Pam Lydic

DUNKIRK - Friends and colleagues of Pamela Lydic are remembering the former Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, who passed away last week after a lengthy illness. Mrs. Lydic, who is most notably known for consolidation of the two county chambers is also remembered as a “true community leader,” who embodied the values of innovation, collaboration and commitment to the projects she undertook.

Mrs. Lydic served as the Chamber president and CEO for more than 11 years; first with the Northern Chautauqua Chamber and then the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce until she retired in 2009. She was honored by the Chamber as Person of the Year in 2008.

In its weekly online newsletter, Chautauqua Business Weekly, the Chamber characterized Mrs. Lydic as “an advocate for the business community and all of Chautauqua County.”

“She understood the delicate balance required to strengthen the organization in its earliest days...and brought both force and finesse to the table to accomplish what, at the time seemed like a herculean task. Under her leadership, the Chamber stepped up as a true advocate for reducing taxes and creating an improved climate for economic advancement.”

Regarding the consolidation, Mrs. Lydic is quoted as saying, “We were asking government at the time to look at their costs and efficiencies, and we felt we needed to do the same thing.” It is noted that Mrs. Lydic considered the consolidation as the most memorable of her experiences as Chamber president and CEO.

Barbara Lyons, owner of Anderson’s Cleaners in Jamestown, worked with Mrs. Lydic on the consolidation while serving as a board member of the Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce. “I feel very honored to have the opportunity to have known and worked with Pam.” Lyons added, “The consolidation of the two county chambers would not have happened without Pam’s perseverance.”

In addition, Mrs. Lydic also provided a leadership role to a variety of community organizations and initiatives. Susan McNamara, Director of the Workforce Investment Board, remembers working with Mrs. Lydic on the (WIB) board as well as the SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator board.

“In our respective jobs, (WIB and Chamber) we worked on numerous economic development projects and joint workforce development initiatives over the last ten years,” stated McNamara. “We were at formal tables as well as behind the scenes to keep things moving.”

McNamara continued, "Pam, was a true leader in Chautauqua. Her passion to contribute to our community's vitality and success truly made a difference to businesses, communities and organizations with whom she came in contact.”

SUNY Fredonia College President Dennis Hefner said of Mrs. Lydic, “her intelligence, determination, and grace under pressure resulted in the creation of a county-wide organization that is the envy of the state.”

He added, “Pam also partnered with her alma mater during the formation of the SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator, giving unselfishly of her time and talent. She was a good friend to so many in this community and will be sorely missed.”

Perhaps the greatest illustration of Mrs. Lydic’s leadership and passion was her commitment to develop the talent around her. According to McNamara, “she also had a gift for bringing people together whose synergy would move an initiative, project or collective understanding further than possible if done on individual paths.”

She adds, “Pam was realistic, caring and knew that with optimism anything was possible."

Amy Vercant, former Public Relations Director at the Chamber worked with Mrs. Lydic for 12 years. Vercant remembers “no matter what project we were working on or how stressful a situation had become, she always kept us focused on the positive and on our mission.”

“She gave each employee the freedom to do our job within our departments. The respect she had for our individual talents created a strong and cohesive team,” Vercant added.

Prior to her tenure at the Chamber, Pam worked for 20 years in her family’s construction business, L.G. Hall Construction.

In an interview given after receiving the Person of the Year award, Mrs. Lydic credited the experience with teaching her many of the needs and concerns that small businesses have. “When I went to the Chamber, it came with a private business background — not a not-for-profit background or a government background, but the same kind of background my membership had,” Lydic said. “I think that’s important.”

She summed up her work experience at the time saying, “It’s about passion — whatever you do, you have to have passion about it — and it’s about perseverance,” she said. “You can’t give up.”