By Paul Post
Bamboo plants take years to get established, but shoots that finally emerge can grow 35 inches per day until soaring to almost 50 feet high within two months’ time. Queensbury Hotel partners Zach Moore and Tyler Herrick do business the same way, by planting seeds of success whose results might take several years to fully realize.
“It’s kind of like that analogy,” Moore said. “You bring people here, they experience America from our town, then they go back. It creates little seeds that grow.”
Their hotel recently hosted a delegation of government, business and civic leaders from Saga City, Japan, as part of a 35-year “Sister City” relationship with the City of Glens Falls.
It began in 1988, two years after local hot air balloonists traveled to Japan for the Saga International Balloon Fiesta.
“An idea was proposed, a vision was seen, a relationship developed and a commitment was made to people, programs and ideas,” Glens Falls Mayor Bill Collins said. “Our cities have many things in common. Both cities have similar industries, like paper mills, and our economies have experienced growth. Both cities have an appreciation for history as well as education. Both cities host high school sports tournaments, and of course, both cities are involved with balloon festivals.”
Connections between the two cities have produced long-lasting friendships, cultural awareness and educational opportunities. Such associations quite often lay the foundation for trade and creative new business ventures, also.
“You never can tell,” said Tim Drawbridge, city communications director. “You know how economic development goes. You see something in a different part of the U.S. and that idea comes home with you. Maybe it’s a new kind of shopping mall design or different ideas with food; transcending ideas back and forth.”
