Friday, April 1, 2016

Amherst Chamber Leader Resigns

 Don Courtemanche

While Amherst is heading into the final stages of hiring a new Town Manager the Amherst Chamber of Commerce will also have to start looking for a new Executive Director, as Don Courtemanche has stepped down after only two years on the job.

The Board of Directors has appointed Jerry Guidera to serve as Acting Executive Director for the time being.  Mr Guidera helped found 'Amherst For All', the organization that collected 3,250 signatures to place a Charter question on the ballot, which was easily passed by voters on Tuesday.

In addition to the Chamber of Commerce promoting business we also have a tax surcharge supported Business Improvement District that specializes in downtown programming.

And the town recently hired Geoffrey Kravitz as Economic Development Director.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why did he leave? Where is he going? Had he done a good job?

Anonymous said...

Where is Don going?

Adam Sweet said...

Amherst is facing the same problem facing Northampton and other area towns: the internet is taking all retail business. Typically when businesses close, used clothing stores and "flea markets" take over (remember the Dead Mall?), but Amherst hasn't lowered its rents, if anything they are a little higher than Northampton. That means you have to have serious cash flow in order to make a commitment to a retail setting in Amherst, and most startup businesses do not have that luxury.

We'll see more eateries come and go and maybe a few more galleries and museums. But the age of retail in Amherst is over and no study by the town can turn that around.

Anonymous said...

I guess the new retailer that just signed a long-term lease for space in downtown Amherst didn't read your post.

Anonymous said...

Chamber is supported by businesses that buy in to the Chamber. BID is supported by landlords that pay in a portion. Economic Development Coordinator, LSSA, Amherst Together are paid for by taxpayers.

Larry Kelley said...

There's an extra surcharge for downtown businesses that is collected by the town, so close enough.

Anonymous said...

The surcharge is not on downtown businesses, it's on property owners only. The town bills the surcharge with the property tax bill. Some landlords decide to pass that on to tenants. I know Barry Roberts and some others that do not.

Larry Kelley said...

And if you buy a building from Barry you will have to pay the surcharge going forward whether you like it or not (kind of like a tax).

Anonymous said...

Right, but you are the property owner.

Larry Kelley said...

Right, and my original report said the BID was "tax supported" but now just to make you happy I changed it to "surcharge supported" but I never said specifically whether it was on the business or the property owner.

Max Hartshorne said...

Why did Don quit??

Anonymous said...

You did in your comment up above. Don't you read what you write?

Anonymous said...

Nothing but food can survive in Amherst, same for Northampton where anything other than food is suffering now and some barely making it. Two of many vacant spaces in NH are about to open as more restaurants, one a falafel place. And considering there are homeless every five feet in Northampton these days, it's not exactly family fun. Retail is dead everywhere, Amherst just had no space for any quality retail in the last 15 years and this is the result. Cookie place is coming to Amherst. I'll place the first wager that it lasts no more than six months.

Larry Kelley said...

Owning propert is a business.

Anonymous said...

Tell Zanna, Toy Box, Amherst Books, or Clays that you can't do retail in Amherst. They've done it for years. Zanna for four decades. You just have to know what you are doing.

Anonymous said...

Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce is more about the Area, namely Hadley, and less about Amherst. Pay to join, pay to attend events...in Hadley. Chamber event The Taste of Amherst features mostly restaurants from other towns who have to pay a high fee to attend.

Anonymous said...

Chamber has been losing members. That's why he's out.

Anonymous said...

As a member I'm glad they made the change. I haven't had a good reason to be a member lately. It's mostly been that they automatically bill you for another year unless you notify them.

Anonymous said...

The internet has not taken local business, locals decided to send their money far away. There is a big difference. The internet cannot make people obsess with big companies far away, consumers decide this knowing it means their children will move far away, but consider the tradeoff worth it because they get slightly cheaper stuff in trade.

Anonymous said...

The chamber is a marketing firm with poor results, not even worth reporting on. People think this is a public service. It is a franchise type business.

Anonymous said...

Too easy to shop online. You just can't dine out online.