OCBM169 August / September 20

OSWEGO COUNTY

BUSINESS August-September 2020

$4.50

cnybusinessmag.com

Launching CNY’s New Vineyard CNY’s Business Magazine

Oswego native Joe Murabito and his wife Ana Maria just started their vineyard in Baldwinsville, Strigo Farmhouse, complete with a B&B and a tasting room Covering Oswego, Onondaga counties

Special: Region Sees Surge in Real Estate Market

Had a Stroke.

Back on Stage.

Musician Todd Hobin KNOW THE SIGNS • CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY

Central New York music legend Todd Hobin knew nothing about stroke — but he does now. That’s why he’s raising awareness about stroke risk factors and its signs and symptoms.

F.

FACE DROOPING

A. S. T.

ARM WEAKNESS

SPEECH DIFFICULTY

Fact: Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. Important to know: Stroke can happen to both men and women — at any age.

Good news: Stroke is preventable by managing medical risk factors and healthy lifestyle choices.

What to do: Time lost is brain lost. So it’s vital to know the signs of a stroke — F.A.S.T. Four words to live by: Call 911 and say, “Take me to Crouse.“ When it comes to stroke, every moment matters. As one of just 10 hospitals in New York State tohave earned Comprehensive Stroke Center status, and with the region’s newest ER and hybrid ORs, Crouse offers the most advanced technology for rapid stroke diagnosis and treatment

Read Todd’s story and learn more: crouse.org/toddhobin.

TIME TO CALL 911

“Pathfinder Bank has been a great partner for us over the years in a lot of ways, but right now, in particular. I’ve heard horror stories from friends of mine that have businesses that dealt with bigger, more national or regional banks that had trouble getting their loans through and processed with the PPP in the first round. And we appreciate the fact that we are dealing with our friends and neighbors.

Canale’s has been here for 66 years and hopefully we’re going to stay here for many more. This is a challenge to be overcome right now. I see that that’s the attitude that people are taking, that this is something that we can get through together.”

Nick Canale - Owner of Canale’s Restaurant

Our customers are our neighbors and the businesses we serve are our partners in building a vibrant Central New York community. We are honored to have been able to help a local staple like Canale’s Restaurant get their employees back to work and adjust to new operations.

With reopening now in Phase Four and the sun shining, we look forward to enjoying ourselves on their outdoor dining patio, safely and in good health.

315.343.0057 pathfinderbank.com Oswego • Fulton • Mexico • Central Square Lacona • Cicero • Clay • Syracuse • Utica

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 • Issue 169

PROFILE JAMES REED

COVER STORY

32

CNY’s Newest Vineyard — Strigo Farmhouse in Baldwinsville, owned

by Oswego native Joe Murabito and his wife Ana Maria, comes complete with a B&B and tasting room. It just opened for business

Tourism Industry

63

• NYS wine, grape industry: $6.65 billion in economic impact • Finger Lakes wine country keeps juice flowing • Put on your drinking boots!

• Summer in Fair Haven in 2020 • B&Bs face re-opening challenges

Women in Business

75

We feature six women who have succeeded in business

Healthcare

83

Skaneateles resident who has worked at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield for 25 years has been appointed president and CEO of the nonprofit. He talks about his career, premium increases and why he recently adopted a plant-based diet... ...............................................................16

SPECIAL FEATURES On the Job How has the pandemic affected tourism in CNY?.....11 Q&A with Eryl Christiansen New CEO at Eastern Shore Associates talks about culture of company, growth.................................32 No Mask, No Service NYS mask order has put employees on the frontlines of enforcement.............................................................................38 Still the No. 1 New York state again ranks as No. 1 in the country when it comes to tax burden. Find out why.....42 COVID-19 Testing Labor Laws Gray areas in how employers are obligated to provide safe working conditions............................................................................44 Surviving 2020 JC Penney in Oswego survives 1-2 punch of COVID-19, corporate bankruptcy. Its manager shares her ordeal.......................................................................................46 Real Estate Real estate market in Central New York is hot again. Find out why...................................................................................48 Travel Lean times for travel agents — most people are not ready to take a vacation...............................................................51 Handshake Anyone? Don’t worry, experts say rumors of the handshake’s demise are greatly exaggerated. It will return..............................................................53

• Private practices hit hard by coronavirus pandemic •Telehealth: Here to stay

Dining out

30

DEPARTMENTS How I Got Started John Stage, Owner of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que..............14 Where is Sandra Scott Laos, Southeast Asia ............................................20

Newsmakers / Business Updates.....................................................................22

My Turn Icons of my youth not in tune with new era..........................34

Mozzarella moons at Kyle’s Wigwam in Sandy Pond: crisp and not overflowing with cheese.

4

Economic Trends New officers and board members at OOC................36

Guest Columnist Labor relations: Trump delivers for employers..........95 Last Page

Eric Summer, interim director of athletics at SUNY..........98

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

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481 Liquor & Wines..............17 Adirondack Scenic Rail Road...........................19 AHR Plumbing......................23 Allanson-Glanville-Tappan Funeral Home...................28 ALPS Professional Services.26 BarclayDamon.......................35 Bond, Schoeneck & King, Attorneys at Law................9 Buckingham Brothers...........41 Bugs Bee Gone.......................26 Builder’s FirstSource............24 Burke’s Home Center...........24 C & S Companies..................99 Canale’s Italian Cuisine........29 Canale’s Insurance & Accounting ..................17,25 Century 21 - Galloway.........24 Century 21 Leah....................49 CNY Electrical.......................25 ConnextCare..........................10 Crouse Hospital.......................2 D-K Manufacturing...............71 Dusting Divas..........................9 Eastern Shore Associates Insurance...........................40 Eis House................................29 Ellen Ladd Tax.......................13 Emergent..................................5 6

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Enright Roofing.....................23 Excellus - BlueCross BlueShield.........................85 Financial Partners of Upstate..........................40 Fitzgibbons Agency..............33 Foster Funeral Home............49 Fulton Auto Salvage.............17 Fulton Community Development Agency......26 Fulton Oswego Motor Express...................71 Fulton Savings Bank.............18 Fulton Taxi..............................33 Fulton Tool Co.......................41 Gartner Equipment.................6 Greater Oswego Fulton Chamber of Commerce...19 Halsey Machinery.................26 Harbor Lights Chem Dependency......................93 Hematology-Oncology Associates of CNY............93 Humana..................................89 Johnston Gas..........................24 JTS Remodeling.....................23 Kresner Marine......................33

Lakeshore Hardwoods.........33 Laser Transit...........................35 LW Emporium Co-Op..........19 MACNY..................................37 Menter Ambulance...............85 Mimi’s Drive Inn...................29 Mitchell Speedway Printing..............................52 Mr. Sub ...................................29 North Bay Campground........9 Northern Ace Home Center.....................25 Novelis......................................7 NYS Parks............................100 OnePhoto................................13 Operation Oswego Co..........99 Oswego County Community Foundation..........................8 Oswego County FCU............45 Oswego County Mutual Insurance...........................28 Oswego Health .....................93 Page Transportation..............50 Pathfinder Bank.......................3 Patterson Warehousing........71 Paulanjo Pizza.......................29 Port of Oswego Authority....71

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

RanMar Tractor......................28 Reiter’s Marina......................13 RiverHouse Restaurant........29 Riverside Artisans.................19 Rudy’s Lakeside Drive-In....29 Safe Haven.............................19 SBDC – Small Business Development Center........41 Scriba Electric.........................25 SUNY Oswego, Office of Business and Community Development....................50 Sweet-Woods Memorial.......25 Tavern on the Lock................29 Technology Development Organization (TDO)...........8 The Gardens...........................91 The Medicine Place...............89 Tug Hill Vineyards................67 United Wire Technology......37 Upward Graphics....................5 Vashaw’s Collision................41 Watertown Industrial Center of Local Development.....37 WD Malone............................23 Whelan & Curry Construction.......................5 White’s Lumber & Building Supply................................24 WRVO.....................................96 AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

7

Helping CNY Companies Increase Revenue, Reduce Costs, & Increase Productivity Here to help your company reach its full potential!

CNY’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE OswegoCountyBusiness.com Editor and Publisher Wagner Dotto

Associate Editor Lou Sorendo

www.tdo.org • 315-425-5144

445 Electronics Parkway Liverpool, NY 13088

Columnists

L. Michael Treadwell Bruce Frassinelli, Sandra Scott Jim Terwilliger, Tim Nekritz Steven Abraham

Writers

Deborah Jeanne Sergeant Christopher Malone Payne Horning, Ken Sturtz Aaron Gifford, Mary Beth Roach

Advertising

Peggy Kain Richard Annal

Office Manager Nancy Nitz

Layout and Design Dylon Clew-Thomas

Cover Photo

chuck Wainwright

Craig Buckhout, principal at Rockbridge Investment Management, stands on the rooftop terrace outside his office in downtown Syracuse.

My wife Carol and I developed a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation to easily facilitate our annual giving to the causes we care about.

Central New York is where we’ve grown up and it continues to be our home today. It is vital for us to continue providing funding for local organizations to ensure a prosperous region for generations to come.

GIVING BACK TO MY HOME: CRAIG BUCKHOUT

Read more of Craig’s story at cnycf.org/Buckhout

Oswego County Business is published by Local News, Inc., which also publishes CNY Summer Guide, Business Guide, CNY Winter Guide, College Life, In Good Health– The Healthcare Newspaper (four editions), CNY Healthcare Guide and 55PLUS, a Magazine for Active Adults (two editions) Published bimonthly (6 issues a year) at 185 E. Seneca Street PO Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126.

Subscription: $21.50 a year; $35 for two years © 2020 by Oswego County Business.

All rights reserved.

PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Buffalo, NY Permit No. 4725

How to Reach Us

315.422.9538 | CNYCF.ORG 8

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

P.O. Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126 Phone: 315-342-8020 Fax: 315-342-7776 Email: Editor@OswegoCountyBusiness.com AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

north bay campground On Lake Neahtahwanta 77 Sites available 36 Electrical & water hookups 35 Seasonal sites w/water & electrical hookups Restroom & Shower Facilities

www.cityoffulton.com

Open mid May to mid October

(315) 592-2256

As the nation is in various phases of reopening, Bond points the way back to business.

Bond has assembled a multidisciplinary COVID-19 Recovery for Business group supporting Oswego County businesses and organizations as they prepare to resume their operations in the weeks and months ahead.

To learn more about the group or talk to an attorney about developing a plan for getting back to work, please contact Rick Weber at rweber@bsk.com or Sunny Tice at stice@bsk.com.

One Lincoln Center, Syracuse, NY 13202 • 315.218.8000 • BSK.COM

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

9

Your Health is as Important as Ever!

60 dedicated physicians and healthcare providers across our network.

Meet Our Fulton and Oswego Providers

Beverly Aubin, FNP Family Nurse Practitioner Oswego

Anne Filipski, MD Family Practice Physician Fulton

Michael Miller, MD Family Practice Physician Fulton

Katie Beebe, FNP

Patricia Bendura, DH

Farzana Chaudhary, MD

Marie Desravines, MD

Shannon Dwyer, FNP

Alex Filipski, DO

Rosanne Foster, ANP

Ashley Gilbert, LCSW

Anna Gofman, DDS

Julie Hogle, LCSW-R Clinical Social Worker Oswego, Mexico, Pulaski

Joy Dolorico Magsino, MD

Lori Marshall, FNP

Diane Plumadore, NPP

Anthony Rotella, DO

Gerald Simmons, MD

Faith Slade, FNP

Linda Troia, PA-C, LCSW-R

Scott VanGorder, DO

Family Nurse Practitioner Oswego

Dental Hygienist Fulton

Adult Nurse Practitioner Oswego

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Fulton, Pulaski

Clinical Social Worker Fulton, Pulaski

Family Practice Physician Fulton, Phoenix

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Keep yourself and your family healthy, safe, and happy! Learn more at connextcare.org.

ConnextCare Oswego 10 George Street Oswego, NY 13126 (315) 342-0880 ConnextCare Fulton 510 S. 4th Street, suite 600 Fulton, NY 13069 (315) 598-4790

10

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

ON THE JOB How Has the Pandemic Affected Tourism in CNY? Interviews by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant “We have three guest rooms.

We’re just now starting to get calls and activity. I’ll probably rent out two rooms until we get fully open. Due to having worked at other jobs, I qualify for a small amount of unemployment.

The extra money has kept our business from going down.”

William Jacquin Co-owner Serendipity Bed and Breakfast, Oswego “Before [the pandemic], business was good. The college is not functioning; it’s less business.

With fewer festivals and things, that’s fewer travelers. Normally, I have business travelers, but no one is traveling. No one is coming for fishing. Nothing is going on, which means no customers. We were closed for weeks. Yesterday and today I got one person walking in. It’s good someone is coming, at least. We have 13 rooms. There is nothing else I’m doing.”

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Younis Ghulam Innkeeper and owner, Oswego Inn “It’s not faring well. Nobody’s traveling right now. It’s virtually impossible to travel. With New York state putting on the quarantine on people coming in from different states, no one is going to want to travel here.”

Lynn Kiestner Travel agent, Canalview Travel Service, Inc., Fulton “Summer is usually a very busy time in Baldwinsville with events every week and weekend, and concerts on Paper Mill Island, which is located on the Seneca River in the heart of the village. Last year, our visitor center log book recorded entries by visitors from 22 states and three Canadian provinces, so the delayed opening of the canal system combined with domestic and international travel restrictions

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

has certainly resulted in a marked decrease in tourist traffic. Our village restaurants, shops and service providers are doing a wonderful job of reacting and adapting to the current environment, and the community is pulling together to support our businesses and organizations as much as possible.

MaryAnne Williams Executive director, Greater Baldwinsville Chamber of Commerce “We’ve been open for more than a month. Our sales are coming back slowly. We aren’t where we were a year ago, but we’re not open as much either. We rely heavily on tourist traffic, which is down. Most of the people I’ve seen in the store are local people who are aware of us and are coming to get something special. The business is doing OK. It will carry on, but the members support it. It’s the revenue of the members that has dropped. Because many of us are retired, we don’t need to stay in business to keep food on the table. We can weather difficult situations like this better than some organizations. We do depend upon the tourists for a lot of our business during the summer, but by far, our biggest season is Christmas. The local residents who know the shops and know the artists that are featured in the shop and they come to the shop.

They’re aware of what we have and what we offer. They’re shopping for holiday gifts. We can have a mediocre

11

year and make it up on a great Christmas season because of our local support.”

Carl Patrick Member, Riverside Artisans, Oswego “It has been a very challenging time for the Oswego Speedway, not being able to hold any races this summer. With no events in the books and the schedule called off until at least end of August, it has obviously been quite the financial hit for the racetrack as well, and that is certainly something that has affected the immediate area with fans not coming through town. We hope to have good news in the coming weeks, with the latest executive order on race tracks operating with fans set to lift in August. It would be extremely beneficial for the speedway and for area tourism to have all of our fans in the States, as well as from the North Country, join us for our big classic weekend event on Labor Day weekend along with NAPA Super DIRT Week in October, if these events are able to go on as scheduled this year. We are very much looking forward to welcoming everyone back when it is safe to do so.”

Camden Proud Director of public relations and social media, Oswego Speedway, Oswego “In order to reopen — we’re in Phase 4 — we had to establish protocols and procedures that were in compliance to New York state and CDC guidelines. That’s been a whole lot of planning and drafting of procedures and establishing sanitation sites, cleaning and that kind of thing. It’s certainly worthwhile if we can make people feel safe enough to visit the museum.”

Mercedes Niess Executive director, H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego “Right now, the hardest hit sectors are performing arts and museums, as yet they’re not open.

One of our biggest assets is the cultural arts. That’s been devastating.

They were slated to open in Phase 4 but that was pushed back. A lot of their funding comes from admission and participation with the public.

Even their grants are disappearing.

A lot are offering virtual content, so there’s a silver lining there. They’re able to connect in a different way.

12

A lot of local businesses rely on tourism. All the small businesses are particularly hit. The restaurants and service industries are struggling.

If you don’t have an area to sit outdoors, you’re hit harder. But for those who do have that, they’re doing well as it’s been a lovely summer, though the lack of rain is hard on our agricultural partners.”

Karen Kuhl Tourism director, Cayuga County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Auburn “The travel industry is devastated. It’s horrific. Almost 90% of the workforce is out of a job. It’s a $900 million industry, typically.

We’d be lucky to do 20% of that.

We certainly make every effort to drive local traffic to businesses.

We’ve focused on drive-in markets.

There’s still hesitancy. The confidence levels aren’t where they need to be for people to flow into the area. It’s difficult to showcase an area when sporting events and arts aren’t available. It’s about food and nature.

“Agritourism is still something we promote, especially the craft beverage trails. We still see people taking advantage of those as people want to support their local farmers.

That’s the one bright spot. Those venues are seeing traffic. To track lodging, we use Smith Travel Research. If you take a snapshot of May and August, the top months for occupancy, we’re in the high 60% occupancy normally. We did 14% occupancy in May. It’s really dramatic. Occupancy tax collection is $7 million on a good year. We’d be lucky to get to $3 million.”

“Businesses are using remote meetings, which is convenient and essential in the interim. Relying on that for the long-term — that’s certainly a fear. The effect on the hotel industry is that they say it won’t recover until 2023.

“This has affected all facets of tourism. I don’t see one segment doing better than another. We’re starting to see some leisure travel, but as you see a bright spot, more states are added to the quarantine list.

“The fair canceling the other day tells me that we’re just not ready for large groups. That’s the state telling you that they tried everything they could. The fair is a barometer. Drivein scenarios will be pretty common until we get on the other side of this. I feel for all my hospitality partners as OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

they’re decimated.”

Danny Liedka President/CEO, Visit Syracuse

“There are no tours coming through as we’re not open yet. I anticipate within two weeks, we should open. Our plan has been submitted and we’re waiting for approval. We’ve developed some online tours, which recreate the world during 1918. We’ve boosted our Facebook page and that kind of thing. We had not gotten our staff back yet. We’ve been working on updating our research and collections files. We’ve had a lot of donations come in because of Facebook. People are donating a lot of artifacts and it’s been difficult to keep up with the flow. We’ve made great progress in processing artifacts. We find out who’s in this photograph, we do their family and personal history. It becomes the foundation for a blog entry or future exhibit.”

Paul Lear Historic site manager Fort Ontario, Oswego “We’re doing nowhere near as badly because of the virus as because our mayor has affected our business by closing Rice Landing. That’s had a far more reaching effect than the pandemic on my business. We’ve also had our share of cancellations because of the virus, understandably. Without your summer tourism business — unless you’re long-established — you can’t survive a winter in Oswego, not without those tourism dollars.

There are studies on this. The Army Corps of Engineers did a study in 2014 that said tourism brings in $9 million. Along with COVID, business not operating causes the loss of about $800,000 in tax revenue that normally would have been collected. I don’t see how they’re going to make it up.

Ninety percent of the boaters have new homes like Sodus Bay and won’t be back. The pandemic has cost my business a $6,000 account. The softball tourney we hosted for years is now not allowed to come to the county.

That was 11 cabin rentals for three days. At least people are still fishing.

The phone is ringing off the hook because people are tired of sitting at home. With certain guidelines, we can still do that.”

Greg Gehrig Owner K&G Lodge, Oswego

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

“Across the U.S., the tourism industry is one of the hardest hit segments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although travel spending is slowly increasing in many areas of the country, New York state has been hit particularly hard. In New York state, weekly travel spending in late June was down about 70% from the same period in 2019.

“Oswego County’s summer and fall tourism seasons rely heavily on visitors from other parts of New York state and nearby states. The fall fishing season attracts visitors from virtually every state in the nation, and at last count more than 30 other countries.

“The leading categories of visitor spending in Oswego County are food and beverage, second homes and lodging. Recreational activities such fishing, racing, and historic sites are very strong. Unfortunately, restaurants are still not up to full serving capacity; major events and large group gatherings such as weddings remain canceled; and as of today, racetracks are still not allowed to host spectators. The cancellation of major events and large group gatherings will have a prolonged impact on hotels and event venues.

“Fortunately, people are still booking charters and enjoying outstanding fishing, and we have a wealth of quality outdoor resources and activities for people who want to recreate close to home.

“Our occupancy tax collection is down about 12% of what we had anticipated through the end of the second quarter. We are also concerned about the revenue and jobs lost to all those employers and employees who work in our various tourism-related businesses. Most of these are seasonal in nature and even a short break in their typical fiscal year can be devastating. We are hopeful that the COVID situation will stabilize and that the numbers will improve over the remainder of the year.”

Janet West Clerkin Tourism & public information coordinator, Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism & Planning “All through the early phases, we offered take-out and now we’re doing inside seating at 50% and outdoor seating. It’s been quite steady.”

Susan Lemon Owner, Hardware Café and General Store, Fair Haven AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

13

Started How I Got

By Payne Horning

John Stage Owner of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse talks about building a chain of seven restaurants

J

ohn Stage, founder and owner of Syracuse’s famous Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, answers our questions about how he took his passion for good barbecue from an old food truck to a nationally renowned brand, product line and empire that now spans seven restaurants in two states.

Q. The Dinosaur Bar-BQue empire had what could be described as humble beginnings? Tell us about the origins and where the name comes from.

A. We started this in 1983 at all the biker events up and down the East Coast and then from that point, we moved into fairs and festivals. It was a carny lifestyle and after five years, we got a little tired of that; that’s when we set up in Syracuse.

My original partner was named Dino. He was a real big guy and, you know, we cooked over open fire, we rode old motorcycles — so we said we’re like dinosaurs. It just kind of an offshoot of his name and it stuck.

Q. Had you always been interested in working in the food service industry or did you just follow opportunity where it led?

A. I’ve always been a good cook and liked to cook and saw an opportunity in the fairgrounds and at the different biker meets that we could actually make a living at this and be around the people we wanted to be around and travel — you know, some very romantic notions back then of the business.

Q. When you finally decided to take your famous barbeque off the road and open a restaurant in Syracuse, how did you make that a reality? How much did you invest personally?

A. As we spent all those years

‘Under-capitalization is probably the No. 1 problem for any business to be able to weather whatever storms come your way.’

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

on the road, it was always a goal of ours to someday get into a brick and mortar space. Traveling like we did, it’s not a very healthy lifestyle. I got really burnt out by being on the road all the time, so it was the next logical extension of that. We just got right into it and learned everything as we went. But it’s a tough racket; it’s a tough business. You’ve got to love it. If you don’t love it, it is the absolute wrong business to get into.

So, it starts with a love and passion for the business and then it’s great if you’re capitalized. We didn’t have any money. Nobody would loan us any money. So, we begged, borrowed and stole. We built everything ourselves. Every nickel we made on the road went into the restaurant and we kept going on the road while we were in the beginning phases of this restaurant just to keep this funded. It cost about $40,000 to start.

Q. What was key to your success in launching the business?

A. You’ve got to have something that people want. It sounds simple, but there’s got to be that void in the marketplace and barbecue at that time — there was no barbecue in the Northeast, so you’ve got to have the right idea. And then, you’ve got to be willing to go all in and work your ass off: work weekends, work nights, etc. It becomes not a job, it’s your lifestyle. And then of course perseverance, because the road to success is always under construction.

There’s going to be 100 road blocks and you’ve got to be willing to go through them, go under them, go around them.

Q. What were some of the obstacles that were the most difficult to overcome?

A. I’m going to say being undercapitalized because that makes everything harder, though it also makes you smarter and more resourceful. Under-capitalization is probably the No. 1 problem for any business to be able to weather whatever storms come your way.

Those first couple of years, I could have closed the doors anytime. A less stubborn person may have.

Q. You decided to grow the business to other locations. As part of this process, you became involved with a corporate backer. What were the pros and AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

‘Love what you do. That’s where it starts. Don’t ever get into anything just to make money. Do what you love and hopefully the money will follow. If you do it the opposite way, it will never work.’ cons of going that route?

A. The first three restaurants — Syracuse, Rochester and Harlem — we did on our own and then my existing partners wanted to get out of the business. Instead of me buying them out personally, we brought in financial backers to buy them out and provide capital for growing the business. For a time, it made sense and then it didn’t. It ended up not being how I operate best. I can’t have that many people involved in the decisions. About two years ago, I bought them out.

Q. Would you recommend becoming involved with a corporate backer to other entrepreneurs who want to expand their footprint? If not, what would you advise?

A. When you take on partners, you’ve got to really look at it as it’s a marriage and you have to examine — like in any marriage — what responsibilities are; what roles are; and when you take money or when you bring on people, you have to have a very, very clear vision of what your goals are and whether your visions are aligned. It’s imperative to get all of that out in the beginning.

Any time you go into debt you’ve got to look at what happens if shit hits a fan, can you carry that dead load? And probably the best advice I would give is to grow slowly because I think the most problems we had was when we grew too fast. When you grow too fast, you’re always putting your energy into what’s next.

You’ve got to make sure the home team stays watered and is growing internally, that people are taken care of. If you grow too fast, you can lose sight of that. So, I would say just really get your infrastructure set up and don’t try to bite off too much.

Q. Today, you own seven locations, six in New York state and one in Newark, New Jersey.

What’s the key to managing all OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

of it? What advice would you give to those who have recently added to their own locations?

