Moving is never easy, especially when you’re moving to a new location that is less than half the size of your previous home.
That’s what the West Seneca Chamber of Commerce was faced with when preparing to move from its office in the Southgate Plaza to a new home in the town’s Community Center. As the Chamber staff was going through its belongings to determine what should either make the move or go into a storage facility or into the trash, they came up with another idea: Donate!
Several items of historic significance to the town — such as old drawings by renowned West Seneca artist Stan Smigiera, photos and paperwork dating back to the 1920s — were put into a separate pile for safekeeping. A call was then made to West Seneca’s town historian, Jim Pace, who helps oversee the West Seneca Historical Society Museum on Mill Road.
Seeing the historic value, Pace immediately agreed to take and care for many items. Some will be put on display at the Historical Society Museum, while paperwork and photo albums were taken to the Christian Metz historic home on School Street for safekeeping until Pace and Historical Society volunteers can go through the boxes and determine exactly what they have on their hands.
The next task was to determine what to do with the Chamber’s office furnishings, as the new location required new furniture.
Ironically, as the Chamber was preparing to move out of the Southgate Plaza, officials from the recently closed Harvey D. Morin VFW Post 2940 on Center Road were moving in. Chamber officials invited the veterans in to take a look at the furniture, and they were interested in acquiring everything from desks and chairs to filing cabinets and tables.
After a flurry of emails between the Chamber’s staff and its board of directors, the decision was made to donate the furniture to the veterans’ group. The vote was unanimous. As a gesture of goodwill and appreciation, the Harvey D. Morin VFW Post then renewed its nonprofit membership status with the Chamber.
“We are thrilled that our ‘problem’ has turned into a situation that will be of benefit to two outstanding organizations in our town,” said Joe Kirchmyer, executive director of the West Seneca Chamber of Commerce. “We especially look forward to seeing several of our donated items on display at the West Seneca Historical Society Museum where they can be enjoyed by the town’s residents and visitors. This really was a win-win-win situation for all three organizations!”
The mission of the West Seneca Chamber of Commerce is to support business and facilitate development by promoting and encouraging commerce in the Town of West Seneca. For more information or to become a member and support positive growth and change, please call 674-4900 or visit the Chamber office.