JULY 2013 CHAMBER LINK Business After Hours ~Rochester Folk Art Guild The June edition of BAH took us to the Arts Center of Yates County and the assembled crowd continued to be impressed with the facility and the programming that is available to the community. We thank Kris Pearson and her team, John Iszard of Fulkerson Winery and The Vines Restaurant (Lakeside Country Club) for a fantastic event. Cole’s Furniture won the cash prize drawing of $50.00 – the we will “re-fill” the money pot and offer $50.00 again in July! The July BAH will be held on Wednesday, July 10th from 5PM – 7PM at the Rochester Folk Art Guild, located at 1445 Upper Hill Road in Middlesex. (You will probably need to use your GPS to find this amazing place, if you have not visited before – or call the office and we will help with a map!) As always, we will have a host of munchies and hors d’oeuvres and plenty of summertime libations! Please note that this is a joint event with the Canandaigua Chamber of Commerce and we expect it to be a fantastic networking opportunity! Let’s make sure that we “trump” Canandaigua and have more Yates County representation. The theme of the event will be "Handmade," in line with the Folk Art Guild's emphasis on craft. They will be catering the event themselves using signature recipes and flavors, and Ravines Winery and Hunt Country Vineyards will be serving wine. Raffle items will be a hand thrown ceramic bowl from the pottery studio, and a wooden pizza peel from the wood shop. They will feature live music, from their own homegrown folk band Mulberry Soul. Their sounds draw influences from bluegrass and old time traditions, and feature fiddle, mandolin, base, banjo, and guitar. BAH is free and open to the membership of the Chamber and the community at large. It’s a great way to expand your business network and find new opportunities. Reservations aren’t necessary and we encourage you to bring along a co-worker or friend. For more details, call the Chamber at 315.536.3111. It’s Fair Time!! ~July 9-13, 2013 Get ready for the 174th edition of the Yates County Fair, one of the oldest continuously operating fairs in the United States. The fair opens on Tuesday July 9th and runs through the 13th. Events include: Tuesday - Figure 8 and Demolition Derby at 7PM and fireworks at dusk; Wednesday – Redneck Truck Pull and Cancer Awareness Day; Thursday – Fire Truck Pull and The Town Pants in concert; Friday - Annual Kids Day and Tractor Pull; Saturday - Garden Tractor Pull, Demolition Derby and the music of the Murphy’s Law Band. Admission to the fair is just $10.00 and includes everything on the fairgrounds, even the rides!!. Grandstand events are included in the admission price as are the free daily acts. If you would like additional information call the Chamber at 315.536.3111 or visit www.yatescountyfair.org. Annual Sidewalk Sale ~Slated for July 27th! The Yates County Chamber of Commerce is busy planning the upcoming Sidewalk Sale, to be held on Saturday, July 27, 2013 from 7:30AM – 1:00PM. For over 50 years, this event has attracted crowds of thousands to this Finger Lakes village. Currently the Chamber is seeking vendors to add to the festive atmosphere of the event, in the following categories. Non-Profit – clubs, organizations and other groups are invited to participate to offer bake sales, food offering, games and any other ideas they may have. There is no charge to participate. For-Profit Vendors – businesses, crafters, restaurants, wineries and other interested parties can participate for just $25.00 for a 10 foot by 10 foot space. A valid sales tax certificate is required. Entertainment – musicians, magicians, street performers, games of chance and other FUN forms of entertainment would really help to make the event special. Interested parties should contact the Chamber at 315.536.3111 or via e-mail at mike@yatesny.com. Dundee Day ~Miles and Miles of Yard Sales The little town of Dundee nestled in the Finger Lakes once again hosts Dundee Day, scheduled for Saturday, July 5th, 2013. Come join us as the village transforms into a country style shopping mall. Beginning at 8:00AM the village comes together to create one big yard sale. Browse the miles of sales for antiques, collectibles, treasures and even a little bit of junk. Bargain hunters will delight in the wide array of items that are available and the surprises that are in store on every lawn. Several great other activities are in the planning stages, and will be announced in the coming weeks. The Dundee Rotary Club will be at Martini’s Shur-Fine once again grilling their “world-famous” hotdogs and serving cold drinks. There will also be a Chicken BBQ hosted by the Boy Scouts and a Strawberry Shortcake Festival hosted by the Dundee United Methodist Church. There's something for everyone around every corner throughout the day. We hope to see you there! For more information on the event please call the Chamber of Commerce at 315.536.3111 or 800.868.9283. Herson Group Wins Silver ~C.A.S.E. Recognizes Local Communications Firm Herson Group Ltd., based in Penn Yan, recently received a C.A.S.E. Silver Medal for best University event in 2012, related to work that the firm did for Princeton University. C.A.S.E. is the Council For Advancement and Support of Education. It includes more than 3,600 colleges and universities, primary and secondary independent and international schools, and nonprofit organizations in 76 countries. This is Herson Group’s third award making a