Wellsville Area Chamber April Luncheon

Thursday – April 28: The Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce held their monthly luncheon this past Thursday at Kat's Kitchen on Main St. Chamber President Randy Allmon presided. Member Paul Blevins gave the invocation.

Allmon issued a reminder of the annual Chamber sponsored rabies clinic held with the St. Francis Animal Welfare folks. Community Animal Clinic veterinarian Dr. Sandy and his staff will be returning this year to handle the immunizations. Holly Development has again donated the use of the old Sky Bank property at 1210 Main St. The clinic is scheduled for Saturday, May 21 from 12 noon to 2 PM. Allmon said he thinks the price is $10 per shot.

The public has been invited to attend the annual Chamber luncheon honoring Wellsville's Class of 2011 Top 10 students. The special luncheon will be held at the Riverside Roadhouse beginning at noon on Tuesday, May 24. Allmon said it's his favorite luncheon of the year. The Riverside Roadhouse is located at 565 Wells Avenue Extension. The Top 10 luncheon will be in place of the regular monthly luncheon for May.

Chamber member Jim Saracco issued a reminder of the EL Chamber Sunrise Prayer Breakfast being held at the Motor Lodge on Dresden Ave. The EL breakfast is timed to coincide with the annual National Day of Prayer dedicated to asking the Lord's blessing for community and our different levels of government.

An upcoming event being sponsored by the Chamber and still in the planning stages is a dancing contest that is being likened to the popular Dancing With the Stars television show. Allmon noted it is strictly for amateur dancers with their partners. The Chamber has already gotten the nod to use the Wellsville High School Auditeria for the contest. More details will be forthcoming. Maybe they will invite Hines Ward to judge the contest.

Perkins Detailing was named the Chamber April Business of the Month. See our post below. The vehicle detailing company is owned and operated by Chamber member Bill Perkins.

Pharmacist & Co-owner Joe Amaismeier was the April Luncheon speaker. Shown above, on the left, is Amaismeier along with his partner, Wellsville resident Jim Koopman. The two own and operate Wellsville's Center Pharmacy and the Toronto Apothecary. Center Pharmacy is located at 447 Main St. They bought the business in 2003 and have been active in community involvement from the day they hung their sign.

Amaismeier stated he started out in the business as a pharmacist and is now a pill counter and insurance agent. Unfortunately that is the way the pharmacy business has been going for years now, especially with the chain company drug stores. Being a small community oriented business it is the aim of the partners to serve local residents by catering to their special needs. They have found in many cases they are able to save money for their customers by giving their prescription needs one-on-one attention you don't find in the big box stores.

Since the advent of the Affordable Health Care Act that brought you Medicare Part D they have invested the time to learn all they can on the subject with the goal in giving their customers the best financially affordable medicine they can. They work closely with insurance companies and Medicare to make necessary medications possible. On a yearly average they have documented saving customers 40% to 60% on their prescription needs. Amaismeier invited anyone having problems paying for their prescriptions to stop by for a consultation. With their efforts they have attracted customers from such places as Salineville, Chester and Newell. Nearly 80% to 90% of those customers seeking help on the cost of medications have been able to save money at Center. As an example they have found there is seven alternatives to the popular drug Lipitor that are just as effective and allow for a smaller co-pay than the named drug. They work with most insurance companies and are glad to work with anyone. It doesn't matter who you are currently dealing with. They are willing to give you a free consultation to find you the best price on prescription drugs.

A new development that lit up Amaismeier's eyes like lights on a Christmas tree is compound medications. The partners are currently looking to expand their pharmacy business in this line. By expanding into compound medications they are even better able to tailor their customer medication needs on a more personal level. For example Amaismeier stated that many medical gels are sold by the tube only or have a set amount of patches in a box. Many times only part of that prescription is needed by the customer to treat their medical problem. By mixing their own at the store locally they can possibly cut down on the amount needed saving money for the customer. Cream for skin problems, pain patches, other gels and hormone therapy are a few examples cited by Amaismeier. Some customers have problems swallowing pills. With compounding medications they can devise other ways to work around the difficulty. Amaismeier noted this is what he went to school for and Koopman added that his partner went back to class recently to refresh his training in compounding drugs.

Before closing Amaismeier noted they are looking to expanding the store on Main Street. He announced that they are donating the use of their billboard at 3rd Street to the Wellsville Revitalization Committee in support of that group's “shop local campaign”. He also invited any group or fellow Wellsville businesses that have flyers or announcements that they will be happy to put one in each bag that goes out the front door. They plan to be long time members of the Wellsville community and help in any way they can.

Before closing the luncheon meeting best wishes and prayers were sent out to fellow Chamber member Vicki McCombs.


ole nib