Amherst to Host ‘State of Town’ Address at Daemen for Consecutive Year

By | February 8, 2022

Amherst Supervisor Kulpa (left), with President Olson and Todd and Leslie Shatkin, in Rosary Hall, 2021

Amherst’s State of the Town Address will be held on Daemen’s campus for the second year in a row.

Given the successful production of last year’s virtual address, town leadership wished to return. The event will be streamed live on YouTube from the third floor of the Research and Information Commons (RIC) on Friday, Feb. 11.

“Daemen is Amherst’s college, and we are honored once again to host and help produce this important address for the community,” said Gary Olson, president of Daemen. 

Leading the event will be Brian Kulpa, supervisor of the Town of Amherst, and A.J. Baynes, president and CEO of the Amherst Chamber of Commerce. Both are members of Daemen’s Community Advisory Board. 

“Supervisor Kulpa has helped the Daemen community in innumerable ways over the years,” said Olson, who will deliver pre-recorded remarks during the event. “Brian and AJ Baynes are great partners, and Amherst has a bright future ahead.” 

Town-gown partnership

A moment from the 2021 Amherst State of Town address – live-streamed and produced by Daemen

The broadcast will also feature remarks from prominent community leaders, including Michael Cropp, president and CEO of Independent Health; Donna L. DeCarolis, president of National Fuel; and Mark Gaulin, president and CEO of PCI – a Buffalo-based information technology company.

This live-streamed event is one of many successful partnerships between the college and the town over the last several years. Kulpa has supported Daemen’s Todd & Leslie Shatkin Institute for Mobility Innovation & Technology (IMIT) and spoke at its announcement ceremony last summer in Rosary Hall. 

Another such example was the college’s campus beautification project “22 for 22,” which launched in conjunction with the town’s pledge to plant a million new trees.