S4,E4 - Sara Broadwell

This is Talk CNY, a semi-monthly podcast by CenterState CEO. We're an independent nonprofit committed to creating inclusive, equitable, and sustainable economic growth in Central New York. Join us as we meet the people and explore the projects driving the regional economy forward. This is Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank. I'm Katie Zilcosky, Director of Communications at CenterState CEO and your host for Talk CNY. The Greater Oswego Fulton Chamber of Commerce or the GOFCC is celebrating its 110th anniversary this year and its 10th anniversary of integration with CenterState CEO. We'll be taking time to celebrate this milestone occasion as well as reflect on the accomplishments of the year at the upcoming annual meeting. Joining me on this episode of Talk NY presented by NBT Bank is the GOFCC Executive Director Sara Broadwell, to discuss all that we will be talking about at the annual meeting and how you can be a part of it.

Well, Sara, thank you so much for being here today.

Thank you so much for having me, Katie.

So the GOFCC is celebrating 110 years in the Oswego community coming up this year, and we'll be celebrating at the annual meeting shortly. Just to start, can you reflect a little bit on what it means to be a part of an organization with such a legacy in the Oswego community?

I think that it is definitely not lost on me, how important it is to have an organization have such longevity in your community and in correspondence with CenterState CEO. So 10 years of partnership with CenterState is really impactful. 110 years as a Chamber of Commerce is very important to the community that we serve, and something that I don't take lightly and we're extremely proud of.

Now that 10 years with CenterState, CEO, how has that been able to amplify the work in Oswego County?

In every way. Honestly, if you think about the front end of a business, we don't have that anymore. So Taylor, myself, Christine, we've been able to leverage every single part of the relationship with CenterState in the best way. Our accounting, our economic development plans, every way that we interact with CenterState better builds the capacity that we have on the front end to serve us, Oswego County and the region through the GOFCC. In the best way, it's been amazing, and also I think it's lost on people why we're able to do what we're able to do. So if you don't see the lights on at the Chamber of Commerce, lots of times it's because we're tackling bigger feats and it's important, it's impactful, and the relationship that we have has been steadfast and the best thing that has happened to the Chamber of Commerce has been our relationship with CenterState CEO, so that we are able to accomplish all of the great things that we are right now.

You mentioned bigger feats, and I know that you have been very busy up in Oswego County preparing just as we are in Onondaga for Micron's arrival and all the other growth in our region. Can you talk a little bit about some of the exciting things that you have going on right now, and maybe some of the things that you never thought that a Chamber of Commerce would be involved in, over the course of 110 years?

Oswego County has been poised and ready for the Micron moment, but I think the biggest impactful thing to say is that our biggest excitement right now is to support the cornerstones of the community that we already have. We want to make sure that our biggest employers, suppliers, manufacturers are being supported through us and by our work through workforce development, economic development, 10 million ways, and then we are meeting the Micron moment because we are steadfast and ready for it. When I think about things that I never thought would be a part of the Chamber of Commerce, but I'm so grateful for, it's the day-to-day that I'm living right now. We have such a high note on what we need to retain and to build supply honestly of workforce. So one of the things that I'm really excited about is the workforce development. I've been able to be a part of the Oswego County Childcare Investment Fund is one way that we've been able to get ahead of the Micron moment. Another thing that I'm really excited and proud of is a Trade Signing Day that we are going to be hosting in May.

Yeah, tell me more about that. I've heard about this, but I'm really excited about it.

Yeah, we're so excited. Honestly, the thing that we hear the most from our manufacturers and just in general from our workforce development, from P-TECH from CiTi BOCES is we need to ready and study our young workforce. And it just kind of came naturally, honestly, in all the conversations that we're having. It's always been something I've wanted to focus on. This year is a little bit special because I have a senior in high school that's graduating, so I feel like super hyper-focused on it, but I've always been, there's a need for us to make kids excited. If you're not ready or not wanting to, for whatever reason go into higher education, there's another Pathways to Apprenticeship. Our organization at CenterState has a million different Pathways to Apprenticeship and I'm so excited to bring it here to Oswego County. We're going to in May celebrate just kids in the entire county going to develop their careers and take a different pathway and track down workforce development and really excited about it.

That is really great, and it's so great to see the community coming together. I know Oswego is a really tight-knit community up there. You guys are together for the good times and some of the more challenging times, too. I know this year has been a lot for the Oswego community with fires at Novelis, but really, the community did show up. Can you share a little bit about how the community has come together to support other people in the time of need?

Sure. So I think that this is a twofold question in different ways. Our community showed up for Novelis because they've always showed up for us. So on a higher level, of course there was some government affairs, and it's a national supply chain that we are mitigating with and speaking to and it is so impactful. But on a human level, it's our neighbors. It's our friends. It's people that we really respect, and we want to do well by them. I think the level of assistance came from the highest level, like I said, government affairs and any way that we can help with that. But to the weekends, I mean we had a Novelis emergency group, I forget what it was called, but it was basically just everyone ready and steadying themselves of what they needed next. And sometimes it was lights. One of the funniest things was they really needed to work 24 hours a day, and they needed really big lights, and they couldn't find them.

