{"id":38658,"date":"2025-11-18T13:11:39","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T18:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=38658"},"modified":"2025-11-18T13:32:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T18:32:07","slug":"at-annual-luncheon-edc-warren-county-stakes-future-on-water-science-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/11\/at-annual-luncheon-edc-warren-county-stakes-future-on-water-science-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"At Annual Luncheon EDC Warren County Stakes Future On Water Science Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_38659\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38659\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-38659\" src=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2025\/11\/edc-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2025\/11\/edc-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2025\/11\/edc.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-38659\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">EDC President Jim Siplon addresses attendees at the 2025 annual luncheon in Lake George.<br \/>Courtesy EDC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Economic Development Corporation of Warren County (EDC) used its Annual Luncheon on Oct. 27, 2025, to reaffirm its commitment to a place-based economic-development strategy and to announce a significant new initiative: the formation of a steering committee charged with guiding the creation of a national Fresh Water Center. The goal of the center is to harness the expertise developed at Lake George and position the region as a leader in research, education and commercialization of freshwater protection.<\/p>\n<p>The event, held before a full house at the Carriage House at the Fort William Henry Hotel, recognized outgoing board chair Dr. Kristine D. Duffy for emphasizing the importance of creating a \u201clong-term sustainable economy.\u201d Incoming chair Melanie Weber also assumed her new role. Moderator Ryan Moore and EDC President Jim Siplon highlighted recent development successes, including the Glens Falls Downtown Revitalization Initiative, which leveraged nearly $50 million from a $10 million state award. Other achievements included expanding Warren County\u2019s broadband access from 75 percent to more than 95 percent and stimulating private development in North Creek through installation of a new wastewater system.<\/p>\n<p>The luncheon\u2019s theme of place-based growth was underscored by keynote speaker Greg Tehven, CEO and co-founder of Emerging Prairie and board chair of Grand Farm in Fargo, N.D. Tehven described how Fargo transformed its economy by embracing its local assets and becoming an innovation hub for agricultural technology. A fifth-generation North Dakotan, he urged attendees to be bold and action-oriented, attributing Fargo\u2019s success to its \u201cworld-class public education and world-class health care.\u201d Tehven challenged the audience to \u201cdeclare your major, go public, and invite the world,\u201d and emphasized supporting artists who \u201cdrive creativity and ego,\u201d praising the local arts community.<\/p>\n<p>Siplon closed the program with the anticipated announcement of the Fresh Water Center Steering Committee. Initial members include Siplon; Dr. Martin A. Schmidt, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI); Dr. John E. Kelly III, co-founder of the Jefferson Project; and Dr. Brendan Wiltse, executive director of the Lake George Association (LGA). The committee will also seek participation from New York State and regional business and elected leaders.<\/p>\n<p><b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><span class=\"s2\"><!--more--><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/b>The steering committee\u2019s mission is to build broad support for an actionable plan to establish the center near Lake George. It will include:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 A world-class scientific research facility<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 An entrepreneurial center to help launch water-related business ventures<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 A learning center to educate residents and visitors<\/p>\n<p>This initiative builds on the work of the Jefferson Project, LGA, RPI and the EDC of Warren County. Siplon said it is \u201cshameful that we have the best knowledge of how to protect fresh water in the world and have yet to create a company that shares it \u2014 and profits from it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He argued that the center is needed because no formal economic-development channel exists to capture and share the region\u2019s unique knowledge, data and solutions. He said that expertise has global value and market potential in a world facing growing fresh-water challenges. The center aims to foster a new, investable industry aligned with the community\u2019s strengths, creating jobs the region is well-positioned to fill.<\/p>\n<p>RPI President Marty Schmidt said RPI is \u201cexcited to join this effort to create a Fresh Water Center as a catalyst for economic development in the region,\u201d noting its alignment with RPI\u2019s strategic plan, RPI Forward. Jefferson Project co-founder John Kelly said he was \u201cthrilled to see that our world-class science will now spur business innovation and economic development.\u201d LGA Executive Director Brendan Wiltse added that the new center builds on Lake George\u2019s legacy as a proving ground and positions the region as a global leader in safeguarding this vital resource.<\/p>\n<p>Siplon concluded by defining the county\u2019s \u201cmajor\u201d: \u201cOur major is protecting that \u2014 and figuring out how to add back to the texture of our economy and sustainable community for generations to come.\u201d He called on the business community to join \u201can audacious journey,\u201d saying, \u201cI\u2019m asking you all to participate in that process with me \u2014 whether with your time, talent, or treasure. We\u2019re going to do this together.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Economic Development Corporation of Warren County (EDC) used its Annual Luncheon on Oct. 27, 2025, to reaffirm its commitment to a place-based economic-development strategy and to announce a significant new initiative: the formation of a steering committee charged with guiding the creation of a national Fresh Water Center. The goal of the center is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":38671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>At Annual Luncheon EDC Warren County Stakes Future On Water Science Strategy - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/11\/at-annual-luncheon-edc-warren-county-stakes-future-on-water-science-strategy\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"At Annual Luncheon EDC Warren County Stakes Future On Water Science Strategy - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Economic Development Corporation of Warren County (EDC) used its Annual Luncheon on Oct. 27, 2025, to reaffirm its commitment to a place-based economic-development strategy and to announce a significant new initiative: the formation of a steering committee charged with guiding the creation of a national Fresh Water Center. The goal of the center is [&hellip;]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/11\/at-annual-luncheon-edc-warren-county-stakes-future-on-water-science-strategy\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-18T18:11:39+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-18T18:32:07+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2025\/11\/edc-fi.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"683\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"356\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/11\/at-annual-luncheon-edc-warren-county-stakes-future-on-water-science-strategy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2025\/11\/at-annual-luncheon-edc-warren-county-stakes-future-on-water-science-strategy\/\",\"name\":\"At Annual Luncheon EDC Warren County Stakes Future On Water Science Strategy - 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