Month: December 2023

By Paul Post

 Washington County has a great deal of untapped tourism potential that could boost the local economy with more comprehensive, strategic promotional planning.

 That’s what officials told local business and civic leaders during a presentation hosted by the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce at Sandy Hill Arts Center’s fifth-floor event space in Hudson Falls.

 “Tourism may look a little different for us, but it exists and it’s definitely impacting the county,” said Laura Oswald, county director of economic development, planning and tourism. But a recently-obtained grant will fund a separate, new full-time tourism director’s position that’s expected to be filled in the coming weeks.

 Washington County doesn’t have a world-class race track, performing arts center, theme park or popular summer resort town like Saratoga and Warren counties. There isn’t a single hotel and there are less than 100 motel units.

By Paul Post

 Co-owners Spencer and Sara Montgomery, and financial backers, have spent nearly $20 million on capital upgrades since purchasing West Mountain 10 years ago.

 In preparation for this winter they’ve added a $500,000 Winch Cat to the large fleet of grooming machines and covered base lodge floors with safe, clean carpeting.

 But the biggest investment is in personnel with a new food and beverage director, rental shop manager, snow sports person, full-time ski tuner and a larger, more skilled snowmaking crew.

 “It feels like we’re getting some really good professional people in here,” Spencer Montgomery said. “Hiring has been really tough the past three years. Now we’ve got a good overnight snowmaking crew. Really robust, hardworking guys. That makes all the difference because nights are when you get all your production. Someone always has to be watching the pumps, pressure and guns.”

 “Hiring and mild weather were very challenging last year,” he said. “We got through it and this year feels good. We’re looking forward to an awesome season.”

 The Queensbury resort plans a Dec. 16 opening to get all the kinks out and be ready for Christmas week.

The 37th annual Stewart’s Holiday Match Campaign kicked off on Thanksgiving Day and runs through Christmas Day at all shop locations. The program supports nonprofit organizations benefiting children. To date, the program has raised over $36 million for children’s charities.

Last year, customers donated over $1 million to the program, doubling to more than $2 million with the Stewart’s match. The funds were able to support 1,939 local children’s organizations across the 32 counties where Stewart’s Shops are located.

“Sharing is a central focus of everything we do at Stewart’s. Holiday Match takes those efforts to another level by supporting children in the communities that we serve,” said Stewart’s Shops Director of Corporate Philanthropy Jennifer Frame.

Local organizations benefiting children are encouraged to apply for funding online beginning Thanksgiving Day. The deadline for submission is January 31, 2024. All groups applying must be locally based, benefit children, and be a qualified charitable 501c3 organization. 

By Ann Donnelly

New York’s State University Board of Trustees has appointed Dr. Kelli Borgos-Hatin as SUNY Distinguished Professor. Dr. Borgos-Hatin has been a Business Professor at SUNY Adirondack for over 23 years, starting when the college was known as Adirondack Community College, and has taught and mentored hundreds of students during that time. While building the next generation of business leaders is a great passion, she is also an entrepreneur highly regarded entrepreneur. Throughout her career, Borgos-Hatin had also worked in event catering and saw frequent issues with staffing the bar, so in 2011, she founded Mixaritas, mobile bartending services, with Jenn Berry-Youngs, who had been a student in Borgos-Hatin’s Hospitality Management Classes. Since then, the business has seen great success, leading to another business opportunity for Borgos-Hatin. Many event guests asked to purchase the flavored simple syrups she uses in her cocktails. 

In 2019, Borgos-Hatin launched Mixa-Fusion, making syrups with pure cane sugar and natural ingredients with no added preservatives, powders, or extracts. In addition to the syrups, Mixa-Fusion makes and sells hot cocoa bombs in various flavors and scented hand sanitizer that they started producing when there was a significant demand early on during the pandemic.

Early in her career, Borgos-Hatin worked with two strong businesswomen from the region who she cites as role models: Maureen Monahan Chase of Monahan Chase Caterers and Catherine Fisher, who owned a Carvel Ice Cream franchise. Her parents were also significant influences: her mother, JoAnn Borgos, showed her how to manage a busy yet happy household successfully, and her father, Stephen Borgos, who was Professor of Business Emeritus at Adirondack Community College (SUNY Adirondack), working there from 1966-2001.

