Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce

Newsletter August 2011

Open and read our August issue here, or scroll down for complete articles. 

Babe Ruth Baseball Boosts Business
 
Chautauqua County will once again play host to a Babe Ruth World Series in August.  While the event provides fun and entertainment, it is also an economic driver for many businesses in our region.
Since 1980, Jamestown has hosted fifteen Babe Ruth World Series events.  Kimberly Ecklund, Public Relations Division Director, said the series costs over $30,000 to put on each year, but the economic impact of that is at least tripled.
“We work hard to do all business locally, including everything from printing programs and catering for the banquet,” she said.  “This is a huge undertaking, and we have tremendous community and volunteer support, so we work to give back to the community whenever possible.”
Visiting team members stay with host families, and while their main focus during their stay is baseball, each team gets a “bye” day and they often visit local tourist attractions and entertainment venues as well. 
“We have had host families take teams on the Summer Wind and the Chautauqua Belle, play mini-golf, go bowling, visit Bemus Point, Chautauqua Institution, the Lucy-Desi museum, and many other attractions,” Mrs. Ecklund said.
 And it’s not just the players and host families.  The teams almost always bring along their own fan base as well. 
 “Family members come to support the teams.  They stay in our hotels, eat at local restaurants, shop at local stores, and visit our local attractions.” Mrs. Ecklund added.  “This is really a tremendous economic boost.”
The 13-15 Year Old Babe Ruth World Series begins with a parade in downtown Jamestown at 9:00am Saturday, August 20, followed by opening ceremonies at 11:00am at Russell E. Diethrick Jr. Park, where all of the games will be played.  Games are scheduled afternoons and evenings through the Championship game on August 27. 
Teams in the American Division will represent the Ohio Valley, Southwest, Midwest Plains, Pacific Southwest, and Western New York State Champions.  National Division teams will represent New England, Southeast, Middle Atlantic, Pacific Northwest, and the Jamestown Host Team.
“There is another component to this event besides the economic boost,” Mrs. Ecklund added.  “These young people who come here to stay and play baseball have lasting memories and forge long-term relationships with the people of our area.  It truly brings people together, and that value goes beyond the dollars that local businesses are earning.”
Anyone who is still interested in being a host family or volunteering in any way can contact Mrs. Ecklund at 664-0405 or by email at kimberlyecklund@yahoo.com.

Rem-Tronics, Inc. Celebrates Relocation
 
The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce helped Rem-Tronics Inc. celebrate its move from Silver Creek to Dunkirk in mid-July with a ribbon cutting at its new facility on Brigham Road.
The company had outgrown its former location in Silver Creek, and the move followed months of negotiations involving the Village, the City of Dunkirk, Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, Empire State Development, and the Dunkirk Local Development Corporation.  With it’s move to Dunkirk, Rem-Tronics is preserving jobs in Chautauqua County and expects to increase employment as well.
Master of ceremonies for the ribbon cutting Dunkirk’s Economic Development Director, Kory Ahlstrom.  Also on hand were County Executive Greg Edwards, CCIDA Director Bill Daly, Dunkirk Mayor Richard Frey, Will Wilosevic of Empire State Development, company owner Michael Kaddis, and all 65 employees.
Following the ceremony all were invited inside to see the state of the art facility where the staff answered questions about the electromagnetic, electromechanical, solenoid coils, cables, harnesses, fiber optic assemblies and plastic molded components that they produce.  These products are used in a wide variety of aerospace, military, medical and industrial applications including the Space Shuttle.
For more information about Rem-Tronics and to learn about job opportunities there visit their web site at www.rem-tronics.com.
 
Lieutenant Governor to Speak at Banquet
 
Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy will be the keynote speaker for the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet this fall.  The event will be held at the Chautauqua Suites Meeting & Expo Center in Mayville on Thursday, October 6. 
Lt. Governor Duffy traveled to Chautauqua County in May, promoting Governor Andrew Cuomo’s People First Agenda during a stop at Jamestown Community College.
For information about the Annual Banquet, call the Chamber at 366-6200 or 484-1101.
 

DFT Technology Plus Expansion
 
The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce had the honor of performing a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the expansion of DFT’s location at 38 Temple Street in Fredonia.  State Senator Cathy Young and Fredonia Mayor Stephen Keefe cut the ribbon to mark this special occasion.
The location is now a DFT TECHNOLOGY PLUS which means they now have LED, LCD, and projection TV’s along with home audio, Blu-Ray and DVD players.  Customers can now turn to DFT Communications for a new and improved multimedia shopping experience with the DFT Technology Plus retail store. As part of the experience, consumers will find a warm and customer friendly environment, with a trained and knowledgeable staff emphasizing hands-on demonstrations including the "home theater experience" which provides customers with an opportunity to explore their options before purchasing. 
If you have any questions or want to see what they have to offer you can go to www.dfttechnologyplus.com or call 716-673-3050.
 

