The official newsletter of HUNT Real Estate Corporation
A Message from Peter F. Hunt page 2
HUNT Mortgage page 8
ASPCA Fundraiser page 9
March/April 2016 | Issue 78
Agent Reviews and Your Online Reputation by Dan Mirsky, Director of Marketing HUNT Partners with Listen360 Customer Feedback Service Have you Googled yourself lately? Give it a shot. Go to Google or any other search engine and type in your name. If you have a common name (i.e. John Smith), add in the words “real estate” or “Realtor” to your search. Chances are the results you’ll get back not only include your HUNT agent website, but your profile pages on Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com and, if you’re active on social media, your Facebook, LinkedIn and even Yelp profiles. A common thread amongst all of these sites is that each offers the ability for consumers to leave reviews. With some, you get complete control over which reviews show up publicly on your profile. However, in the case of Facebook, Google, Yelp and others, that is not the case.
While this may seem a bit unnerving, in every business - not just in real estate - obtaining feedback from your customers is vital in order to improve your business operations, correct your shortcomings, and deliver outstanding customer service. Testimonials also play a significant role in your search engine ranking and can help you attract more business. What if you could easily and automatically gain valuable testimonials from your customers that you can use to help bolster your online reputation? On the flip side, what if you could immediately address negative reviews from your customers, rather than discovering that they posted it publicly for the world to see on Zillow, Facebook, Google, etc.? It’s with this in mind, we are partnering with a service called Listen360 to help you get direct and honest continued on page 6
A message from Peter F. Hunt Chairman & CEO
Ambition and Determination That’s what Marlee Maitlin, speaking to the entire gathering of ERA at the recent International Business Conference, said were the secrets to her ability to overcome deafness and build a remarkable career in acting. You may recognize her from the TV shows The West Wing, Picket Fences and Switched at Birth. She has also been in 21 movies, having received an Oscar and Golden Globe for Leading Actress in Children of a Lesser God (1988)—in her very first movie! You can imagine the sniping and criticism that descended on her from her actor competitors and even the movie press at the time. And you can imagine the hurt. Her ability to persevere and continue an upward trajectory in her acting career, while raising a family along the way, is testimony to her ambition and determination. This is just some of what our many HUNT attendees experienced at the recent ERA IBC held in Orlando. Please mark your calendars for next year’s IBC which will be held in Dallas, Texas (March 19-21, 2017). We will be announcing various ways you can compete for free registrations throughout the year. It always amazes me how we return with so much renewed enthusiasm for our business and our relationships. I’m hoping we can capture that, carry it through the year and then see an even bigger crowd from our Company in Dallas next March. We had two of our own stars at the IBC. Larry Magguilli was presented with his award for being ERA's #1 Sales Associate for Total Units Sold in 2015. Larry ranked first for the entire ERA network, which includes 33,000 brokers and sales associates throughout the United States and 34 countries and territories. Congratulations, Larry! Our other star was Kim Nemeth, who participated with five other highly-skilled agents from across the nation to become the Top Objection Handler. Although Kim was not the overall winner, those of us present and even the other contestants thought Kim stole the show. Kim’s remarkable intelligence must have been intimidating—even to the judges! She made all of us proud.
