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NEW MEMBERS

Clubhouse Diner
Restaurants, Food & Beverage; Café
108 North Second Street
Olean, NY 14760
email
716-307-8406
Fast service, low cost, affordable, great lunch and breakfast food. Delivery in Olean free.

Kristen Johnson, LLC
Business & Professional Services; Consultant
12 Cleveburn Place
Buffalo, NY 14222
716-720-3888
email • website
Kristen Johnson, LLC provides web design and marketing support for startups, small businesses, non-profits and professionals in Western New York.

Wood Forest National Bank
Finance & Insurance; Banks / Credit Unions
1869 Plaza Drive
Olean, NY 14760
716-372-4364
email • website

MEMBER NEWS • MEMBER NEWS • MEMBER NEWS

Databranch located in Olean, NY has joined with Repeat Business Systems, Inc. (RBS) as a new division bringing their 35 years of experience in the IT industry to RBS via the company’s lucky 13th acquisition. Databranch has been serving local, regional, national, and international businesses in Western/Central New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania since 1985. Databranch will continue to provide the same high level of service and support, and they will now have expanded resources and products that they can offer to their clients as well! You can contact Databranch at 716-373-4467, email, or visit their website for additional information.
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HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY CLASSES: Salamanca, Delevan, and Olean locations. There is no cost to students. This will prepare students for TASC exam. For more information or to enroll, please call 716-376-8293 or email.

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TREE OF LIFE ORNAMENT: The 25th Annual HomeCare & Hospice Foundation Tree of Life Virtual Ceremony is a special way for you to remember your loved one’s life this holiday season or to honor a special someone.

When you purchase 2020 Holiday Ornament, your loved one’s name will be read during the virtual ceremony and you may also submit a photo to be included in a slideshow as a part of the ceremony. Orders for engraved ornaments must be postmarked by December 4th. For more information, please call at 716-372-2106.
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ONLINE PAWTIQUE: This year in addition to the Cattaraugus SPCA Holiday Store at the Olean Center Mall opening November 14th, they will also have an online store. What a great option for all to shop from home. ONLINE

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT • MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

A Medicare Enrollment Center is a new service brought to the Southern Tier by Thoughtful Insurance and should be of huge interest to small employer groups with aging workforces approaching retirement or Medicare age; or individuals who simply need guidance through the complexities of Medicare Open Enrollment.

Vicki Pollock is a licensed Medicare Benefit Consultant and together with her agent/friend Cheryl Smith through Thoughtful Insurance - they have recently opened a Medicare Enrollment Center in Olean – located in Holiday Park Centre on West State in Olean. Their Covid-19 Compliant office is open daily with one-on-one meetings scheduled by appointment only. They represent all major carriers, and are positioned to listen, evaluate, and educate members to guide them to the right Medicare plan that best fits their needs; and educate those closing in on Medicare-age on the Medicare enrollment process with their Medicare 101 tutorial.

For more information, please call 716-376-0129 or email.

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GOACC NEWS • GOACC NEWS • GOACC NEWS

FAMILY FUN FOUR PACK

Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce is selling a Family Four Pack for the holidays for a donation of a toy valued at $10 or more. The four pack includes four sets of holiday bulb necklaces and four holiday squirrel mask gaiters. “We had purchased them for the participants in the parade this year – lit necklaces and gaiters for visibility as well as social distancing,” reported Meme K. Yanetsko, GOACC COO. “We thought it would be a great idea to ‘sell’ these four packs for a donation of a toy for our local Toys for Tots.”

The gaiter was purchased through Ambroselli Partners, GOACC member, and are dye sublimation of the Santa Squirrel with the parade name and Olean displayed. The gaiters are made of soft, lightweight, breathable 100% polyester fabric and have a weave pattern through them for better protection versus normal cloth.

How to purchase a family four pack? Please stop in the Chamber office at 301 North Union Street, Olean with your toy donation for each pack ‘purchased.’ You can also call the Chamber 716-372-4433 for curbside delivery to your car. Please go online to the Chamber’s shop site – however, you will actually purchase them for $10/pack plus shipping and the Chamber will use the $10 donation to purchase a toy in your family’s name.

Kip Morrow, local rep for Toys for Tots Program, stated, “With the economic challenges of 2020 we’re certain that more families than ever before will need our help. Your donations today will bring the joy of Christmas and send a message of hope to area’s less fortunate children. Past years, our army of volunteers do the magic sorting and filling about 1600 bags of toys.”

The Toys for Tots campaign has many toy barrel boxes throughout the immediate area: Olean Public Library, Hall of Fame Barbershop, GOACC office, most discount and retail outlets, and the Cattaraugus County centers. Mr. Morrow added, “Everything donated here, toys, cash, etc.; stays here – Donate Local, Stays Local, Help Local.”

GOACC’s normal hours are Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Extended hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. will happen on Tuesday, December 15 and Wednesday, December 16th. For more information or questions, please call GOACC 716-372-4433 or email.

HOLIDAYS IN A GLASS CONTEST

The trees of downtown Olean are not the only things getting lit this holiday. The Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce’s Holidays in a Glass Contest will be starting on Wednesday November 25th to Sunday December 6th. The contest will be a friendly competition between our well-known local cafes, bars, and restaurants to encourage the Olean area residents and visitors to drink local and treat themselves to a much-needed cup of cheer!

Entries could warm even the grinches cold heart and are ready to be served! The contest is made up of seven locations, each with a signature holiday themed drink that will be judged on how many they sell to the community. The business with the most drinks sold will win a trophy, bragging rights until next year, and GOACC will be donating $200 to Toys for Tots in the winner’s name.

Participating Businesses Include: Village Green presenting their Cocoa and Chill, La Dolce Vita with their Christmas in a Cup, Kopper Keg and their Snow Globe White Hot Chocolate, Beef N Barrel featuring their Tom and Jerry, Woodside Tavern on the Range serving The Grinch, Talty’s is providing both Café Milis and Irish Noggin, and The Old Library will be gifting their White Chocolate Peppermint Martini.

If you can’t wait to try these festive creations and want to see the sneak peek images of these delicious holiday drinks visit the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page where you will have to see it to believe it. Remember, he sees you when you are drinking so be sure to follow guidelines and ensure the safety of our local businesses, yourself, and others. For more information regarding the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce Holidays in a Glass contest or other GOACC events and activities, please call GOACC at 716-372-4433 or email.

#SHOPlocal #EATlocal #DRINKlocal

TWELVE DAYS OF DEALS

Holiday shopping will look a little different this year which is why The Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce presents their December Deals Series which will include the Twelve Days of Deals from GOACC and the 12 Days of Deals. This series was created to help local businesses thrive throughout the month of December while encouraging our community to shop local this season.

Starting December 1st, the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce will be offering deals from their GOACC Gift Shop in the Twelve Days of Deals from GOACC series. Each day until December 12th GOACC will have a new deal with gifts ranging from apparel, mugs, ornaments, stuffed animals, etc. The Deals will be posted on the chamber Facebook page and will be advertised in the chamber office located on 301 N Union Street. The chamber also has their Shop Local Gift Certificates for purchase this holiday season!

The 12 Days of Deals will take place staring on Saturday December 12th and ending on Wednesday December 23rd. Each day will have a handful of different deals offered by local shops leading up to Christmas Eve. GOACC asks all local businesses to send in a holiday deal they would like advertised in their 12 Days of Deals Flyer and to be advertised on their social media platforms. All deals must be submitted to GOACC by Friday November 27th. A copy of the 12 Days of Deals schedule will be sent out to all participating businesses the first week of December and must be approved by Monday December 7th. This deal will be promoted online via Cybernews, Facebook and Twitter. If GOACC does not hear back from your business, they will disregard the submission. This ensures that each business will be ready to host the community within their establishment to give their customers the best holiday deals. The Flyer will be put out to the public the week leading to the event.

GOACC wanted to provide the community with great deals leading up to the holiday and encourages everyone to remember to shop local this season! For more information on the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce’s 12 Days of Deals or to submit your deal please call GOACC at (716) 372-4433, or email.

ANNUAL REPORT 2019

Chamber Membership

Chamber Membership--Membership with the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce stayed at approximately 575 members in 2019. That means the majority of area businesses throughout the greater Olean area are part of the Chamber. We welcomed many new businesses and organizations to our ranks.

During last year, members took advantage of many benefits the Chamber offers including member-to-member discounts; assistance with advertising, marketing and promotion; and guidance in exploring cost-saving measures like health insurance programs, energy saving incentives, and grants. Through various sponsorships or setting up booths at the many Chamber events during 2019, our members were able to promote their businesses and reach new customers.

Our weekly #MemberMonday posts on social media continued to perform well — and became a sought-after benefit. Each week, the Chamber highlighted a different member on Facebook with a boosted post to ensure it reached residents in the community.

