Jake Van Ness, Author at Glens Falls Business Journal

Jake Van Ness

2440 Articles

Cleaning Company Diversifies, Starts A Business Providing High-End Port-O-Potties

July 11, 2018July 12, 2018

Party Pooperz provides port-o-potties for events within a 20-30 mile radius of Argyle.
Courtesy Party Pooperz

Business partners Sacha Cleavland and Andrew Lewis are making a name for themselves in an industry that most people might shy away from.

Between their cleaning service, Hogwash, and their newly established port-a-potty business, Party Pooperz, the duo is helping the North Country stay clean.

“We recently started Party Pooperz as we found there was a need for such a service,” said Cleavland.

She said their approach to Party Pooperz is similar to Hogwash in that they want to make the experience unique and different.

Capital Campaign Funding Results In The Construction Of New Double H Ranch Cabin

July 11, 2018July 12, 2018

The Double H Ranch celebrated the completion of a $3.5 million capital campaign and the construction of the new Riggi Family Raccoon Cabin in June.

The first capital campaign undertaken in the camp’s 26-year history, $3.5 million in donations was raised from the community. The gifts provided the Double H Ranch the opportunity to renovate two camper cabins and construct a new camper and medical volunteer cabin.

In addition to money raised for the capital campaign, the Double H Ranch raises $3.8 million annually for camp operations.

Business Briefs

July 11, 2018July 12, 2018

The Adirondack Trust Co. has again secured a 5-Star rating from BauerFinancial, a bank rating firm.

A five-star rating indicates that the bank excels in areas of capital adequacy, profitability, asset quality and much more. Adirondack Trust has earned and maintained this top honor for more than 10 years, putting it in an the position as an “exceptional performance bank”. This designation is reserved for those banks securing a 5-Star rating for 10 years or longer.

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The Glens Falls Collaborative will hold its FitFest event on Saturday, Oct. 13, in Glens Falls’ City Park.

Officials Say New York’s 1,005 Craft Beverage Makers Place It In Top Five Among 50 States

July 11, 2018July 12, 2018

New York is now home to 1,005 craft beverage manufacturers operating in 60 counties across the state.

Since the first Beer, Wine Spirits and Cider Summit in 2012, the number of businesses producing craft beverages has more than doubled, while the number of farm-based manufacturers has increased by over 150 percent, state officials said.

New York now ranks in the top five states in the U.S. for its number of craft beverage producers in every category. The state ranks first in U.S. for the number of hard cider producers, second in craft distillers, third in breweries, and fourth in the country for the total number of wineries officials said.

ARCC Committee Will Participate With The Hyde Museum In This Year’s ‘Art Battle’ Event

July 11, 2018July 12, 2018

Sidekick Creative took top honors at the 2017 Art Battle at The Hyde Collection. This year, the museum is joining forces with ARCC NextGen Committee and JUST Water in the event.
Courtesy The Hyde

The Hyde Museum and the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce has formed a joint networking and team-building event .

Officials said at a recent ARCC NextGen Committee meeting, the group tried to think of events to engage members.

They decided to participate in the museum’s Art Battle, slated for 6 p.m. Thursday, July 19, at the 161 Warren St. museum. This year they will challenge teams to an evening of creativity, and resourcefulness, as each is tasked with creating a work of art out of recyclable products from JUST Water.

Glens Falls and Johnsburg Nominated To Be Involved In Federal Tax Incentive Program

June 13, 2018June 14, 2018

EDC Warren County President Ed Bartholomew announced that two qualifying census tracts within Warren County were nominated by the governor’s office to be included within the tax program known as Federal Opportunity Zones (FOZ) which was part of the US Tax Reform Act of 2017.

EDC prepared materials required for nomination on behalf of the city of Glens Falls and the town of Johnsburg.

The purpose of the FOZ program is to provide an added mechanism to encourage private investment into economically distressed areas through the use of tax incentives, he said.

Bartholomew said one of the key advantages of the FOZ opportunity zones program is the ability of investors who make investments within these respective zones to have capital gain taxes eliminated if the investment is maintained for a minimum ten years. If the investment is maintained less than 10 years the capital gain is prorated.

West Mountain Replaces Chairlift; Will Add Zipline To Help Bring In Customers All Year

June 13, 2018June 14, 2018

A zipline and treetop aerial mountain adventure system are being being built at West Mountain to attract summer people to the mountain.
Courtesy West Mountain

By Maureen Werther

Workers at West Mountain are busy replacing a chairlift dating back to 1968 with a new “quad” chair that will service the face of the mountain.

According to the mountain’s co-owner and onsite operator, Spencer Montgomery, crews are in the process of dismantling the old chair, which he said will take approximately two weeks to complete. Once that phase of the work is over, the new chairlift will be installed and operational in time for the upcoming 2018-2019 skiing and snowboarding season.

The new chairlift will be located in closer proximity to the existing chairlift that services the summit. By re-positioning it, skiers and riders will all be able to feed into one set of corrals, have their tickets checked and decide which of the two lifts they want to take, he said.

Adirondack Regional Chamber Of Commerce Gives Annual Awards To Six Local Businesses

June 13, 2018June 14, 2018

Staff at Cool Insurance Agency pose after received the Professional Business of the Year award at the 28th annual ARCC Business of the Year Award breakfast.
Courtesy ARCC

The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) was joined by over 150 guests to honor the nominees and winners of the 28th annual ARCC Business of the Year Award breakfast on Thursday, June 7, at the Hiland Park Country Club in Queensbury.

The winners in each category were honored with a framed certificate, specially made by Bev Saunders at Saunders Gallery of Fine Art and a parting gift from Larry Gonyea of Adirondack Etching. The winners were as follows:

Professional Business of the Year: Cool Insuring Agency. Rookie Business of the Year: Sidekick Creative. Small Business of the Year: King Pin’s Alley Family Fun Center. Large Business of the Year: Irving Consumer Products. Nonprofit Business of the Year: The Moreau Community Center.

IBM Senior Vice President To Be Keynote Speaker At EDC Warren County Luncheon

June 13, 2018June 14, 2018

Dr. John E. Kelly III, senior vice president, cognitive solutions and IBM research.
Courtesy EDC Warren County

Dr. John E. Kelly III, senior vice president, cognitive solutions and IBM research will deliver the keynote address at the EDC Warren County annual luncheon on Monday, July 2, at Six Flags Great Escape Lodge in Queensbury.

In addition to the keynote address, the program will also include an update on EDC initiatives and recognition of other activities in Warren County and the region.

Registration and networking will be held from 11:30 a.m. to noon. The luncheon and program will run from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Advance paid reservations required.

Personnel Briefs – June 2018

June 13, 2018June 14, 2018

Thomas K. Flaherty of T.K Flaherty Associates in Queensbury, has received accreditation from the American Public Works Association (APWA) as a certified public infrastructure inspector (CPII) as well as certification at Level I in underground utilities construction, water and sewer lines by the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET).

NICET certification is based on successfully passing an exam demonstrating requisite knowledge, experience and work performance as set forth by the institute. NICET is a division of the national Society of Professional Engineers.

Flaherty has over 50 years of experience in the public utility construction field, including the development of the Queensbury Water System for the town of Queensbury when he served as the town water superintendent.

He is the founder and President of T.K. Flaherty Associates with offices in Queensbury, and Bellwood, Ala. Flaherty is also an associate of Miller Engineering located in Manlius.