Two local small businesses in Warren County and two in Washington County were recognized in May at the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 21st Annual Small Business Excellence Awards luncheon in Albany.
Small businesses are selected for the Excellence Awards based on their company’s longevity, innovation, sales growth, increased employment, ability to overcome adversity or community contributions.
By Jennifer Farnsworth
Wendy Waldron has taken her years of experience and success and created her own consulting firm that reaches clients from Albany to the Adirondack Mountains.
WaldronWorks officially launched in March of this year with a soft opening a few months prior. The firm took on their first client in December, providing operations leadership.
Originally from Queensbury, Waldron said family roots in the area that go back for generations is one reason she wanted to open up her business in the area that she loves, the Adirondacks.
“I love strengthening our community and local economy by supporting our entrepreneurs,” said Waldron.
by Andrea Palmer
Wiawaka Holiday House in Lake George has a new executive director, Doreen Kelly.
Kelly served on the board of directors for four years prior, and was most recently board president before stepping down to go through the interview process for executive director.
“I grew up in Glens Falls but like most people, didn’t know a lot about Wiawaka. As soon as I became involved a few years ago, I fell in love with the mission, the values and the vision,” said Kelly.
Wiawaka Holiday House is coming into its 116th year. It is the only continuously operating women’s retreat in America. Guests from all over the country come for respite, workshops and events. The property can be booked for events such as weddings and family reunions.
By Christine Graf
Queensbury digital marketing company DDM Generation was launched in March by Albany native Jenna Clark.
Before opening her own company, Clark worked at a search engine marketing company in New York City. She also worked for a New York City startup that launched a mobile ordering app for pizzerias. After several years of working in the city, she decided to move back to the area to start her own business.
“Entrepreneurship has always been a passion of mine,” she said. “I knew it was time to pursue what I truly love and that is helping businesses grow.”
Northern Rivers Family of Services has launched its new Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program to serve Warren and Washington counties.
ACT is an intensive community-based, client-centered program developed to serve adults age 18 and older who experience a serious and persistent mental illness that makes functioning in the community difficult for them.
Glens Falls Hospital and Fort Hudson Health System have developed a new model of care for patients that officials claim will more effectively integrate acute and post-acute services.
The jointly developed program, known as the Partnership for Better Health, targets patients at Glens Falls Hospital who require short-term rehabilitation or home health care and have risk factors which increases their chance of future hospitalizations.
By Jill Nagy
In the late 1990s, when acquisitions fever was high, a group of venture capitalists made an offer to Fred Giardinelli, owner of Eastern Heating and Cooling, a thriving company that does work throughout the Capital District, including the Glens Falls and Saratoga areas: They would buy his company, but he would continue to operate it.
He accepted the offer, as did enough other business owners, to form a 12-company conglomerate that is now Comfort Systems USA, a national company listed on the New York Stock Exchange that has some $2.1 billion in annual revenues.
People in the building trades and construction industry continue to say there is a shortage of skilled labor.
Kevin Maynard, owner of Kevin Maynard Construction in Fort Ann, said older skilled workers are aging out of the industry and there are not enough younger workers to replace them.
“It’s hard to find young people who want to learn the trade and want to do it well. Everyone who has talent, already has a secure job,” said Maynard. “We do everything with all of our heart, and we want to find guys that follow suit with that level of work quality.”
“It’s impacted how much work I can take on because I just don’t have the manpower,” he said.
Maynard stated the shortage has increased the need for full-service construction companies to use sub-contractors. But those sub-contracting companies are facing the same shortage in skilled workers.
by Christine Graf
“One of the recent changes in the industry is that it’s not all about spinning wrenches and getting greasy and dirty. There’s a lot of technical stuff that needs to be done within the trade,” said Dan Keating, president of BPI Mechanical in Waterford.
His company does HVAC work as well as installations of mechanical systems and equipment.
Jason McCormack, co-owner and operations manager of Simons Heating and Cooling in Queensbury, agreed that HVAC technology has been advancing at a rapid rate.
By Jill Nagy
Retirement Planning Group LLC recently opened an office in Glens Falls in the NBT Bank building at 86 Glen St.
For now, it is a satellite office. The main office is in Saratoga Springs and there is another office in Albany. However, company president David M. Kopyc expects the Glens Falls office to grow and soon become the company’s main office.
He sees “great opportunity in Glens Falls,” he said.
Kopyc is looking for “seasoned investment professionals” to add to the firm’s staff. He expects to spend an increasing proportion of his time in Glens Falls.. His Clifton Park home is on the market and Kopyc expects to make a vacation home in Lake George his primary residence.
Company clients are located all over the country, Kopyc said, but primarily in the Capital District, with growing numbers in the North Country.