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This is the tail end of the real estate industry conference season. As always, there were many lessons to be learned. Allow me to share a few: 1) Richard Smith, Chairman, CEO and President of Realogy, believes we are only at the beginning of a long, slow growth curve in the number of transactions throughout the country due to strong underlying demand and persistent shortage of inventory. With sales of existing houses projected to be slightly over 5 million for 2016, he believes demand will be there for something closer to 6 million houses per year for the foreseeable future. This growth, which should track at 6-7% per year, will be fueled by low interest rates, by historic standards, continued household formations, and a recovering economy-albeit at a slow pace-that will create net new jobs. Our future looks good, according to Richard, even in an election year with much volatility in our political climate. By the way, Richard believes BOTH Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would be friendly to our industry and understand the importance of a healthy real estate market. 2) Cartus CEO Kevin Kelleher was spectacular as he delivered his address as a take-off on Donald Trump. He was hilarious, yet still managed to make some very important points, among which were: a. The economic force that is emerging among Millenials. By 2020 they will account for $20 trillion of consumption power. They will bring new vitality, excitement and creativity to our industry and all others. b. The speed of change in our economy and our industry will only accelerate. How we communicate, digitization, disruptive competitors—all will impact how we do business. c. Customers will insist that we create new “wows,” as they relentlessly pursue new ideas and solutions to their problems, all the
while seeking greater value. 3) Alex Perriello, CEO of Realogy Franchise Group, spoke of the decline of “lead share” derived from the local broker websites throughout the country and the attraction to Agents of the alternative—buying leads from third parties like Zillow and Realtor.com. He also offered advice on how this can change for the better for local brokers like us by making the consumer experience: a. Simpler, clearer and easier to understand b. Transparent c. Friction-less and “feel good” d. Fast e. More engaging across all platforms to create more raving fans—and measure their opinions (see Dan Mirsky’s article to learn more about HUNT’s upcoming utlilization of “Responsive Design” and Customer Feedback tools.) This is just a sampling of what we were exposed to. There was simply way too much to put in this summary article without boring you.
surrounds us, meeting changing demands. 3) “Align” our entire organization around our promise as stated in our Vision, Mission, Core Values, and evident in our Culture and by removing any change agent not so aligned. 4) “Focus” on any defects in our organization and on the “user experience”—our customers and our Agents. 5) “Create” a new Big Hairy Audacious Goal for our great organization. How far can we take all that we have already created and built? 6) “Remember” as Marlee Maitlin said, we are only limited by our ambition and determination. Even after 105 continuous years of operation, and my own 40 years in this business, I believe our Agents and Leadership have great ambitions which I only want to see realized. And I, personally, have never been more determined to see our organization and everyone in it become all we can be. Thank you for always being there for me and for believing that this organization needs you.
So, how will we respond and/or react to all we have heard and seen? 1) “Emerge” as the momentum creator, driving value and delivering on our promise by being truly “Always There For You” and by being on the cutting edge of new thought, most recently exemplified in our comprehensive Team Concept—the only one of its kind in the industry. 2) “Lead” in our understanding of and response to demographic change, mirroring the society that
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Agents of the Month Buffalo
February
March
Akron Amherst Buffalo Metropolitan East Aurora Hamburg KenTon Lancaster Lewiston Lockport Orchard Park West Seneca Wheatfield Williamsville-Clarence Williamsville Village
Marge Tuerk Kelly Poulous Susan Foster Rosa McCabe Melissa Weidner Kelly Limina Bill Severyn Cyndi VanDusen Chari Himmelsbach Anna Marie Faulkner Jason Jurek Jennifer Schreckengost Jim Hoffman Enas Latif
Cheyanne Seelau Judy Lewis Ellen Daly Todd Aichinger Timothy Domanski Karen Loffredo (Prezioso) Jenny Gerhardt Cyndi VanDusen Dianne Shaw Ryan Daley Dennis Dargavel Mark Lemke Amy Mayfield Bonnie Clement
Rich Testa Sandi Van Camp Dick Lippa John Denniston Vince LoCastro
Larry Magguilli Sandi Van Camp Rich Orczyk John Denniston Vince LoCastro
Rochester Brighton-Pittsford Canandaigua Greece Perinton Webster
Central & Northern NY/Carthage Watertown Camillus Cazenovia Chittenango Clinton DeWitt Liverpool Manlius Oneida Watertown Cicero
Dave Manzano Sr Jill Benson Stephen Laureti Mindy Bradley and Jim Lenahan The CNY Key Team Robert Joeckel Judy Winslow Mary Pat Adam Jill Rosette Shane Tibbitts
Jeanine Volpe Theresa Billy Robert Freunscht Chip Hodgkins Autumn Starr The Gauilin Team Jeanette Denney Shirley Litz/Deborah Manning Shane Tibbitts
Donna Martin Ken Champagne Kelly Hayes Lucy Sokaris
