2015 annual report - Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce

Greater Olean Area
CHAMBER of COMMERCE
2015 Report
to the Community
“The Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce is recognized as the premier
business leadership organization for the advancement of the area’s economic
well being and quality of life.”
2016 Board of Directors
2015 Cattaraugus Empire Zone
Dennis Pezzimenti, President
Tim O’Keefe, Vice President
Mari Howard, Secretary
Louis “Ledgie” DeRose, Treasurer
Eric Garvin, Ex-Officio
Jim Snyder, Cattaraugus County Legislator, President
Michael Higgins, Airgas, Secretary/Treasurer
James Boser, Cattaraugus County, Chairman
William Aiello, Mayor, City of Olean
Dr. Michael Fischer, St. Bonaventure University
Edward Giardini, Labor Local #621
John Hare, Supervisor, Town of Allegany
Ray Jonak, Allegany
Mark Saglimben, Community Bank, NA
Jim Snyder, Snyder Manufacturing
Gail Speedy Mayeaux, Universal Primary Care
Mayor William Aiello, city of Olean
Cory Duckworth, Jamestown Community College
Tim Finan, Olean General Hospital
John Gerringer, Besecker & Coss
Matthew Kahm, Shults Auto Group
Andrew Caya, Caya’s Canopies
Amy Schneggenburger, Five Star Bank
Jim Snyder, Cattaraugus Empire Zone
Jay Sorokes, Eaton’s Cooper Power System
John Stahley, Dresser-Rand
Staff
Larry Sorokes, CEO
Meme Krahe Yanetsko, COO
Betty Burrows, administrative assistant
Michelle Joyce, accountant
Brenda Kasperski, health insurance
administrator
Christopher Michel, director of marketing
and communications
Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce
120 N. Union St., Olean, NY 14760
(716) 372-4433 • www.oleanny.com • www.facebook.com/OleanNYChamber
Dear Members and Friends:
As the Olean area continues on a path of economic rebirth, the Greater Olean Area Chamber of
Commerce renews its focus on the community and its commitment to shepherding prosperity.
Under the leadership of Eric Garvin, president of the chamber’s Board of Directors, our dedicated board and staff, and countless volunteers, the chamber remained a champion for the area’s
business community in 2015.
Among our many accomplishments last year, our Board of Directors approved a new, two-year
strategic plan to help us better serve our members and the community. Our ultimate goals remain
the same: local and regional advocacy, business advisement, organizing educational seminars and
networking opportunities, and holding our signature events and activities.
Assisting in economic redevelopment remains a top priority for the chamber, and there’s much
to be excited for in the coming months.
Perhaps the most visible element of our efforts last year are the ongoing renovations to the
former Olean Business Institute building on North Union Street. Partnering with Olean Business
Development(OBD) and the Cattaraugus Empire Zone Corp., we intend to make the four-story
structure the newest hub of economic activity in the downtown Olean landscape — complete with
a new business incubator. In fact, we’ve relocated to the building with OBD and the Cattaraugus
Region Community Foundation.
Looking back on 2015, one thing becomes clear: the greater Olean area is on the move. Much of
the new momentum present in the community stems from the continued investment our members
make each day through running their businesses, whether it’s by renovating properties, expanding
product or service lines, or taking that extra step to make employees and customers feel valued.
These things add up and keep the Olean area the place we love to call home.
The hard work of our members inspires us and solidifies our belief that it is indeed an exciting
time for the greater Olean area.
We look forward to what 2016 holds for our community and members.
Sincerely,
Larry SorokesMeme Krahe Yanetsko
Chief Executive Officer Chief Operating Officer
2015 by the Numbers
Chamber membership ended 2015 with 602
business members. Our Membership Committee
continues its efforts to bring in new members. Our
goal for 2016 is to reach 650 members.
During 2015, we continued to offer support our
members expect. Members benefitted from a host
of services through the chamber, such as our member-to-member discount program; assistance with
advertising, marketing and promotion; and guidance in exploring cost-saving measures like health
insurance programs, energy saving incentives, and
grants.
