Agnite, Inc.

At Agnite we specialize in taking products from the mind, to the buyer. With a low fixed cost internal structure Agnite has redefined the product development and manufacturing side of traditional business models. With our virtual manufacturing techniques we can leverage our experience and the experience of our partners to bring concept to reality in less then 6 months for most products. Conceptually, we shift the paradigm of conventional manufacturing by using partnerships and relationships so that we do not have to buy the whole cow just to get a glass of milk. In this micro corporation the use of outsourcing based on consumer need makes for a production based cost structure with which traditional manufacturing companies cannot compete.

Our proof of concept has been the success of "the Groove" by irpensonline.com (irpens.com). This product was conceptualized in the fall of 2008 and brought to market in less than 90 days with the GROOVE 1.0. When released, The GROOVE was the first pressure sensitive tip switch infra red pen available commercially to support the Wiimote Whiteboard project worldwide. Through constant refinement, we worked to produce the best infra red pen available in the marketplace with "The GROOVE 1.5" in the spring of 2009. We have worked to produce complimentary products that support the needs of the clients that have interest in the GROOVE in the vertical marketplace. Additionally, we were the first company in the world to gain market share by packaging the product so that our clients could buy a complete system with one mouse click, a concept that has since been adopted by all of our major competition worldwide. Now, in early 2010, we have a distribution network in 12 countries for this product and we are still experiencing double digit growth numbers monthly specifically focusing on international business and building our dealer network.

Contact Information:
Contact: Tino Agnitti
Phone: 585.286.1250
Fax: 585.486.3748
Email: tino@irpens.com
Website: http://www.irpens.com

Monroe County Legislator for Penfield 9th District

Debbie Drawe was appointed to the Monroe County Legislature in August of
2009 after the retirement of R. Anthony LaFountain. Legislator Drawe represents the 9th Legislative District, which includes most of the town of Penfield. Debbie serves as Chairwoman of the Human Services Committee as well as Vice Chair of the Public Safety Committee.

Debbie Drawe served as a member of the Penfield Town Board from 2006 - 2009 where she chaired the Public Works Committee and was the liaison to the Conservation Board, Fire Districts, Historic Preservation Board, Penfield School Districts and Huntington Meadows residents.

Debbie is an active member in the Penfield community and has served on the Town of Penfield Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (1999 to 2005). She has also volunteered for the Penfield School District as the Cobbles School PTA, Co-President (1999-2001), the Arts in Education program, and the Shared Decision Making (SDM) team.

Debbie is a dedicated volunteer who has participated in the Missing and Exploited Children 100-mile Bike Ride to raise money and awareness of child safety issues in our region. She also participated in the Cystic Fibrosis Stair Climb and the Cycle for Hope to benefit Golisano Children's Hospital and Camp Good Days and Special Times.

Trevett, Cristo, Salzer & Andolina, P.C.

Thomas Trevett, Esq.  is the senior partner in Trevett Andolina and Salzer.  The law firm has a web page at www.trevettlaw.com which would answer any questions about the firm.  Tom handles a lot of estate administration and real estate deals as well as small business matters on top of his trial calendar.  The firm was initially set up to handle defense cases for major auto insurance companies and that is still a large part of their practice.

MHT Administrative Services, LLC

Margaret Trevett is the owner of MHT Administrative Services, LLP.  Margaret was a trust officer for JPMorgan Chase for 17 years and worked in Trusts and Estates.  She has a lot of experience in dealing with elderly clients and investments, and trust and estate administration.  She has the ability to do estate tax returns and Fiduciary tax returns, so the smaller legal offices call on her to help with estate or trust admin or tax returns.  Margaret is a financial planner as well.

Martial Arts America Helps Earthquake Victims in Haiti

On January 31st, students and instructors of Martial Arts America participated in a Spar-A-Thon to raise money for the earthquake victims in Haiti.

45 participants raised over $1000 which will be donated to AmeriCares, an organization that helps disaster victims.

Martial Arts America is located at 2160 Penfield Road. If you are interested in class information, please contact Monika Winkelman at 585-377-6130. Martial arts classes are available for children, teens and adults.

Martial Arts America is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year.

What the heck is Social Media/Marketing?

Why do all these businesses have a Facebook Page or Twitter account? Should I? 

Yes.  Maybe.

Social Media is a completely new medium that can broaden your network of associates & peers, give your business “personality”—creating more customer loyalty and can stretch your existing advertising dollar even farther.  Social Media can do all of this for little or no cost at all.  It’s no wonder that Xerox, Kodak, Coca Cola and others are all jumping on this.

Rochester’s Butler Till Advertising has spent a large amount of their time, effort and money studying Social Media/Marketing and is now actively integrating it into their clients advertising/marketing/PR mix.  Join us as Gavin Thomas, Digital Media Buyer and Michael Deichmiller, Media Planner/Buyer for Butler Till give some great thought starters and real case studies of how social media and marketing has worked for others and, most importantly, how you can use it to work for you.

It’s not a fad.  It’s very real.

Save the date, Thursday, April 1st, 7:00 am - 8:30 am at Penfield Country Club located at 1784 Jackson Road.

Please RSVP by emailing secretary@penfieldbusiness.org.

PBA to Honor Outstanding Local Businesses

For the first time in its history, the Penfield Business Association will present the Business of the Year Award to a Penfield business who has positively impacted our local business community.  Ten finalists and one winner will be recognized at the PBA’s Business Awards Dinner on Thursday, October 7, 2010 at Shadow Lake Country Club.

