NNY Business October 2014

B

Y usIness // THE EDUCATION ISSUE

OCTOBER 2014 Volume 4 No. 11

nnybizmag.com

***

THE INTERVIEW

Jeff-Lewis BOCES Superintendent Stephen J. Todd

p. 26

TAKING the REINS at SUNY AS NEW LEADERS IN ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY SETTLE IN, PLANS TO GROW COLLEGES UNFOLD $2.95

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Inside OCTOBER 2014 15 16

>>

44 |

COVER STORY |

16 FORGING A FUTURE With new presidents at SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Canton, plans to grow are on tap. |

EDUCATION |

14 CAREER & TECH ED BOCES career and technical education offer pathways for students, professionals.

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SMALL BIZ STARTUP |

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REAL ESTATE |

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15 CREATIVE FOODIES For one brother and sister duo, a catering business is the start of a new endeavor. |

25 TOP TRANSACTIONS Top 10 property sales in May in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties totalled $23.9m.

BUSINESS SCENE |

40 NETWORKING, NNY STYLE From Jefferson to Lewis counties, businessmen and women connect for success.

BUSINESS HISTORY |

44 A FAMILY PAPER FIRM Black River Paper Co. boasts a 116-year history that is set to continue for years to come.

VISIT US ONLINE 24-7 AT NNYBIZMAG.COM FOR DAILY UPDATES AND WEB CONTENT

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October 2014 | NNY Business

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CONTRIBUTORS

BusIness www.nnybizmag.com

Chairman of the Board John B. Johnson Jr.

Bob Gorman is president and CEO of United Way of Northern New York. He writes about the generous support of the State Employees Federated Appeal for nonprofits. (p. 30)

Paul Luck is a Certified Exit Consultant with The Succession Partners in Clayton.

He offers a quiz for businesses to gauge their preparedness for the future. (p. 32)

Larry Covell is an attorney and professor of business at Jefferson Community College.

He explains the how to file an assumed name business certificate. (p. 33)

Publishers

John B. Johnson Harold B. Johnson II

VP News Operations Timothy J. Farkas

Magazine Editor

Kenneth J. Eysaman

Staff Writer / Editorial Assistant Lorna Oppedisano

Graphic Design / Layout Lauren Harrienger

Lynn Pietroski is president and CEO of the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce. She writes about plans for Small Business Saturday and holiday shopping. (p. 34)

Jay Matteson is the agricultural coordinator for the Jefferson County Industrial Development Corp. He writes about a planned update to the Jefferson County Farm Protection Plan. (p. 35)

Jill Van Hoesen is chief information officer for Johnson Newspapers and a 28-year IT veteran. She outlines some important things for businesses to consider when developing an app. (p. 36)

Photography

Norm Johnston, Justin Sorensen, Jason Hunter, Melanie Kimbler-Lago, Amanda Morrison

Director of Advertising Michael Hanson

Advertising Graphics

Brian Mitchell, Rick Gaskin, Heather O’Driscoll, Scott Smith, Todd Soules

Circulation Director Mary Sawyer

Michelle Collins is an advisor for the state Small Business Development Center at SUNY Canton. She offers some insights into government contracting. (p. 37)

Lance M. Evans is executive officer for the Jefferson-Lewis and St. Lawrence County Board of Realtors. He writes about the benefits of the Multiple Listing Service. (p. 24)

Lorna Oppedisano is a a staff writer and editorial assistant for NNY Magazines. In our cover story this issue, she writes about new presidents at SUNY Potsdam and Canton. (pg. 16)

MARKETPLACE AIB Inc. ................................... 4 Beardsley Design ................. 23 Center for Sight .................... 37 Center for Sight Hearing ....... 41 Cheney Tire .......................... 22 Clayton Dental Office ......... 40 Coleman’s Corner ............... 46 Community Bank ................... 2 Cortel Improvement ............ 45 Creg Systems Corp. ............. 18 DANC .................................... 34 D.L. Calarco Funeral Home ... 21 Dr. J. Richard Meagher ....... 22 Fairground Inn ...................... 46 Foy Agency ............................ 4 Fuccillo Automotive ............ 29 Fuller Insurance ..................... 4 HD Goodale Co. .................... 4 High Tower Advisors ............ 28 Hospice of Jefferson County .................................. 13 Howard Orthotics ................. 32

Hugh Keegan & Associates ............................ 30 Immaculate Heart Central Schools .................... 18 Innovative Physical Therapy Solutions ................. 33 Jefferson Community College ................................... 7 Jefferson County EDC ......... 45 Jefferson-Lewis BOCES .......... 3 Friends to Elect John Bocciolatt .................... 29 Ken Piarulli/Ameriprise .......... 8 Lofink Ford ............................ 38 LTI Trucking ........................... 36 Macar’s ................................. 12 Meade Optical .................... 23 Medispa at Center for Sight ................................. 43 Nationwide Insurance ........... 4 NNY Community Foundation ........................... 13

6 | NNY Business | October 2014

North Country Urgent Care .......................... 22 Nortz & Virkler Ford .............. 29 Phinney’s Automotive ......... 29 Quality Production Inc. ....... 14 Sea Comm Federal Credit Union ......................... 22 Slack Chemical Co. ............ 35 SUNY Potsdam ....................... 9 The Blue Heron ..................... 46 Thousand Island Realty ....... 25 United Way of NNY .............. 31 Upstate Medical University .............................. 48 Waite Motor Sports .............. 39 Waite Toyota ........................ 42 Watertown LDC .................... 24 Watertown Savings Bank ...... 19 Watertown Spring & Alignment ......................... 29 Wells Communications ....... 46 WWTI-TV ................................ 47

NNY Business (ISSN 2159-6115), is published monthly by Northern New York Newspaper Corp., 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601, a Johnson Newspaper Corp. company. © 2010-2014. All material submitted to NNY Business becomes property of Northern New York Newspaper Corp., publishers of the Watertown Daily Times, and will not be returned.

Subscription Rates 12 issues are $15 a year and 24 issues are $25 for two years.

Call 315-782-1000 to subscribe.

Submissions Send all editorial correspondence to keysaman@wdt.net Advertising For advertising rates and information in Jefferson and Lewis counties, email mhanson@wdt.net, or call 315-661-2305 In St. Lawrence County, e-mail knelson@ogd.com, or call 315-769-2451 Printed with pride in U.S.A. at Vanguard Printing LLC, Ithaca, N.Y., a Forest Stewardship Certified facility.

Please recycle this magazine.

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INTERVIEW

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ON THE COVER

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26 A PATHWAY TO EDUCATON Stephen J. Todd recently took the helm at the five-county, 5,000-square-mile JeffersonLewis-Hamilton-HerkimerOneida BOCES. He’s optimistic about the future of public ed. |

COLUMNS

30 32 33 34 |

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GUEST ESSAY STRATEGIC PLANNING BUSINESS LAW COMMERCE CORNER

DEPARTMENTS

8 9 10 12 15

35 AGRI-BUSINESS 36 BUSINESS TECH BYTES 37 SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS

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EDITOR’S NOTE PEOPLE ON THE MOVE ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT BUSINESS BRIEFCASE SMALL BIZ STARTUP

24 38 40 44 46

REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP CALENDAR BUSINESS SCENE BUSINESS HISTORY NEXT MONTH

For this month’s cover photo, Photographer Melanie Kimbler-Lago met SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Canton presidents Kristin G. Esterberg and Zvi Szafran on the campus of SUNY Potsdam for a fall portrait.

Melanie used a Nikon D700 with an 80-200 mm lens, 200 ISO, f/8 at 1/250 second. Our cover story, “New vision for SUNY in St. Lawrence,” by writer Lorna Oppedisano, begins on page 16.

October 2014 | NNY Business

|7

I

EDITO R’S N O T E

20UNDER40

NORTHERN NEW YORK’S EMERGING LEADERS

Save

the date.

Join us for a luncheon at Hilton Garden Inn, 1290 Arsenal St., Watertown, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 10, to recognize the 2012 Class of 20 Under 40.

Look for profiles of this year’s class in December’s issue of NNY Business.

RSVP to Editor Ken Eysaman at keysaman@wdt.net by noon, Wednesday, Dec. 3. Luncheon is $20.

Visit nnybizmag for complete details.

Need a hotel room the night before?

Mention 20 Under 40 for a discount.

Sponsored by:

Jefferson County Economic Development

www.nnybizmag.com

8 | NNY Business | October 2014

n this month’s issue, our cover story focuses on the future of SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Canton. Magazine Staff Writer Lorna Oppedisano sat down with each of the new presidents who took the reins at the St. Lawrence County colleges earlier this year. Her story begins on page 16.

20 QUESTIONS — This month we sit down to a conversation with Stephen J. Todd, district superintendent for the JeffesronLewis-Hamilton-HerkimerOneida BOCES. Earlier this year, Mr. Todd succeeded longtime BOCES superKen Eysaman intendent Jack J. “Jay” Boak, who retired after nearly 45 years in public education. Mr. Todd, a former Watertown High School principal, shares his vision for the future of public education in the north country. Our interview with Mr. Todd begins on page 26.

BUSINESS SCENE — This month’s scene section, which begins on page 40, features 43 faces from nearly three-dozen north country businesses and organization across the tri-county area. On Sept.

4, we joined the Greater WatertownNorth Country Chamber of Commerce for the annual Athena Award Presentation and Dinner. Congratulations once again to Erika Flint, executive director of Watertown Urban Mission, on a welldeserved honor.

On Sept. 18, we joined North Country Goes Green and the Greater WatertownNorth Country Chamber of Commerce at the Paddock Arcade for September Business After Hours. On Sept. 23, we joined the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce and the Cape Vincent, Clayton and Alexandria Bay chambers of commerce for a joint networking event at the 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel in Clayton. Finally, on Sept. 26, we joined the Greater-Watertown North Country Chamber of Commerce at the Riveredge Resort and Conference Center in Alexandria Bay for the Jefferson Leadership Institute Class of 2015 kick-off dinner.

20 UNDER 40 — An incredible 62 young professions were nominated for our 4th Annual NNY Business 20 Under 40 program that honors emerging leaders who show promise in their professions and communities. At press time, our selection committee was still reviewing nominations from 103 individuals who nominated the 62 candidates. (Some were nominated multiple times.) We are extremely encouraged by the number and quality of nominations this year. It is a testament to the strength of the young professionals who have decided to make their lives in the north country.

On Wednesday, Dec. 10, we will recognize the class of 2014 during a luncheon at the Hilton Garden Inn, Watertown. Look for more information on our website, nnybizmag.com, where you will be able to register and pre-pay for the luncheon beginning Monday, Nov. 10. All selectees will be profiled in our December issue, which will be unveiled at the luncheon.

PEOPLE O N T H E MO V E

Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center appoints new CEO

Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, Ogdensburg, has appointed Nathan Howell as president and chief executive officer.

Mr. Howell comes from Steward Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, Mass. where he worked as CEO since January 2012. While there, Mr. Howell executed an efficiency-based turnaround that improved the facility from a net loss of $16 million to a gain of $12 million in 2013. He also completed major building projects in the medical center’s intensive care, oncology, and medical-surgical units and an expansion of perioperative services.

Prior to his work at St. Elizabeth’s, Mr. Howell held leadership positions at Easton Hospital in Easton, P.a., Midwest Regional Medical Center in Midwest City, Okla., and at Crossgates River Oaks Hospital in Brandon, Miss. At each facility, he completed projects expanding clinical services, improving operational efficiencies, and improving patient satisfaction.

Mr. Howell is a native of Maine. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from Cornell University, 2006 and a Bachelor of Arts from Colby College, 1996.

Production Unlimited employee honored as top performer in state

Production Unlimited employee Susan Nicol was recently recognized as a Joslin Outstanding Performer at the New York State Industries for the Disabled annual awards program.

According to a news release from Jefferson Rehabilitation Center, which operates the sheltered workshop, Ms. Nicol has worked on a state Industries for the Disabled Preferred Source contract for 10 years, producing three-ring binders. She became employed at Production Unlimited, West Main Street, after completing her education with the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services special education program.

Volunteer Transportation Center selects new board The Volunteer Transportation Center recently elected two new members to its board of directors: Trisha Seymour, and Dr. Joseph Gianfagna. Both joined the

Got business milestones? n Share your business milestones with NNY

Business. Email news releases and photos (.jpg/300 dpi) to editor Ken Eysaman at keysaman@wdt.net. The deadline for submissions is the 10th of the month for the following month’s issue. Photos that don’t appear in print may be posted on our Facebook page.

board for a three-year term beginning August 2014.

Ms. Seymour is the Human Resources Director at the Jefferson Rehabilitation Center in Watertown. She has more than 10 years of human resource management experience and resides in Mannsville, with her 19 year-old son Zachary.

Dr. Gianfagna is a pediatrician at Watertown Pediatrics, after returning from the Central New York region just a year ago. He lives in the city of Watertown with his wife Rachael and is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Alfred (Jean) Gianfagna, also of Watertown.

Beardsley Design adds to mechanical department

Bonnie McClellan and Paul Smith have joined the mechanical department at Beardsley Design Associates Architects, Engineering, Landscape Architecture, Malone.

Ms. McClellan’s background includes more than 15 years of experience in plumbing design as well as extensive design experience with schools and colleges, retail stores, hospitals and water and wastewater treatment plants.

Mr. Smith brings 30 years of mechanical design experience in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning trades. His expertise also includes preparing contract documents for HVAC systems. He has used his mechanical design knowledge in a variety of projects that include municipal buildings, health care facilities, K-12 educational facilities, higher educational facilities, laboratories and supermarkets.

Former NNY banker promoted at KeyBank

The highest-ranking local executive of KeyBank N.A. is now in change of the bank’s newly unified New York Region.

Gary Quenneville has been promoted to regional sales executive for all of New

Please see People, page 13

Advance your career

Open House Master’s Degree in ICT/ Organizational Leadership Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration

November 17, 2014 SUNY Jefferson Extended Learning Center

5:00-7:00pm Visit

potsdam.edu/watertown or phone

(315) 786-2257

Potsdam THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

October 2014 | NNY Business

|9

NNY

Economic indicators Average per-gallon milk price paid to N.Y. dairy farmers August 2014 $2.25 July 2014 $2.18 August 2013 $1.82

19.1%

ECON SNAPSHOT

Vehicles crossing the Thousand Islands, OgdensburgPrescott and Seaway International (Massena) bridges

Source: NYS Department of Agriculture

589,003 in August 2014 564,476 in July 2014 586,670 in August 2013

Average NNY price for gallon of regular unleaded gas

Source: T.I. Bridge Authority, Ogdensburg Bridge & Port Authority, Seaway International Bridge Corp.

August 2014 $3.69 July 2014 $3.80 August 2013 $3.81

U.S.-Canadian dollar exchange rate (Canadian dollars per U.S. dollar)

3.1%

Average NNY price for gallon of home heating oil

10 | NNY Business | October 2014

(Percent gains and losses are over 12 months)

August 2014 $3.72 July 2014 $3.78 August 2013 $3.66

3.9%

0.4%

$1.09 on Aug. 29, 2014 $1.09 on July 31, 2014 $1.05 on Aug. 29, 2013

3.8%

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of N.Y.