The chamber hosted free seminars for members starting every six weeks in September. Each seminar
focused a topic of concern to our membership. Topics featured included Marketing Boot Camp, Google+, Search Engines, and Harassment in the Workplace.
Business After Hours continued to be a popular event for members, averaging about 61 attendees
monthly. Each Business After Hours session offers an opportunity for networking and collaboration
with other area business owners.
2015 Gift Certificate Program
Gift Certificate Redemptions
Department stores: $132,595
Dining: $88,165
Grocery stores: $45,415
Hair salons: $1590
Wine/liquor: $6,445
The chamber sold $359,945 gift certificates in 2015, nearly
$13,000 less than in 2014. In December, gift certificate sales
totaled $160,700.
We’re happy to report of the total amount of gift certificates sold in 2015, $345,135 were redeemed at more 195 local
businesses. Beauty shops, restaurants, day cares, grocery
stores, little shops and big department stores all benefited
from the program.
The chamber instituted the Gift Certificate Program in
1995. During its first year, $9,000 in certificates were sold
and 35 member businesses participated.
The uniqueness of the program is that it encourages
redeemers of the certificates to discover products
and services available at businesses in our area,
businesses that support the chamber. Many of the
certificates we sell are done via phone calls and
emails to customers in Florida, New Mexico, Canada, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Ohio, Louisiana, Colorado, Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey,
and California who were purchasing gifts for
residents in the Olean area.
Support of the Chamber’s Gift Certificate Program allow us to keep this program viable for the
community.
An Eventful year
The chamber held a full complement of
events held year-round, from dinners to a
visit with Santa and everything in between.
Three new promotions were added to our calendar in 2015: Restaurant
Week in February, Wellness Week in
May, and Manufacturing Month in
October.
During Restaurant Week, participating restaurateurs priced lunches and
dinners at $20.15 and highlighted their
well-known dishes. Some even introduced new dishes.
Many area businesses offered discounted services and products on wellness items throughout Wellness Week.
Hoping to inspire the area’s next
generation of entrepreneurs and innovators, the chamber worked with Dream It Do It and leaders in the area’s industrial sector to
coordinate student tours of local manufacturing operations during Manufacturing Month.
The chamber also lent its services and staff to support a
host of events organized by a variety of groups and institutions in the community.
Area events that received volunteer support from
chamber staff included the City-Wide Neighborhood
Cleanup, St. John’s Italian Festival, Olean Professional Fire
Firefighters Association’s Independence Day fireworks
display, Olean Oilers, and the Gus Macker Basketball
Tournament.
Our staff members also sit on a number boards, such as
Job Employers Service Committee; OHS Sports Boosters;
JCC Alumni Association; Bradner Stadium Committee;
Dr. Lyle F. Renodin Foundation, and Route 219 Planning
Committee.
Rally in the Valley
The Rally in the Valley 2015 roared with the
thunderous sound of engines as thousands of
people and their bikes filled downtown Olean
and Bradner Stadium for six days. More than 820
participants riding 514 motorcycles participated
in Sunday’s dice run.
Sponsored by Gowanda Harley-Davidson, the
chamber, and hundreds of area motorcycle enthusiasts, the six-day event is a motorcycle rally
with the proceeds benefiting a host of community
charities.
This year, we were able to raise $7,250 for
charity. Beneficiaries included: HomeCare/Hospice; Olean Airport Marketing Group; Dempsey
Club; The Salvation Army; South Olean Football Cheerleaders; Mercy Flight; Portville Little
League; and AFSP Out of the Darkness Walk.
With this year’s donations, the Rally in the
Valley has given more than $256,027 to local charities since its inception.
Santa Claus Lane
Our annual Santa Claus Lane parade continues to be the area’s rite
of passage to mark the beginning of the holiday season. The 2015
parade saw 58 floats and more than 850 children and adults march
down North Union Street to the delight of thousands of spectators.
With construction work on North Union Street slated for
completion this fall, we look forward to continuing the Santa
Claus Lane tradition in the newly renovated downtown.
