Glens Falls Business Journal

Personnel Briefs: June 2024

June 17, 2024

Advokate, LLC has announced the appointment of Olivia Dybas as marketing and communications associate.

Ms. Dybas is a recent graduate of Cornell University, earning her bachelor’s of science in communication with a social influence concentration. She was a member of Phi Theta Kappa National College Honor Society at SUNY Adirondack and served a season as company manager at Adirondack Theatre Festival after interning there in 2021.

In addition to working with Advokate, Ms. Dybas is known for her roles on stage including roles with Adirondack Theatre Festival, Lake George Youtheatre, Glens Falls Community Theatre, Glens Falls High School, and many others. Outside of the arts, she is a sales associate at Eddie Bauer, and put in many years working the counter at Angelina’s Pizzeria. She also plays violin, guitar, and sings all throughout the community.

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The Hyde Collection has announced the appointment of Christine Hoard as the director of development. With over 25 years of experience in professional fundraising, project management, and special events production, Ms. Hoard brings a wealth of expertise to her new role.

Prior to joining The Hyde Collection, she served as the development manager at Comfort Food Community, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to reducing rural hunger in Washington, Warren and Saratoga counties. During her tenure, she spearheaded establishing the organization’s annual giving program and collaborated closely with the board to develop protocols and processes.

Ms. Hoard’s career also includes serving as the director of philanthropy for the VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region, where she played a pivotal role in planning, organizing, and directing all fundraising initiatives.

Prior to that she served as the annual fund coordinator at Burr & Burton Academy, where she managed the annual giving program and orchestrated various special events.

Ms. Hoard held several positions at the Glens Falls Hospital Foundation, where she played a key role in developing and implementing the hospital’s inaugural annual giving program.

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Inaugural Year Of Winter’s Dream Drew Visitors From Throughout The Northeast To Lake George

June 17, 2024

The Warren County Coalition has provided Warren County with its final report on the inaugural year of Winter’s Dream, the multi-media entertainment attraction at Fort William Henry’s historical fortress in Lake George.

Warren County and private Lake George businesses financed the project, with the county loaning the coalition $3 million in seed money and private businesses investing another $3 million in direct funding and donated employee services. The coalition has committed to repaying the full county investment and, to that end, announced it will forego $50,000 in unused county funds. This money will now be available to the Warren County Tourism Department and county supervisors to help support another worthy event or attraction to encourage visitors to discover all that Warren County has to offer.

In its inaugural year, Winter’s Dream had a significant positive effect on hotel occupancy and revenue and on short-term rentals in Warren County:

■ During the period December 8, 2023, to March 9, 2024, when Winter’s Dream was operating, local hotels rented 7,700 additional room nights over the prior year, generating $69,620 in additional occupancy tax revenue for Warren County.

■ The increased customer demand generated $1.74 million in new lodging revenue among hotels and short-term rentals.

■ Winter’s Dream drove a 31 percent increase in visitors from the New York City metropolitan area over the prior year.

■ Winter’s Dream also drove increased revenue at local restaurants and bars and retail and grocery stores.

Audio Services NY, Inc. Allows Clients To Control All Functions Of Home Or Business

June 17, 2024

Carl (right) and Marly Grosso have expanded Audio Services NY, Inc. into the Adirondacks, which installs an integrated system that will allow homeowners to control all of their electronic devices.

By Rod Bacon

Following years of experience in the information technology field, part of which was with the company he now owns, Carl Grosso decided it was time to take the reins and move the company to the next level.

He and his wife, Marly, now operate Audio Services NY, Inc., a company that provides a full range of audio, video, and security installations for homes and businesses.

“We supply state-of-the-art systems that allow people to take complete control of the technology in their homes or businesses from anywhere,” said Carl.

Their cutting edge technology allows owners to control video, audio, and security from one user-friendly interface. Their services include home automation, distributed audio, home theater, lighting and climate control, outdoor audio-visual, and interior design.

“With our integrated systems a home or business owner can control pretty much anything in a building; door locks, garage door openers, lighting, water, music, television, alarm systems, and much more,” said Grosso.

Welcome Sign In Lake George Is Replaced, Marking Rotary Club’s 75 Anniversary

June 17, 2024

Village Mayor Ray Perry, Supervisor Vinnie Crocitto, Past Rotary President David King, In-coming President Mark Bailey and current President Peter Wilhelm stand by the new sign.

The Rotary Club of Lake George recently announced the unveiling of their new welcome sign, marking a significant milestone during the club’s 75th anniversary.