Somehow between procurement and myself, I got a phone call, and one of the best connections in my career that I've made was to Constellation from Novelis, just between friends, please help them out. And they could not wait to send these lights because they were able to assist Novelis and keep them running 24 hours a day, and to get work done. But, also, we waited in line to serve food to them. Everybody in our county just wanted to do right by them. And there's a human level to it. Like I said, it's corporate, but it's also human. It's people who generally are C-suite people in suits coming out to the fence to get sandwiches from the as wego sub shop from Taylor and I, from Ben Sio from CenterState because we wanted them to be fed and to know that we were thinking of them. There were a million calls at 3:00 AM and 5:00 AM and late night calls that Rob and Ben and all of us, Jessica were a part of. But the point being was we all had the same common goal to keep everybody employed, to keep everybody steadfast and ready towards the bigger goal of getting back online. And when the second fire happened, we did it again.

I mean, it's absolutely amazing the effort and the generosity that the entire Oswego community had given, and the GOFCC specifically had given, in that moment of need. Do you think that's emblematic of the Oswego business community as a whole, that coming together, friend helping friend, neighbor helping neighbor?

I think that is the epitome of who we are. Honestly, it's absolutely a hundred percent who we are. When I think of the Novelis fires, I almost think of it like someone's sick, and you think of a benefit and everybody rallies around them, right? Every business and every person rallies around something so important. And I think that's the beauty of this community, regardless of where you fall in the ecosystem, everybody here is really rooting for the better good. We all want everybody to do well, to succeed, to be better. We're all working towards a common goal. And I think that that's super impactful. And when you have a stage and when you have a plate that you can fill with that and a table to fill with that, it is super impactful. And I think that that's why we're such a special place moving towards such great things.

Well, Sara, we have more to talk about coming up, but first, we're going to take a very quick break for a word from our presenting sponsor, NBT Bank.

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Welcome back. This is to NY presented by NBT Bank. I'm Katie Zilcosky, Director of Communications at CenterState CEO, and your host for Talk CNY. On this episode, I am joined by the Executive Director of the GOFCC Sara Broadwell. We are here to talk about all the things going on up in Oswego ahead of its annual meeting. Sara, thanks for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

So as we mentioned, the annual meeting is just around the corner here. We are celebrating 110 years in the community, 10 years with CenterState CEO, and all of the businesses that are making an impact on the region. But on top of all that, we've also got a new format this year. Can you talk to me a little bit about the format, why the change, what people can be excited about?

Absolutely. We are so excited because we are celebrating such a monumental event, 110 years of the Chamber of Commerce, 10 years with CenterState CEO, and ready for a change. We want to make sure that our events are reaching the region, and we're excited that we've been able to reach the broader region. We're having a very hyper-focused event on what we're speaking about. Usually, it's kind of a little more like a lunch and learn, but this year it's more focused on the point that we're trying to make. And then after you're able to network with stakeholders and people across the region and county and really make time to make connections and really make the use of your time.

I was going to say the networking is something we hear from our members often. That's something really beneficial to them. Would you say that this is a response to what members' needs are and what they're currently looking for more of in the community?

A thousand percent. When you think about the region as a whole, it's kind of hard to pick the networking events and how to meet people that you want to speak to. And we keep cultivating and creating events that people can connect on different levels. So like I said, when I say it's from a regional perspective, I mean that we have people across the region who are ready to network and really break into. When we talk about the Micron moment, we're talking about everyone in the same room speaking about anything that they want to speak to or ask questions about and be together and make the use of their time, and we're happy to host it.

So we already have talked about the change in format, but we also have adjusted our award categories for businesses this year as well, and that was also an intentional choice. Can you speak to that a little bit? Tell me why the shift in categories while still honoring these really important businesses in our region.

Sure. So we wanted to be very intentional about the awards that we are giving out. The awards that we are giving are basically shaping and proving who we are, if that makes as an organization, people who are pivotal in our success, small businesses and people who really make a difference, I guess, if that makes sense, in our ecosystem here within the Chamber of Commerce, within CenterState and the region. And we're really excited about it.

That's great. I mean, this is not your first annual meeting as the Executive Director of the GOFCC, but what are you personally excited for at this event? What is something that you look forward to when the annual meeting comes around?

I'm so excited to get everyone around the table from the region in a room in Oswego County to celebrate people who deserve to be celebrated and to speak to things that are so intentional and so exciting. We are definitely together as a team here in Ogo County, positioning everybody so well between economic workforce development, small business engagement, just across the board. I think that of all the years of doing this, this is the one that I'm the most excited about. I feel like we have the most to share the most excitement, and I have the least nerves because I'm not nervous. I'm excited. I cannot wait to celebrate everybody in that room and just who we are, a new brand, 10 years of success as a Chamber of Commerce with CenterState CEO, just in general. I think we have so much to celebrate, and I'm excited to see everybody there to celebrate everything that we have to celebrate.

