Rochester Business Alliance Press Releases

Nominations sought for Young Women of Distinction Award

3/11/2010 12:00:00 AM

The Women's Council of the Rochester Business Alliance is seeking nominations for its 11th annual Young Women of Distinction Award.

Modeled after the ATHENA Award, the YWOD program honors girls in their senior year of high school who have demonstrated superior academic performance, along with community service and leadership, and is open to candidates in the nine-county Rochester region, which includes Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Wayne, Orleans, Genesee, Seneca, Wyoming and Yates counties.

Four top recipients of the Young Women of Distinction (one in each from the city of Rochester, suburban east, suburban west and regional school districts) will receive a $1,500 scholarship plus an opportunity for a paid internship at an area company. Twenty finalists will receive a cash award and scholarship to attend the "Leadership in the Age of Intensity" program. Click here for more details on the leadership program.

The finalist will be honored at a special dessert reception held in their honor at the Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. May 24.

Click here for the nomination form, due April 9.

Click here for more information about sponsoring this program or click here if interested in sponsoring the internship program.

For more information on Women's Council visit their website. For questions about the Young Women of Distinction Scholarship, contact Susan George at (585) 256-4612.

Information Meeting on RBA, AAA Trip to Iceland

3/9/2010 12:00:00 AM

Join the Rochester Business Alliance and AAA of Western and Central New York on a tour of Iceland this summer.

The public is invited to an informational meeting on the tour, set for 5 -7 p.m. March 24 at the Rochester Business Alliance, 150 State St. Click here for more information.

The Iceland tour will run Aug. 8 through 15, and includes visits to Reykjavik, Vik, Thingvellir and Skaftafell Nationals Parks and the Reykjanes Peninsula.
The price of the tour is $2,999 per person, and includes roundtrip airfare between New York City and Reykjavik, hotels, 10 meals, admission to major tourist attractions plus activities and presentations by Smithsonian Journeys Travel Adventures. While in Iceland, the group will travel on luxury buses staffed by English-speaking guides.

For more information about the trip, click here or contact Michele Hefferon at (585) 256-4614.

Business After Hours Networking Event Set for Feb. 24

2/17/2010 12:00:00 AM

The Rochester Business Alliance kicks off its 2010 Business After Hours event series on Feb. 24 with an evening of fine food and drink, networking, and a chance to win some fantastic prizes.

The event, the first of six planned for the year, is set for 5 to 7 p.m. at Legacy at Clover Blossom, 100 McAuley Drive in Brighton, which is owned and operated by RBA member Mark IV Enterprises.

Attendees should bring along business cards to enter drawings to win one of four 30-day trial memberships for the new golf course Champion Hills Country Club, a flat screen TV or a gourmet gift basket.

Tickets are $10 for RBA members, $50 for others, and include a variety of hors d'oeuvres, as well as beverages - wine, beer, soda or water.

The 2010 Business After Hours series is sponsored by Xceed Financial Credit Union. Future events will be held in April, June, August, October and December.

To register online, click here or e-mail Michele.Hefferon@RBAlliance.com

Overview on the Benefits of Freight Rail Shipping

2/17/2010 12:00:00 AM

Crowded highways, rising gas prices and other changing transportation logistics have more companies looking to freight rail as a highly efficient, environmentally friendly way to ship goods.

In this two-hour seminar, Tom Siwula of C&S Companies and Genesee and Wyoming Railroad Services Rail will provide an overview of this region's freight rail shipping system, as well as information regarding site plan development, track design and logistics assistance.

The seminar is set for 8 to 10 a.m. Feb. 24 at the Rochester Business Alliance, 150 State St. downtown. The cost is $20 for RBA members, $50 for others. Parking is free in the lot behind the building.

To register online, click here. For more information, email Michele.Hefferon@RBAlliance.com.

Unshackle Upstate Provides $12 Billion in State Savings

2/5/2010 12:00:00 AM

Unshackle Upstate released its 2010 policy agenda this week that included $12 billion in cost savings for New York's 2010-11 fiscal year. These aggressive but vitally needed recommendations will help bring New York along the road to fiscal reform.

"New York cannot afford another decade of reckless spending especially when state revenues have dropped by 36 percent since 2008," said Brian Sampson, Unshackle Upstate's executive director. "During these tough economic times, fiscal responsibility is not only common sense, but imperative to the livelihood of our state and our citizens. Without dramatic changes in our tax-and-spend culture, people, private sector jobs and the wealth they create will be driven from the state and our abysmal fiscal situation will only continue to get worse."

Since 2000, New York State's budget has increased from $75 billion to $131.8 billion. While the 2010-11 budget proposal attempts to address the current deficit, New York still faces an ever-growing deficit that could increase to more that $50 billion in three years. Earlier this month, Unshackle Upstate released a five-year plan to right-size the state budget to a more sustainable $109 billion by 2015. This initiative, coupled with the list of cuts released today, proposes returning the state budget to the level it was in 2000 - $77.5 billion and then be adjusted for inflation based on the consumer price index.

"What continues to mystify most of us is how can taxpayers can see the issues, yet many of our elected officials either cannot, or simply choose to ignore them," said Sandy Parker, president and CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance, a founding partner of Unshackle Upstate. "New York has a major tax-and-spend problem, leaving us as one of the highest taxed states in the country. If members of this elected body are serious about seeing our economy grow, about seeing businesses and families prosper, they need to address the root causes and stop applying Band-Aids to fix the problem."

Sampson is in Albany today testifying before the Joint Legislative Committee on Taxes. The coalition's two major budgetary concerns are the proposed 12 percent increase in spending over the last two year's and the $1.4 billion in new taxes and fees.

"We are calling on our elected representatives to take the steps necessary to lift the burdens of regulation and taxation which hinder us in our ability to do business here in New York," Sampson said. "Our legislators have the capacity to make New York a stronger place to live, work and raise a family. They can create a plan that would welcome private sector job growth, not force them away with high taxes and regulatory obstacles. The question is...will they? And if they won't, are we, as citizens, ready to hold them accountable? The answer is an unequivocal yes!"

Unshackle Upstate is a bi-partisan coalition represents more than 45,000 employers with more than one million workers in every region of upstate. The coalition's website, www.unshackleupstate.com, allows citizens to join the Unshackle Army and send messages to elected officials in Albany.