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Are you looking for something fun to do with family and friends this week? Well head on down to Cuba, NY for Cuba Dairy Week! This whole week is filled with really cool events and there will be fun to be had by all.
The week kicked off on Sunday, June 12th with the Flag Day Chicken BBQ at the Liberty Pole on West Main Street at 11AM. There was a lot of great BBQ food to go around! Full dinners were $9 and Half dinners were $6. All proceeds benefited the Genesee Park Veteran’s Living Memorial! The afternoon ended with the men’s horseshoe league tournament at the VFW at 1PM.
If you are a fan of reading then head on down to the Library on Monday, June 13th for the Friends of the Cuba Library Used Book Sale from 5-7PM! Once you found some books, you might as well head over to the Euchre Tournament at the Palmer Opera House! Registration price is $25 per team and all proceeds benefit the Cuba Volunteer Fire Department!
If you were planning to get a round of golf in this week, why not play in the Cuba Fire Department’s Golf Tournament! The tournament registration starts at 10AM with an 11AM shotgun start on Tuesday, June 14th at the Alleghany Hills Golf Course in Rushford, NY. This is a scramble tournament so get your best foursome and come ready to play! The price is $60 dollars per player and $240 per team. All proceeds benefit the Cuba Fire Department. This includes 18 holes of golf, food, drinks, and a chance to win prizes! Also if you would like to make a donation, you can personally sponsor a hole for $100!
WPIG will be live on Wednesday, June 15th from 9:30AM-11:30AM at the center street plaza. Also if you like carnivals, make sure you go to firemen’s park from 6PM-10PM! This carnival is fun for all ages and the Bo James Band will be preforming live music as well! The carnival will have fun games and candy for the kids and beer and wine for the adults! Can’t make it to the carnival this day? Not a problem because it will continue all week!
Pack your bathing suits and umbrellas because this next event is going to be a splash! The Firefighter Water Fights will be on Thursday, June 16th at 6PM in Firemen’s Park. Each team is allowed a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 5 people. Free registration for this event starts at 5PM and each age group has a chance to win cash prizes! The carnival will continue on this night at 6PM with more live music from the Cuba-Rushford Pop Group and Jazz band as well as soloist Alex Leyva. Get down to Firemen’s Park because it will be the place to be!
If you like volleyball, prepare to get messy because Friday, June 17th kicks off the Mud Volleyball Competition at Firemen’s Park! Each team has to have a minimum of 6 players with at least 2 females per team. Cost is $5 per player and you must be at least 14 to play. There will be cash prizes for the top teams, so start practicing your skills and get ready for this competitive and fun tournament! If volleyball isn’t your thing or you don’t feel like playing in the mud, the Carnival and more live music will be taking place all night as well!
The last day of the Cuba Dairy Week is jam packed full of fun events, so see what you like the best and prepare for t  his amazing grand finale! This great day consists of the Liberty Pole Walk/Run, the Orange Crate Derby, a Craft Vendor/Petting Zoo, a 3on3 basketball tournament, the Classic Car Show, a Chicken BBQ, a Bicycle Decorating Station, a Parade and so much more! There will be more live music and a fireworks show presented at Firemen’s Park to send off this amazing week with a bang!
The fun has no limit this week and you will not want to miss out on anything! So head on down to Cuba, NY for the Cuba Dairy Week and enjoy all that this unique event has to offer!
ERA Team VP Real Estate  |  24 Main Street, Cuba, NY  |  Office: 585-968-2113

The annual National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division III Men’s Golf National Championships are set to take place at the Chautauqua Golf Club from June 6-10.  Jamestown Community College has been holding this tournament through the Chautauqua Golf Club since the year 1999, and this year is going to be another really exciting tournament!

This special event is a 72-hole tournament fun for people of all ages to go and watch outstanding young talent at a beautiful golf course! There is free admission to the tournament, so if you are a golf fan or just want the chance to explore the amazing atmosphere this tournament brings to the Chautauqua Golf Club, make sure you make it down for some high quality competition and fun!

“Each year we host close to 50 colleges, 100 qualifiers, 100 college coaches and hundreds of family members, college dignitaries and friends” said former NJCAA Division III Men’s Golf National Championships Director Greg Fish. “Also in our 17th year, we are now the fourth longest continuing championship site in the entire NJCAA, behind Division 1 Basketball in Hutchinson, Kansas, Division 1 Baseball in Grand Junction, Colorado and Division 2 Basketball in Danville, Illinois.”