A. It’s building the infrastructure and having great people who you can rely on. You set your vision and follow up and give the people in charge operating autonomy under the right vision. The people who run the company with me now all have a stake in the ownership and the stake of the business. I think it’s really important to get everybody a piece of the action — and not just financially, but also in strategy, in how to run it so it’s not a top-down organization.

It’s where everyone’s got a little piece of it and more importantly, they’ve got a say in it. That’s the only way I want to operate.

Q. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the restaurant industry especially hard. How has Dinosaur Bar-B-Que been dealing with this challenge?

A. It’s the biggest curveball I’ve ever witnessed. You go through a couple of different phases. The first one is the realization that all of this could be gone, everything you worked on. So, there’s that shock and then it’s strategy of how to get out of it. It’s almost going back to the start of my business 30 years ago. So, it’s like old school — making sure every penny is appropriated right, people are taking care, negotiating with landlords all again, keeping your creditors happy. It’s just really going back to basics. It’s like a street fight right out there.

Q. For all entrepreneurs, no matter where they are in their business or what type of business they’re in, do you have any advice?

A. Love what you do. That’s where it starts. Don’t ever get into anything just to make money. Do what you love and hopefully the money will follow. If you do it the opposite way, it will never work.

15

PROFILE

By Lou Sorendo

James Reed Skaneateles resident just named Excellus’s new president and CEO-elect. He talks about his career, his work-life balance philosophy and why he adopted a mostly plant-based diet

T

rue leaders often step up to the plate during times of crisis.

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s newly named president and CEOelect James Reed is doing just that.

Reed, who joined Excellus in 1996, succeeds Christopher Booth, who will retire on May 1, 2021.

Reed most recently served as executive vice president of marketing and sales.

“Health care is such an important part of our community, and so my previous experience in working closely with many different stakeholders has provided me with a much deeper un-

derstanding of the challenges that we all face,” Reed said. “It really provides me with a great foundation for going into this new role.”

Reed has been working with Booth for the past 10 years.

“This is really a great opportunity for the next 10 months or so to really continue to work collaboratively on transitioning during that time period,” he added.

The staff at Excellus has been working remotely from home since March 17 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Fortunately prior to the pandemic, we had a really robust business continuity plan,” Reed said. “While I don’t think anyone could have predicted what has happened so far this year, we did have a plan in place. Through various simulation exercises that we have done, it really put us in a good position to respond.”

When the crisis hit, the Excellus leadership team quickly focused organizational efforts on several priorities.

“The first one was servicing our customers. This is a pandemic, and the mission of our company is to provide access to high-quality and affordable health care,” he

said. “If any of our customers are impacted by the virus, we need as a health plan to be there for them.

We need to focus on servicing our customers.”

The company also sought to protect its finances.

“There has been so much uncertainty that has been introduced because of the pandemic in terms of costs, the economy and customers’ ability to pay their premiums,” he said. “We need to make sure that with the uncertainty, we have the financial wherewithal to continue to serve our mission.”

Another priority for Excellus was to protect the jobs of its employees.

“We took necessary steps at the very start of the pandemic to make sure we were doing our part in tightening our belts,” said Reed, noting this included a hiring and promotion freeze, as well as holding on merit raises this year.

“We made sure we were as conservative as we could be knowing that our overall objective is servicing our customers, making sure we continue to service our mission and protecting the jobs of our employees,” he said.

Premium increase Excellus BCBS is a nonprofit, mission-based organization that strives to help people in the community enjoy healthier and more secure lives through access to high-quality and affordable health care.

“The decisions that we make

James Reed started working at Excellus BlueCross Blue Shield in 1996. Most recently, he served as executive vice-president of marketing and sales, and as regional president in the Central New York market.

16

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Lifelines

Birthplace: Elmira Current residence: Skaneateles Education: Bachelor of Science in business administration from Le Moyne College, Syracuse; Master of Business Administration from Le Moyne College Affiliations: Reed is active on numerous local boards, including CenterState CEO, Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, HealtheConnections, Syracuse Stage and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York.

Awards: Reed is a 2008 recipient of the Greater Syracuse “40 Under 40” award and the 2020 YWCA Champion of Diversity Award.

Personal: Married with three children Hobbies: Cooking, coaching his children’s sports align to the mission of the company, and that’s the key to our long-term success,” Reed said.

Excellus has responded to the pandemic by taking measures such as increasing reimbursement rates for telehealth; waiving out-of-pocket costs for telehealth; expediting payments of hospital claims, and implementing a 20% increase in reimbursement for COVID-19 admissions, all to reduce the administrative burden to the provider community; and providing employer group support to make sure people understand that if they are out of a job, they need to enroll in COBRA or need to understand what options are available in the individual marketplace, whether that is Medicaid or a qualified health plan.

The coronavirus outbreak is expected to cost the U.S. health system a lot of money, which analysts suggest might mean dramatic increases in insurance premiums next year.

Reed shared his thoughts in regards to what Excellus BlueCross BlueShield customers can expect in terms of premium increases in the future.

“Periodic rate adjustments are necessary to enable our health plan, or any insurer, to produce sufficient revenue and reserves to ensure that the health care needs of our members are met, for both current health AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

care needs and potential catastrophic cost situations,” he said.

Although requested rate increases are typically due to annual increases in the cost and utilization of medical care, Excellus’ rate requests to the state Department of Financial Services for next year remained among the lowest in Upstate New York, Reed noted.

This occurred despite including a 0.5% increase for anticipated increased expenses from the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

As for 2021, Excellus has submitted its request to the Department of Financial Services and is among the lowest rate adjustments filed for small group and individual products in New York state, he noted.

“We want to be as competitive as possible on our prices,” he said.

For four years in a row, Excellus’ premium requests have been below the state average for what competitors were asking, Reed said.

He said the most important variables that will affect 2021 insurance premiums involve the number of members and number of claims.

In 2019, for example, Excellus added more members and saw higher claims, Reed noted.

Its medical loss ratio (MLR), meanwhile, went from 86% in 2018 to 88% in 2019.

The MLR is the percent of premium dollars an insurer spends on medical services and quality improvements.

Striving to be the best Reed said his philosophy for the past 25 years at Excellus has been fairly simple.

“I really focused on doing the best job I could in the role that I was in, making sure I would seek to understand the big picture and understand the industry I was working in,” he said.

Reed said his philosophy also involves knowing what his role is and where that role fits into the overall success of the company.

From a philosophical perspective, Reed said he is a believer in focusing on the organization’s goals and not individual success.

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Publisher’s note

By Wagner Dotto

I

shape in early August and the data had a handyman come to my shows the virus was under control. home the other day and the But the situation can change overfirst thing he did was to extend night. The last thing we want is his hand for a handshake. It was a another shutdown of the state. That surprise and a bit of an embarrassing would be irreparable. moment. I hesitated extending my We’re not out of the woods yet. hand and then I apologized for not As a TV commentator put it the other doing so. I explained that because of day, if most homes in your neighborCOVID-19 I was not shaking hands hood are burning, it may not take too with anyone. He understood it was long until your own home catches fire not something personal.

I love shaking hands. It’s a warm, and burns as well. The situation in states like Florida, Arizona and Texas friendly gesture and it takes the relais pretty bad and people visiting from tionship with the person you meet to these and other states may be bringa new level. ing the virus to New York. We need to Problem is, handshaking is one be extra careful. more casualty of the coronavirus At the office, we have taken pandemic. It joins a list of things we several precautions — no mask is reare not supposed to be doing like quired if you’re at your workstation; gathering with many people, going however, if you move around, we to stores without a mask or visiting HOME MORTGAGE LOANS require everyone to wear masks. We friends and relatives.

SERVICE alsoPERSONAL have plenty of hand sanitizers in For the time being, we need to bewith all desks and we encourage people extra vigilant — the virus does what not to gather. We don’t have a water the virus wants to do and it’s highly cooler but people tend to congregate contagious. around the microwave and toaster New York state — and Central oven — we’re trying to avoid that.

New York especially — was in good

It’s important to follow what scientists tell us to do — no large gatherings, wear a mask and keep at least 6 feet away from other people whenever possible. If we listened to them early on, we’d probably not be in this chaotic situation we are in right now. Or at least, things would not be so bad.

This issue of Oswego County Business explores several COVID-19 related topics, including handshaking and how the area has been affected by the virus. It’s a scary thing, but if we lay low for a while this will be in the past.

WAGNER DOTTO is the publisher of Oswego County Business Magazine.

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Where in the World is Sandra Scott?

By Sandra Scott

Laos, Southeast Asia Country is worth a visit — no McDonald’s or KFC and attractive sites to see in this communist part of the world

L

aos is not the first country that comes to mind when planning a trip to Southeast Asia but it should be considered.

Laos is one of few remaining communist countries in the world, which means that it has not been overtaken by commercialism.

You won’t find McDonald’s or KFC, a fact that adds to the charm of the country.

The food is fresh and often organic because fertilizers and pesticides are too expensive. They say they don’t need fast food places because most of their food is “fast food,” quick and easy to prepare.

Laos’s capital and largest city, Vientiane, is located on the Mekong River. The city is much more sedate than other capital cities in Southeast Asia.

In 1954 the Lao achieved independence from France but the French influence is still seen in the buildings, cafes and some signage.

One of the interesting sites is the Victory Gate (Patuxai) modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was built to honor the Laotian soldiers who died in WWII and the war for independence. It was built with money given to Laos by the United States to

Plain of Jars: Thousands of jars scattered across the plain some weighing 14 tons. Their origin is still open to speculations.

20

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

build a runway and sometime called “the vertical runway.”

Also impressive is the Pha That Luang, a gold-leafed stupa that was originally built in the third century.

The Hindu temple contains a relic of Lord Buddha’s breastbone. There are other buildings in the complex, including a statue of King Setthathirat, who made Vientiane the capital in 1560.

For local handicrafts and to try some local food visit one of the night markets. Pashmina articles, a fine variant of spun cashmere, are relatively inexpensive.

The landlocked country is mountainous and most of the people live in rural areas growing mainly rice as they have for generations. The countryside is one of the charms of Laos and a favorite with backpackers.

Backpackers should have a guide.

Travelers who are not on a scheduled tour should consider hiring a car and driver to take them to the places they would like to visit. One of the most relaxing and upscale ways to visit Laos is on the Mekong Explorer cruise.

Not far north of Vientiane is a lovely area with limestone mountains and caves. Nearby there are 16thand 17th- century monasteries. It is a must visit for those who do not have enough time to explore the country outside of the capital city.

In the north of Laos is Luang Prabang the ancient capital of Laos.

It is located in a picturesque valley along the Mekong. There are several beautiful places to visit, including Wat Xieng Thong, one of the most important Buddhist monasteries. Have lunch along the Mekong and visit the waterfalls just outside the city.

One of the most enigmatic places in Laos is Plain of Jars. The archeological site is located near the village of Phonsavan. There are thousands of jars scattered across the plain, some weighing 14 tons. The origin of the jars is still open to speculations. Some people believe they were funeral urns, others for storing water or food. Most believe they are about 2,000 years old and the local legend has it that an ancient king of giants created them to brew large amounts of rice wine to celebrate a victorious battle. The area was traversed by the Ho Chi Minh Trail and heavily bombed during the Vietnam War. There is still evidence of bomb craters and unexploded mines but the dangerous areas are clearly marked. Locals say their largest resource is the metal from the bombs AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

which they have used to make shovels, fences, and other things.

Americans need a visa which is available on arrival at certain points of entry. E-visas are also available.

U.S. dollars and Thai baht are widely accepted. Credit cards can be used in tourist areas but it is best to have some Laotian Kip, which can be obtained at an ATM.

In 1954 Laos achieved independence from France but the French influence is still seen everywhere. An example is the Victory Gate modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Rice fields are a staple in Laos, where most of the people live in rural areas growing mainly rice as they have for generations.

A boat ride on the Mekong Explorer cruise.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

21

NEWSMAKERS NEWS BRIEFS ON LOCAL BUSINESSES & BUSINESS PEOPLE Eastern Shore Insurance Has New CEO, Board Member Eryl Christiansen was recently promoted from president to CEO and president of Eastern Shore Associates Insurance (ESA).

Christiansen has been with ESA for 10 years and served as president for the past two years.

Christiansen and his wife reChristiansen side in Fulton.

“I’m excited about our future as an agency,” Christiansen said. “I have tremendous confidence in the creative, professional and skilled team here that will take us to even greater heights as we go forward.

“It has always been my focus to provide insurance programs that help secure and protect our clients. This requires building strong relationships with our clients by understanding both their insurance needs and business objectives.”

The agency also announced that Thomas Anthis joined its board as a member-at -large. Anthis, an insurance agent and broker in ESA’s North Syracuse office, has been with ESA for five years and resides in Syracuse with his wife, son and daughter. “It’s Anthis my mission to partner with municipal officials, executives and business owners to develop encompassing insurance programs that will help them to mitigate losses through risk management and loss control prac22

tices,” he said. “I pride myself on being a responsive, valuable resource to our clients.

“Being a part of ESA’s board means everything to me. It’s an honor to have an opportunity to assist in the growth of the organization’s tremendous foundation. Equally as important is the opportunity to continue to strengthen the relationships with our valued clients.”

Ed Arcara Elected President of NYS Society of CPAs Edward L. Arcara, CPA, owner of Edward L. Arcara, CPA PC in Western New York began June 1 his one-year term as president of the New York State Society of CPAs. He is the organization’s 101stst president.

During his term, Arcara plans to Arcara strengthen relationships with New York state legislators and regulators, to further position the NYSSCPA as a thought leader in the state, and to diversify the membership to ensure that the NYSSCPA membership base reflects the society as a whole.

“We are taking a local focus to ensure that incoming members reflect the makeup of our great state,” he said.

“We will be working with colleges and universities to do this work and help to create an equal playing field and an inclusive profession.”

Arcara will also continue the society’s work to help firms provide comprehensive resources to their clients, in light of the pandemic that has disrupted the state and the nation, while continuing to move the profession forward.

“We have all experienced chalOSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

lenges due to COVID-19, and we’re working through these uncharted territories. I am bound and determined that our society board and myself do not skip a beat and make sure that we accomplish the goals that we have set for this year and years to come,” says Arcara.

Prior to his presidency, Arcara served on the NYSSCPA’s board as a director-at-large. He also served as the chairman of the tax division oversight committee and as a member of the audit, awards, continuity of practice, member benefits, nominating and small firms practice management committees.

Arcara is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) council and the New York Chapter of the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP), and currently is serving as a board member and on its Education Committee. Arcara joined the NYSSCPA in 1986 and is a member of the Buffalo chapter, which he served as president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. He received his bachelor’s in accounting from Canisius College.

AmeriCU’s Pfisterer Named Outstanding Professional Mark Pfisterer, former president and CEO ofAmeriCU Credit Union, has been selected as the New York Credit Union Association’s 2020 outstanding professional.

Each year, the association’s recognition awards honor Pfisterer credit unions and individuals for their exceptional contributions to the credit union movement and the members they serve. To be recognized, an individual must demonstrate their passion for credit unions through hard work, dedication and success.

“Mark has done an incredible job AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

leading this organization through the years. His vision, foresight, and managerial skill have allowed AmeriCU to grow from a relatively small organization to the nearly $2 billion credit union we are today,” said John Stevenson, chairman of AmeriCU’s board of directors.

Pfisterer has served on multiple boards and has been active in the association for many years, including serving as chairman, vice-chairman, treasurer and member of its board of directors, among other roles. He has also served as chairman of the association’s governmental affairs committee and as a member of the association’s board and a trustee of the New York Credit Union Foundation.

Pfisterer was formally recognized during the association’s annual meeting, held virtually on June 15.

At the same meeting, Kaleb Wilson, financial center manager for AmeriCU’s Cortland location, was selected as the New York Credit Union Association’s 2020 Outstanding Young Professional. “[Wilson’s] exemplary accomplishments and dedication to the credit union are unmatched, and the Awards Committee believes it highly fitting that [he] receive this recognition,” wrote John C. Gibardi, the awards committee chairman for the New York Credit Union Association.

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Engineer Joins Barton & Loguidice’s Syracuse Office Mechanical engineer Kurt Rademacher has recently joined Barton & Loguidice’s facilities practice area as senior managing engineer in the firm’s Syracuse office.

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SUNY Faculty Earns Fellowship to Support Teaching, Research

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have the opportunity to participate in activities of those groups and to have reunions around future conferences.

AEJMC is a nonprofit organization serving more than 3,700 members worldwide.

Williams Joins Eastern Shore Associate Joshua Williams was recently hired asalifeinsurance agent and broker at Eastern Shore Associates Insurance (ESA). He is based at ESA’s Fulton office at 101 Cayuga St. “Josh ua ’s experience and passion for Williams helping clients and their families plan for their future security is a welcome addition to our team,” said Eryl Christiansen, CEO. “I know our customers will really enjoy working with him.”

Williams and his wife, Katja, reside in Fulton. Before joining ESA, he worked for the past five years in financial services for larger international companies. “Coming from a large corporate culture to ESA has been a breath of fresh air,” Williams said. “I love the positive team spirit and the tightknit local community environment in which I work”

Ostiguy Joins Beardsley Architects + Engineers Beardsley Architects + Engineers r e c e n t l y announced that Kristin M. Ostiguy has joined the firm as an electrical designer.

Ostiguy graduated from the Rochester Institute of Te c h n o l o g y in 2020 with Ostiguy a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

with an environmental sciences immersion. During her time at RIT, she served as program assistant for the women in engineering office, which is dedicated to increasing representation of women in engineering and preparing women for leadership roles within the profession. At Beardsley, she will be working on projects for governmental and commercial clients.

Barton & Loguidice Has New Chief Electrical Engineer William Dussing has recently joined Barton & Loguidice’s Syracuse office as chief electrical engineer.

A longtime resident of Syracuse, Dussing received his AAS in mechanical technology from Onondaga Community College in Syracuse. Starting in 1985 as an electrical designer and working up to a licensed professional engineer, he has 35 years of experience in low, medium and high voltage electrical design, project management, product application and maintenance & testing of electrical apparatus.

Previously as a senior project engineer, Dussing interfaced with local utilities and governing agencies on system protection projects which included protective device application, settings and coordination, short circuit analysis, arc flash assessment, load flow, system planning and feasibility studies. He has expertise in power system design including layout and integration of new and upgrades to existing electrical utilities, bulk power substations and underground & aerial distribution systems.

Dussing was also the senior engineer responsible for the design, layout and integration of two separate pilot Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) BOP Projects in the Northeast, as well as technical assistance for many others. These included system protection, utility interface equipment and interconnection.

In addition to this skillset, Dussing is a licensed professional engineer in the state of New York and Maryland, holds OSHA certifications in construction safety and health and has extensive training in the facilities engineering practice area.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

New interpretive center at Green Lakes State Park in Fayetteville designed by Beardsley Architects + Engineers of Auburn. The space allows park educators to expand and enhance their programming.

Beardsley Architects’ Green Lake Project in Fayetteville Earns NYS Excelsior Award

B

eardsley Architects + Engineers announced that the Environmental Education Center at Green Lakes State Park in Fayetteville has been selected by AIA New York State to receive a 2020 Excelsior Award, Award of Merit, in the historic preservation category. The awards program recognizes public architecture projects throughout New York state.

“We are very proud of our many accomplishments working in close partnership with the team at the Central New York State Parks Region in service to park visitors and our community,” says Barry Halperin, architect for the project. “Their passion for making park visits great for everyone makes the work we do with them very special.”

Originally constructed in 1942, the historic boathouse at Green Lakes State Park is an iconic structure to anyone who has visited the beach at the north end of Green Lake. The building had been in use since its construction but lacked an adequate foundation due to poor soils. The NYS Office of Parks OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYSOPRPH) selected Beardsley to design the restoration and conversion of the building into a new environmental education center. As a registered historic structure, renovations also required coordination with the State Historic Preservation Office.

To create the new environmental education center and alleviate structural issues, the existing structure was meticulously dismantled and re-built on an entirely new foundation system. Special care was given to preserving as much of the building as possible. Following relocation, the building was restored and renovated to provide four-season usage.

The central exhibit space, anchored by preserved stone columns, includes educational kiosks and displays about the park’s unique meromictic lakes, wildlife and habitats, and history. The building also includes restrooms, a small kitchenette, offices for park educators, and generous storage space on the main floor and in the full basement.

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SUNY Oswego physics faculty member Mohammad Islam shows off sodium ion batteries in a Shineman Center physics lab. Islam was named a Syracuse CoE (Center of Excellence) faculty fellow, an honor that will support his work on this renewable energy solution.

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UNY Oswego physics faculty member Mohammad Islam was named a Syracuse CoE (Center of Excellence) faculty fellow, an honor that will support his work on developing sodium battery potential.

The SyracuseCoE faculty fellows program supports seed projects that strengthen faculty scholarship in clean and renewable energy, indoor environmental quality and water resources. The program brings together a diverse community of faculty members from many disciplines. Each faculty member who is involved in a project is appointed as a SyracuseCoE faculty fellow for a three-year term.

Islam’s submission, “Synthesis of Silicon, Tin and Phosphorus Nanoparticles as Anode Materials for High-Performance Sodium Ion Battery for Grid Scale Energy Storage,” continues his research on the sodium ion battery as a promising technology to power the planet while having a more positive impact upon it.

“We need to think about using sources developed out of natural, readily available materials, like sodium,” Islam explained. “We are seeing a need OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

to transition from fossil fuels to renewable technology. Sodium ion batteries can play a key role in transitioning to green technology.”

These batteries would utilize silicon, tin and phosphorus nanoparticle anodes to develop “grid-scale energy storage systems as an alternative to the current lithium ion batteries,” with the sodium ion battery being a more affordable option due to the abundance of its materials, Islam wrote in his grant application.

“Salt exists on earth in a virtually unlimited supply,” Islam noted, with the research focusing on the safest and most efficient ways of extracting it from this natural sodium chloride form and synthesizing its nanoparticles with tin and phosphorus to create long-lasting, low-cost energy opportunities.

The grant, in large part, would provide stipends for students to work in Islam’s SUNY Oswego lab in researching how to most safely and effectively develop sodium batteries. In addition to the goals of the project, “this is work that will prepare a student well for a Ph.D. program or for working in a similar capacity after graduation,” Islam said.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

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DiningOut

By Christopher Malone

Guide

Restaurant

Mozzarella moons at Kyle’s Wigwam in Sandy Pond.

Kyle’s Wigwam L

Restaurant on the shores of Sandy Pond in Pulaski offers good food with a view

ooking to finally take your step out into the world and enjoy a break from cooking every meal day-in and day-out?

Kyle’s Wigwam, at 45 Wigwam Dr. in Pulaski, caught my attention for this next restaurant review. The family-friendly restaurant that boasts comfort food and a quick bite, and “great cocktails,” plus offer a kid’s menu, is located looking out at North Sandy Pond. The live music was an easy sell, too.

Kyle’s Wigwam is a very clean restaurant upon entering, while sitting at the bar, at a booth, at an outdoor table, the utensils we had, and the bathroom — it 30

was all tidy and smelled fresh (yes, I got nosy). The indoor booths, despite having enough room within each, were occupied every-other for the safety of spreading any threat of the nasty coronavirus. Masks are required when you move around the restaurant, not while you’re sitting and dining.

People were diligent. The music, the duo Double Vs specializing in covers, was great. Couples were constantly dancing. A woman was celebrating her 90th birthday — no fear of being out in public. The slight breeze coming off the water on a humid day was comfortable.

We enjoyed a coke ($2.25) and a OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

New Belgium Fat Tire ($7) while we put in and then waited for our starters.

There were a few things that seemed interesting. And waited. And waited some more — about 20 minutes total. A few minutes after our appetizers came, our entrees came out. It was a bit of a surprise, considering the restaurant is working in COVID-19 capacity.

The Sandy Pond skippers ($8) and mozzarella moons ($8) started things off. The local favorite Sandy Pond skippers lived up to the hype. This literal twisted take on fries won us over at first bite. The thick cut, lightly salted fries are lightly covered in garlic AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

butter, parmesan cheese and parsley.

These are some of the best fries I’ve enjoyed. They’re not overly seasoned but the nice glob of the garlic butter and aforementioned seasonings were a treat to dip the fries into.

The mozzarella moons were a great take, a good alternative to sticks.

Three halfmoon-shaped fried cheeses were seasoned nicely, crisp and not overflowing with cheese. The marinara sauce that came with was a flavorful complement.

For entrees, we decided on the fish tacos (three for $12) and the “Trifecta” ($18). The latter included one bacon-wrapped scallop, one crab cake, and one 3 oz. filet medallion all served open-faced on Texas toast, plus a side of homemade chips. This entrée generated a see-saw of emotions, and what won me over was the pile of homemade chips.

These crispy, lightly salted chips were also some of the best I’ve had. When it comes to lightly fried sides, Kyle’s Wigwam does it right.

There were two bacon-wrapped scallops that came because they were both pretty small and overcooked — so, chewy. The crab cake, save the ample size and good flavor, was cold. The filet was also cold. The well-seasoned and appropriately cooked (medium rare) meat was standing on each slice of dry Texas toast. However, the pieces of toast were large, thick and toasted well. Kyle’s Wigwam definitely wasn’t winning the aesthetic game with this very brown plate.

The fish tacos were joined by sides of salsa, sour cream and guacamole for no additional cost. The untoasted soft taco shells were filled with iceberg lettuce, a boat load of cheese, and haddock — that’s it. Like searching for a prize at the bottom of a ball pit, the pieces of haddock were just rewards.

The haddock was very good but the tacos as a whole fell to mediocre status.

After our plates were cleared, it took another 20 minutes to deliver our check. (Yes, I could have gone up to ask for it but this is a review, folks.) Before adding tip and with the 3% upcharge for using a credit card to pay, the total came to $59.21.

Although I won’t be sending or following signals to join a gathering at Kyle’s Wigwam anytime soon, they’ve done a wonderful job to normalize life while still living in an uncertain time.

To stress again — it’s a clean, family-friendly atmosphere. If there is any fear about eating out, they’ll quash it.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

The Trifecta: One bacon-wrapped scallop, one crab cake, and one 3 oz. filet medallion all served open-faced on Texas toast, plus a side of homemade chips.

Taylor Marie’s Dishes Out Sweet Treats

The local favorite Sandy Pond skippers: The thick cut, lightly salted fries are lightly covered in garlic butter, parmesan cheese and parsley. These are some of the best fries I’ve enjoyed.

Kyle’s Wigwam Address 45 Wigwam Dr., Pulaski, NY 13142 Phone 315-387-7177 Website/Social facebook.com/ KylesWigwam-803441916340307 instagram.com/ kyleswigwam Hours Sun.: Noon – 9 p.m.

Mon. & Tues.: Closed Wed.: 4 – 9 p.m.

Thurs.: 4 – 10 p.m.

Fri.: 4 – 11 p.m.

Sat.: Noon – 11 p.m.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

On the way back to camp, the lights at Taylor Marie’s Ice Cream Parlor on Port Street, Pulaski, called us over. Unfortunately, the shop closed at 8 p.m. Fortunately, the young lady closing shop was all about opening that sliding window and serving us a couple double-scoop orders, which came to $9 and change.

Our dishes were filled with two heaping scoops each, and so we were able to try four of the parlor’s homemade treats: peanut butter Oreo, maple walnut, turtle sundae and almond joy. The names of the flavors are self-explanatory. The flavors of each were on target and not overwhelmingly sweet. Goldilocks would deem them “just right.”

The consistency of each of the scoops were very creamy and meltin-your-mouth. Because, duh, it’s ice cream.

It was a perfect, spontaneous stop for dessert and I’ll gladly bring my fiancé along for future visits.

I promise to not be selfish and go without her. Or anyone else. This ice cream is better when it’s enjoyed with company.

Thanks again, Taylor Marie’s, for opening your window for us.

It’s a small gesture but exceptional service.

For those who want to try it, the address is 3957 Port St., Pulaski, 315298-5640. For more information, visit Taylormariesicecream on Facebook.

31

this. Our former CEO, Robert Wallace, will still be the chairman of the board but stepping out of the day to day operations.

Q.: What makes Eastern Shore stand out?

A.: It’s our people. We’ve really got a good group of people. Some agents have 25 or 30 or more years in the business. We’ve also got a good influx of people who are younger — in their first five or years or so of the business — and those who have been here awhile and have grown in the industry. I look around and feel good about the future of the agency as well as the present. It’s our people and the layout from some who can train and mentor and some who are learning and will be in that position down the road.

Q.: What kind of products does your agency sell?

Q A &

with Eryl Christiansen

Q.: What are your plans as CEO?

32

A.: It is a competitive industry but that’s good. It keeps clients at the forefront of what we’ve got to do. We like to be called insurance advisers because that’s where the rubber meets the road: how well we advise our customers on how to meet their needs. That’s how you keep clients for a long-term relationship.

It’s competitive but that’s a good thing.

Q.: How do you compete?

A.: We’d obviously like to expand our markets and also continue to provide the service to our current clients that they’ve come to know and expect in an ever-changing insurance environment. That takes ongoing learning and emphasis.

Q.: Did you seek to the be organization’s leader?

Q.: What is your biggest day-to-day challenge as a company?

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

I

Q.: How competitive is market?

A.: As the leadership team, we want to keep it simple. It is all about the client. There’s ongoing communication.

There’s also training for our agents handling client calls all day, training for our producers who are going out and offering the products we have on a new business sense. One of the things is having good mentor relationships among our staff. Those who have accumulated a lot of knowledge can pass that on and have a good balance of a workforce. That’s important, too.

From there, it’s utilizing the technology the best you can to serve your clients.

That can be tricky, too, because there is so much out there to be offered.

New CEO at Eastern Shore Associates Insurance talks about culture of company, plans for further expansion n July, Fulton-based Eastern Shore Associates Insurance announced the promotion of Eryl Christiansen from president to chief executive officer.

Christiansen has been with ESA for 10 years and has served as president for the past two years. The insurance company covers the area from west of Rochester to Camden and Pulaski to Waterloo. We recently sat down with Christiansen to discuss his promotion.

A.: We have property casualty insurance — meaning general liability — property, workman’s comp, auto, homeowner’s, ATVs, boats and cyber insurance. We just this past year opened up a life insurance wing.

A.: I was tapped for it. I was the president for about two years before OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

A.: On one hand, I think there is so much change in the marketplace. It’s AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

always incumbent upon us to stay at the forefront and communicate with clients so we can advise appropriately. The ongoing communication and knowledge challenge is the beast that we’re trying to deal with each day.

Q.: Any expansion plans for the company?

A.: We would have an interest in any of those whether it’s going west or even into the Finger Lakes farther. We are homed in on a couple things, but overall, we’re interested in whatever strategically helps us.

Q.: How is your company handling the pandemic?

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A.: In the current situation with COVID and some of the challenges there, we’re just looking to be the best we can be in our current arena without necessarily putting a lid on everything.

Our business is about the client. Our Your Transportation Connection! insureds are resilient, especially our commercial insures who are changing Oswego: how they do business. Some are affected To/From Syracuse Bus, Train Center by the pandemic. It’s about responding and Airport to what they need the best we can. SomeFulton: Local and Out-of-Town Runs times if a company’s operations have Hours: Sun. to Thurs.: 5 AM to 2:30 AM changed, you have to change up their PULASKI & VICTOR, NY Friday & Saturday: 24 Hours insurance. It’s responding that way, but PULASKI & VICTOR, NY it is amazing how resilient how many insureds have been. The challenges are ongoing so we are trying to respond as we can. Our day-to-day operations have changed a little. We’re following the health department’s guidelines.

Insurance doesn’t change a ton in this time, so it’s not like some people who have had to revamp their operations, including what they do on a daily basis.

We have people who work at home.

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Bruce Frassinelli bfrassinelli@ptd.net

Icons of My Youth Not in Tune with Post-George Floyd Era

W ‘The three brands are the latest of a number of products and images that have come under intense scrutiny because of their unacceptable stereotypical portrayal of African Americans.’

BRUCE FRASSINELLI is the former publisher of The PalladiumTimes. He served as a governor of the Rotary Club District 7150 (Central New York) from July 2001 to June 2002.

34

hen I was an always voraciously hungry teenager growing up, my mom would serve seemingly endless stacks of Aunt Jemima pancakes slathered with real butter and lots of Aunt Jemima syrup.

(I cannot tell a lie — the mere memory is making my mouth water as I write this.)

Mom would whip up four at a time on a large griddle, and the aroma would fill our kitchen, probably stimulating my already legendary appetite. “Keep ‘em coming, Ma,” I would tell her. It would not be unusual for me to consume between 16 and 20 of these heavenly delights in one sitting.

What!! Give me a break — I was a growing boy.

Well, along with other icons of my youth, Aunt Jemima is being condemned to the scrapheap of history, because this smiling, once rotund (now slimmed down) face on the distinctive Quaker Oats Co. box has become one of the latest politically correct victims of the recent protests, calls for police reforms and re-evaluation of our racial beliefs and actions following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The other is Uncle Ben’s Rice — and the maker of Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup said it will re-evaluate its packaging.

In a statement, Quaker’s parent company PepsiCo said that it will replace the Aunt Jemima brand with a new name and image in an effort to “make progress toward racial equality.”

Uncle Ben’s owner Mars is planning to change the rice maker’s brand identity. In a statement on its website, Mars wrote that “now is the right time to evolve the Uncle Ben’s brand, including its visual brand identity, which we will do.” The company said it doesn’t know yet what the changes and timing will be.

ConAgra, Mrs. Butterworth’s maker,

said its classic bottle is “intended to evoke the image of a loving grandmother.” Saying that it stands “in solidarity with our black and brown communities,” the company said it can see that the packaging may be interpreted “in a way that is wholly inconsistent with our values.”

The three are the latest of a number of products and images that have come under intense scrutiny because of their unacceptable stereotypical portrayal of African Americans.

Some of the others included the penny licorice candy whose form was changed from a black child to a black bear and whose name was changed to the current “anise bears,” the children’s book “Little Black Sambo”, Uncle Remus in Walt Disney’s 1946 movie “Song of the South’’ and several Stephen Collins Foster songs which used the word “darkies” and depicted exaggerated features of African Americans on the covers of sheet music of these titles.

(In fact, you may recall that this is the word in one of her early songs that resulted in singer Kate Smith’s rendition of “God Bless America” being exiled from Philadelphia Flyers and New York Yankees games and the removal of her statue from in front of the Flyers’ arena in 2019.)

Not affected, at least so far, is Cream of Wheat which features the depiction of an African American chef. Until the 1920s, the company used an exaggerated African American character named Rastus.

Aunt Jemima pancake mix has been around since 1889; Quaker registered the trademark in 1937.

While I have heard many complaining that this sort of sanitizing of the past is “absolutely ridiculous,” if we do some research and understand the origin of Aunt Jemima, Pepsi-

My Turn

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Co’s decision might not seem so drastic after all.

The character comes from an 1875 song “Old Aunt Jemima,” which was a staple of minstrel shows of that era. The character is patterned after a mammy-type slave who served white families. She had a perpetual pearly white smile and wore a polka dot dress with a scarf over her head, said to be common attire for “mammy” characters throughout the late-19th and early-20th centuries.

Quaker viewed Aunt Jemima as the idealized embodiment of southern hospitality. At the turn of the 20th century, Aunt Jemima provided a romanticized (and, I might add, incorrect) view of plantation life as a happy kitchen slave.

In 1933, Quaker Oats hired 350-pound Anna Robinson to play Aunt Jemima as part of its promotion at the Chicago’s World’s Fair. Ethel Ernestine was the first Aunt Jemima to be shown on TV and was the last living person to depict the character.

Anna Short Harrington began her career as Aunt Jemima in 1935.The Quaker company discovered her at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, the city to which she and her five children had moved and where she was cooking for a local family.

She was featured in a November 1935 Woman’s Home Companion ad that said, “Let ol’ Auntie sing in yo’ kitchen.’’ It was her photo with bandana that was used on Aunt Jemima products for 14 years.

She made enough money to buy a large house in Syracuse and rent out rooms. The house was demolished in 1959, four years after her death, to make way for Interstate 81. According to John T. McQueen, who wrote The Story of Aunt Jemima, she really was famous for cooking pancakes.

In the 1960s, the Aunt Jemima on the pancake box and syrup bottle became a composite of several African American women.

Then, in 1989, around the same time as the 100th anniversary of the creation of the product, Aunt Jemima’s image was modernized with a much slimmer depiction and the removal of the bandana, which revealed a natural hairstyle and pearl earrings.

The logo, which is still the one in use today, is more in tune with the appearance of contemporary homemakers with far fewer racial overtones, but now it, too, is no longer deemed acceptable.

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L. Michael Treadwell ooc@oswegocounty.org

O ‘Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Operation Oswego County regretfully canceled its annual meeting presentation and breakfast for 2020.’

L. MICHAEL TREADWELL, CEcD, is executive director of Operation Oswego County based in Oswego. To contact him call 315-343-1545 or visit www.oswegocounty.org.

36

New Officers and Board Members at OOC

peration Oswego County (OOC) held n Peter Cullinan, Exelon, Scriba; the business portion of its 68th annual n Mike Egan, board president of Oswego meeting via video conference, Friday, Industries, Fulton; June 5. The business portion of the meeting n William Galloway, Century 21 Galloconsisted of proof of service of the corpora- way Realty, Oswego; tion, a treasurer’s report and the election of n Edward Gilson, Blake Equipment, members and officers.

Pulaski; The OOC board of directors re-elected n Thomas Greco, Fulton Savings Bank, board members Peter Cullinan, Exelon; countywide; William Galloway, Century 21 Galloway n Timothy Hardy, Attis Biofuels, Volney; Realty; Daniel Murphy, Constellation; Tricia n Vincent Lobdell, HealthWay, Pulaski; Peter-Clark, ConnextCare; James Ransom, n Joseph McConnell, Huhtamaki, United Wire Technologies; and Chena Tucker, Fulton; Oswego County Workforce Development n Edward Mervine, Pathfinder Bank, Board. countywide; The OOC board of directors also elected n Daniel Murphy, Constellation, countynew members to the board: Michelle Shatrau, wide; president and CEO at N.E.T. & Die, Inc.; Shane n James Ransom, United Wire TechnolBroadwell, partner at Broadwell Hospital- ogies, Constantia; ity Group; and Joseph n John Sharkey IV, Economic Trends McConnell, controller Universal Metal Works, and operations support Fulton; manager at Huhtamaki. n Michelle Shatrau, N.E.T. & Die, Inc., A new slate of officers was also elected Fulton; including Ellen Holst, retired, Oswego Counn Joseph Solazzo, Construction & Genty Opportunities, as president; Eric Behling, eral Laborers Local 633, countywide; Behling Orchards, as vice president; George n Ronald G. Tascarella, Pathfinder Bank, Joyce, Laser Transit, as treasurer; and Tricia countywide; Peter-Clark, ConnextCare, as secretary. n Chena Tucker, Workforce DevelopOperation Oswego County is a private, ment Board of Oswego County, countywide; nonprofit corporation, a 501(c)6, established and in 1953. Members of the board of directors n David Turner, Oswego County are elected by the board and their service is Department of Community Development, voluntary. Overall, the OOC board of direc- Tourism and Planning, countywide; tors consists of 24 business leaders in various Each member of the board also serves industries from across Oswego County, along on at least one committee: executive, real with five ex-officio members. This diversity estate, business outreach, marketing and is the key to representing the interests of development, and nominating. municipalities throughout Oswego County.

The ex-officio members of the board are: The following is a complete list of the n Gary Toth, chairman of the County OOC board, the businesses the directors of Oswego Industrial Development Agency; represent and their location in the county: n James Weatherup, chairman of the n President: Ellen Holst, retired from Oswego County Legislature; Oswego County Opportunities, Constantia; n Timothy Stahl, chairman of the Osn Vice President: Eric Behling, Behling wego County Economic Development and Orchards, Mexico; Planning Committee; n Treasurer: George Joyce, Laser Transit, n Philip Church, Oswego County AdLacona; ministrator; and n Secretary, Tricia Peter-Clark, Connexn Deborah Stanley, president of SUNY tCare, Pulaski; Oswego. n Brian Anderson, National Grid, These business leaders bring years of countywide; experience to the table. We count on them to n Barbara Bateman, retired from NBT provide insight into business that assists the Bank, Oswego; board and staff in making sound economic n Shane Broadwell, Broadwell Hospi- development decisions. tality Group, Oswego; OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

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37

No Mask, No Service NYS’s mask order has put employees on the frontlines of enforcement

By Ken Sturtz

T

he signs are posted everywhere.

Supermarkets, restaurants, gas stations. Barber shops, big-box retailers, ice cream stands. They warn in no uncertain terms that face masks are required.

Signs began popping up months ago after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that Americans wear face masks in public to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order requiring a mask or a face covering in public and in situations where social distancing isn’t possible.

But the governor’s mask order became a flashpoint, sending a public health issue headlong into a polarizing political debate. Enforcement has mostly fallen to businesses and their employees — who often lack training to handle potentially volatile situations.

They have found themselves on the receiving end of verbal attacks and even violence from angry customers.

“I would have to say 99.9% of our customers understand and they want to help,” says Cheryl Barsom, owner of Barado’s on the Water in Central 38

Square. “It’s just a small percent that makes it difficult, that makes our blood pressure rise and our anxiety go through the roof.”

The state’s mask order dictates patrons wear a mask in restaurants unless seated. Barsom reopened the restaurant’s partially enclosed outdoor patio, but not its indoor dining room.

Some customers assume they don’t need a mask outside, but Barsom says

“I would have to say 99.9% of our customers understand [they need to wear masks] and they want to help. It’s just a small percent that makes it difficult, that makes our blood pressure rise and our anxiety go through the roof.”

Cheryl Barsom, owner of Barado’s on the Water in Central Square.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

the staff has been diligent about politely reminding people they do in fact need to wear a mask unless seated.

Guests have occasionally gotten angry and stormed off when informed of the mask rule, but Barsom says she doesn’t mind.

A more serious situation occurred recently when Barsom’s husband stepped in front of a customer at the restaurant who wasn’t wearing a mask and informed him of the rule.

“He said, ‘Sir you need a mask to be walking around,’” Barsom says. “And he literally took his hands and shoved him out of the way and said ‘Get out of my face.’”

Barsom says the man, apparently realizing he was in the wrong, retreated to his boat and left.

Resistance to putting on a mask Physical confrontations between employees and customers have been popping up across the country. At a California McDonald’s a man attacked an employee who asked him to put on a mask. In Pennsylvania, a man refusing AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

to wear a mask repeatedly punched a convenience store cashier when she told him he could not buy a pack of cigars.

And a store security guard at a Michigan Family Dollar was fatally shot after insisting that a patron put on a mask.

Although the vast majority of confrontations never get physical, business owners in Central New York have reported customers expressing resistance to putting on a mask.

In July, a woman lashed out at teenagers working at a Madison County ice cream stand when she was denied service after refusing to wear a mask.

In an incident that drew statewide attention, the woman was caught on surveillance camera screaming at the teenagers.

When the employees closed the counter window, the woman became angrier, running toward the stand and yanking the window open to lean in and continue yelling at them. The owner supported her employees, saying they did nothing wrong. Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul later visited the ice cream stand to thank the teenage employees for their efforts.

Many businesses have taken extra steps to let customers know that masks are required. Supermarket chain Wegmans launched an aggressive campaign at each of its stores, including enhanced store signage at entrances and in store announcements reminding customers

Phrases to Avoid in a Tense Situation • “Shut Up!” (Zip it, can it, stow it etc.)

• “Because those are the rules” (Remember Mom and Dad?) • “What do you want me to do about it?” (This implies you do not know your job) • “Come here” (Or any other order to tell a person you want to speak with them. It’s about how you say it) • “I know just how you feel!”

(You probably have no idea) • “Because I said so!” (That trick never works) • “Really? Really? (Sounding like you’re looking for a confrontation) • “Calm Down!” (Does anyone really calm down when told to?)

Courtesy Chauncey Bennett’s course on “Dealing with Difficult People” AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul visiting an ice cream stand in Chittenango and thanking the workers for their mask-wearing efforts. In July, a woman lashed out at teenagers working at the Madison County stand when she was denied service after refusing to wear a mask. The incident drew statewide attention. of the importance of wearing a mask.

Stores are also offering masks to customers who may have forgotten to bring one.

Wegmans hasn’t taken the step of refusing entrance to customers who don’t comply with the mask rule. The Rochester-based chain has seen about 99% compliance at its stores, Marcie Rivera, a company spokeswoman, says.

“We’re going to obviously ask customers to follow the mandate,” Rivera says. “We’re doing everything to educate our customers as much as possible.”

De-escalation techniques The New York State Police has similarly focused on educating the public about the mask requirement and encouraging compliance.

“We haven’t had any issues with people failing to comply,” says Beau Duffy, speaking for the troopers. But if someone isn’t following the law and the situation is getting out of hand, he says the public is encouraged to call their local police or 911.

John Dony, director of the Campbell Institute at the National Safety Council, says that to help protect employees and customers from contracting COVID-19 employers should instruct staff to politely ask customers not wearing a mask to put one on. Anyone who refuses and doesn’t have a legitimate reason — such OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

as a related health condition — should be asked to leave.

But employees shouldn’t be left to figure out how to handle these interactions on their own, Dony says.

Employers should provide training on how to de-escalate tense situations.

“Having a plan in place will help protect employees and customers from what could develop during a potentially hostile situation,” he says.

The proper training and response in a hostile situation can mean the difference between compliance and violence, according to Chauncey Bennett, a retired police lieutenant and trainer who teaches a civilian course called “Dealing with Difficult People.”

Bennett, who served as a University Police officer at SUNY Cortland, says employees should absolutely avoid a physical confrontation and leave those situations to security or police.

“You want to walk away before there is a physical confrontation and then all you really do is keep the person under observation until help arrives,” Bennett says.

The goal of de-escalation techniques, of course, is to keep the situation from getting out of hand.

“There’s a difference between verbal noncompliance and physical aggression,” he says. “With verbal noncompliance you can continue to try to reason with somebody.”

The key is not letting someone’s 39

inflammatory words and actions affect you. It’s also important not to tell the person to calm down. That’s a common mistake that Bennett says is usually guaranteed to have the opposite effect on an agitated person.

The focus should be on doing everything possible through words and body language to calm the situation down.

Avoid taking a hostile stance or closing your palms into fists, Bennet says. Also acknowledge their feelings and try to say things that are empathetic.

“I understand where you’re coming from, but whether I agree with you or not, it is our store policy,” Bennett suggests as a response. “And we want to have you in the store shopping, but that requires that you have a mask on.”

Another useful tool can be offering masks to customers who don’t have them on.

“Usually someone might not be happy but they’ll say fine and take the mask,” Bennett says. “Let them say what they want as long as they do what you want.”

Training for staff might lead to fewer ugly verbal fights, but it probably won’t be enough by itself to convince everyone to wear a mask. That’s because there are many factors that contribute

to refusal to wear a mask.

Resistance to masks may fade away “Just telling people that masks are an effective way to limit the spread of the coronavirus isn’t sufficient to change everyone’s behavior because we’re not just responding to facts,” says Gretchen Chapman, a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

Social norms and identity are important factors in determining behaviors. We look to other people for clues to how to behave, so we’re more likely to wear a mask if our friends, neighbors and co-workers are all wearing masks, Chapman says.

Our behavior also signals key characteristics of ourselves that are important to our identity. And many COVID-related behaviors have become litmus tests for political identity, Chapman says.

“So wearing a mask kind of labels you as a liberal and refusing to wear a mask in some sense labels you as a good conservative standing up for personal liberties,” she says. “People can respond to the requirement of wearing a mask not out of how is this going to affect my

risk or of others but what does this say about me and who I am and the identity group I affiliate with?”

It’s also possible to make certain behaviors, such as wearing a mask, part of someone’s identity, Chapman says. For example, if celebrities or political leaders someone admires support wearing a mask, that could encourage them to follow suit. President Donald Trump recently began wearing a mask in public after months of resistance.

Another possibility is giving people the ability to express their identity through customized face masks, Chapman says. Such masks have become more popular over time.

Resistance to wearing a mask may ultimately fade away as more states make the practice mandatory and wearing a mask becomes more normal, says Chapman. She cited seat belts as an example of a safety measure that initially met resistance as an infringement of personal liberties, but is now commonplace.

Barsom, the restaurant owner, agreed, saying she had already noticed a change in how people respond to being required to wear a mask.

“I think people are getting kind of used to it to be honest with you.”

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Expert: Now is the Time to Talk About Race in the Workplace

A

s people across the U.S. take to the streets to protest racism and support Black Lives Matter, changes taking place inside workplaces, corporations and other societal institutions are equally powerful, says Henry Louis Taylor Jr., an expert at the University at Buffalo.

“The movement is not just on the streets. It’s throughout society in all of these different institutions,” Taylor says. “In location after location after location, there is an upswell. There are conversations, discussions going on, that have not taken place in years.

“I just want to really stress that at a moment like this, there really is a place for everyone. People can contribute to this movement in all kinds of big and small and subtle ways. That’s the beauty about this moment. One of the most important things that people can do today is voice their opposition to existing policies in their workplaces and institutions and say, ‘Can we do something about that?’”

Taylor, PhD, is a professor of urban and regional planning and the founding director of the Center for Urban Studies in the UB School of Architecture and Planning. His research focuses on a historical and contemporary analysis of underdeveloped urban neighborhoods, social isolation, and race and class issues among people of color.

Taylor believes this is a special moment in history: Mass protests are shifting public opinion, and COVID-19 has created a “transitional” period where businesses, schools and other institutions are already reinventing the way they operate, he says. As people and leaders reimagine what society should look like during and after the pandemic, racial justice should be at the forefront of discussions, he adds.

“Moments like the moment we’re going through are rare, and they don’t happen often,” Taylor says. “But when they happen, as I tell friends, whatever was on your agenda three weeks ago, get rid of it and create a new agenda, because now you have some possibilities to make things happen that simply did not exist before.”

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41

SPECIAL REPORT

By Aaron Gifford

T

Tax Burden We’re Still on Top 42

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

he Empire State is No. 1 again, but not in a way most residents are proud of.

New York leads the nation in overall tax burden, with the average resident shelling out 12.2% of their total income to cover annual property taxes, individual state income taxes, and sales and excise taxes, according to a recently published study by WalletHub. WalletHub reviewed tax burdens in each of the nation’s 50 states in detail. Its research, published in July, also found: • For the property tax burden alone, New York ranked six of the 50 states, with a burden of 4.44% for the average property owner.