Average NNY price for gallon of residential propane

Nonagriculture jobs in the Jefferson-Lewis-St. Lawrence counties area, not including military positions

August 2014 $3.00 July 2014 $3.00 August 2013 $2.86

89,100 in August 2014 89,000 in July 2014 89,300 in August 2013

4.9%

0.2%

Source: NYS Energy Research and Development Authority

Source: NYS Department of Labor

Jefferson-Lewis Board of Realtors single-family home sales

St. Lawrence Board of Realtors single-family home sales

141, median price $135,000 in August 2014 115, median price $135,000 in July 2014 99, median price $165,000 in August 2013

56, median price $108,103 in August 2014 56, median price $87,000 in July 2014 61, median price $85,000 in August 2013

42.4% Sales

18.1% Price

Source: Jefferson-Lewis Board of Realtors Inc.

8.2%

27.2%

Sales

Price

Source: St. Lawrence Board of Realtors Inc.

NNY unemployment rates Jefferson County

6.9%

August ’14

7.3%

July ’14 August ’13

8.2%

St. Lawrence County August ’14

7.8% 8.3%

July ’14 August ’13

8.9%

Lewis County August ’14

6.8%

July ’14

7.1%

August ’13

8.0%

Source: New York State Department of Labor (Not seasonally adjusted. Latest available data reported.) ** Latest available data reported due to annual data updates at the New York State Department of Labor.

Note: Due to updates in some “Econ. Snapshot” categories, numbers may differ from previously published prior month and year figures.

Economic indicators New automobiles (cars and trucks) registered in Jefferson County Cars 562 in August 2014 571 in July 2014 571 in August 2013

1.6%

Trucks 140 in August 2014 113 in July 2014 135 in August 2013

NNY

3.7%

Source: Jefferson County Clerk’s Office

Passengers at Watertown International Airport

Open welfare cases in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties

4,561 inbound and outbound in August 2014 4,574 inbound and outbound in July 2014 3,884 inbound and outbound in August 2013

2,267 in August 2014 2,302 in July 2014 2,001 in August 2013

17.4% Source: Jefferson County Board of Legislators

Source: Social Service Depts. of Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties

DBA (doing business under an assumed name) certificates filed at the Jefferson County Clerk’s office Aug. 1 to Aug. 29, 2014. For a complete list of DBAs filed in August and in past months, visit WWW.NNYBIZMAG.COM.

SEPT. 30: Charles Wayne Canady Jr. DJ Services, 95152A Desoto Drive, Fort Drum, Charles W. Canady Jr., 95152A Desoto Dr., Fort Drum.

Stevens-Clark (dairy) Farm, 30092 Perch Road., Evans Mills, Anna M. Clark, 30092 Perch Lake Road, Evans Mills.

SEPT. 29: CMS Paint & Drywall, 402 Brainard St., Watertown, Diana L. Sanderson, 402 Brainard St., Watertown.

Precision Auto Glass, 20563 Weaver Road, Watertown, Dana L. Desormo, 20563 Weaver Road, Watertown.

USA Sandblasting, 32109 County Route 46, Theresa, Michael T. Best, 32109 County Route 46, Theresa.

Vigilante Yoga, 21019 Hadcock Road, Watertown, Erica L. Turck, 21019 Hadcock Road, Watertown.

SEPT 26: C&C Photography and Photo Booth, 36936 Route 136, Theresa, Christina M. Fleming, 36936 Route 136, Theresa.

SEPT 25: Racers Edge Speed Shop, 348 VanDuzee St., Watertown, Carla J. Sabatke, 348 VanDuzee St., Watertown.

Barton Farms, 39151 County Route 13, LaFargeville, Richard R. Barton, 37681 Middle Road, LaFargeville.

SEPT 24: Uncle Chris’ Installation Service, 17120 County Route 53, Lot 15, Dexter, Christopher R. Parent, 17120 County Route 53, Lot 15, Dexter.

SEPT 23: Amplified, 18841 Route 11, Watertown, Andy C. Kraus, 1006 Franklin St., Watertown.

Lakefront Construction, 323 W. Kirby St., Dexter, Jon M. Clement, P.O. Box 407, Dexter.

Tug Hill Country Store, 20693 County Route 93, Lorraine, Douglas M. Morse II, 20678 County Route 93, Lorraine.

1837 Vineyard and Winery, 27801 Three Mile Point Road, Chaumont, James P. and Judith Collins, 27801 Three Mile Point Road, Chaumont.

SEPT 22: Whitney Ann Photography, 99103B Forest Drive, Fort Drum, Whitney A. Farmer, 99103B Forest Drive, Fort Drum.

P & L Lawn Care Services, 538 Emerson St., Apt. 101, Watertown, Michael Pomerville, Watertown, and Daniel LaRock, Sandy Creek.

K.P. Expressions Photography, 9146B General Pike Loop, Fort Drum, Kimberly D. Porter, 9146B General Pike Loop, Fort Drum.

Lehman’s Auto Repair, 35563 County Route 28, Philadelphia, Jesse D. Lehman, 35562 County Route 28, Philadelphia.

Bullseye Investigations, 25997 Allen Drive, Watertown, James A. Romano, 25997 Allen Drive, Watertown.

SEPT 12: Premier Martial Arts of Watertown, 22066 Route 11, Watertown, Erik C. Russell, 647 Grant St., Watertown.

T.R. Davis Powder Coating Co., 119 N. Pearl Ave., Watertown, Thomas R. Davis, 119 N. Pearl Ave., Watertown.

SEPT. 11: Bonaparte Estates, 43876 Route 3, Natural Bridge, David M. Arnold, 43876 Route 3, Natural Bridge.

K & K Farms, 8644 Cemetery Road, Evans Mills, Eugene A. Kuhar and Linda C. Kellaway, Evans Mills.

SEPT. 10: Roes Insurance Agency, 227 State St., Watertown, Beryl Roes, 6623 Martin St., Castorland.

Remnant Technologies and Computer Repair, 10730A Enduring Freedom Drive, Fort Drum, James W. Marquette Jr., 532 W. Main St., Watertown.

Auto Detailing by Jesse, 34463 Jackson II Road, Carthage, Jesse T. Boepple, 34463 Jackson II Road, Carthage.

Sarah Burns Photography, 36161 Clayton Center Road, Clayton, Sarah N. Burns, 36161 Clayton Center Road, Clayton.

SEPT. 9: South Jeff Auto Care, 8806 Route 11, Adams, Justin Poirier, Adams Center, Stephen A. Mitchell III, Adams.

SEPT. 8: Shawcross Tree Service, 231 Riverside Ave., Theresa, Dustin C. Shawcross, 231 Riverside Ave., Theresa.

Circle of Seasons, 1042 Holcomb St., Watertown, Kristina L. Richardson, 1042 Holcomb St., Watertown.

Black River Wood, 20141 Beutel Road, Watertown, Paul Gundrum, 20141 Beutel Road, Watertown.

River Rebels, 690 Riverside Drive, Clayton, Ryan Miller and Pia Hogue, 504 Riverside Drive, Clayton.

Bay Breeze Crafts, 11560A Northern Blvd., Fort Drum, Melissa Dude, 11560A Northern Blvd., Fort Drum.

North Country Store, 32672 Route 11, Philadelphia, Steven Glick, Philadlephia, and Emma Terhune, Theresa.

Direct from Santa, 31883 Route 12, LaFargeville, Christopher R. Thurston, 31883 Route 12, LaFargeville.

SEPT. 5: Junkin’ Monkey, 139 J.B. Wise Place, Watertown, Cheryl Burns Stephens, 224 Church St., Carthage.

SEPT. 19: Msmithweb, 220 W. Main St., Brownville, Michael J. Smith, 220 W. Main St., Brownville.

Pride & Glory Tattoo Company, 1317 State St., Watertown, James A. Kroeger, 500 Dunn St., Hammond.

J Earl Halback, 25021 Route 12, Watertown, John E. Halback, 25021 Route 12, Watertown.

Adams Mini Mall, 70 N. Main St., Suite 2, Adams, Jeffrey S. Cummings, 22111 Waterville Road, Lorraine

Antwerp Improvement Association, 60 Main St., Antwerp, Nathan McElhone and Brad M. Nourse, Antwerp.

Fleming Painting and Pressure Cleaning Services, 516 Cross St., Watertown, Michael J. Fleming, 516 Cross St., SEPT. 4: Watertown.

SEPT. 18: Greenfield Construction, 190 Stone St., Apt. 10, Watertown, Duane D. Greenfield, 190 Stone St., Apt. 10, Watertown.

SEPT. 3: Haynes Painting Services, 30930 County Route 163, Carthage, Brooks O. Haynes, 30930 County Route 163, Carthage.

SEPT 16: Vessel of Honor Ministries, 24490 County Route 138, Calcium, Dericklyn Parker, 24490 County Route 138, Calcium.

K.M. Cleaning, 661 Factory St., Watertown, Kristopher M. Royce, 661 Factory St., Watertown.

Innovative Consulting Services, 26360 Perch Lake Road, Watertown, Steven N. Adams, 26360 Perch Lake Road., Watertown.

Finally Fresh Barbershop, 23239 Route 342, Watertown, Raymond R. Cruz, 24338 Route 12, Watertown.

SEPT. 15: T & T Property Services, 22665 Lewis St., No. 29, Watertown, Tony Frezzo Jr. and Travis Lashure, Watertown.

SEPT. 2: Helping Hands Chiropractic, 156 Clinton St., Watertown, Jerica L. Douglas, 45 Madison St., Carthage.

TRANSACTIONS

DBAs

13.3%

October 2014 | NNY Business

| 11

B U S I N E SS BRIEFCAS E

Farm group offers grants for dairy profit teams

The New York Farm Viability Institute is taking applications from farms seeking $2,500 grants to launch dairy profit teams.

A one-page grant application is available at www.nyvi.org.

The institute, a farmer-led nonprofit organization that helps agriculture production enterprises, received $220,000 in state funding this year for dairy profit teams. Profit teams, which include representatives from farmer-led agencies, help farms develop business plans and plan projects. Sackets Harbor dairy farmer Ronald C. Robbins, a board member for the institute, said that farmers should take advantage of the grant program.

“Right now, with milk prices so good, is the time to think about improvements,” he said in a released statement.

“You want to maximize your yields, while continuing to manage your costs.

The right team of experts, all chosen by you, can help you see where the opportunities are. Lining up your money now, while it’s available, is a smart move.”

Farm Bureau elects new leadership

Kyle R. Hafemann, owner of Otter Creek Winery in Philadelphia, was named president of the Jefferson County Farm Bureau during its annual meeting held Oct. 8 at the Adams VFW post.

Mr. Hafemann, who has succeeded former president Roger E. Eastman of Ellisburg, was elected along with other members of the bureau’s board of directors for 2014-15. Adam Miner of Mannsville was elected first vice president, succeeding

Kurt E. Gehrke. Nicholas D. Surdo was re-elected as second vice president.

Mr. Miner is a dairy nutrition specialist at Poulin Grain of Canton, while Mr. Surdo is the owner of Yellow Barn Winery of Watertown.

Also during the meeting, Reed Haven Farm of Adams Center was named the recipient of the bureau’s annual Distinguished Service to Agriculture award.

The family farm — owned by brothers Daniel, Alan and Mason Reed — has 193 cows and about 1,600 acres of crops that include corn, soybeans, winter rye, oats and barley.

The farm was launched in 1942 by Chauncey M. and Mary Ellen Reed with 12 cows and 60 acres.

“For over 35 years, Dan, Alan and Mason have evolved their family farm by being creative, flexible and patient and with a great deal of commitment,” Mr. Gehrke said in a prepared statement. “They are also dedicated members of Farm Bureau and have been wonderful advocates for the agricultural community.”

Grant Fund offers incentives to farmers

Designed to spur people to pursue farming careers, a Young Farmers New York program backed by state Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Patricia A. Ritchie was launched in October.

A $614,000 New Farmers Grant Fund was started to provide grants from $15,000 to $50,000 for beginning farmers.

Farmers may use funding to cover up to 50 percent of the cost to lease or buy farm equipment and supplies. Grant applications, available at http://wdt.me/gDNXYh,

Got business news?

n Share your business news with NNY Business. Email news releases and photos (.jpg/300 dpi) to nnybusiness@wdt.net. The deadline for submissions is the 15th of the month for the following month’s issue. Photos that don’t appear in print may be posted on our Facebook page.

are due to Empire State Development by Jan. 28, 2015.In addition, a Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Incentive program was launched to offer loan forgiveness awards to students who commit to pursuing farming careers after graduating from an approved state college or university. Applications, available at http://wdt.me/QrggJz, are due by Dec. 15 for the program, which is administered by the state Higher Education Services Corp.

The pair of initiatives aim to spur young people to pursue careers as farmers, said Mrs. Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, in a news release. She helped developed programs for young farmers in response to research that shows the average age of farmers has been increasing as fewer young people pursue farming careers.

The average age of New York farmers is about 57 years old, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2012 Census of Agriculture. Data show that for every two farmers who are 65 or older, there is one under 35. In each of the last five years, roughly 50,000 acres of active farmland have been lost for future development.

“It’s hard to imagine a world without farmers,” Mrs. Ritchie said in the release.

“But it’s something that could become a reality if we don’t take proactive steps towards addressing the issue of our state’s aging farmer population.”

MACAR’S • Kitchens • Bathrooms • Flooring • Lighting

161 Coleman Avenue 12 | NNY Business | October 2014

www.macarsinteriors.com

Watertown • 788-3732

PEOPLE, from page 9 York state — a single territory that now includes Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and the Hudson Valley-New York City market. The consolidation follows the recent departure of Hugh Donlon, who served as regional sales executive for Key’s Eastern New York operations. Mr. Quenneville was his counterpart, serving in the same role for the bank’s now-defunct Western New York Region.

In his new position, Mr. Quenneville will oversee more than 3,000 employees, 232 retail branches, a technology center in Albany and a contact center in Buffalo.

He will continue to be based in Buffalo, but plans to travel frequently to the other markets in the state.

There are no job losses planned as part of the consolidation of Key’s New York state regions and there are no plans to change Key’s retail banking structure.

Sharon Lochocki will continue to lead retail sales for Buffalo and Rochester and Steve Fournier will do the same in Syracuse, Albany and the Hudson Valley.

In 2012, Mr. Quenneville led Key’s acquisition of 36 former HSBC Bank USA N.A. retail branches in Buffalo and Rochester. The transaction boosted Key’s retail presence in those areas and bumped up the bank’s local deposit market share.

Financial rep earns award for excellence

Watertown native Jonah Coburn was recently awarded the Pacesetter 40 award.

Pacesetter 40 honors Financial Representatives who sell 40 life policies during their first six months in the business.

Mr. Coburn recently joined Northwestern Mutual of Syracuse, which provides expert guidance and innovative solutions for a variety of needs and goals. Northwestern Mutual in Syracuse, is part of Northwestern Mutual The Dodd Group office in East Syracuse.

The Northwestern Mutual Company — Milwaukee, Wisc., has served clients for more than 150 years. Northwestern Mutual and its subsidiaries offer financial products including: life insurance, longterm care insurance, disability insurance, annuities, investment products, and advisory products and services.

Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC, brokerdealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company, limited purpose federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company; and Russell Investments.

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October 2014 | NNY Business

| 13

E D UC AT I ON

CTE connects students, business

P

reparing career and technical education students for success has been Jefferson-Lewis-Hamilton-Herkimer-Oneida Board of Cooperative Educational Services’ main priority since its formation in 1968.

Long before “college ready” and “career ready” became modern catchphrases in education, programs at the Charles H. Bohlen and Howard G. Sackett centers have been designed to propel high school students into the workforce and prepare them for college. The programs through the years have evolved, but their shared mission of preparing students for success remains unchanged.

One major influence on the evolution of our programs was the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1984. The purpose of this act is to provide individuals with the academic and technical skills needed to succeed in a knowledge- and skills-based economy. This law helped to define the roles of industry in our programs and led to the strengthening of our links to post-secondary education and the integration of academic standards in CTE programs.

In order to best prepare our students for their futures, whether that be directly into the workforce or to further education before careers begin, we work closely with component school districts, employers, colleges and local communities to design programs that not only meet common core learning standards but also respond to the business community’s needs. Relationships are the key to success.

There are real opportunities and real jobs in Jefferson and Lewis counties. By partnering with businesses and industries in this area, we are able to offer students unmatched opportunities. Each CTE program maintains an advisory committee of local

14 | NNY Business | October 2014

business and industry professionals and post-secondary representatives related to their trade area.

These important individuals meet annually to offer advice on program and Tracy Gyoerkoe curriculum.

They often speak to students and host them for internships.

Throughout the school year, many of Jefferson-Lewis BOCES’ CTE programs incorporate local businesses into their curriculum. Students studying the veterinary practices program, for example, through a partnership with the north country-based organization, Spay Neuter Now, recently hosted a public veterinary clinic. Students during the sold-out clinic preformed preoperative care, assisted licensed veterinary professionals with surgical procedures and cared for animals post-surgery.

Carpentry, electrical, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning students each year construct a house for Habitat for Humanity as part of their hands-on classroom work.

When we develop new programs, we seek out business, industry and post-secondary partners related to the career area in order to ensure that we are aligning with their needs. We also consult with component district counselors and administrators to make sure that students will have interest in the program and that it meets their programmatic vision.

For example, last year we developed a manufacturing technology program for

adults in the region. This program did not meet the needs of our component districts at this time, but it filled a very important gap in workforce development for our region.

Several local manufacturers helped to turn this idea into a reality. Also, we are now in the research stages in the development of a medical assisting program. This idea has met with overwhelming support from both the medical community and our colleagues in education. Data supports the need for these key medical professionals both nationally and in our local community. And, it would provide a good pathway for students to enter either the workforce or to further education along the health science career pathway.

We also have partnered with others to help students in our region to effectively plan their careers. Through various information fairs held throughout the year, students become familiar with opportunities around them. The inaugural “Career Jam,”a vocational exploration event organized by the Jefferson-Lewis Workforce Investment Board, introduced ninth-grade students to a variety of careers while providing them the opportunity to meet industry representatives.

Manufacturing Day, a field-specific expo held in the fall, also offers students and the community the chance to explore, learn and interact with industry representatives.

The “C” in BOCES stands for cooperative — a key part of our mission. And the fact is, we love to collaborate on projects with our partners and to make new partners, all in the interest of preparing students in our region for success in whatever career pathway they choose.

n TRACY J. GYOERKOE is director of career, technical, adult and continuing education at Jefferson-Lewis-Hamilton-HerkimerOneida BOCES in Watertown. Contact her at tgyoerkoe@boces.com or 779-7205.

SMAL L BU SIN E SS STA RT UP BUSINESS

Embellished Catering and Events THE INITIAL IDEA

Brother and sister Mathieu D. Mitchell’s and Michele M. Warner’s lives were shaped by the service industry from an early age. The siblings grew up around their parents’ restaurant, The Lookout Tower, in Henderson Harbor. Mr. Mitchell has worked in the industry for 20 years, moving up the ranks to assistant chef at Sboro’s Chop House, where he works now. Mrs. Warner works as membership development director at the Greater WatertownNorth Country Chamber of Commerce, but grew up working in the service industry. So it’s not a surprise that now they’re picking up the culinary torch and starting their generation’s ode to good food with their latest venture, Embellished Catering and Events.

“The food industry and the service industry is definitely a passion we’ve had for a long time, and the catering thing is something we’ve talked about for a couple years,” Mrs. Warner explained. “Matt’s the mastermind behind the food.”

Mr. Mitchell creates innovative recipes, Mrs. Warner said, while she does the planning and public relations side of the operation.

“People seem to ask us if we’d like to do food for them,” Mr. Mitchell said. “And it turned into us starting our own catering business, and trying to take it step by step.”

TARGET CLIENTELE

“Right now we have a pretty broad variety of menu items,” Mr. Mitchell said. “Basically we’re trying to accommodate whatever anybody wants. It’s a matter of what people want and what they can afford.

Depending on the menu and amount of food, [the price is] going to vary. We don’t have a set pricing for the menu yet.”

The catering menu is listed on Embellished’s Facebook page. Customers can order from a variety of appetizers, entrees, side dishes, desserts and drinks. Mr. Mitchell creates what the customer orders and Mrs. Warner plans the rest.

“I think initially our goal is to reach people,” Mrs. Warner said. “We don’t want to limit it to somebody who’s doing something huge. We’re willing to cater to anyone’s needs, whether it be 10 people, or 150 people.”

THE JOURNEY

“We applied for a health certificate back in June and we got it in the beginning of August,” Mrs. Warner said. “Since the beginning of August, we’ve already done six events.”

The catering company consists of just the two siblings cooking out of Sackets Harbor.

“We found a kitchen in Sackets that lent itself to [us] being able to do it without having to put down a huge investment,” Mrs. Warner

AMANDA MORRISON | NNY BUSINESS

“Food is everything. Everyone has to eat and I like the creativity of food. The possibilities are endless” — Mathieu D. Mitchell, co-owner, Embellished Catering and Events explained. “We use a shared kitchen, and that gave us more of the opportunity than we would have had otherwise.”

Even though they were raised in the ways of the service industry, since beginning their endeavors a few months ago, Mr. Mitchell and Mrs. Warner have learned quite a deal.

“I think it’s been a little more stressful than I expected to it be. It’s more of a learning experience,” Mr. Mitchell said. “I’ve been in the industry for 20 years roughly. The change from working in a fine establishment, where you’re working in one spot, to catering different locations, I guess is the biggest challenge.”

Mrs. Warner agreed, pointing out that there’s a lot more to take into consideration, especially when the venue is outdoors.

“You have to contend with the weather and the wind,” Mrs. Warner said. “It’s all on us to make sure that we have a backup plan and always have something in mind, just in case.”

Being the sole members of their new company, Mr. Mitchell and Mrs. Warner can focus on an aspect of business that’s important to them: keeping it local.

“We are using a lot of local [food],” Mrs. Warner said. They go scouting at farmer’s markets and buy as much locally as possible.

“It’s grown locally and it’s all farm fresh,” Mr. Mitchell said. “I think it’s better than something that’s shipped from Sysco, that’s been shipped for a few days or a week. This is going to come right from the farm that day.”

Mrs. Warner said it’s important to support the local community as well. “It comes back full circle,” she said. “You support them, they support you.”

IN FIVE YEARS

“I would love to have a full-time staff, to be able to make this my full-time career,” Mrs. Warner said.

She would like a fair number of employees working together in a stable environment by that point. Her brother agreed.

“I’d like to be established. I’d like to be able to just have this as my full-time job,” Mr. Mitchell said. “Food is everything. Everyone has to eat and I like the creativity of food. The possibilities are endless.”

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October 2014 | NNY Business

| 15

SUNY Potsdam President Kristin G. Esterberg with the Potsdam campus in the background last month.

C O V E R S T O RY

N ew vision for SUNY in

ST. LAWRENCE For north country’s new SUNY presidents, collaboration is a key that will open doors to a successful future

S

BY LORNA OPPEDISANO | NNY BUSINESS

STRONGHOLDS OF EDUCATION IN the north country, SUNY Potsdam and Canton have a lot in common. Although SUNY Canton focuses on the applied sciences, while SUNY Potsdam is a liberal arts campus, they each play a vital role in the local economy.

This semester, each school is under new leadership. SUNY Potsdam welcomed President Kristin G. Esterberg and SUNY Canton welcomed President Zvi Szafran. Both new presidents are diving into tehir new posts with enthusiasm and bright ideas.

SUNY POTSDAM Take a walk around SUNY Potsdam.

The campus is practically bursting with creativity. From the renowned Crane

School of Music to its brand new performing arts center, even students who aren’t pursuing an arts major — some 650 students are enrolled in science majors — have the opportunity to experience an atmosphere in which creativity is encouraged, President Esterberg said.

“I think that puts creativity at the center of what our science students might do,” Ms. Esterberg said. “We leave them with a dose of creativity and creative expression.

And I think those will serve them well.”

Ms. Esterberg is excited to join SUNY Potsdam’s creative legacy as the school approaches its bicentennial year.

“I know that when we bring creative people together and provide spaces for them to create, there are opportunities to contribute to the regional economy,” she said.

One aspect of contribution to the local economy that Ms. Esterberg mentioned is Start-Up NY. “Start-Up NY is an opportunity for businesses to come to the campus. I think the first aim was manufacturing, or businesses like that to try and spark the regional economy,” Ms. Esterberg explained. “We’re also very excited about the opportunities for student internships.

As Start-Up NY can attract somewhat larger companies, it provides an opportunity for our students to participate, to have a workplace opportunity. We know that when our students do have internships, they are better prepared for the workforce when they leave here.”

Another aspect of SUNY Potsdam that Ms. Esterberg is exploring is how October 2014 | NNY Business

| 17

COVE R ST O RY The Kristin G. Esterburg file AGE: 53 JOB: President, SUNY Potsdam FAMILY: Partner, Sue Bergmeier; daughters, Katherine and Qiong Qiong HOMETOWN: Born in Norwalk, Mass.

EDUCATION: Doctorate in sociology from Cornell University, 1991; Master of Arts in sociology from Cornell University, 1988; Bachelor of Arts in sociology, philosophy and political science from Boston University, 1982 EXPERIENCE: Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Salem State, 2009 to 2014; Deputy Provost at University of Massachusetts-Lowell, 2007; Associate Provost at University of Massachusetts-Lowell, 2004 to 2007); Chair of the sociology department at University of Massachusetts-Lowell, 2002 to 2004; Director of women’s studies at University of Missouri-Kansas City, 1991 to 1997.

A WORD ON BOOKS: “I am reading T.C. Boyle’s ‘The Women.’ I had never read it before! I’m actually also reading a book that’s looking at positive leadership in higher education.”

A WORD ABOUT MUSIC: “I’m really appreciating just the diversity of music on this campus, everything from opera to string quartets and brass, but then the weird electronic stuff that students listen to.”

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students and faculty can expand their knowledge and practices.

“Are there opportunities for some of our music students to partner with computer science students?”

Ms. Esterberg listed some of the ideas she expects her academic administration to examine.

“We’re interested in the full range, and where we have a special niche is in creativity.”

Ms. Esterberg explained that that creative energy that flows through the campus can help a scientist solve a problem and create an innovative solution; she believes that at the heart, science is a creative activity.

“So when you bring scientists together with creative artists, I think that that provides a kind of synergy,” Ms. Esterberg said. “We have some faculty who are actively engaged in bringing science and arts together. Can we teach differently?

Can we teach in a more integrated way, bringing the arts into the sciences?”

The new SUNY Potsdam president also has plans for new programs, including health programs.

“I think community health is a very im-

portant one for this region. We know that we are a medically underserved area, and this is a great degree,” Ms. Esterberg said.

“Students who leave here can work in community health centers. They can work as health coaches, and really improve the health of the community.”

This degree is already in action this semester. Exercise science is another health-related program now in the approval phase. Ms. Esterberg explained that students who obtain this degree can become practitioners, or work in physical or occupational therapy.

“One of my goals is to make sure that we have good articulation agreements,” Ms. Esterberg said. By this, she means that the student can easily transition from undergraduate studies at SUNY Potsdam to graduate studies at another institution.

“And we have many of those articulation agreements in place. We don’t need to have every degree here, but we need to provide a pathway so that when a student leaves here with a very strong science prehealth background, they can seamlessly go to another institution.”

Ms. Esterberg noted graphic design is another degree in the works that she is excited about.

“It really draws on our strengths in the arts, and provides a more applied focus for that,” Ms. Esterberg said. “So students who leave here with an art degree know that they can be a practicing artist, and I think that that’s really critical. We need to find routes for students who want to practice their art to do that.”

In the past, education has been SUNY Potsdam’s “bread and butter,” Ms. Esterberg said.

“One of our goals is to continue to provide professional development for working teachers, to continue to provide that pipeline of future educators,” Ms. Esterberg said. “We know that education is cyclical. Every so often, things change. We’re going to continually have to work to make sure that our students are well prepared. And that will be an ongoing challenge.”

As far as plans she would like to address in the near future, Ms. Esterberg mentioned recruitment and enrollment management.

“My goal is to make sure that every student who comes here has the tools and the support that they need to succeed,” Ms. Esterberg said. “We’re working very hard

C O V E R S T O RY to make sure that we’ve got whatever support in place our students need to succeed. Sometimes it’s academic. Sometimes it’s social support. So making sure that we’ve got what we need in place, so every student succeeds.”

Ms. Esterberg also wants to actively involve the school in the economy, both on a global scale and a local one.

“Over the next several years, I intend to look at how we can strengthen our international partnerships, because the international students serve as much-needed

diversity for our students,” she explained.

The university has done well historically attracting Canadian students, but Ms. Esterberg hopes to expand reach even further, she said, noting that the location of the school is fortunate in this regard.

“I think this unique setting, in between the Adirondack Mountains and the Canadian border, provides a very interesting place for an international student to come,” she said.

While international interaction is important to the campus, Ms. Esterberg

promises the school will do its part to boost the local economy.

“I’d like to make sure that Potsdam does what we can do to help out,” Ms. Esterberg said. “When I look at Potsdam and Canton, there’s a wonderful local food movement. There are some very interesting small businesses.”

Large-scale manufacturing has become a thing of the past in this region, as well as around the country, Ms. Esterberg noted; so the more the school can do to stimulate small business development, the better.

October 2014 | NNY Business

| 19

SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran with the Canton campus in the background last month.

C O V E R S T O RY “When you look at where there are opportunities, I think that they’re in smaller- and medium-sized businesses,” Ms. Esterberg said. “To the extent that this campus can help stimulate, and can work with the business community to create opportunities, I think that’s very exciting.”

SUNY CANTON For SUNY Canton’s Zvi Szafran, taking the job as president is a homecoming of sorts. It puts him near his hometown of Syracuse and his family. It brings him to his preferred style of education.

“SUNY Canton is a technologically focused college, and that’s what I like,” Mr. Szafran said. “That’s what my previous college was. That’s what my undergraduate college was. And it’s the kind of education I believe in: technologically focused and very applied.”