A lot of celebrating. That is for sure. And I mean, I think that's one of the great things about the annual meeting. We get to all be together. We get to take a moment and really reflect on what the last year has been, but also set intention for the year going forward. Looking ahead a little bit into the next year for Oswego County, we've talked a bit about Micron, we've talked a bit about workforce development, but what are some of the big exciting things for you as you face the rest of 2026 and hoping to see in Oswego County?

I've never felt more excited about the role that I have as the Executive Director at the Greater Oswego Fulton Chamber of Commerce. I think that between my leadership and external partners, we are poised for such greatness supporting the Micron moment, but also supporting the cornerstones that we have. When we speak about the cornerstones in Oswego County. It's exciting because we think about new nuclear, right? The governor's State of the State speaks very highly of new nuclear possibly in Oswego County, and that's a lot of what my day is spent on. To be honest, when we speak about Novelis, we think of a huge asset in supply chain that we are able to support and help get back online and keep them excited and poised for the future. That's exciting to me. Honestly. I think about workforce development, just everything that I'm being given to have a stanson feels really important to me.

I have to be super honest with you. I spent seven years as a stay-at-home mom. I've been the coordinator at the Greater Oswego Fulton Chamber of Commerce. I've been the manager, and I've worked myself up to the executive director. I see every importance in every role that we do in our community, in our region, and I feel like this year has been such a shift, only knowing that there's so much excitement for what we can all do for the future. And I'm just again, really happy to have a seat at that table and really happy to have an opinion because I think between being a community member, a mom, a professional, I feel like I bring something different to the table, a realness. I live here, I work here, I raise my family here. I think that it changes the dynamics of a room sometimes. I'm able to come in with a real approach and a real opinion and speak to what, as an organization, we want, but also what we need for the county. So I feel really excited about it, and I feel really empowered, if that makes sense, to make a change and really proud of the changes that we're making together.

You mentioned being a mom. You have a son who is a senior this year, so getting ready for change, I know know it's big changes all around, but you probably have such a unique perspective then on being a mom, watching your kid enter the workforce, take his next steps in Oswego County. Can you talk a little bit about what that feels like and what are the words you're saying to him and the younger generations in Oswego as you kind of embark on this exciting future together?

It's so funny that you ask that of me. Last night was my son Parker's last varsity hockey game.

Oh my gosh.

They lost in their first run of sectionals and a lot of us parents ended up the same place before and workforce development came up. I was excited because I can speak to it. So we had friends of ours whose son was the third cohort of the P-TECH Program in Oswego County. So he has his associate's degree, and he's telling us about the workforce. And I feel so motivated hearing that, but also knowing from the third cohort to what is happening now is so much more opportunity. Of course, higher education if and when Parker, and I am oversharing, but he will be happy to hear it. Parker is an honor student. Parker is a three-season varsity athlete. Parker had every opportunity to go to college, but he has chosen to stay here and to be a part of the workforce. He's going into the electrical union if they'll have him, which is harder than getting into college.

Yeah.

But the Pathways to Apprenticeship is so important and so important specifically to Oswego County, unrelated to Parker, but it seems like it is related. We are at the Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce with our workforce development board, hosting a signing date for the very first time.

And we have had a buy-in from every single school district in Oswego County. From every superintendent, I had some conversations, and they said, you know what? There is such a need. Everybody needs to understand that if you have a child and a student that wants to further their career in a different way outside of college, there's opportunities specifically here. So in May, we're going to host our first signing day, which will be almost like for sports, but it's going to have every trades union, every superintendent, school boards in one room to just congratulate our next generation of workforce here. Also the same day as the annual meeting, the GOFCC has partnered with Oswego High School specifically, who's having their very first trades day. So they're having, I think 16 or 17 trades representatives come into the high school to speak to all of the students. They're going to be able to have one-on-one interactions. There's a luncheon, there's an AM and a PM session of it, and it's just good to get the narrative again going. I'm excited, and I'm proud of it because it's the work that I'm doing every day. And it's very funny when I hear parents and kids talk about it, because years ago, when my boys were little, they came home, they had a picture of me, and it was cutting a red ribbon.

And they're like, well, what does your mom do for a living? And they're like, well, she cuts ribbons. So now it's like, well, no, I'm breaking down a lot of generational boundaries that we've had.

Barriers, yes.

Creating a way for you and all of your friends and Pathways to Apprenticeship with my peers. It's exciting, and it's literally impactful. And honestly, the joy that I have in my life, the best part of my career is knowing that I am making so many people's day better from work that I'm doing behind the scenes. I don't know, I couldn't ask for more.

Sara, I can't wait to see you and everybody up in Oswego for the annual meeting to hear even more about what's going on in Oswego County and what's in store for the future. So we will see you then. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you.

CenterState CEO's podcast Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank, is available on all major podcast platforms or centerstate ceo.com. Additional content and clips can be seen across CenterState CEO's social media channels. For new episode reminders, be sure to subscribe in your favorite podcast listening app, and don't forget to leave a quick review or a five-star rating. Thanks for listening to Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank.