INSIDE POPULATION TREND: CNY GETTING SMALLER, OLDER
OSWEGO COUNTY
BUSINESS December 2020-January 2021
cnybusinessmag.com
$4.50
Covering Oswego, Onondaga counties
Challenging Times for Leader of U.S. SBA Office in Syracuse
CNY’s Business Magazine
Bernie Paprocki, Upstate district director of U.S. Small Business Administration, leads agency that serves as saving grace to those financially hobbled by global pandemic
RESTAURANT BUSINESS: HUNGERING FOR NORMALCY
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.
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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
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Learn more at connextcare.org — or better yet, stop in to one of our six sites Located in Fulton, Mexico, Oswego, Parish, Phoenix, Pulaski and say hello.
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
3
: CNY GETTING SMALLER, OLDER
INSIDE POPULATION TREND
Y O SW EG O C O U N T
BUSINESS $4.50
December 2020-January
2021
Covering Oswego, Onondaga counties
cnybusinessmag.com
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020
Issue 170
PROFILE MICHELLE SHATRAU
Challenging Times for Leader of U.S. SBA Office in Syracuse
district Bernie Paprocki, Upstate s director of U.S. Small Busines that Administration, leads agency those serves as saving grace to financially hobbled by global pandemic
CNY’s ss Busine ne Magazi ERING RESTAURANT BUSINESS: HUNG
FOR NORMALCY
COVER STORY
54
Bernie Paprocki leads the U.S. SBA office, which has served as saving grace to those financially hobbled by global pandemic
Healthcare
73
• Find out the major trends in healthcare in 2021 • Do for-profit hospitals provide better care? • Healing the budget. Providers are trying new streams of revenue
The new president and CEO of N.E.T & Die in Fulton has come full circle. She worked at her family business when she was growing up then moved to pursue a career in several other companies, other states. Now as her father retires, she is back — with ambitious plans to expand ..................18
SPECIAL FEATURES Smaller, Older Latest Census figures show CNY’s population is getting older, smaller..............................................................................................11 On the Job What should be President-elect’s top priorities?..........14 Hungering for Normalcy Lean times for restaurants across state, country. One in six expected to close for good................................28 The State of the Arts Q&A With Stephen Butler, CNY Arts’ executive director...................................................................................................34 Minorities New leader wants to grow ‘minority chamber’...............52 Entrepreneur’s Spirit Former homeless man helps Syracuse’s hungry.........................................................................................................................62
Success Story: C.J. Demars. P. 84
Dining out
32
Nonprofits struggle amid pandemic, optimistic about future. P. 42
Building material costs skyrocket,some items still hard to find. P. 46
DEPARTMENTS How I Got Started Patty Smith, Brown Dog Wood Products.................16
Where is Sandra Scott Taiwan, the “other” China...................................20 Newsmakers / Business Updates..............................................................22, 36 My Turn Understanding and spotting fake news.................................50 Economic Trends County of Oswego IDA presents annual report .....60
A guilty pleasure everyone can agree on: The loaded twisters for breakfast at Mimi’s Drive-In. 4
Tim's Corners Reading & COVID-19. What is the local impact?...........64 Guest Columnist COVID-19 and your finances.......................................89 Last Page
Janet Clerkin: Tourism hard hit by pandemic....................90
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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OS W EG O CO UN TY
BUSINESS October-November 2020
$4.50
cnybusinessmag.com
Covering Oswego, Onondaga
counties
City of Oswego Sees Unprecedented Construction Boom
CNY’s Business Magazine
Inside: Meet 6 Members of CNY’s Next Generation of Business Owners
CNY’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE 315-342-8020 • editor@cnybusinessmag.com
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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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
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Chuck Wainwright 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
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
How to Reach Us
P.O. Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126 Phone: 315-342-8020 Fax: 315-342-7776 Email: Editor@OswegoCountyBusiness.com DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
9
W
e just published our 27tth annual Business Guide. A thank-you note to our advertisers is in order. Without those who advertise we would not be able to publish this annual guide and distribute it widely in the area. We mail the publication to about 5,000 businesses and professionals and drop off a number of copies free of charge at various strategic locations. It’s packed with information about the largest employers in Central and Northern New York. Advertisers large and small have enabled us to publish it and we thank them. Readers can find out who the major employers are, what they do, how to contact them and how to find more information about them. This is one of our more ambitious projects of the year. We literally contact hundreds of companies in the region — by letter, emails, phone calls — tons of phone calls. We get basic information from each company. Then we put it all together, ranking the largest employers. Because our home base is Oswego County, the guide lists a lot more businesses from this county than from other places, like Onondaga, Cayuga
Publisher’s note By Wagner Dotto
New issue of the CNY Business Guide. or Jefferson counties. The plan for the next edition is to increase the number of employees we list, especially from Onondaga County, CNY’s economic engine (in this issue we list the top 25 employers in Onondaga). The Business Guide is truly a great resource. It’s all there — right to the point, easy to follow and with all the hard data easily accessible. The guide is also available online at www.
oswegocountybusiness.com. On the site, just click the cover of the guide and visitors will be sent to the digital edition, where they can flip through it. One of my favorite parts is the one featuring profiles of CEOs and leaders at various companies and organizations in CNY. The segment is fun to read and we learn a great deal about the background of those who lead major businesses and organizations here. These leaders talk about their educational background, career, management style, hobbies and, equally important, they talk about ways CNY can become a better place. If you don’t have the guide, please send me an email and I’ll be happy to send you a copy.
WAGNER DOTTO is the publisher of Oswego County Business Magazine.
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Population Trend: CNY Getting Smaller, Older All four counties that make up the Central New York/Syracuse metropolitan area have lost population since 2010, according to Census figures. Cayuga and Oswego hardest hit By Aaron Gifford
T
he 2020 Census likely won’t paint a pretty picture of Central New York. The latest data available indicates that the region is getting smaller and older, and the poverty rate is somewhat stagnant compared to improvements at the national level. According to the Census American Community Survey, which includes data up until 2019, all four counties that make up the Central New York/ Syracuse metropolitan area have lost people since 2010. Onondaga County’s population deDECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
creased by 1.4%, from 467,026 to 460,528. During that same period, Oswego County saw its population decrease from 122,105 to 117,124, or 4.1%. Cayuga County saw a similar drop, from 80,008 to 76,576, or 4.3%. And Madison County lost 3.4% of its population, decreasing from 73,452 to 70,941. The total population of the United States increased by 6.3% during that nine-year period, but New York state lost 76,790 people in one year alone, between 2018 and 2019, according to Census figures. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
“What you see in Central New York is all part of the greater trend for Upstate New York,” said David R. Turner, Oswego County director of Community Development, Tourism and Planning. He added that CNY’s long winters and high taxes, coupled with better job opportunities in other places, make other states more attractive. The poverty rate in each of the four Central New York counties last year was higher than the national rate of 10.5%. In Oswego County, 16.1% of the population was in poverty, followed 11
Poverty Rate for 2019 Percentage of the population
Syracuse Oswego Fulton Auburn Oneida
31.8% 28% 24.8% 18.2% 14.7%
Source: Census. 2019 figures.
Percent of Population Loss
County
Loss Percentage
Total Population
Cayuga County Oswego County Madison County
4.3% 4.1%
from 80,008 to 76,576 from 122,105 to 117,124 73,452 to 70,941. from 467,026 to 460,528
3.4% 1.4%
Onondaga County Source: Census. 2019 figures.
The median household income Madison County Onondaga County Cayuga County Oswego County
$60,228 $59,225 $56,579 $53,597
Source: Census. 2019 figures.
Percentage of Population over 65
County Cayuga County Madison County Oswego County Onondaga County
2014 16.1% 14.9% 13.3% 14.7%
2019
19.8% 18.9% 16.8% 17.5%
Source: Census. 2018 figures.
