Category Archives: Women In Business

By Ann Donnelly

Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Business group is a valuable resource for women doing business in the Lake George region.

When I returned to upstate New York five years ago, participation in the group helped me quickly build connections and gain important information about the area and the best ways to do business here. So, in 2021, I took the group’s co-chair role to participate more actively and support the women working so hard on their careers while advancing the Lake George region.

Formed in 2012, the first co-chairs were Lynn Clausen, who worked at Dunhams Bay Resort, and Kathy Miller, owner of Love is on Lake George, still an active member. They spent the first meetings developing the mission, which we continue to adhere to today, “To inspire personal growth using our combined experiences and expertise to provide the tools to aid and encourage women in our region through networking, educating, and mentoring.”

All women who are Chamber members, or work for member organizations, including non-profit and commercial enterprises, are welcome to participate. In addition, those considering joining the Chamber may attend one meeting. Recent attendees have come from real estate, healthcare, business services, hospitality, leisure, retail, education, local agencies, healthcare, and membership organizations.

LGRCC Women in Business meets on the first Wednesday of each month from September through June. After 30 minutes of open networking, the meeting starts with “around the room,” where each attendee introduces herself, describes her business, and announces any news, promotions, or events. Attendees may also note any needs where others in the group could assist. Many members have developed valuable alliances from this.

Local principal broker and owner of EXIT Realty Empire Associates Jennifer Vucetic is  the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) president for 2022.

She was formally installed Feb. 7 by 2021 National Association of Realtor’s President Charlie Oppler as part of the organizations mid-winter business meetings. 

The celebration was held at the Crowne Plaza- Desmond Hotel in Albany.

Vucetic is a 2012 graduate of NYSAR’s Leadership Academy and a 2020 graduate of NAR’s Leadership Academy. She was named Realtor of the year in 2016 by the Greater Capital Association of Realtors, has served as local NS  NYS Women’s Council of Realtors president and regional vice president for the National Women’s Council of Realtors. 

Vucetic is also an 2019 Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC) Hall of Fame inductee, 2020 recipient of the Lawernce B. Caldwell RPAC Service Award and currently Region 2 RPAC trustee. She also has several professional real estate designations.

Glens Falls native Tyra (Lundgren) MacGuffie has returned home to become the new director of development for the Lake George Association.

MacGuffie, a 1985 graduate of Glens Falls Senior High School, joins the LGA after four years as director of advancement for Green Mountain Valley School, a premier ski academy in Waitsfield, Vt., that counts 26 Olympians among its alumni. In that role, she oversaw a $7 million capital campaign for the development of a world-class training and race venue.

MacGuffie said Lake George has never been far from her thoughts. She grew up spending summers on the Lake at a Route 9L camp that dates back to 1845 and was purchased by her grandparents, the late Thor and Donna Lundgren, in 1950. MacGuffie now co-owns the camp with other family members and visited regularly while living away.

“I am thrilled to join the LGA at a time when it is poised for tremendous growth and a significant acceleration of its Lake-protection capabilities,” MacGuffie said. “I am excited to be a part of an organization that has a mission I am passionate about, in a community that I respect and care for deeply, and where I feel a can make a significant contribution.”

MacGuffie’s accomplished development career in the nonprofit sector also includes 12 years in the state of Idaho as director of development for the independent Community School and for Higher Ground Sun Valley, an organization providing therapeutic recreation to individuals and veterans with physical and cognitive disabilities.

Prior to entering the development field, she served as soft-goods buyer and manager for a major outdoor recreation gear and apparel retailer with four locations in and around Sun Valley, Idaho. Her responsibilities included management of retail staff, communications and marketing, and special events planning.

By Christine Graf

Less than four years after establishing her first State Farm insurance office In Queensbury, agent Paula Traina is preparing to open a second office at 80 Warren St. in Glens Falls. 

Prior to becoming an independent agent, she held a corporate leadership position at State Farm. During her 14-year career with the company, she earned an M.B.A. as well as numerous professional certifications.

When the company consolidated operations and closed its corporate location in Malta, many Capital Region-based employees relocated to State Farm hubs in Atlanta, Dallas, or Phoenix. Traina was managing corporate training at the time, and instead of relocating, she decided the time was right to open her own independent State Farm office.

“I always knew I was going to go in this direction but didn’t want to do it until I felt professionally ready to do it,” she said. “I wanted to go through the leadership program at State Farm and get experience on that side before I wanted to risk my own finances. I’m now self-employed, so it was more of a financial undertaking to go from being a corporate employee to being independently owned and operated.”

State Farm was aware that Traina was interested and approached her when there was an opportunity in Queensbury.

SUNY Adirondack announced the appointment of Rachael Hunsinger Patten as the college’s chief advancement officer and executive director of the SUNY Adirondack Foundation.

