ERA Team VP Real Estate & Vacation Rentals Raises Over $16,000 for ALS Association

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hannah Raynor, Hannah.Raynor@teamvp.com  

(Chautauqua, NY) – The 13th Annual Agents of Hope Golf Tournament, hosted by ERA Team VP Real Estate & Vacation Rentals and sponsored by The Post-Journal, raised more than $16,000 for the ALS Association, a record high.

The event, held at Chautauqua Golf Club on August 24, has raised over $130,000 to date for the cause. Broker/Owner of ERA Team VP Real Estate & Vacation Rentals, Bill Soffel, has been affected by ALS in several ways which have ultimately driven his commitment to finding a cure, including the passing of his grandmother and the spouse of a long-time employee. Bill is also a current member of The Association’s National Board of Trustees.

“This cause is so important to me, my family, and our team of staff and agents. The support we receive from the community every year is astounding and essential. It really illustrates to the local families battling this debilitating disease that they are not alone in this fight,” said Soffel. “We can’t thank the community enough for their continued support of this tournament and our cause.”

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, causes progressive destruction of the motor nerve cells that contract muscles and inevitably ends in paralysis and death. There is no cure for the disease.

The ALS Association is the only national not-for-profit health organization dedicated solely to the fight against ALS. ALSA covers all the bases — research, patient and community services, public education, and advocacy — in providing help and hope to those facing the disease.

The ALS Association (National Office and the Upstate New York Chapter) operates under a shared mission: to help people living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and to leave no stone unturned in search of a cure.

For more information about The ALS Association, specifically the Upstate New York Chapter, please visit http://webuny.alsa.org.

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Dale Sandberg, ERA Team VP Real Estate, Raises $1,200 For the Upstate New York Chapter of the ALS Association

 

[Chautauqua, NY] (7/18/2013) – Always willing to support a worthy cause, Dale Sandberg, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson of ERA Team VP Real Estate recently raised $1,200 along with Scott Kelemen of Wells Fargo, to benefit the Upstate New York Chapter of the ALS Association.

Established in 1985, the ALS Association’s mission is to Dale-Sandberg-ERA-Raises-Funds-for-ALSA[1]lead the fight to cure and treat ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) through global cutting-edge research, and to empower people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support. The ALS Association has committed more than $67 million to find effective treatments and a cure for Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

New techniques and products are continually emerging that make it increasingly possible for people with ALS to adapt to the disease, to pursue their interests, and to continue to live rich and rewarding lives.

The ALS Association’s research, services, advocacy and information programs are made possible through the generosity of individuals, sponsors and private contributors.

“ERA Team VP Real Estate has actively supported the ALS Association since 2010, and with the incredible support of Dale Sandberg and our team we are able to make a positive impact on the lives of those affected by this disease,” said Bill Soffel, Broker/Owner of ERA Team VP Real Estate.

For more information about Dale Sandberg and ERA Team VP Real Estate visit www.daleasandberg.com or www.myteamvp.com or call (716) 789-2600.

“Capture Your Hometown” Photo Contest to Support the Fight Against ALS

ERA Team VP searches for local photographs that capture the essence of each area, to be raffled at 4th Annual Agents of Hope Scramble Golf Tournament, with winning photographers awarded a cash prize and a chance to win an Ellicottville vacation getaway.

ERA Team VP Real Estate is looking for local photographs that best represent the “hometown” areas of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania that ERA serves. Nine winning photographs, each representing a different “hometown”, will be unveiled at this year’s 4th Annual Agents of Hope Scramble Golf Tournament that ERA Team VP will be hosting on Wednesday, August 28th, 2013. One of the nine winners will be randomly selected to receive a two night stay, for up to four people, at the Ellicottville Inn Condominiums. The Ellicottville in is located right in the heart of Ellicottville, within CaptureYourHometown[1]walking distance to restaurants and shopping. The remaining winning photographers will be awarded a $25 debit card and all photographs will be featured on ERA Team VP Real Estate’s company websites.

The nine winning photographs will be raffled off with all proceeds, as well as tournament proceeds, benefiting The ALS Division of MDA & ALSA (the ALS Association); whose mission is to lead the fight to cure and treat ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, through global cutting-edge research, and to empower those affected and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support.

Photo submissions should represent one of the following areas: Bemus Point, Mayville/Westfield, Fredonia, Lakewood/Jamestown, Chautauqua Institution, Ellicottville, Cuba/Olean, Bradford (PA), or Warren (PA).

The deadline for submissions is August 7th at 5:00pm, and entries must be a minimum width of 1680px. Please include your name, phone number, and the specific area you believe the photo represents. Multiple submissions per photographer will be accepted.

Submit your photos to Taylor Lehman at taylor.lehman@ERA.com. For more information or to submit further inquiries visit ERA Team VP’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ERATeamVP.RealEstate.  If you choose to include people in your submission, you are responsible for obtaining the necessary releases from the individuals depicted, and must be able to provide copies of those releases to ERA Team VP upon request. In submitting a photograph, you grant ERA Team VP a royalty-free, nonexclusive right, in perpetuity, to: use the photograph on the Internet and company publications and promotions.

To register as a sponsor, individual entry, or four-person team for the 4th Annual Agents of Hope Scramble Golf Tournament, or for more information, contact Hanna Soffel Briggs at (716) 789-2093 or hanna.soffel@ERA.com or visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AgentsOfHopeGolf.

ALS Association Adds Soffel to National Board of Trustees

ERA Team VP Real Estate president/CEO William Soffel is now a member of the National Board of Trustees of The ALS Association. He joined in the fight against ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, due to his paternal grandmother Anna Jane Soffel’s battle with the disease for three years.

”I’ve seen firsthand how devastating this disease is for the patient and the family,” Soffel said of his personal experiences.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative muscular; people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease usually have a survival rate of two to five years from their diagnoses.

In 2010, the ALS Association appointed Soffel to the board and he founded a charity golf tournament named ”Agents of Hope,” which raised $15,000 to increase awareness about Lou Gehrig’s Disease and funds for research and patient services. He was formally elected to the board at The Association’s annual leadership summit in January 2011.

As a national trustee, Soffel looks forward to having the opportunity to participate in the efforts to help find a cure for ALS, and he is excited to follow in his father Andy Soffel’s footsteps, who served as a national trustee in the late 1980s to the early 1990s.

Soffel has worked at ERA Team VP Real Estate for 20 years. The Chautauqua, New York, based firm specializes in resort and residential real estate sales, management and development. In 2010, Soffel’s business was a finalist for the Gene Francis Award as a Top Five ERA Company on a national level.

A graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Soffel received his B.S. in business and marketing. hybrid cloud . He lives in Bemus Point, New York, with his wife Kari and their five children.

In addition to serving on The Association’s National Board of Trustees, Soffel serves on the boards of the Jamestown YMCA, Jamestown Business College and the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County.

For more information about The ALS Association, visit our www.alsa.org or call 800-782-4747.