Welcome Home 

The growth and expansion of economic opportunity in Warren and Washington Counties is undeniable. In 2003 and 2004 for instance, over 1,000 single-family homes were sold in Washington and Warren Counties. At the same time, the number of people employed in our region has been on the rise, leading New York state at 2.3% in 2004.

In response to this growth trend, the ARCC has launched a new “Welcome Home” initiative. The “Welcome Home” initiative proactively addresses a range of opportunities through the creation of the following:

Participation in this program is entirely free for ARCC members. The “guest pass” will function as a coupon book that will be provided by ARCC members to job prospects visiting our area to interview for a job. The “guest pass” coupon book may also be used by newcomers visiting the area to begin their home search. When these individuals and families are in an interview, or house hunting, this program will encourage them to stay in local hotels, dine in local restaurants, explore local destinations, shop in local stores, etc. The goal of this initiative is to help local employers to recruit new people to accept available local jobs and to promote our members to these people. In addition, this extra-special effort is designed to encourage the families of those individuals considering local job offers to explore our region and understand all of the amenities our region has to offer. To sign up, please click here to obtain a registration form.

It was not so long ago that communities in this region, and throughout the US, organized local efforts to welcome newcomers to a community via personal visits. The ARCC will create a Welcome Home Task Force of volunteers willing to do just that every month. Task force volunteers will be provided with lists of individuals each month who have bought homes in our region or who are renting a home, condominium, apartment or even a hotel room in order to begin a new job. They will volunteer to visit people from these lists and to bring them a new “Welcome Home” package created by the ARCC. This is an ideal volunteer opportunity for anyone who wants to do business with new consumers directly or who just wants to meet their new neighbors and to help them feel at home. If you are interested in becoming a Welcome Home volunteer, please send an email to Amanda Magee.

The ARCC recently contracted with Trampoline Design to produce a    “Welcome Home” package that will grab the attention of those moving to our area. Each package will be customized slightly to include a personal “welcome home” message to each individual or family. Inside the package, the chamber will include a copy of its new Quality of Life Guide and Business Directory so that every ARCC member is promoted equally and at no additional cost. Believing that one of the other advantages to living in Washington and Warren County is our close proximity to Saratoga, the Adirondacks, and the entire Capital District, the chamber will also insert a copy of the Images of New York’s Tech Valley magazine organized by the Tech Valley Chamber Coalition of which the ARCC is a member. In addition, there will be space in each “Welcome Home” package for members to include an 8 ½ x 11 coupon or advertisement that will encourage and motivate new homebuyers to visit your business or destination. To include an insert, interested companies must be members of the ARCC and will need to pay an annual $125 insertion fee as well as provide the ARCC with 500 copies of the applicable flyer or coupon. Member organizations may also cooperatively purchase an insert to promote multiple businesses or destinations more affordably. To register and pay to participate in this program, please click here to obtain a copy of the application.

To learn more, please call the ARCC at 798-1761. Right now, the ARCC has forms available for you to complete if you are interested in promoting your organization for free in the guest pass coupon book or in the 2005 Welcome Home packages. Likewise, please send us an email to join our Welcome Home Task Force to help us distribute our new Welcome Home Packages.