Craft beverage drinkers can gain access to special offers and the chance to win Adirondack Craft Beverage Trail swag through a new digital passport offered by the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce & CVB.

“The craft beverage industry is a year-round attraction that ranked high in consumer traveler surveys distributed by our destination partners to gain insight into what people are looking for when they visit our area,” said Chamber Executive Director Gina Mintzer. “We feel this is an offering that will help visitors find what they’re looking for and gain more visibility for our local craft beverage scene.”

The passport is being marketed to a targeted demographic that mirrors the organic traffic to adkcraftbev.com, which draws many website visitors from out of the area. The top location from out of the area is New York City.

The digital passport was developed through Bandwango, a company that develops digital passports for destinations around the U.S. and Canada. It provides a simple way for the Chamber to analyze redemption and usage data, spot trends and track leads that can help measure economic impact of programs like this.

“We chose a digital passport because we liked the ease of updating the passport throughout the year, the fact that we could continue to interact with users of the passport digitally, analyze data and react to trends,” Mintzer said. “We also like that it can be accessed on a smartphone and isn’t something additional that consumers have to remember to carry with them.”

This passport currently features 15 craft beverage producers (with more to be added) in Essex, Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties.

Currently, there are three prizes: Five  check-ins, an Adirondack Craft Beverage Trail logo window cling; 10 check-ins, a tote bag designed for bottles; and at all locations, entry into grand prize raffle prize

By Lisa Balschunat

Another phase of expansion is underway at the Queensbury Hotel in downtown Glens Falls.

The owners plan to construct a grand ballroom that can accommodate 400 people for a wedding or similar dinner event, 700 people for a cocktail party and 350 people theater style. 

In addition, the room will be equipped with two breakout rooms. A new banquet kitchen will be built off the ballroom. The facility will be 5,200 square feet.

“We are moving full steam ahead,” said hotel general manager Tyler Herrick.  “When Spruce Hospitality Group bought the Queensbury in 2016 the first thing Zach Moore and I talked about with Ed Bartholomew was the need for a big room to accommodate community events.  Something grander than Heritage Hall, bigger than Great Escape Lodge, but closer than The Sagamore.”

Spruce Hospitality is working with the Phinney Design Group of Saratoga Springs and is presently securing funding for the $2.2 million project through Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Co. Herrick said he anticipates finalizing soon the contract for construction with a local company.

The ballroom will be located right of the hotel’s Ridge Street entrance. He said the project should begin in late August with plans to accept bookings beginning in September 2022.   

“We are really excited about this project, as it rounds out our five-year plan and solidifies what we know in the hospitality industry—that a banquet booking offers a predictable, controlled profit.  Many people think it comes from the bar.  There’s guess work at the bar. There is predictability with an event and a straight percentage that bodes well for our business.”

The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) announced that the 32nd Annual J. Walter Juckett Community Service Award will be presented to Mark Behan, president and founder of Behan Communications.

“Mark Behan exemplifies all that J. Walter Juckett stood for: community, charity and leadership. Mark has long been in the service of so many others in our region through his work on many boards as well as his volunteer commitment in so many other venues,” said ARCC President and CEO Michael Bittel.

The Juckett Award, named in honor of the longtime chairman of the Sandy Hill Corp., is the chamber’s highest award for community service.

Behan iounded Behan Communications 33 years ago. It serves clients across many industry sectors nationwide. Prior to founding Behan Communications, Behan worked in the newspaper industry as a reporter, editor and executive.

Behan serves on the boards of Arrow Financial Corp. and Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Co., the Glens Falls Foundation, the E. Leo Spain Foundation and Kelly’s Angels Inc. For 18 years, he was a member of the board of governors of Glens Falls Hospital and in recent years served as vice chair. He also has served on the Albany Medical Center board of directors.

More recently, Behan has served as a member of Warren County’s Economic Recovery Task Force and as the leader of the Warren County Hospitality Communications Group, a public-private collaboration to strengthen the tourism industry in Warren County.

He is a former member of the board of trustees of The Hyde Collection art museum, the Adirondack Regional Chambers of Commerce, the Economic Development Corp. of Warren County, Crandall Public Library, the Chapman Historical Museum, and St. Mary’s-St. Alphonsus Regional Catholic School. In 1988, he was honored with the Henry Crandall Award from Crandall Public Library.