Announcements

Press release:

The BEST Center at Genesee Community College is pleased to announce the first class of Building Leadership Excellence students have completed their 12-week leadership course.

Building Leadership Excellence is an intensive, hands-on program designed to develop the proven skills needed to manage, influence, create, inspire and lead organizations. Participants learn to think and act strategically, resulting in enhanced management performance and improved organizational skills in decision making, coaching, innovative problem solving and conflict resolution.

The program is designed for managers, supervisors, team leaders and future leaders. Each session is filled with real-life examples and practical techniques for achieving results. Topics covered include communicating effectively, understanding personal styles, mentoring, creative problem solving, building strong teams and several other key management issues.

"Building Leadership Excellence is a great opportunity for managers from all walks of life and industries to come together and work in an engaging and dynamic team environment," said Lina LaMattina, director at The BEST Center. "Today's organizations are looking for innovative leadership and this program offers that knowledge and skills set to the participants."

Congratulations to our first graduating class! We know these leaders are doing great things in their organizations:

Joyce Kingdom, Genesee ARC, Batavia

Paul Saskowski, Genesee ARC, Batavia

Joanna Barefoot, GCC

Laura Keenan, GCC

Judy Welch, Livingston/Wyoming ARC

Mary Pat Hancock, Genesee County Legislature

Matt Slezak, Texas Brine

Joseph Demmer Jr., Willow Group

June Redden, Willow Group

Robyn Brookhart, Liberty Pumps

Dave Williams, Liberty Pumps

Erica Southwood, Livingston/Wyoming ARC

The next Building Leadership Excellence program will begin in August with a full-day kick off session from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 11. Participants will attend 10 half-day sessions from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 18 and 25, Sept. 8, 15 and 22, Oct. 6, 13 and 20, and Nov. 3 and 10.

A graduation celebration, that includes final project presentations to participants' supervisors, will take place in a full-day session on Nov. 17. This intensive, skill-building program also incorporates 10 hours of one-on-one coaching for each participant in an effort to enhance his or her ability to apply new skills in the workplace.

Genesee Community College's BEST Center (focused on Business and Employee Skills Training) is a local provider of business consulting, community training and workshops for companies of all sizes and in all industries.

It offers a variety of tailored programs on-location at businesses across the GLOW region, or at any of Genesee Community College's seven campus locations (Albion, Arcade, Batavia, Dansville, Lima, Medina and Warsaw).

For further information on The BEST Center, please contact Lina LaMattina, director, at 343-0055, ext. 6299, or visit The BEST Center online at www.bestcenter.org

Six Genesee Community College instructors and staff members embarked on an English language collaboration program in Sao Paulo, Brazil on July 5. They went to the South American country to teach English to students at FATEC Americana, a state-run technology-based institution.

The travelers abroad included Charley Boyd, professor English; Connie Boyd, director of the Human Services program; Karen Taylor, associate dean of Records; Barb Shine, associate professor of Business and Entrepreneurship; Dennis Shine, associate professor of Drafting; and Donna Ehrhart, professor of Fashion Business and Computer Information Systems.

Accompanying them were Don Brown, vice president of Charles Men Shop; Chris Davis, student at the University of Buffalo; Lew Scialdone, instructor of English for Speakers of Other Languages at BOCES; Dolores Quiles, associate professor of English at SUNY Ulster; and Darryl Blumel, director of Studies at Southbank Institute of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.

The trip was a two-week exchange of language as well as information about culture, history and geography. Brazilian students and American teachers benefitted from a dialogue about differences and similarities between the two cultures.

Teachers focused on topics that contrasted the two cultures' holidays, climates, history, current events, politics, job seeking as well as cultural elements such as music and cooking. New this year was the discipline-specific collaborations that included culture, textiles and entrepreneurship.

This was the second trip for Connie and Charley Boyd, who traveled last summer to FATEC.

"We are so excited to return to Brazil," Connie Boyd said before leaving. "This language and cultural collaboration has been so eye opening and enjoyable. We are anxious to return to FATEC Americana to work with new students, as well as some of the same students that we met last summer."

