Dear Chamber Members,

Last week, while at Utica Coffee, I struck up a conversation with a group of travelers from Scotland making their way across the United States to attend a FIFA match in Boston. They had intentionally added Utica to their itinerary after learning about one of our community’s greatest assets—our historic brewery. Unfortunately, they arrived before it opened and thought they had missed their opportunity to experience it.

Rather than letting their visit end there, I made a few calls and connected them with a private tour. What started as a chance encounter became a conversation about everything happening in Greater Utica—from the investments transforming our region to the jobs being created, our affordable housing, and the opportunities that continue to make this community a place on the rise.

As I reflected on that experience, I thought about what if this were my child traveling abroad for the first time this summer and the kind of welcome I would hope someone would extend to him. It reminded me that each of us serves as an ambassador for our region. Every conversation, recommendation, and act of hospitality has the potential to shape how others see Greater Utica.

That philosophy is at the heart of our What’s Upstate initiative. As our region continues to attract investment, talent, and new opportunities, we all have a role to play in telling our story. The best advocates for Greater Utica are the people who live, work, and build businesses here every day.

It’s also why we created the What’s Upstate Internship Program. By connecting interns to our community and helping them experience everything our region has to offer, we’re building the next generation of talent and ambassadors for Upstate New York. On July 1, we’re excited to welcome interns from across the region to a special networking event at the Utica Blue Sox game, generously hosted by Indium Corporation. If your organization has interns this summer, I encourage you to invite them to join us.

Sometimes the biggest opportunities to showcase our community come from the most unexpected conversations. I hope you’ll seize them whenever they arise.

Be sure to check out the WKTV story for more on this memorable encounter.

Kari