Lynda Pozzuto, President, Alle Kiski Strong Chamber

In an interview with Invest:, Lynda Pozzuto, president of the Alle Kiski Strong Chamber, shared the initiatives the chamber developed to support its members, including in how to stay relevant with younger members. “The wide range of new businesses from the younger generation bring in fresh, new, successful ideas,” Pozzuto added.

What recent changes have affected the chamber? 

Post-COVID, our businesses are struggling with employee shortages. One of their biggest concerns is how to keep operating without the employees they need. We are also noticing the younger generations becoming leaders in organizations, without understanding why they should become members of the chamber, or be involved in networking for personal connections. It is a huge challenge to make ourselves relevant, so the next generation finds the benefits in the chambers. It’s so important to have chamber support, where people are better and stronger together. 

How do your initiatives evolve to benefit your members?

We try to stay in touch with different generations. We still do our government luncheons and our usual programs, but we’re adding pieces that are just fun. Hopefully, that would entice people to find out more about the chamber. We’re not a stuffy, old group. We are welcoming for all generations. While doing these fun things, we’re making contacts that will be valuable forever. It’s a new way of networking: providing beneficial aspects but with a fun, exciting twist. 

Which recent initiatives have had the most impact on member businesses?

It would definitely be our government relations events. We participated in an event for childcare with the lieutenant governor, which had a direct impact on our businesses. Affordable childcare goes hand in hand with employee availability. We can’t expect to have a larger workforce until we fix the childcare issue. That would be a stepping stone toward resolving the shortage of workforce, and there are great initiatives for that. We talked to some daycare owners about their struggles. Pre-COVID, they would get some funding, so they could pay their staff more. All those funds have stopped. If we have children coming to the daycare while receiving financial assistance, the daycare gets a certain amount of money per child. In rural areas, daycare workers receive less than urban areas like Pittsburgh, although they all have the same cost and issues, which creates even more struggles for the rural areas. 

What makes Alle‑Kiski a great place to live and do business?

Most of the communities within our territory are located on the shorelines of the Allegheny River. We have this beautiful river, which is a draw for campers, and fishermen, as well as the beautiful, new bike trails. Most communities don’t have even one of them, and we have both. That certainly is an enticement for families and businesses to locate here. There are always new people coming into our communities who want to enjoy these assets that we have. We’re only a half-hour drive from Pittsburgh. For those people who want to get out of the city, we’re right here. For the people who live here, and want something exciting to do, it’s only a half-hour drive away. 

How does the chamber leverage its proximity to Pittsburgh’s economic ecosystem to create opportunities for local businesses?

Our local counties are working on getting new businesses to relocate here, with one of the selling points being that we are so close to Pittsburgh. Businesses can move a little out of the city, get fresh air, and go to a different environment. Within Armstrong, Westmoreland, and Allegheny counties, there are so many opportunities for businesses to take advantage of.  

What are the most exciting opportunities in economic collaboration? 

We are seeing a lot of revitalization projects within our communities, including in New Kensington. The chamber partners and works with these communities on revitalizations because they bring new businesses, and New Kensington is the perfect example. Working with Penn State, the whole community is on board with bringing it back to its glory days. The first step is to revitalize the communities and appeal to the businesses coming in. All the communities are doing a very good job of creating the opportunities to bring new businesses in. We are seeing a lot of new, small businesses coming in within all our territories. It’s great to see people going into business, and operating brick-and-mortar buildings, instead of just online. The new businesses are coming in and making old buildings shine again. That then becomes an enticement for people to move back into those communities, as they look at what’s happening downtown and want to be a part of it. New businesses change everything. They change the community, making it more vibrant every day. The wide range of new businesses from the younger generation bring in fresh, new, successful ideas. 

How will the role of chambers evolve to meet the needs of the new generation?

All chambers definitely need to evolve. We have a strong connection with government affairs, but some people are not interested in that, and we can’t make that our strong suit. We need to be involved with AI, and all the latest technologies. A good start is by bringing younger people onto our board of directors. Our board guides us on what we’re doing, and on our future programming. We certainly do need to have insights about what’s going on out there. We’re trying to stay in touch, be open, be available, and listen. 

How would deeper partnerships between the chamber and Pittsburgh organizations amplify regional impact?

We are 100% for partnerships. We could accomplish more by being a partner than trying to do everything by ourselves. I’m always open to different collaborations, even if it’s just a fun networking event. Every year, I go to the Pennsylvania Association of Chamber Professionals Conference to meet directors and presidents from all over Pennsylvania. When I meet these good contacts, I always hear that everybody is willing to work together. We realize that’s what we have to do to be relevant, and to proceed into the future. We just did a really fun networking bingo with Oakmont Chamber. The room was sold out almost instantly. Now, both our chambers network with people whom we typically would not. 

What are your top priorities for the next few years?

The biggest one is how to make ourselves relevant. Our legislative events, and government affairs activity will go on as we’ve been doing that for so many years. What we do is predicated on trying to make ourselves relevant, which helps to plan what we do for the year. Some people might not want to change, so it’s also a challenge to say that what we’ve been doing is not working right now. With technology, and AI, changing so quickly, we need to figure out how to deal with the changes today.