The group documented their travels on Genesee's Study Abroad blog. Their blog posts can be viewed at <http://www.gccblogs.wordpress.com>.

For more information please contact James Goodwin, director of Curriculum Development at 343-0055, ext. 6322.

Submitted by Bea McManis:

Come pitch with us!

Wyoming Horseshoe Club

Rowley Road, Wyoming, NY

Every Wednesday – Sign up 6:45 p.m. Start at 7 p.m. (through Aug. 30)

Unique Scoring System -- Indoor and Outdoor Pits

For information and directions, contact:

Bob Winspear -- (585) 343-0554

Ken Hirsh -- (585) 703-4186

The Washington Avenue Players will proudly present "The First Annual City Business Brains Competition" -- an original comedic dinner theater presentation, on July 28, 29 and 30.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Program begins at 6:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall, St. Paul Lutheran Church, located at 31 Washington Ave. in the City of Batavia. Tickets are $12.50. There is no reserved seating.

For tickets and information call 343-0488.

This was sent from reader James Renfrew. It is also listed on the events calander for July 30.

Byron Heritage Festival

Byron Fireman’s Park

Saturday, July 30, 2011

9:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.

To:   Vendors interested in participating in the Byron Heritage Festival

From: Town of Byron

 Re:  Booth reservations and deadlines

 The Town of Byron will hold its 5^th annual “Byron Heritage Festival” on Saturday, July 30, 2011

 Thanks to your support and the support of our sponsors we continue to grow every year. We look forward to a wide variety of arts and crafts, games and attractions for the children, live music,  and great food  including a chicken BBQ. We are also welcoming back the classic car show. The parade will begin at 11:00 a.m. and the evening will end with a fireworks extravaganza for all to remember.

We would like to extend an invitation to you to participate in the Byron Heritage Festival. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible to reserve your space. Please contact the Town Office, at 548-7123. to obtain a vendor application sheet with more information. You may return the vendor application to:  Town of Byron,  7028 Byron Holley Road, Byron NY 14422

There is also a Town-Wide Garage and Yard Sale taking place in Byron on Saturday, July 30th, with various residences around the town involved.  Free table space in the center of town next to the church for anyone wishing to participate in the yard sale may be reserved by contacting the Byron Presbyterian Church (548-2800).   

  Thank you for your interest in our event. We look forward to your participation.

A detailed schedule of the Heritage Day events will be posted in the next week. 

Laura Bestehorn, Byron Heritage Festival Committee

Press release:

ALBANY, NY:  The New York State Sheriffs' Association and the New York State Sheriffs’ Association Institute recently hosted the 25th Annual Undersheriffs’ Training Conference. Pictured above are Tony Perez, acting deputy commissioner, NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (left); Tom Beilein, chairman, NYS Commission of Correction, (2nd from left); Sean Byrne, acting commissioner, NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (2nd from right); and Peter R. Kehoe, executive director, New York State Sheriffs’ Association (right), presenting an award certificate to William A. Sheron Jr., of the Genesee County Sheriff's Office (center).

The Genesee County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) in coordination with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is available to provide information about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the special funding that is available to farmers within the Oak Orchard, Oatka and Black Creek watersheds.

The two funding sources that are available to eligible farmers within the Great Lakes priority watersheds include the Black and Oatka Creeks Sediment Reduction Grant and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

Funding from both programs will provide financial and technical assistance for installing conservation practices aimed at protecting water quality in the streams and tributaries of Lake Ontario.

“The Great Lakes are an important part of our region supplying drinking water to more than 40 million people and supporting many different sectors including manufacturing, tourism, energy, and agriculture,” said Heath Eisele, district conservationist for the Batavia NRCS field office. “Continued protection of the Great Lakes will take a multipronged approach."

Applications are currently being accepted for both funding programs. The deadline for submitting applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program is July 1. The deadline for submitting applications for the Black and Oatka Creek Sediment Reduction Grant is Aug. 1.

To contact the Genesee County Soil and Water Conservation District, phone 343-2363. For more details or additional conservation program information contact Heath Eisele at heath.eisele@ny.usda.gov.