Mr. Szafran describes the school as the perfect mix of methodology and product.

“In terms of what the north country needs, in terms of state needs, and in terms of what the country needs, as a technological college, we focus on programs that have strong technological components,” he said. “And of course we know that the world is getting technological.”

Mr. Szafran wishes to add a few new programs to SUNY Canton’s course catalogue that are within its technological mission.

“We’re going to add some programs in engineering technology and engineering areas,” he said. “Something in the robotics area I think is going to be good for us.

I want to add some programs in applied computing. We’ve got a strong information technology program now, and we need to expand out from that.”

Mr. Szafran plans to capitalize on

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The Zvi Szafran file AGE: 59 JOB: President, SUNY Canton FAMILY: Wife, Jill; son, Mark HOMETOWN: Syracuse, N.Y. EDUCATION: Doctorate in chemistry from the University of South Carolina, 1981; Bachelor of arts in chemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 1976.

EXPERIENCE: Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Chemistry at Southern Polytechnic State University in the University System of Georgia, 2005 to 2014; Vice President for Academic Affairs at New England College in New Hampshire, 1998-2005; Dean of Science and Engineering, Chairman of Chemistry Department, Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences, professor at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, 1981 to 1999.

A WORD ON BOOKS: “I’m a collector of comic books. I’ve got a collection of about 60,000 comic books.”

A WORD ABOUT MUSIC: “I love music. I actually play the guitar. We’re going to have a little combo that plays at open houses and such, so I’ll be part of that.”

SUNY Canton’s location.

“I’d like to take advantage of the fact that Ottawa and Montreal are strong places for the development of computer games,” he said. “And so I think a computer game design program would be very effective here.”

In the past, SUNY Canton offered a degree in hospitality management, and Mr. Szafran said he hopes to rebuild that program.

“It’s beautiful up here, but it’s underdeveloped in terms of tourist infrastructure,” Mr. Szafran said. “And we want to offer a very technologically advanced hospitality management degree, which

I think will serve the north country well for our graduates who want to stay and help develop and create jobs and create opportunities up here.”

Above all, Mr. Szafran said he wants to instill in SUNY Canton students an ability to be self-starters.

“Something else that I’d like to do is to add entrepreneurship as element of all of our degrees,” Mr. Szafran said. “I think all of our students need to not only know how to do it, in terms of their particular discipline, but how to create jobs in it, and how to sell it.”

Another degree that Mr. Szafran is excited to reignite holds an important spot in the local economy.

“What I’d like us to do is to look at perhaps agricultural management, or agricultural engineering, because agriculture is very different today than it was in the past,” Mr. Szafran said.

He explained that working in agriculture today involves having to know the scientific and marketing side of things.

“It’s the marketing, the entrepreneurship, and so on that will make that successful,” he added.

Mr. Szafran also wants to bring a new type of student to the college.

“I think there are a lot of adults in the north country who would be able to benefit from a college education,” Mr. Szafran said. “That would let them start new jobs and start new industries up here, or to advance in the careers that they’re already in. The practical, applied education that we provide is perfect for adults, couldn’t be better.”

Canton students have the option of taking classes online, attending classes or a combination of both.

“We’re developing a lot of courses

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October 2014 | NNY Business

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COV E R ST ORY in multiple modality, meaning it’s offered face to face and online simultaneously,” Mr. Szafran said. “On days where you can come onto campus, you can come onto campus. On days where you can’t, you can take it online and participate virtually.

That’s a really nice format for adults.”

For those students on campus, SUNY Canton is improving the college’s infrastructure and equipment.

“As a technological college, we have to constantly add new equipment and new facilities, just to stay ahead of the curve,”

Mr. Szafran said.

Among this new equipment is a new stock trading room for the business program, thanks to a pledge from an investment firm, a new chapel for the funeral services management program and new athletic facilities.

There are also a few new plans in the works.

“We just got a $1.5 million appropriation, thanks to our legislative partners,” Mr. Szafran said.

A portion of that money will be used

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to upgrade the campus dining hall, and another will expand the nursing laboratories, he said, noting that the latter is critical to good health care in the area.

Outside financial resources are important for keeping SUNY Canton affordable for its students, Mr. Szafran said.

“We have to be good stewards of the public purse,” he said.

To do this, the administration tries to keep fees down, Mr. Szafran explained.

“We know that some colleges have kept their tuitions low, but made their fees double and triple. We haven’t done that,” he said. “We want to stay affordable because that’s what this region needs.”

The development office works to bring in outside resources for scholarships, equipment and resources for the campus, he said. “We have good teams that are working hard in those areas,” Mr. Szafran said.

As far as short-term goals, Mr. Szafran names a few things on the horizon that he plans for his administration to address.

“The first goal I’d like to accomplish is to increase retention rates and graduation rates,” he said.

He explained that SUNY Canton presently offers a variety of certificate programs, associate and bachelor’s degrees.

“A student can ladder up to whatever level they want ultimately, and whichever level will make the most sense for the kind of career that they want,” he said.

“We want to encourage our students to try a little harder, to strive a little farther, to stay a little longer.”

Mr. Szafran’s next goal is to see SUNY Canton become a more diverse campus.

“I think what we offer isn’t needed just in New York, it’s needed around the

C OV ER S TORY world,” he said. “I’d like to bring in more international students.”

Mr. Szafran is also interested in helping to stimulate the local economy.

“I’m beginning to meet with business leaders around the state,” he said.

Mr. Szafran said he is eyeing mutually beneficial partnerships with local and regional businesses. SUNY Canton has a lot to offer, he said: interns, faculty, proximity to the border, and strong resources.

“This is a good area for investment and a good area to do business,” he said. “So I’d like to encourage people who are in business, people who are interested in the development of the north country, to think about SUNY Canton as their perfect partner.”

COLLABORATION The new SUNY presidents have plans in the works to collaborate with each other and with the county’s two other universities, Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

“When you have four campuses in a region, you can think about providing some professional development opportunities that you might be hard-pressed if you’re one small campus,” Ms. Esterberg said. “I’m working very closely with the new president of SUNY Canton to understand where we can work together on things that provide greater efficiency. So for example, our payroll is coordinated; we do the payroll for both campuses. We provide printing for the four campuses.”

Ms. Esterberg explained that these are some of the “back of house” services that work well in a shared environment.

“We have certain shared services with SUNY Potsdam,” Mr. Szafran agreed. “So for example, another group that we’d like to attract to higher education is veterans.

And some of those veterans are going to be looking for technological degrees, and some are going to be looking for liberal arts degrees. It makes sense for SUNY Potsdam and us to collaborate.”

The two schools share one full-time veterans affairs coordinator, he said.

“We want our soldiers, after they finish in the military, to be able to get a great education and then to be able to get great jobs,” he said. “Working with the military is very important to us. Sharing this service allows us to do something that’s very important.”

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R EA L E STATE ROUNDUP

Sellers, buyers benefit from MLS

O

ne role of the Jefferson-Lewis and St. Lawrence County boards of Realtors is to oversee the Multiple Listing Services. These days most MLSs are Internet based and many, like our two — www.nnymls.com and www. slcmls.com — have a public page that allows anyone to search for properties.

There is also a members-only side that has more information on the properties for sale and properties that have sold or are no longer on the market.

The Internet revolutionized Multiple Listing Services and the way people search for properties. However, the 2014 National Association of Realtors Handbook on Multiple Listing Policy notes that “Multiple listing, in one form or another, dates back to the 19th century. The first boards of Realtors were established as real estate exchanges. On certain appointed days, the members gathered and exchanged information about their listings.”

By the 1920s, the term “multiple listing” had come into wide usage. Members of the MLS pledge to cooperate and compensate all other MLS members.

How does an MLS help buyers and sellers? When buyers are looking for property, a Realtor can search all of the properties for sale using a buyer’s criteria. The Realtor can show any property in the MLS regardless of the listing company. Many Realtors act as buyers’ agents, allowing the Realtor to be the buyer’s advocate and advisor. The buyer has a confidential and trusted consultant who understands the buyer’s needs, wants, and desires and is in a position to assist the buyer to make the



best decision in the purchase of a property.

What advantages does a seller have when listing a property with a member of an MLS? One obvious one is the number of eyes on the propLance Evans erty. In addition to the public views, Realtors scrutinize the listings and match these listings to qualified and interested parties. Buyers who have registered with a Realtor will frequently get a list of properties that meet their needs.

Another advantage is that listings are sent to national websites such as Realtor.com, franchise websites, and other national and international sites and can be seen by a wider audience.

A frequent question we get asked at the board office is “I listed my property with ABC Real Estate and they have not shown it to any buyers, but agents from a number of other companies have shown the property. Why is my agent not doing their job and showing my property?”

As you can see by the explanation of MLS, the scenario described could easily happen. One of the listing agent’s primary jobs is to generate interest in the property. Clearly if the property is being shown, then the agent has fulfilled this responsibility.

The MLS is a unique model of cooperation between competitors that also

provides compensation to both sides. It is a tremendous help to both seller and buyer by creating a common marketplace for buying and selling properties. n

n

n

On Wednesday, Oct. 29, the Jefferson Lewis Board of Realtors and the Tri-County New York Chapter of Womens Council of Realtors will present Tech-Splosion 2014. It will be held from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Best Western Watertown/ Thousand Islands, 300 Washington St. and is open to the public. Additional sponsorship is being provided by Commission Express, Homestead Funding, M&T Bank, Northern Credit Union, Savory Café, and Watertown Savings Bank.

There will be a variety of educational sessions throughout the day along with a vendor fair with some of the latest products. Breakfast and lunch are included.

Some sessions will focus on how Google can assist you and your business, using a tablet and smartphone, Twitter tips, using social media, and several real estate specific sessions.

To register, or to get more information, please contact the Jefferson Lewis Board of Realtors. Registration includes all sessions and breakfast and lunch. The cost is $10 if registered and paid prior to 4 p.m.

Oct. 28. On the day of the event, registration is $15. n LANCE M. EVANS is the executive officer of the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Realtors and the St. Lawrence County Board of Realtors. Contact him at levans@nnymls.com. His column appears monthly in NNY Business.

Shovel Ready Lots Available in the City Center Industrial Park

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CONTACT WLDC TODAY - GROW YOUR BUSINESS TOMORROW! Financing options and incentives through the WLDC: • Fixed-interest loans for real estate, machinery and equipment • Working Capitol financing • Leasehold improvement financing • Assists in securing primary financing through commercial banks Watertown Local Development Corporation (WLDC) 82 Public Square Watertown, NY 13601 24 | NNY Business | October 2014

For help with expanding or relocating your business to the City of Watertown Contact: Donald W. Rutherford CEO

Phone: 315.786.3494 Fax: 315.786.3495 email: don@watertownldc.com

RE AL E STAT E / T O P T RAN SAC T I O NS Top 10 property sales by price recorded in the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office in August 2014: $13,000,000: Aug. 25, City of Watertown: 3.255 acres, Washington Street at Algonquin Ave., First Columbia Samaritan LLC, Latham, sold to ARHC NCWTNNY01 LLC, Jenkintown, Pa.

$320,000: Aug. 20, Town of Lyme: 5.4 acres, Three Mile Point, Walter S. Beeman and Janet C. Beeman, Nokomis, Fla., sold to Brian A. Howard and Barbara M. Howard, Manlius.

$259,000: Aug. 21, Village of Massena: Town of Louisville, Parcel 1) 0.412 of an acre more or less, parcel 2) Unknown acres, in Block 310 bounded

by Serra Lane, Jeffrey A. and Rosanne D. Almasian, Massena, sold to Matthew J. and Lindsay E. Macaulay, Massena.

Aug. 11, Village of Dexter: 12 Grant It$306,000: is a great time to buy or sell real estate.

St., Zachary A. Wood and Angela L. Wood, Dexter, sold to William Jesse Pike, Rome. Board of $250,000: Aug. 5, Villageinvites of Canton: Unknown The Jefferson-Lewis REALTORS acres, in Lot 63, Owen W. and Jo Ann Halloran, $2,931,352: Aug. 7, Town of Watertown: No $302,000: Aug. 15, Town of Champion: 1.324 Canton, sold to Breyne Moskowitz, Pasedena, Calif. you acreage, state Route 3, N and D Restaurants Inc., to visit www.nnymls.com, then contact one of acres, state Route 3 at state Route 26, Taylor Park c/o Darden Restaurants Inc., Orlando, Fla., sold to Carthage, sold to and Daniel J. let Kempen, Evans show $240,000: you Aug. 26, how Town of DePeyster: ourLLC,members them to Parcel 1) ARCP RL Portfolio V LLC, c/o American Realty Capital Properties Inc., Phoenix, Ariz.

Dream It, Live It, Own It Mills.

$1,740,898: Aug. 19, Town of Clayton, Town of Orleans: 10.2 acres 41761 Orleans Ave., Fishers Landing, Fishers Point Mobile Park LLC, Fishers Landing, sold to Ventrice Real Estate Company, Bridgewater, N.J.

$289,900: Aug. 11, Town of Pamelia: 3.60 acres, Pheasant Run, Spruce Ridge Subdivision, Wayne J. Jackson and Kim Jackson, Watertown, sold to Timothy C. Niles and Joy L. Niles, Watertown.

6 acres more or less, Parcel 2) 38 91/100 acres more or less, Parcel 3) 33 28/100 acres more or less, Parcel 4) 14 92/100 acres more or less, bounded by West Road and Old State Road, Walter P. and Sherry Kawecki, Heuvelton, sold to Ezra E. and Lizzie Yoder, Lisbon. ®

in Northern New York.

Jefferson-Lewis Board of Realtors

$1,070,000: Aug. 5, Town of Alexandria: 7 acres, Cherry Island, Donald L. Hasseltine, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Cheryl M. Harding, Scottsdale, Ariz., as trustees for Donald L. Hasseltine Trust, and Frank Hasseltine, Elmira, sold to Cherry Island Yacht House LLC, Atlanta, Ga.

Top 10 property sales by price recorded in the St. Lawrence County Clerk’s Office in August 2014:

$228,000: Aug. 25, Town of Pierrepont: Unknown acres, in Lot 11, known as River Woods Estates, David B. and Linda A. Acker, Potsdam, sold to Anna K. Hendrickson and Jonathan A. Brown, Potsdam.

http://www.nnymls.com

$525,000: Aug. 4, Town of DePeyster: Unknown Parcels, unknown acres, bounded by Black Lake Road, Barbara Price, DePeyster, sold to KDC Acres LLC, Heuvelton.

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$222,000: Aug. 4, Town of Piercefield: 0.8 of an acre more or less, bounded by Russell Turnpike, John R. and Barbara Ann Durkin, Hannawa Falls, sold to Glenn S. Temple and Linda K. Summers, Potsdam.

$285,000: Aug. 5, Town of Parishville: Parcel 1) 2 1/2 acres more or less, Parcel 2) 1 1/2 acres $900,000: Aug. 4, Town of Alexandria: 0.9 more or less, Parcel 3) Unknown acres, Parcel 4) acres, no address, Charles W. Brooks and Dorathea 107 Water St., Dexter,acres, NY 13634 Unknown Parcel 5) 0.6 of an acre more or $215,000: Aug. 22, Village of Massena: Town of L. Brooks, Camillus, sold to Edward Rosecrans and less, Parcel 6) 5.08 acres more or less, bounded by Louisville, unknown acres, in Lot 105, bounded by Sandra Rosecrans, Liverpool.

