Join us at A.V.R.E. for our 85th Anniversary Open House

AVRE will celebrate 85 years of serving people throughout the Twin Tiers who are blind or visually impaired on October 13

Share in refreshments, take a tour, and learn more about what A.V.R.E. does in our community.
Visit the …
 Norman Richterman Low Vision Center
 Vision Rehabilitation, Orientation & Mobility, and
Employment Services
 ViewPoint Retail Store
 ACCESS-Tech Center
 Full-scale manufacturing operation in downtown Binghamton, producing copy paper, file folders, and packaging/assembly — creating good jobs for people who are blind or visually impaired.

October 13, 2011
4:00 ~ 7:00 P.M.
Brief presentation at 5:30
174 Court Street
Binghamton
Association for Vision Rehabilitation, Inc.
(607)724-2428 ~ www.avreus.org

Call for CPA Board Member Nominations

2011 Michael H. Urbach, CPA, Community Builders Award Now Accepting Nominations
Sponsored by the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA)

Submission Accepted through August 22nd, 2011

In recognition of the important role, talents and leadership that a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York State can provide as a board member for community-based charities, NYCON and NYSSCPA are pleased to announce the 8th Annual Michael H. Urbach, CPA, Community Builders Award.

The award is named in honor of the late Michael H. Urbach, CPA, former partner of Urbach, Kahn and Werlin, former NYS Commissioner of Tax and Finance and Chair of the State Employees federated Appeal, and board leader of a number of charities.

Award Criteria & Submission

Candidates must:

• Be a CPA in good standing and a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants;


• Have served as an Officer on at least 3 different charitable 501(c)(3) community-based nonprofits with service as President/Chair at least once;


• Have demonstrated exemplary board leadership resulting in significant and positive organizational impact including, but not limited to, financial turn-around, growth, and/or organizational re-structuring; and


• Preference will be given to nominees whose board leadership accomplishments have been with community-based charities.

Deadline - August 22, 2011
Nominations addressing the candidate's qualifications must be received by August 22nd. Nominators are strongly encouraged to address the candidate's qualifications related to the four (4) criteria's mentioned above and to include at least three (3) letters of support from the charities who have benefited from the candidate's volunteer leadership.

Send seven (7) packets of nomination materials to:
Urbach Community Builders Award Committee
New York Council of Nonprofits
272 Broadway
Albany NY 12204
or email the packet to Melissa Currado, Executive Assistant to the CEO at mcurrado@nycon.org.

Announcement & Presentation
The 2011 award will be formally presented at the Annual Member Meeting of NYCON slated for the afternoon of October 6th at Mohonk Mountain House, New Paltz, New York.

The Luncheon will take place during CAMP FINANCE, a two-day retreat that provides the very best in knowledge, skill and strategy sessions for your staff and volunteer leaders.

In honor of the late Harold Mandel, a certified public accountant who worked for Urbach, Kahn & Werlin in Albany, NY and retired in West Palm Beach, FL, the 2011 Urbach Honoree has the privilege to award one (1) nonprofit executive of their choice a Camp Finance scholarship in Hal's name. In 2009, Mr. Mandel's family accepted a posthumous Michael H. Urbach, CPA Community Builders Award in his tribute.


Past Urbach Award Honorees
2010
Edward S. Mucenski, CPA of Potsdam
2009
Lewis "Lew" Kramer, CPA of Chappaqua
2008
Mel Zachter, CPA of Staten Island
2007
Eugene H. Fleishman, CPA of Poughkeepsie
2006
Craig Sickler, CPA from Kingston
2005
Paul Battaglia, CPA from Batavia

For More Information
visit NYCON at http://www.nycon.org/ or contact Melissa Currado at (800) 515-5012 or mcurrado@nycon.org

Cub Care Children’s Center receives grant

The Cub Care Children’s Center will be presented with a $9,277 grant by the Community Foundation for South Central New York at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

The grant will make it possible for the center to purchase a SNUG PLAY system, the first of its kind in New York State.

The Cub Care Children’s Center is located at 201 Main St. in Vestal. For more information, contact Deborah Fitzgerald, executive director, at (607) 786-9006.

