Paul Szmal: Welcome back to FLX Morning, it is 8.15 on Finger Lakes News Radio, and I'm joined by the Executive Director of the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce, Amy Fuller. It's been a while since you and I've had a chance to connect, Amy, how are you?
Amy Fuller: I'm good, Paul, how are you doing today?
Paul Szmal: Doing great, doing great, and we've got a whole boatload of stuff to talk about here.
Let's start off by revealing the member of the month for February.
Amy Fuller: Yes, the member of the month for February is Auburn Public Theater. They are celebrating 20 years this year, so that's such a great venue, and they have such great entertainment up there, and I can't believe it's been 20 years that they've been making our downtown very busy.
Paul Szmal: Oh, absolutely, and I'm going to jump out of chronological order, because the Auburn Public Theater is actually going to be hosting the State of the City and the County coming up later on in the month of March.
Amy Fuller: Yes, we made this move a couple of years ago. We used to have a luncheon, and we make it a morning event now, and it's March 20th, doors open at 8, there's going to be some breakfast goodies from Cafe 108, and of course coffee and juice, and then the presentations start at 8.30 from both the city and the county to give an update on how 2024 went and what to expect in this year, so it's always a great way to keep in tune with what's going to be happening coming up, and like I said, they do such a great job. We go into the stage right for the presentations, and it's the perfect venue for that.
Paul Szmal: And speaking of venues, the Springside Inn is going to be hosting the annual awards luncheon, but before we get to the actual luncheon itself, we've got to have people nominated for awards.
Amy Fuller: Yes, that's right, and nominations will open next week. We recognize several categories. We do two small businesses, a new one and an existing one, a large business, we recognize a non-profit, and then we, Terry Breidenbecker Award for a Young Professional, and then we do the Community Leadership Award, so it's one of my favorite luncheons because we recognize all, you know, the great businesses and great individuals in our community that really make it hop.
Paul Szmal: All right, so once the nominations open next week, is there a deadline to have nominations in, Amy?
Amy Fuller: There is. The deadline is the end of the month, March 26th, I believe, because then we announce them formally at the beginning of April, and then open up the, you know, reservations for the luncheon that's May 8th at the Springside, yes, and we're also looking for some sponsors for that event, too, so if you're interested in being a sponsor, there's a lot of different levels that are affordable, so give us a holler, and we can hopefully work it out for you.
Paul Szmal: Amy Fuller from the Cuyahoga County Chamber of Commerce is joining us here on FLX Morning. Tell me about the next Business After Five event that's coming up.
Amy Fuller: Yes, that one is on March 25th, and that is at, it's at Health Central, the old Central High School where all the medical offices are, and new to the community is the Hematology Oncology Associates, so they're going to open up an office in that building this month, and we're going to have a Business After Five there. It's not going to be actually in the office. There's a meeting space within there, and, you know, we want to welcome them to the community, and they want to kind of give everybody an idea of, you know, who they are and what they do, and they have a big office on your way to Syracuse, right in Camillus, so, you know, they joined the chamber, and they really wanted to host something so that they could introduce themselves to the community.
Paul Szmal: And if somebody's unfamiliar with how the Business After Five works for the Cuyahoga County Chamber, can you kind of give us the 411, Amy?
Amy Fuller: Absolutely. They run from 5 to 630. You know, you register online at the chamber website on our events page. Members, you know, most members, if you're access or above, get to attend for free. It's part of your membership. If you're a basic chamber member, it's $5. Non-members are welcome if they want to check it out and see what the chamber's up to. They're $7, and they run from 5 to 630, and it's a great way, you know, businesses and organizations like it, it's a great way to get people inside your business or inside your organization, and then you get to talk about what goes on there, and it's, you know, some people forget about the, you know, the gems we have in this community, and this is perfect for the Hematology Oncology Associates. It's a great way to welcome them to the community and let the community know what they do.
Paul Szmal: And then we have a group of institutions coming together for the State of the Schools. This is actually going to be a virtual event coming up later in the month of April.