In addition to awarding Business of the Year, the organization will also recognize a single individual who has been active in the business community with the Daniel Penfield Award.  In conjunction with the town’s bicentennial celebration, the inauguration of the Daniel Penfield Award will celebrate Penfield’s most dedicated citizens who are involved in the business community.  Five finalists will be recognized and one winner will be selected at the awards dinner.
“We have so many outstanding organizations and business people in Penfield, and we felt it was time to lift up their accomplishments and give them the recognition they deserve,” said PBA President, Diane Thresh.

In Case You Missed Last Month's Breaking News...

Announcing the PBA Referral Program!

We are proud to announce the new PBA Referral Program effective now through 7/1/2010.

Simply ask the company that you refer for membership to name you as the referrer on their application or send us an email giving us a heads up. We will take care of the rest.

Why Join the PBA?

PBA Forms Special Partnership with Rochester Business Alliance

The Penfield Business Association has entered into a limited partnership with the Rochester Business Alliance to increase the business opportunities for PBA members.  PBA members will be connected to the Rochester Business Alliance member network within the Rochester region including: Monroe, Genesee, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties. The RBA provides information, advocacy, human resource services and networking to help their members grow.

PBA members will now have the opportunity to take advantage of several of the RBA’s programs at a reduced fee. This will include networking events (Business After Hours, Speed Networking, Holiday Jam, etc.) management and training seminars (over 200+ scheduled in 2010), and the RBA’s Staffing Solutions program. 

Additional details and an informational meeting will be available shortly.  Any questions regarding this new value-add service for PBA members should be directed to Secretary@PenfieldBusiness.org or Dennis Shew, PBA Vice President (585) 613-1600.

Bicentennial Banners Give Added Visibility to Your Business EVERY DAY in 2010

The PBA is helping to coordinate the promotion of special bicentennial banners that will hang throughout Penfield for all of 2010. This is a great way for our members to add their support to the bicentennial celebration and to have their business name seen by thousands of people traveling to and through Penfield.

Here is a breakdown of the banners available for purchase. In addition to your two-sided banner hanging at the location you chose, this cost also includes one FREE 16” x 46” two-sided banner for you to display in your place of business. Banners will be sold on a first come, first serve basis so if you are interested, please email Diane Thresh (dthresh@mosaicmktg.com) right away. We think these will go fast!

16” x 46” Banners = $300 each banner
22 banners are available at the intersection of Rt. 250 and Rt. 441
10 banners are available at Penfield’s Four Corners

30” x 80” Banners = $400 each banner
4 banners are available at the intersection of Rt. 250 and Rt. 441
4 banners are available at the intersection of Bay and Empire
10 banners are available on Empire Boulevard
2 banners are available at the intersection of Blossom, Creek and Browncroft

Business names only (white printing). Company logos cannot be included.

Please Note: The four larger banners at the intersection of Rt 441 and Rt 250 have been sold. Please act now to reserve your banner.

2010 Shepherd Home Spring Gala to be held on April 10 at Midvale Country Club

The Shepherd Home of Penfield opened in 2005 and has served over 70 families suffering with a terminal illness. No fees are charged to those receiving care and no insurance reimbursements are made to cover expenses. All of the Shepherd Home's operating expenses are covered through donations and fundraising efforts like the Spring Gala.

Please consider offering your support by becoming a sponsor, purchasing tickets, donating gift certificates or items from your business for their online auction, or donating a high value item such as a vacation getaway for their live auction.

For more information or to make a donation contact:
Diane Knox (585) 383-1995, wknox@rochester.rr.com or Gail Van Belzen (585) 385-9110, gvanbelzen@go2npa.com.

Penfield High School Class of 2010 Needs Donations to Support Senior Bash

The parents of the Class of 2010 are planning the 19th annual Senior Bash and are looking for local businesses to help in their efforts. The Bash will take place on June 5th at the Penfield YMCA. A DJ, karaoke and other activities such as swimming and basketball will be provided. The committee is looking for local businesses to help support the bash by making a tax deductible contribution to be used toward the purchase of food, entertainment and decorations.

Donations should be made payable to:
PPSBC-Senior Bash and mailed to: Penfield Senior Bash c/o Nancy Catarisano 27 Fairport Drive Fairport NY 14450.

The School of the Holy Childhood Annual Golf Tournament

The School of the Holy Childhood is hosting their annual fundraising golf tournament on June 21, 2010 at Midvale Country Club. This is the 20th anniversary for this tournament and in those years they have managed to raise $475,000!

They are seeking sponsors for the event again this year so that they can continue their efforts of supporting children and adults at the School of the Holy Childhood. There are many different levels of sponsorship....from $100 to $3500. Click this link to see the brochure describing the levels.

If you would like more information, please contact PBA member Jeff Chapman at Penfield Financial Group. 387-8919 or jdchapman@penfieldfinancialgroup.com.

Check out our Community Calendar!
Please visit the PBA website to view a complete list of Penfield events.

The PBA is dedicated to encouraging the support of local business, the construction of PBA member alliances, and the transaction of mutually beneficial business and sponsorship between PBA members. With this in mind, we will be featuring a monthly spotlight on a business segment of which PBA members belong. These spotlighted members will be able to explain in detail exactly what it is that they do, what products/services/solutions they provide, and why it is important for the rest of us to do business with them. This will hopefully educate the membership on some of our more mysterious members and generate a greater amount of internal business for us all.

Unfortunately, none of our Business Service Members elected to submit profiles for this month's newsletter.

Visit the PBA website
to view all of our
upcoming meetings and events.

More details can be found on the Member to Member Discount Program page located on the PBA website. Please contact us for more information or if you would like to participate in this program. If you are interested in taking advantage of any of these incentives, be prepared to show your membership card at the participating businesses.