• For individual income taxes, New York claimed the dubious first place honor, at 4.40%.

• The state fared best in the sales and excise tax burden, at 26 in the nation with an average of 3.44% per person.

Sales taxes are collected at the time of purchase on most goods and services, while excise taxes are additional fees passed onto consumers for tobacco products, beer, wine and liquor, vehicles and cell phones.

By contrast, Alaska had the lowest tax burden per person, followed by Florida and Nevada. At the top of the list for highest tax burdens, New York was followed by Oregon and then Maryland.

California, the most populous state in the nation, ranked No. 13 for overall tax burden per person.

All told, the average blue states, or those where Democrats make up the majority of voters, collectively averaged the rank of 17.85 out of the list of 50 states.

The average red states, or those states where Republicans historically make up the majority of voters, collectively ranked 30.57, the WalletHub study said.

Tax burden figures were at the state and local level, which would include town or village or city, plus country and school taxes. This did not factor in federal income taxes, Social Security and Medicare contributions. It also does not count other mandatory fees, such as vehicle registration and inspection costs.

The Empire Center for Public Policy, an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit think tank, has reported on New York state’s taxation and spending patterns for over a decade now. E.J. AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Experts attributes high taxes in NYS to the skyrocketing cost of public education and outof-control Medicaid spending. “The state can’t continue operating with this cost structure. There will be a day of reckoning.”

McMahon, the center’s founder, was not surprised by these recent national rankings. “[This tax burden] can’t continue,” he said. “The state can’t continue operating with this cost structure. There will be a day of reckoning.”

When asked why the tax burden is what it is in New York state and how it got to this point, McMahon cites two significant contributing factors: The skyrocketing cost of public education here, and out-of-control Medicaid spending. State leaders, regardless of party or whether they are from Upstate or downstate, have lacked the political will to attack the problem.

While the amount of money spent per pupil varies drastically across the state, New York spends far more on education than any other state even though students in other states, including Massachusetts and Maryland, outperform their peers in the Empire State, McMahon said. New York public schools have much larger staffs and higher salaries than schools in the other states.

“We have a very powerful public employees union and interest groups,” he said. “This makes it difficult to change our situation. They’ve all got a big strong voice in Albany.”

According to the Empire Center, New York state spent an average of $24,040 per pupil for the 2017-2018 academic year (the most recent data available). That’s 91% more than the national average of $12,612 per pupil.

These figures pertain to students in grades kindergarten through 12 who attend public schools. The largest expenditure in any school budget is personnel.

Empire Center’s website shows median annual teacher salaries for every district in the state. In Oswego County figures ranged from $59,898 in Hannibal, to $74,908 in Phoenix. The highest-paying district for teachers in New York state is Jericho Unified School District in wealthy Long Island, with the mean salary for 2017-2018 at $148,000.

The Harrisville district in Lewis County, AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

which is very rural and borders Oswego County, had the lowest mean salary that year at $46,068.

In Onondaga County the lowest teaching salaries are in Solvay at $56,156, and the highest is Baldwinsville at $75,765. Syracuse was at $66,585, according to the Empire Center’s website.

School districts are largely funded by property taxes, though many districts throughout Upstate New York receive significant state aid. For 2020, the median property tax bill in Oswego County was $2,354, compared to $3,237 in Onondaga County, $2,766 in Madison County, $2,550 in Cayuga County and $2,747 in Cortland County.

Downstate, that figure is $2,653 in Bronx County, $2,914 in Queens County, $5,873 in New York County (Manhattan), $8,711 in Nassau County (Long Island), and $9,003 in Westchester County. St. Lawrence County had the lowest median property tax in the state, at $1,674.

County figures are available on Tax Rates.org.

McMahon noted that New York state offers massive financial incentives for communities to drastically reduce spending on staff and capital expenditures by combining or consolidating school districts, but that has been an unpopular option among administrators and taxpayer who want to protect smaller class sizes and neighborhood schools.

“People just don’t want it.”

As for Medicaid spending, New York’s is the highest in the nation, averaging more than $3,000 per person and almost 80% above the national average, according to the Empire Center. Although Medicaid was created as a federal program, it is largely funded and administered at the state level. The program, funded by income taxes, provides health insurance for low-income persons and persons with disabilities.

The program was designed for the costs to be split between the state and federal governments, but for the past four decades New York counties have been required to pay for half the state’s share.

In Oswego County, Medicaid will OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

be the largest unfunded mandate this year, at $23.4 million, or 51.4% of the county’s entire tax levy, said James Weatherup, chairman of the Oswego County Legislature.

“Oswego County residents send nearly a half million every week to Albany to pay for New York’s Medicaid mandate in a normal year,” he said. Weatherup clarified that with the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal CARE ACT provided his county $1.67 million in relief aid for Medicaid costs, but the state has already helped itself to 20% of that figure.

The WalletHub study did not include corporate tax rates in its research, but the figures can be found on the 2020 Taxrate.org site. New York does not lead the nation in that category, though there are many states that have more competitive rates. Wyoming, Washington state, Texas, South Dakota, Ohio and Nevada have zero corporate tax rates. New York’s rate is 7.1%, lower than neighbors Pennsylvania (9.99 %), Connecticut (9 %) and Massachusetts (8 %), as well as New Hampshire (8.5 %), Maryland (8.25 %), Illinois (9.5 %), Idaho (7.6 %), Indiana (8.5 %), Delaware (8.7 %), California (8.84 %), and Washington, D.C. (9.98 %).

McMahon said, despite the many criticism of the state’s patterns of taxing and spending, New York has made progress in its efforts to attract new industries. He also credited Gov. Andrew Cuomo for implementing the property tax cap, which has empowered many municipalities and school districts to slow down annual levy boosts.

According the New York State Comptroller’s Office, the tax cap, if approved by the decision-making bodies or local governments and school boards, limit annual property tax hikes to 2 % or, alternatively, the rate of inflation (which could be higher).

Once adopted, the boards can only override the tax cap if at least 60 % of the respective board’s membership agrees to do so.

McMahon said the tax cap is one step in the right direction, but the distance in getting New York back on track fiscally is a matter of miles, not steps.

“The tax cap is just an advisory tool that you can override, but it does allow allowed boards (school boards and local governments) to negotiate with the employees,” McMahon said.

“There are no magic bullets that don’t involve arm wrestling with the public labor unions.”

43

COVID-19 Tests Labor Laws Gray areas exist in terms of how employers are obligated to provide safe working conditions

By Lou Sorendo

B

usinesses are taking a variety of approaches to ensure health and safety for their workers and much uncertainty exists regarding employers’ obligations and employees’ rights as the economy reopens after the COVID-19 shutdowns.

Steven Abraham, a human resources professor at SUNY Oswego’s School of Business, said the issue of whether employers have a responsibility to provide a safe and healthful workplace is a complicated one.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act led to the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which requires employers to provide a safe workplace.

“But to my knowledge, an individual does not have a right to bring a private lawsuit to enforce OSHA’s provisions,” said Abraham, noting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is required to enforce the law.

Also, the administration has not come out with regulations under the act relating specifically to COVID-19 and employers’ obligations, Abraham said.

Similarly, The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has come out with extensive guidelines for employers, but

44

those guidelines are not enforceable, he added.

“Most importantly, I am aware of nothing in U.S. employment law that would give employees the right to file a lawsuit if the employer did not provide a safe workplace,” he noted.

With the reopening of the economy, Abraham spoke to the legal workplace issues that are most concerning.

“One concern is that I don’t see anything stopping an employer from stating that an employee is ‘essential’ and therefore must come back to work, and then firing the employee who refuses to do so,” he said. “There are very few limitations on the ability of employers to fire employees for no reason at all in the U.S.” New York joins the rest of the nation as an at-will state, meaning that workers are considered “at-will” employees.

This means that an employee can be fired without warning at any time for any reason or no reason at all, according to the New York state Attorney General’s office.

However, there are some reasons for termination that are illegal under federal and state law. For example, the majority of employees is subject to OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

anti-discrimination laws and cannot be fired based on certain protected characteristics, such as gender, race, religion, age, disability, national origin and sexual orientation.

“So if an employee demands not to work until the employer provides a safe workplace and the employer says, ‘OK, you’re fired,” the employee can do nothing about it,” Abraham said.

Abraham said this problem is especially grave now because with unemployment being so high, an employer has little to fear in discharging employees because there are many employees waiting to take the vacancy that becomes created.

In June, the unemployment rate fell to 11.1% after skyrocketing to 14.7% in April.

Another concern, Abraham said, is employees have little recourse if they contract the virus because the employer has not done a sufficient job providing a safe workplace.

‘Safety net’ weak Still another concern relates to the “safety net” in this country, Abraham said.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

“We see how many people lost their jobs already as a result of this pandemic. But the unemployment insurance system in this country is extremely weak and provides very little in the way of protection for employees,” he said. “And most employers are not required to provide severance.”

Abraham agrees with some analysts who say COVID-19 has revealed how flimsy the social safety net is in the country.

Meanwhile, analysts say workers of color and women — generally the workers who are deemed essential — bear the brunt of the coronavirus crisis.

“That has a lot to do with the economic system in this country, and the history of how minorities have been treated,” he said. “Over time, due to the history of our country, African-Americans and other minorities often find themselves in poorly paid, risky and unpleasant positions.

“And the risk of the virus is worse for those workers.”

Similarly, Abraham said if it’s true that a disproportionate number of minority workers are being deemed “essential,” they are the ones being forced to go back to work.

“Hence, the risk will be that much worse,” he added.

Also, he noted minority workers are often likely to be the first employees laid off because if layoffs are done by seniority, and African-Americans and other minorities typically have the least seniority in the workplace, they will be the first to be let go.

Experts say sectoral bargaining, a system of collective bargaining that happens between an entire sector and all workers in that sector, could be helpful in the time of coronavirus.

Sectoral bargaining is a common feature of European countries but U.S. labor law was founded under a different model, Abraham said.

“The U.S. system of labor relations was founded in 1935, when the workplace was very different from what it is today,” he said. “Under sectoral bargaining, however, all of the employers in a given industry sit down with the unions representing the employees in that industry — often the government is involved as well — and terms and conditions of employment are agreed upon for the entire industry.”

Under the current model of U.S. labor law, however, that cannot happen because the individual workplace is where organizing takes place.

“The advantage of sectoral bargaining is that it enables wages and other costs to be taken ‘out of competition,’” Abraham said.

“So as far as the current pandemic is concerned, an entire industry could implement a set of provisions benefiting the employees in that industry without each employer having to worry about competing with other employers,” he said.

“But in order for this to happen, the entire system of U.S. labor law would have to change, and that’s not likely to happen quickly, if ever,” he said.

Abraham received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, his law degree from NYU School of Law, and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Appointed in 1997, Abraham teaches courses in employment law, labor relations, human resource management and legal environment of business at SUNY Oswego.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

45

SPECIAL REPORT

JC Penney’s Oswego location, which has been in operation since 1977, was spared from being shutdown in a recent round of store closures

Surviving 2020 Iconic retailer JC Penney in Oswego survived 1-2 punch of COVID-19, corporate bankruptcy. Store manager reflects on her ordeal

P

icture yourself as a department store manager who must temporarily shut down your store, send your workers home and be locked down while furloughed at home for several months in the face of a deadly global pandemic.

Then picture yourself as that same manager getting the news that due to corporate bankruptcy, your store is going to be permanently shuttered.

Carol Peters, general manager of the JC Penney store in the Oswego Plaza in the Port City, knows this scenario all too well because she experienced it herself.

Fortunately for Peters, her staff and the community, the corporate powers that be decided to save the Oswego location.

The department store chain will close permanently about 154 of its 850 stores, including the massive store at Destiny USA mall in Syracuse, after entering into Chapter 11 bankruptcy 46

in May and beginning the process of restructuring.

The 118-year-old chain based in Plano, Texas, was struggling before the business shutdowns associated with the pandemic. The company has about $4 billion in debt and has been edged out of the marketplace by e-commerce companies and discount brick-and-mortar stores, according to Reuters.

Peters is in her fourth year of

Why was the Oswego JC Penney spared from closing? Store manager believes better rental deal from landlord and community pressure played key role OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

managing the store, and also survived a scare three years ago when JC Penney started the process of closing about 180 locations. It was part of the debt-ridden company’s plan to right size its store fleet as more sales moved online.

Since that time, Peters said the Oswego store has performed well and up to standard.

“We’ve been meeting all of our metrics,” Peters said.

Early in the year, the company was heading in the right direction and hitting goals, Peters said.

“If the pandemic didn’t hit, the company would not be in Chapter 11,” she said.

Due to the onset of COVID-19, the store closed on March 18 and staff began to be furloughed. After two weeks, Peters herself was sent home.

After retail stores were allowed to open on May 18, JC Penney was mandated to follow certain guidelines.

Extensive cleaning and sanitizing, AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

social distancing and mask wearing is mandated, while the JCPenney beauty salon requires temperature taking while customers seeking other than top-ofhead services must undergo regular screening for COVID-19.

Grim news Peters found out the news a day prior to when the company officially released the stores it wanted to close on June 4.

The Port City location was on that initial list.

“It was devastating and heartbreaking,” she said.

When made aware that the Oswego store was on the chopping block, Peters said she was not privy to any particulars.

“My thoughts were with the staff, because I know that I will always be OK,” Peters said.

“One of my supervisors — Josh Tynan —has been here since he was 16, and he is now in his mid-30s,” she said.

“This is all he’s known.”

Tynan’s mother worked at the Oswego store for 20-plus years, while his grandmother also worked there as well.

Staff numbers vary from 30 to 40 workers at the Oswego location.

“This is not just the store and staff, but a lot of the community have families that work here. You get to know everybody in this town,” Peters said.

Roller coaster ride The store was first established in Oswego in 1977.

“Although this is a corporate store, it’s really a community store,” she noted.

When the announcement came that the store would be closing, there was an outpouring of sentiment from the community.

“You really got to see that when you saw all the posts on Facebook and the memories people shared,” she said.

Peters theorized that part of the reason why the Oswego location became a “saved store” was because members of the community called JC Penney’s corporate office to express their dismay.

“One of the questions callers were asked was, ‘How far are you from the next JC Penney’s store?” Peters said.

She said when corporate discovered that people in the Oswego area had to drive to Watertown, Rochester or Cortland to shop at a JC Penney’s store, “they realized they were going to lose a lot of customers in this location.”

Peters said it was like a roller coaster AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Carol Peters is in her fourth year of managing the JC Penney store in Oswego.

“We were coming in, taking things down and getting rid of things,” she said.

“And then we were told to halt,” she says. ride for the days that followed, as staff waited for legalities to be ironed out concerning the decision to close the stores.

“We were coming in, taking things down and getting rid of things,” she said. “And then we were told to halt.”

The store actually held a liquidation sale with staff believing it was going to close despite the announcement not being finalized.

When the store opened for its liquidation sale, “the lines were incredible,” Peters said.

“I realized that people were excited to get to the liquidation sale, but there were so many that just couldn’t wait to get out and interact socially and just get out of their houses,” she said.

“We’re social characters. We still like to get out and have dinner. We still like to come into the store and interact with people. We are very social characters,” said Peters, noting that even though visits to brick and mortar establishments are going down, there are still people who enjoy the social aspect of shopping.

Gains reprieve About two weeks after the initial announcement, Peters found out OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

through an email that the Oswego site would be a saved store. She brought her team together for what would be an emotional celebration.

While she wasn’t given specific reasons as to why the store was saved, she speculated that it was because the landlord made it more cost-effective for JC Penney to stay and calls from the community to corporate paid off.

“I did a lot of crying over the past few weeks when I heard some of the stuff the community was doing,” she said. “It was tough not being able to hug someone or be able to high-five.”

“I am astounded at how many people with underlying conditions are out. People that fall into that high-risk area are out and about, wearing masks and being careful,” she said.

Meanwhile, she is seeing many younger people not donning masks.

“That’s a little scary, but people are really good about it for the most part,” she added.

She said one of the challenges is running the store without access to fitting rooms.

“Everybody wants to come in and try things on, but our fitting rooms are closed due to the pandemic,” she said.

By Lou Sorendo 47

SPECIAL REPORT

Overview of the village of Liverpool with Onondaga Lake in the background.

Photo by Kenneth Sturtz.

Surge in Real Estate Market After a few slow months, real estate market is hot again, in part thanks to low interest rates, coronavirus pandemic

By Ken Sturtz

J

ohn and Monica Weber decided in February to sell their four-bed, two and a half bath home in the Hiller Heights neighborhood of Cicero.

The couple had moved there five and a half years earlier and lived in the neighborhood while their children were growing up. Now they wanted to relocate to Florida where Monica’s parents lived. They assumed they should put their home on the market in April.

But Central New York’s real estate market bursts to life each spring well before the snow melts and it pays to be first out of the gate. Their agent at Howard Hanna in North Syracuse told them not to wait to list their property.

“Our real estate agent told us the market was going to be really hot,” John Weber says.

Their home went on the market March 1; they accepted an offer two days later.

48

In the months since, Central New York’s real estate market has grown even hotter as the COVID-19 virus has helped to create a perfect storm: high demand among buyers who were largely sidelined earlier this year, a dwindling supply of houses on the market, and sellers reluctant to put their homes up for sale in the midst of a pandemic.

After very little market activity in April and May, potential buyers began flooding real estate agencies with inquiries in June and haven’t let up.

“Now that we’ve opened back up and we’re coming back into the marketplace we’re seeing an increase in activity,” says Chris Teelin, president of the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors. “We’re moving along and it’s keeping everyone really busy right now.”

Demand has steadily pushed prices up. The median sale price in June rose OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

8% to $152,220 compared to June 2019, according to data compiled by the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors. The data includes single-family homes in Cayuga, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego and Seneca Teelin counties.

The limited supply of houses for sale has remained problematic for buyers, but given sellers a significant advantage. Inventory shrank an additional 19% in June to 2,292 units. New listings were also down 21% to 1,147 units.

Stephen Case, broker and owner AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

of Acropolis Realty in Syracuse, agreed that there is a “huge seller’s market” in the area. Agents at Acropolis set an office record for sales in May and then beat that number in June, Case says. They were on pace to outdo that figure in July.

“It’s been a wild ride so far this year,” Case says.

Low interest rates playing a role

Market conditions have ratcheted up competition between buyers.

Teelin, who besides being the president of the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors, is an associate broker with Howard Hanna in North Syracuse, says agents in his office have noticed an increase in cash buyers, more properties receiving interest from multiple buyers and sellers getting their asking price or beyond.

“It’s not uncommon to have multiple offers taking place,” Teelin says.

“If I’m a seller it’s a great time to sell.”

As realtors charge into what promises to be an exceptionally busy stretch, and homeowners bask in the upside of a seller’s market, buyers have found themselves house-hunting with the knowledge that another buyer might swoop in with a better offer if they wait too long.

There is a

The forces driving buyers include exceptionally low interest rates. Some buyers chose to pause their search for a house earlier this year when the COVID-19 virus caused the state to shutter many businesses. Others decided they wanted out of their current house or apartment after months spent mostly stuck at home.

On top of that, the area has had a somewhat lower inventory of prop-

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erties for sale over the last few years, Teelin says.

“It’s a marketplace today where buyers have to be patient and persistent,” Teelin says. “We’re still able to see buyers get into homes, but they might have to make a couple of attempts on a few different houses.”

The seller’s market has probably been toughest on the very people least equipped to navigate the challenges of

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

49

homebuying: first-time buyers.

Case says he has seen a lot of buyers frustrated by the market conditions, but none more so than first-time home buyers. One reason is first-time buyers might have more contingencies — such as needing financing — than other buyers and a seller with multiple offers can choose the more attractive one. Also, anyone who needs financing can be beaten out by a cash buyer, Case says.

Some of the challenges for buyers may ease over the summer as more homeowners, enticed by higher prices, decide to sell.

“Sellers are obviously wanting to take advantage of the prices and I think that’s been opening up a little bit,” Case says. “But there’s certainly sellers that are probably holding off.”

Older sellers in particular, worried about people coming through their homes, might be inclined to wait. But Teelin says that once real estate agents were able to interact with clients in person again, they began following government health protocols to keep buyers and sellers safe. For example, buyers are screened with a health questionnaire before they can see houses.

Although the area’s real estate market likely won’t cool until more

“Now that we’ve opened back up and we’re coming back into the marketplace we’re seeing an increase in activity.We’re moving along and it’s keeping everyone really busy right now.”

Chris Teelin, president of the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors sellers list their homes, it remains an open question how much longer the forces from the pandemic will continue driving the market.

“I’m seeing my agents being very busy,” Teelin says, adding that with so many unknowns it is difficult to guess if the market will begin to even out in

the fall. “It’ll be interesting to see how the next month unfolds.”

No slowing down In Central New York, the real estate market typically begins to slow with the onset of fall in October and November.

The winter months of December, January and February are the slowest.

“I think there is so much pent up demand, I don’t see it slowing down,” Case says. “I think it’s going to stay pretty strong through the fall.”

Whether or not the market falls into a traditional cycle later in the year, the pandemic appears unlikely to shutter the market again. A good example is John and Monica Weber. Although the closing on their Hiller Heights property was delayed a few weeks, they pushed ahead with finding a new house in Florida.

They planned to close on their new home at the end of July and expressed no regrets about going through with listing their house.

“We wanted to head to Florida,” Monica says. “We got what we wanted and we were absolutely delighted. We lucked out for sure.”

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

WE ARE HIRING AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

TOURISM

Lean Times for Travel Agents How bad are things for travel agencies? 30% may be out of business because of pandemic-related travel restrictions, says expert

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

D

espite pre-pandemic growth in travel, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ employment outlook for growth for the travel agent occupation is negative 6% through 2028. On average, all occupations are expected to grow by 5% during the same time period.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics cites internet research and booking as the reason behind the decline; however, pandemic travel restrictions may abruptly shutter many agencies as well.

“They say 30% of agencies will go out of business as there’s no money coming in,” said Lynn Kiestner, travel agent with Canalview Travel Service, Inc. in Fulton. “There’s nothing that any one agency can do differently. If people aren’t traveling, they’re not traveling.”

She thinks that this year, more people will travel domestically or just stay home.

Like other travel agents, Kiestner is helping clients reschedule their travels.

So far, her count is about three dozen canceled and rebooked trips.

“I’m not comfortable re-booking until I’m sure everything is settled and safe,” Kiestner said. “Cruises keep pushing out. It’s hard to plan anything until you’re sure they’re open. You can book something for the future but you don’t know if things will change.”

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

One factor complicating travel is that modes of transportation and places of lodging and entertainment have reduced their capacity to enable social distancing. This means fewer travelers can book at a time.

“The normal flights I’m putting clients on change daily,” she said. “I had someone book a trip for August OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

and their trip has changed three times.

There’s no consistency right now until everything gets situated and under control, unfortunately.”

Though she calls the current situation “bleak,” she believes that in time, the travel industry can recover. In the meantime, agents like Kiestner are working to adjust to changing times — both because their destinations have different rules and because travelers remain wary of coronavirus.

At Via Mondo Travel and Wellness in Skaneateles, owner Rosemary Mondo had specialized in travel to Italy, as well as Down Under travel to New Zealand and Australia. These days, she’s shifting to road trips and wellness trips. A yoga instructor, Mondo has traveled to many health spas in the region and can speak firsthand about where clients can go for a much-needed break.

When the pandemic threatened to shut down travel abroad, she had to work quickly to get her clients home.

“One of my clients was in Budapest in April and I got them a one-way ticket before things closed,” Mondo said. “You had to do it fast and they got back and were fine.”

Typically, she receives a retainer for trip planning that she applies to the trip once it’s booked. For those forced 51

www.speedwaypress.com to cancel their trips, she will apply the www.speedwaypress.com retainer they’ve paid to their future trip — even though that means doing the work all over for nothing.

“I’ve already lost thousands of dollars in canceling trips,” she said, “but I understand money is tight. I know these people will travel again so I apply their fee to a future trip. I don’t want to feel they’ve lost any of it.”

Mondo said that a bright spot in the crisis is that those who opt to travel would definitely benefit from using a travel agent.

“A lot of agents say doing it alone online is far more difficult now,” she said. “We added another layer of value.

Speedway Press P.O. Box 815 1 Burkle Street Oswego, Ny 13126 Phone: (315) 343-3531 Fax: (315)343-3577

More and more people want to go to a travel adviser because of that.”

Agents who stay abreast of COVID protocol news can help their clients make more informed decisions about where to travel and, as these protocols change, adjust their plants more easily.

Mondo also said that travel agents can help clients snap up deals for future travel, some as attractive as 20% off or free excursions. She hopes that post-pandemic, more people will turn to travel agents as sources of travel information and as a convenient means of navigating travel information.

Bozena Piatek, travel agent with APR Travel, Inc. in New Hartford, said

“There’s nothing that any one agency can do differently. If people aren’t traveling, they’re not traveling.”

Lynn Kiestner Travel agent with Canalview Travel Service, Inc. in Fulton

52

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

that the agency still receives steady stream of inquiries, but fewer for international trips because of travel restrictions.

“Mainly, we’re dealing with some rebooking and cancellations,” she said.

