December 21, 2008 04:08 am
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Bank appointments
PLATTSBURGH — Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Co. has announced the appointments in the Retirement Plan Services Dept. of Sheila E. Grant to vice president/retirement plan professional, and Valerie R. Smith to employee benefits officer and retirement plan documentation associate.
Grant joined Glens Falls National when the bank acquired U.S. Benefits Inc. from The Goldstein Law Firm, P.C., where she was an attorney since 2000. Prior to that, she was a legislative assistant to Elizabeth O'C. Little from 1996 until 1999.
She is a native of Keene Valley and a graduate of Keene Central School. She earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Plattsburgh State and a jurist doctorate degree cum laude from Albany Law School of Union College.
Smith comes to the bank with several years experience in employee benefits, holding positions with U. S. Benefits Inc. for five years and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. for three years.
A native of Moline, Ill., she is a graduate of Moline High School and previously attended Illinois State University in Normal, Ill.
Energy savings
SARANAC LAKE — Several North Country communities are drastically reducing electricity costs this holiday season by replacing their traditional incandescent lighting displays with LEDs. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode, the newest lighting technology on the market.
The Village of Saranac Lake replaced approximately 6,000 incandescent bulbs with the same number of commercial LEDs. The cost of replacing the bulbs was $6,420 while the savings on its electric bill this season will be about $6,500. Last year, Saranac Lake paid $7,137 to power its holiday display. This year, the village will pay an estimated $1,071. Saranac Lake will recoup its costs and come out ahead this holiday season.
Saranac Lake's mayor, Thomas Michael, has signed the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. The LED holiday lights will cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 32,500 pounds (16.27 tons annually and save the village a significant amount of money. Dozens of other energy saving projects are underway in Saranac Lake, which has partnered with NYSERDA's North Country Energy $mart Communities to become an Energy $mart Community.
Sleigh rides
LAKE PLACID — Horse-drawn sleigh rides are available beginning Friday and throughout the winter in Lake Placid through a joint venture by the Whiteface Club and Resort and the Ausable Equine Center.
"This is the opportunity for family and friends to go dashing through the snow this winter season with the beautiful backdrop of Whiteface Mountain. It won't be a one-horse-open sleigh, but I can guarantee a fun and memorable experience for the whole family," said Travis deValinger, managing partner of the Ausable Equine Center.
Rides will be offered on a 12-passenger sleigh pulled by a team of horses. The sleigh features drop-down wheels and a covered top to ensure comfort for all riders in various weather conditions. Thirty-minute rides will be available throughout this winter at the Whiteface Club Resort on a scenic, lantern-lit trail.
Headquartered in Keeseville, the Ausable Equine Center was approached by the Whiteface Club and Resort and tasked to provide unforgettable, horse-drawn experiences to the visitors who come to Lake Placid and Whiteface Mountain for their winter travels.
"We are absolutely thrilled with the opportunity to work with Travis and his organization in making this unique experience available for all to enjoy," said Mark Sperling, general manager of the club. "The Whiteface Club and Resort offers an unmatched venue for sleigh rides complete with Adirondack lean-tos, kerosene-lit lanterns, bonfires and a cozy Adirondack Pub for people to warm their insides as well as their outsides before and after the sleigh ride."
The Ausable Equine Center was able to purchase the equipment necessary to provide these rides through the assistance of the Adirondack Economic Development Corporation. "The mission of AEDC is to promote small businesses by local entrepreneurs and this loan hits that right on the mark," said Nicole Wright, senior lending officer. "It is very exciting for us to have the means available to support this type of venture. We were very impressed with the way they were able to capture their drive and passion and incorporate it into a sound business model."
Tech seminar
PLATTSBURGH — Westelcom Communications hosted a technical seminar at the North Country Chamber of Commerce on Dec. 5.
Present was Amit Patel, chief technical officer for Alcatel-Lucent, a partner of Westelcom. Patel spoke on "The Future of Telecommunications." His presentation focused on the rapidly changing trends in the telecommunications industry and how new IP and unified communication technologies will enable businesses to communicate more rapidly and efficiently in the next five years. His vision and presentation created a roadmap of how businesses could plan accordingly for the major changes expected in telecommunications.
Westelcom engineers and executives then provided specific presentations on Metropolitan Fiber Networks, Phone System Advances, Hosted Communications Services, Network Reliability, Network Security and Generating Value from your Network. A hands-on demonstration of Westelcom's Unified Communications System was also provided to attendees.
"We put this forum together to educate local IT professionals and business owners on how to plan and gain value in their telecommunications networks," Paul F. Barton, Westelcom's president, said. "We will continue on this path and we are committed to keeping our customers informed and showing them how to leverage new technologies to gain the most for their business." Westelcom also gave each attendee a free network evaluation for their business and has been asked to continue offering these educational opportunities.