The chamber ordered the second of the three installments of 16 pole decorations. The city of Olean installed
them on the light poles along
East and West State Streets.
More than 500 of the Santa
Claus Lane ornaments — which
depicted Red’s & Trudy’s in
Portville — were ordered and
sold. The 2015 ornament sales
set a new record, beating
sales of the St. Bonaventure
University ornament sales by
more than 150.
Home & Garden
show
The 44th-annual Greater Olean Area
Home and Garden Show welcomed
more than 3,550 visitors in April.
Eighty-six vendors were on-hand to
display and demonstrate products
from hot tubs to gardening supplies,
along with heating and cooling systems.
Clambake
The 47th-annual Chamber Clambake
was a great success. The event was
held June 10 at Good Times of Olean’s
Events Center. The clambake served
as a great kickoff to the summer with
fun, food, music and prizes for our 640
chamber members and guests.
Outdoor & Rec
Sports show
The sixth-annual Greater Olean Area Outdoor & Rec
Sports Show again proved successful with more than
2,200 visitors. Although attendance was more than 200
hundred people better on Saturday than last year’s show,
Sunday’s attendance was lower. However, overall attendance was up about 56 from 2014’s show. The show,
which featured 48 vendors, was held at the Good Times of
Olean’s Events Center.
Corporate Events
The fifth-annual Southern Tier Corporate Challenge Run/
Walk, hosted by the chamber and the Olean High School Sports
Boosters, saw 778 participants representing 39 companies. John
Stahley of Dresser-Rand was named fastest CEO.
The Corporate Cereal Challenge was back with 1,200 boxes
of cereal donated to the Olean Food Pantry and Loaves and Fishes. Special awards went to most boxes collected in total – Dresser-Rand with 589 boxes; and most boxes collected per employee
went to Kel Kur Electrical Contracting.
The second-annial Corporate GOLF Classic was held
July 24 at the Bartlett Country
Club. Twenty‑four foursomes
competed — up from 22 teams
in 2014 — with no handicaps.
Winners included: Corporate
Division, St. Bonaventure University; and Community Division, Stephen’s Lawn Care.
Corporate Sponsorship
The Corporate Sponsorship Package Program is an efficient, cost-effective way for local companies to help support the chamber’s Community Events Program. Forty-seven companies participated in 2015 — the highest number of corporate sponsors to date. The chamber appreciates not
only the sponsorship but the continued backing/confidence from these companies.
Corporate sponsors benefited with increased promotion of their companies, complimentary
event tickets and show/booth space. These events included Home Show, Clambake, Taste of Olean, and our Annual Dinner. They also received recognition at the Santa Claus Lane Parade as holiday light contributors.
Acme Business • Airgas • Allen’s Wines & Liquor/ Vic Vena Pharmacy •
Armor Building Supply • AVX/Olean Advanced Products •Beef n’ Barrel
Restaurant • The Buckles Agency • Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro, P.C. •
Casella Waste Services • Cattaraugus Allegany BOCES • Close’s Lumber
• Community Bank, N.A. • The Connection • CUTCO Corporation • Dr.
Green Lawn/Custom Turf • Dresser-Rand • Duggan & Duggan General
Contractors • Eaton’s Cooper Power • EnergyMark LLC • Five Star Bank •
Fox Financial • HomeCare & Hospice • Iroquois Group • Jamestown Community College • John Irving, MetLife agent • KeyBank National Association• Marcella Smith, Agent, State Farm Insurance • Mazza Mechanical
Services • MJW Technical Services, Inc. • National Grid Co. • City of Olean
• Olean Area Federal Credit Union • Olean General Hospital • Olean Medical Group • Olean Times Herald • Owl Homes • Park Centre Development
• The ReHabilitation Center • Seneca Allegany Casino • Shults Auto Group
• SolEpoxy • St. Bonaventure University • Stroehmann’s • Time Warner
Cable Media • Troy Vincent/Edward Jones • Visions Hotel • WMXO-FM
Annual Dinner 2015
Timothy J. Finan, President and CEO of Olean
General Hospital and Upper
Allegheny Health System
were selected to receive
the L.O.U.I.E. Award at the
chamber’s Annual Dinner in November at Premier Banquet Center. The
L.O.U.I.E., which stands
for Love of Olean United
in Enterprise, is presented
annually to an exceptional
person who epitomizes the
enterprising spirit and the
qualities embodied in the
life of Louis Marra.
