Liberty Tax Service

Liberty Tax Service is the fastest growing international retail tax preparation company in the industry’s history. Liberty Tax was founded in 1997 by CEO John Hewitt and has prepared over 6 million individual tax returns in over 3000 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

We have opened a new location in the Sunrise Plaza on Empire Blvd. which is next to Tim Horton’s. We offer individual and small businesses personalized tax preparation, e-file, free tax advise and for those interested, refund anticipation loans. Owners Mimi and Dave Frezza of Penfield are excited to be part of the local business community and look forward to partnering with other businesses to further promote doing business locally. To get more information about Liberty Tax Service please visit our website at www.libertytax.com or give us a call at 585-671-8773. We look forward to meeting other members of the PBA.

2009 Member-to-Member Discount offered by Liberty Tax Service:
Apply a discount to this year's tax preparation equal to 20% of what you paid for last year's preparation (regardless of the preparer) or equal to 20% of our current preparation fees.

Dad-To-Be

PBA Director Jeff Insero, of M&T Bank, has announced that he will soon be a father. Congratulations to both him and his wife. We wish her a very healthy and easy pregnancy.

Education and Resource Sessions

First Niagara Bank-Penfield Office and The Greater Rochester Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners are offering Education and Resource Sessions during the month of February:

The Power of Alignment
Thursday, February 5th
Bonadio Board Room, 171 Sully's Trail, Pittsford
8:30 am - 10:00 am

Have you ever asked yourself....... Why am I doing this business? Why is this important to me? How does this translate to my business mission and values? Why does knowing this help me with my business leadership? As a business owner and leader you know your business has a purpose - providing value to core customers. As individuals we have our own personal core purpose - though not everyone has explored theirs or uses it. By aligning your business activities with your personal core purpose you will improve your business leadership and gain greater satisfaction from all that you do. Join Wendy Heppell, owner of Simply Success Solutions, to explore these ideas - plenty of discussion, ideas sharing and the opportunity to work on your core purpose. You are as important as your business - in these tough times allow yourself some time to renew your own energy and focus by joining us at this seminar. Cost $5 Members $10 Non-Members No need to register, walk-ins welcome.

To Tweet or Not To Tweet - Claiming Your Place in Today's Social Media Scene
Thursday, February 12th
Bonadio Board Room, 171 Sully's Trail, Pittsford
5:30 pm-7:00 pm

Emily Carpenter of WhizBang Web Solutions will take you on a journey through the world of social media. Discover why sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook can no longer be ignored. How do you get started or keep up in this new online world? In this session you will answer the question, What's in it for me? Whether you are just starting out, or trying to keep up, you will walk away ready to take action and make social media work for you. Emily Carpenter is a Web Whiz and avid networker. Emily posts her weekly networking schedule on her D&C Blog, and Networking Matters at www.tinyurl.com/networkingmatters. You can also follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/emilycarpenter. Cost is $5 for members; $10 for non-members. Registration is not required. Walk-ins are welcome. For more information, please call 319-0004.

A Great Start for 2009!

2009 has already started off with a bang and we're looking forward to many exciting events this year. Take a look below to see what's scheduled for February.

Don's Original Movie Night PBA Family Fun Series Tuesday, February 3rd, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm 2055 Fairport Nine Mile Point Road Dinner and a movie - great fun for the whole family! Featuring: Horton Hears a Who. Movie begins at 7:00 pm. The evening will include face painting, kid’s crafts and games, movie trivia and prizes. Specials include $1.00 kiddie ice cream cones for members and non-members, 20% off for members and their families, and happy hour specials. Don’t forget to bring your PBA membership card. Please RSVP with: John Cipro at 377-1040 or at john@donsoriginalpenfield.com
Annual "State of the Town" Address PBA Community Series Wednesday, February 11th, 11:45 am - 1:30 pm Penfield Country Club Penfield Town Supervisor George Wiedemer will deliver his Annual Town Address over lunch.  11:45 am-noon (networking and sign-in) Noon-1:30 pm (lunch and presentation) Members: $20, Guests: $25 Be sure to bring your business promotional materials for our “Building Business Relationships” table. Please RSVP with: Lynne Crawford.
Lunch at Penfield Hots PBA Lunch Bunch Series Friday, February 20th, 11:45 am 1794 Penfield Road

PBA Member Discounts at Super Coups

Buy two mailings and get the third free…more than a $250 savings and reaching a minimum of 10,000 households.  Price includes consultation, full color printing, layout, postage, design, sample envelopes, proof and online coupons. Mailings occur every other month and can target specific mailing zones.

Next Mailing:  3/29  copy due: 3/4
Next Mailing:  5/11  copy due 4/22
Free Mailing:  7/6  copy due 6/17

For more information, contact Brian Elniski at (585) 670.9123 and make sure to identify yourself as a PBA member for the new client special.

Mardi Gras Shoe Box Float Contest
January 7, 2009

Join the fun by having your family design and donate your own shoe box float for our Senior Citizen Mardi Gras Party!

