NNY Business October 2017

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Inside OCTOBER 2017

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COVER |

20 NEW LEADERSHIP Leadership institutes focus on growing the next generation of leaders to support tri-county development. |

BUSINESS BRIEFCASE |

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FEATURES |

14 LEADERSHIP AT SPCA Jefferson County SPCA’s new director works to break misconceptions about organization’s funding and structure.

12 NEW BUSINESS OPENS Potsdam Chamber of Commerce welcomes new boutique.

18 RISING JOBLESS RATE St. Lawrence County had the second-highest unemployment rate in August.

SMALL BIZ STARTUP | 13 BIG SPOON KITCHEN Newly opened catering and meal pick-up service focuses on food education for health.

42 NEW WINERY OPENS Retired educator opens winery in Norfolk following in family history.

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TOP TRANSACTIONS |

31 JEFFERSON COUNTY The top 10 property sales in Jefferson County topped more than $8.5 million in August. |

BUSINESS SCENE |

46 NETWORKING, NNY STYLE

From Jefferson to St. Lawrence counties, business professionals connect for success. |

ONLINE |

NNYBIZMAG.COM Connect with us online for daily updates, more photos and exclusive Web content.

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SMAL L BU SIN E SS S TA RT UP BUSINESS

Big Spoon Kitchen

Photography by: Chris Lenney

Big Spoon Kitchen co-owner Will Trithart has big plans for the unique north country culinary business that he and his mother, Rosemaria Rivezzi, have opened on Route 56 just outside Potsdam.

Nestled on a plot of former agriculture land next to a Raquette River tributary stream known as Parker’s Brook, the kitchen is just outside the village limits on outer Pierrepont Avenue near the SUNY Potsdam campus.

An 8-foot spoon carved from a local basswood tree hangs in the sky at roadside, making the establishment nearly impossible for passerby to miss.

It’s early on a Saturday morning and Mr. Trithart is already busy at work, chopping vegetables and baking deserts for an evening catering job at the Frederic Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg. Catering events, like the Harvest Moon Festival at the Remington, is just one facet of what Mr. Trithart and his mother hope to accomplish with their new culinary business, which is focused in part on promoting the use of local products.

“We want people to think more about food and what it means to our bodies, our families and our

communities,” Mr. Trithart said.

Big Spoon Kitchen offers catering, cooking classes and a meal pick-up service that Mr. Trithart hopes will ease the cooking burden of busy families while introducing people to healthy, delicious and simple recipes.

Those taking advantage of the service can order their meals between Wednesday and Sunday with a pick-up time on Tuesday between 3 and 6 p.m. The weekly menu offered will be based on what’s in season, and also what inspires the kitchen chefs, according to Mr. Trithart.

Menu offerings are likely to include healthy table fare like curries, stews, oven meals, sauces and grain salads, which people will order and prepay for prior to pick-up.

The meals will be made with fresh, local ingredients when possible, and will be picked up cold with directions for heating, serving and freezing options.

“We want to have a way for people to eat healthy and also not get stressed out about their meals for the week,” Mr. Trithart said. “We hope to give people 10 or 12 options of food that they can order in advance and that will work with their schedule and help them feel good about feeding their family.”

Ms. Rivezzi said the business’s long term goal is to be “a force in the community” that helps connect people to good food through preparing it, eating it and sharing it.

“We are envisioning a community around food, not necessarily gourmet, but wholesome and supportive of local growers and producers,” Ms. Rivezzi said.

“We want to encourage and give people the skill and confidence to include locally produced and seasonal foods into their kitchens. We want to bring people back to the table, cooking and eating together.

We want people to become excited about good food.”

In addition to catering and meal preparation, cooking classes for up to eight people will also be offered at Big Spoon Kitchen, according to Ms. Rivezzi.

She said people interested in taking a class can approach her or her son with an idea of what it is they would like to learn.

Or she said, simply let the Big Spoon Kitchen team take charge.

“We will offer classes in techniques we think people may like to learn, like knife skills, sous vide method for meats, three ways to use a certain vegetable, or how to break down a whole chicken,” she said.

