The Otsego County Chamber announced the election of Sharon Oberriter, president of the Cooperstown Bat Co., as chairwoman of chamber's Board of Directors for 2001.

"Our concentration this year will be growing our economic future," Oberriter said. "This accelerated job retention and creation strategy, coupled with our active legislative program, will strengthen our members' ability to prosper."

Other officers elected for this year were first vice chair Dan Swift, president and publisher of The Daily Star in Oneonta; second vice chair Terry Lifgren, president of Astrocom Electronics Inc. in Colliersville; treasurer Frank Burden, branch manager of A.G. Edwards & Sons of Oneonta; and board secretary Rob Robinson, who is the chamber's president and chief executive officer.

New board members are Jim Baldo, co-owner of BanJo Communications Group in Oneonta; Katherine Bell, vice president of New York Central Mutual in Edmeston; and Toivo Tammerk, vice president for institutional advancement at Hartwick College in Oneonta.

Oberriter and her husband, Don, own the Cooperstown Bat Co., a manufacturer of Major League Baseball licensed collectibles and field-use baseball bats.

Her memberships include the Otsego County Tourism Advisory Board, the Otsego County Industrial Development Agency Board and the merchants committee of the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce. Oberriter, graduate of Utica College and Syracuse University, lives in Fly Creek.

Baldo, an Oneonta native who graduated from the State University College at Oneonta in 1971, has lived elsewhere and returned to the area in 1998.

"I am looking forward to joining the chamber board and being a part of an organization that gives back not only to the immediate community but to the area in genera," Baldo said.

Bell, who joined New York Central Mutual in 1982, also is a SUCO graduate and now lives in Cooperstown.

"I see the continued development of Otsego County as a critical issue not only to New York Central Mutual but to all businesses," said Bell, who originally is from New Berlin.

Tammerk, a graduate of Rutgers University, worked in business and education before joining Hartwick College in December.

"It is a privilege to serve this community," said Tammerk. "The area's rich cultural and educational traditions are a magnet for commerce. I look forward to doing my part to promote business opportunities by helping build new partnerships and reinforcing valuable existing ones."

The chamber's mission is to provide developmental assistance for existing and new businesses. The chamber offers programs and services to help a member's ability to reduce the cost of doing business and to create employment opportunities while promoting Otsego County as an ideal place to live and work.

For more information on membership opportunities, business health insurance, support activities, discount energy service or the workers' compensation trust funds, contact Robinson at (877) 5OTSEGO, or by e-mail at tocc@otsegocountychamber.com.

"We are coming off our best year," Robinson said. "Activities this year will set the course so that our children and grandchildren will be able to develop their dreams in this region."