“We’re not seeing as much domestic travel because people aren’t comfortable to travel right now. Even domestic travel, it’s very reduced as far as flights.

Some destinations aren’t accessible from Upstate New York. We may make a reservation and sell the ticket and then the airline cancels the flight so we have to start again.”

She hopes that the pandemic will underscore the merit of using a travel agent. People booking for themselves have to deal with their own cancellations and rebooking, for example. Once travel restrictions began, Piatek said that many travel websites shut down their phone lines and would not help customers rebook.

“I have a lot of calls from people who are stuck,” Piatek said. “They can’t get in contact with the online agencies.

I think we’re going to see a lot of clients coming back to travel agents because they always have a lifeline with us.”

Caution is the policy at Captain Lori Cruises and Vacations in Seneca Falls, according to owner Lori Gnau.

Since regulations keep changing, she’s not booking anything but trips with organizations with the most straightforward refund and rebooking policies.

“I can’t in good faith push anything for the next six months,” Gnau said.

She’s even cautious about booking trips for next year, and advises travelers to stick with larger, well-known companies to avoid losing their money should the company go out of business. But anyone booking now for 2022 or 2023 can snap up some good rates.

“Get something that’s refundable,” Gnau said. “It’s fun to have something to look forward to.”

For now, Gnau said that trips to Virginia Beach are popular, since it’s perceived as healthier than hotspots like Myrtle Beach.

Kiestner of Canalview Travel said that the Caribbean is starting to open up, but each island adheres to different rules as far as what’s required to enter the country. Cruise lines are on hold until at least the end of September.

Mondo said that some of her clients are still traveling, but changing their destination to a place with which they feel more comfortable, such as going to Mexico instead of Ireland.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Death of the Handshake?

It may be on hiatus for the pandemic, but experts say rumors of the handshake’s demise are greatly exaggerated

By Ken Sturtz

A

fter months of trying to adjust, Michael Burdick still finds himself apologizing when he meets someone new. His faux pas? Trying to shake their hand.

“I have the hardest time not shaking hands,” says Burdick, a sales manager at FX Caprara in Pulaski. “That’s the first instinct is to reach your hand out.”

In the car business, the handshake has long taken on outsized importance.

Never mind that buying a new vehicle nowadays usually means a ream of paperwork. It wasn’t so long ago that car sales were made solely on the basis of a handshake, Burdick says. Sales people and the public still view a handshake as a powerful symbol of trust and respect when making a deal.

With the onset of the coronavirus, however, Burdick and his sales team have been forced to set the handshake aside.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

The loss of the handshake in social interactions can be jarring. Meetings with doctors, lawyers and other professionals end without it. Job interviews begin and end without it.

“I don’t think anybody is used to it or over it,” Burdick says.

He’s not alone. As the pandemic began disrupting every aspect of life earlier this year, concerns about infecting others largely sidelined the practice of shaking hands, leaving people stuck in a reoccurring state of awkwardness OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

as they groped for a suitable alternative, and raising questions about whether the ritual of shaking hands will disappear for good.

The loss of the handshake in social interactions can be jarring. Meetings with doctors, lawyers and other professionals end without it. Job interviews begin and end without it. Some toddlers are even learning to adopt gestures other than shaking hands, such as fist or elbow bumping.

And while people have experimented with an array of alternative gestures — elbow and fist bumps, bowing, various forms of hand waving and no-contact high-fives — nothing has seemed to completely stick.

So what makes shaking hands so important in the first place?

Shaking hands has been embedded in Western culture for centuries. The practice dates to the Middle Ages when 53

the value of manners and diplomacy were beginning to be understood more broadly, says Daniel Post Senning, an etiquette expert at The Emily Post Institute, based in Vermont. In an age when people were often well-armed, shaking hands was a way to show your face, communicate peace and friendship, and reassure people you weren’t carrying a weapon up your sleeve.

“The handshake communicated good will and good intentions,” says Senning, who co-hosts “Awesome Etiquette,” a podcast on 21st century etiquette questions. “We’ve retained a lot of the structure of the greeting. It communicates many of the same things even though the conditions around us have changed so dramatically.”

But it’s more than tradition that drives handshakes. They provide the structure and opportunity for people to make physical contact in public and professional settings, Senning says, and opportunities to do so are very rare.

“And so much happens in that physical touch that’s so important to understanding each other and making connections with each other,” he says.

Shaking hands is also one of the quickest and most effective ways to establish a rapport with someone, in part because both people are in vulnerable positions when shaking hands, says Patti Wood, a body language expert.

Shaking hands brings both people into close proximity, which offers greater access to body language and facial expression cues.

Wood, author of “Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma,” says the 54

Is there a chance the handshake won’t survive the pandemic? Experts believe shaking hands will make a comeback, though it could take years and the gesture might someday cease to be as ubiquitous as it once was. power of shaking hands is so great that research has found it takes three hours of continuous interaction to develop the same level of rapport that a handshake can bring.

“There’s very few things that are like that,” Wood says.

Alternatives to Handshaking Both Wood and Senning are recommending their clients avoid shaking hands for the time being due to health and safety concerns.

What do they suggest as an alternative?

Wood suggests substituting a bow for a handshake or Namaste, a Hindu greeting that involves a slight bow with hands pressed together. Such gestures convey friendliness, respect and safety, but can be done from 6 feet away, Wood says, and they create a personal moment that excludes everyone but the two people engaging in the gesture.

Early in the pandemic, Senning says OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

he suggested alternatives such as bumping fists or elbows. As scientists have learned more about the coronavirus and how it spreads, however, Senning has stopped recommending those gestures and turned to a gesture common in the Muslim world. It involves placing your hand over your heart and bowing or nodding slightly. That gesture avoids physical contact, but is still welcoming.

It’s also helpful to compensate for the lack of a handshake by focusing on eye contact and the power of words, Senning says.

“Say the thing explicitly that the gesture was meant to communicate — ‘It’s so good to see you,’” he says. “You want to keep that part of first meetings and introductions.”

Regardless of the replacement gesture, Wood says it’s important is to choose an alternative ritual ahead of time and make sure everyone is aware of it. Such preparation can help reduce the awkwardness and anxiety of starting and ending group video chats, for example.

With shaking hands on hold indefinitely and the public experimenting with new greeting gestures all the time, is there a chance the handshake won’t survive the pandemic? Will it be looked upon by future generations as a quaint, outdated piece of etiquette?

Wood says that shaking hands will make a comeback, though it could take years and the gesture might someday cease to be as ubiquitous as it once was.

“Unless we go down into the pits of horror, which could happen, I think it will come back to a certain amount of the population but will drop off,” Wood says. “There will be a group of people who will never shake hands again.”

Wood points to people who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 as well as younger adults who were raised to frequently use hand sanitizer and who, during the convergence of H1N1 a decade ago, stopped shaking hands temporarily.

Some people, particularly those with very strong personality types, will probably begin shaking hands as soon as it becomes socially acceptable again, Wood says. Others will in all likelihood reserve hand shaking for high-end business and social interactions.

Regardless, the ritual is so powerful in Western culture that its unlikely to disappear any time soon, Senning says.

“I absolutely do think the handshake will return. I don’t think it’s going to fade away like the bow has in the West.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

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Oswego native Joe Murabito and his wife Ana Maria just started their vineyard in Baldwinsville, Strigo Farmhouse, complete with a B&B and a tasting room Covering Oswego, Onondaga counties

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AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

CNY’S NEWEST VINEYARD Strigo Farmhouse in Baldwinsville, owned

by Oswego native Joe Murabito and his wife Ana Maria, comes complete with a B&B and tasting room. It just opened for business Story by Lou Sorendo AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

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In Their Element Entrepreneurial husband-wife team transforms former family horse barn in Baldwinsville into haven for wine enthusiasts, complete with a B&B and a tasting room

F

or Oswego native Joseph Murabito and his wife and business partner Ana Maria, pursuing one’s passions as opposed to being tied to bottom line pursuits is an elemental decision.

The husband-wife team owns and operates Strigo Farmhouse, a vineyard, inn and tasting room located on Plainville Road in Baldwinsville.

Ana Maria has served as accounts payable manager since 2012 for the Oswego-based Elemental Management Group, Murabito’s accounting management firm specializing in skilled nursing facilities.

Ana Maria serves as director of hospitality and will be managing the inn complete with a farm-to-table kitchen, tasting room and events. Murabito will be focused on the vineyard and wine production.

Utilized by three generations before the Murabitos purchased the property, the former family horse barn has been renovated and transformed into a destination point for travelers.

Strigo was expected to open in early August, and in late June was going through the final stages of meeting new COVID-19 regulations and obtaining its certificate of operation.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 impacted how work was performed on the project.

Instead of several trades coordinating efforts together, the pandemic meant limiting work to one trade at a time.

The project fell about three months behind, but it also allowed final site work to be done in more favorable weather conditions.

From early March until the end of May, Murabito tirelessly spent time managing his senior care facilities, staff and dealing with stringent regulatory issues.

Ana Maria said Strigo offered the opportunity to get out of the house during the pandemic and enjoy mental relief.

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Caught his eye Murabito was attracted to the farmhouse particularly since it was well taken care of, a testimonial to the previous long-time owners.

The former owners were gracious in sharing the history of the property, and after becoming acquainted with the Murabitos, told them, “You’re the people who are supposed to buy it.”

The previous owners — Anthony and Marie Guinta — supplied Russo Produce Co. in Syracuse.

As a health care administration professional, Murabito has been immersed in growing four senior living facilities and recently starting another in the Rochester area.

Once his fifth senior living facility goes online, Murabito is going to be overseeing more than 600 workers.

“It’s not a goal of mine to have a lot of facilities,” said Murabito, noting that all of his working relationships are all partnerships.

His most recent venture features three owners, with each having a significant stake in the operation.

Murabito has taken time to step back and switch gears from the health care industry he has been dedicated to.

“You ask yourself, ‘why do I have five facilities?’ he said. “And you talk to another guy and ask, ‘Why do you have 20?’ This project {Strigo Farmhouse] to me is the answer. We want to be in this space and have family and friends around,” said Murabito, noting it creates a sense of balance in his life.

Murabito grew up on his grandfather’s farm, where 50 heads of cattle were raised as a hobby.

“Something pulled him in that direction, and something is pulling me in this direction as well. You just want to get grounded,” he said.

While it is a business venture, it is not solely that, Murabito said.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

“This comes from trying to be grounded and this is a place where people can relax and come together,” he said.

“We are not interested in appealing to everybody. There are people who come here who are blown away by the inn,” he said. “Some people appreciate every detail and there are others who take a little bit of advantage and don’t leave the place very nice.”

“We want it to be a destination experience, but we know there is a certain group of people that is really going to appreciate this. Because of the way it was structured in terms of minimizing debt, we’re going to have the flexibility to focus on appealing to people who really appreciate this. It’s not about volume,” he added.

“It’s a different experience based on the things that we like,” said Ana Marie. “We cook, entertain and we’re always around people. It’s an extension of what we love to do.”

Meeting demand The vineyards-inn-tasting room concept is expected to create a positive vibe on the area’s leisure and hospitality scene.

“Look at what happened on Long Island. It wasn’t that long ago that people wouldn’t associate Long Island with wine,” Murabito said. “Now they are producing more than nationally recognized wines.”

Long Island wineries have a history rooting back to the 1970s and have grown exponentially, creating a name for themselves and attracting tourists from around the world.

Murabito said the Greater Buffalo area is also producing a significant amount of grapes. He gets his vines from Double A Vineyards in Fredonia.

“People have been growing grapes for thousands of years and they grow AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Ana Maria and husband Joe Murabito at their new Baldwinsville vineyard, Strigo Farmhouse, July 2. Photo by Chuck Wainwright.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

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everywhere,” he said. “Some places are reputable for wines and there are a lot of really great wines in places people don’t know exist.”

The couple will be introducing its own varieties into a lineup of wines emanating from New York state and beyond.

“That’s the idea. It’s not just going to be New York state grapes or our wine.

People might not like what I make,” Murabito said.

Wine preference is a highly personal thing, Murabito said.

“There’s the wine snob, which I think does not do justice to wine, and then there is the gentleman that we met in the middle of Tuscany with a tank top, toothpick, shorts and big rubber boots re-introducing an extinct native grape that was replaced by the red grape Sangiovese,” he said.

The man lived on a farm recultivating the historic grape that no one was familiar with, Murabito said.

“There are so many examples like that. Everybody is focused on wine such as Bordeaux from southern France, and there is a prestige and eliteness about it. But when you get through that, it’s farmers [making wine] everywhere in any country you go to,” he added.

Of the 70 acres at the site, 45 are plantable.

Most of the plantable acreage was leased out to local farmers to grow soybeans, corn and hay for horses.

“We want to try to create something that’s from here, and we’re not growing grapes that are not supposed to live here. That’s why we planted three cold hardy hybrids, with one being Marquette, a Pinot Noir derivative, which is thought to be the leading red wine in New York state.

Cold hardy hybrid wine varieties are genetically produced to thrive in Central New York’s climate.

Another is Fontaine Gris, a derivative of Pinot Grigio that is dry, light and citrusy.

The third is Fontaine Blanc, a version of Fontaine Gris, which is a mutation from the original cold hardy hybrid that leans more in the chardonnay direction.

“We are going to mix, match and blend,” said Murabito, noting there will be rose, white and red wine varieties to taste.

“We’re not going to be making 10 different wines. We’ll probably be making just a few,” he said.

To narrow focus on just a few va60

rieties is not uncommon.

When one travels to Monticello in Italy, for instance, the majority of folks are going to be drinking Brunello di Montalcino, again made from the Sangiovese grape.

“That’s pretty much all you will be drinking,” he said. “About 50 different vineyards produce their own version of that grape.”

Murabito said what the United States has done with wine tasting is try to appeal to too many people.

“The focus is on too many people, tastes and interests,” he said.

“If your livelihood is dependent on it, then you should appeal to a lot of people because you need dollars to flow in order to make the business sustainable, which ours will be. But we’re not interested to appealing to everybody,” he added.

Strigo means owl in Esperanto, the most commonly spoken constructed international auxiliary language.

While in the branding process, Murabito was doodling while thinking about the barn and name of the business.

He saw a picture of a barn owl, liked it, drew it many times and digitized it.

Murabito said the handcrafted creation was selected as the business’ logo because “it sounded good and was nice and short.”

Chasing their passion Ana Maria said the vineyards create an opportunity to bring visitors to the Central New York region. It’s at least 30 minutes from any other like facility.

“As far as what it’s going to become, there’s nothing overly pre-prescribed at this point,” Murabito said.

He said there have been certain times along the road professionally when he needed to reset and refocus due to a heavy workload.

Food and wine lovers, the couple had driven by the farm for about 10 years while traveling between their home in Baldwinsville and Oswego.

“There were a lot of very personal reasons to do this based on things we like,” he said. “We know that it can become a good business venture.”

“It’s being put together in such a way where it’s not burdened with a lot of debt because we put a lot of ourselves into it. It’s meant to be a family and friends’ gathering place,” Murabito added.

It certainly will be a place for visitors, but not designed to handle OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

exceptionally large crowds, he said.

“It’s homey and beautiful,” Ana Maria said of the country setting. “It’s a fun place where people can come to gather and have a different experience outside of what the area has to offer.”

She said the couple’s own unique travels and experiences that are reflected at the business give it uniqueness.

“We have been making wine for more than 15 years. Winemaking has become a big tradition for our family and friends,” Ana Maria said.

She said every September, family and friends gather at their home to crush grapes and celebrate the harvest season by making wine.

She said the combination of her husband’s operations experience along with her knack for hospitality and creating relationships bodes well for the future of the business.

Murabito has largely been linked professionally to developing and sustaining health care facilities in the region. This valuable managerial and administrative experience translates well into the vineyard business.

From regulatory compliance to insurance matters, “all of the things we need to have set up in any other business is set up here but on a smaller scale. There’s a lot of cross-over when talking about the nuts and bolts of just setting up an entity,” he said.

Meanwhile, Elemental Management Group provides the foundational support for all of the businesses that the entrepreneur is involved in.

He considers working with and coordinating many people as his favorite thing about business.

“It’s not about me; it’s the thing that we are trying to grow. I don’t put myself out front. I need to be in the background, supporting these positions and developing these businesses,” he said.

Murabito invites multi-tasking.

“I mean my head doesn’t shut off.

This [the vineyard] helps it shut off a little bit,” Murabito said, Ana Maria has absorbed significant knowledge through the process of creating the new business.

“This project has been like a baby to me as I have learned a lot of things that I’ve never known such as setting up a kitchen for commercial purposes with legalities in mind,” she said.

Confidence aplenty Normally, owners of prospective new businesses will conduct due diliAUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

gence to determine whether a venture is worthwhile.

However, the Murabitos also followed their hearts when deciding to launch the business.

“The question was, ‘Can we buy this and do something we want to do in an atmosphere we want to do it in?” said Murabito, noting the focus was not on market study results.

“People like wine, food and gathering, and there is not one around here,” he said. “And the farm field is great.”

Murabito said there was much intuitiveness involved when it came to deciding to take the plunge.

“Everyone feels this place has a good vibe,” he said. “Every place on the property feels good.”

In terms of the tasting room, Murabito said neither he nor his wife enjoy the conventional wine-tasting experience.

“You come up to the bar and check off five boxes of whites and five boxes of reds, and taste 10 wines in 20 minutes and move along,” he said. “We didn’t want a bar, a bartender and really didn’t want to have cash.”

As a result, the Murabitos opted to use self-serve, self-dispensing wine machines. “Frankly, that now lends itself well to social distancing,” he said.

Guests will enjoy a lounge that has a café feel, taste what they want and when, and won’t be intimidated about proper pronunciation or asking staff for wine.

“We’ll find a comfortable way to coach, promote and guide patrons” when it comes to the tasting process, Murabito noted.

“To think there was a pro forma as if I was doing a health care facility, no there was not. That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to do it. I didn’t want a pro forma. This is a feel thing,” he said.

Ana Maria said the value inherent in the business speaks for itself and will result in returns.

“The purpose is not to be pressured by the return,” Murabito said. “The return will happen over time. Is it going to happen in year 1 or 2? I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. We will be fine with that. We are really looking for people who want to be here and appreciate it.“ The Murabitos are also mindful of the environment, as evidenced by their use of a lithium battery to power the entire operation and property.

The 100% solar-fed 50-kilowatt lithium ion battery is from WestGen in California, where Murabito’s cousin Greg Bilson is the CEO. AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Inside the inn at Strigo Farmhouse. “There are people who come here who are blown away by the inn,” says Joe Murabito. “Some people appreciate every detail.”

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TOURISM

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AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

NYS Wine, Grape Industry: 71,950 jobs, $6.65 Billion in Economic Impact

T

A glass of red wine photographed at on the arm rest of a white, plastic Adirondack chair near Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

he New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) earlier this year released the results of the 2019 economic impact study of New York state’s wine and grape industry. The study was funded by the NYWGF to estimate the economic contributions made by wineries, growers, distributors, sellers and others in the trade to the New York economy in the past year and to help the industry continue to grow.

The study found that the wine and grape industry in New York directly creates 71,950 jobs, generating $2.79 billion in wages and $6.65 billion in direct economic impact.

The report — conducted by John Dunham & Associates (JDA) — defines the wine and grape industries as wine and grape juice manufacturing, wine and grape juice retailing, wine and grape wholesaling, wine grape growing, juice grape growing, tourism, wine research and education, and wine-related associations in the state of New York.

New York’s wineries and vineyards attract visitors from across the state and across the country. These visitors not only create business for the wineries and vineyards but also spend millions on lodging, food, transportation, and other retail purchases, contributing to the value of New York’s tourism.

JDA estimates that about 1.43 million people made over 4.71 million visits to New York’s wineries and vineyards.

In addition to spending in the wineries and vineyards on wine, food, events, etc., these people spent an estimated $1.33 billion in other parts of the New York economy. The economic activity created by these visitors directly generates approximately 25,750 jobs, $825.72 million in wages, and contributing $1.80 billion in economic activity to the state.

An important part of an impact analysis is the calculation of the contribution of the industry to the public finances of the country. In the case of the wine and grape industry in New York, the business taxes paid by firms OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

and their employees provide $1.07 billion to the federal government and $1.12 billion to state and local governments. In addition, the consumption of wine in New York generated an estimated $58.97 million in federal tax revenues and $179.34 million in state and local tax revenues. These consumption taxes include excise taxes and state sales taxes.

“We fund studies like the Economic Impact Study to better inform our members and the wine and grape industry at large in the state of New York. We’re continuously proud of the incredible and growing contributions our industry brings to both the state and the U.S. and we’re looking forward to the years of boldly growing in the future,” said Sam Filler, executive director of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. The full report and factsheet, along with detailed data tables can be found online at: newyorkwines.org/ for-media/articles-stats.

The New York Wine & Grape Foundation was founded in 1985 by State Statute to support industry growth through investments in promotion, research, and capacity building. Today, the Foundation’s public-private partnership drives the industry’s growth and helps support the state’s wine and grape industry.

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TOURISM

Wagner’s Vineyards on the shores of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes

Finger Lakes Wine Country Keeps Juice Flowing Major tourism destination adjusts to limitations placed by global pandemic

By Lou Sorendo

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he coronavirus has made a direct hit on the travel and tourism industry, perhaps one of the most vulnerable economic sectors when it comes to dealing with the pandemic.

On its hit list is Finger Lakes Wine Country in Central New York.

While there more than 120 wineries for guests to enjoy in the 12-county Finger Lakes region, savoring enticing beverages is not the only attraction in this scenic Upstate New York destination point.

Attractions range from taking in the charm of idyllic small towns such as Watkins Glen and Hammondsport; watching molten glass be shaped at the Corning Museum of Glass; and enjoying 64

the natural beauty of the Chemung River Valley.

Christina Roberts is vice president of brand development for the Corning-based Finger Lakes Wine Country Tourism Marketing Association, an agency dedicated to enhancing tourism in the region.

She said there is no denying that tourism numbers will be lower than normal.

“However, we’re seeing an uptick in local visitation. This year, we will see more ‘stay-cations’ because people are opting to stay closer to home,” she said.

She addressed the financial impact that COVID-19 has had on the Finger Lakes Wine Country community.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

“The loss in tourism-related revenues over the last few months has been substantial and will impact the region moving forward,” she said. “Many businesses in the region not only had a loss in revenue but also incurred expenses to implement new safety regulations.”

Roberts noted the majority of the hospitality industry saw massive lay offs amid the pandemic.

“Many businesses in the region have tapped into government aid to help keep their businesses running,” she noted.

As of late July, the Finger Lakes region was in Phase 4 of reopening non-essential businesses, meaning the region met all metrics required of the AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

American Viticultural (cultivation of grapevines) Area as a collective.

Know, obey rules

state’s regional phased reopening plan.

Essential businesses are open, and all non-essential businesses are due to open according to the four phases as outlined

by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

How lucrative is the wine industry in New York state?

A recent study estimates the annual economic impact of the state’s wine industry to be $4.8 billion per year. That includes payroll, taxes, investment and tourism.

According to estimates, travelers spend more than $3 billion in the Finger Lakes region annually while the tourism industry itself supports about 60,000 jobs.

FLWC is home to three wine trails, each offering wine and food pairing events throughout the year. They are the Cayuga, Keuka and Seneca Lake wine trails.

The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail features national and international award-winning wine. The meals, shops, attractions and accommodations make it reportedly one of the best.

Cayuga is the first organized and longest-running wine trail in America.

It was established in 1983 to promote wineries located within the Cayuga Lake AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Roberts said it is important for guests to communicate with accommodations, dining establishments, wineries, and any other businesses they plan to visit during their trip for a clear understanding of what to expect so they can enjoy their time in the region.

“For instance, many wineries are requiring reservations for tasting experiences,” she said.

In New York state, everyone is required to wear a mask in public and maintain at least six feet distance from others to meet social distancing guidelines.

“We appreciate everyone following these guidelines in order to keep the region safe and allowing us to continue to welcome our guests,” Roberts said.

To the chagrin of many wineries in the region, social distancing requirements limit capacity on wine tasting tours and at wine tasting events.

“Restaurants, wineries, breweries and other craft beverage producers have reduced their capacity to 50%,” she said. “Many are managing the capacity by requiring reservations.

Others have a hosting station where guests must check in before entering for their tasting experience.”

Over the last several months, the FLWC community has been working hard to lessen the spread of COVID-19.

She said a key to successfully implementing necessary measures is for visitors to respect the guidelines and be prepared for them to be enforced during their time in the area.

Haven for tourists Roberts said Finger Lakes Wine Country is a rural destination with plenty of open space for visitors to enjoy.

“From hiking trails to kayaking along the many waterways, or even just enjoying a leisurely drive or a lakeside picnic, there are countless ways to enjoy the region while following social distancing guidelines,” she said.

A variety of museums, restaurants, and dozens of other attractions and experiences are open and ready to welcome guests, she added.

“The hospitality and tourism community has maintained close contact over the last few months,” she said.

“The support from business to business and organization to organization is enOSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

couraging and through collaboration, willingness to be creative, and lots of patience, we will come out on the other side of this stronger than ever.”

As head of marketing, Roberts has had to transform promotional strategies amidst COVID-19.