Percentage of Population that Has Earned a Bachelor’s Degree Oswego County Cayuga County Madison County Onondaga County USA
18. 6% 22.3% 27% 35. 5% 31.5%
Source: Census. 2018 figures. 12
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
by Onondaga County at 13.7%, Cayuga County at 13.7%, and Madison County at 10.8%. Central New York’s cities fared much worse, with Syracuse’s poverty rate for 2019 at 31.8%, the city of Oswego at 28%, Fulton at 24.8%, Auburn at 18.2%, and Oneida at 14.7%. All five cities reported population losses during that period. Auburn had the highest, at 5.5%, and Syracuse saw the fewest residents leave at 1.9%. The median household income in three of the four counties last year was lower than the national average of $60,293. Madison County’s was $60,228, followed by Onondaga County at $59,225, Cayuga County at $56,579, and Oswego County at $53,597. Those figures were for the year 2018. Even the wealthiest communities in the region lost people just like the cities, the villages and most of the suburbs. Most notably, Manlius lost 2.2% of its population, followed by Cazenovia with a 1.3% loss, and Skaneateles with a 0.5% drop. A few towns did see population increases since 2010. In Onondaga County, that includes the ever-growing town of Clay, up 813 people to a total population of 59,250; two other towns west of Clay that are still experiencing suburban sprawl in the northern part of their county — Lysander, with 1,074 more people, and Van Buren, at plus 168. The only other town in Onondaga County that increased in population is in the rural southeast corner of the county: Pompey, up 177 people for a total of 7,276, Not a single community in Madison County increased in population between 2014 and 2019, according to the U.S. Census. As for the other two counties, Cayuga reported a 5.02% population increase in the town of Sempronius (47 more for a total of 937), and Genoa was up by 0.21%, or four more people, for a total of 1,933. In Oswego County, all population increases were in the most rural northern towns — Albion (8.92% to 2,287), Amboy (3.28% to 1,311), Redfield (2.67% to 561), Boylston (0.54% to 554), and Orwell (0.17% to 1,171). Turner, the director of Oswego County’s Community Development, Tourism and Planning Department, said he believes a significant chunk of that population growth took place in Amish communities, with families there growing or Amish families from other areas moving to this region. “The land is plentiful and inexpenDECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
sive,” Turner said. But just the opposite happened on the opposite end of Central New York, in the most rural corner of southeast Madison County. Georgetown reported the largest population loss, percentage wise, in the four-county area, down 21.48% to 824 people in total. Georgetown was the first Madison County community with a noticeable Amish population. As for the region’s aging population, 19.8% of the residents in Cayuga County last year were over 65, compared to 16.1% five years earlier (2014). During the same five-year period, the percentage of those over 65 in Madison County increased to 18.9% from 14.9%. Onondaga County saw a 2.8% increase to 17.5%. And Oswego County saw its percentage of those 65-plus go up from 13.3% to 16.8%. By comparison, the percentage of that age demographic nationwide was 16.5%. Although the decline appears to be slowing down compared to what prior Census’ showed, it has been continual for decades now. Manufacturing jobs went to warmer or more business-friendly states, or overseas, and the tax base eroded. Retail and service industry jobs that replaced factory work have not paid enough to provide the same standard of living. But on the contrary, Upstate New York can still be marketed as a place where homes and property are affordable, where public schools still have a reputation that rivals that of most other states, and where the change of seasons and natural resources can make this place attractive to visitors and potential new residents.
Zillow, a popular national real estate web site, recently listed Syracuse as No. 9 on a list of the most up and coming midsized cities for increasing real estate values. The argument can also be made that, with an abundance of college and universities in Upstate New York, this region has a skilled and educated work force readily available. The Census figures, however, suggest that folks are not sticking around here after they get their degrees: Only Onondaga County is above the 30% mark for percentage of population that has earned a bachelor’s degree or higher (35. 5%). Cayuga was 22.3%, Madison 27%, and Oswego 18. 6%. By contrast, 31.5% of the people in the United States have at least a bachelor’s degree. The most recent Census data was pre-COVID 19 and does not even figure in job losses and other hardships in the aftermath of the pandemic. Still, public officials like Turner are cautious not to put much weight on Census figures as a gauge of a community’s vibrancy. He noted that the counts have a significant margin of error and can be
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taken out of context when looking at communities that never had large populations to begin with. Negative trends have not discouraged his department from fostering growth and responsible development in Oswego County. “I think in general,” he said, “we still have a lot going on.” Turner’s department is working with the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board to identify the areas where access to broadband internet is the most deficient. Improvements in that area, coupled with phased-in replacements or traditional infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water and sewer lines, would boost local business development and create jobs. “We have been more proactive,” he said. “Perhaps if we can make those improvements, we will see an eventual decrease in poverty. But it won’t happen overnight.” In addition, Oswego County officials have taken note of a very strong housing market lately. Homes have been selling quickly, and often above the asking price. This trend has been reported throughout the region, though it may not be reflected in the 2020 Census numbers that will be released next year. “Home sales are definitely a bright spot right now,” Turner said. “For some reasons, it’s a seller’s market, and it’s not because of big reductions in price. What’s driving it, I don’t know. We’ll see how long it lasts.” Zillow, a popular national real estate web site, recently listed Syracuse as No. 9 on a list of the most up and coming midsized cities for increasing real estate values.
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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ON THE JOB ‘What Should the President’s Focus Be for the Next Four Years?” Interviews by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant “I want him to not raise taxes and maintain low regulations on businesses. Any businessman wants that. Maybe he should rebuild the infrastructure of the nation to bring more jobs. That will spur the economy, so it will grow.” Patrick Burns Owner of Wet Paint Company, Oswego “We look at what’s in our community, but no matter who is sitting in the seat of the President, they’re looking at the whole country. There may be a reason for why they see it that way, whether the information they receive from other politicians, meeting with communities all over the country. I would really love to see the economy pick up in the sense of jobs coming back. We’ve lost many, many businesses. If you go through some of these malls, they’re empty. Nobody goes to the few stores that are there. If we don’t have businesses, we don’t have jobs. If people don’t have jobs, they can’t find housing or go to college for education to better themselves. There are a lot of moving pieces when it comes to not having access to good paying jobs.” Reynald Ortiz, Jr.
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Executive director of Syracuse Model Neighborhood Corporation, Syracuse “Obviously, COVID is a major concern. Also, the more we can do to make ourselves more competitive internationally would certainly help our business.” John Sharkey President, Universal Metal Works, Fulton “My No. 1 concern is healthcare. I have a small business. I haven’t had good healthcare. I hope they’ll improve insurance for all so small businesses won’t have to worry about it. I hope [the new administration] will support small business, women and minoritybusinesses, especially. That hasn’t been addressed in the past four years. I’m hopeful that a woman vice president will bring some of these issues to light. I’ll definitely be sending her letters. As far as small businesses, you don’t get a lot of the benefits that someone who works for a large business does, yet we work really hard. Rebecca A. Duger Owner/designer, Uniquely Designed by Rebecca, Elbridge
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
“I would certainly hope that this administration approaches government ethically, kindly and with a world view. Isolating ourselves from the rest of the world was a poor decision, especially when we’re facing a worldwide pandemic. I appreciate the indications that the new administration is going to be diverse and firmly advocating for every single American, regardless of political party, race, creed, etetera.” Tracy Black Owner, Tracy Black Consulting, Clinton “I hope he’s able to give some more aid to the small businesses, especially in the light of the pandemic. As an accountant, I’m seeing a lot of the businesses struggle, especially the small ones and also the restaurants and bars.” Janet R Goncalves Owner, JR Financial Solutions, Cicero “As we approach the next several years, I would like to see increased access to small business capital and a more significant investment in data collection in the small business sector.” Meghan Florkowski Director, WISE Women’s Business Center, Syracuse “I definitely think we need to look at more comprehensive, open business loan policies, particularly for minority-owned businesses who have issues with personal credit or for whatever reason. It could be generational systemic racism, where black families weren’t allowed to purchase homes and were able to use that money to build their businesses. I would love to see over the next four years policies created that will
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
help impact the economy in a positive way, where minority-owned businesses are able to build and sustain their businesses and make fair and equitable additions themselves to our economy and to underserved communities. I’d also like them to look at how we fund education and how education looks now after COVID. How can we create an educational platform that brings together people from all walks of life? How do we create a fair and equitable education system? I would love to see more advisory committees with community people. I’d like our officials to include community voices versus leadership voices to decide what the needs are. That should be balanced out. There are usually only leaders making these decisions on committees. We should look at more affordable housing for the underserved community and ensure that the middle class is supported when we have economic crises so they don’t fall into poverty when they run into trouble, whether it’s through loss of employment or the economy crashing.” Lekia K. Hill Owner, Powerful Voices App, Syracuse
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“Hopefully, he will focus on the pandemic and ways to get it under control. And focus on uniting the country.” Cathy Hogan Regional clinical director of Stafkings Healthcare Systems in Oswego “I don’t care for the healthcare insurance options. I don’t have any healthcare insurance myself. As for taxes, I am OK with where they are right now. They have them there for a reason, to pay for stuff we all need and use. But if taxes went up, I would be definitely very disappointed. I don’t want to see that happen.” Nate Bissell Auto technician at Torbitt’s Service Center, Inc., Oswego “I hope the focus will be unifying the country and bringing us all together again.” John Halleron Senior business adviser at Small Business Development Center, Office of Business and Community Relations, SUNY Oswego, Oswego “I’d like COVID to be taken care of, the economy to pick up, and [to see] security around the world.” Rick Rebeor Owner, Valley Locksmith, Fulton DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Started How I Got By Lou Sorendo
Patty Smith Co-owner of Brown Dog Wood Products in Central Square specializes in kiln-dried lumber, custom moldings
Q.: At what point in your career did you decide to launch Brown Dog Wood Products?