Ray Henderson Dan Lesage Jen Ball Sandy Evans
Jacqueline Higgins
Mary Montague Natasha Tomlinson
Capital District Saratoga Springs Loudonville Glens Falls Slingerlands
Arizona Tempe Scottsdale
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Relocation by Mary Croglio, Director of Relocation Cartus International Conference Peter Hunt, Charlie Hunt, Diane Gold and I returned from the Cartus conference arms loaded with awards, thanks to all of the agents and employees at HUNT Real Estate. We earned the Five Star Circle of Excellence award in Buffalo, Rochester, Central New York, Watertown and Capital region. We were thrilled to achieve Platinum status in both Buffalo and Capital regions, Gold status in Rochester and Silver in Syracuse. It was quite a collaboration of hard work to achieve each of these distinctions. The conference is not only about awards, it is for learning, networking and building our future. Cartus’ closing volume and units both increased year over year by 3% nationally. Each time we attend a conference we learn more about how to become more efficient and effective serving our customers. All the metrics and deadlines are put in place to make us accountable, focused and deliver the finest service to our customers. For instance, the agent contract tool was implemented so we can provide Cartus a complete contract package that they can ultimately submit to their corporate client more timely and succinctly. Buyers also want to know as soon as possible if their offer is accepted, and with this tool we can accomplish this more quickly. Cartus has also introduced tutorial links on certain forms to make it easier for agents to complete them promptly and accurately. They shared with us that the conversion rate this year for Cartus Network broker-to-broker buying referrals was 69% and 73% for listings. Surveys are being sent to referring agents to make sure broker-to-broker business is a priority and treated at the same level of importance as a corporate referral. Cartus believes the stage is set for the upcoming years to be great for the housing industry because of job growth and tax reform. They also foresee promising opportunities with baby boomers that will be downsizing and millennials that will be new to the market. For HUNT ERA, time to start all over again working toward this year’s goals!
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Agent Reviews and Your Online Reputation by Dan Mirsky, Director of Marketing
testimonials from your customers. Listen360 is integrated into Profit Power - which means once a closed listing is entered, Listen360 will automatically send your client a brief survey. The survey consists of just two questions - the first asking on a scale of 1-10, how likely are they to recommend their HUNT Real Estate sales professional. The next question is an open text field asking for their feedback about the real estate services they received from their HUNT agent. All survey responses will be logged into your personal Listen360 dashboard within AgentAchieve. All of your positive reviews (9’s and 10’s) will be displayed in a new “My Reviews” section on your HUNT agent page. If you wish, you will also be able to stream these testimonials directly to your Facebook business page. Additionally, when a customer gives you a 9 or a 10 rating, they will be prompted to submit a review for your Google and Yelp pages (if you have them) - both of which can help boost your online relevance, reputation and search ranking. Rest assured, only reviews that are 9’s and 10’s will be shared publicly. If you receive any negative feedback, it will not be shared publicly. Instead, you and your Branch Director will receive an email notification from Listen360 with the customer’s comments and their contact information. With this data, you and your BD can work together to address their concerns and, if appropriate, contact them so that their negative experience can potentially have a positive resolution, thereby retaining future business that likely would have been lost.
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Immediately responding to a negative review not only gives your customer peace of mind knowing that their concerns are being addressed, but it may reduce the likelihood that they will post negative reviews on the aforementioned real estate and social media sites. In order for Listen360 to function properly, we must collect accurate contact information for your customers on your Deal Sheets. That said, all Deal Sheets must now include your customer's email address and phone number. If this information is not provided, your AA will not be able to enter your deal into Profit Power. We will being going live with the Listen360 in May. Training on how to use the Listen360 dashboard in AgentAchieve to track your reviews will be provided by our HUNT Training team. Keep an eye on your email for more information about Listen360 and invitations to our upcoming training webinars. Also Coming in May: There’s a change coming to our website as we refresh and modernize its look by utilizing Responsive Design. Simply put, responsive design provides optimal viewing, interaction and navigation across all devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones). This means no matter what device you’re using to access HUNTrealestate.com, you and our customers will have an easy and seamless viewing experience. More information to come!
