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Executive Director's Message
Hello Fellow Members,
Usually in this spot of your newsletter is a message from our President Jacqueline Hensley. As many of you know, Jackey is patiently awaiting the arrival of her first child. Though, as of the date I write this, she is still waiting, Jackey is beginning a short sabbatical from her Chamber duties while she concentrates on this impending joyous occasion. We all wish Jackey the best and I certainly will get the word out to you all when the special day arrives.
In the meantime, I will do my best to fill this space for our President. In fact, I can begin by highlighting the great success of one of President Jackey's initiatives. As you know, in an effort to promote what is now recognized as Small Business Saturday®, Jackey arranged with the Bellport Chamber a special Trolley Service between Patchogue and Bellport, as well as organizing and coordinating a day of exceptional Holiday Shopping. I can happily report that Small Business Saturday® was a huge success! Dozens rode the trolleys to and from Bellport. Holiday music filled the air all along Main Street, thanks to the vocal talents of the St. Joseph College Female Glee Club, the SCJ Sharps, as well as the booming rhythms of the Tri Valley Brass Band, while visitors and local residents alike enjoyed the great holiday sales. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone made a special visit to shop in town and ride the Trolley in support of our efforts. The buzz and excitement the Trolley service created has us now considering a similar venture this coming Summer...stay tuned.
Following on the same day as our great sales event for Small Business Saturday® came the Annual Village Christmas parade followed by the Annual Tree Lighting, making Saturday, November 30 an epic start to our Holiday season in Patchogue. The parade was tremendous as always, thanks to the efforts of Director Maria Giustizia and the Patchogue Village Parks & Recreation Department. This year our Tree was generously given by Kelleen Guyer and the Guyer family of Patchogue. We thank them, as well as Superintendent Joe Dean, Kerry Datz and everyone at the Village's Department of Public Works who put the Tree in place and decorated it so beautifully. To complete the Holiday weekend we held our Annual Hanukkah Menorah Lighting on Sunday, December 1 and thanks to Rabbi Joel Levinson and all at Temple Beth El for a very lively and song filled service.
Now the Holiday season is in full swing! This year, to enhance the shopping experience many of our stores will give out free specially wrapped Hershey bars for those who spend $25.00 or more at these locations. We are also continuing our Holiday "Save Your Receipts" promotion. Patrons who shop Patchogue can fill out a raffle ticket and after the Holidays we will hold a drawing. The person selected can trade in any and all Patchogue Holiday Shopping receipts and be reimbursed up to $500.00 dollars. Anyone interested in participating with these Holiday promotions should contact our Business Promotions Chair, Lori Belmonte of the Colony Shop. Also, please be on the lookout for the Chamber's TV Holiday Commercial message. We received an exceptional offer that will have our commercial air dozens of times throughout this month on News 12, the Food Network and Bravo cable channels.
Recently, some of you may have heard that the Chamber was considering a New Year's Eve Ball Drop for Downtown Patchogue. This is an idea that was brought to us by Village Trustee Gerry Crean. While unfortunately we just didn't have enough time to make this happen this year, we are 100% committed to make this a reality for next year! We thank Trustee Crean for his efforts and look forward to make this happen for New Year's 2015. Very early in the New Year we will be forming a committee to plan for this and welcome anyone interested to join this committee. Send your interest via email to info@Patchogue.com.
To continue the Holiday theme of this message, we are just a few days away from our Annual Holiday Party (Thursday, December 12). Include in this month's newsletter is the invitation. We are doing something different that will have us travel to a few different locations for one great Patchogue Holiday Dining Experience. It's still not too late to join in.
Also, as always, the Chamber Office is a collection location for the Town of Brookhaven Interface Toy Drive. We ask anyone coming to the party, or at any time in the next few weeks to the Chamber office, bring an unwrapped toy that will be distributed to families in need.
Another very important date to remember is December 15. That is the day that all voting will close for the LI Press/ Bethpage Federal Credit Union's Best of Long Island Awards. As we highlighted a few months ago, dozens of our members have been nominated in many of the Award categories, including the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce as Best Chamber. We've made the voting easy for you... just visit our website where we highlight all of our nominated members and take you right to where you can cast your votes. In fact, you are allowed to vote once a day, so do your part to "stuff" those electronic ballot boxes with our Patchogue nominees!
