The first members of the year
Chamber off to good start for 2012 new members
With 24 hours of the New Year, the Chamber welcomed its first new members. Greg Radin, left photo owner of Atlantic Restoration & Remodeling joined several hours before Kevin Palladino, Right Photo, owner of Pals Power Washing came into the office to submit his application. As of this newsletter, the Chamber has grown 17 new members. Atlantic Restoration is a full service company capable of handling from small repairs to the full restoration of home or business. The Radins live in Southington. Pals Power Washing is owned by local resident Kevin Palladino. He power washes mobile homes, raised ranches, ranches, concrete cleaning, gutters and offers discounts for veterans and seniors.
Pestillo, Monbaron & Denorfia
Three nominated for 3-year terms on Chamber Board
The Chamber’s nominating committee is proposing three names to serve three-year terms on the board of directors effective April 2012. Pending any petitions from the roll of members, the three names will be presented to the entire board on Feb. 21 for approval.
The three are Attorney Andrew Denorfia of the Denorfia & Zaccagarino law firm, 133 Main Street; David Pestillo, Emendee Technologies, 136 Commission St, Al Monbaron, Baron Realty, 98 Main street. The nominating committee also is proposing two directors be moved onto the executive board—Melissa Ericksen and Paul Armor. The Chamber has 21 volunteer directors.
Sat. April 21st
Chamber Annual Dinner Committee established
It’s only February but the Chamber’s annual dinner committee, comprised of 16 volunteers, is making plans for the Sat. April 21 event at the Aqua Turf. This will be the 74th annual meeting and this year’s event will be titled, “Dirty Dancing” and will feature a retro theme with emphasis on the 1984 movie and songs. The dinner will include the installation of new directors, Charlie Cocuzza as the new chairman, honors to selected award recipients and appreciation to outgoing directors. The night includes dinner, open bar, dancing plus the décor of several vintage cars, pinball machines, and dance surprises. The cost is $75 per person. The committee will meet again Feb. 9th at TD Bank at 4:00 p.m.
Chamber Women seeking additional members
The Chamber Womens Committee is offering an open invitation to any Chamber woman to join the group that meets the 2nd Thursday of the month at the Chamber conference room. The committee was organized in 2004 and is headed by Rachel Potter. The women are a major component of the Chamber and have assisted in the annual Pizza fest, Wing fest, annual drive during the holiday for needy families and the annual ‘Girls Night Out’ at the Aqua Turf. Interested? Just show up at 9 a.m. on Feb. 9 at the Chamber, One Factory Square.
Chamber-In-The-Morning is hot networking event
New members are being encouraged to attend the monthly networking sessions of our organization titled, “Chamber-In-The-Morning” at The Orchards of Southington, Hobart St. from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. The session is free and is scheduled for the 3rd Wednesday of every month and each attendee gets the opportunity to speak about their business, services and can distribute business cards or flyers. The sessions have been attracting more than 30 members. The Feb. session is Feb. 15th. A continental breakfast is provided. Photos show recent session at the Orchards.
CBA to host meeting with downtown merchants;
Plan to re-promote Plantsville Renaissance project
The chairperson of the Chamber’s Central Business Alliance and Chamber President Art Secondo attended the Jan. 23 Town Council meeting to propose amending the Renaissance Plantsville project. Nancy Serafino reported that the CBA wants to resurface the Plantsville project as a priority for the town. Secondo told the council that the $1.4 million effort could be substantially reduced by eliminating the Main St. (Rt.10) improvements at this time. The project has been stalled due to the lack of any state funding and other priorities for the town. Chairman Ed Pocock III told the CBA that he would bring the suggestion to the town’s Economic Strike Committee. The Renaissance would include vintage light poles, paver brick sidewalks, trees and benches.The CBA will also host a morning gathering of interested downtown Southington merchants in an attempt to form a working alliance. The session will be on Friday February 10th at 9:00 a.m. at Mainley Seafood.
Chamber Notes Last June, our Chamber announced a monetary reward to thwart vandalism along the Rails-To-Trail in conjunction-with the Southington Police Department. The Chamber offered to pay $250 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those caught vandalizing buildings along the four-mile walking trail.Here's an update seven months later: No reports of vandalism.
Richard Thomas of Coldwell Banker Real Estate on Queen Street, was installed recently as president of the Mid-State Association of Realtors at the group’s annual membership meeting at the Aqua Turf. A realtor for the past 14 years, Thomas has taught real estate classes with his own real estate school. Thomas is a Chamber member and has been a general manager of Comfort Suites in Milldale.