ASPCA Fundraiser Pet-A-Palooza! by Dan Mirsky, Director of Marketing Thank you to everyone who participated in our 1st Annual HUNT Pet-a-Palooza Photo Contest! With your help, we raised over $1,000 for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Our winner this year with more than 240 votes was Sadie, belonging to Melissa Faeth with our HUNT Perinton office. Congratulations, Melissa! 2nd place went to Bandit, the pup of Vicky Amoroso from our HUNT Customer Service Department, and 3rd place went to Bianca, belonging to Millie Blasz-Achtyl with our HUNT Hamburg office. Again, thank you all for your efforts and for helping support such a worthwhile cause.
Thank you to those who donated and submitted photos: Tricia Acton
Melissa Faeth
Catherine Peters
Vicky Amoroso
Lisa Faeth
Cindy Quinn
Tracy Beckenbach
Cheryl Given
Damaris Rivera
Jill Benson
Raymond Grzenda
Molly Robinson
Millie Blasz-Achtyl
Shaune Henry
Melanie Robinson
Kimberly Boesken
Sue Hergenroder
Colette Rosati
Jackie Carr
Jean Hill
Lindsay Rust
Luanne Castronova
Kristy Joy King
Michael Scioli
Michael Culeton & Jennifer Maxian
Kristen Laczi
Kim Shepard
Marie Leggett
Bonnie Weiler
Larry Lentini
Leah Wrate
Laurie Dietrich Dave & Jamie Evans
MaryAnn Lum Nelson
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HUNT Mortgage by Linda Mallia, President of HUNT Mortgage Trending Credit Data A borrower’s past behavior can help predict their future behavior, or so Fannie Mae believes. Fannie Mae is introducing a new format for credit reports called “trending credit data.” Typically, a credit report shows more of a snapshot of what someone’s credit looks like today with late payments as a summary, more or less. Fannie Mae’s trending report will actually show a detailed 24-month history of each payment and the balance of that account for every month of the last 24 months. Trending credit data reports will show if a borrower made a large payment on an account one month or was over the credit limit 21 months ago. Fannie Mae plans to release this new format June 25, 2016. The credit bureaus have been preparing for this significant change. Although it is still too early to tell how this will impact future home buying, it can be used as a tool to educate your potential home buyers on how to improve their credit scores, if needed. Because trending credit data looks at a longer period of credit card payment history, as a Realtor and trusted adviser, you can assist your home buyer in becoming a much more educated and informed borrower. Fannie Mae will begin using trending credit data in addition to traditional credit scores. Automated underwriting and credit scores have been around for years. Just when we all think we fully understand how these proprietary systems work, things change. Trending credit data may lead to higher credit report costs. It is a much more expanded and
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granular viewpoint of a consumer’s credit history. This expanded view of a consumer’s credit history can reveal trends and behaviors that are not detectable on current versions of credit reports. Currently credit reports show only the most recent payments on each account. Trending credit data will detail if the consumer is consistently making minimum payments to their credit cards, or larger payments. The new reports will also clearly show if a consumer is trending upward in debts, consistently making minimum payments and balances rising. So exactly how will this new data be utilized in underwriting decisions? We are breathlessly awaiting that answer. Could an applicant with a 740 credit score, which is currently considered very good, be denied a loan because they have been steadily increasing their credit usage over the past 24 months? Again, we don’t know. My own guess is this could happen, but would be a rare occurrence. Folks that have great credit scores typically do manage their credit well regardless of what angle you look at it from. There is quite a bit of debate, however, on how the more marginal borrower will fare under this new type of credit scrutiny. This could definitely cut both ways. A marginal borrower that has been digging out of debt may be able to be approved faster, but a borrower in the middle of a struggle or perhaps even trending upward in debt utilization may be more frequently denied. We will continue to monitor all of the changes, and relay to our valued HUNT agents how we believe this will impact lending. Buckle your seatbelts and stay tuned!
News Around the Regions HUNT Commercial
Dana Crocker was voted the 2016 Secretary for the New York State Commer cial Association of Realtors during the winter meetings in Albany. Since 2015, he has presided as President of the Greater Syracuse Chapter of the New York State Commercial Association of Realtors, to which he founded the chapter himself. Congratulations Dana!