Amy Fuller: Yes, we made this a virtual event, of course, through COVID, and actually it works out a lot better. A lot of, you know, people are able to attend, and it's another great way, just like the State of the City and County, to kind of get an update on what's going on in our educational system. So the Auburn and Large City School District, Superintendent Misty is going to give us an update there, Cougar Community College, and Cougar Onondaga BOCES, so they all, you know, they all give an update on what they're doing, and it's very close to the, you know, the budget vote for the city school. So she can kind of give an update on, you know, what the budget's going to be and what they're planning on doing for the, you know, for the school year.
Paul Szmal: And that is going to include not only the Large City School District, but CCC and Cougar Onondaga BOCES participating as well.
Amy Fuller: Yes, yes, and it's, you know, like you said, it's, you know, if you have someone in high school that maybe is looking to go on to college, you know, Brian gives a great update on, you know, new things at the college, and, you know, Cougar Onondaga BOCES has some wonderful programs if people want to, you know, get into, you know, driving truck or whatever. They have a lot of great programs there that people forget. So it's a great way to kind of remind yourself of what opportunities, you know, our young people have in this community through the education system.
Paul Szmal: Now, we did mention this is a virtual event. Where will that be hosted, and how can people watch it, Amy?
Amy Fuller: Yep, this will be hosted here at the chamber. It's going to be, you know, when you register, you'll get a Zoom link, and, you know, they, you register for that so that we can send you the Zoom link, and then you just hop on, and then we'll have a little Q&A at the end. So if people have questions on what they heard, or if something didn't get discussed, and they have a question, we'll have a Q&A at the very end, and that's the same with the State of the City. That's an in-person event, but the same thing. At the end of the presentations, we allow people to ask questions or air their concerns if they have any.
Paul Szmal: And we have a save-the-date for the annual Chamber Golf Tournament.
Amy Fuller: Yes, spring is right around the corner. When it goes to March 1st, we better get some nice weather here. We want to have people get this on their calendar. It's Friday, June 13th at Dutch Hollow. You know, it's a shotgun start. It's a four-person best ball. You know, we always get a great, you know, we get about 20, 25 teams for that event, and, you know, we want people, once the weather starts looking like spring, to get that on their calendar so when registration opens, they're all set.
Paul Szmal: And let's recap. The nominations are going to open next week for the annual awards luncheon. Amy, one more time, if you want to tell everybody the different categories that people can nominate for.
Amy Fuller: Sure. Yeah, so they're going to open next week. You have a new small business, so a business that's been open for under a year, and then an existing small business, a large business, and then a non-profit, and then the Terry Breidenbecher Young Professional Award, and we have the Community Leadership Award, and I'm glad you told me to repeat this because I forgot to mention the Phyllis Goldman Award, and that goes to a woman who owns a business in our community. Last year's winner was Lorraine Emmey, and she brought the house down. She was unbelievable. So if you have a business you can nominate yourself, or a business that you deal with, or a friend that owns a business, whatever, put in the nomination, and once we close that up, we give it to our member services, which is made up of eight of my board members, and then they pick the winners for 2025. We do a press release, and we get ready to celebrate them at the luncheon on May 8th.
Paul Szmal: And I'd be remiss if I didn't give you a chance to go ahead and unplug chamber membership because that is important.
Amy Fuller: It is important, and if you're a business in the community and you're not a chamber member, stop in and let's talk about what your business does and if we can help you out. And actually, to that point, the week of the awards luncheon is small business week, and if you're not a chamber member, that week only, you can become a basic member for the rest of 2025 for $100. It's normally $335. So it's quite a deal to kind of get a feel if the chamber is something that would benefit your business.
Paul Szmal: All right. Amy, thanks so much for joining us this morning and sharing the information. We appreciate it.
Amy Fuller: Absolutely. Have a wonderful day, and here comes March. Spring's right around the corner.
Paul Szmal: Let's hope. Let's hope. It is 825 on FLX Morning.
