The Evening Sun | Community Spotlight: Commerce Chenango Welcomes New Finance Director

by

Sophia

Root,

Commerce

Chenango

NORWICH

–

Earlier

this

month,

Commerce

Chenango

welcomed

a

new

Finance

Director,

John

Axtell.

Axtell

will

oversee

the

financial

aspects

of

the

organization,

as

well

as

general

IT

operations

and

Human

Resources

functions.

Axtell

is

local

to

Edmeston,

having

graduated

from

Laurens

Central

School.

Axtell

attended

Ithaca

College

where

he

studied

finance

and

management.

He

then

received

his

MBA

in

business

operations

from

Keller

Graduate

School

of

Management.

After

more

than

30

years

in

IT

management,

insurance

and

wholesale

finance,

Axtell’s

career

has

taken

him

to

different

locations

in

New

York

State,

Massachusetts,

and

Wisconsin.

Axtell

states,

“I

am

happy

to

take

on

this

position.

I

believe

there

is

alignment

between

this

stage

of

my

career

and

the

mission

of

Commerce

Chenango,

giving

back

to

the

community.”

Axtell

is

no

stranger

to

community

involvement

and

volunteerism.

He

has

coached

youth

sports

in

the

Oneonta/Cooperstown

area

and

has

served

as

the

treasurer

and

secretary

for

the

Edmeston

Fire

District

since

2019.

Commerce

Chenango

President

&

CEO

Sal

Testani

states,

“We

are

very

fortunate

to

add

someone

with

John’s

experience.

The

financial

acumen

he

brings

to

Commerce

Chenango

will

benefit

the

organization

in

many

ways.

We

are

excited

to

have

him

join

our

team.”

Rounding

out

the

Commerce

Chenango

team

is

Program

and

Events

Manager

Barb

Knowles,

Office

Manager

John

Holden,

Communications

and

Marketing

Coordinator/Tourism

Director

Sophia

Root,

Membership

Director

Terri

Slater,

and

Economic

Development

Director

Tyler

Oliver.