JUNE 2014 CHAMBER LINK
Benefit Concert
~Bat McGrath at Keuka College June 7th
Singer-songwriter Bat McGrath is adding his considerable talents to helping the Penn
Yan area recover from the storm that devastated the area last month. Proceeds from
the Rochester Music Hall of Fame musician’s June 7 concert at Keuka College’s Norton
Chapel will be donated to the Penn Yan Flood Relief Fund.
“I first heard about the storm damage on Facebook - saw pictures of the exact places
my wife and I had visited last year in Penn Yan. I saw the flooding on the news and
wanted to help the recovery. I used to live in Branchport and the fine people of the
Finger Lakes area have supported my music for decades.” says McGrath. “Nashville
had experienced similar damage from flooding in 2010 and I watched the community
come together to heal and rebuild. I want to be part of the same kind of effort for my
friends in Penn Yan and Branchport."
With the help of friends at Rochester’s Channel 13 WHAM-TV and local support from
Keuka College, the Yates County Chamber of Commerce, the Arts Center of Yates
County and others, a benefit concert was quickly arranged. Tickets for the 7 p.m.
concert are available at Longs’ Cards & Books and at Wegman’s stores in the area for a
suggested donation of $20 and may be available at the door.
Proceeds from the concert and a portion of McGrath’s CD sales will go to the Penn Yan
Flood Relief Fund, a local account established by the Finger Lakes Times, The
Chronicle-Express, Bank of the Finger Lakes and Lyons National Bank to help with local
flood recovery efforts. The Fund, which to date has raised more than $22,000, will be
administered locally.
McGrath’s wife, actress Trisha Cast who, for 15 years has played “Nina” on the daytime
drama The Young and the Restless, will be on hand at the concert to sign autographs.
Reprinted from the Chronicle Express
Cruisin' Night Set for Penn Yan
~Classic Cars to Hit the Streets
The 18th annual Cruisin’ Night is set for Friday, June 13th and already the excitement is
mounting!!
Nearly 300 classic and antique cars are expected to attend. Main Street will be closed
from Chapel Street to Lake Street beginning at 3:30PM. Registration starts at 5PM and
the cars will fill the street. Again this year, the cars will remain at their locations on the
street until 9PM – there will be no parade of cars.
On Main Street, the drivers and festival attendees will be treated to the sounds of old
fashioned rock-n-roll which will be provided by DJ Todd Whitford and DJ Bob Gilbert.
The street will be lined with a variety of food vendors, offering everything from pizza and
hot dogs to a Strawberry Social, sponsored by St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. State
Police will be on hand with the “Convincer”, a device that helps you understand the
importance of wearing a seat belt.
All this, plus the shops, boutiques, restaurants and galleries of the village will be open
extended hours with a variety of special offerings and the usual blend of hometown
hospitality.
For more information, give the Chamber office a buzz today at 315.536.3111 or visit the
event’s website at www.cruisinnight.com.
Business After Hours
~Nothnagle Realtors Hometown Choice
Due to the Flood of 2014, the May edition of BAH was postponed a week but that didn’t
deter a crowd of almost 100 to join us at Lakeside Country Club. There was plenty of
discussion about the flood and the disruption it caused in our lives but there was a
sense of relief that there was no loss of life or serious injuries!! Phil Riehl from Oak Hill
Bulk Foods was there but he left early and missed the drawing for the cash prize – he
would have taken home $450.00!!
The June edition of BAH will take us to Nothnagle Realtors Home Town Choice on Lake
Street in the Village of Penn Yan. The event begins at 5PM and as always, features
great networking opportunities, plenty of delicious hors d’oeuvres and liquid
refreshment.
Real estate is a personal business. Bringing buyers and sellers together is their
fundamental purpose. Nothnagle REALTORS' greatest asset is their team of trained
professionals. Their broad knowledge, experience, hard work, dedication to service and
ongoing real estate training combined with many innovative marketing tools, produce
the cumulative results that make Nothnagle REALTORS a success. For this reason,
they have been a recognized leader in the real estate industry for over 66 years.
Our cash prize drawing will be $500.00 this month. All you have to do is attend, wear a
nametag with the name of a Chamber member and hope that member name gets
drawn!