ACHIEVE Announces Board Honorees of Nonprofit Awards

ACHIEVE is pleased to announce that Board President, Denis Wickham, has received a 2011 NonProfit Award for Board Leadership. Mr. Wickham has served on the ACHIEVE Board of Directors for 15 years, and in 2010, during difficult economic times, led the agency in generating significant increases in the areas of membership, media exposure to promote community awareness, corporate sponsorships of agency events, and annual appeal funds.

ACHIEVE is also pleased to announce that Board Member, James Hayes, has received a 2011 NonProfit Award for Career Achievement. Mr. Hayes has served on the ACHIEVE Board of Directors for 40 years, first joining the board in 1971 to work for more and better educational and day-program services for his son and others who have an intellectual or other developmental disability.

Sandy Haruk, Vice President Operations and Amy Howard, Vice President Program Planning and Development, accepted the awards on behalf of Mr. Wickham and Mr. Hayes at The Central Region Business Journal NonProfit Awards Luncheon in Syracuse on Monday, March 28, 2011. The NonProfit Awards celebrate the exceptional work done in our community by the vast number of nonprofit groups in Central New York, the Mohawk Valley Region, and Greater Binghamton.

ACHIEVE is the largest and most comprehensive voluntary provider of services to individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities in Broome and Tioga Counties. The mission of ACHIEVE is to provide leadership, advocacy and opportunities which enable persons with intellectual and other developmental disabilities and their families to enhance the quality of their lives.

Congratulations Denis and Jim!

Nonprofit Awards 2011

Celebrate the exceptional accomplishments of the leaders driving the area’s nonprofit organizations (NPOs) by nominating someone you know for one of our Nonprofit Awards. BizEventz and the Central New York Business Journal believe that these leaders deserve to be recognized for outstanding accomplishments on behalf of their organizations. With the support of M&T Bank, on March 28th, we’ve planned The Nonprofit Awards Luncheon. Award recipients will be honored for excellence, leadership, fiduciary responsibility, management practices, creativity, impact, and business acumen.

Nominations are due February 10, 2011. Click here to nominate.

Executive of the Year: Submit nominations for nonprofit executives (president, CEO, executive director) who exhibit leadership, planning skills, strong staff growth, board development, solid fiscal management, and increased fund-raising.

Board Leadership: Nominee is a lay leader of the board of directors. He/she may be a present or past president of the board, long-term board member, and/or major contributor. Cite how the nominee strengthened the organization, implemented the corporate mission or vision, and enhanced the strategic plan.

Board Development: Nonimee is a lay leader of the board of directors, who "grew" the organization through fund-raising or through dynamic ideas, which improved operations. Nominee's efforts enhanced the board through a higher level of participation.

Impact Award: Nominee may be an employee of the NPO, a board member, or a volunteer, who created and/or implemented a new or exisiting program that not only changes the organization but also the community.

Career Achievement: Nominee is a lay leader who makes a lifetime commitment to the community by advocating for NPOs and by dedicating his/her time and resources for the betterment of the commonweal.

Luncheon Information
Date: March 28, 2011
Time: 11:00am-2:00pm
Location: Double Tree Hotel, Syracuse NY

This event is made possible by M&T Bank, Business Journal, Classic Hits Sunny 102, YNN, and Wells Fargo Advisors

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: 2010 Michael H. Urbach, CPA, Community Builder's Award

Sponsored by the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA)

In recognition of the important role, talents and leadership that a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York State can provide as a board member for community-based charities, NYCON and NYSSCPA are pleased to announce the 7th Annual Michael H. Urbach, CPA, Community Builder's Award.

The award is named in honor of the late Michael H. Urbach, CPA, former partner of Urbach, Kahn and Werlin, former NYS Commissioner of Tax and Finance and Chair of the State Employees federated Appeal, and board leader of a number of charities.


Award Criteria & Submission
Candidates must:

• Be a CPA in good standing and a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants;
• Have served as an Officer on at least 3 different charitable 501(c)(3) community-based nonprofits with service as President/Chair at least once;
• Have demonstrated exemplary board leadership resulting in significant and positive organizational impact including, but not limited to, financial turn-around, growth, and/or organizational re-structuring; and
• Preference will be given to nominees whose board leadership accomplishments have been with community-based charities.

Deadline - August 30th, 2010
Nominations addressing the candidate's qualifications must be submitted in writing and received by August 30th, 2010. Nominators are strongly encouraged to include letters of support from the charities who have benefited from the candidate's volunteer leadership.