“We had to completely redevelop our entire marketing plan for 2020,” she said. “We’ve continued to be nimble and creative with how we are marketing the region.”

Traditionally, FLWS focuses the majority of its marketing on a three- tosix hour drive distance from the region.

“But this year, we’ve pulled in our marketing campaigns to be much closer to home,” she said.

So rather than focusing its efforts in Philadelphia, New York City and Toronto, FLWC is focusing on Rochester, Syracuse, and Elmira-Corning.

“We will continue to navigate these uncharted waters carefully because the safety of our region is always our first goal,” she said. “While tourism-related revenue is incredibly important to our livelihood as a region, the health and wellness of our communities is of the utmost importance to us.”

The Finger Lakes region, which features a group of 11 long, narrow, north–south lakes, is New York’s largest wine-producing region. More than 120 wineries and vineyards are around Seneca, Cayuga, Canandaigua, Keuka, Conesus, and Hemlock lakes.

Because of the lakes’ great depth, they provide a lake effect to the vineyards along their shores. Retaining residual summer warmth in the winter and winter’s cold in the spring, the grapes are protected from disastrous spring frost during shoot growth, and early frost before the harvest.

The main grape varieties grown are Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot noir, Cabernet Franc, Vidal blanc, Seyval blanc and many Vitis labrusca (American native) varieties or cultivars.

What is primarily known as a wine region also features craft makers producing cider, beer, and liquor from locally grown and sourced ingredients.

More than one-third of New York’s total breweries are located along the Finger Lakes Beer Trail, contributing to an economic impact of $1.5 billion and support for approximately 9,400 jobs in the region.

All information for all industries in the Finger Lakes region can be found by visiting https://forward.ny.gov/.

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Cayuga Lake Wine Trail.

Put On Your Drinking Boots!

No matter where you are in New York state you are never far from a winery

By Sandra Scott

L

ocal wineries are all the same in that they serve fine NYS wines but each of them has its own special character and charm.

Check out the several wine trails in various parts of NYS to experience the different wines and wineries. Many wineries offer special events and activities often featuring local musical groups.

immigrant, who produced the first commercial vintage, started the winery. The winery changed hands over the years and in 1886 the large stone building and underground cellars were added. The cellars are the largest in

Brotherhood Winery

“Put on your drinking boots!” is a phrase borrowed from Brotherhood Winery in Washingtonville, Orange County. Established in 1839, it is the oldest continuously operating winery in the nation. John Jaques, a French 66

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

the U.S. It is on the New York State and National Register of Historic Places and just one of the wineries on the Shawangunk Wine Trail.

Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery

Wine lovers should raise their glass in thanks to Dr. Frank who ignited the “Vinifera Revolution,” a movement that changed the course of wine growing in the United States and New York state.

He discovered that a little bug in the soil, not the climate, was the cause of the area’s poor grape yield, which he solved by grafting preferred vinifera onto local bug-resistant rootstock. It is on the Keuka Lake Wine Trail.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Coyote Moon Vineyard

There are two locations in Clayton, Thousand Islands region. One is the actual vineyard and the other is located on the water in the village where you can watch the large transport ships on the St. Lawrence River. They offer 20 different wines and Coyote Moon is one of the few vineyards in the area bottling Frontenac Blanc. They often feature local musicians. It is on the St. Lawrence Wine Trail.

has transformed itself from a potato growing area to one of the newest wine lover’s destination. It is home to more than 35 tasting rooms. The climate is similar to the Bordeaux regions of France so they are able to grow some of the best French grape varietals. The first vineyard started in 1973 and is now the Castello di Borghese in Cutchogue.

Tug Hill Winery

Grapes for winemaking can be grown just about anywhere as long as the right variety is used. The Tug Hill Winery in Lowville is an example. One might think the area is too cold and too snowy but the owner selected grapes developed by the University of Minnesota to be cold hardy. The French-American hybrids will survive minus 35 degrees.

Bully Hill Winery

Just like each wine has a distinctive flavor so does each winery. The Taylor family had been growing grapes since 1878. Walter Taylor founded the vineyard on the site of the original Taylor Winery. The winery’s museum complex in Hammondsport houses the Cooper Shop with a video on barrel making, The New York State Wine Museum of Greyton H. Taylor, and the Walter S. Taylor Art Gallery. Learn about the great story behind the phrase, “They have our name and heritage, but they didn’t get our goat!” It is on the Keuka Lake Wine Trail.

Six Mile Creek Winery

Six Mile Creek Winery is housed in a restored turn-of-the-century Dutch-reform barn with spectacular views of Six Mile Creek valley and vineyards. They offer wine and more. They recently started a new venture distilling spirits, including vodka and grappa. It is on the Cayuga Wine Trail.

Long Island’s North Fork

The North Fork of Long Island AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Hit the Trail

There are over 400 wineries in New York state so the best way to experience the diversity of New York state wines is to pick an area and take their wine trail. The trails feature all the wineries in a specific area. Many of the wineries have special events, feature local musical groups, and may make other items such beer, spirits, and handcrafted items along with local produce such as apples, cheese, artisan breads, berries, more.

Explore NYS wines from the Niagara Wine Trail to the North Fork Wine Trail on Long Island.

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Tim Nekritz nekritz@gmail.com

Summer in Fair Haven Adaptability, natural beauty, community spirit brighten summer in this Cayuga County village

Many local establishments — including a reopened Pleasant Beach Hotel, Brandon’s Pub, Turtle Cove Marina, Little Sodus Inn and the Cidery — are taking advantage of their outdoor areas to keep the live music flowing throughout the village.

Tim Nekritz is director of news and media for SUNY Oswego, where he spearheads telling the stories of the campus community.

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W

hen you’re a small village that counts on tourism traffic to infuse your economy, a pandemic and related restrictions stretching into peak season means you need to get creative.

For Fair Haven, its lakeside location and small-town charms remain a draw to summer residents and tourists alike. However, losing its biggest annual attraction — the July 4 celebration’s signature fireworks and many related activities — means plenty of adjustment for this charming village a few miles west of Oswego County.

The understandable restrictions in the first phases of COVID-19 meant that the spring season ramp-up was either altered or off-limits for businesses in this town with a population of 720. But some saw an opportunity to change offerings and way of doing business to keep their

operations going.

The Hardware Cafe and General Store, a Main Street staple, adapted to take-out meals.

“We thought it was important to keep as many people employed as possible and to provide as much food as we could,” said Susan Lemon, who co-owns the cafe with her husband Larry. “Our employees were amazing — they kept the place going every day non-stop. It was difficult at times when they were there alone and didn’t see anyone for hours. But they kept busy preparing meals that were ordered in advance.”

The cafe found success when they started family-sized portions of comfort food like chicken pot pie and macaroni and cheese, as “orders kept coming in and kept our staff busy,” Lemon said. Nonetheless, their sales were down around 40% from the previous year, although they had some reduced payroll

Tim’s Notes

Little Sodus Bay in Fair Haven. Main Street at the end of the bay running horizontally; Pleasant Beach Hotel is on the left with the docks. Photo courtesy of Kyle Meddaugh.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

and food expenses.

The Sterling Cidery adapted with to-go growlers and fresh baked breads and pastries for two hours each on Fridays and Saturdays during the spring.

“While greater utilization of our licensed kitchen had been the part of our operational plan all along, the limited revenue from take-out only was the push we needed to get this offering going,” said Jana House, who co-owns the cidery with her husband Brandon Furber, and her sister Lesley Gould with husband Craig Arnold.

They briefly closed over the winter to greatly expand indoor seating in their taproom, but the pandemic limited their ability to welcome patrons to the renovated space.

Over on the West Bay, the Colloca Estate Winery adjusted to take-out meals for the public, but stayed busy with the usual seasonal tasks — like cultivating more than 13,000-plus vines by hand — plus a larger project of finishing construction on a new events center addition to their kitchen.

“It’s been a real fun project,” owner Chris Colloca said of the space that includes a geothermal system for radiant heat. “It provides a really nice warmth, for events and weddings through the year.”

Especially in a challenging year, being able to incorporate more weddings and events is good “not only for us, but for all of Fair Haven,” Colloca said. “We have a wedding for 200 people, 100 couples from out of town, those people have to stay somewhere, and they have to eat somewhere.”

Kyle Meddaugh, the proprietor of OnePhoto photography services and a downtown shop run with wife Marnie, said while March and April tend to be slow months, May was a challenge. “Not being able to open our shop on Main Street, not being able to book family photo sessions, weddings rescheduling, it all just really started to have an impact on the business’s bottom line, as there was still the usual cost-of-doing-business bills to pay,” he said.

But Fair Haven also offers beautiful subjects and community opportunities any time of year. “I focused on my landscape photography — at least the natural beauty of Fair Haven wasn’t affected by the pandemic,” Meddaugh said. “And we were able to use our shop to offer free mask giveaways, with my wife making nearly 1,000 face coverings over the last few months to help serve the community.”

For regular fishing and recreational AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Overview of the village of Fair Haven. Photo courtesy of Kyle Meddaugh. tourism, selling product and filling rooms has been a challenge, said Rick Shambo of Screwy Louie’s Sport Shop and Country Cabins.

Shambo estimated business has been off 30 to 40%, with cabin rentals canceled without a large July 4 celebration and no Sterling Renaissance Festival running in 2020. Fishing charters are down because of unemployment and financial strain of customers, while a “lack of campers at the state park account for almost half our summer revenue,” he noted.

“I expect the summer to be quiet and a continuation of what is happening now,” Shambo added. “If it wasn’t the flooding in 2017 and 2019 it’s now this.”

Phasing in

In this village without chain stores, the transitions to the second and third phases of reopening helped many businesses transition, even if owners did not always get a lot of advance notice to adjust. But being able to accommodate patrons indoors has been a big boost, especially with good weather for outdoor seating as well.

“So far things have been going well,” said Lemon, the co-owner of The Hardware Cafe and General Store.

“Business is better than expected — although we’ve had to decrease our inside seating capacity by 50%, we’ve OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

been able to increase our outside seating capacity. The weather’s been beautiful and our new awnings make it desirable for people to sit outside.”

And while they have many patrons happy “to sit and watch life go by on Main Street,” Lemon said the cafe has taken on additional overhead costs with disposable items such as menus and condiments, with gloves and masks for staff plus hand sanitizers and paper towels.

The cafe needed to hire more staff since the outdoor seating means a longer run to the kitchen and more cleaning and sanitizing tasks are required. “But we have kept our extended hours [open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.] and our business is doing well — seems to be getting steadily better as more people come out. If the trend continues we should do just fine,” Lemon said.

As for the cidery, warmer weather allowed “for greater utilization of our little-known-about but ample rear yard,” House said. “To maximize utilization of this outdoor space, we have invested in several open-sided tent structures that are anchored down to be left up for the season, along with tables and seating; again at appropriate distancing.”

Many local establishments — including a re-opened Pleasant Beach Hotel, Brandon’s Pub, Turtle Cove Marina, Little Sodus Inn and the Ci69

dery — are taking advantage of their outdoor areas to keep the live music flowing throughout the village.

Colloca discovered people are more than ready for the return of live music; on a nice Friday night in June, the winery hosted a band with a cover charge, and they had to close off admission at 6:30 p.m. to stay within distancing regulations.

New and newer businesses — such as the Stick and Rudder pub and the Main Street Barber Shop — continue to broaden the village’s appeal for residents and visitors alike.

Positive attitudes Despite the cancellation of the July fireworks and the festival’s related village offerings like rides and a carnival, various business owners still saw people coming out for remaining traditions like a boat parade and a village-wide garage sale.

Many people launch their own fireworks before the big show, and “without the main event fireworks, I think people are stepping up and doing it more,” Colloca said. “And you’ll still have the Ring of Fire, where people will light up flares around the bay.”

And while the cancellation of the Renaissance Faire and postponement of weddings will decrease tourism somewhat, Lemon thinks some inherent advantages of Fair Haven will help sustain it.

“A lot of people come to Fair Haven to visit family — they have family traditions of meeting up at the lake,” she said. “I think these people will still come. There are also a lot of people that come for the beauty of the area and lake activities — and I believe they will continue to come here. I think people will view this as a safe place to come as a getaway — we have had very few incidences of the coronavirus and here they can enjoy the beauty, social distance and avoid the crowds.”

Colloca has a regular run of smaller festivals, some of which he hopes to still hold in some capacity, such as the Lake Ontario Food, Wine and Jazz Festival around Labor Day. But having a large space they see as a kind of public park will still draw visitors.

“The real advantage that we have at the winery is 103 acres, which includes 12 acres of wines planted,” Colloca said.

For daily business, the winery invested in more tables, spaced apart, and can seat around 250 people outside in a welcoming atmosphere. “I feel blessed,” 70

he noted.

“We’re all in the same boat,” he added. “You want to be able to move forward, but you have to be safe.”

“I am optimistic — our business has steadily increased since we have re-opened — people seem really happy to be here,” Lemon said.

Meddaugh also remains upbeat about prospects for summer.

“Fair Haven seems busier than many years, and I expect more people will stay close, or closer, to home this summer,” Meddaugh said. “My hope is that, even without our traditional cornerstone event, the July 4 celebration, folks will see the many venues, the unique shopping and recreational opportunities that our area offers and set sail for Destination Fair Haven this summer.”

The spirit of community — that people are collaborators more than competitors — is something that Colloca thinks will help the village find its footing despite the challenging months.

“Fair Haven is such a close-knit group,” he said. “We just support each other and send people to each others’ places. When we get people to each others’ places, we win.”

Even when shops were closed down earlier this spring, Fair Haven businesses could still find ways to contribute to the community. Outside the OnePhoto store on Main Street, anybody could pick up one of the nearly 1,000 free face coverings Marnie Meddaugh made to help those in need.

The owner Colloca Estate Winery, Chris Colloca, said having 103 acres on West Bay will help with maintaining distancing for those looking for wine, food and entertainment. Photo courtesy of Kyle Meddaugh/OnePhoto OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

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TOURISM

Exposition Center at the Great New York State Fair. Cancellation of the fair, with an attendance of more than 1 million people, is a blow to the local tourism industry.

‘This Year is Horrendous …’

President, CEO of Visit Syracuse characterizes how COVID-19 has decimated tourism industry in Central New York

By Lou Sorendo

W

hen it comes to discussing COVID-19 and its effect on the Greater Syracuse region’s lucrative tourism industry, Danny Liedka does not mince words.

Liedka is the president and CEO of Visit Syracuse, an organization that plays a key role in Onondaga County’s economic development strategy through its efforts to grow the area’s tourism industry.

Liedka said travelers’ confidence is “not very high. We have seen some folks visiting from some drive-in markets, which is encouraging.”

However, a glance at the metrics that area tourism is measured by will reveal a future that is at best rocky.

Typically, June is a month when

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occupancy rates in hotels in the region are about 70% collectively, Liedka said.

“We’ll be lucky if we broke the 20% mark in June,” he said. “It’s very, very dire.”

“We’re hoping this trend turns around soon, but as it stands right now, to say this year is horrendous is an understatement,” he noted.

For Liedka, it is impossible to salvage the summer tourism season.

He said two key events — the 18day New York State Fair that ends on Labor Day and the Syracuse Nationals featured at the end of July — have been canceled. Those events bring in about 1 million and 300,000 visitors, respectively.

“We would like to see something in OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

terms of tourism activity, but it would be a drop in the bucket compared to what is a typical summer season,” he noted.

Liedka said what makes worse are state guidelines limiting size of groups, which prevent any large gatherings.

“There’s no way to cut into that loss,” he said.

“Our efforts right now are really focused on drive-in markets that people feel safe to travel from,” he said. “We want to get them here to enjoy what they can do, and that is certainly food and outdoor entertainment with all the great parks and natural resources we have here.

“Those are things people wouldn’t be afraid to visit and that’s where our efforts are focused right now,” he said.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

June is a month when occupancy rates in the Syracuse region hotels are about 70% collectively. “We’ll be lucky if we broke the 20% mark in June. It’s very, very dire.”

Danny Liedka, president and CEO of Visit Syracuse.

Workers fall by wayside Meanwhile, COVID-19 has decimated the workforce associated with the leisure and hospitality industry in the Greater Syracuse region since the pandemic struck in March.

“We’ve seen some jobs come back based on agencies or corporations that were eligible for Payroll Protection Program funds. They certainly have put that to use to bring some employees back,” Liedka said.

However, there was a point when the hotel segment reached a high-water mark of about 87% of its workforce being furloughed or left unemployed.

“We’ve seen some of those come back, but it’s only a small fraction,” he said. “It still is a really sad state of affairs.”

Liedka said he has seen some jobs returning, but it’s probably only about 20% of the workforce that was furloughed or let go.

One out of 11 jobs in Onondaga County is tourism-based.

“Tourism is a $900 million industry in this county, so the effect is really AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

profound,” he added.

Liedka said to expect about a $50 million to $60 million loss in local and state taxes.

“That’s going to be another shot that’s going to hurt later on down the road,” he said.

“I would say if we are able to achieve 30% to 35% of a typical year, that would be a remarkable win, honestly,” Liedka said.

He said government support for the tourism industry has been “abysmal.”

“There is no support. Our agency for example is not eligible for PPP funding, and we had to give money back to the government — rightfully so — to help with health issues,” he added.

“Federal and state governments here have no solutions for the tourism industry, which is a huge economic engine in this state,” Liedka said. “They have completely forgotten us.”

He said he has attempted to correspond with federal representatives, but his pleas for help have fallen on deaf ears. “It’s really sad,” he said.

Liedka said Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said there may be money in the future for tourism, “but right now there’s nothing.

“Our agency is running at 50% of its power. It’s a tough time right now.”

All of Visit Syracuse’s part-time employees have been let go or furloughed, while five of its full-time employees are in a similar situation.

“We are down to literally seven to

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

eight people on staff, and we’re going to take about a $900,000 loss in revenue this year, and it could get worse than that,” Liedka said.

With a $2.3 million budget in a typical year, a $900,000 hit is almost impossible to overcome, he added.

“Everything that we do has to be organic and from our team. Going out there and buying media and things of that nature just doesn’t happen,” he said.

Instead, Visit Syracuse is relying on social media and web traffic to get the word out.

“The team I have has done a great job with that, which has been the bright side of this. We’ve done a lot with very little resources, which I am very proud of,” he noted.

However, Liedka acknowledged that approach doesn’t have the same effect compared to when the usual resources are available to spread the tourism message further.

Liedka praised his marketing team for its perseverance during the health crisis.

“The core that I have is as good as it gets in the industry,” he said. “They are very savvy at driving traffic to our website” and create engagement through social media and blog posts.

“That’s a constant and something we can always count on. When you give them more weapons, they are even bigger and better,” he said.

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Bill Jacquin and his wife Joann purchased Serendipity Bed and Breakfast near SUNY Oswego in October 2017. Bill says that from March until July this year, they received no guests.

B&Bs Face Re-opening Challenges

A

ny business re-opening to the public has faced a variety of challenges to engaging with customers and clients again.

Bed and breakfast proprietors have faced a few difficulties similar to those of hotel and motels; however, their size and staff and monetary resources make it harder to overcome those obstacles.

William Jacquin, co-owner of Serendipity Bed and Breakfast in Oswego, offers three guest rooms. He has owned the B&B since 2017. Since he’s semi-retired, he doesn’t entirely rely on the B&B for income, which “relieves the pressure a little bit.”

Between March and July, the B&B received no guests.

“We would’ve had people here for graduations,” Jacquin said.

While Jacquin’s rooms have sat idle, he’s been anything but. He’s been working on building social distancing into the B&B’s set-up, in addition to following the other guidelines offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state guidelines. The rooms are all on the same floor, but with quite bit of distance in the hallways, guests can easily avoid each other.

He has also kept busy cleaning and disinfecting. Since his part-time job involves cleaning at SUNY Oswego, he has received training in the latest methods of cleaning. Jacquin hopes this helps more guests feel at ease staying at Serendipity.

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By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

“We just had someone a couple weekends ago and now have a guest from Ohio,” he said. “It’s vacation travel. I’m hearing from people in Ohio and Pennsylvania. I anticipate more calls.”

He thinks that the lodging industry in Oswego County should rebound more quickly than in other areas because of the low level of COVID-19 activity compared with other areas.

“We’ve blessed to not have a lot of activity,” Jacquin said. “I thank the good Lord and the lake breezes.”

Oswego Inn’s innkeeper and owner, Younis Ghulam, experienced canceled bookings. During the lull, he also set up protocols to keep guests safer and reassured.

“We are having people stay six feet away, we’re wearing masks, and wiping things down,” he said. “We are taking precautions. We are asking if people are sick.”

He said that people are calling to see if his inn is open.

“We can only pray to God,” Ghulam said. “He can do better.”

Cancellations have also affected Susan Lemon, owner of Turner’s 1816 House in Fair Haven. Instead of booking guests, the B&B — and most of the tourist magnet town — “hasn’t seen much action lately,” Lemon said. “It’s been really quiet. Things dropped off as soon as COVID hit.”

Lemon opened the facility in 2018.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

She had planned to start host weddings this year, but the pandemic quashed that ambition for now.

For guests’ safety and reassurance, she’s keeping rooms empty 72 hours between guests to allow Lemon’s sister and innkeeper, Jeanne Brown, extra time for sanitizing.

Turner’s has had a few bookings, such as people visiting for small family gatherings; however, with the cancellation of the Renaissance Festival in Sterling and other events has decreased bookings. Lemon thinks that’s the biggest reason for lost business.

While innkeepers like these have been working hard to keep their places up to the standards of the CDC and statewide protocols, whether the public will choose that lodging over hotels and motels may rely somewhat over public perception.

Though B&Bs may not be as wellheeled as some hotels and motels — making the extra overhead of meeting COVID standards more difficult to afford — Lemon thinks that the size of the lodging will make a difference.

“I think people are more comfortable here because there aren’t as many people staying here and it’s not hired employees,” Lemon said. “It’s an innkeeper who lives there. They have a more vested reason to stay there.”

She thinks that although it’s been a slow start for B&Bs, business will continue to improve.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

T

he impact of womenowned businesses on the Central New York region and nation is significant and continues to grow. Across the nation, about 36% of all businesses are women-owned, and they account for more than 12% of all sales and more than 15% of employment, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

There is an additional 2.5 million businesses that are owned equally by women and men.

Women-owned businesses appear in every industry group, but are more prevalent in the service sector.

Oswego County Business magazine recently spoke with six highly successful businesswomen in the area who have made a difference as valuable members of the community. It provides their insight on what motivated them to start their own business and keys to their success.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Eileen Gannon Producing and serving ice cream in Onondaga County for nearly 40 years

By Mary Beth Roach “Our theory is always do what you do best, and ice cream is our thing.”

This statement from Eileen Gannon, president of Gannon’s Isle Ice Cream stand, is an understatement, to be sure. For many Central New Yorkers, especially those in the Valley and Onondaga Hill neighborhoods, it’s not robins that signal spring, it’s the annual opening of the stand at Valley Drive and West Seneca Turnpike.

This spring, however, the coronavirus pandemic posed drastic challenges for the business, especially since “ice 76

cream is a social thing,” as Gannon put it.

Opening in mid-March, they were forced to close for several weeks, but they reopened in early May, having streamlined their menu and put in measures in place to make sure their workers maintained proper social distancing.

Gannon and her brother, John, have been running the stand for 38 years now, ever since she graduated from York College and had trouble finding a job.

Their father, Bill, had owned a grocery store at that Valley location, along with an adjacent vacant custard stand, OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

and he suggested that Eileen open it up.

So they got a soft-serve machine and a freezer and got started.

As president of the company, Eileen Gannon does all the ordering, supervises the staff and handles the scheduling.

And of course, she is a taste tester, which is the best part of the job, she said.

“I love ice cream. I try to take a walk every day so I can get away with eating ice cream,” she joked.

She’s not alone in her love of the treat. The business has become a destination for many people.

“It’s really neat to feel you’re making a product that people really are happy about. That’s probably the best part of the business. People come here if they’ve had a lousy day, something miserable happened or if they’re celebrating something,” she said.

Over the nearly four decades in business, the pair opened their second store about 20 years ago (in the Shady Brook shopping plaza on McDonald Road on Onondaga Hill), started a mobile cart operation, and started a catering business, which has proven to be very successful.

Gannon had had a shop in the Centennial Building (the former Dey’s store) in downtown Syracuse, but it closed after several years, Gannon said.

Sundays are the biggest ice cream-buying day of the week, and there wasn’t a lot of business downtown on Sundays, she explained.

They have also started to be innovative in their menu. When Ben & Jerry’s started adding mix-in ingredients to their ice cream in the late 1980s, “we couldn’t just have vanilla, chocolate and strawberry,” Gannon said. So, they began started creating some funky flavors, as she said, and she has even attended the world-famous ice cream course at Penn State.

Their pumpkin flavor has become so popular that its sales have allowed the Gannon’s to stretch their season into December.

After all these years in the business, Gannon said it’s their customers and employees that fuels her passion.

Currently, they have 57 part-time employees, mostly high school and college students, and one full-time staffer.

“I enjoy the customers. I enjoy the people coming in. I really like working with the younger kids. They’re a lot of fun. They keep you young. You get to teach them. I have kids come back all the time, all grown and say this is the best job they ever had. That’s a great compliment,” she said.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Jennifer Cox A busy mom of six continues to grow her flower business

By Mary Beth Roach

S

ince Jennifer Cox started Crazy Daisies Flower 14 years ago, the greenhouse and flower shop has been growing — well — like crazy.