Committed to Drive, Sell Lewis County Specializing in Residential and Waterfront Properties Raquette River Road, Mary S. Jenne, Scottsville, sold Wellington Hema S. Shah, Massena, sold to to Frederick D. Seifer, Shelbyville, Tenn.

Christopher J. Farley, Massena.

Tammy S. Queior Lic. R. E. Broker/Owner Member of the Jefferson-Lewis MLS Service $362,000: Aug. 29, Town of Hounsfield: 6.19 tammy@bayviewshoresrealtyllc.com Donna M. Loucks,Aug. G.R.I., C.B.R.of Broker/Owner acres, state Route 180, Robert J. Nussbaum and $275,000: Aug. 25, Town of Fine: Unknown $200,000: 8, Town Russell: 2.4 acres acres, in Lot 77 and Lot 78, Alice Hedger, Wanakemore orPhone: less, bounded

by Blanchard Hill Road and www.dlauxproperties.com 315-377-3113 or 877-777-3113 Jennifer E. Nussbaum, Sackets Harbor, sold to MiJessica AprilJ.Marvin Tenaha Joanne C. Galavitz and Darsi na, sold to Brian Percy Keith Heft and Carolyn Shirley Heft,Broker) Plumb Brook, Stephen C.(Sales and Associate) Deborah377-3113 E. White, chael A. Reardon Reardon, Ft. Leav-Sparacino Steve Kubinski (Associate 486-0059 Arnold Loucks Lic. R.E. Lic. R. E. Assoc.

Slatington, Pa.Salesperson sold Pam to Timothy Lancaster, Pa. Timothy Nortz (Sales Associate)Russell, 681-0768 HoskinsHeller, (Associate Broker) 783-2740 enworth, Kan. Broker Lic. R. E.Salesperson Lic. R. E. Salesperson

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20 QU E ST I ONS

AMANDA MORRISON | NNY BUSINESS

CHARTING A NEW PATH S tephen J. Todd, veteran teacher and administrator at Watertown High School, is no stranger the ins and outs of education in the north country. After serving as assistant superintendent at St. Lawrence BOCES for the past four years, Mr. Todd has begun work as district superintendent at Jefferson-Lewis-Hamilton- Herkimer-Oneida BOCES. He sat down to talk with us about potential consolidations, common core, funding in New York State, BOCES and industry in the modern age and the best advice ever given to him.

n Stephen J. Todd, new BOCES leader,

shares bright outlook for NNY education

and saying, “If something doesn’t change, then in the next year, two years, three years, we’re going to lose programming that we value.” So I think that’s perhaps what motivated these two districts; not that other districts haven’t thought about it, but the stars aligned for them.

of the state would benefit from a good deal more than the urban parts of the state. If money is tied to it, then it’s coming out of a finite pool of money, so it’s hard to convince folks. So it’s going to have to be tied with other types of initiatives that would benefit others as well.

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NNYB: What do you think of the potential merger of Canton and Postdam high schools?

TODD: The two communities have done a remarkable job of having an inclusive and transparent process, making sure that the communities have been well informed about the advantages and disadvantages of it. As for how it’s going to go on the vote at the end of October, I wouldn’t want to predict.

I’m hopeful that the hard work the superintendents have put into this will pay off. I know how much both communities have riding on coming up with a solution to their financial challenges. I don’t know if it’ll pass or not. Historically, there have not been a lot of successful merges since the 1950s and ‘60s, when a rash of them happened, because there are a lot of challenges to making it happen.

NNYB: Why do you think this has come to the floor as Canton-Potsdam, and not some of the smaller systems in St. Lawrence or Jefferson County?

TODD: Though every district in the state and in the region was harmed by [the gap elimination adjustment], these are two districts that saw a much higher per pupil drawing away of money in recent years. They’re similar districts with similar cultures and demographics. They’re contiguous.

They’ve got close tax rates. They’re both under tremendous stress. They’ve got very enriched programs that they value and do not want to lose.

So they’re both looking at that, doing the math,

26 | NNY Business | October 2014

NNYB: In St. Lawrence County, Hermon-DeKalb, Heuvelton and Morristown central schools wanted to pursue a regional high school. What’s next for them?

TODD: The three of them looked at a variety of consolidation options. At the end of the day, they could not come to an agreement about a model that would work for all three of them. It really has to be something that’s a win-win-win. They were leaning toward more of a high school model, not a consolidation model. Part of it was that the tax rates weren’t as close as they could have been.

And at the end of the day, another consideration was that there is no legislation that allows for regional high schools to take place.

NNYB: What legislative action would be necessary to smooth the process for consolidation?

TODD: There have been bills out there that would allow for regional high schools to be organized.

But it would also help if there was a financial incentive, because there are costs involved. That’s why the incentive aid is attached to the traditional merger model. I know that the state education department continues to have its full support behind the idea of regional high schools. The Board of Regents has voiced philosophical support for it. But ultimately, it’s the assembly, the senate and the governor that have to put their stamp of approval on it. It’s something that the rural parts

NNYB: Lyme and General Brown are sharing a superintendent for the next year. Are we likely to see more of those kinds of centralized initiatives?

TODD: This share is a one year contract between the two districts. So Cammy Morrison is actually the superintendent of General Brown, and she’s interim superintendent at Lyme Central. To imagine one person doing that long term for multiple districts… it’s a tremendous strain on an individual. Cammy Morrison is a hard worker and remarkably effective administrator. If anybody can do it, she can do it.

Do I think it’s a long term solution? If one asked my advice, I would urge people to be very cautious about thinking about that long term… for the good of their organization, for the good of the health of their superintendent, because I think it’s just a huge strain.

NNYB: Can you briefly just explain what the educational compact might mean?

TODD: All 50 states have signed on to the compact. New York was the last state to sign it, because we studied it very carefully before we fixed our approval to it. That compact was designed with very good intentions. When you’ve got students who are moved all over the place because their family is being stationed someplace else, their education is being interrupted from one state to another. So that legislation initially had some language in it that was problematic; it said

2 0 Q U E S T I O NS that the terms of the compact would supersede all New York State education laws and regulations, which just couldn’t happen. It wouldn’t be helping that kid. The amendments that [previous BOCES superintendent] Mr. Boak got into the compact got rid of the idea that it superseded New York State education law. It allowed for local involvement at the school district level.

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NNYB: There has been controversy over the common core. Can you talk about that?

TODD: We’re at the implementation stage right now. Much of criticism that we have heard about the Common Core movement doesn’t deal with the standards. Much of the stress and controversy about Common Core was a question of the speed with which a massive change came into play. We are in technically in year five of a 12 year rollout.

I think it’s going to get a little easier each year.

We’ve got some opportunities through a grant that we successfully secured, called the Strengthening Teaching Leader Effectiveness Grant. It’s allowing us to build a network of teacher leaders in our 18 districts. We’ve all got things to teach each other.

If we have a mechanism for that to happen and a capacity that’s going to exist even after the grant is gone, that’s going to help us over the seven years of the implementation.

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NNYB: Does it seem like every few years, we cycle through new standards? Are we always going to be in this evolution?

TODD: The key to our success is going to be the degree to which we can maintain consistency in what we’re doing. There has been too much of the pendulum swinging. We’ve always had standards.

What’s different about Common Core is we finally got something that a very strong majority of the states agree upon. If we can maintain consistency in that, stay the course, work out the logistical challenges of curriculum instrumentation and curriculum resource distribution, my hope is that that swinging pendulum is not going to swing on this one. Because if we stay the course on this, and see incremental growth every year, like we saw last year, we’re going to be happy with what we see in seven years … 10 years … 20 years.

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NNYB: Have we gotten too “one-size-fits-all” with our approach to K-12 education?

TODD: I’m happy to report that we are told the Board of Regents is poised to approve a new multiple pathways initiative at the October Board meeting. It is going to give us more tools to be able to revolutionize that “one-size-fits-all” model.

Instead of all students having to graduate from high school passing exactly the same five Regents exams, this will allow five different pathways to take place. It could be the existing pathway where a kid passes those same five Regents exams. There are four other pathways where they pass four of those Regents exams, and an approved rigorous assessment in career technical education, the arts, humanities, or STEM [science, technology, engineering, mathematics].

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NNYB: Teacher evaluations have become more rigorous, haven’t they?

TODD: Yes. It’s been a big change and it’s definitely been stressful for teachers and administrators. But even in the biggest challenges, there are opportunities for positive outcomes. It’s led to great conversations between teachers and administrators about what good teaching looks like. And it’s brought people together. When you have a challenge, and people come together to solve it, it builds good rapport. No doubt, though, it’s been

AMANDA MORRISON | NNY BUSINESS

Jefferson-Lewis-Hamilton-Herkimer-Oneida BOCES Superintendent Stephen J. Todd in his Watertown office. hard. It’s caused people to change the way they think about the practice.

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NNYB: Do you see a day when teachers and unions will have to contribute more to 401ks, pensions and health care?

TODD: It’s already happening. In all three of our bargaining unit contracts, which were settled just within the last six months, all three of them agreed over the course of this particular contract to increase their contribution by several percent, up to 15 percent. That is the trend across the state. It’ll be an ongoing conversation every time districts and bargaining units sit down to talk. The conversation needs to be, “How do we — teacher bargaining units, administrative bargaining units and noninstructional staff bargaining units in school — create a balance that’s sustainable?”

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NNYB: State money has been moved into competitive grant structures, rather than pooling it into state aid. Has that helped or hurt?

TODD: I know that the governor has been a big fan of the competitive grants. Personally, I’d rather see schools fully funded at an appropriate level without having to compete for the money. But we have to live in the realities of where we are. The realities of right now, and for the foreseeable future I think, include competitive grants. I don’t see the governor moving away from that. We’re seeing some short term gains because we’ve been able to compete for those grants and been successful in securing several of them recently. Long term, I think it would be a lot better for us, and for everybody else, if all of those worthy programs were being funded throughout the state. If it’s a good thing, everybody ought to get it.

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NNYB: Do we need to reform the funding structure in New York State? And how do we go about that?

TODD: Absolutely. We have some states where they fund statewide. In a perfect world, I’d love to see us do that in New York. It’s not that we’re not spending enough money on education. What we need to do is distribute it better. The problem is that we have a system that has multiple challenges. One is reliance on local property tax, which creates inequity of where your zip code is. But there’s a mechanism that was put in place presumably to fix that: that’s the state aid system, which is a progres-

The Stephen J. Todd file AGE: 44 JOB: District superintendent, Jefferson-LewisHamilton-Herkimer-Oneida BOCES FAMILY: Wife, Pamela; daughter, Abigail, 17 months HOMETOWN: Heuvelton; lives in Watertown EDUCATION: Bachelor of Arts degree in history and government from St. Lawrence University; postgraduate study in political theory and social theory from Cornell University; Master of Science degree in teaching from SUNY Potsdam; certification of advanced study in education administration from SUNY Oswego.

PROFESSIONAL: Social studies teacher, Case Middle School, 1994 to 1995; social studies teacher, Watertown High School, 1995 to 2003; assistant principal, Watertown High School, 2003 to 2008; principal, Watertown High School, 2008 to 2010; assistant superintendent, St. Lawrence BOCES, 2010 to 2014.

LAST BOOK READ: “Mindset” by Carol Dweck sive system that ensures that districts with higher poverty rates will receive higher amounts of state aid, to offset their smaller tax base. If it was working right, it would create that level of equity. But it’s not working. There’s a finite pot of money, and some of it’s going places where they don’t need it as badly, and the places that need it badly are not getting it. And that’s the problem.

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NNYB: The U.S. DOE was created in the late 1970s under then-President Jimmy Carter. In the nearly 35 years since its inception, many have called for its abolition. Should it be abolished?

TODD: I don’t think we should abolish it. But I think we need to take a careful look at whether the federal government is a little too active and a little too involved in what’s going on. Its involvement has grown exponentially, certainly with the best of intentions. We wouldn’t want to do away with the title one programming that provides help for kids in poverty and has raised up a lot of kids.

October 2014 | NNY Business

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20 QU E ST I ONS The problem is that with every dollar that comes from the federal level comes strings, conditions and controls. I think we perhaps need to bring it back to a balance where there’s more state control.

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NNYB: How do you see the educational landscape of north country changing over the next five to 10 years?

TODD: I’d like to see — and I expect we’ll see — increasing levels of collaboration between the school districts, and increasing levels of collaboration between neighboring BOCES regions. St. Lawrence-Lewis and Jefferson-Lewis BOCES already share some programs and services. We share the grant writer. We share a health and safety office.

We share a certification office. I think as time goes along, component districts will share more and

BOCES will share more, so that we can get more value for the scarce dollars.

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NNYB: Are you seeing an uptick in enrollment in the BOCES program?

TODD: We’ve had pretty stable enrollments the last few years. But overall, yes. We’ve got from year to year anywhere between a thousand and eleven hundred 11th and 12th grade kids in our two centers in a technical education program. St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES, where I worked for four years, has roughly the same number of students across three tech centers. Here in this BOCES region, it represents about 35 percent of all of the juniors and seniors. In St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES, it represents 45 percent. So if you look historically at the percentage of students who’ve enrolled in

CTE programming, it is higher than it was five years or ten years ago. And it’s much higher than the statewide average, which is somewhere in the teens. So we, as a region, are really maximizing our CTE potential.

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NNYB: Career and technical education hasn’t always enjoyed a glamorous reputation. How do you deal with the perception that BOCES programs aren’t for the best and the brightest?

TODD: For the vast majority of people, we are beyond that. But I’m under no illusion that it’s completely gone. I would invite them to visit one of our tech centers now. What they’re going to see is kids who are doing work that is every bit as rigorous as what’s going on not only back at the high schools in the component districts, but as rigorous as what’s going on in college programs. We’ve got kids who are coming out of there not only ready to be successful in college if they choose to, but able to walk out of there and have good paying jobs.

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NNYB: How does BOCES determine which educational programs to create in order to meet changing demands of the business community?

TODD: We work closely with our industry partners.

Our teachers are people who have found success in their industry, and have then become teachers. So we have those direct connections with industry. Part of it is driven by what the demand is in the career field. So we work with the Department of Labor, the Workforce Investment Board and the industry partners to say, “Are there jobs?” We evaluate it based on what the labor statistics and what our local partners tell us. And then on the other end, we have to consider what the demand of our clients is.

The students in the school districts have to sign up for those classes. So there has to be a demand by the employers, but there also has to be a demand for the programming by the students.

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NNYB: What is one success story you are particularly proud of?

TODD: The success story that I would point to as the model we need to use moving forward is the manufacturing program. On that, we worked with industry to create a program quickly that meets the needs of several students and will continue to meet the needs of students moving forward. Or the farm tech program. Dozens of students needs are being met because of that industry/BOCES partnership and the swift turnaround time on getting it created.

Those are the successes that I take great pride in, because that’s what we do. We’re practical. We’re quick to meet demand .We are collaborative. So that speaks to who we need to be to be successful.