A.: I launched the business on county Route 4 in Central Square along with my husband, David, in September of 2019. We got the idea from a friend of ours who had experience in molding and wood products and built a lot of the same stuff that we are doing now. He sold us the equipment to make it, and we decided that we should actually get a kiln and try it. David was in the lumber mill business since he was young. His grandparents owned a lumber mill, and his dad and uncle were in the business as well. He knows people in the business, and that helps out a lot. I am currently working from home due to COVID-19 and will be retiring from Carrier Corp. in the spring. Q.: Why the name Brown Dog Wood Products?
A.: We have a chocolate lab — Louise — and she’s on our signs and website. That’s actually gotten us a lot of business. People will call and ask, “Oh, I love that! Is there really a brown dog?” She’s very friendly. Q.: What were some of the foremost challenges associated with launching the business?
A.: Letting folks know that we are open and where we are was a challenge, as well as getting help with financing. I created a website and got the word out that way. My mother-inlaw also helped pass out cards to friends, family and folks that used to do business with the lumber mill. I also sent out letters to people trying to drum up business, and we slowly got the word out. I also used www. facebook.com/marketplace. Usually people hear of us through word of mouth, and once they come and see what we have, they are very impressed and tell their friends. Q.: How did you fund the business initially?
A. We were able to get an Oswego County Industrial Development Agency loan in order to buy a new kiln, which costs $43,000. That and buying lumber were our major costs. The IDA was very helpful and we had a lot of input into the business, which helped in terms of securing the loan. We buy lumber green, put it in the kiln to dry, and 16
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
‘COVID-19 has actually meant better business for us because people are home. People who are laid off have taken their extra money — if they had any extra money — and spent it on their homes.’
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then we convert it from basic lumber to whatever product we want to sell. It is a lot of work and I knew that going into it. You’re working every day, all day long. Q.: What exactly is kiln drying, and what other products and services does the business offer?
A.: Kiln drying takes the moisture out of wood so if you put it in the house with heat, it doesn’t shrink and maintains stability and dimension. Any lumber you buy at a lumberyard or store is going to be kiln dried. David makes moldings whose profiles are produced by another company, such as base, crown and window molding. We also make V-groove, which is our main product. People have been buying that like crazy lately. People have also been buying shiplap, which they have seen on the DIY Network. Q.: Have you grown inventory since you first launched the business?
A.: We have plenty of lumber. It’s just that the kiln doesn’t work as fast as we need it to and we need another one. It seems that as fast as we make the product, it gets sold. At times we do custom orders if somebody wants something special. Right now, we have somebody making beds and there are certain criteria they need, so it’s a little different from our normal inventory. A lot of people are also looking for cove siding or flooring. Many folks are redoing their homes,
continued on page 86 DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
17
PROFILE By Lou Sorendo
Michelle Shatrau Third-generation owner of N.E.T. & Die, Inc. returns to familiar territory in Fulton
M
ichelle Shatrau has come full circle. After pursuing several career opportunities elsewhere, Shatrau has returned to her hometown of Fulton to take over as CEO and president of the family business — N.E.T. & Die, Inc. She succeeds her father, Richard, in the position. She grew up in her father’s machine shop and operated equipment when she was in high school and college. “My father has built a robust company over the last 40 years with a niche that is hard to develop in this competitive environment,” she said. “I am very proud to be taking over what he has built.” “My dad has some pretty big shoes to fill. He is a true machinist and has been for over 50 years,” she said. “While I will never be the machinist he is, my strengths and skills are growing a profitable company that we can all be proud to be a part of. “It makes me sad to think about a time when my dad won’t be part of N.E.T., but I’m preparing myself for that day, both professionally and personally.” Shatrau’s educational background opened up many doors during her career. Prior to becoming the leader at N.E.T. & Die, Inc., she spent 20 years with medium and large manufacturing corporations in a variety of disciplines and functions, including aerospace, hand tools and household appliances. She spent more than seven years working for the Whirlpool Corporation as a target costing project manager, North American regional manager-Design for Value and project manager. Prior to that, she began her career working as a manufacturing engineer for Pratt & Whitney in Middletown, Connecticut. In 2003, she became manufacturing supervisor at Danaher Corporation in Gastonia, North Carolina. She then was a value stream manager at Gast Manufacturing in Benton 18
Harbor, Michigan. Her engineering degree gave her the foundation to be a critical thinker and a team player. “I believe these are two critical skills anyone needs to have to be successful in most careers, she said.” “While my succession [at N.E.T. & Die] was never in the plan until three years ago, I believe not having a plan was the best thing that could have happened,” she said. “I’ve been a part of great operations and not-so-great operations. I’ve had amazing leaders and some leaders that I’d rather forget,” she said. “I have learned from each and every experience, and bring all the best practices back to N.E.T. “I never imagined my career path would have ended up being the best training program for running a business, but it has.” Harry Shatrau established N.E.T. & Die, Inc. in 1966, providing manufacturing for maintenance of customers’ machinery as well as direct manufacturing support for many original equipment manufacturers. Beginning in 1981, his three children, Richard, Helena and Bob — continued the business operation and expanded the business and services to its customers. To improve manufacturing operations, N.E.T. & Die, Inc. will be moving operations into a new 60,000-squarefoot building slated to open in 2022.
option for my career than the path I had been on.” However, Michelle Shatrau saw it differently. “While I don’t disagree this is a fierce business, I saw all the opportunities and potential for the company,” she said. “I planted the seed and at the end of 2018, we made the decision that I would succeed in running the company.” Shatrau brings strengths and a set of skills to the table as the leader at N.E.T. & Die, Inc. that include tenacity and big picture thinking. She embraces lean leadership, and sets the vision, develops the culture and measures the success of the company. “Lean leadership is a style of lead-
Changes
Her father was 75 when the pair started talking about what they were going to do with the business. “He was ready to retire and we had no plan. I stepped in to help evaluate our options back in 2018,” she said. “Owning and operating a job shop is tough and my father didn’t see that as a better OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
ership that empowers those on your team,” she said. “Coaching, active questioning and listening, learning versus knowing, and the relentless pursuit of improvement is a mindset that I have and I am training my staff and employees to have.” She said the person “cutting chips,” or cutting materials by mechanical means, is the most important person in the organization. “The rest of us need to figure out how to make their jobs more efficient and effective by delivering lower cost, better quality products, and delivering them when our customer demands,” Shatrau added. In terms of business activity, Shatrau said the company has seen an uptick in material handling and the storage solutions end of the business as 2020 winds down. “This may be due in part to the seasonality of those customers,” she said. “October has seen a significant increase in sales overall.” Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19 this year, N.E.T. & Die, Inc. saw a couple smaller customers who cancelled or delayed orders due to the pandemic. “But because most of the companies we support are essential businesses, we haven’t seen a negative impact,” she said. “We are actually growing,” said Shatrau, noting the company recently hired a sales person, Jim Stolo, who has an extensive background in engineering and machine sales. “We’re taking on new customers and new business,” she said. “Because of that, we currently have three open positions in machining and we’re looking to add a second shift to distribute the capacity on our machines that are overloaded.” N.E.T. & Die, Inc. recently donated $10,000 to benefit the ALS Association of Upstate New York. The donation was made in honor of 25-year company employee Nelson Walter, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2014 and died in 2018. “Nelson was the first quality inspector at N.E.T. & Die. He brought with him new measuring equipment as well as processes, knowledge and practices that allowed N.E.T. to become a product provider of unmatched quality. Nelson was truly a voice of the customer,” she noted.
Time for recreation
Outside of work, Michelle’s father, DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Richard Shatrau has competed in the Adirondack Canoe Classic, a 90-mile canoe race, for 13 of the last 20 years. “At some point, I stopped wanting to be part of his pit crew and wanted to start paddling with him,” Shatrau said. “I’ve completed the 90-miler three times, the first two with my father. He was in his 70s when I completed my first race with him. “He’s always been competitive and an athlete. I’m lucky to have inherited that gene.” In terms of lifestyle choices, Shatrau breaks it down into simple terms: “Everything in moderation and keep moving.” “I don’t believe there’s any one right answer when it comes to lifestyle choices,” she said. “I try to put as many greens into my meals as possible and stick to a workout plan.” “As my work demands have increased over the last year and a half, I found it more important to stay connected with my friends and family in order to maintain a healthy balance,” she said. “When that balance is not maintained, it affects everyone around me. I make more of a conscious effort to take a mental break and to connect with those closest to me. Of course, staying active is always part of that balance.” Shatrau considered the possibility of a fourth generation family ownership down the road. “Of course we would love to see an N.E.T. succession plan with fourth generation, but only time will tell,” she said. “At 12 years old, my daughter is more interested in her friends than her career goals.”
