Mohawk Valley Chamber names Minnesotan president

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Jul 26, 2002 by Dickinson, Casey J

UTICA - James Roche will take the helm at the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce next month, replacing departing president Robert Fowler.

Roche, a Minneapolis native, bested 29 other candidates from across the nation to become the new chamber president. He previously worked as director of corporate communications for Thomson Legal and Regulatory in St. Paul, Minn. Roche and his wife Josee Dupont met with the press and members of the business community July 22 at the Hotel Utica.

Before taking any action as president, Roche plans to meet with the chamber's board to plan a strategy. He has taken only a few trips to Utica before being named president and readily admits he has some studying to do before getting to work.

"It would be a bit arrogant of me to come in and tell the experts what to do," says Roche.

Following his strategic planning sessions with the board, Roche plans to identify and prioritize issues where the chamber can have the greatest effect, he adds.

Roche has no experience as a chamber executive but ha's worked with economic development organizations in Minnesota, says Fowler. From 1993 to 2000, Roche worked for Advantage Minnesota, an economic development organization. The job involved attracting new companies to the state and working with several communities. The job description, says Fowler, helped highlight Roche's resume because it demonstrated the ability to work with both large and small communities.

"He worked with places with a population of 200 on up to big cities," says Fowler, "a mix very similar to what we have in the Mohawk Valley."

Roche isn't the first Minnesota resident to head a chamber in Central New York. David Cordeau, president of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, worked with Roche in Duluth, where Cordeau served as president prior to heading up the Syracuse Chamber.

"Jim is a very capable guy," says Cordeau, "he has a great head for economic development."

The entire Mohawk Valley will be included in Roche's responsibilities, says Paul Drejza, chamber board chairman. The chamber's mission will reflect its name, he adds.

Roche also plans to work with other organizations in the region, including other members of the Chamber Alliance of the Mohawk Valley.

"Businesspeople all have the same objectives," says Roche.

Chamber board member Raymond Durso says he's very happy with the search committee's choice and looks forward to working on local issues such as job retention and creation.

"He brings all the qualities you'd like to have in a chamber executive," says Cordeau.

Roche stressed his duty to the 1,000 chamber members saying it was easier to keep businesses than to attract new ones.

The weather played no role in the new president's choice of employers. Mohawk Valley's winters will likely be no shock to Minnesotan Roche or to Dupont, a native of Quebec City. Dupont says she's looking forward to visiting her family in Quebec without having to take two plane trips. During their latest trip to Utica the couple spent time looking for a new home.

The chamber's search committee received applications from local residents as well as from as far away as Florida and California, says Fowler.

"We had a national search and we got national results," he adds.

The committee reduced the field to six and then to three finalists. The search began in March, after Fowler sold his Utica Blue Sox to Ripken Baseball for a reported $3 million.

Fowler and Dr. Peter Cayan, former president of SUNY Institute of Technology, co-chaired the 12-member search panel. Cayan also headed the 1995 search team that chose Fowler for the position. The 2002 committee included Drejza, president of Leatherstocking Abstract and Title Corp.; William Guglielmo, president of the Rome Area Chamber of Commerce; Kathy Kellogg, president of the Chamber Alliance of the Mohawk Valley; Nicholas Matt, chairman of Mohawk Valley EDGE; Louis Tehan, executive director of the United Cerebral Palsy Association, Morris Pearson, executive director of Cosmopolitan Center, Inc.; Cathy Newell, president of Mohawk Ltd.; Joseph Carucci, president of Prudential Carucci Real Estate; and Michael Austin, vice president of corporate communications for Utica National Insurance Group.