“A boot camp for those new to cooking.” ~Story by: Larry Robinson

WHERE Potsdam, NY | OPENED May 2017 | WEB bigspoonpotsdam.com

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top priority for the newest executive director of the Jefferson County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 25056 Water St., is to educate the public about the mission and operation of the nonprofit organization.

“A lot of people have misconceptions about what the SCPA does, and how it functions,” said Heather L. Spezzano, who started in the position on Sept.

5. “Many people don’t realize that we receive no county, state or federal funding to operate the shelter.”

“We survive solely on local donations, fund-raisers and adoption fees,” she said.

Although the agency has “SPCA” in its

N N Y F E AT UR E name, it does not receive funding through the national organization ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

“We are not affiliated with them,” Mrs. Spezzano said.

The Jefferson County SPCA was founded in 1891 to help protect and care for domestic animals in Jefferson County.

It operates as a “no-kill” facility, accepting both dogs and cats, along with smaller animals such as bunnies or birds. It can accommodate up to 12 dogs and 40 cats.

The organization has a policy of spaying or neutering all dogs and cats prior to adoption. Adoption fees help to cover the cost of the surgeries.

The adoptions also include first vac-

cinations and worming, rabies vaccine if more than three months old, flea and ear mite check and treatment, a sample bag of Science Diet food, and a microchip for permanent identification.

Numerous veterinarians throughout Jefferson County also participate with the SPCA in offering a complementary first visit for an adopted animal.

Mrs. Spezzano has 15 years of experience managing local stores and businesses. She was instrumental in opening a pet adoption center at the Watertown Petco store, 21851 Towne Center Drive, a few years ago by working to secure $300,000 in grants and fundraising for the project.

“We need to educate people, and get out more in the public,” said

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2017 and Business Heather Spazzano, director of the Jefferson County SPCA, plays with puppies waitingOctober to be spayed neutered at the | facility.

AMANDA MORRISON n NNY BUSINESS Heather Spazzano, director of the Jefferson County SPCA, holds onto a puppy inside the dog kennel area at the facility.

N N Y FE AT U R E

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Mrs. Spezzano, who developed a love of animals while growing up on her family farm. “This is a safe haven to bring animals.”

She is working to revamp the agency’s website and Facebook page to ensure that animals needing adoption can be found quickly by potential owners. The organization recently put photos and information about six animals up for adoption on its Facebook page, and they were all adopted the same day, she said.

“I’m trying to be more efficient, and bring the SPCA into modern times,” she said. “There are a lot of opportunities out there for marketing.”

The organization recently created new public service announcements that will be aired on local television stations, and has ordered additional new collection banks to be placed at merchants throughout Jefferson County.

Another goal it to “clean, organize and update the shelter,” Mrs. Spezzano said.

The shelter itself is getting a muchneeded makeover, with the exterior being repainted and new signage for the front expected to arrive soon. New logo stickers have also been ordered to make the organization more identifiable, she said.

Inside the building, additional painting and cleaning is being done, and a new large play room has been created for all the kittens at the shelter.

“We’re trying to create a healthier, safer and better environment for the animals while they wait to be adopted,” she said.

“Sometimes we have long term residents, and we’re trying to make it more comfortable and less stressful for them as well.”

The SPCA is seeking a corporate sponsor to make an upfront donation that would allow the agency to waive adoption fees for those on limited incomes, including the elderly, she said.

“This would help free up more cages, and we wouldn’t have to turn people away,” Mrs. Spezzano said.

The nonprofit organization has received commitments from at least two businesses to help in modernizing the shelter.

NYTRIC Electrical Contractors, Watertown, has agreed to donate a new generator for the facility. The local Home Depot store has committed to donating material and labor to construct an outdoor walkway leading directly from the front office to the dog wing.

For more information: www.jeffersoncountyspca.org

COV E R STORY THE JEFFERSON LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE (JLI) Leadership in Jefferson County is cultivated through a program that has been in place since 1991. The Jefferson County Leadership Institute is a program that immerses participants in community issues through a 12 - session curriculum that enables the class to develop their leadership capabilities, build strongly bonded relationships and provide them with an understanding of how they can positively make a change in their communities.

