StarNewsDaily.com – Week of March 8, 2012 – Vol.5, No. 10 – FREE
Making an Impact
National volunteer organization celebrates ‘Red Cross Month’ By Mallory Diefenbach Star News Writer
Ever since its inception in 1881, the Red Cross has been synonymous with relief. It’s goal is to prevent and relieve suffering, and over the 131 years it’s been around, it has aided millions of people. With all the help it has provided to those in need, it certainly deserves to have March as Red Cross Month. Just like other places in the United States, the Red Cross has played a major part in the Chautauqua County community. Recently, Bill Tucker was appointed director for the American Red Cross of Southwestern New York, replacing Vince Horrigan who retired on May 30, 2011. Previous to becoming director, Tucker was a citizen coordinator and a Red Cross instructor before that. After returning to Chautauqua County after 23 years of active service as a Marine Corps., Tucker was very aware of Red Cross services. “Throughout my military career, I was familiar with and very aware of the services that the Red Cross provides to our military members,” Tucker said. “Whether it’s part of our training, or while deployed oversees or on board ship, the Red Cross always served a very important link in communications with our families.” After returning to Chautauqua County after retiring, Tucker took his CPR certification and started to teach CPR and other classes for the
Red Cross due to the high importance skills such as CPR provide to
the community. The Red Cross provides many im-
portant services, but Tucker feels the best thing about the Red Cross is the community supporters. “The best thing about the Red Cross are the community supporters we have,” said Tucker. “And by that I mean all those who volunteer, and work to provide Red Cross services. All those who donate their blood, giving the gift of life to others in our community by giving that gift. And all those who support us financially.” Due to the Red Cross being a charity, it isn’t funded by the government, and all the services which are provided are made possible by communities of people across the nation. The vast majority of the services, 90 percent in fact, are made possible by volunteers. The Red Cross has played a major role in Chautauqua County, providing a vital component to emergency responses. One of the major responses which frequently require the Red Cross services is a single or multifamily house fire. The Red Cross responds within the first two hours of the incident and help them get back on their feet. The Red Cross has also responded to bigger emergencies, such as the 2009 Silver Creek and Gowanda floods in which hundreds were affected. In celebration of Red Cross Month, the Red Cross is selling tickets to Savor the Flavor: Taste of Chautauqua County which will take place on March 18 from noon to 3 p.m. at the Jamestown Savings Bank in the Ice Arena.
Movin’ On Up
Successful local business boasts exciting move, foresees growth in coming months Inside This Week
By Scott Wise Star News Editor
One thing that brings people to Chautauqua County, and keeps them here, are our great assortment of highly successful local businesses. But in a time when even small-town America is getting lost in the hustle and bustle, some still stand apart as great proponents of the hometown feel. One of those is the Lawley Tradition Insurance Agency in Dunkirk. With a background of three insurance carriers merging, the Tradition Agency was born in 1988. With a name change to Lawley Tradition in 1996, branch partner Wally Gotowka has seen nothing but growth year after year, a feat that ought not to go unnoticed. “There has never been a year that we haven’t grown,” said Gotowka. That growth is evident. If you take a cruise down Vineyard Drive in Dunkirk, you can’t miss Lawley’s new location- the old Blockbuster building. The Lawley Tradition Agency was previously located on East Main Street in Downtown Fredonia, but the team was excited and ready for the big move. “We’ve been looking to move for about three years,” said Gotowka. “It was a big decision to leave downtown. We love it there. But with this new location, we were able to start from scratch and configure it the way we wanted” One way that the new location has
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Lawley Tradition Insurance Agency celebrates the grand opening of their new location at 3988 Vineyard Drive in Dunkirk.
been ‘configured’ is with the ‘greener’ ideals in mind. “Our new office is paperless and energy efficient,” said Gotowka. “Everything is fully automated. We don’t keep any paper files- it’s all backed up digitally. Our lights are low impact and energy efficient. Our building and windows are fully insulated so heating and air conditioning are more efficient.” With their new and efficient location, growth is a natural occurrence that Gotowka and his team are expecting and excited about. But fret not; their small-town feel is not leaving. “We are a very large, regional insurer- but we still have that small
community touch,” said Gotowka. “All our employees are integrated into the community. We live and work with our clients. It’s important that everyone in our firm is involved in organizations. They’re all very active in the community. When people come in, they already know us.” Lawley Tradition Agency offers a variety of insurance and employee benefits. They provide consumer coverage like Auto and Homeowners, but also sell health insurance, pension plans, group insurance and workers compensation insurance. “We are extremely competitive,” said Gotowka. “We advertise, but mainly we are word of mouth. We compete directly with the Geicos of this world.
We have so many different markets; it’s a rarity that someone comes in that we can’t help.” As most in real estate are aware, location is everything. With this move, Gotowka’s vision for the future hasn’t changed- merely accelerated. “Our vision is to double the size of our agency in the next five years,” he said. “I envision that we will be adding staff very soon, as well as into the future. It’s an aggressive goal, but definitely something that we can achieve.” For more information on the Lawley Tradition Agency, or if you’re interested in switching insurance carriers, visit www.lawleyinsurance.com, or call 716-672-2193.
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