Community Bank has hired Jamison Flora as senior vice president, business banking sales manager. He will lead a team of business banking relationship managers in cultivating and expanding financial service relationships with businesses, according to the bank. Flora is a 20 year-veteran of business banking. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University at...
Tiki Tours Adds Boat To Its Fleet On Lake George As Demand For Its Services Grows
Courtesy Tiki Tours
Tiki Tours has added a new 30-foot tiki pontoon boat to its fleet.
The second boat allows Tiki Tours to offer more trips to meet the growing demand for unique experiences for family reunions, wedding parties, corporate outings, birthday celebrations, and more.
The spacious vessel, with a capacity for 16 people (and dogs), also adds a new level of comfort to the tours on Lake George, company officials said.
Tiki Tours and the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 18 at the dock behind Lake George Beach Club at 3 Montcalm St. in Lake George.
“Tiki Tours has seen tremendous growth in the last few years and is excited to add another vessel on Lake George. To offer fun experiences for visitors and residents gives our team great pleasure,” said Tiki Tours co-owner Gregory Teresi. “We are grateful for the unwavering support of the George Beach Club, the Village of Lake George, the Lake George Park Commission, Adirondack Trust Co. and the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce.”
BG Auto Keys In Queensbury Can Replace Lost Car Keys And Fobs On The Spot
Courtesy BG Auto Keys
By Susan Elise Campbell
People who lose car keys on the golf course or at the beach or campgrounds that are miles from home can now get help from BG Auto Keys in Queensbury.
The company operates a mobile van that serves the North Creek area and Adirondacks down to Saratoga Springs, bringing the right equipment to copy keys or reprogram fobs, according to the company’s founder Brian Granger.
“We’re not only faster but also cheaper than going to a dealership,” he said.
Granger is a lifelong resident of Queensbury who has two other businesses based in the community. More than 21 years ago he founded BG Lender Services, an automobile repossession company that serves 500 to 600 clients per month. He sells some of the repossessed cars though BG Auto Auction and others online, he said.
His son Quinn is running, managing and growing the business for BG Auto Keys, Granger said,
“He has been making keys since he was 13 years old,” he said
State Seeks Applications For Downtown Revitalization, ‘NY Forward’ Program Funds
New York state has $200 million in funding available through the State’s two signature downtown revitalization and economic development programs— $100 million each for Round 7 of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and Round 2 of the NY Forward program, which focuses on revitalizing smaller and rural downtowns.
This year’s funding brings the total amount of state investment across all rounds of the programs to $1 billion since 2016. Together, the two programs have awarded $800 million in funding to 93 communities across every region of the state.
Applications are available on the Downtown Revitalization Initiative website (www.ny.gov/programs/downtown-revitalization-initiative ) and the NY Forward website (www.ny.gov/programs/ny-forward).
The deadline to apply is Sept. 29 at 4 p.m.
“These two programs have created a wave of revitalization that is sweeping across the state with no signs of slowing,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “The programs are not only reinvigorating downtowns, but they are also making our regions and the state as a whole a world-class destination for businesses, families and tourists. The programs are fulfilling the original vision for the DRI of creating a critical mass of vibrant downtowns of all shapes, sizes and characters in each region to entice businesses to invest and locate in New York state.”
New York Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez said, “An investment in a downtown is an investment in economic development, quality of life, sustainability and housing that will multiply and generate dividends for years to come. Every dollar we commit through our successful DRI and New York Forward programs leverages multi-fold additional investments, in addition to supporting local governments and existing area businesses by attracting more people, families and businesses that provide a variety of amenities and jobs to the area.
Lake George Boat Tour Business Operator Brings The Experience To Saratoga Lake
Paul Post
By Paul Post
Some people are fascinated by notorious underworld figures such as Lucky Luciano who hung out at the casino nightclub where world-famous entertainer Bing Crosby performed.
Others simply like to hang out with friends, take a swim or experience the thrill of being towed behind a powerful boat on an oversized fun tube.
These are some of the options Daleys Adventure Boat Tours offers with a new service on Saratoga Lake.
“I grew up on this lake,” said Mechanicville native and company owner Don Daley. “When I was 14 or 15, my uncle had a camp right down the road … We spent our summers here on Saratoga Lake.”
In 2016, three years into retirement, Daley founded Lake George Island Boat Tours, telling guests about the lake’s history.
“Eventually people wanted to go swimming, cliff jumping or tubing so we turned it into an adventure,” he said. “Out of 45 tours on Lake George, we’ve been the number-one tour on TripAdvisor for four of the past eight years. The difference between us and other operators is that we customize tours. We let people do whatever they want.”
This year, Daley expanded his company to Saratoga Lake.
‘Ice Castles’ Group Will Replace It This Winter With Newly Designed ‘Winter Realm’ Event
Courtesy Ice Castles
By Paul Post
Ice Castles is planning major changes to its Lake George operation in response to mild, climate-change conditions that pose a major challenge to every winter sports and tourism-related business.