This program was developed as leaders of that time recognized that the same few people were serving on many boards, and that major community decisions were being made by a very small group of people. Since the program’s creation, the same core values are instilled in participants, something that has maintained the growth of the institute.

“Now, in 2017 it’s essentially the same,” said Kylie Peck, president and CEO of the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber. “It’s something we really appreciate about the program because the heart of it has stayed the same. “ Each year, applications are made available and individuals are selected by their employers or other leaders in the community to submit for application. The institute has implemented a selection committee that reviews all the applications and, if needed, they will call on those applicants for an interview due to the high volume of applications.

“Each year we are very lucky to have such talented candidates brought forward that we always have a robust class with different levels of leadership. And I think that anybody can become a leader and that’s part of the program,” Mrs. Peck said.

She also explained that part of the chamber’s mission is to develop the area workforce and, most importantly, keep them local, and that JLI has provided the perfect avenue for this to take place.

“Each year we visit all the different industries in the area- nonprofits, manufacturing, economic development. A couple of years ago we implemented a construction day, which is such a huge piece of the north country. We have been fortunate that Barrett Paving gives a tour of their facility and takes them to their rock quarry, and this year we are looking to implement the (Department of Environmental Conservation) also,” Mrs. Peck said.

She continued that the DEC is a good fit for new curriculum because JLI works 22 | NNY Business | October 2017

to ensure that world issues are also included, with conservation being a huge piece of not only Jefferson County, but the world.

Class curriculums include an opening retreat, history from yesterday to today, business and the economy, communications in the 21st century, an inside look at government, healthcare in Jefferson County, education and lifelong learning, the nonprofits, Fort Drum, tourism and natural resources, leadership development and agriculture. Each class is held on one Friday a month for the whole day where students get hands-on experience and are able to learn from a panel of experts in that industry.

“Interests really change with the classes. I think everyone agrees that you don’t really fully understand what is going on in the county until you have the opportunity to go through JLI because it gives you an inside perspective of how things are working together, which is really interesting,” Mrs. Peck said.

A strong component to the JLI curriculum, that Mrs. Peck says is relatively new, is the final group project. Students of the class are required to develop a community service project that positively impacts a sector in Jefferson County. Most notably, in 2016 the graduating class joined forces to raise $25,000 dollars for the Community Action Planning Council’s ‘Bridges out of Poverty’ program.

“For that JLI class they really have something to be proud of. And they are going to continue it, that particular class is going to keep it going. They have developed a legacy,” Mrs. Peck said.

The Jefferson Leadership Institute has proven throughout the years to really instill leadership in its participants and that can be seen through individuals like Mrs. Peck, who graduated the program in 2013 and has continued her career as a strongly respected leader and dedicated citizen of Jefferson County. And the program continues to develop community connections, build strong bonds between business leaders and those who will take over these roles for the next generation of executives and who will work to better Jefferson County for generations to come.

“It’s truly a leadership program,” Mrs. Peck concluded. “It’s not just a good way to get to know your community. It’s a growth opportunity, it’s intense, and it’s a major commitment, but you’ll come out of the program feeling like a different person.”

AMANDA MORRISON n NNY BUSINESS Kylie Peck, President & CEO of the Greater Watertown North Country Chamber of Commerce, helps to coordinate the Jefferson Leadership Institute .

C O V E R S T O RY

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CHRISTOPHER LENNEY n NNY BUSINESS Joshua LaFave, the executive director of SUNY Potsdam’s Division of Graduate and Continuing Education is now working with St. Lawrence Leadership Institute.

COV E R STORY

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C O V E R S T O RY THE ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE Similar to that of the Jefferson Leadership Institute, the St. Lawrence Leadership Institute’s mission is to foster the development of emerging and existing leaders for the advancement of the St. Lawrence County and its communities. The primary program is a nine month series of classes held once a month on the first Thursday and provides valuable experiences for lifelong and longtime residents as well as newcomers to the area.

The program got its start in the early 1990’s under what was then called the Merwin Rural Services Institute, part of the research foundation at SUNY Potsdam.