I wish all of you a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year! Already our Chamber Committees are gearing up for our 2014 Events. Now is a great time to get more involved and be part of making these events a continued success. Join in the fun and join one of our Chamber Event Committees!
David Kennedy
Executive Director
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Invitation to the Chamber's Annual Holiday Party
on Thursday December 12
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Voting is still open until December 15. Several businesses within the Chamber, including the Chamber, have been nominated.
Vote for the Chamber here (scroll down to the Chamber of Commerce category). You can vote once per day, every day until Sunday.
Please check out the full list of member nominees here.
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Patchogue Village Christmas Holiday Boat Parade
November 24th
Congratulations to the Dublin Debt, winner of 'Best Overall'
The Riverfront Committee chose the theme, "A Country Christmas", for this year's parade.
The night before the parade, the boats are docked at The Oar Steak & Seafood Grill, Harbor Crab, and Off Key Tikki where people can view them for free & select the winner of the "People's Choice" Award. There was live music & entertainment as well as craft & retail vendors at each location.
More images from this year's event are available on their Facebook page.
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Small Business Saturday®
November 30th
Volunteers display their "Shop Small" gift bags.
The Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce and the Bellport Chamber of Commerce successfully coordinated efforts to encourage visitors to SHOP LOCAL this holiday season.
A free trolley service was available for visitors to travel between Bellport and Patchogue to shop and find great gifts, discover our local service providers, and also sample the fine food establishments that each of our communities have to offer. Musical entertainment was provided by the SJC Sharps of St. Joseph's College and by the TriValley Brass Band.
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51st Annual Christmas Parade on Main Street
November 30th
Hundreds of visitors gathered along Main Street to watch the Christmas Parade this year. The theme was 'Dancing with the Claus' and for the first time ever floats could have their own Santa Claus. The tree adorned at Capital One Bank's Plaza was donated this year by Kelleen & Karl Guyer.
The Patchogue Recreation Department would like to congratulate the following parade winners:
- Best Overall - COURTNEY LYNN BLAKESLEE FOUNDATION
- Most Originality - CROSS FIT LONG ISLAND
- Most Spirit - STAGE DOOR DANCE
- Best Fire Dept. - BLUE POINT
- Best Vehicle - MODEL A FORD CLUB
For more images from the parade click here.
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Annual Menorah Lighting Ceremony
December 1st
Rabbi Joel Levinson and members of Temple Beth-El helped to celebrate Hannukah with the annual menorah lighting at Capital One Bank's Plaza.
The service concluded with the lighting and singing festive songs. |
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Ribbon Cutting:
Tall Tree Floral Designs of Patchogue 
Congratulations to owner Andrea Lawlor on the Grand Re-Opening at Tall Tree Floral Designs of Patchogue! Newly renovated, the store now also includes a sweet shop & many great gift ideas. Stop by the shop at 143 Medford Ave (Rte 112) in Patchogue to check out the new changes!
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Giving Tuesday has officially passed but that doesn't mean you can't still give!
#GivingTuesday is a day set aside to focus on giving and supporting local charities. With this in mind, we ask you to remember the Chamber's non-profit Greater Patchogue Foundation.
Our Foundation supports local charitable endeavors, including cultural heritage events, beautification, scholarships and the recently created C.O.A.D (Community Organization Active in Disaster) that was established to aide local families in need in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Any contribution you can make to the Foundation goes directly to these needs and is tax deductible. As with shopping for gifts, please make sure that when you make a charitable donation, you do it locally.
Please contact the Foundation at 631-207-1000 or email info@patchogue.com for more information on how to donate.
Also, we are asking everyone to donate an unwrapped toy this season for families in need. A collection box for the Town of Brookhaven's Interface Program is available at the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce office (15 N Ocean Ave, Patchogue).
If you have any questions, please contact the Chamber at 631-207-1000 or email info@patchogue.com.
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