The 2015 Enterprising
Business Award was presented to Olean Area Federal Credit Union. The award was established as a way to recognize our
members for continually and generously giving and positively impacting our communities. The
Enterprising Business Award is the highest distinction for a business given by the chamber's 602
members.
Leadership Cattaraugus
Leadership Cattaraugus is designed to identify future
leaders of the area and help them develop the skills they
will need to work more effectively for the betterment of all
the people in Cattaraugus County, fostering an impact on
community development and quality of life for years to
come. A formal leadership training program will continue
with the Class of 2015, focusing on nationally recognized
training program, “The Platinum Rule.”
Leadership Cattaraugus was jointly launched in 2004 by
Jamestown Community College, The Rehabilitation Center,
St. Bonaventure University, and the chamber.
Leadership Cattaraugus currently has 220 alumni, that
serve on seats of over 350 Boards of Directors in the region.
The Class of 2015 had an enrollment of 22.
Olean Business Development
There’s a renewed sense of optimism throughout
Olean. Driving through the city during these first few
months of 2016, it’s hard to not spot a construction crew
working on some major project.
New investments seem to be in every corner of Olean, from the $8.85 million renovation to North Union
Street to the $32 million Olean Gateway project next
to Dresser-Rand on Buffalo Street. Of course, we can’t
forget other projects, such as the recently opened Ravyn
and Robyn Lounge or the newest addition to Jamestown
Community College’s campus, an advanced manufacturing and pre-engineering institute.
For our part, we’ve recently completed more than
$1 million in renovations to the former Olean Business
Institute at the corner of Sullivan and Union streets. The
four-story, 131 year-old building is our new home. The
Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce and the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation
have joined us in relocating to the building.
In the coming months, we plan to open the Olean Business Incubator inside the former business
school.
The incubator is representative of a collaborative effort between the chamber, the Cattaraugus
Empire Zone and OBD. The incubator will provide space for entrepreneurs to develop and grow new
businesses. In addition, the center will have several anchor tenants available to provide support to
those with an forming for a new company.
We’re currently working to formalize a partnership with the
Western New York Incubator Network. Once in place, any of
our incubator tenants will have access to tax advantages as they
establish their businesses. Those incentives will continue when
a recipient moves out into the community.
The incubator also provides a unique opportunity for the
next generation of entrepreneurs and business people. Our
Education Committee, comprised of representatives from area
schools, such as St. Bonaventure University, Jamestown Community College, Olean City Schools, are working to develop
learning immersion programs for students.
While we work to help new businesses, we’ll also turn our
sights to assisting existing businesses in downtown Olean. This
past December, OBD was awarded at $350,000 New York Main
Street Grant, which we can distribute to businesses and property
owners to offset building renovations and improvements. Our
first target area is the west side of North Union Street’s 100 block.
Olean is in the midst of a very transformational time in
its 162 year-history. Our work to assist new entrepreneurs and
existing businesses, as well as inspire the next generation of
business owners and workers, will complement the investments
from both the public and private sectors in this community.
2015 Volunteers
Each one of our programs and activities is an
orchestrated effort by numerous volunteers. Many
of them have served on event committees or worked
on a event for a long time. Their efforts and dedication make each happening a reality. Simply put,
the success of our events is largely attributed to our
dedicated volunteers.