Patten has nearly 30 years of experience in fundraising and higher education, including having served as executive director of Development, Alumni Relations and SUNY Adirondack Foundation from 2012 to 2018. 

“Rachael is a longtime regional resident with deep roots in the community and an inspiring history with SUNY Adirondack,” said Kristine D. Duffy, Ed.D., president of the college. “We’re excited for Rachael and her team to help us further develop relationships with area businesses, organizations, investors and alumni that will advance our strong network of donors in support of college needs.” 

As CAO, Patten is the college’s chief fundraising officer, developing long-range strategic leadership and daily administration of the Foundation, Development and Alumni Relations. She is responsible for fostering relationships to support college programs and initiatives.

“When I first started working here, it clicked,” Patten said. “It felt like home.”

A graduate of Ithaca College, Patten has dedicated her career to higher education and nonprofit organizations, including work at Skidmore College, Albany Law School and Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council (LARAC). At the latter, she said she fell in love with fundraising. 

By Susan Elise Campbell

The Spa Studio Adirondacks LLC has relocated to 420 Quaker Road in Queensbury, in a storefront of the building owned and occupied by Heber Travel.

Owner Erica Keays said the move “has been wildly successful.”

The COVID-19 pandemic caused Keays and her mother Sharon, co-owner, to rethink the spa they had started together in 2006. They decided to shut down two days before the state mandate that non-essential businesses like spas, salons and stylists close.

“Over the years we really grew and at one point the spa included a full hair salon,” she said. “We’ve moved before. But now it was time to downsize, help my mother transition to a quieter role, and take over the whole business.”

Keays is a licensed therapist and her mother, an aesthetician. The spa offers massage therapies, skin care facials and waxing services. Her sister, a nail technician, was brought in 10 years ago, so Keays calls the studio  “a family business.”

When the shutdown began, Keays wondered how they could offer hands-on services and comply with state guidelines.

By Lisa Balschunat

In September 2020, to assist small businesses affected by coronavirus restrictions, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration  invested $22.8 million through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding that created a revolving loan pool to help small businesses.

For the past six months, $2.94 million of those funds have been managed in the north country by the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board (LCLGRPB).

Planning Board Director Beth Gilles said there is plenty of money still available for small businesses in the eight-county area of Clinton, Essex, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Warren and Washington counties. Funds target working capital projects, equipment, and purchases related to COVID-19 issues, such as personal protective equipment (PPE) and facility upgrades.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners who may be retooling their business models could benefit from the CARES dollars.

“A restaurant owner who expanded seating with outdoor dining in the parking lot last summer might now decide permanent outdoor seating would be good for business. This loan program could cover that,” Gilles said.

Businesses can apply for a revolving loan fund from $25,000 to $150,000 at a fixed rate of 1.9 percent, with up to a seven-year term, with the first 12 months interest only. There is no application fee or closing costs and up to an 84-month loan term is available.

Gilles added, “program loan funds may not be used to pay off existing debt, refinance other loans, acquire a position in a business, investments, expansion of a business or personal expenses.”

Nancy Fuller, co-owner of Fountain Square Outfitters in Glens Falls, says it has been “an amazing opportunity” to be part of the downtown business community and to watch its growth,

She has seen new businesses come in, new apartments created and the Farmers’ Market bolstered. “It’s a really cool place to be,” she said.

Fountain Square Outfitters celebrates its 10th anniversary on April 22.

The store caters to hikers, bikers those who enjoy being outdoors. The stock is mostly clothing, offering a variety of brands, including Patagonia, with emphasis on the natural and ecologically minded. In fact, Patagonia was the inspiration for the store.

Fuller said they shopped at Patagonia stores when they travelled and thought that one would be a natural for Glens Falls. It turned out the company was not interested in opening a store, but was willing to have them carry the Patagonia line of outdoor clothing if they chose to open their own store.

The business opened in 2011. Except for her husband’s law practice, it was the first business venture for both of them.

By Susan Elise Campbell

Rebecca Wood was in her new position as resort president of Six Flags Great Escape Resort for only a year when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

“Like everyone else, we were in uncharted territory,” said Wood, who prior was director of marketing and sales for the Lake George theme park and lodge. “Last season, the whole world was experiencing something different.”

Wood’s immediate goal was to keep the staff together and safe, and she said not one full-time person had to leave their job. That was important because growing up she was an athlete who “sees the value of ‘team’ in whatever we do.”

The theme park closed in October 2019 for the season and the hotel was forced to close temporarily early in March 2020.

“There’s no playbook for COVID,” said Wood. “Our team controlled what was in our control and stayed focused on those things. Our rally cry was, don’t think about what we cannot do.”

But that is a difficult task when staff is worried about their health and safety.