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Spencerport Chamber of Commerce
honors 2006 award winners Winners of its 2006 awards presented by the Spencerport Area Chamber of Commerce will be honored at its annual awards dinner on Friday, January 26, at the Plantation Party House, 1875 North Union Street, Spencerport; social time at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Awards will be presented to the following: • Two people will receive the Clyde W. Carter Citizen of the Year Award - Jeff and Julie Tewksbury, a husband and wife team, who have given more than 33,000 hours of their time to the Spencerport Volunteer Ambulance over a period of more than 25 years. • David Resch, owner of Resch Auto Service Inc., will receive the Business Person of the Year Award. In Ken Geil's nomination of Resch he stated, "Dave Resch is a courteous and knowledgeable businessman. Even when he is busy he takes time to be personable with his customers. We really enjoy doing business with him and feel he deserves some recognition in our community." Geil operates Kenny's Auto Center, Inc., which is located just west of Resch Auto Service. • James Powell and Unity Lodge #479 of the Free & Accepted Masons will receive the Civic Beautification Award. Powell was nominated for chairing the effort to plant and maintain the flower beds located along Route 531 at the Gillett Road overpass. The beds are part of the Monroe County in Bloom program. • Richard D. McQuilkin, a Spencerport Fire Department commissioner and firefighter, will receive a Certificate of Appreciation from the chamber for his quick thinking at the scene of the August 11, 2006 Spencerport Fire Department Station 1 fire. His activation of the overhead door openers before the fire that was engulfing the building cut-out the electrical supply permitted McQuilkin and other firefighters to move millions of dollars of fire apparatus from the burning building, saving the trucks from damage or destruction. • A Certificate of Appreciation will also be presented to Floyd Seeley To Floyd Seeley for his participation in the business community as owner of Seal’s Auto Parts and other endeavors, and for his generous contributions of time, energy and talents entertaining children and adults, especially those with special needs, as “Seal The Clown.” •The Spencerport Lions Club, Roberts Wesleyan College and Ogden Presbyterian Church will be recognized for anniversaries and milestones achieved in 2006 -- their 50th, 140th and 195th, respectively. The awards dinner will feature entertainment by the Music Department from Spencerport High School. Tickets are $23 per person, and are available at the following locations: the offices of the Ogden Town Clerk, Cardinal Lawn & Landscape, The Unique Shop, Village of Spencerport offices, The Ogden Farmers' Library and Westside News Inc. Deadline to purchase tickets is Thursday, January 18. For further information call Keith Ryan at 352-3411 ext. 125. Chamber's Business Person of the Year Dave Resch is agonizing over what to say when he accepts the award for Business Person of the Year presented by the Spencerport Area Chamber of Commerce. Just by being there he will be saying a mouthful, as he and his wife, Janine, will be cutting short their cruise in the British Virgin Islands to make it home in time for the event. They've been planning this trip with friends from the Brockport Yacht Club for a long time. "I decided this honor is probably a once in a lifetime thing," Resch said. Resch and his wife own Resch Auto Services, Inc. located at 2569 Spencerport Road in Ogden, a business that has been in the family for a lifetime. They bought the shop from Dave's parents, John and Jane, in 1986. His parents started the business in 1965 on the corner of Route 31 and Gillett Road. Resch said being a small business owner is a lot of work, but the community has been kind. "We have a lot of repeat customers," Resch said. He estimates that 90 percent of their business comes from a five-mile radius, but he is surprised to see where some of the others come from. They have customers from Brighton and LeRoy. "We draw from a huge area," Resch said. As he talks about what it takes to keep a family business going strong, customers come and go, greeted warmly by their first name each time. Both of Resch's sons, Andrew and Daniel, have worked at the shop. Andrew still does. Janine, who also works as the Vice President for Finance and Human Resources for 'NextStep Magazine' handles the business' accounting. After holding a previous job that involved extensive travel, Resch is thankful to operate a business near his home. However, sometimes working with family can add an extra dimension of challenge. "We have a few code words between us to indicate when one of us is getting a little edgy," Resch said. Resch has had some good examples of how to run a family business. In addition to working for his father and mother, his mother's father, Howard Fowler, operated a large dairy farm in Parma and his father's father, Frank Resch, was a Genesee Beer distributor in Cuba, NY. Resch, a Spencerport native, has long lines of family working in this community. His great grandfather on his father's side, George Cross, came from Canada to Ogden and worked as a tax collector in the early 1920s. And the gift of running a successful family business has definitely made its way along the line to Dave and Janine. Spencerport couple recognized Jeff and Julie Tewksbury try to talk about what life would be like if they hadn't ever volunteered at the Spencerport Volunteer Ambulance Service. They might not be married. They might have had children. Their dogs wouldn't miss them so much. It's tough for them to really picture it though because doing community service together has really defined their lives. That's why the Spencerport Area Chamber of Commerce will honor the couple as the Clyde Carter Citizens of the Year. Jeff is serving as chief for his third stint. Julie is serving as president, one of the many offices she has held. The couple, who will celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary in September, have put in almost 60 years of ambulance service. Jeff is also a lifetime member of the Spencerport Fire Department and employed with the Town of Ogden as a Geographic Information System coordinator. As they recount some of the more difficult challenges of being volunteer public servants, Julie acknowledges that their passion isn't ordinary. "It's not for everybody, but it is the only life we've ever known," Julie said. Following in footsteps "I was daddy's girl," Julie said. "I grew up in a firehouse." For Jeff, both his parents, Ralph and Rose, have been active in the community. His mom actually volunteered for a brief stint at the Ambulance Corps when Jeff was really young. She decided to give it up because Jeff cried every time she left home to go to the base. It may have been an early sign that he needed to be there. Jeff also had a neighbor growing up who helped spark his interest in the fire department. He knew Jeff was an Explorer, so he would give him an insider view into the department. "When the alarm would go off, he said as long as I was at his front door before he left he would take me to the hall," Jeff said. Indebted to the organization they serve Unforgettable moments "It was just incredible feelings to see that this country had been attacked," Julie said. Part of their memory is that five minutes after returning home from service they were back on duty in Spencerport. Julie described going out on a call that day in a light drizzle and realizing as the rain hit them that the smell of tragedy from NYC was imbedded in their clothes, on their skin and in their hair. "It was like nothing we had ever seen," Jeff said. Truly a team "If only one spouse is involved in something like this it can be really difficult for the other to understand," Julie said. They have different styles, which work well together. Jeff is a visionary who has pushed to shape the direction of the ambulance service. Julie provides a sounding board for Jeff's ideas and often encourages compromise. And there have been times when both have had to take a tough stance. In the 1970s Julie campaigned to allow women to work overnight shifts as an all female crew. This cost her a lot of popularity within the department because at the time it was men only on the overnight shift. "I felt it should be an option for people who wanted to," Julie said. "It's an ideal option for people with children." The idea was eventually adopted and later on men and women could serve together overnight. Both Jeff and Julie were advocates for increased training of volunteers. Spencerport Volunteer Ambulance Service became New York State certified in 1993, which means that whenever someone was being transported the service was required to have an emergency medical technician (EMT) in the patient compartment of the ambulance. This certification happened more than a decade after Jeff had started advocating for this level of service. They have also dealt with a serious shortage of volunteers, something that has plagued many volunteer ambulance and fire services. This shortage has led to many other tough decisions for the department. Jeff admires Julie's understated manner and her dedication to the community. Julie is impressed by her husband's vision and his drive. Together they have dealt with some really difficult times as public servants volunteering on a critical community service. The couple will be honored at the Spencerport Area Chamber of Commerce's annual dinner January 29. January 14, 2007 |