Third annual State-of-the-Town supper draws large crowd
The newly-elected town council members were guests of the Chamber’s Legislative Committee and sponsor Lake Compounce at our 3rd annual State-of-The-Town supper. After enjoying a buffet at the Manor Inn, councilors individually addressed the 68 people in attendance and spoke about the committees they belong to and their aspirations for the next two years. “This supper has proven to be extremely informative and the committee is pleased to make it happen each year,” stated Paul Armor, chairman of the Legislative Committee that included Michelle Maccio, Al Monbaron, Angelina Santa Maria, Dave Zoni and Armor. Photo at Left: Councilwoman Dawn Miceli speaks to Chamber Members and guests during her turn at the podium.
Popular Piggyback mailing has slight fee increase
The piggyback mailing service of the Chamber will now cost $125 for 600 mailings, according to Chamber Executive Assistant Cathy Zalaski. “The mailing fees and cost of postage are the reasons we have to increase from $100 to $125 which is still a great bargain to connect with nearly 600 fellow members and friends,” she stated. Chamber mailings (48 last year) have proven to be effective for members who provide fliers.
Raya Clinic, Martocchio law firm,
American Eagle CULatest Chamber website advertisement sponsors
The Chamber is proud to announce the new additions to our www.southingtoncoc.com website banner advertisements. The site now includes Martocchio & Oliviera Law firm, Ray Clinic and American Eagle Credit Union. Please call the office if you would like to advertisement on the website. Each block ad is linked to the respective business’ own website. The fee is less than $7 a week. A new website format will be introduced in several weeks that will highlight all the advertisers in a slow speed vertical display.
Our Website is the one-stop visit for all event schedules
www.southingtoncoc.com
Change for the sake of change isn’t always good
Governor Malloy is proposing to lawmakers this session and undoubtedly will get whatever he proposes, new guidelines to be enacted that will allow bars and restaurants to remain open until 2 a.m. and allow package stores to open on Sundays and remain open until 10 p.m. each day of the week.
On one side, the initial positive reaction is, “Wow, this is great. It allows us to do other things during the week and then drive to the package store on Sundays.” Or, “Now we can stay fixed to our barstool another hour if we have any money left.” Of course, there are those in the state legislative body who are being convinced thousands of dollars are being spent by Ct. residents at Massachusetts and other border state liquor stores. This obviously prompted this overhaul of current regulations and making Sunday anything but a special family day.
Opponents, including this writer who is a former restaurant/club owner, just can’t support the justification of the Governor’s proposal. The state claims losses of $570 million in revenues because we aren’t competitive. For an estimated eight percent discount on liquor prices in bordering states, are Ct. residents rushing to the package stores in other states? Hard to believe.
Restaurants and bars staying open until 2 a.m.? Few believe there will be many takers. A majority of restaurants want to close by midnight. The kitchen is closed and the bars at restaurants really don’t cater to the late-night crowd. Some nightclub bars stay open until 2 a.m. but to encourage others to do this will impact payroll expenses, increase the vulnerability of DUI cases, and most importantly, encourage bar patrons to head out to the bars at a much later hour. Beverage patrons are pretty specific about their bar time.
Pity the little package store owners – the mom and pops who wait for Sunday to close, to rest. How can they compete with the grocery stores, the big-box liquor outlets? And, most pathetic about all this is the state’s double standard of promoting television ads warning drivers about drinking and driving; passing laws that allow police to make arrests even if the car isn’t on the road but the key is in the ignition, and then making these announcements that they can now drink later and buy booze just about anytime they wish. In addition, let it be known that .08 on the breathalyzer is a social drinker’s nightmare.
Being charged with DUI today encompasses a lot of people who are hardly “boozers” or late-night partiers, but actually are good people who attend functions and maybe sip two wines in an hour. Isn’t that terrible? Rather than assist a probable .08 victim police are more inclined to begin the process of arrest. Circumstances of an impaired driver mean little today.
In summary, the Governor would be wise to encourage border states to cooperate with competitive pricing, or furthermore leave the issue alone since nobody is clamoring for change in the respective trades except the large food chains.
Democratic lawmakers should take a stand in opposing the Governor’s proposals. But, Malloy is a no-nonsense politician who doesn’t like opposition. It’s no secret that lawmakers from his own party shy away from a debate with him. By the way, for those who may suffer with a gambling addiction and can’t get to the casinos, Internet gambling is on its way. So, in the comfort of your own home, one can enjoy the bliss of risk.
Sundays could soon be an afternoon of driving to the liquor store, watching a football or NBA game hit the sports bars and gambling on the computer. Church anyone?
(Art Secondo, President/CEO of the Chamber. Comments and opinions do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the Chamber Membership)
