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State Director Mike Durant of National Federation of Independent Business To Present at Luncheon
The RBA has a new strategic partner: the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). As America's leading small business advocacy association, NFIB lobbies to give all types of small and independent businesses a voice in government policy-making. The organization provides additional products and services to its members to help them in owning, operation and growing their businesses. There are 350,000 member businesses of NFIB; over 10,000 of those are New York-based businesses.
Mike Durant, New York State Director of the NFIB, will present at the General Membership Luncheon at Casa Mia Manor House in Blauvelt. His presentation is titled "Threats to Your Small Business." Register for this event here. 
Mike Durant was named New York State Director of NFIB in May 2011. Prior to joining NFIB as the Assistant State Director in May 2010, Durant began his career in the New York Senate working in the Office of Member Services. From there, he served in a number of positions during former New York Governor George E. Pataki's administration. As a Research Specialist in the New York State Office of Demographic Policy, Mike was responsible for drafting a redistricting proposal for Governor Pataki. In addition, Mike served as a Research Specialist for the Empire State Development Corporation, as well as the Associate Commissioner of Human Resource Management with the New York Department of Labor. Durant also spent four years working at the Questar III BOCES as a specialist focusing on the complex formulas that drive aid to school districts across the state while also taking a lead role in the state legislative/budget process as it related to education policy. These past positions have given Mike a deep understanding of the complex political economics of the State of New York.
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 | Joan Neumann, RBA Vice President, welcomes all to the Emerging Professional Golf Clinic at the Paramount Country Club - sponsored by Morgan Stanley
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Town of Clarkstown Breaks Ground On First Solar Field on a Capped Landfill in New York
On June 25, Clarkstown Supervisor Alex Gromack, Councilman George Hoehmann and the Town Board were joined by OnForce Solar and H2M architects and engineers in a ground breaking ceremony for the first solar field on a capped landfill in the state of New York.
OnForce Solar, a leading provider of solar energy systems, started construction on a large scale, 2.316 MW solar array to be built on 13 acres of the Town's decommissioned, capped landfill in West Nyack. The Town's landfill was capped in 1997 and subsequently the operation of the transfer station was sold to the Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority in 2009.
The solar project is a public/private partnership with OnForce Solar, who is investing $6 million to install, operate, and maintain the solar installation pursuant to a 20 year Power Purchase Agreement. There is no cost to the Town for this project. In addition, OnForce Solar received a multi-million dollar grant from NYSERDA through Governor Cuomo's NY-Sun initiative. When complete the solar field is expected to save taxpayers as much as $4 million over the next 30 years by producing electricity to be sold back to the utility grid.
The solar system integrates Orange and Rockland Utilities' SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquistion) monitoring system that allows the utility to remotely monitor and control the solar system. The SCADA monitoring system, part of the Smart Grid Pilot Program, adds an enhanced level of resiliency to Orange and Rockland Utilities' grid, helping to protect the utility's customers from catastrophic power outages.
The Town had the assistance of the following agencies for this project: H2M architects + engineers, the Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority, NYSERDA, the NYS DEC, Orange and Rockland Utilities, Rockland County Trade Unions, and the New York Power Authority (NYPA). The NYPA is working on a white paper which should become a blueprint for municipalities to follow on how to implement a large scale solar field and find savings in municipal budgets.
Construction of the solar field is expected to be complete by the fall.
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 | The June 21st General Membership Luncheon at Crowne Plaza
was a very active networking event.
"Rockland Business Association -
where good conversation leads to collaboraton!" |
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The Byne Group Wins Best of Show
The Byne Group has walked away from this award season as a big winner, receiving over 15 awards including, Best of Show.
They received 3 Aster Awards for work done for Nyack Hospital including, a brochure and physicians referral piece and gold level recognition for their social media campaign, "Born at Nyack Hospital". The same social media campaign was recognized by the Healthcare Advertising Awards and received its second gold level accolade!
