Hudson Business Coalition [HBCi] was so pleased to hold our annual meeting of the membership and fall mixer at Spark of Hudson last week.
The evening started with an interactive workshop, to solicit input from the Hudson business owners in attendance, followed by a presentation by HBCi president Alexandre J. Petraglia, which covered our recent work and accomplishments, as well as a look ahead to 2025.
You can view a video recording of the presentation, as well as download the deck itself, just below:
The workshop gave attendees the opportunity to share their feedback with us. We asked them about some of the biggest challenges they face as business owners in Hudson, and they identified rising rents for storefronts and increasing housing costs, as well as a lack of staffing resources, a higher than average turnover in businesses, and a lack of cohesive planning from local government.
On the other hand, those in attendance were most optimistic about our mix of unique retailers (and lack of big box stores), the city’s rich history and architecture, and our eclectic community of business owners, artists, and other creatives. They cited a desire to see Hudson start a business improvement district (BID), more events that brought together local residents and visitors alike, and the formation of a creative arts council.
As for the work of the Business Coalition itself, attendees pressed us to make more investments in marketing and PR, hold more economic impact panels, and advocate for either tax breaks or other incentives for business owners.
Take our survey, and share your feedback
For those not in attendance last week, we’ve re-published our survey online— we invite you, as a Hudson-based business owner, to complete it and share your feedback no later than October 8. The entire survey takes less than 10 minutes, and will help guide our work!
Finally, we capped off the evening with our Fall Member mixer: Candor Events served up a touch of nostalgia, with freshly prepared sliders, hot dogs, falafel on mini pitas, chicken and waffles, and spun, natural cotton candy! The newly-opened Neverstill Wines provided their Chenin blanc and Riesling for attendees to enjoy, while Fishkill Farms hand-delivered a variety of their Treasury Ciders for us to sample, and Hudson’s own Return Brewing had cans of their Westwhere IPA and always-popular Polished Pilsner at the bar.
Thanks again to The Spark of Hudson for hosting this event, and for their support throughout the year.
See a selection of photos from the evening below, and keep an eye peeled for announcements regarding upcoming HBCi member events!
HBCi events like this are open to current and prospective members exclusively!
Not yet a member? Join here: https://hudsonbusiness.org/membership/
Photos by Allison Valiquette.