New managers
PLATTSBURGH — Kymberlie A. Sweenor, MS RCEP, has been promoted to general manager of The Wellness Center.
She brings 10-plus years experience in clinical exercise programming to the staff as well as a variety of programming unique to the area. She has created and implemented a 12-week medical weight-loss program, the Buddy Challenge (our version of The Biggest Loser), which has seen great success in its first four sessions. She is also a Lebed certified instructor and is currently working to bring the program to the area.
The center also welcomes Ted Santinello, its new fitness director. He is a certified strength-and-conditioning specialist, coaches collegiate sports and teaches college courses at Plattsburgh State, as well as publishes a bi-weekly article in the Press-Republican. He is managing the sports leagues at The Wellness Center and is developing strength-and-conditioning clinics for the future.
Jamee Lynn Decker has also joined as the center's new member services director. Decker is an AFAA-certified group exercise instructor and personal trainer. She received her B.S. degree from Paul Smith's College and did master's studies at Plattsburgh State in Human Resource and Organizational Development.
Chamber dinner
PLATTSBURGH — The Plattsburgh-Clinton County Chamber of Commerce will hold its 97th Annual Dinner and Dance Friday, Jan. 23, at the SUNY Angell Center Ballroom.
Cocktails will be at 5:30 p.m. with a buffet dinner at 7 and dancing until 10.
The theme is Tropical Paradise. Attendees are urged to put on their grass skirt or Hawaiian shirt, sundress or Sunday best. The event features the presentation of the Annual Business Awards and the drawing of the annual raffle.
RSVP before Jan. 9 to save money. The cost is $37 per person by Jan. 9 and $47 per person after Jan. 9. Tables of eight or 10, as well as individual tables, are available.
E-mail Chamber@westelcom.com to RSVP and receive an invoice or call the chamber at 563-1000 for more information.
Attendees will dance to the tunes of Party Effects DJ Service courtesy of Stafford, Owens, Curtin & Trombley, PC.
The program is sponsored by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, HSBC Bank and Unicel.
Environmental initiative
LAKE PLACID — The Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort in Lake Placid recently has joined with the Adirondack Council and their Cool Park/Healthy Planet Carbon Retirement Program.
The program was created by the council to prevent thousands of tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted by power plants from Maine to Delaware. The Golden Arrow has committed to retire enough carbon credits to offset the total number of occupied room nights for the month of December. It is estimated that there is 100 lbs. of carbon emitted per room night. The Golden Arrow is hoping to retire more than 100 tons of carbon credits through this program. The goal is to make guests and the public know that they can really help to make a difference.
The Adirondack Council's program removes actual carbon credits that power companies in the Northeast must now purchase to give them the right to emit carbon. Through the program, these are now permanently retired, which is a huge benefit to the environment. The campaign prevents the emission of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide from existing power plants.
"This landmark Lake Placid hotel will wipe out its own carbon footprint for the month of December through our Cool Park/Healthy Planet program," said Adirondack Council Executive Director Brian L. Houseal. "Plus, it will help us to purchase and retire additional allowances, preventing even more carbon pollution in the future."
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is the first government-mandated carbon-dioxide-control program in the United States. It requires power-plant emissions reductions in New York and nine other Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.
"The Golden Arrow has committed to retiring enough credits to offset the carbon emitted per occupied guest room for the month of December," said Jennifer Holderied owner of the Golden Arrow. "So the more people who stay at the Golden Arrow this month, the more carbon credits that will be retired."
ANCA meeting
CHATEAUGAY — The Adirondack North Country Association hosted its Ag Energy Workshop and Annual Meeting on Oct. 30 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Chateaugay.
The workshop featured Commissioner Patrick Hooker, state Department of Agriculture and Markets, as keynote speaker. The ANCA Board of Directors' meeting took place after the workshop. In the annual reappointment of officers and appointment of new directors, Howard Lowe of Clinton County was appointed to the board. Don Caldera of Lake Placid will continue as president of the board.
ANCA's executive director, Terry Martino, said the program was timely because energy is a big factor in whether farm operations are profitable, and there are increasing concerns about the cost and availability of energy and fuel.
She said the program continues ANCA's partnership with the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, Heifer Project International and the Cooperative Extensions while making it possible for North Country farmers to hear from Commissioner Hooker.
The presenters told of their own experiences and provided information on how to improve energy efficiency, the benefits of on-farm energy site assessments, how to reduce energy usage, curb pollution, upgrade machinery and equipment, save money, and the pros of generating energy on the farm using wind, solar, fuel from animal and plant waste, geothermal and bio-fuels.
Crop diversification, net metering, forest management and locally grown foods were also topics of discussion. In combination, the speakers provided a farmer-to-farmer network that is increasingly important in ensuring the development of effective energy-saving strategies.
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