The Secret Garden
GALA
SATURDAY, FEB. 3 SEE PAGE 12
JANUARY 2018
Bottom Line DUTCHESS COUNTY REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The
Annual meeting, economic topics discussed at breakfast
Contact Breakfast sponsored by
region. The breakfast will be held on Wednesday, January 17 from 7:309 a.m. at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel. Networking begins at 7:15 a.m. with the program starting promptly at 7:30 a.m. Chamber President and CEO, Frank Castella, Jr. will deliver a brief State of the Chamber update on 2017 accomplishments and 2018 plans. Pokalsky is responsible for management of The Business Council’s government affairs staff and overall legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts; he is also directly responsible for lobbying on economic development and taxation issues. He received his Master’s degree in Public Administration from the SUNY
Albany Graduate School of Public Affairs and his Bachelor’s degree from SUNY Brockport. The Chazen ComPOKALSKY panies is the sponsor of the January Contact Breakfast. Founded 70 years ago, The Chazen Companies is an employeeowned, multidisciplinary firm providing engineering, land surveying, planning, environmental and safety consulting, landscape architecture, construction services, transportation planning and traffic engineering to clients in the private and public
sectors. Chazen’s employees proudly collaborate with clients from project concept to completion, taking a customized approach to every project. With offices in the Hudson Valley, Capital District, North Country, Westchester County and Nashville, TN, Chazen delivers world-class performance focused on creating effective, long-term partnerships with its clients. Tickets are $25 for Chamber members with advance reservations or $30 at the door. Nonmembers can attend for $35. Payment in advance is required in order to expedite the check-in process.
Networking After Hours returns to Shadows
T WINTER WEATHER POLICY: In the event of inclement weather, visit the Chamber’s website and Facebook page by 6:30 a.m. for updates regarding events and committee meetings. The status of afternoon meetings, ribbon cuttings and events will be posted accordingly.
he first Business After Hours of 2018 will be held Wednesday, January 24 from 5-7 p.m. at Shadows on the Hudson, 176 Rinaldi Boulevard, Poughkeepsie. As always, complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be served and a cash bar will be available. There is no charge to attend, however registration is required in advance. Cancellations less than 24-hours from the event and noshows will be charged a catering
fee. To RSVP, visit dcrcoc.org or call (845) 454-1700, ext. 1000. Mehl & Associates CPA’s and Quint Investments and Insurance proudly sponsor this event. Mehl & Associates was founded in 2009 with the goal of providing proactive, strategic, and valueadded services that most business owners live without. Starting in 2009 with only 15 clients, they have grown to currently serve over 600 individual clients and nearly 100 businesses with offices in
Business After Hours sponsored by
Firmbach & Firmbach Certified Public Accountants
Wappingers Falls. For more information, visit hudsvonvalleycpas. com or call (845) 790-4443. At Quint Investments and Insurance Services, Wayne Quint, CFP and his growing team are dedicated to providing risk and investment management in conjunction with strategic wealth planning for individuals, families and businesses. Their primary focus is to provide unbiased opinions that are designed to achieve long term results, always acting as fiduciaries, putting their clients’ needs before their own. To learn more, visit quintii.com. Preceding the event will be the next Network, Present & Refer from 3:30-5 p.m. For more information on this targeted networking event, see Page 9.
Cancellations less than 24-hours from the event and no-shows will be charged the full ticket price. Call (845) 454-1700, ext. 1000 or visit dcrcoc.org to RSVP. The Ambassador Committee has partnered with the Chamber’s Workforce Development Center to collect canned and dry goods from breakfast attendees. Donations are greatly appreciated. Following the breakfast, the Nonprofit Committee will present a seminar “Keeping Your Key People” from 9-11 a.m. For more information, see Page 6.
Message from the Chair ............................ 2 Veteran-Owned Business of the Month ........... 3 Master Your Membership Lunch ................... 3 Message from the Chamber President ............ 4 New Members ....................................... 5 Ribbon Cuttings .....................................10 Secret Garden Gala ................................12 Workforce Development Center ..................12 The Chamber Foundation .........................14
A Family Accounting practice Our family has been serving the Hudson Valley’s Accounting needs for the last 50 years.
Call and ask for Karl or Rudy 845-454-5440 w w w . F i r m b a c h C P A s . c o m
PK-0100002936
T
he January Contact Breakfast—the first official networking event of 2018—will serve as the Chamber’s annual meeting and will feature a keynote address by Ken Pokalsky, Vice President of The Business Council of New York State, Inc., discussing the 2018 economic outlook for New York State and the Hudson Valley