Officials said more than 60,000 people visited the frosty attraction during its inaugural run two years ago at Charles R. Wood Park’s Festival Commons. But attendance declined during last year’s shortened season, caused by warm, rainy weather that hit 60 degrees in February.
Instead of a large castle, with up to 35-foot high walls, crawl spaces and icy slides, plans call for a large glycol-cooled skating rink surrounded by colorful light installations, a Polar Pub ice bar and a variety of ice sculptures.
The newly designed attraction will be called Winter Realm.
“Mother Nature hasn’t been very kind to us the past two winters in Lake George, but we’re willing to return because of the overwhelming support from the community, the county, the village of Lake George and all the citizens in the area as well,” said Brad Buehlhorn, Ice Castles East Coast operations manager. “We’ve always received a very warm welcome. That’s the primary reason we’re returning to Lake George this season with a revamped concept. We have experienced more cooperation and collaboration with local officials and businesses than we’ve had in almost any destination we’ve worked with.”
Stewart’s Shops, Dake Family Donate $25K To The Hyde To Support Education Programs
Courtesy The Hyde
The Hyde Collection has received funding from a long-time supporters of the arts community and museums—Stewart’s Shops and The Dake Family.
Representatives from Stewart’s Shops recently visited The Hyde in Glens Falls to present a donation of $25,000 that will fund the 2023 educational offerings.
As lead education sponsors for the season, Stewart’s Shops and The Dake Family are the signature underwriters of the overall programming calendar for 2023, which is designed to offer enriching opportunities to all guests, from children and families to art enthusiasts of all interests.
Kate Wilkins, director of development at The Hyde Collection said, “Our educational programs affirm The Hyde’s commitment to enriching the lives of children of all ages and backgrounds throughout our region, and we are thrilled to celebrate Stewart’s Shops and The Dake Family as champions of these efforts.”
“Stewart’s Shops is committed to supporting and giving back to all our Shops’ communities,” said Susan Dake, president of Stewart’s Foundation. “We are proud to be supporting the educational programs at the Hyde Collection which provide opportunities for local children and families to participate in painting and performing arts classes. At Stewart’s, we like to say the arts are an important part of all of us.”
Glens Falls Native Moves His PSG Golf Business To Maple Avenue In Saratoga
©2023 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Christine Graf
Less than one year after Glens Falls native Mike Gerarde established PSG Golf, he and partner Jeff Boss have opened an indoor golf facility at 615 Maple Ave., Suite 2, in Saratoga Springs.
PSG Golf offers golf lessons to students of all ages and skill levels, and their new facility features two golf simulators, a TopGolf simulator, an indoor putting and chipping green, and a bar.
Before opening his own facility, Gerarde taught lessons at the Luxury Box in Queensbury.
Gerarde began playing golf about 10 years ago while a student at Syracuse University. After graduating and joining his family’s payroll company, Keena Staffing, he found himself entertaining clients on the golf course.
“The connections you create through the golf course are invaluable, and that’s how I got the idea to start a golf lessons business,” said Gerarde. “A lot of people that I worked with or that I knew didn’t want to get out on the golf course because they thought they weren’t good enough.”
After becoming certified as a golf teacher, he established PSG Golf in July 2022. The business is named in honor of his father, Paul Stephen Gerarde, who passed away when Gerarde was 10.
Gerarde also previously taught lessons at Tarks Indoor Golf Center Saratoga. He then partnered with Jeff Boss, a Capital Region native who has been golfing since he was 10.
“Jeff is a tremendous golfer,” said Gerarde. “He was an accountant in Albany, and when I started the lessons business, he wanted to join.”
AngioDynamics Sells Two Of Its Product Lines To Merit Medical Systems In Utah
AngioDynamics, which has manufacturing plants in Queensbury and Lake George, has sold its dialysis and BioSentry biopsy product lines to Merit Medical Systems of Utah.
The sale price was reportedly $100 million in cash.
The sale includes Angio’s DuraFlow, DuraMax and other dialysis catheter brands as well as its BioSentry lung biopsy system. Angio had acquired BioSentry for $39.8 million from Surgical Specialties of Westwood, Mass., in 2018.
AngioDynamics is a medical device maker.
ARCC And Veterans Group To Hold Suicide Prevention Walk In Glens Falls City Park
Courtesy ARCC
The Veterans Business Network (VBN) of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) is again hosting the Veteran Suicide Awareness & Prevention Walk in downtown Glens Falls on Wednesday, Sept. 13, beginning in downtown Glens Falls City Park.
The event will be held rain or shine.
Veteran resource booths open at 3:30 p.m. Walk participants will convene at 4 p.m. at the City Park gazebo for a brief greeting. The walk will begin promptly at 4:22 p.m. and end at 4:46 p.m. at the starting point. Each registered participant must donate a minimum $1 per person at the time of event.
After brief greeting remarks, participants will walk a circuit around Downtown Glens Falls for 22 minutes in remembrance of those lost and to raise awareness of the need for prevention.
In 2021, the VBN partnered with the VFW Post 2475 to organize what was then known as the Stop 22 Walk, an initiative, started in 2018 between the Department of NY Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the health care company Humana, to increase awareness of Veterans committing suicide.