NYSAVA Golf Outing Rallies Support For Taste NY 2 Tax Exemption

THE BRONX -- The New York State Automatic Vending Association held its fifth annual Herb Luckower golf outing and dinner at the Pelham Bay Golf Course on Sept. 16 in The Bronx, NY. The festive gathering is the association's most important annual fundraising event.

NYSAVA president John Murn, RSA Buying Group (Farmingdale, NY), hailed 2015's drive as the most successful to date. Proceeds from the outing are used to further vending's interests in New York.

Murn recalled that the association had been successful at raising the sales tax exemption for vended products to $1.50 last year. "Our goal in the coming year is to raise it to $2," he explained. | SEE STORY

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the revenue bill incorporating the new rate in April 2014, following years of tireless and effective advocacy for the legislation by the industry.

Another major focus for NYSAVA is the Taste NY vending program. This facilitates the sale of homegrown New York products in vending machines, and is part of Cuomo's energetic promotion of the Empire State's diverse agricultural and dairy resources. Taste NY-branded machines made their debut at the 2014 state fair in Syracuse, and Murn reported that they again drew big crowds and attracted attention upon their high-profile return to the fairgrounds this August.

"We need each operator to step up and support Taste NY," Murn urged. "We continue to work closely with the governor's office on this great program, which helps promote vending."

NYSAVA's fall gathering was its first since the association installed new officers and board members at its annual meeting in March. Murn was chosen president; Chris Williams of Prestige Services (Clifton Park) became vice-president; Bruce King of Five Star Services (Johnson City) was elected treasurer; and Bud Burke of CoffeeMatt (Levittown, PA) was named secretary.

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND:Pictured, from left, are NYSAVA president John Murn, NAMA's Pam Gilbert, and Michael and I.D. Luckower, son and wife of the late Herb Luckower. The Luckowers thanked NYSAVA for the annual golf outing named in honor of the pioneer vend broker and longtime director of the association who died in 2011.

Murn pointed out that NYSAVA now has board members from all four corners of the state. He recognized Mondelez's Susan Murphy as the trade group's first female board member.

National Automatic Merchandising Association director of association services Pam Gilbert brought New York operators up to speed on legislative efforts taking place at the national level. She lauded the success of the industry's first-ever national "fly-in" lobby day in August, which brought more than 200 industry members together on Capitol Hill.