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NNYB: What’s the best business advice you have ever followed?

151 Mullin Street Watertown, NY 13601

TODD: I would say the best advice I’ve had in life has been from my St. Lawrence University mentor, Doctor Bob Wells. His advice to me, that he told me in word and showed in deed, is to be engaged in your community. I don’t care whether you’re an educator, or whether you’re in business… whatever you’re doing, if you’re serving your community or engaged in your community, it’s going to not only enhance your quality of life, but it’s going to enhance the quality of the community you live in. So I have tried to follow as best I can in his immense footsteps.

Through the life that he has lived and the example that he showed, he’s provided me with so many good examples and so many opportunities over the years. I’d advise anybody that that’s the way to live.

— Interview by Ken Eysaman. Edited for clarity and length to fit this space.

28 | NNY Business | October 2014

C O V E R S T O RY SUNY, from page 23 Clarkson University President Anthony G. Collins and St. Lawrence University President William L. Fox are each excited to work with their new SUNY counterparts. They explained a few other ways the four colleges already collaborate, plan to work together in the future, and how it benefits the north country.

“There are two levels of collaboration,” Mr. Collins said. “One is from a business approach, of wherever we can be effective by teaming together.”

One way the colleges team together is by sharing a contract with a bus company for transportation of their athletic teams.

Another way involves student academics across the four campuses.

“The most obvious thing we do is make it possible for students to take cross courses that are offered at other campuses than our own,” Mr. Fox added.

“It increases the size of each institution’s [course] catalogue.”

Mr. Fox noted that when the four universities operate with good balances, the local economy benefits.

“So it’s a very important part of our north country identity that we have these four institutions that really do work well together,” he said.

Mr. Collins explained the other level of collaboration.

“There are the human relationships and opportunities that are developed by the associations,” he said. “The faculty come together to learn new approaches to teaching. They do research collaboration together. On a person-to-person level, the connections made help and enrich the academic community.”

Mr. Collins said that SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University are examining ways of future integration between the Crane School of Music and the engineering school at Clarkson.

Mr. Collins said that each of the four schools bring a unique set of assets to the table. He and Mr. Fox are excited to see what assets and ideas Ms. Esterberg and Mr. Szafran present.

“Both [new presidents] actively want to support academic development in our region,” he said. n LORNA OPPEDISANO is a staff writer and editorial assistant for NNY Magazines. Contact her at loppedisano@wdt.net or 661-2381.

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G U EST E SSAY

State employees give generously

U

ntil last year, I had never heard of “SEFA,” and I certainly didn’t know it was an acronym. And based on an informal survey I recently conducted, I found I was not alone. Most north country citizens likely would not be able to tell you that SEFA stands for the “State Employees Federated Appeal.”

SEFA isn’t new. It was created 50 years ago as an easy way for state employees to make contributions — generally through payroll deduction — to charities throughout the state.

For years, United Way chapters partnered with their local SEFA chapters to collect, distribute and account for all donations.

And that’s why we recently held kick-off events for the Jefferson-Lewis and St. Lawrence SEFA chapters, which together includes some 4,700 state employees.

In a few days, most of the campaigns for individual departments will be completed and we’ll all have a good idea how much financial support our nonprofits will be receiving from state employees in 2015. And the numbers will not be insignificant. In the last decade, SEFA members have combined to give $1.7 million out of their own pockets to help the nonprofits of Northern New York.

That number becomes even more significant when you consider what has been going on in state government over that time. State employees have worked for four very distinct governors — Pataki, Spitzer, Patterson and Cuomo — and have had to endure changing department

heads, layoffs and furloughs, and the unethical behavior of too many state politicians.

Let’s just say there have been no unfurled banners proclaiming “The Decade of State Bob Gorman Employees.”

Yet, despite the herky-jerky direction of state government, state workers have been unwavering in their support of local

anonymous; younger employees think giving is only worthwhile if it can be filmed, broadcast and “liked” by others.

Almost all of our United Way partners receive money from SEFA, but there are differences. Nonprofits receiving SEFA money can use it for any purpose.

The United Way grant program requires nonprofits to submit a request and an outline of how the money will be used. For instance, United Way money supports the after-school homework lab at the Ogdensburg Boys & Girls Club and scholarships at Hand In Hand Child Center in Lowville and New Day Children’s Center in Watertown, so parents who experience job loss or a health crisis can keep their children in daycare for free for up to four months.

SEFA employees are also given a list of every certified nonprofit in the state, and it is not unusual for us to receive SEFA money from natives of the north country who work for the state in Albany and elsewhere.

Our recent video, “SEFA: The Untold Story,” can be seen at: vimeo.com/104742398 Now that you know the whole story, please join the United Way of Northern New York in celebrating the kindness of state employees. They live here, they work here and, thankfully for all of us, they give here as well.

Despite the herky-jerky direction of state government, state workers have been unwavering in their support of local nonprofits.

30 | NNY Business | October 2014

nonprofits. For instance, during the last four years, employees at Cape Vincent Correctional ($58,000), SUNY Potsdam ($47,000) and Watertown Correctional Facility ($46,000) have never flinched in supporting SEFA. Lately, SEFA giving has been declining and most longtime SEFA employees know why. State employees who retire may be replaced on the job, but their giving patterns don’t always morph over to the newly hired employee. Getting the younger generation to participate in a tried and true form of giving is an ongoing challenge, a challenge made more difficult because of generational divide: older employees think giving should be

n ROBERT D. GORMAN is former managing editor of the Watertown Daily Times and president and CEO of United Way of Northern New York. Contact him at bgorman@unitedway-nny. org or 788-5631.

SEFA 50 years of giving The State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA) is celebrating its 50th years in 2014.

During the last decade alone, state employees in Jefferson, St. Lawrence and Lewis counties have donated $1.7 million to local nonprofits.

Cape Vincent Correctional Facility NYS Department of Environmental Conservation — Jefferson County NYS Department of Health NYS Department of Transportation Department of Labor — Jefferson County NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation Gouverneur Correctional Facility

Jefferson/Lewis County Court System New York Power Authority Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services Office of General Services — Jefferson County Ogdensburg Correctional Facility Riverview Correctional Facility St. Lawrence Alcohol Treatment Center St. Lawrence County Courts

St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center New York State Police Sunmount DDSO SUNY Canton SUNY Potsdam SUNY ESF – The Ranger School Tug Hill Commission Watertown Correctional Facility

Nonprofits that received donations from NNY state employees last year n ACR Health

n Alcohol & Substance Abuse Council n Alliance for the Mentally Ill

n Alzheimer’s Association, Central NY n American Red Cross of NNY n Association for the Blind

and Visually Impaired

n Catholic Charities of

Diocese of Ogdensburg

n Children’s Home of Jefferson County n Community Action Planning Council n Constable Hall Association

n Court Appointed Special Advocates n Credo

n Disabled Person’s Action Organization n Family Counseling Services

n Friends of Lewis County Hospice n GardenShare, Inc.

n Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways

n Hand in Hand Early Childhood Center n Hospice and Palliative Care

of St. Lawrence County

n Hospice of Jefferson County, Inc.

n Hospice of the North Country, Inc. n Jefferson Rehabilitation Center

n Legal Aid Society of Mid New York, Inc. n Legal Aid Society of Northeastern NY n Lewis County Hospital Foundation Inc. n Lewis County Opportunities

n Literacy of Northern New York n Meals On Wheels

n Mental Health Association

in Jefferson County

n Mountain View Prevention Services n New Day Children’s Center

n North Country Affordable Housing, Inc.

NYSARC INC / Oneida-Lewis Chapter n Ogdensburg Boys’ and Girls’ Club n Planned Parenthood of the North Country n Potsdam Humane Society n Raquette Valley Habitat for Humanity n Resolution Center of Jefferson and Lewis Counties n Resource Center for Independent Living n Rohde Center n Salvation Army — Ogdensburg n Salvation Army — Massena n Salvation Army — Watertown n Seaway Valley Council for Alcohol/ Substance Abuse Prevention, Inc. n Society of the United Helpers n St Lawrence County Arts Council n St Lawrence County Council of Senior Citizens n St Lawrence County Health Initiative n St Lawrence Valley SPCA n St. Lawrence County Community Development Program n St. Lawrence Valley Renewal House n Thompson Park Conservancy n Thousand Island Area Habitat for Humanity n Transitional Living Services of Northern New York n Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust n United Way of NNY Inc. n Victims Assistance Center of Jefferson County n Volunteer Transportation Center, Inc. n Watertown Family YMCA n Watertown Urban Mission n

n Adirondack Mountain Club

n North Country Family Health Center n North Country Life Flight, Inc. n

Northern New York Community

Foundation n Northern Regional Center For Independent Living

October 2014 | NNY Business

| 31

S T R AT E GI C PLANNING

A business risk quiz for the future

B

elow are 26 reasons why you don’t need to plan for the future — or do you?

Answer true or false to the following: 1. You and your partner(s) have a formal, written buy-sell agreement that describes the terms to buy one or more partners out in the event of a departure, death, disability, divorce, etc.

True / False 2. Your buy-sell agreement is funded.

True / False 3. You have a current valuation of the business.

True / False 4. If your partner were to die, you would be happy to have his spouse or child as your new partner.

True / False 5. Your retirement is not dependent on any proceeds from the sale of your business.

True / False 6. You are confident that you know all the risks in your business.

True / False 7. You have documented control processes for each of the risks identified above.

True / False 8. You know how much more valuable your business could be if risks were eliminated.

True / False 9. You have a deep, diverse customer base with no reliance on any single (or handful of) customer.

True / False 10. You have a diverse supplier base with no reliance on any single (or hand-

ful of) supplier.

True / False 11. Your products/services are diverse with no reliance on any single (or handful of) product.

True / False 12. You have confidence in your financial Paul Luck system and it provides timely information and the analytics you need to run your business.

True / False 13. You have a robust forecasting and analysis process.

True / False 14. You know how much cash you have and a forecast of what you will need.

True / False 15. You keep your inventories lean, turn them frequently and there is little obsolescence.

True / False 16. Your accounts receivable are current with little past due.

True / False 17. Your vendors are happy with the way they are paid.

True / False 18. You have low employee turnover.

True / False 19. You have few product returns from customers.

True / False 20. You have a deep management team; if you were out for an extended vacation, everything would run just fine.

True / False

21. No individual has so much knowledge that an extended absence would be felt immediately.

True / False 22. Your key employees are fully informed of what will happen to them if you are no longer there.

True / False 23. You (and/or your partner) have no children in the business.

True / False 24. You track a set of metrics that drive expected results.

True / False 25. Your bank loan interest rates are the lowest available.

True / False 26. You are in perfect health, have never felt better and are not getting older.

True / False If you answered false to one of the statements above, you have some work to do; if you answered false to more than one, you definitely have some work to do.

If you answered True to all of the statements, the only thing you need to worry about is Kryptonite.

The biggest barrier to businesses achieving their full potential is risk — the failure to identify risks in the business and taking action to address those risks. Once risks are known, action plans can be implemented to control them, increase cash flow and create more value.

Plan for the future. Protect your business.

Address your risks today. n PAUL LUCK is with The Succession Partners in Clayton. Contact him at (315) 778-5257 or email PaulLuck@thesuccessionpartners.com.

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BU SIN E S S L AW

Consider your options at start-up

T

here are several considerations that a potential small business owner should think about when they’re about to launch a business.

The first consideration is the type of business entity that the business is going to be conducting itself under. There are options such as a corporation or a limited liability company, but these entities take time to create, require filings with the Secretary of State and attorney’s fees. A simpler and less expensive option is for the business owner to file an “Assume Name Certificate” in the county where the business will conduct business.

An “Assume Name Certificate” or “DBA” (doing business as) Certificate is required by New York General Business Law, which makes it a misdemeanor to conduct a business with an entity name other than the owner’s surname. The certificate is extremely easy to fill out; it requires the owner to identify the business’s name and address with the county in which it will be filed. The owner is required to identify their address, but does not have to live with in the same county as the business. Information and the cost to file an “Assume Name Certificate” in Jefferson County can be found on the county clerk’s website.

Conducting business under an assumed name has its advantages and disadvantages. The cost of the business formation is minimal, and the owner does not have to share any personal financial information unless they intend to borrow money for the business.

The significant disadvantage of this type of business entity is unlimited liability exposure of the owner. The law does not view a business created by an assumed name Larry Covell to be a separate and distinct entity from its owner.

If a business entity is a corporation or LLC, the law views the entity separate

still be required to file a “site plan” with the municipal’s planning board.

Do you plan to hire an employee? If so, then an Employers Identification Number must be obtained from the IRS. You must withhold the correct amount of taxes from your employee. In addition to the employee’s taxes, the employer must pay worker’s compensation insurance and unemployment tax to the state.

Whether your business provides a service for a fee or sells merchandise, you may have to collect sales tax and forward it to the appropriate taxing authority. If your business was created using an assumed name, “you” will be personally responsible to the taxing authority for all payments.

Any late or insufficient payments can result in penalty interest or fines.

Will you accept checks or only cash?

Most businesses do accept checks but there is a growing trend for a customer to pay using a debit or credit card. This means that the bank you select should have the capacity to accept these types of transactions. This discussion can take place when the business account is originally opened.

What seemed like an easy idea of creating a business can become complicated.

As part of your planning process, you should consult with a legal or accounting firm to ensure all of the possible problem areas are resolved before you begin.

In an assumed name business, there is no practical way to avoid owner liability. and distinct from its owners. In these situations, the owner’s possible liability exposure is the extent of their contribution to the business.

In an assumed name business, there is no practical way to avoid owner liability. Instead, the owner must purchase sufficient insurance to cover any possible risk. An owner should consult with an insurance agent to ensure that there is sufficient coverage and range of insurance coverages in place before business is started.

There are other considerations when starting a new business. An owner should always check with the municipal’s zoning law to ensure that the type of business planned is permitted. Even if the business is permitted in the area, the owner may

n LARRY COVELL is a professor of business at SUNY Jefferson and an attorney. Contact him at lcovell@sunyjefferson.edu. His column appears every other month in NNY Business.

October 2014 | NNY Business

| 33

COM M E R CE CORNER

Shop local, support local business

I

t hardly seems possible that there are only a few weeks of Saturday shopping before the holidays are upon us. We are plagued by Black Friday if we choose to venture out to get all the deals but the traditional day after Thanksgiving has now crept into post-turkey evening shopping.

In 2010, American Express launched a plan to extend holiday shopping more toward the Christmas seasons and founded the now-famous Small Business Saturday.

The goal of promoting Small Business Saturday was to encourage shoppers to support local businesses and to bring even more shoppers out into local markets to support local economies. According to American Express, this day has grown into a powerful movement, and more people are taking part than ever before.

This year’s Shop Local Campaign is Nov. 29 and there are several ways you can show your support.

In preparation for Small Business Saturday, the day after Black Friday, the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce has launched a “Shop Local and Support Local Campaign.”

Through this program, we will be collaborating with any businesses interested to promote shopping, eating, spending and giving locally.