Send six (6) packets of nomination materials to:
Urbach Community Builder's Award Committee
New York Council of Nonprofits
272 Broadway
Albany NY 12204

Announcement & Presentation
The 2010 award will be formally presented at the Annual Member Meeting of NYCON slated for the afternoon of September 30th at Mohonk Mountain House, New Paltz, New York.

The Luncheon will take place during CAMP FINANCE, a two-day retreat that provides the very best in knowledge and skill development sessions for fiscal and management staff, as well as board members. New this year, it has expanded to include the popular "Money for Mission" tracks that will focus on fundraising, marketing, social media, grant making (both government and philanthropic) and more!

In honor of the late Harold Mandel, a certified public accountant who worked for Urbach, Kahn & Werlin in Albany, NY and retired in West Palm Beach, FL, the 2010 Urbach Honoree has the privilege to award three (3) nonprofit executives of their choice Camp Finance scholarships in Hal's name. In 2009, Mr. Mandel's family accepted a posthumous Michael H. Urbach, CPA Community Builder's Award in his tribute.

CALL FOR 2010 HEART OF THE ARTS AWARDS NOMINATIONS

The Broome County Arts Council invites all interested members of the community to submit nominations for the Heart of the Arts Awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2010. The annual awards were created to honor individuals who have made significant recent and long-term contributions to the arts in Broome County.

Eligible nominees must be individuals who have lived and worked in Broome County for no less than one year, with an active history of involvement with the arts. Official Nomination Forms and submission guidelines may be downloaded here.

Hard-copy forms are available at Broome County Arts Council, 81 State Street, Suite 501 in downtown Binghamton.

Deadline for RECEIPT of Heart of the Arts nominations is:
5:00pm Friday, August 6th.

For more information, contact 607-723-4620 Ext. 101 or e-mail information@bcartscouncil.com.

AZA Grants Accreditation To The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park

News Channel 34 related that the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) today announced that the Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park was granted accreditation by AZA’s independent Accreditation Commission.

“The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park is one of the best in the world because it has met the highest standards in the world,” said AZA President and CEO Jim Maddy. “It takes hard work and a sustained commitment to excellence to meet Association of Zoos and Aquariums Accreditation Standards.”

To be accredited, the Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park underwent a thorough investigation to insure it has and will continue to meet ever-rising standards, which include animal care, veterinary programs, conservation, education, and safety. AZA requires zoos and aquariums to successfully complete this rigorous accreditation process in order to be members of the Association, and are required to resubmit to this process every five years.

The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park had lost its AZA accreditation in 2005. Shortly thereafter the Board of Directors of the Southern Tier Zoological Society decided it was vital to the survival of the Zoo that it again join the elite group of zoos accredited by the AZA. Current Executive Director Mike Janis was hired in 2006 bringing more than 25 years of experience as a zoo director to the post and making accreditation one of his primary goals. Since that time, the Zoo has raised over half a million dollars for new exhibits and programs including those for Binturongs and Lemurs as well as the new Wonders of Nature exhibit, opened in 2009, and features Snow Leopards, Cougar, Golden Lion Tamarins, Meerkats, Gila Monsters and other unique species.“

The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park is proud to be back among those outstanding zoos and aquariums accredited by the AZA and will continue to strive to meet and exceed the high standards of this respected organization,” said Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park Executive Director Mike Janis.

The accreditation process includes a detailed application and a meticulous on-site inspection by a team of trained zoo and aquarium professionals. The inspecting team observes all aspects of the institution’s operation in areas such as animal care; keeper training; safety for visitors, staff, and animals; educational programs; conservation efforts; veterinary programs; financial stability; risk management; visitor services; and other areas. The inspection team prepares an extensive written report for the Accreditation Commission. Finally, top officials are interviewed at a formal Commission hearing, after which accreditation is granted, tabled, or denied. Any institution that is denied may reapply one year after the Commission’s decision is made.

“The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park is also a great place for people to connect with nature,” Maddy added. “Members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums support their schools and communities with science-based wildlife education programs that not only inform, but also inspire conservation action.”

Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation. Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting an institution dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better future for all living things. With its more than 200 accredited members, the AZA is a leader in global wildlife conservation, and your link to helping animals in their native habitats. For more information, please visit www.aza.org.