Buffalo/ Niagara
William Yaple of our Wheatfield Branch received a wonderful testimonial for his hard work with a client: “I just wanted to take a moment to recognize something positive on social media. There is so much negativity that we are witnesses to and not enough positivity. So I am taking this opportunity to tell you a bit about this great person Will Yaple. During a very difficult time in our family with the loss of our father, we were faced with having to sell our dad’s house during deep grieving period. We called Will to talk to him regarding selling dad’s house which emotionally I was not ready to tackle this move at the time. After spending a few hours with Will, we knew he was the man to do the job. Will exemplifies compassion, honesty and integrity. He made the transition painless for us and all we have had to do is just sit back and let him do his job. Will is extremely hard working and has an enormous amount of knowledge of real estate laws and current on all aspects of buying and selling real estate. He has been ahead of the game and has made this transaction painless for us. He sold dad’s home within days. I couldnt believe it! He calls me every step of the way to inform us of the progress and works diligently in closing it all up quickly. Thank you Will Yaple for reminding those you touch that there are people out there that are scholar people. Where there is a way, there is Will.”
HUNT held its annual Ski Day on Thursday, February 25th.
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News Around the Regions cont. Rochester
CALLING ALL LISTINGS! The Rochester management team pulled together and coordinated a region-wide “Call Night.� The objective was to have agents call their COI and dig up some leads for listings! The agents who participated started off the evening with some coaching and script practicing. They kicked off the the call session with some inspirational videos from David Knox. The troops headed out to Smile and Dial. Several agents made connections and a few came away with some very viable leads. Prizes and pizza kept their stamina up. We have already scheduled the next event. Remember, Prospect on Purpose.
The 10th Annual EggHUNT was held Saturday, March 19th and was one of the largest successes we have had to date with $1000 being raised for the Ronald McDonald House! This event was started by the agents and continues to grow every year. Our biggest sponsors included John Marchioni from Marchioni and Associates, one of our legal plan attorneys, and HUNT Mortgage. It was mentioned by an attendee that this event has become their family tradition and they have come each year for all 10 years! A great big thanks goes out to the committee who arranged the event and to all of the volunteers!
Capital
Perhaps in life and business opportunity knocks more often than we might think. Of course, we must be looking for opportunities that are presented in order to take full advantage of them. One of the opportunities we are excited to tell you about is a new branch office location in the Capital Region. We are delighted to announce that HUNT Real Estate has expanded to Southern Saratoga County in the Town of Clifton Park and will open a new branch in the next 90 days. The new office will be located at 1750 Route 9, in the Hannoush Jewelers Plaza just north of Route 146. We're in the infancy of the design phase of the office, so stay tuned for additional details and updates.
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In Memoriam by Peter F. Hunt, Chairman & CEO
Our extended family is grieving over the loss of a great leader, our Glens Falls Branch Director, Joe Woutersz. I first met Joe after having learned through our then-partner in the Capital Region that Joe had merged his company, Hearth and Home, with ours. For some time thereafter, we had very little direct contact. Following the termination of our partnership, I went to see Joe at his office and it was easy to see his frustration with our company's lack of support for our Glens Falls location. At that time, I committed to making things right with and through our new General Manager Dave Evans and, of course, Joe's guidance. In relatively short order, Joe and Dave were able to find our new home in the heart of town and, from that point forward, it was only upward for our trajectory as a sales team in Glens Falls. In January, at our HUNT Annual Awards Celebration, Joe and his team's hard work was recognized as he accepted, from his hospital bed via FaceTime, our sincere appreciation and due recognition as our 2015 Branch of the Year for the entire company. In addition to his leadership at HUNT, Joe was recognized this past December as Realtor of the Year by the Warren County Association of Realtors. During his remarks to the Association members, he recommended to everyone there that we all be just 10% kinder. What a profound, yet simple message. It was Joe's kindness among many other fine traits--great speaker, motivator, husband, father, grandfather, friend--that I will most remember. Please join me in expressing our sincerest sympathies to Joe's wife, Elaine, his children and grandchildren - and also to Jen Ball, who has been a rock in Joe's life for many years. We will miss Joe, but will never forget all that he contributed to the professional and personal lives of so many people in our organization.
