Next Meeting

January Meeting May Save You Money!
By Jim Fitz-Patrick

Our meeting this month will be of interest to all of our members who own small businesses. Our speaker will be Mr. Vincent DiMarco of DiMarco and Company, our financial advisor and income tax consultant. Vince was the manager of the Niagara Falls Internal Revenue Office years ago and has his own tax and investment company located on Military Road in Niagara Falls for the past 20+ years. Vince will tell us about all the changes you will need to know to prepare your 2003 tax return.

Our dinner will be a full course steak dinner and will cost $20 inclusive. Reservations continue to be very important to assure proper seating arrangements and food preparations. Please make your reservations by Friday, January 9th by calling Jim or Jenny at the Builders office or fax them to us at 716-283-0733.

Elections

Our elections were held at the November meeting with the following results:

• President - Stanley Swogier: Swogier Construction, Inc.
• 1st Vice President - Lawrence Quigliano: L.J. Quigliano II, Inc.
• 2nd Vice President - Robert Minkiewicz: 84 Lumber Co.
• Treasurer - John Ennis: William Schutt & Associates, P.C.
• Secretary - Catherine Wolf: National Fuel
• National Director - William Burg: Alside
• State Director - Skip Mazenauer: Niagara Frontier Publications
• Remodeler Council Chairman - Stanley Swogier: Swogier Construction, Inc.

Elected to the Board of Directors for a two year term ending December 31, 2005 were:

• Douglas Marcinski - Ryan Homes - Buffalo Division
• Gary DiMatteo - Rosal Construction Co., Inc.
• James M. Kuryak - Niagara National Insurance
• Sylvester A. Barone - Sil Barone Homes

Elected to the Board of Directors for one year terms ending December 31, 2004 were:

• Carl Capolupo - United Rentals
• Brian Tomeny - B&L Wholesale Supply, Inc.

who are completing the terms of Robert Minkiewicz (84 Lumber) and Catherine Wolf (National Fuel) who ran for and were elected to positions on the Executive Board. We thank Vince Ricotta of Andersen Windows for his many years of service on the Board and also the other members who agreed to run for the Board of Directors. We trust they will continue as active members of the association.

Christmas Party

Our annual Christmas party was held on December 10, 2003 at Suzanne's Fine Dining Restaurant on Niagara Falls Blvd. Those who attended (about 102 members and their friends) had a great time and took home many beautiful prizes from the basket auction. Special thanks are extended to Stan and Lori Swogier of Swogier Construction for a super job as chairpersons again this year. Also thanks to Kevin and Suzanne Guenther from Suzanne's who made sure the evening moved along smoothly. Thanks again Stan and Lori! We also want to acknowledge the special helpers from the Swogier family. They include Lori's mother, Pat Harrell, Stan's mother, Betty Swogier, and Stan's sister, Debbie Rush. The 50/50 split was won by Gary DiMatteo who received $165.00.

Credit Union

As a member of the Niagara County Builders Association you can also be a member of our Credit Union which is Oxychem Niagara Federal Credit Union. Our credit union has offices at 3619 Packard Road, Niagara Falls (284-4110) and 3571 Niagara Falls Blvd in North Tonawanda (693-5140).

Effective January 1, 2004 the name of our credit union will change to Niagara's Choice Federal Credit Union. In addition, the Niagara Falls office will have a drive-up ATM as well as Saturday AM hours. At the credit union you can have free on-line banking at first check order as well as no fee checking and great loan rates. For further information please call the credit union at the numbers listed above or go to www.ioxy.org.

Vegas2004

A final reminder for attendance at this great show. It is being held in the Las Vegas Convention Center from January 19-22, 2004. The final date to pre-register has passed, so if you want to attend you will have to register on-site when you arrive in Vegas. This convention is the second largest in the United States - second only to the American Medical Convention. Former President George Bush will be the keynote speaker and you will have the opportunity to attend some of the 200 seminars. Can you imagine looking at over 1400 manufacturers' products covering one million square feet (about 17 football fields)? If you would like further information, please call National Director Bill Burg at Alside. His phone number is 297-1118.

Festival of Homes 2004

This year's festival is starting to take shape. Chairman Joe Paonessa has mailed subdivision proposals to several develoopers who may be interested in offering their property for our 2004 show. Anyone who would like to be considered and did not receive a sponsor's packet should call Joe at 297-8824 immediately. Final date to submit your proposal is January 12, 2003 to allow the home show committee time to evaluate the proposals. Anticipated dates for the show are September 18-19, September 25-26 and October 2-3, 2004. If you want to be included in this great show or would like further information please call Joe at 297-8824 or me at 283-0557.

Membership

We extend a warm welcome to the following companies whose applications for associate membership were approved by the Board of Directors at the meeting held November 12, 2003. Approved were:

Now is the time to call these guys and welcome them to our association and see how you and they can do business together as members of the Niagara County Builders Association.

Speaking of membership, we have over the years stressed the importance of doing business with a member. To this extent we congratulate Past President Murdoch Mitchell and newly elected 2nd Vice President Robert Minkiewicz for doing "business with a member" by having their new homes built by Gary DiMatteo of Rosal Construction Company, Inc. Both of their homes are in Gary's Spice Creek Subdivision in Wheatfield.