"We are very excited that several of our media campaigns have received awards. This recognition is well deserved by The Byne Group," said Lauren Malone, Director of Public Relations and Marketing at Nyack Hospital. "The result of their creativity and professionalism are amazing campaigns and Nyack Hospital is a grateful client."  The "Build Yourself," campaign created for SUNY Purchase College proved to be a big winner this year as well. Receiving winner status from the Communicator Awards for the microsite and viewbook that was created.
The same viewbook went on to win "Best of Show" at the Advertising Club of Westchester's 43rd Big "W" Awards. Infographic, annual report and logo work done for several other clients including: Dominican College, United Hospice of Rockland, Nyack Hospital and My Sisters' Place also won gold and silver level accolades at this year's award show.
Founded in 1998, The Byne Group is a creatively driven strategic branding, advertising and digital marketing firm. The agency is comprised of dedicated, hands-on professionals who share a commitment to delivering the highest quality work and outstanding service.
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P-TECH Hudson Valley Announces First Principal
P-TECH, or Pathways in Technology Early College High School has been called "the future of America's presence in the global economy" by President Barack Obama, and the new Hudson Valley Program has its first principal.
Natasha Walkowicz Shea, an educator with extensive expertise in charter and alternative curriculum schools, is the Hudson Valley P-TECH Program's Principal. Walkowicz Shea has experience with alternative school programs and charter school startups. Most recently, she was the Principal of Greenwood Lake UFSD in NY. She has numerous publications to her name and was a Cahn Fellow (Ally Program) for outstanding new leaders in 2004. She holds an M.A. in Education Administration, Organization and Leadership from the Teachers College of Columbia University and is nearing completion of an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from New York University.
Thanks to state and federal grants and funding, Rockland BOCES will launch this incredibly unique school program this September. The integrated six-year program combines high school, college and career training focusing on the STEM disciplines of Computer Information Technology, Engineering and Health and Green Building Technology. Graduates of the program will depart after six-years with a high school Regent's diploma as well as an Associate's Degree in Applied Science (A.A.S.) at no additional cost. They will also be considered first in line for jobs in the region.
Since approximately 63 percent of American jobs will require post-secondary training by 2018, this innovative school design relies heavily on the support and input from the business community. Over 20 Rockland and Westchester business leaders are integral partners in developing the curriculum through a Skill Mapping process and a one-on-one student mentoring program that ensures Hudson Valley companies will have a trained, ready workforce with not only the technical skills, but also the "soft skills" such as collaboration and critical thinking.
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Attention Rockland Business Community:
Columbia Doctors of the Hudson Valley (CDHV), a leading provider of quality cardiovascular and internal medicine services to residents of the lower Hudson Valley, is proud to announce the recent selection of cardiologists Dr. Ainat Beniaminovitz, Dr. David Brogno and Dr. Richard Roth as Castle Connolly's Top Doctors-New York Metro Area. Castle Connolly, a publisher of medical guides including the annual "Top Doctors" series, aims to help consumers find the best heathcare available. Top Doctors candidates are nominated by their peers in an extensive survey of thousands of American doctors and undergo rigorous screening of their educational and professional experience. Those who are selected as Top Doctors are among the top 10 to 15 percent of physicians within their geographical region and are medical leaders within their communities. ARC of Rockland now manages eWorks, the electronics recycling business located at ARC in Congers, NY and in other locations nationwide. eWorks provides employment while reducing environmental waste. Nearly 40 skilled workers dismantle electronic components, from PCs and servers to televisions and CRTs; collected from businesses of all sizes. eWorks nationwide recycled 800,000 pounds of electronics in 2013 and anticipates it will recycle 1.5 million pounds of electronics in 2014. Locally, eWorks is the only recycler in Rockland with R2 (Responsible Recycling) certification for the highest environmental, data security and safety standards and was a recipient of 2014 Rockland Recycles Award from Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority. The Rockland County Times has a new bi-weekly column about volunteers and unsung community heroes. All nominations should be submitted to Janie Rosman at lecriver@yahoo.com.
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New Members
The RBA is pleased to announce the addition of the following new members for June 2014. We thank you for joining us as part of Rockland's business community and look forward to working together in the near future!
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Advertising, Multimedia:
Data Center:
Caterers:
Financial Services:
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