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Employee of the Month by Charlie Hunt, General Manager of Rochester Region & Director of Corporate Relations
Congratulations to Diane Gold who placed 133 referrals with our agents just in the month of March! Not only did she try to find the right agent for each customer, she also had to make sure she was meeting time sensitive deadlines that are imperative to our corporate partnerships. This in addition to all the previous referrals she has been nurturing and will continue to until they become closed sales. Diane works very closely with the agents so that together we can maintain our premiere standing in the markets we serve and can continue to receive an abundance of referrals.
Welcome to HUNT! We would like to welcome the following newly licensed agents from across the company: Indra Balasundaram - Williamsville/Clarence Ashley Stasio - Lancaster Jo-Anne Hughes - Loudonville Peter Ahrens - Orchard Park Susan Ballard - Williamsville/Clarence Cody Cook - Lancaster Jessica Reed - KenTon De’Shawn Solomon - KenTon Scott Wander - Lancaster Teri Scheirer - Camillus Steven Wolcott - Lancaster Ethan Grant - Buffalo Metropolitan Regina Honan - KenTon Ligabo Ambeyi - Loudonville Cherida Williamsville - Amherst Dominique Montgomery - Amherst Wei Chen - KenTon Susan Ballard - Williamsville/Clarence Tyrone DiMatteo - Buffalo Metropolitan Charles Kenline - Williamsville Village Robert Ayala - Brighton/Pittsford Joshua Kacprzak - Greece Jennifer Hasseler - Williamsville Village Julie O’Neill - KenTon Elizabeth Mcculloch - KenTon Michele Brenon - Wheatfield Jonathan Kurtz - Orchard Park Kathryn Pusateri - Buffalo Metropolitan Hunter Kowal - KenTon Kelly Grambo - Lancaster Stephanie Giardina - Village Sumit Mahna - Williamsville/Clarence Donald Puddy - Scottsdale
Lawrence Lewis - Amherst Kimberly Coleman - Amherst Jessica Taylor - Lockport Joseph Manitta - Camillus Joshua Flett - Liverpool Christi Bowker - Scottsdale Lindsay Rodgers - Williamsville Village Daniel Lehman - Brighton/Pittsford April Lewis - Brighton/Pittsford Jeremy Evans - Hamburg Amy Taylor - Hamburg Ashley Tundo - East Aurora Kimberly Hixon - East Aurora Christine Laurienzo - Lancaster Michael Walters - Buffalo Metropolitan Anita Schmitt - Williamsville/Clarence Melissa Szymaszek - Amherst Kathleen Carlson - Williamsville/Village Nouraldin Taefi - Williamsville/Clarence Matthew Dwyer - West Seneca Diane Busch - KenTon Rebekah Weissert - Williamsville/Village Cheryl O’Donnell - Williamsville/Village Carol Kersting - Buffalo Metropolitan Rochelle Fell - Williamsville/Clarence Matthew Jaskier - Lancaster Justin Selzler - West Seneca Michael Sapecky - Lockport Tameesh Bagga - Buffalo Metropolitan Lynne Collard - Hamburg Michael Assmann - Camillus Xuejuan Zhang - Dewitt Richard Gove - Camillus Marni Davis - Dewitt Alyssa Tobias - Dewitt
We would also like to welcome the following experienced agents from across the company: Andrew McCauley - Loudonville John Tompkins - Brighton/Pittsford Cherita Bishop - KenTon
Rita Tranisi - Scottsdale Kasandra Rivera - Tempe Diane Hirsch - Scottsdale Marie Fetes - Lewiston Brett Munn - Dewitt Denise Lucio - Camillus Donna Villeneuvre - Loudonville Pamela Patton - Scottsdale Ilia Harkins - Hamburg Kristin Biniewski - Hamburg Tammy Moore - Lockport Marykay Greenfield - Saratoga Springs Micheal Mancini - Brighton/Pittsford Tracy Beckenbach - Perinton Dorothy Egan - Brighton/Pittsford Charles Murphy - Perinton/Hornell/Alfred Stacey Washburn - Liverpool Richard Manfredi - Manlius Cyrus Grant - Manlius