Month: January 2024

By Gina Mintzer, cmp, mha

Living, working, and playing in the Lake George region in 2023 proved to be a remarkable experience. As the world made strides toward returning to pre-pandemic norms, stability saw a resurgence throughout the year. Looking forward to 2024, it’s essential to acknowledge the significant preparations and developments that have transformed Lake George into a winter destination.

Lake George introduced two major winter attractions. The creators of Ice Castles adapted their spectacle to withstand winter conditions, resulting in Winter Realms. Opening at the Festival Commons in Wood Park in November, Winter Realms will enchant visitors until the end of February. Another captivating addition is Winter’s Dream, presented by Moment Factory at Fort William Henry. Launched in December, Winter’s Dream will operate until the end of March. Preliminary results indicate a promising start, attracting over 500 additional visitors daily and providing a welcome boost to local businesses operating during the winter season.

February marks the continuation of the 61st annual Lake George Winter Carnival, a cherished event for both locals and tourists. West and Gore Mountains are geared up for a robust winter season, featuring new equipment and programs to enhance the area’s appeal. With an abundance of winter activities in the region, a strong first quarter is anticipated.

Tourism plays a pivotal role in the regional economy. Ongoing efforts have strengthened collaboration across various sectors of the business community. The vitality of the tourism industry directly impacts the entire community, not just those employed in hospitality. Tourism dollars contribute significantly to offsetting local tax burdens and fostering economic sustainability and growth.

The Northeastern Retail Lumber Association (NRLA) has announced the election of Doug Ford, of Curtis Lumber Company, as the new Chair of the association. This election occurred during NRLA’s annual business meeting, coinciding with the LBM Expo at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Ford assumes the role following the two-year tenure of Nick Kuiken from Kuiken Bros. Inc. as Chair.

As a seasoned member of the NRLA and the Lumber and Building Material Dealers Foundation (LBMDF), Ford brings a wealth of experience and understanding of the industry to his new leadership position. With a passionate commitment to workforce development initiatives, he will help set the goals to support NRLA’s mission to enhance the business success of building material suppliers spanning from Maine to Washington, D.C.

Rita Ferris, President of the NRLA, expressed gratitude to outgoing Chair Kuiken. “Nick, alongside the Executive Committee and Board of Directors, has been a driving force behind NRLA’s extraordinary journey over the past two years. His dedication to the prosperity of the NRLA will be a legacy for future generations. Combined with this year’s record-breaking education initiatives, the expansion of our federal lobbying presence through the American Building Materials Alliance (ABMA), and a steady membership, the NRLA is noticeably stronger.”

By Jim Siplon

A wise mentor once told me, “If you can’t explain what you are doing and why you are doing it to your Grandmother, you don’t really understand your work like you think you do.” I have thought of that advice often as I am asked to help others understand the accelerating pace of change facing our business and collective communities. How would I explain to my now departed grandmother, a wise and kind woman who had lived through the Spanish Flu pandemic, the Great Depression and two World Wars by the time she was 35, what we do in our quest to position our area for long term success and have it make sense?

Perhaps by sharing the same ideas I do with our business and public leaders when I meet with them to discuss what economic development is and why it matters to them…we work together to build sustainable communities, and the economies that drive them. In this context, sustainability is a broader ambition than the somewhat more narrow environmental one that it is often used to describe. The Oxford Dictionary defines sustainability as “the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.” In other words, we endeavor to create working communities that have what they need to keep going, to endure and hopefully thrive. 

For a long time, we associated our role in this ongoing challenge as advocates for the investments needed, such as public infrastructure and attractors of employers. The idea was that critical assets such as roads, power, water and sewer systems would attract new or entice existing employers to create jobs that would, in turn, underpin our local economy with wages and our municipalities with tax base. While that is still true, we have learned that it is only part of the work that must be done to chart a path toward long term success.

By Renee Walrath 

In 2024, hiring trends will shift as organizations adapt to a changing global workforce and several key themes emerge, offering employers and job seekers a positive outlook. While 2023 started with massive layoffs and continued with that trend throughout the year to cut costs, the hiring trends for 2024 indicate a renewed sense of optimism. 

Google research shows that 39 percent of hiring leaders said they plan to increase their financial commitment toward hiring in 2024, and 70 percent of surveyed U.S. job seekers were somewhat or very confident about their prospects of finding new jobs.

As economies rebound and industries rebuild, companies prepare for growth, creating a heightened demand for skilled professionals. This positive outlook is demonstrated by increased job opportunities across various sectors, creating a favorable environment for job seekers.

Throughout 2023, we’ve seen many companies requiring workers to go back to the office and anticipate more companies to do the same in 2024, with flexibility for remote work on an as-needed basis. Many technological roles will remain remote. While working remote during and post the pandemic, companies noted that Millennials and especially Gen Z were lacking mentor and coaching since they were not working in an office. For us Baby Boomers, it was important for us to learn from our mentors and peers in the office to advance our career. It’s much easier to ask a question when a colleague is sitting right next to you. Listening to other peers in the office discuss a work problem and solving it is how others learn their industry quicker.