LOCAL WRITING CONTEST In an effort to make our community aware of the Shop Local Campaign, the chamber is kicking off a writing contest that asks the community: “Why shop local and support local business?” Who better to hear from but those who live, eat, shop

and give to our community?

The contest is open to anyone who writes a 500-word essay that shares insight on the importance of shopping local in our community. In effort to Lynn Pietroski support Shop Local and Small Business Saturday, a committee was designed to assist with getting the word out of all the exciting things to do in our community. With Nov. 1 as the deadline to submit the essay, the Shop Local committee will choose the top three submissions, focusing on content of why it’s important to shop local.

SHOW YOUR ‘SHOP SMALL’ SPIRIT All businesses can be involved in supporting this communitywide event with our “Shop Local and Support Local Business” decorating contest. Submit photos of your window space, doors, entryways or travel vehicles in your favorite “Shop Small” décor. This is a way for businesses to get creative and show support for the importance of shopping and sharing local in the community. The only criteria — be sure to include the “Shop Small” colors of blue, white, and silver. Entries can be submitted to the Chamber and must be received by Dec. 1.

Not interested in writing or decorating?

You can still help support “Shop Small” by being a Neighborhood Champion

by just committing to assist or organize activities to rally your neighborhoods for Small Business Saturday. As the holidays approach, always be thinking — how can I incorporate being a Neighborhood Champion into my event or business (big or small), even if it is simply reminding people to shop local on Nov. 29.

SHOPPING INCREASES APPETITE Shopping — especially with all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season — leads to hunger. The greater Watertown area is fortunate to have an abundance of places to grab a coffee, maybe a “Tom and Jerry,” a local farmer’s market and restaurants. A great gift to give is food, so if you pick up some wine a local winery or distillery, visit your favorite liquor store, or pick up some fresh baked goods at a local craft fair, this is shopping local. But as you head home don’t forget to make a drop at your local food pantry and remember ’tis the season of giving.

Most importantly, enjoy local. Our community is bursting at the seams with so many activities taking place from reading events at our local library to our holiday parades, all the school holiday shows and Snowtown USA. Let’s share and promote the wealth of living, working and enjoyment of our community.

If you or your organization is interested in participating, contact the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce at 788-4400 or marketing@ watertownny.com. n LYNN PIETROSKI is president and CEO of the Greater Watertown North Country Chamber of Commerce. Contact her at ceo@watertownny. com. Her column appears monthly.

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AG RI- BU S I NE S S

Farm protection plan update on tap

O

n Nov. 5, farmers will gather to share their thoughts on the future of agriculture. The Jefferson County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board is revising the Jefferson County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan. The original plan was written in 2002 and has been used during the past 12 years to guide growth in Jefferson County’s agricultural industry.

The AFPB, through the Jefferson County Board of Legislators, hired Community Planning and Environmental Associates to help revise the Farmland Protection Plan.

The firm has met with staff from agencies serving agriculture and conducted an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to farming. Officials toured the county looking at what agriculture offers and listened to agricultural staff discuss the excitement and growth our industry is experiencing.

The first meeting is for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation size farms from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Belleville Fire Hall.

The larger family-owned farms sometimes have different challenges and opportunities. Later, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County, 203 N. Hamilton St., Watertown, any farm interested will share their opinions on issues and opportunities facing their farms.

Anyone with questions is encouraged to contact Mike Bourcy at the Jefferson County Planning Department, 785-3144.

In addition to the meetings, an online survey is planned to gain input on developing the plan. Additional efforts include reaching out to other sectors of agriculture for input.

All information gleaned from these sessions and surveys will be used to develop a new plan. The goal of everyone involved is to

create a plan to lead us through the next 10 years in supporting agriculture, much like the 2002 plan did.

The 2002 plan contained eight areas to address agricultural issues. Here is a Jay Matteson list of those areas: 1) Determine the need for protecting agricultural land.

2) Determine what lands in Jefferson County are in need of protection.

Jefferson County and the AFPB worked with American Farmland Trust to identify lands in need of protection in the county.

State grant money to support these efforts dried up for several years but available again. Work is being done to apply for state money. The U.S. Army Compatible Use Buffer Program was successfully used to protect several hundred acres of prime farmland along the perimeter of Fort Drum.

3) Promote agricultural protection programs — A county Right to Farm Law was adopted by the Jefferson County Board of Legislators, one of the first in the state. Townships have been encouraged to acknowledge the law. Thousands of acres of farmland have been placed into the statecertified Agricultural Districts program.

4) Increase educational awareness programming in agriculture — Tremendous efforts have been made to accomplish this task but much work remains. This is an ongoing, critically important task.

5) Support the local dairy industry — Even with the startup of a wine and grape

industry, dairy farming and manufacturing, along with the support businesses in between, remains the largest sector in agriculture. Many efforts have been made, including the startup of dairy profit team programs, an academy for dairy executives, and a host of other programs.

6) New technology and product development — Agricultural research is conducted each year in Jefferson County and remains critical to the industry’s success. Through Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program and New York Farm Viability Institute, research is ongoing on everything from cold-hardy grape varietals to new methods of improving feed quality on dairy farms.

7) Capital financing programs — The availability of funding for agriculture has improved. From the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency opening its revolving loan fund to production agriculture, to the Development Authority of the North Country creating new financing programs to support value-added farm production, progress is being made to finance our food production.

8) Marketing — Dozens of farms and manufacturers have been attracted here and our efforts are being ramped up to attract more. At times, there are farmers markets happening almost every day of the week. Even a Farmer’s Market in Salmon Run Mall was ventured and, while not successful, it opened the door for Coyote Moon Vineyards to establish a presence for several years in the mall. n JAY M. MATTESON is agricultural coordinator for the Jefferson County Local Development Corp. He is a lifelong Northern New York resident who lives in Lorraine. Contact him at coordinator@comefarmwithus.com. His column appears monthly in NNY Business.

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| 35

B U S I N E SS TECH BYTES

Evaluate your apps before launch

T

o app or not to app — that is the question. According to Website Magazine, “a whopping 26 percent of apps are only used only once and then they are uninstalled by the user.”

This is a useful statistic if your business is contemplating app development; whether you have the development staff in house or if you will outsource this development it takes time and money. While there are many popular apps many do not meet the expectations of their audience and keep their attention when it comes to concepts and features. Even the slickest of user interfaces can’t compete with the attention-deficient audience we all have become.

Whether you already have an app for your business or are still in the development stage ensure your marketing message doesn’t oversell your feature set. There are a few common things you should avoid as you enter the app space.

You are competing against many others; be it in the Google Play Store or on Apple iTunes and you don’t want to be like the many others that have lost their customer’s endorsement because you are not delivering what you marketed. First and foremost test to ensure your app loads and functions properly. Always remember responsive design. Your app needs to be optimized for every device and operating system, whether Android, Apple and even Windows. If your app loads too slowly, has clunky navigation or crashes too often, you will create

a frustrating experience for your user and they will quickly decide to just uninstall it. That is your time and money down the drain.

Ensure your app will not be a device drain Jill Van Hoesen as it cannot use a ton of the mobile device’s memory and cause issues with the device’s performance. Your app

and will shy away from your app if they have been breached or know of others that have. This comes down to the risk tolerance of your customer. If you choose not to use a social network login for your app do not make it overly complicated and clumsy so that the user will uninstall your app before they have even completed registration.

We all know app development takes money and advertising is where you can infuse your cash flow. But place your advertisements carefully. Not all users want the nuisance of being forced to watch a video advertisement before even being allowed access to your app’s homepage. This could result in another reason for an instant uninstall.

Also on the nuisance meter, right after advertisements is notifications.

Keeping notifications from your app to a minimum is imperative. Don’t overburden your users with check boxes or they will just leave your app and eventually uninstall it altogether.

It seems that mobile is trending, Web is down and app users are becoming the new valued audience. Still the key is to get users to try your app. Following the guidelines outlined here should help so your audience won’t uninstall and move on to your competitor before they even gave your app a try.

Your app needs clear navigation with appealing typefaces and icons in attractive colors while still keeping the loading and navigating easy and simple, ensuring a rewarding user experience.

36 | NNY Business | October 2014

needs clear navigation with appealing typefaces and icons in attractive colors while still keeping the loading and navigating easy and simple, ensuring a rewarding user experience.

Part of having an app is the ability to learn about your customer and turn this knowledge into a marketing tool.

This, too, can get tricky. Originally it was thought that using a social network login would be one of the simplest ways to get past the registration process. This was before data breaches. Data breaches have made everyone more aware of others accessing their personal information

n JILL VAN HOESEN is chief information officer for Johnson Newspapers and a 25-year IT veteran. Contact her at jvanhoesen@wdt.net.

Her column appears monthly in NNY Business.

SMAL L BU SIN E SS SU CC E S S

Truths on government contracting

M

yths, misconceptions and misinformation abound when it comes to the topic of small businesses selling to the government. On one end of the spectrum is the belief that government contracting is a lucrative opportunity that can magically grow your company. On the other end are those who say it is a great drain of time and resources that offers little return. The real story lies somewhere in between and there is a bit of truth at both ends of the spectrum.

Government contracting is an opportunity that is worthy and that should include a basic understanding of how procurement works and its advantages and disadvantages. So, here are a few facts about government contracting: It’s not easy. It takes a lot of work. And time. The process begins with doing market research to discover which of your goods and services the government is interested in buying. There are many resources available to help you find out not just what the government has purchased in the past but how much it has purchased and how often. You can also learn what the current needs and purchasing budgets are.

Once a small business decides that there may be an opportunity to sell certain products or services, the real work begins. Selling to the government is much like selling to any other customer and it requires marketing.

A small business must make itself known to government agencies, purchasing and contracting officers. This requires registration in online databases, which government agencies can access to see what companies have to offer. This process can be long and tedious for a small business but it’s extremely important because it is a primary marketing vehicle in the procurement world.

There are also networking events held

throughout the region to help introduce small businesses to key people making purchasing decisions for various government agencies. Attending such events, called matchmakers, help small Michelle Collins businesses build relationships with government agencies that can create further opportunities in the future.

It doesn’t happen overnight. It is often assumed that selling to the government results in an immediate return on the time and effort invested. This is usually not the case. Many factors contribute to the length of time it takes a small business to become successful in regularly selling to the government.

One of those factors is the amount of time it takes for a business to market itself and build its network of contacts. Experienced small business owners know that marketing rarely results in instant payoff but rather is a matter of building credibility and image over time. This also applies when marketing to the government.

But it also takes time for a small business to be successful in selecting procurement opportunities as well as learning how to bid successfully. This requires that a small business take a serious look at its abilities to perform and select contracting opportunities that are within those capabilities. Knowing how much you can produce, how quickly and for what price will be crucial.

It’s not a start-up plan. Very few start-up and early stage companies are ready to enter

the realm of government procurement. Companies that try to get their start by banking on selling only to government customers are usually doomed to failure. This is not only because of the points made above but also because most government agencies want to see that a small business has a track record of performance before they’ll take a gamble on hiring them.

Purchasing and contracting officers will look at the online profiles a business has created in the databases previously mentioned to see the company’s history. How long have they been in business? What kinds of customers do they have? How big are the jobs that they’ve performed and have they been completed successfully? As a start-up company, most small businesses are unable to demonstrate their competence.

It may not be for you. The last thing to keep in mind about government contracting is that it may not be the right fit for your business. Or, it may not be right for now. There are plenty of resources available to help you determine if your business should pursue government procurement opportunities. And even better is the fact that most of them are free. They are: n The New York State Small Business Development Center at SUNY Canton, (315) 386-7312 n The New York State Small Business Development Center at Jefferson Community College, (315) 782-9262 n North County Procurement Technical Assistance Center at the Greater WatertownNorth Country Chamber of Commerce in Watertown, (315) 788-4400. n MICHELLE COLLINS is a certified business advisor with the New York State Small Business Development Center at SUNY Canton. Contact her at collinsm@canton.edu. Her column appears bi-monthly in NNY Business.

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COMMUNITY / BUSINESS CALENDAR

CANTON

LYONS FALLS

TUESDAY, OCT. 28 n St. Lawrence County Matchmaker, 8 a.m. to noon, Miller Campus Center, SUNY Canton. Sponsored by SUNY Canton Small Business Development Center. Connects local small businesses and purchasing officers. Cost: business owners, $10; purchasing officers, free. Information, register: 386-7312 or SBDC@canton.edu.

FRIDAY, NOV. 7 — SUNDAY, NOV. 9 n Health & Wellness Weekend, Friday 4 to 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., The Edge Hotel, 3952 NY State Route 12, Lyons Falls. Learn the importance of balancing a healthy lifestyle and the benefits you can gain. Includes blood drive, Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free. Information: theedgehotel.com or 348-4211.

CAPE VINCENT TUESDAY, NOV. 4 n Election Day Spaghetti Dinner, 4:30 p.m., Fire Hall, 241 E. Broadway St. Benefits Cape Vincent Ambulance. Information: 654-2481.

CARTHAGE WEDNESDAY, NOV. 12 n Chamber Meeting, noon to 1 p.m., Village of Carthage common room, 120 S. Mechanic St. Carthage Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors meet; the public is invited to attend.

Information: 493-3590.

CLAYTON THURSDAY, NOV. 6 n Business With a Twist, 5 to 7 p.m., Thousand Islands Arts Center, 314 John St. Networking opportunity for Clayton Chamber Members and guests. Register: 686-3771.

FRIDAY, DEC. 5 n 6th Annual Christmas Masquerade Ball, 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., Clayton Opera House, 405 Riverside Drive. Hosted by the Thousand Islands Young Leaders Organization. Information: tiylo.org.

38 | NNY Business | October 2014

NEW BREMEN SATURDAY, OCT. 25 n Memory Keepers Craft Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Beaver River Central School Elementary Gym, New Bremen. Sponsored by Memory Keepers Relay for Life Team. Enjoy over 20 vendors. Event offers hot lunch, bake sale, multiple door prizes and raffle for a garden bench and a silver cancer ribbon necklace. No admission cost. Information: Lewis County Chamber of Commerce, 376-2213.

OGDENSBURG FRIDAY, NOV. 14 n Annual Chamber of Commerce Dinner, Gran-View, 6765 NY Route 37, Ogdensburg. Benefits Greater Ogdensburg Chamber of Commerce. Citizen of the Year presentation, as well as Business Improvement and Outstanding Community Service Awards given.

Information: Larua Pearson, 393-3620.

POTSDAM MONDAY, NOV. 17 — SUNDAY, NOV. 23 n Global Entrepreneurship Week, Clarkson University, Potsdam. Sponsored by

the Reh Center for Entrepreneurship.

Events include keynote speakers, panel discussions, luncheons, student pitches and the Sigma Nu Tau Entrepreneurship Honor Society induction. Most events are open to the public. Information: Erin Draper, edraper@clarkson.edu or 315268-3995; Ashley Sweeney, asweeney@clarkson.edu or 315-268-4350.

SACKETS HARBOR SUNDAY, OCT. 26 n Community Vendor’s Expo, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sacket’s Harbor American Legion, 209 Ambrose St. Information: 646-3530.