The business, located near the Kasson Road and West Seneca Turnpike intersection in Syracuse, consists of several greenhouses, outdoor displays and the Garden Café. It sits on the land that she and her husband, Glenn, a dairy farmer, own. Cox and her small team of workers, numbering about five, cultivate other parts of the property to produce the plants and herbs they sell.

They also offer classes and workshops and create one-of-a-kind planters for their customers, in which they bring in their pots and Crazy Daisies makes the

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

arrangements. In 2018, Cox opened her Garden Café on the property, which has become a destination.

“I don’t stop,” said the businessowner and mother of six.

Cox opened Crazy Daisies when she was 6 months pregnant with her youngest in order “to raise my kids,” she said. Because of the proximity of her house to the business, “the kids could stand on the back porch and yell for me.”

While she admits she doesn’t have a background in flowers, she has a great entrepreneurial spirit. Her in-laws own The Pumpkin Hollow, on West Seneca Turnpike, well-known as a pumpkin farm and a favorite attraction during the fall. She would bring a food truck OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

she owned to the Pumpkin Hollow during the busy season, and it became the ice cream stand there. She then began purchasing plants wholesale and retailing them.

Now, she and her team cultivate 40,000 to 50,000 plants, she said. She had taken a master gardener course, but said she learns a lot more “just doing it.”

To be self-employed, “you have to believe in yourself. You have to be a self-starter,” she said.

“I’m so passionate about this business. I can sell the plants because I love them,” she said.

While she’s growing her plants, she’s been growing her business to be a more robust enterprise. The greenhouse stays busy, starting in mid-February, when she begins the planting. In April, she has hosted what she calls garden parties, when guests come to the greenhouse, put a planter together and return to pick it up in May. (They were not able to do the parties this spring due to the coronavirus.) She also helps to create the large planters outside some area businesses, including Pastabilities in Armory Square and Stack Veterinary Hospital on Velasko Road.

While the café is available for events all year long, it’s become very popular during the summer months, due in part to its outdoor seating and its farm-totable menus. When they first opened the café, they did breakfasts on weekends only, but last year, they got their New York State Farm Winery license.

“We’re doing our best to take what we grow here and put it on a plate there,” she said, adding when possible they garnish their drinks with herbs from her gardens. They also will use local and regional vendors for products.

“We’re trying to keep it very simple, very fresh, very well-sourced,” she explained.

Being a seasonal-type enterprise can be challenging, but by expanding her brand and offering a variety of programs and services, like the Café and the workshops, for example, Cox is attempting to create a more robust business model that will provide income for more months during the course of the year.

“It is challenging,” she admitted, “but the busier we become, the more I can deal with the challenges.”

But there’s obviously perks for her. She is able to involve her family in the business and they’re able to be outside all the time. “I feel like we’re more connected with nature,” she said.

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Theresa Cangemi ‘The Medicare Lady’ builds her own successful business while helping elderly plug into essential benefits

By Lou Sorendo “The Medicare Lady” has mastered the art of connecting folks to valuable government benefits in their golden years.

Theresa Cangemi, who has certifications as a senior adviser and in long-term care, educates those eligible 78

for Medicare on how the system works and helps those eligible to find a plan that fits their health care needs and prescription drug requirements.

The Brewerton resident is known as “The Medicare Lady,” her trademark that protects her identity and tagline.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

“When I started my business, my clients started calling or referring to me as ‘The Medicare Lady’,” she said.

“So one day, it occurred to me that I could use the term as my tagline and I trademarked “The Medicare Lady” to protect my branding.”

In terms of her general duties and responsibilities, Cangemi helps the Medicare-eligible population understand what Medicare is all about, various options, and how to go about picking a health care plan.

She also teaches a “Medicare Principles” class at Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Counties BOCES and occasionally at Natur-Tyme.

“Companies will call me in to put on a seminar for their Medicare-eligible employees to teach and educate how to get started with Medicare, when to enroll, when is the best time to leave employment, when should they sign up for benefits, and answer questions to help them navigate the system,” she said.

Cangemi owns and operates Medicare Made Simple, LLC. “I saw the opportunity to change the way business operates. I wanted the freedom to create, have my own ideas, implement those ideas, succeed or fail on my own terms, and treat people the way I want to be treated: honestly and given options,” she said.

She started as a Medicare specialist in 2008 and incorporated the business several years later.

Her duties include marketing and advertising, meeting with clients to explain Medicare and enrollment options, walking folks through paperwork, ensuring that paperwork is submitted so a client has health insurance coverage, attending vendor events, putting on seminars, teaching, bookkeeping that includes tracking expenses, attending annual trainings, and working toward annual recertification.

Climb to the top Cangemi previously worked for Paychex and OneBeacon Insurance.

“From when I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to do my own thing. At that time, I just didn’t know what ‘my own thing’ was,” she said. “I knew that I would follow the path of college and employment and learn how business works. I have worked in the insurance field since college when I got the opportunity to work for Paychex, which licensed me and taught me health care AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

insurance.”

This is where she got the training that led her to where she is today.

“My driving force was really the passion that I could create a better mouse trap and not be stifled by other ideas that did not make sense to me or that were not ethical,” said Cangemi, who noted she wanted to be in charge of her own time, success and failures.

“And best of all, I wanted to have a business where I could contribute something meaningful to help others,” she said. “I define or create what my business is, my brand, how I want people to see me in my business, and how I can make a difference.”

Cangemi started working for Paychex when it decided to start payroll deducting health insurance premiums.

One day, she received a postcard that offered an opportunity to be an independent agent offering Medicare insurance plans to the Medicare-eligible population.

“So I called to get the information and at first was reluctant because I would no longer be an employee with a weekly paycheck but would be earning a commission based on enrollments,” she said. “I would have to depend on myself and my abilities to earn an income.

“After much thought, I dove in and learned quickly to get up and running.”

Cangemi said she did have rental income property to fall back on, but that would not be enough.

She then became contracted with OneBeacon Insurance and learned its business and health insurance plans.

“I reached out to my community, family and friends to let them know what career path I had changed to and got involved in grass-roots marketing to launch and expand my business,” she said. “The independent agent opportunity kind of fell in my lap and the career path seemed to make sense.”

However, Cangemi said the decision wasn’t easy and she had many sleepless nights, especially with a mortgage and two small children.

As enrollments grew and her clients were looking elsewhere for more options than what she offered, Cangemi decided to become contracted with as many insurance companies and their Medicare plans as possible.

She has since become affiliated with 10 insurance carriers.

“I can also say I am almost 100% referral-based now,” said Cangemi, noting her educational background, work ethic, creativity and ability to create AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

better processes have led to her success.

She said in order to be successful as a manager, “it’s important to treat others as you want to be treated, really listen, be trustworthy and honest, and be authentic.”

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Cangemi said it changed the way all business operated.

The Medicare-eligible population that was reluctant to meet over the internet was now open to the idea and figured out quickly how to get on a Zoom call and use the technology, she said.

“Those who did not have a computer or iPad called upon a spouse’s work computer or their child to help get them online,” she said.

“The better at customer service you are, the better your customers will respond to you, come back to you, and stick with you, thereby growing your business,” she said.

Cangemi’s significant other is David Cifra, a spine specialist who helps those with debilitating back and neck pain heal non-surgically with a trademarked procedure called non-surgical spinal decompression.

A self-described workaholic, Cangemi — a Le Moyne College graduate — enjoys entrepreneurship, landscaping, traveling, educating, self-improvement and spending time with family and friends.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Nicole Samolis Entrepreneur juggles running three separate businesses

By Mary Beth Roach “My brain never really, truly settles down. I love ideation, I love creating. I like building teams that can now take what I’ve created and go do. And I’ve always been a doer.”

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

This is how Nicole Samolis describes herself and what drives her in creating and running not one, but three businesses in downtown Syracuse.

She is president of The Events 79

Company, SkyArmory and Epicuse, along with being the general manager for SkyArmory and the market manager for Epicuse.

She has 100% ownership of The Events Company, and 60% ownership of SkyArmory and Epicuse. Her husband, Kevin, joined the business as The Events Company marked its seventh year, and is the chief financial officer.

Together, they rehabbed a large building in downtown Syracuse to house those companies.

The coronavirus pandemic has really been testing her resourceful spirit.

“You have to be creative and innovative and that’s what we’re doing,” she said.

Because Epicuse is a market with some grocery staples and prepared foods, it has stayed open and has seen growth as a start-up, she said. But the SkyArmory side of the business, which hosts weddings, conferences and other such functions, has seen a significant loss.

For example, the facility was scheduled to do 80 weddings this year, and of those about 40 have booked for next year. Before the pandemic, she had about 45 employees, 25 of whom worked 30 or more hours, the balance being part-time. Today, the businesses have eight employees, who work between 20 and 40 hours a week.

Samolis started The Events Company about 20 years ago in downtown Syracuse, and worked with clients to develop full-scale festivals and private functions, such as weddings.

Her travels to other cities, she said, made her aware of amazing venues.

She saw that Syracuse could benefit by offering more unique options. That was the genesis of SkyArmory, which opened in 2014 and boasts three ballrooms, along with a commercial kitchen.

The Samolises were quick to realize that ordering for banquets often left them with surplus food, and having an outlet for it seemed like a good idea, she said.

As both residents and businessowners in downtown Syracuse, they knew that the neighborhood could use a place where they could purchase wholesome food products and prepared foods, Samolis said. So Epicuse was created and opened in mid-November.

The storefront is in the 300 block of South Salina Street, and also includes space with several tables and chairs for those choosing to eat in.

Samolis grew up in Canton, a village in St. Lawrence County, and studied fashion design and business at 80

Marist College in Poughkeepsie, with one year in Paris. She worked for two stores in Syracuse, including Lord & Taylor, when it opened in the Carousel Center, now Destiny USA. At that time, she had planned that she and her family would relocate when Lord & Taylor opened a store in Providence, but her husband didn’t want to move, and with her kids now in school all day, she was starting to look around for other career opportunities in the area.

“I bought a book about starting your own consulting company,” she said. Then she needed to decide what she could be an expert on. “So, I bought another book that talked about up-andcoming industries, and the event industry was in there. It fit my design, my creativity, the hospitality, the customers.

It fit all the things I enjoyed doing and thought I was good at.”

She put a business plan together and secured two clients. “I said, ‘If I got two, I can probably get more,’ so I quit my job,” she said. She’s been adding to her client list and business profile ever since. They have produced more than 200 events per year, and their wedding bookings, which is a big part of their business, increased 47%between 2018 and 2019, she said. The businesses employ nearly 70 people.

“We’re highly optimistic people,

but we also manage risk. We knew we had a good thing,” she noted.

However, that growth has had its challenges. “For me, the biggest challenge is growing teams, finding those key players to be on your team, to be able to let them do what they do best,” she said. “We have such an amazing team right now. We have people on our team that I see as my future leaders.”

With that team, she has created several public events at Sky, which have proven to be very successful. Being on Salina Street, the route for the annual St. Patrick’s Parade, they host a parade party and on a Saturday in November and May, they present “Night Market,” which Samolis described as a “shopping experience in a party atmosphere.”

There are pop-up shops for local artisans and retailers, live music, cash bar and food for purchase.

The self-described doer isn’t done.

She has more ideas she hopes to develop into businesses — finish part of their building into a bistro; develop a “glamping” site with her father and brother; and in retirement, to do consulting, traveling the world and “finding those diamonds in the rough that we would go in, submerge ourselves for six months to 12 months and help them transform and create.”

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Suzanne Kondra

By Mary Beth Roach

S

uzanne Kondra might only stand 4’10,” yet she’s cracked more than a few glass ceilings in her career as the head of a heating, plumbing and air conditioning mechanical contracting business, a field that is largely dominated by men.

“Some people would call me a spitifire, but in a good way,” she said, with a chuckle.

Kondra is the president and 100% owner of Potter Heating & Air Conditioning and Perrone Plumbing Services, located at 4004 New Court Ave. in Syracuse. When first entering the business nearly four decades ago, she found that she needed to prove herself in the industry, and she has been doing that ever since. According to her bio on the company’s website, in 1986, she was the only woman to complete a mentorship program in the Syracuse Builder’s Exchange for women and minorities, OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

and she received h e r heating license in Central New York in 1993.

She was the first woman elected president of the Syracuse Heating and Air Conditioning Contractors Association, and served four terms in that post. She is only the second woman elected as president of the Subcontractors Association of Central New York, and she was the first woman appointed by then-Mayor AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Stephanie Miner to the mechanical board for the city of Syracuse, and she has been appointed to the state workforce investment board. While she is very proud of all of these accomplishments, it’s her longevity in the industry that might just give her the most pride.

“When people hear that I’ve had a business for 39 years, that shocks people a lot,” she said.

Kondra and her then-husband, David Kondra, a plumber, had been friends with Homer and Betty Potter, owners of Potter Heating. Planning to retire, the Potters had asked the Kondras if they’d want to purchase their business, but David wasn’t interested initially. Suzanne finally persuaded David after three years that buying that business was worth the risk. Over time, they purchased smaller companies, like Perrone Plumbing, and about seven years ago, when David expressed his desire to give up his share of the business, Suzanne bought him out.

“I think sometimes women need to know ‘you can do it,’” she said — something she, herself, was told at a very young age.

Before she was even 10 years old, she said, she would sometimes accompany her father, Ernie Jaquin, to his job at the B&M Transport Company in Syracuse, where he worked as a dispatcher. The company, at the time, was being run by a woman, and Kondra recalls being very impressed by her. “I thought she was phenomenal,” she said.

She would often tell the young Kondra, ‘Suzy, you can do anything if you put your mind to it.’

“I think that was a little seed that was planted way back then,” Kondra said.

While Kondra did not attend college, she has been gifted with a lot of common sense, which she believes has served her well over the years.

“I have so much common sense I think that has gotten me to where I’m at,” she noted.

And she plans to stay where she’s at for a while. She turned 73 in July and she said people keep asking about any retirement plans.

“I have no intentions of quitting or retiring because what would I do?”

I like what I do. I love the people I have working for me,” she said. Currently, she has 21 employees.

For those who might be shocked that she’s had a business for 39 years, don’t be surprised if she makes it 40plus years.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Sarah Parsons Sole proprietor does it all in her sign, promotion and print business

By Mary Beth Roach

S

arah Parsons doesn’t wear just a few hats at her business, she wears all the hats.

As president, sole owner and sole employee of Plus Sign & Graphics, Parsons oversees the creation and fabrication of a vast array of signs and promotional materials, as well as the company’s marketing, inventory, sales and even some sign installation.

In addition, she can resource carved, 3-D, backlit and wayfinding signage for her clients. With some aspects OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

of the business, such as accounting, she said she gets some assistance from husband, Mark Strodel.

Prior to launching her business in the winter of 2006-2007, Parsons had worked in advertising for the Syracuse Newspapers and in the family insurance company, Parsons & Cote. However, she decided that she wanted to find something that allowed her to be a little more creative, she said.

Her sign and graphics business, based at her Syracuse home, allows 81

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

her the opportunity to bring her talents and experience together. As a native Syracusan who spent years in sales and service industry, she had been able to put together a network of contacts, which would help as she started the business and began to put together a client base.

Today, she does work for Advance Media of New York (formerly known as The Syracuse Newspapers), Home HeadQuarter, New York State Parks and several nonprofits. She’s also an approved vendor for Syracuse University and is a NYS certified minority/woman-owned business enterprise (MWBE).

“I have a lot of resources and the industry is quite friendly. I have a lot of people in the industry that help me out,” she said.

Starting up her own home-based business came with a learning curve.

With the industry becoming increasingly digital, Parsons has taught herself the necessary software and has come to learn how the application of her products and how the materials adapt to surfaces and environmental conditions. She also learned of the variety of resources in Syracuse for those wishing to start their own enterprise.

“I’ve been through a lot of training through Syracuse University to learn how to be an entrepreneur, and the resources that Syracuse University offers throughout the year have been tremendous,” she said. She found two projects of SU’s Whitman School of Management to be extremely helpful — the South Side Innovation Center and the WISE Program — Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship.

Like anyone in the business world today, she has found contending with the COVID-19 outbreak especially challenging. So many of her clients have had to shutter their businesses, and the days of doing business on a handshake may be over.

“I go with the old-fashioned way of just shaking hands, I can’t shake hands right now. This has been really hard for me,” she said.

Yet, she’s been able to adjust to some degree. Again, with her contacts and resources, she’s been able to secure sneeze guards, acrylic separators, and face masks for them.

The business is taking a different turn until things come back around, she said.

She continues to market every day and, as some of the businesses start to reopen, she’s seeing some signs of a promising return.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

HEALTHCARE

Overview of St. Luke Health Services in Oswego. Photo provided.

Catherine Gill to Take Over as Next CEO at St. Luke Health Services Appointment comes after longtime director Terry Gorman announces plans to retire

T

he board of directors of St. Luke Health Services announced late July the appointment of Catherine R. Gill as the next chief executive officer of St. Luke Health Services and its affiliated nonprofit healthcare and residential service providers Bishop’s Commons and St. Francis Commons in Oswego.

Gill will assume the position following the retirement of current CEO Terrence Gorman later this year. St. Luke is the seventh largest private employer in Oswego County with more than 400 employees, according to figures published by the 2020 CNY Business Guide.

Gill has been with the St. Luke organization for 32 years, where she started as the organization’s controller in 1988. She was appointed assistant AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

administrator of St. Luke Health Services in 1993 and then as chief operating officer for St. Luke and affiliates in 2003.

“The board of directors is pleased to appoint Ms. Gill to this position as she brings a wealth of professional experience to her new role,” said Jerome A. Mirabito, board president. “Catherine has been a critical part of the growth and development of our not-for-profit organizations and our mission in the community. Her dedication and professionalism has earned Ms. Gill the respect of her colleagues and co-workers, and the board of directors has every confidence that those who rely on our affiliate organizations will be well served under her leadership.”

Gill is a lifelong resident of Oswego, graduating from Oswego High School OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

and from SUNY Oswego, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration in 1988; a Master of Science in management in 1994 and a Master of Business Administration in 1997. She received her New York State Nursing Home Administrator’s License in 1998.

She is a member of LeadingAge New York, previously serving on its nursing facility subcommittee and as chairwoman of the RHCF finance subcommittee, and past board officer for the New York Association of Long Term Care Administrators.

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HEALTHCARE

Private Practices Hit Hard by Coronavirus Pandemic

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

A

mong the many industries reeling from the financial fallout of the pandemic, independent medical practices represent a surprise.

Healthcare is always in demand, yet without the stability afforded them by a large health system, many factors related to the pandemic have endangered them.

A survey of physicians and practice administrators by Rockpointe shows that of 1,244 respondents, 41% reported patient loads plummeting by 76% or more since the start of the pandemic. Fifty-nine percent say the number of procedures they perform has fallen by at least 76%. Many reported reducing staff by half and 15% shuttered their practices, possibly permanently.

In addition, 20% of the practices weren’t sure whether or not they would 84

have to close. More than half stated they were “very” or “extremely worried” about how the pandemic would affect their practices long-term.

Since patients were advised to delay visits not related to life- or limb-saving efforts, providers had little income flowing in for weeks.

Costs have dramatically increased for practices, such as the cost of extra personal protective equipment — especially at inflated rates caused by the shortage. Providers have also had to purchase equipment and software to offer telehealth.

“It has been a very challenging time for us,” said physician Ned Ruhotina, affiliated with Associated Medical Professionals based in Syracuse and with offices in Oswego County and other locations.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Switching to telemedicine early on helped treat some patients.

“Financially, that’s allowed us to stay viable, but also, most importantly, provide continuity of care for patients,” Ruhotina said.

Once the practice re-opened to in-office visits mid-May, the protocols for social distancing prohibited AMP from treating its normal number of patients.

Ruhotina said that reorganizing the office’s schedules has allowed the practice to meet patient needs and keep the office in the black.

“We minimized our time off so our availability is increased,” Ruhotina said.

“Our patient volume can meet the demand of patients who were rescheduled.

We’re also considering increasing our work hours to increase our office hours.”

The protocols have increased the AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

office’s overhead, but these days, it’s become the cost of doing business. President Trump’s CARES Act has provided a grant that AMP and many other providers are using toward the cost of keeping patients safe through PPE and testing, Ruhotina said.

The pandemic changed things at Dermatology Consultants in East Syracuse.

“We were definitely affected because fewer people were coming in because we had limited hours,” said physician Dan Bryan.

The office re-opened June 1. Though consumer confidence is slowly increasing, practices like his still can’t take the volume of patients they used to per day since they must carefully wipe down all equipment and surfaces between patients.

At Farah Dermatology in Watertown, Syracuse, Fulton, Camillus and Rome, “the shut-down was hard,” said dermatologist Joyce Farah. “We were only seeing emergencies.”

Though the office provided telehealth, that’s not advisable for all cases, nor do all patients want it.

“I was surprised at the number of patients who said they wanted to wait,” Farah said.

The office has been opened up since the third week of May; however, that doesn’t mean it is operating at normal capacity, which also affects revenue.

“The turnover in the rooms takes a lot longer,” Farah said. “There’s a big adjustment to the new normal for everybody. We opened up pretty smoothly with all the protocols we had in place. It’s just getting used to how things are scheduled.”

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AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

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Telehealth: Here to Stay Changes in reimbursement due to COVID-19 have made possible surge in use of telemedicine

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

U

sing technology to access healthcare isn’t new but it looks like the pandemic-fueled surge in telehealth will continue even after the pandemic wanes.

Loretto, which has adopted the technology for years, early in April announced that its existing telehealth program expanded to help keep residents and participants safe at home. Using the MonitorMe, a real-time system, Loretto could keep tabs on vital signs through a disposable patch. It monitors temperature, blood pressure, blood sugar, pulse, heart rate and more. An off-site medical team tracks information and Loretto staff is notified if anything is amiss.

The system also allows participants to connect to clinicians any time via audio or visual through the accompanying 86

app on a tablet.

Medicare and Medicaid cover the program.

“Loretto has been using telehealth for years, but this is a welcomed addition at a critical time for our residents and participants.” said Joelle Margrey, vice president of skilled nursing and rehabilitation at Loretto. “Telehealth programs like MonitorMe allow our residents and PACE-CNY participants to have access to medical attention while staying indoors and staying safe.”

The organization introduced its first telehealth initiative, ImagineMIC, in 2018 at its restorative care unit, and since included PACE-CNY and residents at Cunningham Skilled Nursing and the Fahey rehabilitation buildings.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

“Telemedicine is here to stay,” said physician Ned Ruhotina, affiliated with Associated Medical Professionals, a large urology practice based in Syracuse with office in Oswego County.

The organization began using telemedicine for more routine visits and for follow-up visits during the pandemic and continues to use it to reduce the traffic in the office. Ruhotina said that telehealth also helps the practice connect with patients challenged to get to the office and protect those who are immunocompromised.

“Hopefully, with congressional action, we’ll continue to provide this for the foreseeable future,” Ruhotina said.

Initially, reimbursement issues made offering telehealth difficult; however, President Trump has been working to deregulate healthcare. Once he declared a national emergency because of COVID-19 and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency Jan. 31, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released an advisory March 17 that permitted Medicare to reimburse providers for telehealth services nationwide.

“The legislation passed because of COVID-19 made telehealth available to much more of the population,” said Chris Battles, licensed mental health AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

counselor with Equanimity Counseling in Oswego.

He said that some patients prefer in-person sessions and that telehealth does diminish the clinician’s ability to observe cues. A head-and-shoulders view would obscure considerable body language, for example.

Battles thinks that overall, telehealth is working well for many patients. In some ways, it’s better than meeting in the office with patients, such as convenience. It’s also helpful for clinicians, who can “see into people’s lives in a different way.”

For example, a provider can see home and lifestyle factors that may influence the patient’s condition that would otherwise not be evident.

“There’s a time and place to stop at the office,” Battles said. “Telehealth is largely good and helpful.”

Geoff Hopkins, board-certified psychiatrist with St. Joseph’s Health, said that telehealth use is growing among mental health providers during the pandemic.

“All the major mental health clinics have initiated telehealth platforms,” Hopkins said. “The substance use disorder clinics in town have done group therapy with telehealth to attempt to maintain an ability for people to stay in treatment.”

He added that in-patient facilities did not close for emergency need for de-toxification.

“It’s been a heroic undertaking for substance abuse facilities and mental health providers to provide services,” Hopkins said.

Simply having patients wait out the pandemic isn’t an option, especially considering that the pandemic contributes to exacerbating existing mental health conditions. Those undergoing treatment pre-pandemic can’t hit the pause button. This holds true of people

T

Chris Battles

with substance abuse problems.

Telehealth has helped in keeping patients on track “Most people who are successfully abstinent are either in a treatment program or they almost always have a formal, organized support system,” said Jack Houck, Ph.D. with Psychological Health Care in Syracuse and private practice. “Usually, it’s through an agency. With this whole lockdown, they would lose that.”

He thinks that telehealth has been helpful in keeping patients on track and will likely continue to have a strong presence in mental health, as many other challenges could keep patients from treatment, including stigma, weather, lack of transportation, lack of childcare and scheduling conflicts.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights began allowing providers leniency on their methods of providing telehealth relating to HIPAA rules. Any non-public platforms such as Zoom, Skype, and FaceTime are permitted during the national emergency.

