July07 e-newsletter

July e-newsletter

Chamber News

Paving the Way to Success Forums
With major road construction on the horizon, the Chamber is hosting a series of seminars with the Chatham Business Alliance. The seminars will provide Chatham businesses with information about how they can keep business strong during the road construction early next spring. The first seminar explored lessons that can be learned from other communities that experienced a similar project. Todd Shimkas, President & CEO of the Adirondack Chamber of Commerce spoke about the best practices and lessons learned from the downtown road construction project in his community. The second seminar will be held on July 26 and will feature Steve Freemann, DOT engineer in charge of the project. He'll explain the who, what, where and when of Chatham's project. The third forum will be held on August 23 and will feature Chatham graphic design and marketing firm owner Suzanne Trevellyan. She will do an interactive presentation on using the Internet to sell your product. All forums will be held from 5:30 to 7:00 pm and are free to local businesses. Click here to read the full article.

Promote Your Business in the August Chamber Connection Mailing
Are you looking for new connections? The Chamber Connection is a great way to promote your business to over 1,000 Chamber members for only a $150. The next mailing will go out the first week of August. The deadline for materials is July 16. Please contact the Chamber if you are interested in promoting your business.

Chamber continues relationship with Health Insurance Administrator at her new firm
The Chamber is pleased to announce that we have retained Erin Nevins of E.P. Nevins Insurance Agency as our Benefit Administrator. The E.P. Nevins Insurance Agency represents your existing insurance carriers and no change in companies, benefits or premiums will result from this change. Effective immediately we no longer have a relationship with the Mid-Hudson VIP Agency. We are pleased to continue our long standing relationship with Erin as she continues to deliver the highest quality service to our members. Please contact Erin with any health insurance questions at (518) 464-0400 or erin@epnevins.com. Her new business address is 1641 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12205 and fax is (518) 464-0404.

Columbia-Greene Boat Cruise - July 18, 2007 - SPECIAL SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY
The Columbia and Greene County Chambers are pleased to announce a special co-hosted event. The first annual Columbia-Greene Boat Cruise will take place on Wednesday, July 18. Join us for an evening of business networking and great raffle prizes with businesses from Columbia and Greene counties. We are offering special sponsorship of this event for $250. Sponsors will be listed on all promotional materials and recognized at the event. This is a great way to promote your business to a broad audience. Contact the Chamber office at 828-4417 for more information or by email at mail@columbiachamber-ny.com. The boat will depart from Hudson Waterfront Park at 6:00 pm and cruise to Catskill Pointe to pick up Greene County attendees at 7:00 pm. The boat will return to Hudson Waterfront Park at 8:00 pm and to the Catskill Pointe at 9:00 pm. The cost is $25 and includes boat cruise, hors d'oeuvres, and music. Please click here for more information.

Fairview Plaza Business After Hours - August 15, 2007
The businesses of Fairview Plaza will host a Business After Hours on Wednesday, August 15. Attendees can pick up a "business passport" at Fairview Wines and Spirits and are encouraged to visit other participating businesses. Fairview Wines & Spirits will be conducting a wine tasting that evening as well. Once the passport is complete attendees can bring it to the Bank of Greene County to be entered into a raffle drawing. Join us for an evening of exciting business networking. Please click here for more information.

Columbia-Greene Superintendents Breakfast - August 23, 2007
The Columbia and Greene County Chambers of Commerce will host the 3rd Annual Superintendents Breakfast on Thursday, August 23 from 7:30 to 9:00 am. This special program will feature "Regionalism: The Spirit of Collaboration" and will discuss supporting and advancing the issues that impact community growth. The keynote speaker will be Jonathan Drapkin, President & CEO of Pattern for Progress. Other topics discussed will include: firsthand experiences schools that were involved with the B.E.S.T. Program, and an overview of Chamber programs. The program will end with a time for local education and business leaders to network. The breakfast will be held at Columbia-Greene Community College. Please click here for more information.

Chamber Recognizes Excellence in Business - Post Event News
The Chamber was pleased to announce the recipients of the Excellence in Business Awards and Showcase on Thursday, June 14 at Stageworks/Hudson. The event featured awards given to local businesses in five different areas of achievement including: Community Service, Most Promising New Business, Business Person of the Year, Small Company of the Year and Large Company of the Year. Attendees also enjoyed a wine tasting by Hudson-Chatham Winery, a beer tasting by Chatham Brewing, a juice tasting by Micosta Enterprises and hors d'oeuvres by Georgia Ray's. Please click here for more post event information.