Lifelines
Birth date: Feb. 27, 1972 Birthplace: Oswego Current residence: Baldwinsville Education: Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering, Clarkson University; Master of Engineering degree, manufacturing systems engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Master of Science, management, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Affiliations: Board of directors, Operation Oswego County; Manufacturers Association of Central New York Personal: Daughter, Cecilia, 12 years Hobbies: Running 5Ks, theater, art OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Where in the World is Sandra Scott? By Sandra Scott
Taiwan, the ‘Other’ China
U
nfortunately, the island of Taiwan is often overlooked as a tourist destination. But it has a fascinating history and many interesting places to visit. Taiwan is officially the Republic of China, not to be confused with the People’s Republic of China. It has a strategic location in the South China Sea between Japan and China. Once called Formosa, it was at various times under control of China and Japan. During the Chinese Communist Revolution, Chiang Kai-shek headed up the Chinese Nationalist Party that was
defeated by Mao Zedong, the leader of the Communist Party. Chiang Kaishek and his supporters were forced to flee to Taiwan where they set up the Republic of China. Kai-shek served as its president until his death in 1975. Taiwan has a democratic and liberal government while preserving ancestor worship and other cultural traditions. For those who are just passing through, the airport offers a free city tour. All travel starts in the capital, Taipei, once the home of the world’s tallest building, Taipei 101. It is located in the financial district and the architecture includes many aspects that are considered financially auspicious in Chinese culture. Not only is the city
view from the observatory outstanding, visitors can watch the swinging damper that offsets the building’s movement keeping it secure during earthquakes and typhoons. In the heart of the city is the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall that honors the first president of the country. There are 89 steps to reach the entrance, one for each year of his life. In the main hall there is a large statue of Kai-shek with an honor guard. The oldest and most important Taiwanese temple is Longshan founded in 1738. The temple is a mix of Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, which is a prime example of the inclusive spirit of the Taiwanese. To learn more about Taiwanese culture visit the National
The oldest and most important Taiwanese temple is Longshan founded in 1738. 20
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DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Museum, which covers the history and natural aspect of the country. There are many things to do in Taipei but to really experience the “real” Taiwan, visitors should visit some of the places outside the city. A fascinating day trip is to Wulai, an aboriginal village, where visitors can soak in the outdoor hot springs, enjoy the mountain views and learn more about the Atayal culture. The Atayal are thought to have arrived on Taiwan about 6000 years ago and are struggling to preserve their culture. Visitors can hike the trail to the largest waterfalls in the Wulai Gorge or view it from the Wulai Scenic Train, a converted Japanese mining train. Homestays are also possible. More than one day should be devoted to visiting the Taroko Gorge National Park, one of the natural wonders of Taiwan. It is located on the east coast and home to the world’s largest marble valley, waterfalls, temples and suspension bridges. It is a favorite with hikers. Tea is an integral part of Taiwanese daily life and culture. They enjoy their daily tea but tea was also used ceremoniously during rituals such as weddings, funerals and family worship. Tea was offered to gods and guests alike. Artists who create tea cups and tea pots are highly regarded. The high-speed railway makes it easy to visit the tea producing areas. The rolling hills lined with tea trees are common in the south part of the island. There are tea museums that explain the different kinds of teas and the how they are processed. Several tea plantations offer homestays. The food of Taiwan is an interesting mix of Chinese and Japanese who controlled the island from 1895 to 1945, with a dash of American cuisine. The best and most interesting place to sample the variety of food is at a night market held in most cities. Americans only need a valid passport to visit Taiwan, a visa is not necessary.
Food market at night held in most cities. That’s the best and most interesting place to sample the variety of food in Taiwan.
Scenic train, a converted Japanese mining train, takes visitors through Wulai, an aboriginal village near Taipei. Taipei 101 in Taipei, once the world’s tallest building.
Sandra Scott, a retired history teacher and the co-author of two local history books, has been traveling worldwide with her husband, John, since the 1980s. The Scotts live in the village of Mexico. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
21
NEWSMAKERS NEWS BRIEFS ON LOCAL BUSINESSES & BUSINESS PEOPLE Friends of the Zoo Has New Executive Director Carrie Large, a longtime senior leader at ACR Health, has been named the new executive director of the Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. The Friends of the Zoo board of directors selected Large following a naLarge tional search to fill the position after former Friends executive Janet Agostini retired in January. Large joined the zoo in November after 17 years with ACR Health, formerly AIDS Community Resources, most recently as deputy executive director of operations, a position she held since October 2017. Large has a bachelor’s degree in physical education with a concentration in sports management from SUNY Brockport. Right out of the gate she was tasked with starting up a professional arena football team, the Rochester Brigade, focused on game day operations and sales. She then moved to Syracuse in May 2003 and joined AIDS Community Resources, dba ACR Health, and has worked there ever since, rising from the position of care manager (2003-2005) to deputy director of development (2005-2009) to director of development (2009-2017) and to her most recent role as deputy executive director of operations. Friends of the Zoo Board Chairwoman Heidi Holtz said the board felt Large was a good fit to lead the Friends organization as it seeks to help the zoo recalibrate after the COVID-19 pandemic, sustain its highly respected reputation in animal conservation and education, and pursue an ambitious strategic and master plan that includes 22
support for a new Animal Health Center now under construction. “We look forward to working with Carrie, who we believe will bring a powerful mix of professional expertise and personal dynamism to the Friends organization,” Holtz said. Large now resides in Liverpool with her wife, Stacey, and three children. “Everyone at home is excited about the zoo and have requested to come to work with me every day,” she said.
NBT Appoints New Member at Board of Directors NBT Bancorp Inc. recently an nounced that Johanna Ames has been appointed to the boards of directors for NBT Bancorp Inc. and NBT Bank, N.A. A m e s i s p re s i d e n t of Ames Linen Service, a Ames women-owned commercial laundry and linen rental company located in Cortland that serves approximately 1,000 customers in the education, food and beverage, healthcare and hospitality industries throughout Central New York. Her fourth-generation business is nearly 100 years old and employs 85. “We are pleased to welcome Johanna Ames to board service at NBT,” said NBT Board Chairman Martin A. Dietrich. “Her experience and perspective as a business owner and her leadership in the community make her a strong fit for our organization. We look forward to Johanna’s contributions to our efforts to be responsive to our customers and to strategically guide our business forward.” Ames joined NBT Bank’s Southern Tier advisory board in 2016. She serves on the boards of directors for Guthrie OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Healthcare System, Inc. and Cortland County Business Development Corporation/Industrial Development Agency. She chairs the Cortland College Foundation board of directors and is a member of the Colgate University Alumni Council. In 2018, she was the recipient of SUNY Cortland’s College-Community Appreciation Award.
RMS Among Top Measurement Firms in the U.S. Modern Healthcare has ranked Baldwinsville-based Research & Marketing Strategies, Inc. (RMS) the seventh largest patient-satisfaction measurement firm in the United States, according to its recent survey. For 14 years, RMS has been a national leader in patient satisfaction surveying, growing its market research business within the healthcare industry and assisting numerous organizations across the nation in measuring patient satisfaction and engagement, according to a company press release. Modern Healthcare, an award-winning publication leader in healthcare research, recently released its annual report of the largest patient satisfaction measurement firms in the U.S., with RMS ranked as No. 7, a move up from No. 8 last year. RMS specializes in consulting services and healthcare surveying, including the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems patient satisfaction surveys for many healthcare providers. This includes hospitals, home health agencies, hospices, emergency departments, clinician groups, private practices, dialysis facilities, accountable care organizations, ambulatory surgery centers, behavioral health clinics. “Healthcare continues to change rapidly and getting patient feedback is vital to providing excellent care,” said Mark Dengler, president of RMS. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Trujillo Joins Beardsley Architects + Engineers Beardsley Architects + Engineers has announced that Roberto Trujillo has joined the firm as architectural designer its Albany office. Trujillo is a 2018 graduate of Alfred State SUNY College of Technology with a Bachelor of Architecture Trujillo degree. In his previous positions, he served as architectural designer and project manager. According to a news release, he brings a diverse experience in design, project visualization and management to Beardsley, where he will be working on commercial and residential projects.