SYRACUSE WEDNESDAY, OCT. 29 n B2B Marketplace, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., The Oncenter, 800 S. State St., Syracuse. Sponsored by CenterState CEO, BTI The Travel Consultants, and Time Warner Cable Business Class. Programs offered include forums, training and education programs, networking events and visibility opportunities. Cost: Member full attendee, $75; member full attendee with Economic Champion Luncheon, $125; non-member full attendee, $90; non-member full attendee with Economic Champion Luncheon, $145.

Information or register: centerstateceo. com or 470-1800.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 29 n 2014 Economic Champions Luncheon, noon to 1:30 p.m.,The Oncenter, 800 S. State St., Syracuse. Sponsored by Fust Charles Chambers. Part of CenterState CEO’s B2B Marketplace, this event celebrates nearly 200 companies being honored for advancing the region’s economy. Cost: members, $55; non-members, $65. Information or reg-

ister: centerstateceo.com or 470-1800.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 12 n Business Before Hours, 8 to 9:30 a.m., Metro Fitness, 205 S. Salina St. #1a, Syracuse. Hosted by CenterState CEO. Bring your business cards and a friend to network with other local businesses at this before hours coffee and network opportunity. Cost: Members, $10; non-members, $20. Information: Lisa Metot, 315-470-1870 or lmetot@ centerstateceo.com.

MONDAY, NOV. 24 n SyracuseFirst Fifth Annual Buy Local Bash, 6 p.m., The Landmark Theatre, 362 S. Salina St., Syracuse. Presented

by AmeriCU. Aims to spread awareness of the importance of shopping at locally and independently owned businesses during the holiday season.

Event will feature live bands, local artists and regional food and beverages.

Cost: $25; advance, $20. Information, register: centerstateceo.com.

WATERTOWN WEDNESDAY, OCT. 29 n Tech-Splosion 2014, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Best Western Watertown, 300 Washington St. A daylong event open to Real Estate Professional and the general public, designed to help you understand the newest technologies. The

SATURDAY, NOV. 1 n Writing Contest. Hosted by Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce. “Why Shop Local and Support Local Business,” 500-word essay sharing insight on importance of shopping local. Submit entries to Chamber, Sara, 788-7400, or marketing@watertownny.com, by Saturday, Nov. 1.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 19 n Business of Women Annual Networking Conference, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Ramada Watertown, 6300 Arsenal St. This annual event gives women and men of the north country an opportunity to network, learn and be inspired together. Registration includes continental breakfast, keynote speaker, workshops and lunch. Registration closes Nov. 13.

Cost: by Nov. 5, $30; by Nov. 13, $40.

Register, information: nyssbdc.org, 7829262 or sbdc@sunyjefferson.edu.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 19 n Business After Hours, 5 to 7 p.m., Best Western Savory Downtown, 300 Washington St. Sponsored by Bowers and Company CPA’s, PLLC. Great networking, prizes and food. Register by noon, Nov. 18. Cost: registered members, $10; non-registered members, $12; nonmembers, $15. Register: watertownny. com or 788-4400.

THURSDAY, NOV. 30 n 2014 Holiday Craft Fair & Market, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Dulles State Office Building, 317 Washington St. Benefits the Watertown Urban Mission. Featuring over 60 local small businesses.

Cost: $2; under 12, free. With each admission, receive $2 off coupon to the Im-

Come See the All New Polaris Brutus at Waite Motorsports

possible Dream Thrift Store and a ticket to win a door prize. Information: water townurbanmission.com or 782-8440.

SATURDAY, NOV. 29 n Small Business Saturday: Shop Local and Support Local Campaign. Sponsored by Greater Watertown-North County Chamber of Commerce, in preparation for Small Business Saturday.

Includes “Why Shop Local and Support Local Business” writing contest; 500 word entries due to Chamber by Nov. 1.

Also includes “Shop Local and Support Local Business” decorating contest. Submit photos of your window space, doors, entry ways or travel vehicles in your favorite “Shop Small” décor to Chamber

by Dec. 1. Information: Sara, 788-4400 or marketing@watertownny.com.

MONDAY, DEC. 1 n “Shop Local and Support Local Business” decorating contest. Sponsored

by Greater Watertown-North County Chamber of Commerce. Submit photos of your window space, doors, entry ways, or travel vehicles in your favorite “Shop Small” décor. Be sure to include the “Shop Small” Colors, blue, white, and silver. Submit entries to the Chamber by Dec. 1.

FRIDAY, DEC. 5 n Festival of the Trees Gala, 6 to 9 p.m.

Benefits children’s programs and services offered at the Watertown Family YMCA and Samaritan Medical Center.

The event will feature a live auction of trees, dinner and music. Cost: $70. Information: Michelle Nickles, 785-5745 or mnickles@shsny.com.  GOT A BUSINESS EVENT or calendar item? Email nnybusiness@wdt.net. Deadline is the 10th of each month for the following month’s issue. Visit us on Facebook at www. facebook.com/NNYBusiness or www.nny bizmag.com for events calendar updates.

COMMUNITY / BUSINESS CALENDAR

FRIDAY, NOV. 7 7 Habits of 7 Highly Successful People, 7:30 to 10 a.m., location to be determined. Hosted by CenterState CEO. Seven speakers will share seven habits they feel have helped them become successful. Registration and coffee at 7:30 a.m.; program begins at 8:00 a.m.

Cost: Members, $20; non-members, $30. Information: Lisa Metot, 315-4701870 or lmetot@centerstateceo.com.

event will feature vendors and speakers.

Cost, including breakfast and lunch: $15; preregistered, $10. Information, register: 782-1322.

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October 2014 | NNY Business

| 39

B U SI N E SS S CENE GWNC Chamber of Commerce Athena Award Dinner at Hilton Garden Inn

From left, Bruce Flint, Croghan, wife, Patricia, Erika F. Flint, Watertown Urban Mission and 2014 Athena Award recipient, and husband, Travis, Dexter.

From left, Heather White, Watertown City Schools, and Barbara Eldridge, retired.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Dacia VanEenenaam and Renee Waterbury, Watertown. The Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce held its 2014 Athena Award Presentation and Dinner on Sept.4 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Watertown.

Susan Snell, former Watertown Urban Mission board member, and Andrew G. Mangione, Watertown Urban Mission.

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BU SIN E SS S C E NE GWNC Chamber of Commerce After Hours at Paddock Arcade

From left, Michelle Wood, Hospice of Jefferson County, Watertown, and Barb Ashe, Samaritan Medical Center, Watertown.

From left, Alexandra Smith, Miss Ireland 2014, Watertown, and Katie Beagle, 2014 North Country Goes Green Irish Princess, Watertown.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Tom Puccia, WWNY 7 News / WNYF Fox 28, Nancy McCabe and husband Joe, both of McCabe’s Supply, Watertown. North Country Goes Green hosted the

Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce September Business After Hours at the Paddock Arcade on Sept. 18.

From left, Emily Winter, Christi Johnson and Heather O’Connor, Texas Roadhouse, Watertown.

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October 2014 | NNY Business

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B U S I N E SS SCENE Chamber of Commerce Networking at 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel

Sharon Buchko, Holiday Inn, Liverpool, and husband, Todd, 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel, Clayton.

From left, Dawn Knowles and Heather Fargo, both of 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel, Clayton.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Declan Callan, Cape Vincent Economic Development, Toni Trottier and husband, Ron, Anchor Marina, Cape Vincent. The Greater-Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce, along with the Cape Vincent, Clayton and Alexandria Bay chambers of commerce hosted a joint networking event at the 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel, Clayton, on Sept. 23.

From left, Shelley Higgins, Cape Vincent Chamber of Commerce, Kelly Bragger, North Country Prenatal-Perinatal Council, Genevieve Chavoustie, Taste of Design, Cape Vincent, and husband, Mike, president, Cape Vincent Chamber of Commerce board of directors and owner, Aubrey’s Inn, Cape Vincent.

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BU SIN E SS S C E NE Jefferson Leadership Institute Class of 2015 Kick-off Dinner at Riveredge Resort

Hartley Bonisteel-Schweitzer, Jefferson County Planning Department, and husnad, Reginald, JLI Class of 2015, Neighbors of Watertown, Chaumont Hardware and Maggie’s on the River.

From left, Sara Carpenter, Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce, and Meredith Fiorentino, Watertown Savings Bank, both JLI Class of 2015.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Michele White, Carthage Schools MFLC, Kelly Mie Clough, both of Legal Docs by Me, Watertown. The Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce held its kick-off dinner for the Jefferson Leadership Institute Class of 2015 on Sept. 26 at the Riveredge Resort & Conference Center, Alexandria Bay.

From left, Sean Mills, Samaritan Medical Center, Brent Shawcross, Samaritan Summit Village, and wife, Kimberly O’Neill, Department of Veterans Affairs,

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B U S I N E SS HIS TORY

A family firm carries on

Black River Paper Co. adapts to times with next generation

By LORNA OPPEDISANO

T NNY Business

rends come and go. Whether it’s seasonal food, teaching methods or the sale of industrial products, what’s popular among the masses changes as the years pass. Since its establishment, Black River Paper Co., Inc. has seen 116 years go by, and remains a strong force in Northern New York. Why is that? From the very beginning, the company has understood the inevitable comings and goings, and adapted its supply to meet that ever-changing demand.

“Things change fast,” Stewart E. Perkins, present owner of the company, told the Watertown Daily Times in an Aug. 28, 1994, article. “You either change with it, or you’re out of business.”

Black River Paper Co. has been owned by the Perkins family since 1919, when it was bought by Allen S. Perkins, the present owner’s grandfather, and his brother, Ralph J. Perkins, from John W. Hyde and Willian J. Morrow. Mr. Hyde and Mr. Morrow founded the company in 1898 at Bradley and Superior streets in Watertown. At the time of its inception, the company’s staple products were paper and twine for wrapping.

In 1927, the Perkins brothers moved business to its present location of 1 Factory Square, Watertown, Mr. Perkins said.

According to the 1994 Times article, the Factory Square building was built in 1870 and housed the Davis Sewing Machine company, then Watertown Spring Carriage Co. and later, H.H. Babcock Company Inc., which bought out the carriage company and expanded into production of automobiles and automobile bodies. In the following years, the Perkins brothers bought other local paper companies as well, according to a Feb. 25, 1929, Watertown Daily Times article. Mr. Perkins obtained the M. M. Bagg Company in 1919. In 1927, the D. S. Miller Company and Watertown Supply Company were purchased. Finally, in 1929, Mr. Perkins

WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES ARCHIVES

From left, present Black River paper Co. owner Stewart E. Perkins, father and former owner Allen S. Perkins and son Steven A. Perkins, in a 1994 Watertown Daily Times photo. The younger Mr. Perkins is slated to take the reigns of the storied company in about a year.

absorbed the Mack Paper Co. Black River Paper Co. remained in the Factory Square building over the years, but inventory changed rapidly with the times. As early as the 1920s, the Perkins brothers saw consumer demands change.

town, or for drug stores, according to the 1994 article. In the late 1960s, the last shipments of these products were donated to local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Mr. Perkins told the Times in 1994, because the demand had dropped so suddenly.

By the mid-1990s, about half of the Black River Paper sales, more than $1 million in 1993, were in paper products, Mr. Perkins told the Times. Other sales at the time were through the Blue Diamond Ace Hardware division and the Blue Diamond Chemical division.

Since they purchased the company, the Perkins family has never hesitated to adapt to the times. But that’s not the only reason why the company has been successful all these years; they have also chosen to stay loyal to and honest with their customers. As Mr. Perkins told the Times for the 1994 article, he operates his business under the theory that selling a product should not take advantage of a customer, but try to make both the seller and customer profit. Mr. Perkins was always honest with his

Shortly after the Perkins family came into ownership of the company, the firm joined the Chamber of Commerce, and continues to be the longest continuous member on record.

44 | NNY Business | October 2014

Previously, the company was the sole distributor of rubber tires in the area, but as the tire business grew, the company dropped that line, according to the 1994 Times article.

World War II changed the industry again, as it did for many American companies of the day; the company slit and re-wound paper rolls to make tapes for adding machines.

For the following few decades, the company sold fountain syrups for ice cream and soda mixes made at the former A&W and Woolworth stores in Water-

B U S I N E SS HIS TORY customers, selling products that truly benefited the customer.

The company has also been involved in the community throughout the years.

According to a January 1990 Greater Watertown Chamber of Commerce publication, Black River Paper Co. has put forth two presidents of the Watertown School Board, a president of the Watertown Rotary Club, members of the Dexter and Pillar Point Fire Departments, leadership in local churches and both the Watertown and Dexter Masonic Lodges, and committee personnel to the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and 4-H club, to name a few. Shortly after the Perkins family came into ownership of the company, the firm joined the Chamber of Commerce, and continues to be the longest continuous member on record, according to the 1990 publication.

Mr. Perkins bought the business from his father in 1989. Having previously considred a call to serve as a minister, he told the Times, his father was surprised when he expressed interest in becoming a permanent member of the company.

Black River Paper Co. now sells janitorial, paper and hardware supplies to customers in St. Lawrence, Lewis, Jefferson and Oswego counties. They are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. Contact them at 782-0920.

Mr. Perkins’ son, Steven A. Perkins, is slated to become the next head of the company in a little over a year, Mr. Perkins said. The youngest Mr. Perkins has been interested in the company since he was a child. The 1994 Times article tells this story: When he was in first grade, he took a sample of a track-off mat to showand-tell, unbeknown to his parents, and gave his class a sales pitch he had heard from his father. Mr. Perkins told the Times that his teacher later stopped by to order two of the mats.

“My philosophy is the same as my father’s was. It’s nice if the family continues in the business,” but it isn’t the end of the world if the family does not, Mr. Perkins told the Times in 1994.

It appears it will be nice indeed.

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n LORNA OPPEDISANO is staff writer and editorial assistant for NNY Magazines. Contact her at loppedisano@wdt.net or (315) 6612381. Business history is a monthly feature from the archives of the Watertown Daily Times. Visit www.watertowndailytimes.com to access digital archives since 1988, or stop by the Times, 260 Washington St., Watertown to research materials in our library that date back to the 1800s.

October 2014 | NNY Business

| 45

I

N E X T MO NT H

n November — in time for the holidays — we go behind the scenes of the retail sector to learn how retaliers prepare for two of their biggest days of the year — Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.

Also coming next month: n 20 UNDER 40 — THE LIST: We unveil this year’s class of Northern New York’s emerging leaders in advance of our annual luncheon to honor 20 new young professionals. n SMALL BIZ STARTUP: Mint Julep Spa and Salon, Watertown’s newest full-service destination to treat yourself after a day of holiday bargain hunting. n 20 QUESTIONS: An in-depth interview with a north country business leader. n PLUS: NNY Snapshot, Economically Speaking, Commerce Corner, Nonprofits Today, Business Tech Bytes, Small Business Success, Real Estate, Agri-Business, Business History and Business Scene.

Watertown, NY - 22746 Plaza Drive Toll Free: 877-417-2346 Phone: 315-782-2422 Also located in Troy & Plattsburgh www.wellscomm.com

n VISIT US ONLINE at www.nnybizmag.com.

Follow us on Twitter for daily updates at @NNYBusinessMag, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nnybusiness, and view eEditions at www.issuu.com/NNYBusiness.

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October 2014 | NNY Business

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