Tri Chamber Alliance Signs Historical MOU

After two years of meetings the Massena, Akwesasne and Cornwall Chambers of Commerce have formed a unique and historic alliance. ON Friday, February 23, the three chambers signed a Memorandum of Understanding creating the Tri Chamber Alliance.

The first of its kind to be signed between an American, a Canadian and First Nations Chamber of Commerce, the signing of the MOU represents a unified voice for business on a regional and international level. The three chambers believe that above and beyond serving their own members, businesses in the region can benefit from sharing information and tackling issues with a joint strategy including various joint ventures, regional events and marketing, reciprocal benefits and the cross-promotion of Akwesasne, Cornwall and Massena.

Working under the motto – Stronger Together – Tri Chamber Alliance believes it can use the international borders and cultural differences as strength and not as a deterrent.

Signing this historic agreement was Nathan Lashomb who stated, "I think this makes our networking abilities much larger. There are a lot of resources we all have and we can all play on that. With us all working together, our bigger goal is to make this a bigger region."

Simon Mclinden, Project Manager, Cornwall & the Counties Community Futures Development added, "We share information with each other and help overcome challenges, we work together as often as possible."

He added its been a 'collaborative and crucial effort' between Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, and CFTC saying, "It's a really cool thing that we are doing in our region that isn't happening anywhere else."

Casey Swamp, President of the Akwesasne Chamber of Commerce stated, The Tri Chamber Alliance has had its successful development because of the mutual respect and understanding of each other's different cultures. We all work together because we have one common vision – To grow our regional economic impact that's beneficial to everyone."

One of their first projects as a Tri Alliance is a small business conference to be held on March 14 and 15 at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino.

This alliance has been formed with the support of Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Cornwall and the Counties CFDC Cross-Border Partnership.