President's Message

Hot summer greetings from your NCBA! Everybody had a wonderful time at our July golf outing, and now we are looking forward to the biggest and best summer picnic on August 14th.

The golf outing at Niagara Frontier Country Club was a great day. It was very hot and humid, and we got called off the course for a while because of lightning (just in time, too, because the rain came hot and heavy). But before and after that little interruption the golf was terrific, lunch and dinner were outstanding, and the camaraderie was exceptional.

After the golf we had dinner at the Youngstown Yacht Club, and the steaks, the fun and the view

put a perfect end on a very enjoyable day. Thanks to chairman Jim Kuryak, Cathy & Jerry for putting this event together, and helping to make it such a great time…..and THANK YOU also to all of our tee sponsors!

We have more great fun – and maybe a few surprises - planned for you at our annual picnic on Tuesday, August 14th. Be sure to keep that date open. The park is right on the river, and there is lots of room for all of our activities. We will have lunch starting about 2:00, clams, lots of great summer beverages, and our caterer is promising some excellent strip steaks for dinner. Come early and stay late!

Thanks to Cliff Mason for bringing us the National Fuel offer for builders. Their prize drawing is a nice incentive, and I hope that our builder members are taking advantage of it.

I’ll see you at the picnic! Call in your reservations today.

Play Ball for Make-A-Wish

Rick Zelasko, one of our new members, has challenged us to enter a softball team into his tournament for Make-A-Wish. It sounds like an incredible day of fun and fellowship, and it goes for a great cause. Jerry O’Neill has volunteered to come out of retirement to help coordinate an NCBA team, if we have enough players who are interested.

It’s important to note that they are not looking for great ballplayers, just people who want to have a terrific time for a great cause. It’s strictly a recreational tournament – in fact they don’t invite teams back who come with winning in mind (sounds like our kind of activity).

It costs $1,000 to enter a team, all of which goes to Make-A-Wish. Rick and his committee get all of the food, trophies, etc donated. We can do it by having each participant make a $50 donation, and asking our board to finance any remainder. We’ll publicly thank any of our member companies who donate your $50 per person entry fee. If you don’t want to play ball, but want to help Make-A-Wish, you can help by being a sponsor.

Look for the insert in this newsletter, and if you want to be part of an NCBA ball team for one day call the office at 693-5738 to let us know you are interested.

Golf Outing Brings Out the Beasts

The 2007 edition of the NCBA golf outing in July brought out the beast in all of us. A wide variety of golfing “talent” was on display – from the low handicappers to the duffers, and all had a great time.

Niagara Frontier Country Club in Youngstown once again hosted our golf day. The course was in excellent shape and the lunch sent us off to a great start. Although the weather was hot and humid, we sailed through about 13 holes of golf with no problem. Then the lightning came, followed closely by a pretty good downpour. Most of the golfers waited it out and went back to the course to finish their 18 holes, but several foursomes called it a day and started partying early.

Dinner followed at the Youngstown Yacht Club. Everybody enjoyed their steaks. There was the usual amount of cajoling and teasing going on, but a great time was had by all.

New York State Builders Show

October 18 & 19, 2007
Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, NY

NYSERDA Energy Star Training on August 21

Home Builders are invited to attend a training session that will help qualify you for Energy Star certification. Fundamentals of Building Science & Technology for New Homes will be offered on Tuesday, August 21 at a site to be determined.

Lori Nagel of the Buffalo Niagara Builders Association is coordinating the Energy Smart Communities program that we profiled in last month’s newsletter, as well as other NYSERDA energy efficiency programs, and is excited about this training. “Our builder members will really get a lot out of this class,” said Lori. “The presenter, Steve Corville of Conservation Services Group (CSG) in Albany, has presented this on Long Island and other locations, and the response has been tremendous. We expect a good turnout for this class, and hope to offer it again in the fall”

The training will be hosted by Energy Smart Communities of WNY and CSG.

Picnic Scheduled for August 14th on the Niagara River in N.T.

The NCBA picnic will be at Gratwick Riverside Park in North Tonawanda on Tuesday, August 14th. This is our biggest event of the year, and we are looking forward to another great one. Gratwick Riverside Park is on River Road in N.T., near the Wheatfield town line. We have the large pavilion reserved, and we’re planning all of the usual fun and games, with maybe a few surprises.

President Larry is working on securing our caterer, and he promises great food, great fun and a day full of good times. We can use some help getting the picnic organized. If you can help with sponsors, shopping, carting or any of the other miscellaneous jobs that are necessary to make this happen, please call Cathy and sign on to help. Bring your employees, vendors, subs and friends to the NCBA event. Make this your Company Picnic!

2006 Nail Driving Champs

PAC Golf at New York State Builders Show

NYSBA is inviting all local builders associations to participate in the PAC golf outing at the builders Show on October 18 with at least one foursome of golfers. This outing at the PGA- level Shenendoah Golf Club is one of the main methods of funding our New York State PAC, and they are hoping to have all locals represented.

Registration for golf, cart, lunch, beverages, door prizes, etc. is only $200 per person, and includes a full registration to the Builders Show which is at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino on October 18 & 19. There are registration forms for golf and the show at the office, or you can register online at www.nysba.com

Reminder: National Fuel Offer for Builders

So far two builders have taken advantage of National Fuel’s offer of free gas convenience outlets to be installed on new homes. Builders can offer a value-added incentive to their new home customers and be entered into a drawing for a new gas appliance – a gas grill, patio heater or firepit. To make it even easier, the gas company is providing the first twelve outlets free of charge. We have them in the office, ready for your use.

An outdoor gas convenience outlet – a quick-connect fitting that provides a safe and easy way to fire up any kind of appliance that can be fueled with natural gas. It’s a very small add-on, but provides tremendous value for your customer.

For each house that a builder completes with a gas convenience outlet between July 1 and September 30, we will place one entry into a drawing. National Fuel will offer three prizes – a gas grill, patio heater or firepit. The winners will be drawn at our October meeting. To make the offer even more attractive, National Fuel will supply the first 12 quick connect outlets free of charge. Each builder is eligible to receive up to three (3) free convenience outlets. They are available from the NCBA office at 2728 Niagara Falls Blvd, Wheatfield. Call us at 693-5736 if you have questions about this offer.

Fundraiser for Tom McCarty

Tom McCarty is the brother of Greg McCarty of Weatherpanel, and a great friend of Gary Pollard’s. He is also fighting a rare form of lung cancer, and is facing some huge out-of pocket medical expenses. Several of our members and guests at the golf outing helped by purchasing tickets to a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on September 8 at Oakwood Manor VFW Post 1419 in Hamburg.

The event will include an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner, entertainment, silent auction, Chinese auction and 50/50 raffles.
The flyer for the fundraiser is included with this newsletter. If you want to help you can call Sue Senker or Julie Davidson at 684-0037 for tickets, or to donate prizes.

It looks like a fun time for a wonderful cause. Gary and Greg want to pass along their thanks for all who bought tickets at the golf outing, and would love to see some of us at the dinner on September 8th.

Register Early for NYS Builders Show

NYSBA has a special offer for early registration to the New York State Builders Show at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino on October 18 & 19, 2007. If you register online by September 14th at the NYSBA website you can save 50% on the registration fee. Go to www.nysba.com select Trade Show from the dropdown menu, then click on “register online”. Registration is fast and easy, and you will save $25 by doing it now. See you at the show!

More Golf Photos