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Bligh Named Pathfinder’s AVP, Branch Manager James Bligh has been promoted to branch manager of Pathfinder Bank’s Pike Block Office, according to Robert Butkowski, first vice president of branch administration. “ We a r e pleased to acknowledge Jim with this promoBligh tion,” said Butkowski. “With his strong leadership skills and industry knowledge, including his time spent at our Clay branch, we look forward to watching him grow in this new role and strengthen our relationships within Onondaga County.” Bligh joined Pathfinder Bank in 2018 as the assistant branch manager of the newly opened Clay office and held that position up until this recent promotion. In this new role, Bligh’s duties will be developing retail and commercial business in the Syracuse region, while managing the day to day operations of the branch. Bligh holds a bachelor’s degree in history from SUNY Brockport. Bligh resides in Solvay with his wife,
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Stormie, and their two sons, Rylend and Grayden. In his spare time, Bligh is a member of the Ruffed Grouse Society, Red Creek Conservation Club, Fenner Rod and Gun Club and serves as a volunteer coach for Solvay Little League, as well as volunteering his time the Young Readers Program Solvay Elementary.
Flack Named Residential Mortgage Lender for Pathfinder Morgan Flack has been promoted to residential mortgage lender for Pathfinder Bank, according to Ronald G. Tascarella, first vice president, sales manager. “We are proud to acknowledge Morgan with this promotion. Flack Her prior experience in the area of residential loan processing, constriction loan management and customer service will be extremely valuable in this new position,” said Tascarella. “With her intellect and her commitment to our mission, Morgan will continue to be an asset to our team and will be instrumental in the execution of our growth moving forward.” In this new role, Flack will originate residential mortgages and promote the financial institution and its lending services to the community. Flack will be based in the Pike Block Office, located in downtown Syracuse, and will be working to grow residential mortgages in the city of Syracuse and the greater Onondaga County. Flack joined Pathfinder Bank in 2012 as a part-time teller and later began her career in lending in 2014 in the loan servicing department. She was promoted to closing coordinator in 2018 and held that title before her promotion to mortgage lender. Flack is a graduate of SUNY Oswego with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in coaching. Flack resides with her husband, Stephen, and her children, Hazley and Bearon, in Oswego. In her spare time, Flack enjoys spending her time cheering on her husband at the Oswego Speedway as he participates in the Pathfinder Bank sponsored SBS Division races. 24
AmeriCU Has New Chief Experience Officer Alissa Sykes Tulloch has recently joinedAmeriCU Credit Union as chief experience officer. “Alissa’s experience creating and executing member and employee focused initiatives, along with her passion for the Sykes credit union movement, will be a valuable asset,” said Ron Belle, president and CEO of AmeriCU Credit Union. “Her knowledge and vision will help strengthen AmeriCU Credit Union’s central mission while keeping our focus on the member experience.” Tulloch comes to AmeriCU Credit Union with more than 15 years of indepth experience in the credit union industry, serving as a chief lending officer and most recently chief growth officer. In her new role as chief experience officer, Tulloch will be responsible for enhancing AmeriCU’s retail and operational processes and member delivery channels.
Barton & Loguidice Receives Award for Client Satisfaction Barton & Loguidice (B&L), a Northeast and Mid-Atlantic engineering, planning, environmental and landscape architecture firm based in Liverpool, has been selected as a winner of the 2020 PSMJ Premier Award for Client Satisfaction. The award recognizes top-performing architecture and engineering firms based on an extensive client feedback program, and is the only industry designation measuring firms’ commitment to client experience. This is the third industry award Barton & Loguidice has received this year, including the Zweig Group’s “Hot Firm” List and “Best Firms to Work For.” “Being recognized for client satisfaction is such an honor,” says Barton OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
& Loguidice President and CEO, John F. Brusa, Jr. “Receiving this award is a testament to our employees’ commitment to being a practice centered business by putting client satisfaction first. Our goal is to deliver a best-in-class client experience to differentiate our firm.” PSMJ and Client Savvy featured the award winners at the annual A/E/C Thrive Conference Oct. 15. PSMJ is a publisher, education provider, and advisor on architecture and engineering business management. Client Savvy is a business management consulting firm.
Grossman St. Amour CPAs Hires Three Grossman St. Amour CPAs PLLC has announced the addition of three new accountants to its team. • Katelyn E. Cook is a graduate of SUNY Oswego. She has a Master of Business Administration in public accounting, and a Bachelor of Science in accounting. Cook is a staff accountant in the firm’s tax services group. She pracCook tices in the areas of bookkeeping, financial statement preparation, income tax return preparation and payroll and sales tax return preparation for businesses and individuals. She is a resident of Rome. • Brianah M. Lane is a graduate of SUNY Oswego with a Master of Business Administration in accounting and Bachelor of Science in accounting. She is a staff accountant in the firm’s audit services group. She practices in t h e a re a s o f Lane bookkeeping, audit and attest engagements, and financial statement preparation. She works with nonprofit organizations, including fire districts, public school districts and government and municipalities. She lives in Oswego. • Bridget E. Odorczyk is a graduate DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
of Le Moyne College with a Bachelor of Science in accounting and a Masters of Business Administration in accounting. She is a staff accountant in the firm’s tax services group. Odorczyk pracOdorczy tices in the areas of income tax return preparation and tax planning for individuals and businesses. She is also a payroll and sales tax return preparer and bookkeeper. Odorczyk has special expertise in preparation of multi-state individual and business tax returns, and tax returns requiring foreign filing requirements. Odorczyk is an active volunteer with Challenger Baseball organization. She is a resident of Liverpool.
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Mary-Margaret Pekow, executive director, Catholic Charities of Oswego County, thanks Fulton Lions Club President David Guyer for the club’s $1,000 holiday donation. “Fulton Lions has been a steadfast supporter of ours for many years,” Pekow said. “This year, we appreciate their help more than ever.” Fulton Lions Club provides financial assistance for those in need of eyeglasses, eye exams, and hearing aids to residents in the Greater Fulton area. For more information, visit www. fultonlionsclub.com, or find them on Facebook under Fulton Lions. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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234 East Albany St, Oswego NY 13126 (315) 343-4456
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
PROGRESS ISSUE Don’t miss the next issuer of Oswego County Business
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Oswego Health Executive Named CEO of Hospital in Hamilton Until recently, Jeff Coakley served as chief operating officer at Oswego Health By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
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or nearly three decades, Jeffrey Coakley was a familiar face at Oswego Hospital, most recently serving as chief operating officer. On Nov. 4, Coakley became president and CEO of Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton, Madison County. Sean Fadale previously filled that position. Fadale left the organization in September to take a role in another hospital in the state. “I am delighted to welcome Jeff Coakley as our new president and CEO,” Eve Ann Shwartz, chairwoman of the Community Memorial board of directors and in a statement. “The board of directors is excited to have such a qualified candidate fill this position. Mr. Coakley brings a strong background of professional hospital leadership experience, and made an unquestionably positive impression on the board, employees and medical staff of our facility. We are all confident that he will further the successes that Community Memorial has achieved in patient care, while guiding CMH on the path to long term financial sustainability.” Three hundred and fifty employees work at Community Memorial, which offers 25 beds and has treated 1,269 inpatients and 21,428 outpatients in 2018. Coakley didn’t respond to several requests for an interview. In a prepared statement, he said, “I am eager to join Community Memorial Hospital. The reputation of quality at this outstanding hospital system will carry it well into the future. I am excited to have an opportunity to join a team that is leading New York’s only five-star rated hospital on this journey.” The five-star quality rating for 2018-2019 is derived from upon patient experience and satisfaction, based upon the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey taken after patient discharges. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Community Memorial began measuring its patient experience and satisfaction in 2016, when the organization received a four-star rating. The following year, the hospital began working to achieve the full five-star rating. The Hospital Consumer Assessment bases its results on New York State Hospitals from October 2018 through September 2019. Initiatives that helped improve Community Memorial’s ratings include a daily quiet hour for patients to rest, increased cross-department collaboration and management, and a greater emphasis on engagement from the Patient Advisory Council. “I look forward to the collaboration between the board, medical staff, employees and community, and believe that the future ahead of the organization is bright,” Coakley added. “It was an honor to have been selected by the board of directors as the next leader of Community Memorial.” At Oswego Health, Coakley oversaw business development,
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
growth of the health system, community relations and strategic planning. He also enhanced existing programs and launched new ones and led the development of new medical centers, which helped the organization treat more patients and increase its revenue. These efforts include overseeing the development of a six-provider orthopedic practice and construction of a $17 million behavioral health facility, which allows many more local people convenient access to these services. Community Memorial is poised at a phase of growth. Coakley will oversee all of Community Memorial’s leadership and the organization’s strategy, operation and finances. Community Memorial provides primary care services through a network of five health centers (Hamilton, Morrisville, Cazenovia, Munnsville and Waterville), an after-hours urgent care clinic available in the evenings and weekends, and 24/7 emergency medicine services. Originally from Fulton, Coakley earned a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Oswego and a Master in Business Administration degree from LeMoyne College. He also completed the Leadership Advancement program from Cornell University/Healthcare Association of NYS Academy. The New York State Association for Rural Health named him Rural Healthcare Worker of the Year in 2013. Currently living in Fulton, Coakley plans to relocate his family to live closer to Hamilton. He and his wife Gretchen have two grown daughters, Amelia and Olivia.