ERA Team VP Real Estate & Vacation Rentals has been a proud helping hand in this tournament for many years.  Our company has hosted the golfers in company owned condos since 2003, and we are looking forward for their arrival on Saturday, June 4^th! Every 3 years the NJCAA has the choice to move the location of the tournament, but they have kept coming back to Chautauqua for 17 years straight because the area has done such a great job with the tournament.

The economic impact of this tournament for the Chautauqua area is close to $500,000 annually. At the end of this year’s tournament, JCC and Chautauqua Golf Club will be putting in a bid in hopes to renew another 3-year contract for this outstanding tournament, and we can only hope that it stays in the area.

ERA Team VP Real Estate’s annual listing competition was kicked off on May 16, 2016 and runs until July 16. Each year the event is held to foster some friendly inter-office competition and boost the listing inventory before heading into the summer season. This year we are doing something a little bit different, so light the torches and queue the music… the competition is OLYMPICS themed!!

In a similar style to the Olympic Games, the 2016 “Listing Olympics” features the Agents competing both individually and as a team. Drawing into ERA Corporate’s global reach, each of our eight main office locations will be choosing from a list of countries that ERA has offices in globally!

The office representatives are the following:

·         Bradford, PA  –  Jamaica

·         Chautauqua, NY  –  Sweden

·         Cuba, NY –  Cayman Island

·         Ellicottville, NY –  Turkey

·         Fredonia, NY  –  Germany

·         Olean, NY  –  Turks & Caicos

·         Warren, PA  –  Netherlands

·         Yorkshire, NY  –  Costa Rica

 

Agents can earn points within five different categories including:

1. Listing
2. Prospecting
3. Training
4. Marketing
5. ZAP

Each of these categories is structured to either aid the Agents in gaining more listings, enhancing their current listings, or simply improving their current marketing skills. They can earn a certain number of points in each category by doing things like attending weekly sales meetings, posting to their social media accounts, utilizing TextERA riders, participating in trainings/webinars, and more!

Each individual Agent as well as the office teams will be competing for the Olympic Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals that will be awarded at the Closing Awards Ceremony (date TBA). The top overall point earners will be taking home the grand prize which will be announced at a later date. Previous year’s grand prizes included an apple watch, Microsoft Surface, professional camera equipment, vacation certificates, etc. There will also be a prize auction where additional prizes will be raffled off to individuals.  It’s a Chinese style auction, so the more points the agents earn, the better chance they have of winning a prize!

As agents are competing for the Gold individually, prizes will also be awarded to the office team with the greatest percentage increase in listings over the same time period in 2015. Individuals can help to boost their office’s chance of winning the Gold by getting more listings!

This annual competition has been great way to encourage teamwork and comradery within ERA Team VP and is a blast for everyone involved! See you all at the awards ceremonies and may the best country win!

Good Luck Agents!

Bemus Point, NY has a lot to offer when it comes to summer activities and attractions.  This year’s Memorial Day Weekend will offer a plethora of different opportunities for people to experience new and old attractions and events.

One new place in particular that hopes to start the summer off with a bang is Ellicottville Brewing on Chautauqua which opened on Thursday, May 19^th right in downtown Bemus.  This attraction will be the perfect place for people to hang out by the lake for some food and an ice cold draft beer!  This version of EBC will feature a more limited food menu than the Ellicottville, NY location with some of the same cuisine, but they will have new food choices as well.  They will also feature their specialty beers as well as three guest taps consisting of two Southern Tier Brewing Co. beers and one from Ithaca Beer Co.

Kathleen Mowery, Ellicottville Brewing Company’s Catering Coordinator, said, “The space is very open and accommodating of larger groups. It has a more open feel then the Ellicottville location. You will find two sets of garage doors that will open to the outdoor seating area making it a great indoor/outdoor space that feels like you’re outside on the water.”

The annual Bemus Point Memorial Day parade is also set to take place on Monday, May 30^th at 10AM.  This parade has been a Bemus tradition for many years and it is a great event for all ages. After the parade feel free to swing by ERA Team VP’s Bemus Point office, just walking distance from all of the attractions!

Although the parade will end, the festivities will not! Stop by the See-Zurh House porch for a cold beverage, or Marshes Market for an ice cream cone. Also, if you are hoping to grab a quick coffee, or sit down for some breakfast, head down to Wired on Main or the Bemus Point Inn, which are right in the center of Bemus!