Sponsorship Opportunities for 2007
There are still many great sponsorship opportunities to take advantage of in 2007 to promote your business. Don't miss this opportunity to market your company to the Columbia County business community. Event sponsorship enables us to provide high quality programming for our members, advocacy and promotion for your business. Please click here for a 2007 sponsorship form.

Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP)
If your small business is faced with a technical challenge SATOP can provide up to 40 hours of FREE technical assistance for qualified requests, utilizing the vast engineering expertise of NASA and participating Alliance Partners (NASA contractors, sub-contractors or Universities). SATOP is designed to speed the transfer of US Space Program knowledge and technology to small businesses, to provide economic benefits to the community, and to raise public awareness of the Space program. Please click here for more information.

Chamber Stats
During the month of May the Chamber answered 625 phone calls, sent out 15 relocation guides and welcomed over 150 members to events. The Chamber website was visited over 22,559 times or an average of 805 times daily. For more information about your Chamber of Commerce contact the staff at mail@columbiachamber-ny.com.

Member News

The Olana Partnership will present The Summer Party at Olana. In its fifth year, the festivities return to Olana on Saturday, July 14 from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm. To honor Church's keen eye for decorative detail and to celebrate the reopening of the house, The Summer Party at Olana will bring Church's eclectic taste under the tent. Guests will enjoy Near and Middle-Eastern ambience with exotic decor, food, drink and music. Amazing prize packages that include a stay in New Zealand, a Health & Beauty package, an original work of art by New York City artist, Hal Hirshirn, and more available to win. The Summer Party at Olana is the event of the season - you won't want to miss it! Members of The Olana Partnership can purchase tickets for $60 per person, and non-member tickets are just $75 per person For tickets or more information about The Olana Partnership call (518) 828-1872 or visit their website site at www.olanasummer.org.

After strong advocacy by the Business Council of New York State, chambers and other allies, the Legislature moved towards the end of its regular session by extending the Power for Jobs program another year, and by laying aside a number of anti-employer bills, including paid family leave, pre-judgment interest in tort claims, and restrictions on pharmaceutical marketing. For more information on this full report visit the Business Council website at www.bcnys.org/express/2007/062207ex.htm.

EnergyNext, Inc. the energy consulting firm, is pleased to announce that it has received a Certificate of Registration for its Energy Alliance logo, the service mark for about two dozen regional and statewide group energy buying programs. The Energy Alliance name has been deployed by EnergyNext since 1998 to identify the value of group energy buying to more than 1,100 businesses covering 16 Chambers of Commerce, including the Columbia County Chamber and several trade associations. For more information about the Energy Alliance program contact the Chamber at (518) 828-4417 or EnergyNext directly at (518) 580-9244 or visit their website at www.energynext.com.

Lippera's at the Chatham House is offering free music every Friday night this summer in the fine dining room. No cover charge. Guests can enjoy dinner and listen to live music. They will also be conducting a wine tasting to coincide with Chatham's First Fridays (First friday of every month all of Main Street and beyond stays open late with specials and events.) The promenade shops are open late, so patrons can enjoy wine, listen to live music, shop a little and dine if they wish--all under one roof. For more information about Lippera's at the Chatham House call (518) 392-6600 or visit their website at www.thechathamhouse.com.

You can find a wonderful selection of Luxury Linens at Traditions by Pamela Kline outlet. They have a selection from the mountains to the oceans to the prairies, inspired designs for making your home special wherever you are. Mention that you saw this information in the Chamber newsletter and receive 10% off at the Traditions Outlet Store during the month of July. Traditions is open Monday through Friday 9-5 and Saturday 9-4. Visit them at 29 Route 9H in Claverack. For more information about Traditions call (518) 851-3975 or visit their website at www.traditionspamelakline.com.

On Saturday July 7th and July 21st, Hudson Valley Academy of Performing Arts invites you to dance the night away on their beautiful wood dance floor at the Odd Saturday Summer Dance. The dance will take place from 7:30 to 11:30 pm. The Academy is located at 957 Route 82 just outside of Hudson. For more information about Hudson Valley Academy of Performing Arts call (518) 851-5501 or visit their website at www.hvapa.com.

