Next Meeting

Building Codes in May
By Jim Fitz-Patrick

Our meeting this month, arranged by program Chairperson Katie Wolf (National Fuel), will feature representatives from the Buffalo Regional Office of the Building Codes Division for the Department of State. They will bring us up to date on all new issues handled by their office.

Our dinner will be a special meal prepared by Chef Dana and will feature pork tenderloin over rice as the entrée. The cost will be $20 inclusive. Please make your reservations upon receipt of this notice by calling Jim or Jenny at the Builders office (283-0557) or faxing them to us at 283-0733. Final date for reservations is Friday, May 7th. We were pleased to have 29 people attend the April meeting and hope we will have a repeat (or more) this month.

Thank You

We thank the members who contributed to the two special campaigns to aid the building business. Contributing to the "Did you know" campaign were Rosal Construction, C. Concrete, Alside, L. J. Quigliano II and Calamar Construction. The other campaign for the reform of labor law 240 received checks from Mordeno Construction, Eddy and Lewin Homes, L.J. Quigliano II, Rosal Construction, American Curb Cutters and G. T. Custom Built Homes. We are still accepting donations to either of these special funds for those who may have forgotten to send a check.

We have received a letter from Sister Beth Brosmer, the Director of Development of the Sisters of St. Francis at Stella Niagara, thanking the association for our gift to them in memory of Catherine Wolf. Catherine was the mother of Katie Wolf - our secretary and Program Chairman.

50/50 Split

The winner of the April 50/50 split was president Stan Swogier. He received $55 as his share of the split, and indicated he would be taking Lori out for a special dinner later in the month.

Golf Tournament

We have new information on our golf tournament. The new date is Monday July 12th, 2004, and the place will be the Niagara Frontier Country Club, located at 1058 Lake Road, Youngstown, NY. Chairman Jim Kuryak is working out the final price as we go to press. However, it should be about $90 per person and will include everything we have had in past tournaments, plus playing at a beautiful country club course and having a true shotgun start. We will have the course to ourselves since it is closed on Mondays except for private parties. This should enable all golfers to start and finish about the same time. We also expect to have a refreshment cart on the course where golfers can purchase snacks or drinks other than what are included in your package. Start planning your foursomes now and be ready for a great day. Reservation forms will be mailed to all members in late May or early June, but the important thing is to flag your calendar for 7/12/04.

Picnic

The other great fun event this summer is our annual picnic being held on Wednesday, August 18th at West Canal Park in Pendleton (same place as last year). As mentioned in last month's bulletin we are hoping to keep the price at $30 in advance and $40 on the day of the picnic. Chairperson Larry Quigliano is waiting for your call to offer your assistance with the many details required to make the day the greatest ever. As also mentioned last month, we expect to have similar food arrangements as last year - hot dogs, sausage, salads, etc. early, and a strip steak or rib dinner about 6:00 pm. In addition to beer and pop included in your total price, we will also ask JT's to have a cash bar for other liquid refreshments you may want.

Please also remember that we will need sponsors for both the golf tournament and the picnic as well as prizes (hats, shirts, booze, etc.) for the winners of the various games. If you have any questions on either of these fun events, call me or the respective Chairperson.

Home Show

Your home show committee met on Tuesday, April 20th to determine if "Festival of Homes 2004" would happen. Several of the past participants attended and it was decided that a scattered site show would be held. It will be held for two weekends in September, beginning on the 11th and 12th, and continuing on the 18th and 19th. It will run for only two weekends, since in the past the third weekend has seen sparse attendance. To date, Prestige Designs, Eddy and Lewin Homes, Rosal Construction and Ryan Homes expressed interest. We hope to get another two or three builders to participate. More information on this as it develops.

Insurance News Flash

Have you been having problems obtaining general liability insurance at an affordable rate? This seems to be an ongoing problem throughout the country. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is working on a program to assist you in this matter, but will need your assistance. NAHB and their insurance advisor - Marsh USA will require information from approximately 4000 builders, remodelers and trade contractors. We ask that you supply the information they request since it will benefit you as well as other members of the building business. If you want more information on this, please contact your National Director Bill Burg at Alside 297-1118 / 870-1437 or Mary DiCrescenzo at NAHB 1-800-368-5242 ext. 8250.

Member News

Please be advised that we received a letter from Kirk Kinney of K. W. Kinney General Contracting, LLC, advising that he was moving to California and would therefore not be renewing his membership. Please mark your records to indicate same.

Member Advantage

As a member of the Builders Association you are entitled to many benefits which include Hertz, AT&T Wireless, Dell, Paychex, Airborne Express, Pitney Bowes, Days Inn, etc. For further information on the many benefits available to you please call me at 283-0557. You can also enjoy all the benefits of Niagara's Choice Federal Credit Union, which we are associated with. To find out more about our credit union, call them at 284-4110.