total of 1 Gold and 2 Silvers. Herson Group Ltd., began in 1986. They enjoy helping their clients solve event and communications challenges. Their team is currently working on blending the power of theatre, design, technology and social networking to create the next generation of events that are more: effective, interactive, powerful and FUN. Clients include: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Duke, Texas A&M, Brockport, Binghamton, Swiss Air, and the Dalai Lama of Tibet. Herson Group Ltd. is a proud member of the Yates County Chamber of Commerce. Yates County Business Briefs Light Up the Lake – once again, your Chamber is continuing the tradition of a festive “lake lighting” on the evening of the Fourth of July. Flares will be available at a variety of stores and restaurants around the lake and you are encouraged to light them up at 10PM on the evening of the Fourth. If you’d like a supply of flares to sell at your location, just give the office a call at 315.536.3111. Shrimp & Chardonnay – visit Keuka Spring Vineyards on Saturday, July 6th for their annual Shrimp & Chardonnay tasting. At this event you get to sample “library” Chardonnays paried with delicious shrimp. The event fills up quickly and is available by reservation only. $15.00 covers the food and the wine. Call 315.536.3147 today!! Taste NY at the PGA – if you represent a winery, brewery, culinary business or produce a New York State product, here is your chance to get in front of a crowd of over 200,000 people. This is a unique opportunity to get your business placed under the Taste NY tent at this year’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, during the second week of August. Interested?? Send inquiries to tasteny@agriculture.ny.gov. Bike MS Finger Lakes Challenge – this year the region’s premier bike ride will be held on July 20-21 beginning at Keuka College. There are a variety of distance rides and all proceeds benefit the Upstate New York Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. For information, contact Alyssa Shoup at 585.271.0805. Chamber Nametags - have you noticed the gold nametags that Chamber staff and Board members have been wearing to BAH and other Chamber events?? We think that they really help folks to stand out in a crowd and they are great at other community events to demonstrate support for the Chamber. These nametags carry a charge of $10.00. All you have to do is call the office (315.536.3111) and give us the names and business associations that you would like engraved in gold and we’ll do the rest of the work. Get yours today – this is a limited time offer!! Chamber Talk – be “in the know” and “ahead of the game” by listening to the only radio program in the County devoted to business issues. Chamber Talk can be heard on WFLR Radio (96.9FM, 101.9FM and 1570AM) the first Thursday of each month at 8:35AM. The program looks at current trends in the business community and gives listeners an inside look at Chamber programming. Digital Edition – don’t forget that you can subscribe to the digital edition of ChamberLink by sending an email to mike@yatesny.com. The digital edition is delivered via an e-mail link to our website and guarantees that you will get the “hot news” 3-5 business days before the printed edition arrives in the mail! Unclaimed Funds?? – just a reminder that you might want to stop by the Chamber office and have us check with the NYS Comptrollers office. You might have a secret stash of cash hidden somewhere in the Comptrollers office. So far we have uncovered funds for several local folks, and we don’t charge a penny to do it!!! Free Events Publicity – here’s the best deal going. If you have a special event that you would like the world to know about – all you have to do is let us know. We will include it on our website – free of charge. The event listings on the website are used by a variety of media outlets around the Empire State so your listing on there will get you tons of exposure. All you have to do is FAX us the information, 315.536.3791 or e-mail jody@yatesny.com. Folding Paper – do you produce your own brochures on a copier or do you do mailings that require a bunch of folding and stuffing?? The Chamber has a great new folding and stuffing machine from Pitney Bowes and we’ll let our members use it for free. Just give us a buzz for the details! Internet, Internet, Internet – we keep reminding you and will do so until we have EVERY member listing on www.yatesny.com perfect. Log on today and search for your business, then search for your competition. Think about what keywords we could add to your listing to assist customers in finding you. This is one of the many benefits of membership and unlike other Chambers, we have never charged you a dime!! SCORE – don’t forget that another great Chamber service is SCORE, small business counseling. Offered by the US Small Business Administration, SCORE matches retired business leaders with emerging entrepreneurs. The retirees offer their years of knowledge and expertise to help support the new businesses. The service is free, confidential and VERY effective. Call the office today to learn more! CALENDAR OF EVENTS July 4 6 9-13 27 Fly-in Breakfast – 7AM – PY Airport Chamber Talk – 8:35AM - WFLR Parade – 2PM – Branchport Fireworks & Flares – 10PM – Keuka Lake Dundee Day – 8AM - Dundee County Fair!!! Sidewalk Sale – 7:30AM – Penn Yan Thought of the month The only people who see the whole picture are the ones who step outside the frame