Present Tense Bookstore in Batavia is offering a series of weekly creative writing workshops focusing on poetry, short stories, novels, creative nonfiction, children’s and young adult books, personal essays, memoirs, among others.

The workshops, taught at the bookstore by retired literature professor and regional novelist Bob Comenole, are generally five weeks in long.

Classes will meet once a week in evening or afternoon sessions. Scheduling is to be determined, depending on how many people sign up for the worskhops and their creative writing interests. But it is anticipated that workshops will begin later this summer or early fall.

They are designed for both beginning writers who wish to learn fundamental techniques and seasoned writers wishing to acquire more advanced skills; there are no prerequisites.

For more than 20 years Bob Comenole has taught writing, literature and communications at several colleges, including Miami University, Siena College, the State University of New York and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

He's the author of "Bushel & Lamp" and the novella "The Long Night of Clement C. Craggogre," and has just completed work on a collection of short stories called "Perplexed by the Egg & Other Stories," as well as a collection of essays. He was also the producer of the children’s television series "StoryBrook."

To view what past students have said about the writing workshops, visit: http://www.infinitelycurious.us/Academy/

The fee is $89 for five 2-hour sessions, plus individual conferences with the instructor. Call or visit the store for further details on the workshops or to sign up.

Present Tense is located at 101 Washington Ave. in the City of Batavia. Phone is 815-7640. <http://www.presenttensebooks.com>

The American Cancer Society will celebrate the Relay For Life season by painting Batavia purple starting tommorrow. Volunteers will be hanging purple ribbons down Main Street, and have invited Main Street businesses to decorate their storefront windows in an effort to promote Relay For Life of Batavia.

The event is an opportunity for the community to help the American Cancer Society create a world with less cancer and more birthdays by helping people stay well, by helping people get well, by finding cures and by fighting back.

Relay For Life of Batavia will take place noon to midnight on Saturday, July 9 at Vandetta Stadium, 120 Richmond Ave.

Individuals and teams camp out, eat, dance and take turns walking or running around a track “relay” style to raise funds to fight cancer. At nightfall, participants light hundreds of luminaria candles around the track in a touching ceremony honoring cancer survivors as well as paying tribute to those lost to the disease.

To join Relay For Life, call 1-800-227-2345 or visit www.relayforlife.org/bataviany

The American Cancer Society is the largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year.

Novel Destinations is the theme of the 2011 Adult Summer Reading Program. Sign up begins at 10 a.m. Monday, June 27 and continues throughout the summer months.

Read books from our destination categories and receive tickets to win prize baskets. We will also do a weekly mystery photo contest. Call 768-8300 for more information or stop in the library!

Volunteers for Animals will be having a one-day-only Garage Sale to benefit the animals at the Genesee County Animal Shelter. It's this Saturday, June 25, at 54 River St. in Batavia.

They were rained out on the last day of their regular sale and still had some good stuff left. They made more than $1,000 in the two and half days!

Come out and support the animals.

Alumni, friends and community residents should rev up their DeLoreans and prepare to travel back in time for Genesee Community College's second annual Homecoming!

The "Back to the Future" themed celebration will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 16-18. All graduating classes as well as family members, friends and the community are invited to the college's Batavia campus for a weekend filled with "Back to the Future" alumni activities, sporting events and an all-class "Back to the Rock Fest" mixer.

Friday, Sept. 16 will feature men's and women's alumni soccer games played under the lights of the all-weather turf field. A student and alumni tailgate party will take place during the games near the soccer stadium. Throughout the alumni soccer games and the rest of the Homecoming weekend, WGCC will feature on-air reunion broadcasts with guest alumni DJs.

Saturday, Sept. 17 will begin with various alumni-centered activities and celebrations across the campus including campus tours and a "Prez and Profs" lunch with Genesee's new president, James Sunser, Ed.D, and past and present professors.

A Networking and Social Media Workshop, a Student Government Reunion and a Fashion Merchandising Management Reunion will also be on the agenda for the fun-filled weekend. The Men's and Women's Cougar Soccer teams will play at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. versus Mohawk Valley Community College.