ERA Team VP Real Estate and Vacation Rentals is also happy to announce that we will once again be sponsoring this year’s Bemus Bay Pops Summer Concert Series and the Chautauqua Lake “The Choice” Vocal Competition.  Our agents and staff will be down there all summer, so make sure you stop by and enjoy some good quality fun on the lake!

Whether it is Memorial Day weekend or a summer weekend in general, Bemus Point is a great spot for friends and family to enjoy the sunshine and the amazing views of Lake Chautauqua! Bemus has attractions for everyone so make sure you make plans to head on down and experience Bemus Point to its fullest potential.

Whether you are looking to start a career in Real Estate or are an experienced Realtor ® who would like to grow your business, ERA Team VP provides the support, training, and resources that you need to succeed in today’s Real Estate market.

Support

We are proud to be a family owned business, backed by the internationally recognized brand ERA®. Our full-time support staff is here to facilitate your transactions, including: overseeing licensing requirements, listing information, relocation inquires, closing activities, escrow accounts, account billing, etc. We work diligently to assist you in your non-sales related and time-consuming tasks, freeing you up to focus on making sales. Our in-house marketing department is pleased to offer a wide-range of marketing services and will aid in any ideas you may have on how to showcase your listings, prospect a new area, showcase your abilities, and more!

Training

We’ve reinvented our training program to better fit today’s marketplace, offering an extraordinary group of managers and support staff to help you launch your new career, or enhance your current one! Our extensive training program covers topics ranging from Real Estate fundamentals to advanced techniques for the experienced agent, and can be customized to your needs. Our New Agent Mentoring Program matches inexperienced agents with a seasoned agent who is available to help guide you through the beginning of your career and will oversee your first few transactions. We pride ourselves in the knowledge and expertise of our agents, and we are constantly offering tools, resources, and training to ensure that our team is well-versed in the latest Real Estate topics and technologies.

Resources

The following tools and services facilitate transaction management, customer relationship management, and your marketing efforts:

• Customizable agent websites that collect and track lead information through a state-of-the-art software, ZAP, that lets you know when your customer is ready to make a purchase.
• ZAP Customer Relationship Management system. You can manage your leads, send email campaigns, and keep track of customers all in one place!
• DotLoop to manage all of your documents. Obtain signatures anywhere with this time and energy saving “paperless” online system.
• ERA® brand Toolkit CMA and Marketing 4.0. These valuable resources provide you with the tools and materials to distinguish yourself in an easy-to-create, professional way.
• AHS Home Warranty: Individualized plans are available for both buyers and sellers to insure that your clients purchase or list their home with confidence.
• Listing distributing to hundreds of websites including ERA.com, Trulia.com, Zillow.com, Realtor.com, ERATeamVP.com, your own agent website, and more! Virtual tours are posted to YouTube.com for each and every listing.

The resources provided by ERA Team VP Real Estate are backed by the training, tools, and services of ERA®. You’ll have access to Teamera.com, ERA Learning Exchange, and ERA International Business Conferences. ERA® is a member of the Realogy Family.

For more information or to set up a confidential consultation email sales@teamvp.com or call (716) 413-0200.

(pictured above from left to right: Dale Sandberg, Jane Grice, Tonya Studley, Debbie Rowe, Wayne Weaver, and Linda Wolfe)

ERA Team VP Real Estate is proud to announce that multiple members of our team have earned a 2015 Presidential Award for Sales Excellent from the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Board of Realtors.

The awards recognition ceremony was held on Friday, April 15th at Webb’s Captain’s Table in Mayville, NY.

Congratulations to the following award winners:

Diamond Award (60+ Closed Sales and Listings Transactions and/or $10 Million+ Sales Volume):
Karen Goodell & Tonya Studley