The Lake George Rotary Welcome Corner is located at the intersection of Route 9 and Route 9N near Exit 21. Denny Galloway, a longtime Lake George Rotarian whose vision sparked the creation of the Rotary Welcome Corner, made the corner a reality in 2004 in collaboration with New York State DOT, Lake George town officials, Warren County officials, and landscape architects with CLA SITE Landscape Architecture, Engineering, and Planning P.C.

The Welcome Corner has been a symbol of community pride and hospitality for two decades. Over the years, the Lake George Rotary Club has diligently maintained the corner, conducting annual cleanups with the help of Lake George High School’s Interact students and senior class.

To ensure the corner continues to make a positive impression on visitors, the Lake George Rotary Club embarked on a project to design and install a new welcome sign. The modern sign incorporates LED lighting, durable materials, halo lighting, and an enticing design that reflects the natural beauty of the Lake George region.

History Of The Colonial Era On Display At Lake George Battlefield Park Visitor Center

June 17, 2024

The Lake George Battlefield Park Visitor Center has on display an array of exhibits explaining the significance of the Battlefield Park in American history.

The Lake George Battlefield Park Visitor Center opened for its third season on May 24. The center, located on the bottom floor (rear entrance) of 75 Fort George Road in Lake George, will maintain a weekend and holidays schedule of 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., through the end of June, when it moves to five days per week (Thursday to Monday).

More than 5,000 guests viewed the exhibits at the visitor center during its initial two seasons. Admission is free for all guests.

The center has a wide array of exhibits to explain the significance of the Battlefield Park in American history. These exhibits include four models: two forts, the 1758 radeau Land Tortoise, and the 1756 sloop Earl of Loudoun. Display cases contain artifacts from Native Americans, the French and Indian War (1754-1763), and the American Revolution (1775-1783), as well as from the sloop Earl of Loudoun, the radeau Land Tortoise, and several bateaux. Ten 3×4-foot color resin panels, explaining the history of the park from the habitation of indigenous people through the end of the American Revolution, line the walls of the visitor center.

The Warren County Bikeway Is The Site Of An Exciting New Challenge For History Buffs

June 17, 2024

Letterboxes have been placed along the Warren County Bikeway to challenge history buffs.

To many people who use the Warren County Bikeway, the multi-use trail is just a neat place to bike, walk or run. But to local history buffs, the bikeway is much more than a recreational outlet, as many sites along the route were the scenes of significant events in two 18th century military conflicts.

To celebrate that history as the nation’s 250th birthday approaches, Warren County Department of Planning and Community Development has created a new Letterboxing challenge that combines history and recreation on the bikeway, celebrating the centuries-old road that became the bikeway with a fun challenge to identify 10 important sites along the trail.

Letterboxing is a growing hobby that incorporates orienteering, art and puzzle solving to find hidden treasures and complete a challenge.

The new Letterbox the Bikeway challenge takes participants from the bikeway’s beginning in Glens Falls to its end at Battlefield Park in Lake George, with stops at 10 historically significant locations in between.

Workers Benefit Significantly From Employee Stock Ownership Plan At Stewart’s Shops

June 17, 2024

By Christine Graf

If you’ve visited your local Stewart’s Shops lately, you may have been waited on by a millionaire. Thanks to the company’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), a significant number of employees have become millionaires.

Nationwide, only about 6,300 companies offer ESOPs, employee benefit plans that give workers ownership interest in their company in the form of shares of stock. Stewart’s Shop is one of just a handful of local businesses to offer this benefit to its employees.

“ESOP programs have been getting a lot more attention from leaders in the state and other businesses,” said Robin Cooper, public relations manager for Stewart’s Shops. “I’m only aware of four or five companies in the region that have them.”

At Stewarts, both full- and part-time employees ages 19 and up are eligible to enroll. A person must work 500 hours in a quarter or 1,000 hours in a year, whichever occurs first. After a period of six years, the employee is fully vested. At that point in time, the balance of his or her ESOP is equivalent to approximately one year’s salary.

In 2022, Stewart’s Shops made $19 million in contributions to the ESOP accounts of 3,000 active employees, each one receiving the equivalent of 16 percent of his or her annual salary. That year, ESOP participants saw their account balances grow by 12.5 percent compared to the previous year.

The Stewart’s ESOP was established in 2001, and employees now own 40 percent of the privately-held company. The plan is 100 percent company paid.

“We have also been paying dividends for about the past ten years,” said Alison Abbey, personnel manager for Stewart’s Shops. “Those are paid quarterly. People can take them as cash or roll them into their balance.”

Business Report: Changes To 401 Plans

June 17, 2024June 17, 2024

Meghan Murray is a financial advisor with Edward Jones Financial in Glens Falls.