Bill Aiello • Nancy & Ed Allen • Laurie & Kate
Aloi • John Anastasia • John Ash • Susie & Kirk
Austin • Julie Baer • Troy Bailey • Nina Baire •
Mark Baker • Chrissy Barr • Naomi & Jon Beight •
Bob Bell • Deb Belli • Jeff Belt •Kim Teuscher • Tim
Mary Rich and Holly Nidell were named
Blazejewski • Kate & Brian Bowen • Jim & Johanna
the 2015 Volunteers of the Year
Bowman •Abbey Bowser • Scott & Christie Brook
• Jason & Karie Buckles • Kayla Burgess • The Burrows Family • Jason Burt • Luke Burton • DB
& Bob Busan • Chris Caldwell • John Caldwell • Anne, Andy & Ashley Carlson • Gina Carlson
• Lynette Case • Michelle & Mike Caya • Hank Certo • Bob Chambers • Dan Connors • Karen
Coleman • Ruby Constanza • Connie Cooper • Howard Cornwall • Dianne & Ted Costa •John
Costik • Cathy Coulter • Kelly Crandall • Jeff Crouch • Ledgie DeRose • Scott Derwick • DJ &
Kellie Dick • Bill Domborowski • Amy Domboski • The Doxey Family • Cory & Elva Duckworth
• Joe, Susan, Olivia Dupe • The Dwaileebe Family • Evan Evans • The Windus Family • Jim &
Tina Farmer • Tim Finan • Ralph & Toni Fox • Zane Garman • Eric Garvin • Emily Gayton • Brian George • Denise George • Mary George • John Gerringer • Claudia & John Giardini • Edward
Giardini • Char Granger • Scott Grant • Tom Caruso • Jackie Greene • Kerry Grisewood • Jess
Gugino • Lynn & Mike Gumtow • Sue Hannon • Dave & Barb Hastings • Frank Higgins • Michael Higgins • Judy & Jim Hitchcock • Mary Rich Holly Nidell • Mari Howard • Vicki Irizarry •
Candy Johnsen • Seth Johnson • Ray Jonak • Dennis Jones • Becky Jordan • Lori Jordan • Donna
Kahm • Matt Kahm • Mike Kasperski • Chris Kenyon • David & Irene Krahe • Mary Krahe •
Paul Ksionsyk • David Kwiatkowski • Sue Leroy • Billie Lindemuth • Ben Lindermuth • Carey
Litteer • West Long • Joyce Louser • Carol Mahoney • Traci Maley • Kathleen & Mark •Bob Martin • Cora Martin•Don Martyna • Chuck & Sue Massaro • Mike McAfee • Laurie McCarthy • Joy
McClure • Kelly McCullin • Michiko & Earl McElfresh • Joan McGonnell • Joseph McLarney •
Brittany Melfi • Paul Melfi • Kathy Melvin • Tammy Komidar • Michelle Lichy • Mary Middaugh
• Shauna Miller • Tugg & Naomi Molano • John &Deb Monahan • Rhonda Monahan • Patti Morgan • Ginger Moser • Cam & Nicole Myers • George Nasuta • Thom & Angela Nelson • Mike &
Sally Nenno • Elena Nicole • Cheri North • Mia O’Brien • Tim O’Keefe • The Exchange Club of
Olean • The Rotary Club of Olean • Chris Otto • Larry Penman • Cindy Peterson • Dennis Pezzimenti • Amber & Keith Pierce • Joan Pingitore • Steve & Kim Potter • Douglas Price •Robert &
Mary Pundt • Luke & Dominic Rogers • John Sayegh • Amy Schneggenburger • Terry Schnell
• Michelle Schram • Cindy Scott • Neil Shoemaker • Frank Skrobacz •Sandy Sleggs • Natalie
& Mike Smith • Tim Smith • Brian Snyder • Jim Snyder • Paula & James Snyder • Jay Sorokes
• Jeff Spears • Gail Speedy • John Stahley • Audra Stevens •John Stevens • Jim Stitt, Jr. • Terri
Stranburg • Christine Sweitzer • Bill Taggerty • Colleen Taggerty • Kathy Taylor • Josh Torrey •
Troy McNeal • Tracy Baker • Al Wager • Eileen Wallace • Ryan Wheeler • Edward Wilber • Kathy
Wilcox • Helyn Wilson • Linda Witte • Shelly Wolf • Tony Wolf • Donna Woodruff • Ann Marie &
Dennis Wright • Ben Wright • Ken Wright • Tom, Mel & Mack Yanetsko