March09 e-newsletter

March e-newsletter

Chamber News

Chamber Announces Crystal Apple Award Recipient

The Chamber is pleased to announce A. Colarusso & Son, Inc. as the recipient of the 20th Annual Crystal Apple Award. The award was presented on Friday, February 27 at Lippera's at the Chatham House. Emcee for the evening was Assemblyman Marc Molinaro and a video presentation created by Midhudsonmedia was shown highlighting each nominee. The other finalists included: The Bank of Greene County; Columbia Land Conservancy; Ginsberg's Foods, Inc. and The Olana Partnership. The event was sponsored by First Niagara Bank; EP Nevins Insurance Agency, Inc.; Kinderhook Bank; Taconic Farms; Clear Channel Radio; Midhudsonmedia; The Register Star/Chatham Courier; Columbia Hudson Partnership; Fingar Insurance; Freeman Howard, PC and Shallo, Galluscio, Bianchi & Fucito, CPA's, PC. Please click here to view the full article.

View Chamber Crystal Apple Video
For all who were not able to attend and would like to view the Crystal Apple Video to find out more about the nominees click below to view the video. It is also scheduled to air on cable TV at 7:00 pm on March 10, 12 and 14. Please click here to view the video.

Agricultural Brunch - March 11
Come and join the Chamber to hear about the New Faces in Agribusiness in Columbia County on Wednesday, March 11 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. You will hear from Local Ocean, Hudson-Chatham Winery, Katchkie Farm and Columbia County Bounty. They will fill us in on what they have in store for Columbia County in 2009 and beyond. The brunch will be held at Hudson Park Restaurant located at 3521 Route 9 on the Greenport/Livingston line. The event is sponsored by Columbia Land Conservancy; First Pioneer Farm Credit; Hawthorne Valley Association; First Niagara Bank; EP Nevins Insurance Agency, Inc.; Kinderhook Bank; Taconic Farms; Clear Channel Radio; Midhudsonmedia and The Register Star/Chatham Courier. Please click here for more information.

First Niagara Bank Business After Hours- March 25, 2009
First Niagara Bank, Greenport Branch will host a Business After Hours on Wednesday, March 25 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. First Niagara was founded as a community bank more than 139 years ago in Lockport, NY, a suburb of Buffalo, where they remain headquartered. Today, they are a financial services company committed to the same community-oriented philosophy, yet they are able to serve a greater number of customers with added products, services and convenience. Business After Hours' offer excellent networking opportunities for area business people. All members of the business community are invited to attend this event. First Niagara Bank , Greenport Branch is located at 160 Fairview Ave, Hudson.

Please click here for more information.

Legislative Breakfast - April 3

Come meet your local and state legislators at the Chamber's annual Legislative Breakfast on Friday, April 3. The breakfast will be held in the Student Center at Columbia-Greene Community College from 7:30 am to 9:00 am. The event is sponsored by First Niagara Bank; EP Nevins Insurance Agency, Inc.; Kinderhook Bank; Taconic Farms; The Bank of Greene County; Columbia Land Conservancy; Freeman Howard, PC; Fingar Insurance; Clear Channel Radio; Midhudsonmedia and The Register Star/Chatham Courier. Please click here for more information.

Chamber Announces 2009 Sponsorship Opportunities
The Chamber is pleased to announce creative ways to promote your business in 2009. Don't miss this opportunity to promote your company to the Columbia County business community. Event sponsorship enables us to provide high quality programming for our members and promotion for your business. Click for a 2009 Sponsorship Form.

Promote Your Business in the April 2009 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. Promote your business this spring and get a great return on your investment. The next mailing will go out in April 2009. The deadline for materials is March 16. Please contact the Chamber if you are interested in promoting your business.

Chamber Stats
During the month of December the Chamber answered 625 phone calls, sent out 10 relocation guides and welcomed over 225 members to events. The Chamber website was visited over 10,900 times or an average of 390 times daily. For more information about your Chamber of Commerce contact the staff at mail@columbiachamber-ny.com.

Ribbon Cutting

March 18, 9:00 am
Interim Healthcare

1042 Kinderhook Ave, Valatie

Member News

Dogs of Hudson is pleased to announce their group dog training classes to begin in April. Offerings will begin with the foundation class and FUNdamentals, which will give pet dogs a solid education in household manners and a good bit of fun and games too. To sign up or for more information about Dogs of Hudson call (518) 822-8242 or visit their website at www.dogsofhudson.com.

Bindlestiff Family Variety Arts, Inc. and Walking the Dog Theater kick off the Ghost Story writing contest open to all Columbia County teens between the ages of 13 and 19. The story must be 1000 words or less. Submissions must be made by April 30th. The four top stories will be selected by a panel of locally-based professional writers. The winning stories will be published in the Register Star and Chatham Courier in June 2009. For more information about the Ghost Walk Story writing contest call (518) 828-7470 or visit their website at www.ghostwalkhudson.com.

Hawthorne Valley Farm will hold a "Tasting Event" at Hawthorne Valley Farm Store on Saturday, March 14 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. This free event is open to the public and will feature speciatly foods made on their certified Biodynamic Farm. Hawthorne Valley Farm spans nearly 400 acres in Ghent (Harlemville), NY and has been producing high quality foods for over 35 years. For more information about the Hawthorne Valley Farm Store call (518) 672-5118 or visit their website at www.hawthornevalleyfarm.org.

Community Events

Time and Space Limited will feature Madama Butterfly - Puccini Met Opera on Sunday, March 15 beginning at 1:00 pm. Cristina Gallardo-Domas returns to the title role of Anthony Minghella's stunning production , a new classic of the Met repertory, opposite Marcello Giordani. Conductor: Patrick Summers. For tickets or more information about Time and Space Limited call (518) 822-8448 or visit their website at www.timeandspace.org.

Fairview Wines and Swoon Kitchenbar ask you to join them on March 22 at 5:15 for a comprehensive wine tasting and dinner. Mario Scagliola will be at Swoon Kitchenbar for a pairing of the wines with Swoon's incomparable cuisine. The Scagliola winery is one of the small "treasures" of Italy's piedmont. The cost is $68 per person plus tax and gratuity. For reservations contact Fairview Wines at (518) 828-0934 or visit their website at www.fairview-wines.com.

Stair Galleries is having a catalogued auction on March 27, 28 & 29. The auction will feature American, English and Continental furniture and decoration from the estate of Fred F. and Lois K. Rogers, the estate of Cynghia Phipps and English and American 19th and early 20th century fine and decorative arts from the collection of Paul F. Walter. For more information about Stair Galleries call (518) 751-1000 or visit their website at www.stairgalleries.com.

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 April 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.

March and April Chamber Events

March Events
Agricultural Brunch, March 11
11:00 am to 12:30 pm

Hudson Park Restaurant
3521 Route 9, Greenport/Livingston line

Cost is $15
Reservations are required by March 6.

Business After Hours, March 25
5:00 to 7:00 pm

First Niagara Bank, Greenport Branch
160 Fairview Ave, Hudson
Reservations are not required, but appreciated.

Click here to view the 2009 Chamber Calendar.

April Events
Legislative Breakfast, April 3
7:30 to 9:00 am

Columbia-Greene Community College
4400 Route 23, Hudson

Cost is $18.
Reservations are required by March 30.

Business After Hours, April 23
5:00 to 7:00 pm

SunDog Solar
343 Route 295, Chatham
Reservations are not required, but appreciated.

Women's Networking Luncheon, April 29

12:00 to 1:30 pm

Mt. Washington House

2627 Route 23, Hillsdale

Cost is $18 for members and $22 for non-members

Reservations are required by April 24.