Saturday also features the Cruise at the College, classic cars, trucks and bikes from across Western New York will gather in the college's parking lot. Coinciding with the cruise, will be the Giant Yard Sale and barbeque benefiting Genesee's Student Activities and will offer artisan displays, food and music. Following the cruise, the second group of honorees will be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame with an induction ceremony and celebration.

Saturday's Homecoming activities conclude with a "Back to the Rock Fest" Reunion/Mixer open to all alumni and community members. The mixer will feature the local musical talents of the Ghost Riders and The Trolls with members of Seventh Heaven. The mixer will feature food, fun, prizes and a cash bar in the college's William W. Stuart Forum.

GCC's second annual Homecoming weekend winds down on Sunday, Sept. 18 with Drew Landry, a Louisiana singer, songwriter, environmental activist performing in the Forum starting at noon. The planning committee of 10 Genesee alumni, including chairpersons Patti ('70) and John Michalak ('73), is excited to expand the festivities into Sunday.

"We're eagerly planning the second annual Homecoming," Patti Michalak said. "We had such a great time last year and we are making this year's Homecoming weekend bigger and better than ever. We have a great line up of events with local bands rocking the college on Saturday, and then a nationally recognized performing artist who lives and works closely to land in Louisiana to close our event on Sunday. It's going to be a great weekend at GCC!"

Further details on locations, times and additional alumni activities will be forthcoming. For more information or to volunteer for the Homecoming weekend, please contact Alumni Affairs coordinator Jackie Christenson at 585-343-0055, ext. 6265 or jkchristenson@genesee.edu.

"On Broadway Too" opens tonight at the Harvester 56 Theater, home of the Batavia Players, Inc.

Matthew Mayne, director, and 40 talented vocalists from Niagara, Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming and Monroe counties have been preparing since early May for this jam-packed song-and-dance revue.

Musical selections from these shows will be featured: "9 to 5 -- the Muscial"; "Spring Awakening"; "Next to Normal"; and "The Lion King."

Shows are at 7:30 tonight, Friday and Saturday. Plus, there's a 2 o'clock matinee on Saturday. Seating is limited.

Visit www.bataviaplayers.org and reserve your seat with showtix4u.com or call 1-866-967-8167.

The theater is located at 56 Harvester Ave. in the City of Batavia. Tickets cost $10, students and seniors pay $8.

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce will host an informational meeting at 5:30 p.m. on June 29 about the nine-day tour of China. It will take place at the chamber office on Main Street in Downtown Batavia.

This is the sixth time the chamber has offered this tour.

The trip is from Nov. 1 to 9 and costs $2,099 per person. The chamber believes this trip to be an exceptional value. Price includes air fare (from JFK), bus to/from JFK, hotel stays, three meals a day, bus tours (with guides), admission to tourist spots, and airport taxes throughout the trip.

The trip is filling up quickly! Final payments are due by July 20. For more details or to sign up for the meeting, call Lynn or Melissa at the chamber at 343-7440.

Here's a press release from Genesee Community College.

On Monday, the Genesee Community College Board of Trustees conducted the following business:

-- Approved a Resolution of Sympathy to the family of Rev. Kenneth A. Dodd, who died May 27. Rev. Dodd had served as a member of the College's Board of Trustees since 1992.

-- Authorized President Stuart Steiner to execute documents for the sale of the Verizon cell tower lease with the college to Unison Site Management. In addition to receiving about $176,000 in the sale, the college will receive 50 percent of any new revenues Unison generates from cell tower clients. The sale is subject to an environmental review and approval by the Genesee County Legislature, sponsor of the college.

-- Awarded two contracts for various projects on the Batavia campus, including: replacement of concrete in front of the main entrances; addition of a courtyard adjacent to the Conable Technology Building; and electrical and lighting work on the college's tennis courts. V.J. Gautieri Constructors, LLC, of Batavia, was the successful bidder for general construction services with a bid of $419,750. Kaplan Schmidt Electric, of Pittsford, was the successful bidder for electrical services with a bid of $212,000.