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Restaurant Business: Hungering for Normalcy Lean times for restaurants across state, country By Lou Sorendo
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estaurants may be among the first permanent victims of COVID-19. As new cases of coronavirus infections surge across the country, many restaurants have reportedly been forced to take dining services outside. However, new bans on outdoor dining as well as cold weather have forced some of them to permanently close altogether. Other restaurants may not survive the next few months, according to food
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service experts. One in six restaurants open in March will have closed for good by year’s end, according to a survey by the National Restaurant Association. That same report shows nearly 3 million employees are still out of work, and the industry is projected to lose $240 billion in sales by the close of 2020. Without a comprehensive relief package specifically for restaurants, OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
63.6% of New York restaurants said they are likely to close by the end of the year, according to the most recent survey from the New York State Restaurant Association. Nick Canale, owner of Canale’s Restaurant in Oswego, said recently his establishment will not be in a situation where it is forced to close. However, “if we don’t get some help to get through the winter, we will be laying off a significant portion of our workforce,” he said. Normally, staff numbers around 75 at his restaurant, but workers now number in the mid-60s, he said. “We’re trying to keep as many people on as we can right now,” said Canale, noting he is reluctant to lay off workers right before the holidays. Regardless of government-mandated COVID-19-related restrictions on dining out, Canale said he is not seeing a lot of dining business anyways. “It’s primarily takeout and delivery,” he said. Based on projections on the pandemic, Canale said it is going to be a challenging winter. The restaurant offers curbside pickDECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
up, which was highly popular during the height of the pandemic. Canale said he anticipates demand for that service to escalate in the winter. “Right now, there is a significant amount of delivery and people are comfortable enough to come in and pick up food,” he noted. Canale foresees conditions getting better by next summer. “I don’t think it’s going to be back to normal until at least another year,” he said. “People will be more cautious and reluctant to get out and do things.” “We had really great support from the community,” said Canale, noting that city leaders made it possible for his establishment to create expanded outdoor dining opportunities. While that measure made a big different for the restaurant, winter weather meant reduced indoor dining traffic. Without a comprehensive relief package specifically for restaurants, 89.7% of New York’s restaurant owners say that it will be very or somewhat unlikely that their establishments will be profitable in the next six months, according to NYSRA. Canale said it is very unlikely that he will turn a profit over that time frame. “It’s safe to say that without the Payroll Protection Program, we wouldn’t have been able to operate from May through July time frame,” he noted. The PPP, managed by the U.S. Treasury Department, is a U.S. Small Business Administration implemented loan designed to help business owners keep their workforce employed during the COVID-19 crisis. “It wouldn’t make any sense for us to even be open,” Canale said. “The fact that we had that money allowed us to keep staff that we wouldn’t have been able to keep.” “Going into winter, we’re going to have to make some hard decisions in terms of what we can do for our employees,” he said. In the summer and fall, people had the opportunity to dine outside. “We did much better in the warmer weather months when we could expand our dining,” said Canale while giving thanks to city of Oswego Mayor William Barlow and the Oswego Common Council for supporting that measure. “It made a big difference for us and our employees to be able to have all that space outside where people could feel comfortable sitting in,” he said. “When we lost most of our dining business is when we lost that space because of weather.” DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Dustin Trimble is the general manager of The Eis House in Mexico: “It’s a little scary. The whole goal right now is just to break even.”
Rolling with punches Dustin Trimble is the general manager of The Eis House in Mexico. As the second wave of COVID-19 made its appearance in the fall, Trimble and his team were already familiar with the process of making necessary but painful staff cuts and realizing limitations on what they can offer. The Eis House employs 23 workers, 10 of which are full time. “We did furlough a little less than half of our staff at the beginning of the pandemic,” Trimble said. But without special events such as weddings, there was no reason to bring back the entire staff. “That is unfortunate for both the people getting married and the staff,” he said. Fortunately for Trimble, his business is diversified enough to withstand threats such as COVID-19. The Eis House also creates revenue streams through lodging, catering and storage units. “Hotels and storage units are not being affected as much as the restaurant side,” he said. “We’re positioned to make it through this, but without those income streams, it might be a different story,” he said. “It’s a little scary,” Trimble said. “The whole goal right now is just to break even.” The Eis House features more than 10,000 square feet of space. “We have a lot of overhead, most of it sitting dormant or being underutilized,” he said. “To say we are going to make money over the next six months or so is a long shot.” Trimble said the pandemic has put his management skills to the ultimate test. He said it is critical to make the right decisions in terms of expenses while communicating effectively with people. He said the luxury of having time to think about various processes and options is history as more snap decisions OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
become the norm. Trimble said the thought process in terms of how to solve issues has changed. “Before, it wasn’t always about the cheapest way,” he said. “Now, it’s about how to utilize the assets we have to solve problems.” The operation has significantly changed, including the way the kitchen operates, the number of staff on duty and different purchases that are made. Trimble said the pandemic has forced him to look at aspects of the business that were not doing well, whether it be a menu item or product the business offered. “You focus on more of the core things,” he said. Efforts were made to offer a diversity of products in terms of food and beverage while also cutting down on items offered in a way to streamline the menu. Trimble follows a “just in time” inventory style, which is difficult to do with food. “The beverage side of things is a little easier. But with food, to maintain the smallest inventory possible is not an easy project,” he said. Projections called for 2020 to be the best year for Trimble in the past six years. “For this to happen, it’s a blow,” he said.
Forging ahead Trimble does hold out hope that 2021 will be positive from a business perspective. “I do worry that the bar side of things will take years to come back,” he said. “That will be a very slow return to what it was, if it ever does.” Trimble participated in the PPP, a federal measure to help companies retain workers by covering eight weeks of payroll. The loan would be forgiven if 75% of it were spent on payroll. He said the rules regarding the PPP were changed so that it would impact a business’ profit and loss statement, a measure that “will very much hurt a lot of businesses” from a tax perspective. Also, the program covered payroll over only an eight-week period of time, which Trimble said was “quite a task” considering limited revenues. The PPP was enhanced in June by increasing the time small businesses can use funds and receive forgiveness from eight weeks to 24 weeks and by reducing the payroll cost rule from 75% to 60%. “We had already burned through 29
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75% of it after receiving that notice,” Trimble said. “That wasn’t helpful at all.” However, he said the funds were appreciated and they did take the edge off regardless of possible adverse tax implications. Trimble said his business model has not changed due to COVID-19. “Our overall goal is still to provide quality service and provide foods that are made in-house,” he said. “Most of our core competencies haven’t changed. I think we are better at reacting to things quickly,” he said. Trimble said plans to upgrade the facility were delayed due to COVID-19, such as redoing the deck on the waterside of the building in order to make it more handicapped-accessible and easier to maintain. After a lengthy wait, materials for a brick-paved walkway along the river arrived recently, allowing the team the opportunity to attend to a project that was initially forecast to be done in June and July. Nonetheless, he said the down time allowed the business to rebuild decks, install siding and work on hotel rooms, tasks that would have been virtually impossible under normal business conditions. “It is painfully clear that without financial assistance, the restaurant industry in New York state could collapse,” said Melissa Fleischut, president and CEO of NYSRA. “These recent survey results illustrate just how dire the financial situation has become for most restaurants, and it shows how critical it is that elected officials understand the urgency of the situation.” This survey follows others conducted by NYSRA over the past few months during the COVID-19 health crisis. In March, NYSRA reported that in a threeweek span, New York restaurants saw an estimated loss of $1.9 billion in sales and more than 250,000 jobs. In April, NYSRA found that 80% of New York’s restaurant workforce had been laid off or furloughed since the beginning of March, totaling 527,000 jobs. NYSRA conducted this survey to gain a clear understanding of the current and ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on New York restaurants. When asked what government could do to help their businesses to survive the pandemic, the top three answers were provide commercial rent relief, insist that business interruption insurance claims are paid and increase the capacity for indoor dining. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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DiningOut By Christopher Malone
Restaurant
Guide
A guilty pleasure everyone can agree on: The loaded twisters for breakfast ($6.29) at Mimi’s Drive-In in Fulton.
