Month: October 2026

By Paul Post

Americans are expected to spend a record $13.5 billion on Halloween this year, topping last year’s total by $400 million.

Pete Lemery of South Glens Falls makes extravagant costumes by hand but recently took his three grandsons to Spirit Halloween at Aviation Mall to look for accessories to accentuate their outfits.

“I let them choose the theme and they dress up as whatever the good character is and I’m the villain,” Lemery said, smiling. “ My youngest grandson, is going to be Baymax from the movie, Big Hero 6. I’m Professor Robert Callaghan.”

“It’s a big deal for us,” Lemery said. “I usually start in July, building whatever I’m doing to be. It involves a lot of testing, trial and error. I’m taking three days off from work to make sure it’s done right.”

New Jersey-based Spirit Halloween has more than 1,550 locations in the U.S. and Canada, including stores in Saratoga Springs (155 Ballston Ave.) and Clifton Park (a former Rite Aid at 1701 Route 9). Joseph Marver founded the company in 1983, and Spencer Gifts acquired it in 1999.

The company creates 52,000 seasonal jobs each year and generates welcome revenue for malls and plazas where stores are located and property owners seek tenants.

By Paul Post

From a business perspective, it might have made more sense for high-tech entrepreneur David Duggal to launch his firm in Silicon Valley.

But he wanted an affordable, safe community with lots of open space for his children, similar to his own upbringing in the lower Hudson Valley.

“I travel the globe and I wouldn’t live anyplace but Glens Falls. I mean it,” said Duggal, EnterpriseWeb founder and holder of multiple patents related to software and computing systems.

He is an example of the type of person regional officials are trying to attract for sustainable growth in a rapidly changing 21st-century economy. Several large employers, such as Glens Falls Cement Company, Essity paper and Great Meadow Correctional Facility, have closed in recent years, and Finch Paper Company’s elimination of pulp-making operations has significantly affected North Country loggers.

In response, local business and government leaders must promote the area as a place where entrepreneurs want to invest and live.

That was the message keynote speaker Patience Fairbrother Wallace delivered to roughly 200 people at Warren County Economic Development Corporation’s (EDC) recent annual luncheon at Fort William Henry Resort’s Carriage House. She is senior vice president for talent attraction at New York City-based Development Counsellors International, which specializes in marketing cities, states and regions.

“Communities that succeed will be those that understand not only where talent is moving, but why people move, what keeps them rooted and what ultimately makes a new place worth calling home,” Wallace said. “You can’t just get people excited to move here. You can’t sell them a bill of goods. You have to build the kind of community that’s able to receive them and also retain them.”

The Warren County Historical Society has named Carol Ann Conover its incoming Executive Director as Teri Rogers prepares to retire in October after 10 years in the position. Conover, founder of CA Strategies Consulting, will assume the role after a brief transition. The change comes ahead of the society’s 30th charter anniversary and 10th...

By Ann Donnelly

When business owners sit down with their bankers, conversation often turns from credit lines and cash management to the complex day-to-day operational hurdles of managing people.

To address those nonfinancial pressures, Pioneer Bank has established a human resources consulting division designed to deliver fractional expertise, project-based compliance support and workforce management to regional employers.

The initiative is part of the institution’s broader effort to evolve beyond a traditional community bank into a comprehensive financial and business services platform.

“Business owners today are balancing evolving regulatory requirements, changing workforce expectations, and the everyday challenges of running a business,” said Thomas L. Amell, president and chief executive officer of Pioneer. “Our HR Consulting division gives them access to experienced professionals who can help navigate those challenges, so they can confidently stay focused on growing their business. It’s another way we’re expanding how we support our clients beyond traditional banking.”

The service officially launched in August 2025 after business banking clients repeatedly expressed that workforce management was a significant operational hurdle.

The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) will host its 2026 Business Expo on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at The Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls. The event brings businesses and nonprofits together for networking and opportunities to connect with the community.

Exhibitors will present interactive displays, demonstrations and samples and discuss their products and services with business professionals and other attendees.

“Business is about more than transactions, it’s about relationships,” said ARCC President Tricia Rogers. “The Business Expo gives our members an opportunity to showcase what they do, meet new people and build connections, while giving the community a chance to discover the incredible businesses and organizations that make our region so vibrant.”

The expo is free and open to the public. Attendees can meet local business representatives, explore services and learn about organizations working in the region.

By Rod Bacon

A company that has provided high-quality industrial maintenance services to clients in the Capital Region and beyond for 30 years has expanded and relocated to Pruyns Island in Glens Falls.

Business partners Nicholas Waite and Davis Turner purchased Wilton-based Adirondack Mechanical Services in 2023 and operated at its Commerce Park Drive site until last May.

“We were growing rapidly,” said Turner. “We had seen growth of twenty percent to thirty percent year over year since we acquired the business and the building we were operating in was pretty much at maximum capacity.”

Turner explained that they wanted to add a fabrication shop, but their 7,500-square-foot building could not accommodate it. The Pruyns Island building has 33,000 square feet, and the fabrication shop has been operating for several months.

The shop is not running at full capacity because they are waiting for major equipment to arrive, which they anticipate will be within a month or two. Then they will be able to manufacture a variety of custom products for clients.

“With industrial maintenance you go to a lot of places and they need catwalks or ladders made, as well as structural steel or custom fabrication of pressure vessels. And we’re a subcontractor for a company that manufacturers large lifting beams,” Turner said.

Turner noted that the owners of the Pruyns Island building were extremely cooperative and credited listing agent Mark Levack of Levack Real Estate with making the transition go smoothly.

As a union shop, the company generally employs about 20 skilled craftspeople. Its welders are certified by the American Welding Society (AWS) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), focusing on structural steel, pressure pipe and vessel welding.