-- Heard Nominating Committee Chair Glenn R. Morton report that the committee plans to nominate Charles R. Ruffino as board chair for the 2011-2012 year; Maureen T. Marshall as vice-chair; and Diane D. Torcello as secretary. Officers will be elected at the board's July meeting.

-- Heard that Karlyn M. Finucane has joined the college staff as technical specialist for the Accelerated College Enrollment (ACE) program, which coordinates college courses and services to area high school students. She is a resident of Lancaster.

-- Heard President Stuart Steiner report that 1,479 students had enrolled in the college's summer sessions. Registrations are still being accepted for the second summer session, which runs from July 5 to Aug. 6. Every area high school graduate will receive a scholarship for two summer courses, and high school students can still register for the second session. Steiner said he believes that the summer 2011 session will have the second-highest summer enrollment in the college's history. And although fall enrollment was not on the board's agenda, Steiner said that the fall semester will likely produce a new record enrollment.

-- Heard Assistant Vice President for Human Resources Gina M. Weaver report that a broad-based Strategic Planning Committee had completed the draft of a new strategic plan for the college. It encompasses goals in six areas: student success and preparedness; faculty and staff success; economic impact; relevant and impactful programs; culture of trust and innovation; and financial sustainability. Board Chair Charles R. Ruffino thanked Weaver and the committee for the year-long effort. Ruffino referred the draft plan to an ad-hoc Board of Trustees Strategic Planning Committee, comprised of Trustees Melvin J. Wentland, Maureen T. Marshall, Donna M. Ferry and Laura J. Bohm.

The Town of Byron and community volunteers are working together and excited to promote the Byron Heritage Festival for the fifth year on July 30th. This year's events will be bigger and better than ever while continuing with some of the traditional activities.

Schedule of events:

7 a.m. -- Registration begins for 5K race, which starts at 8

8 a.m. -- Fishing Derby (12 and under)
               5K Run / Race
9 a.m. -- Craft and Food Vendors
              Townwide Garage Sales
11 a.m. -- Parade
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. -- Cruise In
1:30 to 4:30 p.m. -- Ghostriders perform

4 p.m. -- Horseshoe Tournament
              Byron Garden Contest
4 p.m. until sold out -- Chicken BBQ 
5 to 7:30 p.m. -- Brick Band
8 to 11 p.m. -- TBA
9:30 p.m. -- Fireworks

Contact Debra Buck Leaton 548-7123 or Donna Bobzin 750-3327

As conflicts and unrest continue to be commonplace in the Middle East and throughout the world, the spouses and families of our troops continue to struggle both personally and financially at home while their family members are participating in active duty.

The Captain Morgan brand, which has a facility in East Pembroke, has announced a $150,000 donation to Loyola Recovery Foundation, headquartered in Pittsford, through its First Mate Fund (established last year).

The donation will benefit Operation Economic Freedom, a brand-new program of the foundation that focuses on providing job opportunities for veterans, their families and others affiliated with the military.

The donation will be used to recruit and train military spouses to serve as health support specialists and establish a home-based call center to offer assistance to veterans actively recovering from alcohol abuse and other health conditions.

In addition to providing follow-up and transportation services to veterans, the home-based call center will provide more than 30 part-time jobs and enable spouses to work from home on a flexible schedule, affording significant cost-savings in areas like daycare for families with young children.

To date, Captain Morgan has contributed nearly $500,000 to national and local nonprofit organizations through the fund, including Designated Drivers Foundation, Feeding America Tampa Bay, the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and various food banks.

To support the First Mate Fund, upload a picture of your Captain’s Pose and share your legendary story at www.Facebook.com/CaptainMorganUSA <http://www.Facebook.com/CaptainMorganUSA>, and the Captain will donate $1 per pose in his quest for One Million Poses and one million dollars to charity.

For more information about Loyola Recovery Foundation, visit http://www.loyolarecovery.com/ <http://www.loyolarecovery.com

There will be a HUGE Community Yard Sale at the Le Roy Federal Credit Union from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 11. (Rain date is June 18.)

The credit union is located at 7093 W. Main Road in Le Roy. Space is still available. Please stop in or call at 768-7207.