Robo Enterprises Ribbon Cutting
Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi and the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce helped to snip the ribbon for the grand opening of Robo Enterprises newest location on North Main Street recently.  Robo Enterprises operates a number of convenience stores throughout the area.  The new location includes a gas station, convenience store and laundromat.  
 

Chamber Golf Tournament to be held September 1 at Tri-County Country Club
 
Tri-County Country Club in Forestville will host the Annual Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament this year on September 1.  The tournament includes an 11:00am shotgun start and a four-person scramble.  The cost per person is $150 for Chamber/MAST members or $175 for non-members.  Sponsors are DFT Communications, The Observer, The Post-Journal, Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, Cott Foods, Community Bank, Fredonia Place, Lakeshore Savings Bank, Lawley Tradition Agency, NRG Dunkirk Power LLC, Petri Baking Products, and Stearns & Wheeler.  To register, call the Chamber at 716-366-6200 or 716-484-1101, or visit the web site at www.chautauquachamber.org.
 

Star Media Group Begins 2012 Chamber Directory
 

Star Media Group has kicked off production of the 2012 edition of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce Business Builder Source Book which is set to be published and distributed this October.
“We’re proud to support the Chamber by once again producing a high quality publication that helps promote the community and our fellow Chamber members,” said Amy Vercant, vice president for Star Media Group.
The Business Builder Source Book features a list of Chamber members alphabetically and by business category. For more information about the 2012 edition of the Business Builder Source Book, contact Star Media Group at 716–366-9200 or 716-338-0030.

 Westfield Farmers Market in Fifth Season
 
The Westfield Farmers’ Market, now in its fifth season, runs every Saturday through September 24 from 9am to 2pm at Moore Park.  Some favorite local farms have returned to the market this year, and an assortment of local artisans will also showcase their original creations.   For more information on the Westfield Farmers’ Market, call 326-4000 or visit www.westfieldny.com/farmers-market.
 

Aspire Golf Tournament Set
Aspire’s 9th Annual Aspire Golf Classic will be held August 15th from 12:30-5pm on the Hill Course at the historic Chautauqua Institution.  Started in 2003, this tournament’s net proceeds benefit the programs and services offered through Aspire’s Southern Tier office on Mall Boulevard in Lakewood.  144 golfers will participate in an afternoon shotgun flight.  
Aspire of Western New York, Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides a broad range of services to people with developmental and other disabilities.  For more information, contact Michael Holley at 505-5512 or visit Aspire’s website at www.aspirewny.org.
 
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Casella Reduces Carbon Footprint 45%
Casella Waste Services of Dunkirk reduced its carbon footprint by 45% between 2005 and 2010.  Casella began reporting its carbon footprint as part of a program called EPA Climate Leaders – a voluntary partnership with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.  Last year that program ended and Casella transitioned to another voluntary reporting program called the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
The CDP is a non-profit organization that gathers corporate carbon data and publishes it for use by the investment community, corporations, policymakers, and the general public.  Over 3,000 organizations worldwide, including 70% of the S&P 500, now report their carbon emissions and strategy through the CDP. 
Highlights of Casella’s CDP report include the 45% reduction in its company-wide carbon footprint; the equivalent of taking 176,000 cars off the road or planting 192,000 acres of pine forest.  The firm has also reduced its landfill emissions by a full 50%!  Landfill methane made up 80% of Casella’s 2010 emissions, so its biggest reductions have come from improved landfill gas collection. 
Company Controller Sara Marsowicz said, “Energy purchasing makes up 5-10% of our operational spending, so by finding ways to use energy more efficiently, we can reduce our costs and protect our company against fluctuating energy prices, while also reducing our carbon footprint and protecting the environment.”
 
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Bridge Completed at Audubon’s Bentley Sanctuary
 “With so much of our work accomplished by volunteers, sometimes it takes years to finish, but the result is so rewarding!”
 That’s how Jamestown Audubon Society President Ruth Lundin described the completion of the bridge over the longest span in Audubon’s Bentley Sanctuary.
For several years, area resident Kevin Rein volunteered on this 47-acre preserve of bottomland forest. Among his labors, he worked on the bridges, which were in terrible disrepair, but he was not able to complete the longest bridge.
This spring, under the leadership of Dennis Wright, Workforce Development Facilitator at Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES, students in the Work Experience Program completed Rein’s efforts. The Work Experience Program is a partnership between BOCES’s Adult & Community Education Division and the Chautauqua County Department of Social Services.
The bridge had its inaugural crossing by participants in Audubon’s Mother’s Day Wildflower Walk led by Jack Gulvin on May 8.
The Jamestown Audubon Society manages both the Bentley Sanctuary and the Audubon Center and Sanctuary on Riverside Road, off Route 62 between Jamestown and Warren, Pennsylvania.  For more information about the Jamestown Audubon Society, call (716) 569-2345 or visit jamestownaudubon.org.
 