According to SUNY Potsdam’s Division of Graduate and Continuing Education Executive Director Joshua LaFave, the goal back then, just as it is today, was to help foster leadership growth within professionals in the county.

“What are some of the things related to environmental issues, health issues, business issues, so that we, being the institute, could help us grow civically engaged citizens who wanted to make a change for the better- whether it was city offices, town offices, serving on boards for nonprofits, etc.,” LaFave said.

The program after its initial creation later moved to Cornell Cooperate Extension of St. Lawrence County, and was there for a number of years until it again moved to the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce around 2009 under the direction Pat McGowen, who was the executive director.

She gained the designation of a 501(c)(3)

and LaFave says she is the one who “really worked tirelessly in the county to make sure we had something for future leaders.”

“What’s really exciting about it is that we have kept the roots of what this program was intended to be and who it is for,” LaFave said. “We are able to add a lot of the resources that are available at our disposal at SUNY Potsdam because we are an institute of higher learning, and it is many different things.”

And according to LaFave, that is just the beginning.

This is the first time since the program has been held since 2011 and since the program is now housed on SUNY Potsdam’s campus students can tap into faculty experts in the fields they are learning about and access to library resources.

“We are even able to offer unique opportunities, such as offering college credit for those who want to pursue that path, because of the leadership program,” LaFave said.

But while the program is housed on campus, and the college resources are available to students, LaFave wants everyone to understand that the curriculum is not about leadership theory and constructing formal hypothesis. It’s about focusing on the individual and how they can grow personally and professionally to enhance St. Lawrence County.

“We are doing 360-degree assessments.

We are talking about everyday leadership, which is the theme of the first month; talking about helping us grow through studying emotional intelligence and its impact on how they can be successful at

work; looking at the issue of organizational change and the concepts of change; we will be doing a thing called strengths quest, who we are when we are at our best and how do we leverage that. So we really do cover everyday leadership and break down those walls,” he said.

Students are not just limited to those who are currently employed. This year, the program has students who are retired and are seeking to grow their expertise and become more engaged with the community- the core of the program’s mission.

“It’s exciting. I think that mix is what is important, or the value of the institute, because of the networking and the learning with each other is a big part of the whole process,” LaFave said. “Content is content, issues are issues, but bringing people together to talk about them just takes everything to a new level.”

The institute has held its first class, with 18 participants who are excited and eager to learn, according to LaFave. He himself is a graduate of the program, and says that being a part of it again has him reflecting on the positive impacts it made in his own life.

“I would tell anyone who is interested, whether it is in Jefferson County or here, challenge yourself to grow not just in terms of leadership but to know what is going on around you, especially young professionals, because we are the ones who need to make sure that this home that we all claim to know and love is around and thriving in the future. These institutes are a prime example of how we can all do that together,” he said.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

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COV E R STORY LEWIS COUNTY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY For Lewis County the Leadership Academy is back after taking a year break as new executive leadership moved into the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce, where the program is housed. The academy, again similar to its neighboring counties, is a preparatory course for individuals interested in becoming community leaders, whether it is in business, notfor-profits, municipal or volunteerism.

“There was a perceived lack of new leaders stepping into leadership roles in civic organization, elected positions, and important service committees,” said Kristen Aucter, executive director of the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce. “There was also an age factor as many of the leaders filling these roles were becoming no longer available. By starting the academy, it was an excellent way to recruit new leaders and align more citizens with the big picture of Lewis County.”

The Academy is open to anyone from emerging to advanced leaders interested in honing their leadership skills. It helps to encourage young professionals to stay in Lewis County and hone in on their skills that will better the county throughout the generations by motiving their

employees and promoting community engagement.

Bill Waite, an alumni of the academy and member of the steering committee, says that “The more you understand about the demands of leadership and how the community views those roles, it makes the jobs more fulfilling.”

“Lewis County does an excellent job of building up our young people with excellent schools and involved parents.

Unfortunately, once they go off to college, they often do not come back. The people who do come back here to live and raise a family here need to be prepared to step into leadership roles of all types. Leadership opportunities exist everywhere,” he said.