As a child, Borgos-Hatin would accompany her father to the school, sit in on classes, and help him in the office, so it was no surprise when she decided to attend and received her first degree there, an Associate of Science in Business, in 1992. She then went to Sienna College, earning a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Management in 1994.

By Ann Donnely

Ryan Holderman, owner of The Gym in Aviation Mall in Queensbury, was always an athlete in high school and college. After college, in 2009, he moved to New York City, where he completed a program for personal trainers and worked as a trainer and manager in some large “corporate” gyms.

In 2014, Holderman decided to return to the Glens Falls area. “I came home and realized I wanted to open a gym,” he said. 

His first gym, in the Midtown Shopping Center in South Glens Falls, was 3,000 square feet. After three years, he expanded to the Queensbury Plaza in a space measuring 6,000 square feet and ran the business there, as much as was allowed, through the pandemic.

In July 2023, The Gym relocated to its current site in Aviation Mall in space that was formerly TJ Maxx. “It’s a larger space. The mall, for me, was a big space to take on. Four times the biggest space I had before, so now we have so many other fitness sectors,” Holderman said. 

In addition to the areas with equipment for training, there are areas for yoga, batting cages, indoor cycling, physical therapy, massage therapy, and more. 

There are five to seven coaches, including two to three cycling instructors, a physical therapist, and a yoga instructor.  People cannot just come in as an individual and work out on their own. The Gym provides private training, semi-private training, group training, and kids’ camps for 8-12 year olds. 

“We are a balls, bands, and bungees kind of place. I don’t believe in machines. Our big thing is biomechanics, studying your body and how it moves. If your body moves the same way, it won’t be like mine or somebody else’s,” Holderman noted.

Ninety-six percent of the members are women between 25 and 75 years old. They also work with people with special conditions, such as COPD, undergoing chemotherapy, and pre- and post-natal.

 “We hold a meet-and-greet with each prospective member to sit down and talk about injuries, nutrition, goals, what their workout history is like, and get to know them. From there, we do a movement assessment and teach them basic movement patterns like squats, lunges, sit-ups, etc., to see their fitness level,” Holderman explained. Clients then receive a free 30-minute workout.

By Martin Patrick, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

As we approach the start of the new year, key updates to the way you manage your business payroll are on the horizon. Here’s a closer look at four of these changes and how they will affect both employers and employees.

1. Salary Threshold for Certain Wage Protections:

On March 13, 2024, the salary threshold for certain wage protections will increase from $900 to $1,300 per week. 

Right now, employers are exempt from some requirements when employing workers in executive, administrative, or professional capacities and whose earnings exceed $900 per week.

These include paying clerical or other workers “not less frequently than semi-monthly;” obtaining the advance, written consent of employees before paying wages via direct deposit; and being guilty of a misdemeanor for failing to provide benefits or wage supplements within 30 days after they are due.

The exemption from these requirements will now apply to employees with earnings that exceed $1,3000 per week.

Employers should review their current payroll practices and make any adjustments to help ensure compliance. For example, an employer could increase employee compensation to meet the new threshold or ensure that employees below the threshold are no longer exempt from these employer obligations.

2. Paid Family Leave Contributions:

This season marks the 90th anniversary of the Snow Train that brought skiers to North Creek, kickstarting generations of winter tourism in the area. Business owners, historians, and ski enthusiasts are commemorating this historic event.

The North Creek Snow Train’s inaugural voyage in 1934 transported 378 skiers from Schenectady to North Creek, kick starting the region’s winter sports tourisim attractions. This year, in collaboration with the Town of Johnsburg, Gore Mountain, The Tannery Pond Community Center, The North Creek Depot Museum, The Johnsburg Historical Society, Revolution Rail Co., Cunningham’s Ski Barn, ski enthusiasts, esteemed historians, artists, devoted residents, and local business owners, the area unites to honor the rich legacy of this remarkable train.

Throughout the 2023-2024 snow season an array of curated events will illuminate the vibrant history and cultural significance of the North Creek Snow Train. These events include walking history tours of the train station and North Creek Ski Bowl, screenings of vintage films, presentations, concerts, artwork exhibitions, fun races, and commemorative giveaways, among other activities. Barkeater Chocolates is making a Snow Train chocolate bar and Upper Hudson Coffee is branding the Roosevelt Roast with the Snow Train logo. The full schedule of events is currently in development, with additional information forthcoming.