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JCC Receives Andy Warhol Print
An original Marilyn Monroe screenprint by Andy Warhol has been donated to Jamestown Community College’s Weeks Gallery by Ken and Lois Strickler.
The donation was made in honor of retired JCC English professor Robert Hagstrom, one of the primary forces for creating a gallery space at JCC. Mrs. Strickler, a fellow student of Warhol’s at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, worked with Hagstrom to establish a gallery for fine arts.
In 1968, the Stricklers invited Warhol and several friends to visit their home in Jamestown after he presented a lecture at JCC. Warhol reciprocated by inviting the Stricklers to visit his New York City studio, The Factory, where he presented the Marilyn screenprint to Mrs. Strickler. The print was signed “To Lois. XOXO. Andy.” 
The Stricklers were founding sponsors of the Weeks Gallery’s Global Collection of Photography and were jointly awarded the John D. Hamilton Award by the JCC Foundation for their contributions to the arts.
 
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JCC Night at the Ballpark
Jamestown Community College alumni, family, and friends are invited to JCC Night at the Ballpark with the Jamestown Jammers on September 2 at Russell E. Diethrick Jr. Park.  The Jammers will take on the Mahoning Valley Scrappers during the game. Gates open at 6 pm, and the game begins at 7:05 pm.
Bleacher tickets are available to JCC alumni free of charge. Each alumnus is limited to a maximum of six tickets. The event is sponsored, in part, by the JCC Alumni Association. 
Tickets can be ordered online at www.sunyjcc.edu/alumni, or picked up at the switchboard in the Hamilton Collegiate Center on the Jamestown Campus from 8 am to 6 pm Monday through Thursday, and 8 am to 4:30 pm on Friday. Tickets can also be obtained at the bookstore in the administrative office at the North County Center in Dunkirk from 8:30 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday.  Ticket orders can be placed any time until 5 pm on September 1, and will be available for pickup at the will call office at Diethrick Park on game day.
Tickets are limited so advance orders are encouraged.  For additional information, contact Elizabeth Booth, Alumni Affairs Director at 716.338.1056 or elizabethbooth@mail.sunyjcc.edu.
 
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JCC Accreditation Reaffirmed
Jamestown Community College has received what President Gregory T. DeCinque described as "an outstanding report" including numerous commendations from the commission charged with overseeing the quality of its instructional programs and operation.
"Educational accreditation is a quality assurance process by which colleges and universities are evaluated every ten years by an external body to determine if specified standards are being met," Dr. DeCinque explained. JCC's accrediting body is the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
In addition to having its accreditation reaffirmed, the report JCC received from the commission in late June noted that it had met all 14 standards. The commission's standards, described as "characteristics of excellence," focus on mission and goals; planning, resource allocation, and institutional renewal; institutional resources; leadership and governance; administration; integrity; institutional assessment; student admissions and retention; student support services; faculty; educational offerings; general education; related educational activities; and assessment of student learning.
Among the areas commended were JCC's connections to the community including relationships with area high schools and the new Communiversity, the college's fiscal prudence and ability to attract external funding, the condition of JCC's buildings and grounds, collegial decision-making, and the student-centered environment which offers innovative programs and services that foster student success.
 
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YMCA Battle of the Businesses Approaches
The YMCA is pleased to announce its 24th year of the Battle of the Businesses this September – featuring a series of athletic events in which employees represent their companies by competing against employees from other similar-sized businesses.  The weeklong competition will take place September 10-17 and is open to all area businesses. 
This year’s events include one-pitch softball tournament, nine-hole golf scramble, bowling, coed volleyball, pickle-ball, pool 8-ball doubles, 800-medley running relay, predicted mile walk, team dodge ball, miniature golf, scrabble, 2-mile run/walk, archery, paddling, Sur”Y”vor III, and bean bag toss. New this year are the inflatable water relay and the bonus event of karaoke held at YMCA’s Camp Onyahsa.
More than 1,800 people participated in more than 17 athletic events last year on both large- and small-division teams. 
Participants will receive a competition t-shirt sporting a Battle logo and their company name.  Those who are registered now can start using either of the Jamestown or Lakewood YMCA facilities for practice and training.
Information packets can be picked up at the Jamestown or Lakewood YMCA’s.   For more information, contact Tom Anderson at 763-0303 at the Lakewood YMCA, or Scott Mekus at 664-2802, ext. 236, at the Jamestown YMCA.

