Upward Niagara Chamber of Commerce in search of new president

Jennifer Pauly is leaving to take on a new position

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

Jennifer Pauly is leaving the Upward Niagara Chamber of Commerce after 15 years of service to the River Region. She is starting a new job next month.

Pauly was named president in November 2010, replacing David P. Lacki. She began working with the Chamber of Commerce as marketing and events manager in October 2009 after serving as the marketing manager for Smokin Joes Trading Post, Snow Park Niagara and the Quality Hotel & Suites "At the Falls."

“Thank you for all of the well wishes I have received over the past few weeks,” Pauly said on Wednesday. “I will be moving into the role of executive director of the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center in Niagara Falls in December.

“Earlier this year, I had a feeling in my heart that it was time to find something else to lend my experience and talents toward. I wasn't sure what that would look like, and when the position became available at the NACC, I knew that my skillset and experience the Chamber has given me would make me an ideal candidate for the role. I am so thankful for all who have believed in me with this position.”

Last Friday, Upward Niagara Chamber of Commerce Board Chairman Matt Villnave informed members of Pauly’s departure “with mixed emotions.”

“Under Jennifer's leadership, Upward Niagara has grown significantly,” he wrote. “She has been a steadfast advocate for our member businesses and a driving force behind the vibrant events that have become hallmarks of our community.

“On behalf of the board of directors, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Jennifer and wish her every success in her new role.

“As we begin this transition, please know that our Chamber staff remains committed to meeting the needs of our members. You can count on us to deliver our year-end events, including Small Business Saturday and the Lewiston Christmas Walk and Lights Parade, with the same dedication and enthusiasm.”

In speaking with the Tribune/Sentinel this week, Villnave provided additional details:

The Upward Niagara Chamber of Commerce office, and River Region welcome center, at 895 Center St., Lewiston. (File photo)

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•On upcoming events, including holiday programming:

“I have a pretty good feeling about them, in terms of board volunteers and people stepping in that typically have not,” he said. “With respect to that, I think everything's going to go pretty smoothly. We're lucky to have (Director of Finance) Suzanne (Raby) still on board, who knows how these events go.”

•On finding a new president:

“I'm in the process of putting together a hiring committee, which will include a couple board members, but also some actual Chamber members,” Villnave said. “I don't want it to just be board-driven.”

He explained, “There will be continuity, and that's what I want to get out there. When you work with an organization for almost a decade (as Villnave has), you get a good vibe about what needs to be done and how to keep business operations moving forward.

“I think, later this week, we'll probably release a job description and do an official job posting. You never know how long that process will take. It could be very quick. It could take months.

“One thing for me, I don't feel any time crunch. I would rather have the right person than aggressively jump at just making sure the position’s filled.

“I am adamant that you have to find the right person.”

 He noted, “Jennifer being here for 15 years, it's unusual. So, I think we got very used to this idea that we had one person all this time and, as a board and just in general, as a chamber and community, everybody kind of knew Jennifer Pauly – and it's unusual, if you look at other chambers; you know, people come in and out.”

Villnave said, “I think we all know that the Chamber does a lot of different things. Most people look at the Chamber as the organization that does events. Those are the most public-facing things, and it kind of looks like a fun job. You get to do the Jazz Festival and the Harvest Festival. But the Chamber does a heck of a lot more than that the rest of the year. Taking care of our members, our businesses, advocacy – there's a lot that goes into being the Chamber president.

“It's a hard position to fill, and we're going to be not in a rush to fill it, but just looking to find the right person to take over.”

•On possibly bringing in more than one new person:

“As we go through the interview process, I would love to hear what candidates think we should have, in terms of a staffing situation, as we go forward,” Villnave said. “My role is to hire a president. The president's role is to maintain staffing in the office. I'm open to different ideas, in terms of staffing. I think these are conversations we need to have during the interview process.”

He explained, “It's an all-encompassing job that does all these different things, and you can never lose sight of the priority, which is taking care of members. But then we do all those events, and the events take a ton of time and effort. So, I could totally see a situation where maybe we have a president who’s like, ‘Yeah, we really need one person dedicated to events, so that I can work on advocacy and membership and all these other things.' Total possibility there.

“I think it’s whoever we get and what their personal feelings are on the subject.”

•More on Pauly:

“Jennifer has been great,” Villnave said. “It's pretty clear Jennifer has presided over a tremendous amount of growth from a membership standpoint. The events we’re involved in have grown immensely. She's done a fantastic job.

“It's not an easy job. We're a small community. I would say ‘small communities.’ It's Lewiston; Youngstown; Niagara Falls has a lot of members from us. Taking care of all these needs is a constant juggle.

“She also interfaced really well with elected leaders. Her mantra was always, ‘I can work with anybody.’ The reality of that is you don't always see eye to eye with everybody, but ‘I can work with everybody.’ And you just work to get things done.

“And you're always, always, always working on behalf of your member businesses. She always kept that in mind and did what she had to do to make sure that our businesses were represented properly in all kinds of situations: Could be festivals, could be legislative, could be any of the above.

“Jennifer always did a really good job of seeing around corners, and making sure that businesses knew, ‘If you do this, you’ve got to worry about this.’ She was, really – I hate to put it so simply – but she was always kind of like the mom of our business community, because she always kind of handled things that way. She saw what people needed before they knew they needed it.

“Super hard to replace, for sure. And do you replace somebody, necessarily? No. But, you know, as a chamber, we do have to move on. And I'm pretty confident we'll find somebody who is full of energy and ready to go.”

From left, Chamber of Commerce Board Chairman Matt Villnave was joined by staff members Suzanne Raby, President Jennifer Pauly and Executive Assistant Susie Reinhardt at the unveiling of the new Upward Niagara name and logo in 2023. (File photo)

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In addition to her role at the Chamber, Pauly directs the Niagara County Peach Festival Peach Queen scholarship program, and she is a musician and music instructor.

Under her tenure, the Harvest Festival grew to become the Harvest & Hops Festival; the Christmas Walk added an electric lights parade; and the Chamber took on production duties for the Northwest Jazz Festival. The organization also rebranded from the Niagara River Region to the Upward Niagara Chamber of Commerce.

“When I look back at what we have accomplished, sometimes I think to myself, ‘How did we do it?’ The answer is with an amazing board of directors who put their heart and soul into the businesses and organizations they represent,” Pauly said. “We have worked together to grow our impact, our program of work, create and expand events that result in positive economic change for the region, went through a rebrand and helped guide many through the uncertainty of COVID.

“I'll admit ... some of my ideas were GREAT (River Region gift certificates, 7-foot Christmas wreath, Small Business Day, podcast, Christmas Lights Parade, to name a few)! Other grand ideas left my staff shaking their heads saying, ‘ABSOLUTELY NO!’ 

“Throughout my time at the Chamber, each of my staff members and board chairs have taught me something I can take with me. Thank you, Suzanne, Susie, Linda, Christina, Linda, Marlo and Caitlin for serving with me at different times as staff members. Thank you, George, Rick, Kris, Chris and Matt for serving as board chairs of the Chamber.

“A special thank you to Suzanne – who will tell everyone she was annoyed at me the moment I stepped in the door! We have been able to create a working relationship that knows what the other is thinking at all times! We are complete opposites, but have had the best working relationship to get things done.

“Suzanne has been at the Chamber for 29 years! She will be the glue that helps transition the staff and board through the next phase of leadership.

“I hope to see you all at the NACC. I look forward to the possibilities there, and the new outlook and ideas your next president of the Chamber will bring!”