Drive In and Stay a While I
Mimi’s puts the “full” in Fulton
’ve been on a diner kick, which made choosing Mimi’s Drive-In in Fulton an easy first-choice when narrowing down the restaurants for this review. There have been numerous times where driving by the restaurant on state Route 481 has caused my curiosity to spike, my mind to demand and mouth to water despite not ever tasting the food. It’s been said before. I’ll continue to say it over and over: There’s nothing like the great American diner. The food is simple. The décor varies from sparse to organized clutter, themed to eclectic. The counters are long and booths are aplenty. Clanking and clicking utensils are amplified. The coffee mugs are as deep as the patron wants them to be. The art of conversation is raw and topics are infinite, and the banter with staff is kind, joking and even sarcastic. Diners, like Mimi’s, are for families, the elderly, dating couples, and solo 32
travelers — everyone. The inside of Mimi’s is a diner fever dream and lives up to the aforementioned characteristics. For these days of living with restrictions, the place and tables are very clean. The utensils sitting on the napkin were spotless. The patrons were packed in to maximize service; although the tables were spaced appropriately apart, it felt like close quarters. Everything felt safe but the question lingering: Are we going to be able to readjust to pre-COVID-19 dining when that time comes? I hope so. Upon entering, I was greeted as I made my way to where my local business advocate friend Anthony was seated. Put two Italians in a diner — we’re ready to dig in. We kicked off the meal with two cups of coffee (give or take $1.75 each), which were religiously refilled. All of the food came out at once, OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
which proved to be a decent spread. We first grabbed at the breakfast wrap. The typical-sized wrap was filled with eggs, cheese and meat; we opted for ham. The wrap was a flour tortilla that was warm and consistent as far as softness went. It wasn’t overly rigid in spots nor was it too chewy. The combination of the egg, cheese and meat wasn’t bland either. The French toast ($3.59 or $1.20 for one) is unapologetically basic. The yolky yellow and singed brown markings were flawless and felt leopard like. It was appropriately soft. The toast didn’t come with powdered sugar but a tiny cup of whipped butter, not the hard stuff, which spread smoothly. The pancakes ($3.59 or $1.20 for one) are unapologetically basic as well. “What you see and taste is what you get” — their motto, presumably. The semi-flat flapjack was soft and slightly crispy around the edge. On the side sat another cup, slightly larger than DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
a thimble-size, of whipped butter. I’d return for another stack any morning, afternoon or night, because breakfast is served all day. The loaded twisters ($6.29) came as a shareable side. These twirled fries came topped with ballgame nacho cheese from the pump, diced bacon, and a dollop of sour cream. Sports or no sports, this is truly a guilty pleasure everyone can agree on. The fries were nice and crispy — none were burned. It was an unabashedly messy ordeal, but messier is better. Then there was the western breakfast ($7.99). My eggs came over easy, as requested. The toast was thick-sliced Italian bread, toasted to golden brown perfection. The sirloin — meh. The portion of steak was a great portion, cut of steak was OK, but the overall flavor was blah. It’s a typical fallacy with diners and steaks — I have yet to find one I’ve enjoyed. Mimi’s steak is unfortunately part of the club. It wasn’t seasoned, very fatty, and came out much more done than requested. It wasn’t a complete disappointment because the overall combination of steak, eggs, and toast paired well. It just wasn’t a highlight. Will I go back to Mimi’s? Absolutely. Mimi’s also proves that eating from a local business is better than a chain or fast food joint. The experience, before tip, totaled $27.50, but the inexpensiveness isn’t a deciding factor. I can’t wait to try more food, especially lunch and dinner options. There was a meatball special on the menu that day and the hot meatloaf sandwich on the regular menu, which called out to me.
The French toast ($3.59 or $1.20 for one) is unapologetically basic.
The pancakes ($3.59 or $1.20 for one). The semi-flat flapjack is soft and slightly crispy around the edge.
Mimi’s Drive-In Address 201 N. Second St. Fulton, NY 13069 Phone 315-593-7400 Website/Social www.mimisdrivein.com facebook.com/MimisDriveIn instagram.com/mimisdriveinny twitter.com/mimis_drivein Current Hours Sunday: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday – Saturday: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
The western breakfast ($7.99) at Mimi’s. My eggs came over easy, as requested. The toast was thick-sliced Italian bread, toasted to golden brown perfection. The sirloin — meh. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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SteveCNYArts.jpg
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he arts in Central New York has become another victim of the pandemic, as museums and theaters across the area remain closed or have had to drastically cut the number of visitors. Individual artists have been severely impacted as well. It’s estimated that the sector has lost more than $55 million in potential revenue. The CNY Arts organization, in its ongoing mission to support, promote and celebrate the arts, culture and heritage in the area, has begun a fundraising effort. The agency serves Cortland, Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego counties. When it gets New York state regional economic development funds, it also serves Cayuga County. Executive director Stephen Butler talked about the fundraising drive and the effect of the pandemic on the arts.
A Q&A With
.com/drive/search?ogsrc=32&q=owner:charlie%40cnyarts.org
Stephen Butler Executive director of Syracuse-based CNY Arts appeals to individuals and organizations to help raise a half-million dollars by Dec. 31 for the arts sector, which is facing potential loss of more than $55 million due to the pandemic By Mary Beth Roach 34
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Q: Can you share the details of this initiative? A: In March, when the governor’s order came through to help flatten the curve, organizations needed to shutter. Of course, for the arts, that’s a huge impact because we live by people coming together to participate in the arts, whether it’s to go to an exhibit or go to a show. Immediately, our ability to generate revenue was lost and, of course, government became very constrained in its ability to provide funding during this time. We held a big regional Zoom meeting across seven counties. The arts sector representatives said, ‘CNY Arts do two things: Do a specific survey about this region. There are certain questions we want you to have in it. And secondly, be in touch with the foundations about us because we’re very imperiled.’ We did that survey. The aggregate data showed that with 20% of the field responded, there was actual and projected losses of $15 million. When we went back and looked at some of the other research about the size of the sector and created a formula, we really were looking at something close to potential $55 million actual losses and projected losses through the end of September. Furthermore, on average, those respondents said that by late October they would be running out of their cash reserves if there weren’t infusions of cash. So we met with our board and shared these statistics. We really needed to create a $1 million fund. That seems like a drop in the bucket. For our small agency, it was quite ambitious. It also DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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geared to about what we give out annually, which is about $1 million and $1.8 million a year in funding to arts groups. We thought we will try to raise this $1 million. It’s in addition to what we will distribute this year, but that amount will be less than the usual amount we give out. That is partially why we are doing this fund drive. Q: Who were the survey respondents? A: We surveyed arts groups and individual artists who are equally impacted by the closures. Q: There’s a matching component to this? A: As time went on, we received three challenge grants from the Jon Ben Snow, the Reisman and the Central New York Community foundations, totaling $175,000. They said, ‘We’ll provide these challenge grants and we’ll match them. That will unlock the dollars that we’ve allocated for you.’ Ever since that time, we’ve been working toward those challenge grants. Also a $20,000 grant from the Richard S. Shineman Foundation. This grant is a match and will unlock challenge grant dollars. Q: How far along are you to the $1 million goal? A: We’ve raised some of the challenge money. And so, with the unlocked dollars, we’ve raised $300,000 since late July. Our goal is to try to raise it by Dec. 31. We’ve given out about a third of that already. And we’re working on raising the challenge grants by the end of December. Our goal is to be at half a million dollars by Dec. 31. Q: How is this funding distributed? A: We use the same process we use in all of our grants-making. People apply. We put it through a panel process. We looked at the models of COVID impact funding throughout the country — what other arts agencies were doing — and came up with a set of guidelines and questions. Those were vetted by the foundations that were providing funding. We try to do that in a 30-day turnaround. Q: How do you measure the impact of the arts organizations in a community? A: I would say that there are two primary impacts and one of them is economic. Equally important is the quality of life for the citizens. We’ve done three studies that have measured that data. For instance, with LeMoyne College, we did a study a few years ago DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