Expanding the use of telehealth has helped Rosemary Squires, registered dietitian at Holistic Path to Wellness in

Central Square, continue working with clients in her private practice.

“A lot of people are comfortable with it,” Squires said. “Moving forward, I think it will be the way of the future.

They can use it straight from their phone to do a virtual session. I had offered it before the pandemic, but there really wasn’t much of a demand for it. Most of my clients were local. But I’m also getting more clients who are farther away.”

She chooses to use SimplePractice software to connect via video. SimplePractice also provides paperless recordkeeping, billing and scheduling.

The platform had initially been used by mental health professionals; however, Squires said that it has since branched out to include other types of healthcare.

Perception of telehealth has shifted as well. Even a decade ago, a virtual meeting from one’s home was viewed by some people as less professional; however, in today’s gig economy and especially in light of quarantine, telehealth from home carries little if any stigma. Squires thinks it can even help patients feel more comfortable.

Squires hosts virtual sessions from her home office and turns on a fan for white noise to obscure any household sounds. Having clients see a provider at home “makes you more relatable,” she said.

It can also help clients feel more at ease since they’re also in their own homes. Visiting a clinical setting may feel impersonal to some.

Telehealth makes some sessions easier for the dietitian when discussing specific foods for examples.

“If I’m conferencing a client at home, they can grab a food item from their cupboard to show me; they’re right there,” Squires said.

She plans to continue to use telehealth.

Excellus: Telemedicine Soars in Wake of Pandemic

he number of health care visits delivered via telemedicine technology spiked recently as health care providers continue to “see” their patients while practicing physical distancing.

“When we chart our member usage of telemedicine, we see a steep, nearly vertical rise in the line graph,” said Marya Vande-Doyle, director of workplace wellness and telemedicine for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

“It’s not an overstatement to say that patients and their providers have wholeheartedly embraced this method

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

“There’s a time and place to stop at the office,” Battles said.

“Telehealth is largely good and helpful.”

of care.”

Excellus BCBS members logged nearly 40,000 telemedicine visits between Jan. 1 and April 3, or about 14,500 more visits than were made in all of last year. In 2019, the health plan had a total of 23,767 telemedicine visits. Extrapolating its member experience across the entire state population, Excellus BCBS estimates that New Yorkers used telehealth benefits 470,000 times in the first three months of 2020.

To encourage the use of telemedicine and eliminate roadblocks to getting care, Excellus BCBS expanded OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

telehealth coverage to all members and waived any member cost-share responsibility for telemedicine services, regardless of the medical issue.

An estimated 60 percent of telemedicine visits made by health plan members in the first quarter of 2020 were related to medical treatments, with the balance (40 percent) related to behavioral health services. Behavioral health specialists include psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists, counselors and nurse practitioners.

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Feeling Recognized at Work May Reduce the Risk of Burnout

P

Differing ‘forms and sources’ of recognition relate to burnout symptoms

rofessional recognition at work from both supervisors and coworkers may be associated with a lower risk of burnout in employees, suggests a study in the March Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Daniela Renger of Kiel University, Germany, and colleagues performed a pair of studies to investigate the role of recognition at work as a protective factor against burnout. Characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and decreased personal accomplishment, burnout is a common problem with a major impact on employees as well as organizations.

In the first study, 328 employees received a questionnaire addressing professional recognition and burnout.

Employees reporting higher levels of 88

recognition from both supervisors and coworkers had lower symptoms of burnout, including exhaustion and depersonalization.

The second study included 220 employees evaluated on a more detailed questionnaire, addressing three specific forms of recognition: esteem, respect and care. The results confirmed the importance of recognition by supervisors and coworkers.

In addition, certain forms of support were related to specific burnout symptoms. Symptoms of exhaustion were lessened for employees reporting higher levels of “equality-based respect” by both coworkers and supervisors, while higher levels of respect by coworkers and care from supervisors were associated with lower symptoms of depersonalization. Esteem from OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

coworkers and supervisors was exclusively related to feelings of personal accomplishment, after adjustment for other factors.

Previous studies have reported that support, especially from supervisors, protects against burnout. The new study is the first to focus on different forms and sources of social recognition on employees’ symptoms of burnout. “[O]ur findings suggest that organizational policies should systematically address the different forms that recognition at work can take (esteem, respect and care) and the sources from which it can originate (coworkers and supervisors) as a key factor in protecting against burnout,” Renger and colleagues conclude.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Health News BRIEFS

Dr. Michelle Bode elected president of Crouse’s medical staff The Crouse Health Medical Executive Committee (MEC) recently announced the results of its 2020 officer and member-at-large election.

Elected for a two-year term, July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2022, are physicians Michelle Bode, president; Leland Jackson, vice president; and Maria Ciciarelli, secretary/treasurer. Physician Hayes Wanamaker, former president, will assume

Albala, urology; Rachel Elder, pathology; Thomas Green, medical imaging; Thomas Hartzheim, surgery; Leland Jackson, family medicine; David Mason, emergency medicine; Ross Moquin, neurosurgery; Frank Smith, pediatrics; Sam Spalding, ophthalmology; and Hayes Wanamaker, otolaryngology.

The medical staff recognized the contributions of the following physicians for their service to Crouse Health: past president David Landsberg; secretary/treasurer Douglas Bunn; members at large Rebecca Reeves, and David Nesbitt; and department chiefs Robert Silverman, OB-GYN, and Timothy Izant, orthopedics.

the role of past president.

New members at large, elected for a two-year term, are physicians Anil George, Guillermo Quetell, Anthony Barraco and Andrew Gaydo. These physicians join current members at large Matthew Egan and Richard Steinmann, both physicians.

In addition, the Crouse Health board of directors has reappointed department chiefs, physicians Michael Duffy, anesthesiology, and David Landsberg, medicine, each for a fouryear term.

Gynecologist John Nosovitch has The Oswego Health board of dibeen appointed new department chief rectors in June unanimously voted on of obstetrics and gynecology while changes to leadership as well as the orthopedic surgeon Todd Battaglia has been appointed as new department addition of two new members.

• Atom Avery will serve as board chief of orthopedics. president.

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Beacon Hotel, 5 Points Wine & Liquor, The Gardens

by Morning Star, The Maples Assisted Living Facility, and his newest project, the Litatro Building. In addition to serving as the new board chairman for Oswego Health, Avery is on the board of directors for Oswego County Federal Credit Union.

He has invested millions of dollars into the community in which he lives. He resides in Oswego with his wife, Falecia, and their three children. He will serve two-year terms through June 30, 2022.

• Ed Alberts will be the new vice-chairman. As an entrepreneur with over 20 years of health and wellness business expertise, Alberts excels in management consulting and business strategy. He curre n t l y o w n s five businesses with several locations spread throughout Central New York and the greater New York City area, including Rehab Resources, Little Lukes, WIRED Telecom, RELAX The Spa – Rochester, and F45 Training. In addition to serving as vice-chairman of the Oswego Health board of directors, Alberts also serves on the Oswego Health Foundation board as vice-chairman and has continually financially supported the growth and development of the healthcare system.

He will serve two-year terms through June 30, 2022 • Sarah Berry, Ph.D., has been selected as a new member of the board.

A specialist in medical humanities and a visiting assistant professor of English at SUNY Oswego, Berry is also the author of essays on medicine, health disparities and cultural history. In addition, Berry is a contributor-in-resi90

dence to Synapsis: A Health Humanities Journal (Columbia University), where she strives to address a general public with timely research on such issues as Medicare for all and COVID-19. She serves on the Health Humanities Consortium steering committee, heading its curriculum and assessment subgroup.

A Central New York native, Berry has a passion for healthcare management, patient access, and community needs.

She will serve for a three-year term concluding on June 30, 2023.

• Katie Toomey has been selected as a new member of the board. She has over 15 years of experience in client relations, marketing communications, community relations and advocacy. She currently serves as the executive director of the Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce, where she maintains key relationships and strategic partnerships within the community.

In addition to serving on the Oswego Health board of directors, Toomey also serves on the Oswego Health Foundation board as the annual giving committee co-chairman. She is also active with the City of Fulton DRI, Oswego County Economic Advancement Plan, Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Museum, Friends of Fort Ontario, Oswego County Workforce Development Board, Oswego County Airport Master Plan, and volunteers at the Oswego YMCA. She will serve for a three-year term concluding on June 30, 2023.

In addition to Avery, Alberts, Berry and Toomey, other members are Michael Backus; Timothy R. Barnhart; William Clark; Peter Cullinan; Dan E. Dorsey, Jr.; Lynne Eggert; Victoria Furlong, secretary; Adam Gagas; Michael Harlovic, Oswego Health CEO and president; Ellen Holst, past chairwoman; physician Raj Mahajan, Oswego Hospital medical staff president; Mark Slayton, treasurer; Ron Tascarella; and physicians Duane Tull and Scott Van Gorder.

To advertise in Oswego County Business, please call 315-342-8020 or email editor@cnybusinessmag.com OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Excellus BlueCross Blue Shield Appoints New Regional President Mark Muthumbi, current regional vice president of sales and account management at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, will expand his responsibilities to include the position of regional president of the company’s Central New York market.

Muthumbi will replace Jim Reed, who was recently named president and CEO-elect of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and its parent company, The Lifetime Healthcare Companies, Inc. “Over his 21-year career at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Mark has established strong relationships with customers, employers, providers, brokers and community leaders across Central New York while developing collaborative approaches to deliver quality, drive change and overall growth for the health plan,” said Reed.

In his new role as regional president, he will combine his leadership of sales and account management with the additional responsibility of supporting and maintaining business and quality health, and provider networks in Central New York. There are approximately 850 Excellus BlueCross BlueShield employees who work in the Central New York offices.

A 2003 graduate of Le Moyne College with a master’s degree in business administration, Muthumbi received his bachelor’s degree from Liberty University, Lynchburg, Va. Muthumbi is a member of the board for the Boy Scouts Longhouse Council, and the current chairman of its 2020 Boy Power event. He also serves as a board member for Hospice of Central New York, and the Pan African Community of Central New York. He is a past board member for Empower Associated Services, Girl Scouts of Central New York and Leadership Greater Syracuse.

Muthumbi received BizEventz’ 40 Under Forty Award and is a graduate of Leadership Greater Syracuse.

He resides with his family in Baldwinsville.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

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James Reed New leader at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield started at the company 25 years ago continued from page 17 For Reed, that involves the desire and willingness to work on himself.

“I think personal development is a lifelong journey, and if you are self-reflective and willing to improve yourself, then I think you’ll be well positioned to continue to grow inside the organization,” he said.

Reed said 25 years ago when he started with Excellus, he didn’t quite envision becoming CEO someday.

“But I think with each different step along the journey of my career, I made sure I was true to those core values and that leadership philosophy,” he said.

With every new opportunity that came along, Reed began to see that as he continued to work, grow and be a beneficial member to the organization, good things continued to happen.

Reed sees the personal development piece as probably the most important.

He said nobody is perfect as a leader or simply as a human being.

“If you understand that and are willing to self-reflect, learn and continue to grow, then I think that

is the key for anybody to be a good leader,” he added.

Plant-based lifestyle In terms of reaching a healthy work-life balance, Reed said it is important for any leader to recognize the need to attain this goal.

“It is maybe more important to actually model the behaviors that lead to better balance,” he said. “It’s one thing to say, ‘we want to make sure our employees have balance’, but if you don’t model the behavior yourself, then what unintentional signals are you sending to folks who you work with or who work for you?”

That behavior includes making sure to eat a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, exercising, and spending time with family and friends, Reed said.

“This has resulted in me being able to be involved with my kids through coaching youth sports,” said Reed, noting he coached each one of his three children through the seventh- and eighth-grade levels in different sports that they engaged in.

“To me, it means playing golf

New CEO-elect Shares Lockdown Experience ‘Having everyone home brings some challenges’ Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s president and CEOelect James Reed and his wife Theresa, residents of Skaneateles, are parents of three near-adult children, and the pandemic and subsequent lockdown meant significant adjustments as all family members lived and worked 92

from home.

Two adult children are college students while the other is in high school.

Reed said the challenge was in the logistics of accommodating everyone’s needs in terms of workspace and access to resources.

“It was a tough one having OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

with friends, making sure I am home for dinner as much as possible and cooking dinner with my wife and spending good quality time there, regularly taking walks and taking my dog out for walks,” he said.

“It is really the behavior that you would probably think most people should be doing,” he said.

At times over the years when Reed feels stressed out about what is happening at work, he takes the time to self reflect.

At that point, “I can see that I have not been focusing on any one of those things, whether that is sleep, eating health, spending time with family or exercising,” he said.

“To me, a good healthy balance includes a little bit of all those things,” he said.

About a year and a half ago, Reed took on a challenge generated

by Excellus employees to convert to a mostly plant-based lifestyle.

“For the past 18 to 19 months, I have pretty closely stuck to that lifestyle. I’ve seen tremendous benefits from it in terms of energy level and evidenced by my different biometric screening results and numbers overall,” Reed said. “In general, through eating mostly a plantbased diet, I have tremendously benefited from it.”

“It’s challenging and does take discipline, but it’s not has hard as I thought it would be or as people might think it is,” he said.

The availability of resources as well as access to folks who are on a similar journey is helpful, he said.

never experienced anything like this. Having everyone home brings some challenges,” he said.

Nonetheless, Reed said it was a “great opportunity to reconnect with my near-adult children in a way that probably would not have happened had it not been for the pandemic.

“We probably won’t have this opportunity again after we come out the other side of this.”

“The opportunity to have dinner at home over an extended period of time during the more shelter-in-place time period does definitely have some benefits to the family,” he said.

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93

Steven Abraham Labor Relations: Trump Delivers for Employers

‘It is much more likely that a business whose employees are not yet unionized are likely to remain nonunion.’

Four policy changes have dramatically benefited business owners, making it harder for unions to organize

M

any business owners were pleased when Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 because they anticipated he would institute policies that would be beneficial to businesses in general.

This is especially true for business owners who operate in industries that are heavily influenced by unions.

Firms in these industries — whose employees are already represented by unions as well as those whose employees are not unionized — could anticipate that they would benefit from the president’s policies in the area of union-management relations.

This, indeed, has turned out to be the case.

There have been several policy changes in the area of union-management relations within the past four years that have greatly benefited business owners.

Four of the major changes will be discussed below.

By way of background, union-management relations in the United States are governed by a law known as the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Briefly, that law grants employees the right to form or join labor organizations, sets forth the process through which employees choose a union to represent them, provides certain rights to employees, provides rights to and limitations on unions, and provides rights and limitations to employers.

The NLRA is administered by an agency known as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the board). The board is composed of five members who are appointed by the president. Usually, the NLRB consists of members who were appointed by more than one president but for the past few years, due to some unusual circumstances, the board has consisted entirely of members appointed by President Trump. As a result, the board has instituted many policies that are very beneficial for

employers. Most of those decisions benefit employers in ways that are not very relevant to people reading this summary.

The four that are most relevant to businesses in general will be discussed below.

1. Timing of Elections The way a union is chosen to represent a company’s employees is through a representation election. Briefly, once the employees of a company show interest in being represented by a union, the union will petition for an election and the NLRB will set a date for that election. In 2014, the board implemented some rules that greatly sped up the election so that the election would take place shortly after the union’s petition was filed. But in 2019, the board overruled those 2014 changes in implemented rules that would greatly delay the election process. Under the new rules, the election will take place long after the union files its petition. This is important because the longer the time between the union asking for an election and the election being held, the greater the chance that the union will lose that election. This has been shown often in published research studies. Therefore, it is much more likely that a business whose employees are not yet unionized are likely to remain nonunion.

GUEST COLUMNIST

Steven E Abraham is a professor in the School of Business at SUNY Oswego.

He received his BS from Cornell University, his JD from NYU school of Law and his PhD from University of Wisconsin, Madison. He teaches courses related to employment law, union– management relations and human resource management.

He can be reached at steven. abraham@oswego.edu 94

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

2. Employee Use of Employer Equipment Another change related to the union election deals with employees’ ability to use the company’s equipment (e.g., email, common meeting spaces, billboards etc.) to campaign on behalf of the union. In a 2014 NLRB decision, the board ruled that the employer was required to allow the union to use company equipment to campaign for the union, but in December 2019, the board reversed this decision and held that the employer may prevent the union from using the company’s equipAUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

The changes just discussed greatly benefit businesses that operate in industries that are heavily unionized. Those changes make it less likely that the employees in a firm that are not represented by a union will choose to be represented by a union.

ment as a way to campaign on behalf of the union. This makes it much more difficult for employees who support the union to spread a pro-union message to the other employees who work for the company and will make it less likely that a business whose employees are not represented by a union will become unionized.

3. Disciplining Employees Without Bargaining If the employees of a business choose to be represented by a union, the union becomes certified as the employees’ representative and the employer then must bargain with the union over the employees’ terms and conditions of employment. In 2016, the NLRB held that as soon as the union was certified as the employees’ representative, the employer could not discipline an employee unless it bargained with the union before doing so. Even if no contract had been reached yet, the fact that the union had been certified as the employees’ representative triggered the employer’s obligation to bargain with the union before disciplining emAUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

ployees. In 2019, however, the board reversed this decision so under the current rule, the employer may discipline employees without discussing that discipline with the union. Only after a contract is reached and only if that contract places limitations on the employer’s ability to discipline employees must the employer bargain with the union. This greatly expands employers’ ability to discipline employees who are represented by a union, as long as there is no union contract in place.

4. Confidentiality of Employer Investigations The final change that will be discussed here relates to the confidentiality of employer investigations. In 2015, the NLRB determined that if an employer wanted to conduct an internal investigation of employees, the employer would have to disclose that investigation to the union unless the employer could demonstrate that the need for confidentiality would override the union’s and the employee’s rights to know about the investigation. Thus, the burden was on the employer to demonstrate that the OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

need for confidentiality outweighed the union’s right to access the information as part of its responsibility to represent the employees. In December 2019, however, the board overruled this precedent and determined that the employer’s need for confidentiality presumptively outweighed any rights the union had to access the information. The union can ascertain information about the investigation if it can demonstrate that the need for access to the information outweighs the employer’s need to keep the information confidential. This greatly benefits employers’ ability to conduct investigations and keep them confidential, helping to ensure that the information will not become available to others. It should be noted that the NLRB’s new rule is consistent with the position taken by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The changes just discussed greatly benefit businesses that operate in industries that are heavily unionized.

Those changes make it less likely that the employees in a firm that are not represented by a union will choose to be represented by a union. In a firm whose employees elect the union to represent them, they make it possible for the business owner to discipline employees without bargaining with the union as long as there is no union contract in place. Finally, those changes make it easier for a business to investigate employees and keep that investigation confidential.

95

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AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

Best Business Directory AUTO SALES & SERVICE Bellinger Auto Sales & Service. Third generation business. Used cars, towing, general auto repair & accessories. Truck repair. Oil, lube & filter service. 2746 County Route 57. Call 593-1332 or fax 598-5286.

Jake’s Automotive of Oswego, Inc. Auto repair and service of brakes, steering, suspension, diagnostics, oil change, tires & more. We also sell performance parts. 801 E. Seneca St., Oswego. 315-342-6871.

Munski Automotive. Brakes, exhaust, NYS inspections, shocks & struts, steering & suspension, check engine & ABS light, tires. 14 West Seneca St., Oswego 315-343-6229. Visit us on the web: www. munskiauto.com.

Port City Car Care. Oil, lube, NYSI, alignments, tires, brakes, electrical, air conditioning, suspension, tune-ups & timing belts, complete car care. We do it all! Over 28 years’ experience, 20 Ohio St. Phone 315-207-0500 or visit us on the web at www.portcitycarcare.com

BIKES, SERVICE Murdock’s. Oswego County’s only authorized Trek dealer. We service all brands of bikes. Check out our website: www.murdockssports.com or call us 315-342-6848.

COPY + PRINT Port City Copy Center. Your one-stop for all of your printing needs. 115 W. Thrd St., Oswego. 315-2166163.

DEMOLITION Fisher Companies. Commercial & residential demolition. Great prices. Fully insured. Free estimates. 48 years of experience. Call us at 315-652-3773 or visit www.johnefisherconstruction.com..

EXCAVATING Gilbert Excavating. Septic systems. Gravel & top soil.

Septic tank pumping. 685 County Route 3, Fulton. Call 315-593-2472.

JANITORIAL SERVICES Looking for good service, start by calling LC Cleaners at 315-744-2205. We clean dirt cheap. We will also disinfect your office. Please leave message on our phone. We will be happy to call you back.

KILN-DRIED HARDWOODS Lakeshore Hardwoods. We stock kiln-dried cherry, walnut, maple, butternut, ash, oak, basswood, mahogany, cedar figured woods, and exotics. Also, hardwood flooring, moldings, stair parts & woodworking supplies.

266 Manwaring Road, Pulaski. 315-298-6407 or visit www.lakeshorehardwoods.com.

LAND SURVEYOR Robert M. Burleigh, licensed land surveyor. Quality land surveying. Residential, subdivision, commercial, boundary surveying. 315-593-2231.

LUMBER White’s Lumber. Four locations to serve you. Pulaski: State Route 13, 315-298-6575; Watertown: N. Rutland

Street, 315-788-6200; Clayton: James Street, 315686-1892; Gouverneur: Depot Street, 315-287-1892.

PICTURE FRAMING Picture Connection. Custom matting & framing for photos, posters, prints, oils & more. Shadow boxes, object framing, art print source. 169 W. First St., Oswego. 315-343-2908.

PLUMBING & HEATING SUPPLY Pullen’s Plumbing & Heating Supply has a large variety of plumbing & heating repair parts & fixtures.

Water heater, furnace, boiler & all plumbing installations available. We do our own excavating for water service & sewer replacement. 22 Ohio St., Oswego, 315-343-1906.

PLUMBING & HVAC AHR Plumbing & HVAC service, sewer cleaning, hydrojetting, video inspections, water heater installs, new construction & remodel service & repairs. 315668-6569 AHRPlumbing.com.

SCREEN PRINTING & EMBROIDERY Valti Graphics-Creating garment graphics on customized apparel in screen printing, embroidery, Greek apparel & custom lettering. 152 W. Bridge St., Oswego. 315-342-4912.

TRACTOR/LAWN RanMar Tractor Supply. Sales and service of new and used tractors and farm equipment – 5219 US Rte. 11 Pulaski – 315-298-5109.

HEADING: LISTING:

$159 for 1 Year Just fill out this form, and send it with a check to:

Oswego County Business P.O. Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

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Last Page

By Lou Sorendo

Eric Summers This will be a unique and challenging year for college athletics, says new interim director of athletics at SUNY Oswego Q.: You have served as associate athletic director since June 2014. How does this experience help you in terms of transitioning to your new post?

A.: After six years as associate athletic director, I have a good understanding of SUNY Oswego, the athletic department, and how the school operates. Having that institutional knowledge will make it easier to take over as interim AD; however, there is still a lot to learn.

Q.: Are you interested in

98

pursuing the job without the “interim” part of the title, and what is it going to take to achieve that?

A.: At this point in my career, I am not pursuing an athletic director position, so I will not be pursuing this position on a permanent basis. I am more than happy to help out the department temporarily, but I do like my current position as associate athletic director.

Q.: You coached the crew program at Hamilton College for many years. How did that experience help in terms of growing your professional career?

A.: Being the rowing coach at Hamilton was a unique experience. It is one of the few programs in the country with one head coach for both men and women.

We regularly had 40 to 50 athletes on the team and for most of my time there, I had one part-time coach helping me. Now, most coaches like to have a lot of control over their teams and I was no exception.

However, given our numbers, I quickly realized that having a hand in everything going on was not feasible. As a result, I became much better at delegating and giving responsibility to my assistant coaches and captains of the team.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Q.: What do you believe will be the keys to being highly successful in your new post?

A.: This will be a unique and challenging year as we come back after the COVID-19 pandemic shut us down in March. I think the key for me will be to get buy-in from the coaches and staff to work within the new reality we are facing. Coaches I know, and I was one, do not like change. However, this year will be all about change, even if temporary. Being able to have the department adapt and work under different rules and constraints will be very important if we are going to be successful this year.

Q.: Besides COVID-19, what do you see as some of the foremost challenges facing athletic directors across the nation at this time?

A.: Budgets are always a concern for athletic departments, especially at the Division III level. Costs always seem to be rising faster than revenues and it is a challenge to provide a great student-athlete experience with limited means.

Q.: In general terms, how will the new normal in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic change the playing field when it comes to college athletics?

A.: I think it is too early to tell what lasting impacts COVID-19 will have on college athletics. We still have to go through at least one season to see what will change in terms of practice and play. However, one area I think may change is the recruiting process.

Our coaches tried to be as creative as possible this past spring with their recruiting and I think there will be more virtual recruiting in the future.

SUNY Oswego recently named Eric Summers interim director of athletics. The 52-year-old New Haven, Connecticut, native was hired as SUNY Oswego’s associate athletic director in June 2014. Summers, who earned his bachelor’s degree at Colgate University and Master of Business Administration at Syracuse University, leads a 24-sport athletic department. He resides in Fayetteville with his wife Robin and two sons.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2020