PUBLISHER'S WORD

Finding the leadership moment

In my recent interview for Syracuse Woman Magazine, Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon II spoke of looking for “a leadership moment” - an opportunity, when the community is in crisis, to show courage and conviction and effectively lead your constituents to a brighter outcome. McMahon would be the first to say that a global pandemic is more of a leadership moment than he bargained for, but nonetheless, he rose to the occasion. In his near-daily briefings during the onset of the pandemic and during the tragic second surge he spoke candidly about the county’s data-driven approach to pandemic policy making.

He recognized the community’s anxieties and challenges, and modified the tone of his briefings to reflect what the community needed to hear - whether that was empathy, encouragement, or just brutal honesty. Even when his own health faltered under the stress of this massive responsibility, he gave the impression that he was in full command. Onondaga County has fared better than most large counties in New York, at least in part because our county leadership has been focused on a singular mission - defeating the virus and setting the stage for economic recovery.

For Josh Newfield, his leadership moment came when his son, Benjamin, was born two months premature. After Benjamin spent 32 days in the neonatal intensive care unit at Crouse Hospital, Newfield combined his love of running with his newfound passion for the neonatal unit. He recently completed his first ultramarathon, and plans to run races of 50 miles and 100 kilometers (62.1 miles) to raise awareness and funds to benefit the facility.

No one goes through life crisis-free. At some point in our lives, we will all have the opportunity to face a leadership moment - whether that be in our homes, in our careers or in any other arena. The question is, how will you react when your leadership moment arrives? For Ryan McMahon and Josh Newfield, they reacted in extraordinary ways. I hope you enjoy their stories.

Also in this edition…

Each June, Syracuse Woman Magazine turns its focus to a few men who are doing interesting or extraordinary things in our community. As we come out of our 14-month shroud, it seems appropriate to share the stories of people who have used the past year to build businesses and products that are ready to blossom in the post-pandemic world.

Michael Spicer developed his taste for the maple syrup business as a fifth grader, and now, at age 23, he is in his third year of owning and operating Cedarvale Maple Farm in the aptly named Pleasant Valley just east of Marcellus. His is the story of a young entrepreneur who was just getting his business off the ground when the pandemic began. Read about the changes he’s made to keep his business growing, beginning on page 34.

We also meet the man behind one of the best developments in recent years in downtown Syracuse - the launch of the new full-service grocery store. Jeremy DeChario manages the new Syracuse Food Co-op, which opened earlier this year in the Salt City Market on South Salina Street, adding a full-service grocery to an area that has seen explosive residential growth in recent years. His story begins on page 30.

We hope our readers enjoy this once-a-year departure from our primary mission - telling the stories of Central New York’s remarkable women. We will return to that in our July, with an edition celebrating entertainment, food and summer in Central New York.

Enjoy! David Tyler

SyracuseWomanMag.com contact@syracusewomanmag.com

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Alice G. Patterson David Tyler CONTRIBUTORS

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Cover photo by Alice G. Patterson

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