Thank You
to these members who have contributed over $3,100 this year to the Chamber’s Technology Fund to assist in our capacity to serve through upgraded computer software and hardware.
 
3 Seas Recreation
A Automotive, Inc.
ADKO Advertising Specialties
Ahlstrom Schaeffer Electric
Allied Healthcare Systems
Allied Industries a Division of The Resource Center
Arthur R. Gren Company, Inc.
Barton Tool, Inc.
Big Rick Inc. - One Stop Food Mart
Bishop Concrete
Burke Development
The Carriage House Companies, Inc.
Casella Waste Services
Cattaraugus County Bank
Ceila  A. Lloyd, DDS, PC
Challenger Learning Center of the Twin Tier Region, Inc.
Chautauqua Area Real Estate
Chautauqua County Board of Realtors
Chautauqua Physical & Occupational Therapy
Chautauqua Registered Black Angus
Clevermethod
Collins Construction
Community Development Association
D & F Travel, Inc.
Dahlstrom Roll Form
Daniel R. Ryel, CLU ChFC
Deidra Women's Medical Health Services, P.C.
Dennis Faulk World Motorcars, Inc.
Donald Coppings, CPA
Double A Vineyards, Inc.
Double DAB Riding Stable
Dunkirk Electric Motor Repair
Electric Motor Specialties, Inc.
Empire Energy USA, LLC
Evans Bank
Evans Liquors
Excelco/Newbrook
Faculty Student Association (FSA), SUNY Fredonia
Falconer Funeral Home, Inc.
Farm Family Insurance
First Covenant Church
Flowers by Anthony
Frank J. O'Brocta Salvage, Inc.
Genesis Solutions LLC
Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc.
Graf Realty Corporation
Gray Insurance Agency
Harry D. Briggs Services
Hollyloft Ski & Bike
Hope's Windows, Inc.
Hulbert Counseling Services LCSW PC
iKoss Consulting
The Inn at Pheasant Run
Insyte Consulting
International Order of the King's Daughters & Sons
J & J Home Decor
James B. Schwab Company, Inc.
Jamestown Area Community Federal Credit Union
Jamestown Area Medical Associates
Jamestown Area Pathology, LLC
Jamestown Business College
Jamestown Electro-Plating
Jim Turner Sales
JL Castiglia Construction Company
Joe I. Askar, MD
Johnson Estate Winery, LLC
Jordan Forest Products Services, Inc
Joseph A. Blum, MD
Koerner & Company, R.A.
Kosciuszko Polish Home Association
Lake Shore Savings Bank
Lake Shore Savings Bank
Lakewood Apothecary
Larry Spacc Pontiac-GMC, Inc.
The Lenna Foundation
Liazon Corporation
Ligo Architects
Lind Funeral Home
Lutheran Social Services
Main Wines & Spirits
Mancuso Union Fuel & Oil Co., Inc.
Meals on Wheels, Inc.
Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County
Metallic Ladder Manufacturing Corp.
Morning Glory Bed & Breakfast Country
Nestle Purina PetCare
Network Administrator, Inc.
Newman Funeral Home, Inc.
Nussbaumer & Clarke, Inc.
Olde Chautauqua Farms
Petri Baking Products, Inc.
Phillips Lytle LLP
Pillowcasegram and Other Things, LLC
R. J. Henry
Rhoe B. Henderson Insurance Agency, Inc.
Richard L. Peebles, Jr., Architect
Richard T. Milazzo, Jr. MD
Robert Basil Chevrolet, Buick & Cadillac, Inc.
Rodgers Land Surveying
Roger M. Carlson, Accountant
RPW Associates
RVS, Inc.
S. Grant Farm
Sanitary Wiping Cloth Company
Schaffner, Knight, Minnaugh & Company
Shorewood Country Club
Silver Creek Family Dentistry
Snug Harbor Marina and Service Center
Southern Tier Chiropractic
Southern Tier Environments for Living, Inc.
St. Columban's On the Lake
St. Susan Center
Sterling Energy Inc.
Stuart Tool & Die, Inc.
SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator
Thomas J. Luparello, MD, PC
Town of Dunkirk
Umamaheswara Rao Vejendla, MD PC
Veracity Benefits
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. #1949, Fredonia
Weaver Materiel Service, Inc.
Wedding Wildflowers and Design
Westfield Memorial Hospital, Inc. an Affiliate of Saint Vincent
Zahm & Matson, Inc.