And this is the core of the program; retention and development of the talents found within Lewis County.

“The program helps them in obtaining a new peer network; future leaders will walk away with enriched leadership skills such as decision-making, innovation, negotiation and change management. They will also better understand interpersonal styles to recognize how interactions can influence one another in the work setting and in the success of the community as a whole,” said Aucter.

Participants in the program get to experience Lewis County in a way that they may not have before. They are provided the tools to identify the strengths of the community as well as its weaknesses. To meet this goal, the academy has partnered with many agencies and organizations who present to the participants once a month. These businesses include Lewis County Historical Society, Oswegatchie Educational Center, Mennonite Heritage Farm, Lewis County Sheriff’s Department, New York State Court System, Watertown Daily Times, Lewis County Opportunities, Beaver River Central School, Lewis County Industrial Development Agency, Volunteer Transportation Center, Lewis County General Hospital and more.

“We want to touch base on as many different aspects of the county we can,” said Aucter. “Rural communities like ours can benefit immensely from leaders staying and working in the community. The same skills used to increase success in their professional life can be utilized to successfully solve intricate, multidimensional problems found in our community. If we are losing the leaders, then we are losing potential solutions to make our county better than it is.”

DAYTONA NILES n NNY BUSINESS The first day of school at Jefferson Community College.

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PHOTO PROVIDED BY LEWIS COUNTY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

CHRISTIAN K. LEE n NNY BUSINESS

Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce Kristen Aucter.

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PHOTOS BY AMANDA MORRISON

2 0 QU E STIONS

A YOUNG LEADER RETURNS HOME

R

yan Piche recently began his position as Lewis County manager. NNY Business sat down with the 28-year-old professional to discuss his return to the area and potential challenges he may face in the new job.

NNYB: You’ve spent the past several years in Albany and the Midwest. What brought you back to the north country?

PICHE: I always wanted to return to the north country. This is home; this is where I grew up.

My goal, from day one when I went out and got my education and went out and tried to get the best experience that I could, my goal was always to come back here. This is my home and this is where I want to be.

NNYB: You were a city manager in Michigan before joining Lewis County. Is there much difference overseeing a county versus a city?

PICHE: There is. At the city level you’re dealing more with infrastructure issues, so we’re talking more about sidewalks and water lines and sewer lines and parks and public safety and those types of things. But, at the end of the day, we’re still a community service-based organization, we’re still government, we’re still reporting to an elected board and we’re still working for the people. So, the foundations of what we do are very similar.

NNYB: What immediate task or tasks did you

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n Adams Center native comes back to north country to lead Lewis County. undertake to get acclimated to county government?

PICHE: Well, I was familiar with county government. I worked in the Schenectady County manager’s office for just under two years when I was doing my graduate degree. And I have quite a bit of experience working with county government. The main difference is: We’re talking more at the county level about human services and big picture things where, like I said, at the municipal level you’re more talking about cracks on somebody’s sidewalk in front of their house.

So, equally important things, but just the scale is a bit different.

NNYB: Budget discussions for 2018 are already under way. Are there any obvious challenges in preparing your first budget?

PICHE: Yes. The challenge every year is to continue to exist as a county in New York state.

The challenges for counties that come down from the state of New York are real, and they make budgeting extremely difficult. We have done a great job in Lewis County in maintaining good financial health and a good job of keeping property taxes down, and allowing Lewis County to be an affordable place for people to live. But it becomes more and more difficult with more state mandates and more require-

ments that the state puts on the counties every year. So, every year is going to be a challenge when it comes to budget.

NNYB: Sheriff Michael Carpinelli has told legislators that his department is short-staffed.

Is there an opportunity in the budget to address these concerns?

PICHE: Unfortunately, I think you could go department by department throughout the county – most counties in New York state – department by department and you would find that there are serious needs that need to be addressed. We do the best we can with the resources that we have. Certainly, we’re looking at those requests for this budget year. We want to give our guys on the road every resource that they need, but it’s challenging and we haven’t quite got that figured out yet.

NNYB: The county has oversight of Lewis County General Hospital, which is on solid financial footing. Is there anything the county needs to do to make sure that stability continues?

