By Christine Graf

After MT Returnables owner Bob Ball died in a motorcycle accident in August 2020, his oldest daughter, Jade Eddy, spent the next eight months working to reopen the business.

Because Ball had no will and operated his business as a sole proprietorship, the company’s bottle and can redemption centers in Corinth and Queensbury were forced to close.

Ball established MT Returnables in Corinth in 2005 after a 20-year career with International Paper. When the paper company closed, he began collecting bottles and cans to earn money. At the time, bottle redemption centers were a new concept.

“He had a difficult time finding a job,” said Eddy. “He started driving around town and collecting bottles and cans from people and sorting them in the garage. We started calling him a professional hobo. My senior year in high school, he got a building in Corinth, and I thought he had lost his mind.”

Eddy, a Lake Luzerne native, started working part-time for her father when he opened the business. After graduating from high school, she continued to work part-time while enrolled in the business program at Adirondack Community College. At the time, she dreamed of opening her own clothing store. After discovering that she didn’t enjoy working in retail, she decided to work full-time at MT Returnables. In 2012, after Ball became overwhelmed by the administrative side of operations, he put her in charge of the business.

By Christine Graf

Before owning her own company, Rose Miller worked in human resources for companies of all sizes. Around 2005, she began to seriously consider the idea of opening her own human resources consulting business.

“You have to do a scout model. Always be prepared and get as many facts as you can,” she said.

Her research revealed that the number-one failure point for HR professionals who went out on their own was loneliness and isolation. A self-described people person, Miller found that concerning.

“I saw myself quickly becoming dissatisfied with working out of my house,” she said. “I also knew that one of my strengths is building great teams. I knew I didn’t want to work all by myself. I wanted to build a company.”

Her first step was to create a business plan. According to Miller, it is essential for anyone who is thinking about starting their own business.

“So many entrepreneurs don’t write a business plan, but you really need to sit down and go through a professional business plan because it makes you formulize things and delve into areas that you may not be strong at. To put it in writing is an amazing exercise.”

By Christine Graf

While still a student at Galway High School Kylie (Curtis) Holland started working at the front counter at Curtis Lumber in Ballston Spa. Today, the sixth-generation member of the Curtis family is preparing for the day when she will take the helm of the family business.

Her father, Jay Curtis, currently serves as CEO and president of the 131-year old company that has 23 locations and approximately 700 employees. He took over in 1991, the same year that Holland was born.

During the four years that Holland attended college at SUNY Cortland, she made a five-hour round trip each weekend in order to continue working at Curtis Lumber. After graduating with a degree in criminal justice in 2012, she considered attending law school.

“I was faced with a choice of either you go to law school or you work (at Curtis Lumber),” she said.  “Because of the intensity of law school, I knew I couldn’t do both. That was kind of my moment where I had to choose. I just couldn’t imagine what it would look like to walk away from Curtis Lumber.  I loved it, and I loved the people. That’s when I decided this was the path for me after all.”

Although her older brother, Christopher, also works for Curtis Lumber, he is not interested in taking over when their father retires.