PROVIDED BY MEGHAN MURRAY, CRPC®

If you own a business and you offer a 401(k) or similar retirement plan to your employees, you’ll want to stay current on the various changes affecting these types of accounts. And in 2024, you may find some interesting new developments to consider.

These changes are part of the SECURE 2.0 Act, enacted at the end of 2022. And while some parts of the law went into effect in 2023 — such as the new tax credit for employer contributions to start-up retirement plans with 100 or fewer employees — others were only enacted this year.

Here are some of these changes that may interest you:

New “starter” 401(k)/403(b) – If you haven’t already established a retirement plan, you can now offer a “starter” 401(k) or “safe harbor” 403(b) plan to employees who meet age and service requirements. These plans have lower contribution limits ($6,000 per year, or $7,000 for those 50 or older) than a typical 401(k) or 403(b) and employers can’t make matching or nonelective contributions. These plans are low-cost and easy to administer but the credit for employer contributions doesn’t apply, as these contributions aren’t allowed, and since start-up costs are low, the tax credit for these costs will be correspondingly lower than they’d be for a full-scale 401(k) plan.

Matches for student loan payments – It’s not easy for young employees to save for retirement and pay back student loans. To help address this problem, Congress included a provision in Secure 2.0 that allows employers the option to provide matching contributions to employees’ retirement plans (401(k), 403(b), 457(b) and SIMPLE IRAs) when these employees make qualified student loan payments. Of course, if you offer this match for student loan payments, your costs will likely increase, although these matching contributions are tax deductible. In any case, you may want to balance any additional expense with the potential benefit of attracting and retaining employees, particularly those who have recently graduated from college.

NBT Bancorp Inc. Promotes Four Executives As It Implements It’s CEO Succession Plan

June 17, 2024

NBT Bancorp Inc. has announced that its CEO Succession Plan unanimously approved by NBT’s board of directors in January was executed with Scott A. Kingsley succeeding John H. Watt, Jr. as NBT’s 15th president and chief executive officer. Kingsley was also elected to NBT’s board of directors. Watt will continue to serve on the board and has been named vice chairman.

NBT also announced the promotion of Joseph R. Stagliano to president of NBT Bank, N.A., the company’s wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Annette L. Burns to executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Shauna M. Hyle to executive vice president, retail community banking.

NBT Board Chairman Martin A. Dietrich said, “Smooth leadership transitions are a characteristic of high-performing companies. The board enthusiastically and unanimously approved the succession plan we announced in January. We thank John for the vision and energy he has invested in NBT, and we are fortunate to have a tested and aligned executive management team with strong and experienced leaders like Scott, Joe, Annette and Shauna.”

Kingsley joined NBT in 2021 as executive vice president and chief financial officer. He has more than 35 years of experience, including 16 years as a member of the management team at Community Bank System, Inc., where he served as chief operating officer and, prior to that, as chief financial officer. Kingsley started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP before joining the Carlisle Companies, Inc., a publicly traded global manufacturer and distributor, where he served in financial and operational leadership roles.

A certified public accountant, Kingsley earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Clarkson University. He is an active community advocate, volunteer and fund-raiser. He currently serves on the Crouse Health Foundation board of trustees and the audit and finance committee for the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse and was previously chair of the board of directors of the Food Bank of Central New York.

Two Local Businessmen Bring Individual Skills To The Launch Of TechFirst Insurance Agency

June 17, 2024

Kevin O’Brien has extensive experience as an insurance agent.

Two area businessmen have announced the launch of TechFirst Insurance Agency Inc.

It is a collaboration between co-founders Kevin O’Brien and Mark Shaw. O’Brien is a seasoned insurance professional while Shaw is a successful entrepreneur.

Shaw founded StoredTech in 2010, and since then has started three other companies. He has been named on Upstate Businesses Top CEO’s list by the Times Union and regularly supports the local community.

O’Brien has contributed significantly to various organizations, including the Tri-County United Way, Rotary Club of Glens Falls, Conkling Center, Adirondack Independent Insurance Association, 211NY, Glens Falls Civic Center Foundation, United Way of New York State, and The Glen at Highland Meadows. He is the 2013 recipient of the J. Walter Juckett Award and the first winner of the Ethics in Business Award.

Over several years the friends explored ways to modernize the insurance brokerage, discussing the extreme complexity of getting coverage for clients. They looked for ways to streamline that, which would free up time for agents to focus on clients’ needs.

TechFirst has built out a robust back-office process, partnering with more than 10 insurance providers. This allows them to be trusted advisors to businesses and families. One broker can address both business and personal needs. Also, they pledge to re-rate accounts every year to make sure their clients are getting the best coverage at the fairest price.