PICHE: The hospital has done a wonderful job recently of getting their financial house in order. I was just at a hospital finance meeting just before I came here and it was all good news.

2 0 Q U E S T I O NS The Ryan Piche File AGE: 28 JOB: Lewis County manager FAMILY: Single HOMETOWN: Adams Center EDUCATION: Bachelor’s in English literature and economics, Lemoyne College, Syracuse; master’s in public administration, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at SUNY Albany.

CAREER: Village administrator, Botkins, Ohio; city manager, Caro, Mich.

LAST BOOK YOU’VE READ AND WOULD RECOMMEND: “Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson

They’ve got a wonderful new CEO (Gerald R. Cayer) over there and the board of managers is doing a good job keeping them going in the right direction, so I’m extremely optimistic about the future of the hospital. It’s extremely important to Lewis County.

NNYB: The county has a solar project under way. How should that benefit the county and the hospital?

PICHE: The solar project is really exciting.

Lewis County actually has been very committed to green energy projects. We received the first Clean Energy Community designation in the whole north country from NYSERDA just last month. We take green energy as the opportunity that it is, and have been truly invested in growing that in our community. The solar project that we’re working on right now should be a win-win for everybody. It should lower some of our energy costs and is just another example of the type of investments that our Board of Legislators has been looking to capitalize on.

NNYB: The county sponsors bus service from Lowville to Utica with stops at SUNY Polytechnic Institute and Mohawk Valley Community College. What is the purpose of these runs?

PICHE: In Lewis County, we have a challenge of being large geographically, but a sparse population. We have 27,000 residents spread out across a county that’s 57 miles tip-to-tail. That’s a challenge and it’s particularly a challenge for mobility. So, providing our residents with an opportunity to get to those larger markets, particularly for students to get to education destinations, is going to be huge for the growth of our community. If our people can’t get educated and get to where they need to be, then I think we’re going to have problems. It’s a no-brainer to make those investments and try to get the students to where they need to go. I would add that, starting next month, we are going to have broadband – high-speed internet modems – on our buses. So you can be on your smart phone,

your laptop, and do your homework to and from the college.

NNYB: The county recently began a similar bus service to Jefferson Community College in Watertown. How much is that being used and why is this a positive development for the community?

PICHE: I believe the first week we had about 10 students using it every day. We’re hoping the more people realize it’s there, the more it will catch on. It’s only a dollar for students and even nonstudents; it’ll take you right into Watertown for the day. So it’s a great opportunity. We’ve pushed out a good marketing campaign for it, so we hope there’s an opportunity for it to grow. It gives us access to higher education, or courses, that aren’t available here. It’s important that we continue to educate our students and educate our workforce so that they have opportunities here in Lewis County We want them to be able to feel that there is a future here.

We feel we’re trying to go the extra mile to get them to and from the education they need to be productive members of our workforce in Lewis County.

NNYB: JCC has proposed an extension center in Lewis County, although plans have been put on hold due to funding issues. Is the county still committed to this?

PICHE: We are 100 percent committed to this. In fact, there are few projects that I’ve worked on that I’m more excited about than the potential partnership with JCC. Lewis County’s in a unique position because, like I said, we have a large area with a sparse population. The only way higher education, or continuing education, is going to work in Lewis County is if it’s a collaborative effort. What’s so exciting about this extension center is that it has to be a collaboration with BOCES, JCC, Cornell Cooperative Extension and other workforce partners in the county. It has a real opportunity to be something special that other places don’t have. We’re thrilled about it, we’re 100 percent committed, we continue work with (JCC President Ty Stone) and the staff at JCC, and I’m optimistic that we’ll get something going.

NNYB: The Kraft Heinz plant expansion has taxed the water supply of Lowville and some surrounding communities. Is there a resolution at hand?

PICHE: I think you need to look at the shortterm and the long-term. The short-term, yes, the village has handled the situation, they’ve brought on board a temporary mobile watertreatment plant that will allow them to temporarily get their water levels back up to where they need to be. That’s the short run. In the long run, there needs to be a lot more thought October 2017 | NNY Business

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