ERA Real Estate, a leading global real estate franchisor, has named ERA Team VP Real Estate of Western New York & Northwestern Pennsylvania led by Bill Soffel, Broker/Owner an honorable mention for the brand’s national top company of the year for 2015.
The award, named after ERA Real Estate co-founder Gene Francis, is the highest honor given to an ERA® company, and reflects the qualities most respected throughout the global ERA system and the real estate industry. Known for his forward-thinking business acumen as well as his philanthropic spirit, Francis established a defining culture of service to which all ERA companies aspire.
“One of our top-performing companies since joining the ERA franchise system in 2004, ERA Team VP Real Estate posted remarkable results in 2015 by effectively leveraging the tools and services of our global brand to take advantage of the momentum created by an improving the real estate market,” said Young. ”Earning an honorable mention for this award indicates that ERA Team VP is poised to achieve even higher levels of success moving forward.”
ERA companies earn a nomination for the award by maintaining high personal and ethical standards, demonstrating a strong business sense and modeling a commitment to ERA Real Estate and its community all while driving measurable growth in transactions, sales volume, per person productivity and sales rate.
“In addition, this is an especially momentous year for ERA Team VP to secure this honor,” said Young. “Last year, ERA Real Estate announced an extensive brand revitalization, which our honorees fully embraced with quick adaptation and local celebration of the brand’s new identity. It was a monumental undertaking but these honorees led the charge in exposing their local markets and the real estate industry to the “New ERA.”
“Our affiliation with ERA Real Estate has proved critical to distinguishing our firm in the marketplace and all of us at ERA Team VP are deeply honored to earn this nomination,” said Bill Soffel, who oversees 11 offices and 90+ sales associates serving Western New York & Northwestern Pennsylvania.
ERA Team VP Real Estate has 11 office locations throughout the Southern Tier of Western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. For more information about ERA Team VP Real Estate and the local real estate market visit www.erateamvp.com or call one of the main office locations: (716) 789-2600 Chautauqua County Offices; (716) 699-4800 Ellicottville; (814) 726-3456 Warren.

ERA Team VP Real Estate & Vacation Rentals recently launched a bold new brand campaign featuring a new tagline: “Teamwork. Trust. Results.”

Pictured left to right: ERA Real Estate Vice President of Broker Services, Stephanie Reyna; ERA Team VP Leadership Team, Denise Whipp, Rita White, Rachael Wiley-Steffen, Hanna Soffel Briggs, Mary Beth Holt, and Bill Soffel.

“We tasked ourselves with developing a tagline consistent with our brand which speaks to our commitments to the markets in which we serve,“ states Rachael Wiley-Steffen, Director of Corporate Marketing & Vacation Rental Management. “Together, we are building greater relationships and opportunities for success within the Real Estate and Vacation Rental markets.”

This tagline “Teamwork. Trust. Results.” includes three foundational terms that convey the mission and vision of ERA Team VP, while encompassing what the Real Estate & Vacation Rental firm strives to provide on a daily basis for staff, agents, and customers alike.

The tagline emerged from an in-depth process of strategic planning executed by the ERA Team VP leadership team.

“What excites me most about adding “Teamwork. Trust. Results.” to the ERA Team VP brand, is the process we used to develop this new tagline. Every single member of our team, from sales and rental agents, to support staff, to leadership, contributed ideas and feedback about who we are as an organization,” said Bill Soffel, President/CEO. “I truly believe that “Teamwork. Trust. Results.” is a genuine reflection of what ERA Team VP is all about, and is also what we strive to achieve for our clients and customers every single day.”

The evolved brand follows a successful year for ERA Team VP, as the firm achieved a record number of closed sales transactions in 2015. Additionally, fully integrating all real estate agents to the ZAP platform, a new innovative online website and contact management system.

First unveiled for staff and agents at the annual ERA Team VP Year End Awards Banquet, held this past month at the Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino in Salamanca NY, the new brand tagline has already been rolled out across the company’s online platforms including social media and electronic communications, as well as multiple printed publications. Updates to other brand touch points are also underway and will continue through 2016.

For more information about ERA Team VP Real Estate & Vacation Rentals visit www.MyTeamVP.com or call 800-789-2600.

 

Dale Sandberg was awarded ERA Team VP’s First In Service nomination for January 2016. Sandberg has been a full-time real estate professional with ERA Team VP for 7 years and is a Top Gun graduate. He works out of the Chautauqua and Lakewood, NY offices, covering all areas of Chautauqua County. His selection for this honor was based on three sets of customer satisfaction survey results.

“Dale, even though suffering a surgery, still returned calls promptly and kept the ball rolling.” -Margaret H.

“An all around smooth, fast moving process. Barely felt like I was selling anything.” -Anthony S.

“Dale did an outstanding job keeping us updated of the progress and helping us find companies for things we needed to accomplish our requests. We had a great experience and will recommend Dale to others.” -James M.

“We have a super team at ERA,” Sandberg notes, “Armed with all the latest tools and technology to deliver world class service to our clients. We at ERA Team VP would not be successful without our valued clients & friends. It’s not just a transaction, it’s personal.”

For more information about ERA Team VP Real Estate and the real estate market in Western New York visit ERATeamVP.com, contact our Chautauqua office at (716) 789-2600, or call Dale Sandberg directly at (716) 397-8226.