With a little help from National Union Bank of Kinderhook, the Albany Yacht Club has completely restored a dock system washed out in storms a year ago. One of America's oldest yacht clubs, organized in 1873, the private club was devastated last June when rising waters washed away docks and almost all of the boats belonging to its more than a hundred members. One year later the dock was restored at a cost of eight hundred thousand dollars through a combination of savings, insurance, salvage and a significant loan from Kinderhook Bank. For more information about National Union Bank of Kinderhook call (518) 758-7101 or visit their website at www.nubk.com.

The Columbia-Greene Humane Society will hold its 4th annual Summer Paw Picnic on Saturday, August 4 from 12:00 to 5:00 pm at Old Chatham Shepherding Company. This year's event will again include gourmet catered picnic fare from Good Food Catering . There will be live music, children's activities, a silent art auction, and much more. Advance reservations are $50 for adults and $10 for children under age 12. For more information about the Columbia-Greene Humane Society call (518) 828-6044 or visit their website at www.cghs.org.

The Rip Van Winkle Bridge Repainting Project is underway. Removing lead-based paint and providing a long-lasting, high-performance coating on structural steel is the objective of this recent Rip Van Winkle Bridge project. According to the Bridge Authority, the bulk of the traffic impacts have already been endured. Now that the containment is nearly complete, very little disruption to traffic is anticipated. Although designed to go into 2008, the contractor has an aggressive work plan and is attempting to complete the project ahead of schedule. For more information about this project contact the New York State Bridge Authority at (845) 691-7245 or visit their website at www.nysba.state.ny.us.

Community Events

Enjoy family fun at the annual Family Fest on July 4th. Enjoy free kiddie rides, climbing wall, arts and crafts, pony rides, hay maze, music and fireworks. The event will be held at the Columbia County Fairgrounds in Chatham. The gates open at 3:00 pm and fireworks go off at 9:30 pm. For more information about the Columbia County Fairgrounds call (518) 392-2121 visit their website at www.columbiafair.com.

The Spencertown Academy will host the 4th Annual Garden Tour on Saturday, July 7 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The Tour is a celebration of the art of the garden. The theme of this year's tour, "Gardens in the Landscape", honors the beauty of the glorious natural landscape that surrounds us. Come and enjoy a day of natural and cultivated beauty. For more information about the Spencertown Academy call (518) 392-3683 or visit their website at www.spencertownacademy.org.

The Austerlitz Historical Society will hold the 8th annual Blueberry Festival on Sunday, July 29 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The festival will feature local food, live music, crafts, children's activities and much more. The entrance fee is $5 for adults and children under 12 are free. The blueberry pancake breakfast is $7 for adults and $3 for children. For more information about the Austerlitz Historical Society call (518) 392-0062 or visit their website at www.oldausterlitz.org.

Check out the Chamber's Ten Things To Do This Month in Columbia County on the homepage at www.columbiachamber-ny.com. If you would like to add an event to the August list, please contact Cheryl Meenagh at cmeenagh@columbiachamber-ny.com.

If you would like to submit information for the member news section please email cmeenagh@columbiachamber-ny.com.

July and August Chamber Events

July Events
Columbia-Greene Boat Cruise, July 18
5:00 - 5:45 pm - Boarding reception at Hudson Waterfront Park
6:00 pm - Cruise to Catskill Pointe to pick up Greene County participants at 7:00 pm. Arrive back in Hudson at 8:00 pm and Catskill at 9:00 pm.
The cost is $25 and includes boat ride, hors d'oeuvres, and music.

Please click here for our 2007 Chamber Calendar.

August Events
Business After Hours, August 15
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Fairview Plaza
160 Fairview Ave, Hudson

Participants can pick up a "business passport" at Fairview Wines & Spirits and visit other participating businesses and have their business passport stamped to be entered into raffle drawings. The evening will conclude at The Bank of Greene County.
Reservations are not required, but appreciated.

Columbia-Greene Superintendents Breakfast
August 23
7:30 - 9:00 am

Columbia-Greene Community College

4400 Route 23, Hudson

The cost is $15.
Please contact the Chamber for reservations.