That promo went over so well, the Membership Committee added Testimonial Tuesdays! During #TestimonialTuesday, the Chamber looked for positive testimonials from the community about our members. Maybe you had a great meal, received top quality customer service, found the perfect item at a local merchant? Whatever the experience... the community gave out kudos to our members -- it was great!

The Chamber’s Lunch and Learn series was a benefit taken advantage of by many of our members. The Chamber held one-hour sessions in which speakers presented on a variety of topics, such as Marketing 101; Self-Defense for Business People and Estate Planning for the Individual and BusinessOwner, pertinent to business owners.

GC - Gift Certificate Program

Gift Certificate Program -- The Chamber sold nearly $306,900 in gift certificates throughout 2019, with $162,890 sold in December (increase from 2018 figure $140,467). Of the gift certificates sold in 2019, thousands were redeemed at more than 233 local businesses. Beauty shops, restaurants, day cares, grocers, and stores of all sizes benefit 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 gift certificates were sold via phone calls and emails to customers across the country buying gifts for local residents.

Online sales
The Chamber’s online shop site continued into 2019 with sales. The shop.oleanny.com site allows the Chamber to sell its gift certificates, ornaments, other merchandise event tickets online. The second season saw similar sales of 2018 in 2019 with $5,907.00.

MNE: Member networking events
For the 2019-2020 season, GOACC added CASH MOBS to its member networking events schedule. This schedule also includes a reduced number of Business After Hours (5). This opportunity (BAHs) to meet and network with other members is a valuable business resource. Call it networking, schmoozing; mingling whatever. All your member employees are eligible to attend. The schedule can be found online.

NEW STAFF
The Chamber saw the addition of a new staff member, Abby Irvin as our staff intern. We are excited to welcome this former Allegany Limestone Central student and current JCC student to our team.

Workforce Development

Workforce Development--Since 1977, the Chamber has administered the Chamber On-the-Job Training Program, helping reduce the cost of training new staff for many of our area’s employers. The Chamber received another grant for the program totaling $100,590 for employee training in 2019. That money was used by 36 different local companies to train a total of 42 employees. The average hourly wage of those trained was $14.12.

Through an affiliation with the One Stop Career Center in Cattaraugus County, the Chamber provided assistance to another 30 companies across the county in training and hiring 49 new employees. Companies benefiting from the program ranged from the area’s largest employers to smaller stores.

Annual Dinner 2019
Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce recognized four fixtures in the local business community at its Annual Dinner held on November 7 at Good Times of Olean’s Events Center.

Brian O’Connell, Jr. was awarded the 2019 L.O.U.I.E. Award. The L.O.U.I.E. Award is bestowed upon an individual who symbolizes the enterprising spirit for the greater Olean community, qualities which were embodied in the life of Louis Marra.

Both Henry H. Hill and Angee’s Restaurant were each given the 2019 Enterprising Business Award. The honor is presented to a business or a non-profit organization which exemplifies the unique “hometown” charm of the greater Olean area in manners of administration/operation, customer service, or marketing efforts.

The Chamber’s Presidential Award, an honor given to a business, organization or individual that is iconic and integral to the fabric of the business community in the greater Olean area, was given to Olean Family YMCA.

Chamber Events

Chamber Events--The tenth-annual Greater Olean Area Outdoor & Rec Sports Show held January saw many visitors brave the snowstorm that hit that weekend. The show, which featured 34 vendors all specializing in different ways to enjoy the outdoors, was held at Daniel Carter Events Center.
The 47th-annual Greater Olean Area Home Show welcomed nearly 1,927 visitors in April. Seventy-two vendors participated, displaying and demonstrating products from hot tubs to gardening supplies, along with heating and cooling systems.

The Chamber Clambake, held in June at War Veterans Park, in Olean. More than 550 attended and enjoyed an evening back in one of its mainstay locations. Grand Slam Grill served up a delicious menu.
The sixth-annual Corporate Golf Classic, held in July at the Bartlett Country Club, had 22 foursomes compete. Tournament winners were Dresser-Rand in the Corporate Division and Fox Financial in the Community Division. Through its 50/50, the Classic raised $400 to the Mental Wellness in Cattaraugus County Fund.