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. The event
gets underway at 5PM. 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.
Keuka Arts Festival
~Seventh Annual Event this Month!
The Keuka Arts Festival is a fine art and skilled craft show held annually along the
Keuka Lake Outlet Trail, only a few blocks from downtown Penn Yan. The event is free
and will feature live entertainment and activities for families.
The festival kicks off on Saturday, June 14th at 10AM and runs till 5PM. On Sunday,
June 15th the hours are also 10AM to 5PM and the festival will be held rain or shine.
For 2014, the festival expects over 100 vendors that include categories such as
painting, photography, pottery, jewelry and more. Local restaurants and wineries will
offer an array of culinary delights, and our farmers market will feature 100% local,
seasonal produce. A selection of fine Finger Lakes wine is available for tasting, as well
as fresh lemonade and ice cream. Picnic tables located throughout the festival area
provide visitors an opportunity to sit and relax while enjoying their refreshments.
A variety of live music will fill the air throughout the festival featuring everything from
Bluegrass to Acoustic Rock. The entertainment line-up will be announced soon and you
can get all the details at www.keukaartsfestival.com.
For more information, contact Chris Vaughan, Board Chair at 315.531.9232 or on-line at
www.keukaartsfestival.com.
Flood Updates
~Recovery Process is Ongoing
On May 13th and 16th, flood waters ravaged the Village of Penn Yan and many of the
surrounding Townships in Yates County. While the damage was rather unbelievable,
the spirit of community that took over really blew all of us away. Neighbors helped
neighbors, Keuka College students and high schoolers pitched in to help local
businesses and residents alike. If you were involved at any level, it made you proud to
be a part of this wonderful community.
As we move forward, we have to keep a positive spirit and communicate to the outside
world that we are open for business, that the “lights are on”!! Many people have asked,
now that the water is gone and the recovery efforts have begun to wrap up, what can
we do to help?? The number one thing that folks can do to help is to do business
locally – let’s keep all the relief dollars right here in this economy where they can benefit
us over and over again.
If you are still in need of business assistance, call the Finger Lakes Economic
Development Center at 315.536.7328. If you are in need of housing related assistance,
call the Keuka Housing Council at 315.536.8707. And, if you aren’t sure where to turn,
call us at 315.536.3111 and we will point you in the right direction.
Penn Yan Strong!! Branchport Proud!!
Yates County Business Briefs
Dog Walk – Hunt Country Vineyards is hosting the 6th annual Dog Walk on Saturday,
June 7, 2014. This cool event allows you and your canine unlimited hiking time on the
trails and in the vineyards of the Hunt Country Estate. Registration is just $10.00 and all
proceeds benefit the Shelter of Hope. Complete details at www.huntwines.com or call
Andy Marshall at 315.595.2812.
FLX Lunch - have you checked out our new promotion?? Visit www.flxlunch.com on a
daily basis to check out specials and soups at over twenty local restaurants. We think
that this tool makes it easier for folks to enjoy “lunching” here in the Finger Lakes and so
far, we are averaging about 75 looks per day at the site. Are you a place that offers
lunch specials and would like to be listed?? Just call us at 315.536.3111!
Barbecue at the Wineries – on the third and fourth weekends in June, you have the
opportunity to visit the Keuka Wine Trail and enjoy excellent barbecue recipes (using
locally produced BBQ products) paired with the finest Keuka Lake Wines. At just $30.00
per ticket this event is a great value and a lot of fun. Call 800.440.4898 or visit
keukawinetrail.com to get your tickets TODAY!
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.
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
June
4
7
11
13
14&15
18
26
Chamber Talk – 8:30AM - WFLR
Dog Walk – 10AM – 3PM – Hunt Country
Bat McGrath in Concert – 7PM – Keuka College
BAH – 5PM – Nothnagle Realtors Hometown Choice
Cruisin’ Night – 5PM – Downtown Penn Yan
Keuka Arts Festival – 10AM – 5PM – Outlet Trail
Board Meeting – 4:00PM – Chamber office
Long Range Planning – 8:30AM – Birkett’s Landing
Thought of the month
If there was no yesterday and tomorrow was never to come,
what would you do today??