 as Business Development Officer and was promoted to Assistant Vice President in 2019.

This is the time to join CISA’s flagship program and become a Local Hero member! Farmers, restaurants, retailers, specialty producers, and institutions: The 2021 enrollment period is now open for new and returning members. Membership is offered on a sliding scale. Boost your business, reach new customers, and access all the resources CISA has to offer.

Chamber Champions engage throughout the year deepening their relationship with the Chamber and its business community. If you are interested in learning more about the Chamber Champion Program contact Claudia at claudia@amherstarea.com

Strategic Partners are organizations with whom your Amherst Area Chamber have agreements that allow us to promote one another while gaining value for you, our Members.