D.J. Butchello, John Cappelletti, and the late Larry Chiarenza were named as the 2019 Taste of Olean Hospitality Wall of Fame Award recipients. The Hospitality Wall of Fame recognizes individuals and/or businesses who have made a significant contribution and given exceptional service to the food service/ hospitality industry in the past and who may continue to do so.

To mark the 2019 holiday season, the Chamber released two ornaments depicting Beef ‘n’ Barrel Restaurant and the Archbishop Walsh Academy.

2019 Chamber Volunteers

Chamber Volunteers-- Rachel Askey • Adam Jester • Bill and Patty Aiello • John Ash • Mark Baker • Ellen / Bill Bathurst • Bob Bell • Al Bernstein • Vicki Blessing • Tim Smith • Bonnie Babcock • Abbey Bowser • Sarah Bradley • Terry Brairton • Suzy Broadbent • Scott/Christie Brook • Maria / Dan Brooks • DB & Bob Busan • Anne & Andy Carlson • Trisha Carney • Andrew Caya • Michelle/Mike Caya • Ruby Constanza • Wayne / Sue Cooper • Kelly Crandall • Jason Crisafulli • Jeff and Anne Crouch • Daniel DeMarte • Scott Derwick • Trista Dickerson • Jon Blade • Wendy Eaton • The Thompson Family • Tim Finan • Eric Garvin • Leslie Morey • George Nasuta • John Gerringer • Matt Gnan • Kathy Grandusky • Char Granger • Jesse Gugino • Patti Gulnac • Lynn & Mike Gumtow • Sarah Hagg • Sue Hannon • Dave & Barb Hastings • Kelly Hendrix • Frank Higgins • Mari Howard • Megan Jennings • Matt Kahm • Vicki Kearns • Chris Kenyon • James & Sandy Keough • Lynette Korsa • David/Irene Krahe • Heather / Monica Krotz • David Kwiatkowski • Randy & Kate Langdon • Steve / Eileen Lanza • James Lee • Lori / Chuck Lee • Tim Lemon • Sue LeRoy • West Long • Joyce Louser • Carol Mahoney • Danni & Katie • Mike Martello • Cora Martin • Chuck Massaro • Joann McAndrew • Laurie McCarthy • Sue Mccauley • Michiko/Earl McElfresh • Joan McGonnell • Paul Melfi • Shauna Miller • Rick Moore • Ginger & Tom Moser • Amy & Brenda Murphy • Cam Myers • Mike / Sally Nenno • Tim O’Keefe • Rotary Club of Olean • Deb / Randy Opferbeck • Roxanne Padlo • Bob Parker • John Petruzzi • Steve Piccirillo • Amber & Keith Pierce • Joan & Richard Pingitore • Steve Pokrzyk • Brent Raabe • Anna/Phoenix Reisner • Mary Rich • Nate Rodgers • Dominic / Jen Rogers • Fred Saradin • Anita Schmidt • Amy Schneggenburger • Frank & Birdie Skrobacz • Tammy Skrobacz • Sandy Sleggs • Mary Smith • Mike Smith • Paula & James Snyder • Bill / Cindy Sorokes • Kim / Craig Southard • Jeff and Jody Spears • Tracey Spears • Audra Stevens • Colleen Taggerty • Charles/Sharon Talbot • Otto Tertinek • Ryan Wheeler • Kelly Wilber • Krissy Williams • Linda / Gil Witte • Donna Woodruff • Ann Marie & Dennis Wright • Ken Wright • Tom, Mack Yanetsko • Lisa Zlockie

2019 Volunteer Of the Year

Tom Yanetsko
2019 Volunteer Of the Year--In 2019, Tom Yanetsko, supervisor with Dresser-Rand Co., received the designation. Meme Krahe Yanetsko, Chief Operating Officer stated, “We appreciate all of our volunteers, but are especially thankful for Tom and how he steps right in to whatever volunteer job we hand him, takes charge and organizes that particular job duty!”

“It goes hand in hand that a husband and wife help each other, but Tom goes above and beyond with his behind the scenes work here at the Chamber,” added Mrs. Yanetsko, Tom’s wife. “I cannot think of one event that Tom hasn’t volunteered for at the Chamber… Taste of Olean – brew serving; Sports Show – working the ticket booth; Golf Classic – placing the hole sponsor signs out, Home Show – wine / beer serving; Corporate Challenge – directing runners; Santa Claus Lane – directing traffic; and other job duties include – decorating for Christmas, placing signs out for the events, setting up for Gus Macker, delivering event items, hanging signs, the list goes on and one.”

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