November 2020 News
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Message from the Board President:

Dear Members,

This week will consist of my last Executive Board meeting and Board of Directors meeting as your president. Two years went by so fast! It has been my sincere pleasure to work with Cathy Oddo, Sarah Nelson, and Krista Atkinson at the Chamber office. As winter approaches, I'm looking forward to my year as Past President. I'm on a mission to organize our storage room and leave the Chamber office in tip-top shape. I'm also looking forward to working with Bob Pecoraro, our new President, and Tom Scime and Maggie Higgins, our new 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents.

The second year of my term was clouded by the pandemic. We had so many events and our Expo planned. I was so looking working to working with our members at the Expo. Hopefully, 2021 will bring back our businesses and return our economy to what it was pre-COVID-19. We are planning a zoom Business Connections meeting with Horizon Health in December to help our members and the public - the presentation is titled "Well Being in a Time of COVID" and will address understanding depression, anxiety, normalizing the feelings and emotions, suicide prevention, identifying community resources, etc.

Also, congratulations to all our new officers, new members, and the Tonawanda City School District as our member of the month.

Don't forget to stop in and buy your tickets for our Christmas raffle! Thank you for everything,

Deborah Jaeger, Board President
This Christmas, Put $$$ in Their Stockings from the Chamber's Christmas Raffle!

Each $20 raffle ticket enters you for daily drawings the whole month of December. Drawings will be held live on Facebook each day at noon! Winners can win more than once!

Winnings range from $100-$500!

Ticket stubs and payment must be received at the Chamber office by
Nov. 30th at 4pm
Call 692-5120 or come by the office at 254 Sweeney Street, NT, to purchase yours!
Please note that the Chamber will be closed the followings days:

All Fridays, until further notice
November 11, Veteran's Day
November 26-27 for Thanksgiving
December 24-25 for Christmas
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Horizon Health Services presents
"Well Being in a Time of COVID"
December 1 at 9:30am
Open to All, No Registration!

Josh Bradley will present on understanding depression, anxiety, normalizing the feelings and emotions, suicide prevention, identifying community resources, etc.

Josh is a program director at Horizon and graduated from University of Rochester with a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology. He began working as a program aide in the psychiatric unit at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center after he graduated and throughout that time found great interest in working with those struggling with mental health and substance use disorders. He graduated with his Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from Niagara University in 2011 and began with Horizon in 2012. He specializes in trauma work, utilizing CBT, DBT and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing therapeutic modalities.

This meeting is open to all Chamber members and the general public! Please help us reach our community and invite all to benefit from the information in this meeting.

DeGraff Medical Park Community Center
Flu Clinic
Come to 139 Division Street, NT from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Saturday, November 21
Saturday, December 5
Saturday, December 19

  • No prescription required.
  • Bring your insurance card.
  • Vaccinations available for ages 18 and older.
Help out the Tonawandas by Helping Rockin' with Santa!

For many years, our Chamber has partnered with Rockin' with Santa to collect and deliver toys for needy families in our area during the holidays. Need grows every year, and COVID-19 has increased requests 25% on top of the 140 families they already assist.

Any unwrapped toy or monetary donations are appreciated, and can be brought to the Chamber office at 254 Sweeney St, NT, by December 5, 2020. Checks can be made out to: Rockin’ With Santa, PO Box 96, Tonawanda, NY 14150.

Thank you in advance for your help. This year more than ever we need YOU!!

Rockin' with Santa and the Chamber of Commerce of the Tonawandas
COVID Business Award:
CopierFax Business Technologies

In place of the Business and Citizen of the Year Awards, this year the Chamber of Commerce of the Tonawandas has sought out businesses that have demonstrated an exemplary level of leadership and community engagement throughout the pandemic. These businesses assisted with the needs of the community and found innovative ways to service the needs of their customers and employees.

CopierFax Business Technologies has been chosen to receive this award! They will be honored at the 2021 Annual Dinner.

Faced with the difficulties of COVID-19, CopierFax decided to reinvent themselves - which lead to one of the busiest years in their company history. In early Spring, they launched their "Stay Connected" program - designed to use hardware and software solutions to allow their clients to safely and efficiently work from home. Later they launched the "Stay Well" program - designed for businesses to reopen as safely as possible. The biggest proponent was a new product - the Documentelligence Facial Thermal Camera System. This device monitors all visitors’ temperature, checks if they are wearing a mask, and allows contact tracing (to name just a few of the features).

During these difficult times, CopierFax reinvented how they could help their customers, and the Chamber applauds their efforts! Visit their website here to see how they can help your business!
Please join us for a Ribbon Cutting For Our Newest Member
Rustic Buffalo Home Décor, Accents & Artisan Market

Saturday, November 14, 2020
10:30 A.M.
6610 Shawnee Road North
North Tonawanda, NY 14120
Business Connections meets every other Tuesday at 9:30am via Zoom

Upcoming Meetings:
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Nov. 17 - Emily Martin from Ally HR Partners, LLC will be presenting. Please register here!
 
Dec. 1 -  Josh Bradley from Horizon Health Services will present "Well Being in a Time of COVID", including understanding depression, anxiety, normalizing the feelings and emotions, suicide prevention, identifying community resources, etc. No registration required, open to the public! Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86930023522.

Dec. 15 - Ryan Bischoff from Innosek will present on 3D Printing and how companies are utilizing this technology. Registration will be available here soon!

Dec. 29 - No meeting, Christmas break
 
Jan. 12, 2021 - YWCA.


Recordings of each meeting are posted on our website and Facebook page directly afterwards.

If you are interested in joining this group or presenting, please contact Board Member Robert Pecoraro at pecoraror@aol.com
Member of the Month!
Tonawanda City School District

The Tonawanda City School District is an exceptional small city school district in Erie County, NY. We are proud of our academic achievement and student success. We are excited to begin structural work on a new building on the Fletcher school campus, serving K-5 students in the Fall of 2023. Our graduation rate is 90%, and our innovative STEAM program has been recognized as an exemplar project in the region and state. We strive to meet the needs and interests of EVERY student.

Tonawanda City School District
100 Hinds Street, Tonawanda
716-694-7784

(Pictured left to right is Sarah Elizabeth Nelson, Director of Marketing and Membership, Deborah Jaeger, Chamber President, Heather Sternin, Board of Education President, Robert E. Pecoraro 1st Vice President.)
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Welcome to the Newest Members
of the Chamber Family!

Rustic Buffalo Home Decor, Accents & Artisan Market

George Ferber

Ally HR Partners, LLC.

Silipos Holding, LLC.

Starry Night Theatre, Inc.

Queen City Fine Arts

Brass Ring Web Solutions

Cardinal O'Hara High School

Pillar to Post RH Home Inspection

Lock & Key Escape Room Buffalo

Isleview Fine Wines & spirits

Alliance Wealth Management of WNY