Shoe box floats are easy to make. Just find an empty shoe box, paint it and decorate it with your special theme. Then bring it to the Penfield Recreation office by 5:00 pm Monday, February 23. Be sure your name and phone number are on the bottom of your box.

Floats will be judged at 12:30 pm on Tuesday, February 24 at our Mardi Gras shoe box parade. Contestants do not need to be present to win.

For More Information, Please Contact:
Recreation Department at 340-8664.

The Penfield Players Present Be My Baby
By Ken Ludwig, Directed by Pam Mount
February 27-28, March 6-8, March 13-14
8:00 pm Fridays and Saturdays, 2:00 pm Sundays
India Community Center, 2171 Monroe Wayne County Line Road
Tickets: $12.00

In this warm-hearted comedy, an irascible Scotsman and an uptight Englishwoman experience the adventure of a lifetime. Brought together when his ward marries her niece, John and Maud quickly come to despise each other. To make matters worse, when the young lovers decide to adopt a new born baby, it is John and Maud who are tasked with traveling to California to pick up the child and bring her safely home to Scotland. As this reluctant partnership blossoms though, John and Maude soon learnt that love is not just for the young.

For More Information, Please Contact:
Recreation Department at 340-8664.

Promoting "Green" at the Penfield's Environmental Education Fair
Saturday, April 25th
Penfield Community Center

Does your business support the “green” way of life? Do you sell products or services that encourage environmental awareness or sustainability practices? If so, the Town of Penfield invites you to join our community environmental day by bringing some information about your business to our Environmental Educational Fair, on Saturday, April 25 at Penfield Community Center. We would like to showcase your business and allow you the opportunity to tell the community about what you do and how you can help residents be more environmentally conscious.
 
If you are not interested in being part of the Fair, please consider putting together a team to help with the community clean up efforts, also happening that day. We have many areas of Penfield that need “beautification” and we would love get our business community involved, even if it is just the area around your business location that you can beautify.     
 
If you would like to set up a booth at our Environmental Education Fair or get more information about your team helping with community clean up, please contact Sabrina at 340-8651, or srenner@penfield.org.

For More Information, Please Contact:
Sabrina at 340-8651, or srenner@penfield.org.

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

Help Climb Over Interest Rate Worries with Bond Ladder?
by PBA Director Curt Regruit, Edward Jones

As an investor, you need to look back no farther than last year to understand why it’s not a good idea to own only stocks. In fact, many people buy bonds to lessen the impact of volatility on their investment portfolios. Yet, just as stock prices move up and down, bond prices also fluctuate, primarily in response to rising and falling interest rates. These interest-rate movements can wreak havoc on your bond portfolio unless you can help yourself climb over them with a “bond ladder.”

Before we examine what goes into a bond ladder, let’s review some bond basics relating to price and interest rates. Suppose, for example, that you a buy a $1,000 bond that pays five percent interest and is scheduled to mature in five years. Each year that you hold your bond, you will receive $50 in interest; at the end of five years, you’ll get your $1,000 back, provided the issuer doesn’t default. However, if you decide to sell your bond before the five year period is up, you could get more or
less than $1,000 for it. If market interest rates — the rates paid on newly issued bonds — were to drop to four percent, then your higher-paying bond is considered more valuable to investors, so you might be able to sell it for, say, $1,050. Conversely, should market interest rates rise to six percent, nobody will pay you full value for your lower paying bond, so you would have to sell it at a discount, perhaps for $950.

Because market interest rates constantly rise and fall, the value of your bonds will do likewise. This could be a big problem if you wish to sell bonds before they mature and use the money to buy new bonds. Keep in mind that if bonds are sold prior to maturity, you can lose principal value.

To help reduce the impact of rate swings, you might want to build a bond ladder. To do so, you buy several bonds, with varying maturities — short-term, intermediate-term and long-term. Once you’ve constructed your ladder, you’ll have some advantage in all interest-rate environments. When market rates are low, you’ll still have your longer-term bonds earning higher interest rates. (Typically, longer-term bonds pay the highest rates.) Plus, only a small portion of your bond portfolio (the
maturing short-term bonds) will need to be reinvested at the low rate. And when market interest rates are high, you can reinvest the maturing short-term bonds at the higher rates.

You can further diversify your ladder by choosing different types of bonds or even certificates of deposit (CDs), for the different “rungs.” This diversification can’t guarantee a profit or protect against a loss, but it may help you reduce the negative effects of a downturn that primarily hits one type of bond.

Here’s one more point to keep in mind: Try to avoid building your ladder with bonds that provide little or no call protection. When market interest rates fall, bond issuers will often “call” bonds — that is, they will redeem the bonds before they mature — so they can issue new ones at the lower rates. You can help reduce the call risk in your bond ladder by purchasing bonds with call protection, which cannot be called
before a certain date.

Ladders, by definition, can help you surmount obstacles. And the same is true with bond ladders. If you want to invest in bonds, and help reduce the impact of interest-rate movements, consider building your ladder soon.

*Edward Jones does not offer tax or legal advice. Consult with a competent tax or legal advisor about your specific situation.

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