of just greater Syracuse. We know that [the arts in the] greater Syracuse alone in a normal year directly infuses $48 million in the local economy, and the audiences spend close to $100 million in peripheral spending, on restaurants, cafes, gas, hotels. In terms of quality of life — we did a big study in 2014 — we found that people were as interested in attending arts events of all kinds as they were in hiking and sports. We know that this is important to the community for their quality of life. And I have to applaud the arts community for being so nimble and innovative, that even as resources became scarce, that they immediately turned their attention to producing events and then finding ways to virtually stream them, reconnect with audiences, connect in new ways. In Phase 4, things did open up a little bit, so some sites, particularly heritage and visual arts more so than performance, were able to reopen and then through careful audience planning, people were then able to return to the actually physical location to participate in the arts. There are expenses with that — protective equipment, disinfectant, purchasing reservation systems, creating a safety plan. There are new costs associated with that no one has had to think about in the past. Q: If people want to contribute but can’t until the end of the year, can they still do that? And how? A: They can go to www.cnyarts. The Covid Arts Impact Fund Page takes them where they can make a donation. Q: If somebody is interested in contributing, is there a way they can designate their gift to a certain county or a certain entity? A: Because it’s a panel process, designating it for a certain entity is more difficult. But we’ll certainly take their wishes into account. If they wanted to say the ‘city of Oswego,’ ‘the county of Onondaga,’ they can put that in the notes. If they would like their donation to go to individual artists, or specifically musicians, they can say those kinds of things as well. When we went into the shutdown last March, everybody went to YouTube and Netflix. Everyone began looking for arts and entertainment as a way of consolation, relief and joy. That’s what art does. Editor’s Note: For more information, visit www.cnyarts.org. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Where’s the Beans? Missing from grocery store shelves: Grandma Brown’s Home Baked Beans. Company recently resumed production after monthslong shutdown
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hings that have been in short supply during the coronavirus pandemic: Appliances. Bicycles. Toilet paper. Pressure-treated lumber. Patio heaters. Sewing machines. Canning jars and lids. Coins. Children’s desks. Add Grandma Brown’s Home Baked Beans to the list. The flagship product of a small, family-owned company in Mexico disappeared from store shelves for several months earlier this year. 36
The company ceased production of the beans beloved by generations of Central New Yorkers this summer and resumed production before Thanksgiving, according to company owner and president Sandra Brown. The beans, as well as Grandma Brown’s bean soup and split pea soup, are slowly making their way back to stores and online retailers. (They are currently out
of stock on Amazon.com and Walmart. com). Brown said the company recently filled orders for Tops Friendly Market and Price Chopper Supermarkets and that consumers should check local stores for availability. “What I’m telling people they should do is go to the store as early in the morning as possible after shelves have been re-stocked at night,’’ she added. Central Square resident Vickie D’Agostino noticed in September that her favorite brand of beans was missing in action. She grew concerned that, for the first time in memory, her family’s Thanksgiving dinner wouldn’t include Grandma Brown’s beans. But luck was with her and she found a couple cans at a Price Chopper store. “Every store I go in I always look for them,’’ said D’Agostino, 55. “I hadn’t seen any in a very long time and Price Chopper was the first place I saw them. They were literally on the bottom shelf, way in the back. If I didn’t take the time to really look, I wouldn’t have seen them.’’ D’Agostino, who grew up in Central New York and has lived here all of her life, said family birthdays, reunions, cookouts and other get-togethers are not complete without Grandma Brown’s beans on the table. She “doctors’’ them up a bit, adding brown sugar, bacon grease and a bit of crumbled bacon on top, before baking the beans until hot and bubbling. “I would even take leftovers and make a sandwich for lunch with cold beans and mayonnaise,’’ D’Agostino said. “There’s nothing else comparable to them.’’ The local devotion to Grandma Brown’s goes back to 1937, during the Great Depression, when Mexico resident Lulu Brown began making large pans of her family’s favorite baked beans and selling them in local grocery stores. The beans proved popular: Lulu’s husband, Earl, son, Robert E. Brown, and partner, Richard Whitney, soon expanded their sales and marketing efforts to Oswego. Eventually they would deliver pans of beans to stores within a 70-mile radius of Mexico. Business continued to grow, enough to require a bean processing and canning plant. If you’ve been to Mexico, you’ve probably seen the Grandma Brown’s facility on Scenic Avenue — and smelled the beans being processed. The company remains in the family and has 14 employees.
BUSINESS UPDATE
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
(Sandra Brown is the granddaughter of Lulu Brown.
Popular item Fun fact: Grandma Brown’s had a concession stand in the shape of a can of beans at the 1950 New York State Fair in Syracuse and sold baked bean sandwiches for a nickel each. They were enjoyed by more than 70,000 fairgoers. Thomas Connors, owner of Syracuse Crate, considers himself fortunate at this time (early December) to have Grandma Brown’s Home Baked Beans in stock and available for orders. It’s a busy time of year, and Syracuse Crate spotlights a range of locally produced food products to “bring a bit of Syracuse to your door.’’ Two of the company’s best sellers, the Bit of ‘Cuse Crate and the Courtside Crate, contain a 16-ounce can of Grandma Brown’s Beans, packed alongside Hofmann German-style mustard, Salamida’s NY State Fair Spiedie Sauce, Buck’s All-Purpose Seasoning and other made-in-Central New York food items. The beans are also a popular add-on item for Syracuse Crate’s “Build a Crate’’ option, in which customers can customize crates as they like. “Grandma Brown’s beans are in 99% of every purchase,’’ Connors said. “They’re tied for No. 1 with Hinerwadel’s salt potatoes, Dinosaur BarB-Que Sensuous Slathering Sauce and Pastabilities Hot Tomato Oil.’’ In October, Connors said, he received a deluge of emails and phone calls from people inquiring about the whereabouts of Grandma Brown’s Beans. He sometimes drives to Mexico to pick up cases of the beans himself and said several weeks ago that he had the beans back in stock — and expected to go through them quickly during the holiday season. Connors has shipped Grandma Brown’s Beans as far as Australia and says a couple dedicated fans sometimes drive to Syracuse from Rochester and Pennsylvania to pick up cases of beans rather than have them shipped. He said he is confident the Grandma Brown’s supply chain will get back to normal soon. “I think they’re kind of going in rotation,’’ Connors said of the company. “They might do beans one week and their soups another week. I think this allowed them to really see how fanatical people are about their product.’’
By Margaret McCormick DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
People enjoying some of the attactions at Greek Peak Mountain.
Ski Resort Operators: A Season Like No Other Operators believe more skiers will hit the slopes this season because it provides the opportunity to get out of the house and be active
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utside is in, and inside is out.” This is a quote that Peter Harris, owner-operator of the Labrador and Song Mountain ski areas, came up with recently. It captures the optimism that operators of area ski centers are feeling as they prepare for a season like no other. To deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York state in October released guidelines for ski resorts, which will force them to retool nearly every aspect of their business, including capacity numbers restrictions, rentals, face coverings, lifts, food and beverage services, registration practices for the purpose of contact tracing, and changes in ski lessons. While there is the possibility that ski centers will see a loss in revenue, officials at Labrador (Lab), Song Mountain, Greek Peak and Toggenburg (Tog) — four of the largest ski areas in Central New York — also see the silver lining. Harris and Drew Broderick, vice president for sales and marketing at Greek Peak and Tog, believe that more skiers will possibly hit the slopes this season because it provides the opportunity to get out of the house and be active; and because by skiing in their
home state of New York, there is no need to quarantine afterward. A longer, snowy winter would also help. “It really depends on if good old Lake Ontario gives us all that lake-effect we love,” Harris said, with a chuckle. Greek Peak, Tog, Lab and Song all plan to be open by mid-December. In addition, the centers are prepared to help Mother Nature along, if need be, with snowmaking operations. “We will closely manage operational expenses as much as possible, which means capitalizing on prime snowmaking conditions when they occur, especially long stretches of really cold temperatures,”Broderick noted. “Having other winter operations such as snow tubing, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, mountain coaster, guided zip line tours and a lodge with indoor pools and waterpark features helps generate winter revenues.” Lab, with 22 trails, and Song, with 24 trails, offer downhill and snowboarding skiing only.
BUSINESS UPDATE
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
By Mary Beth Roach 37
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Clothing Company Betting on Promoting Syracuse Love
ust before the birth of their baby, Matt and Taylor Sourwine birthed their company, SYR Clothing, which shares their love for the Salt City. “It was so much work getting it launched before the baby came,” Taylor recalled with a laugh. “The business has struggled to get the attention it deserves.” Though Matt and Taylor Sourwine did not grow up in Syracuse, they founded a company based on their shared love for the Salt City: SYR Clothing Co. (https://syrclothingco.com). The sporty apparel and accessories all bear original logos designed by the Sourwines that relate to Syracuse. The Sourwines grew up in Alexandria Bay, but felt it was a treat to go to Destiny USA — then known as Carousel Center — for shopping trips. After Matt graduated from SUNY Morrisville and Taylor from Syracuse University, they moved to Syracuse and their love for the city only grew. The Sourwines enjoy traveling and noticed that places they visit have city- promoting apparel; however, their adopted hometown did not. That is why they founded SYR Clothing Co. in November 2019. Like many entrepreneurs, the Sourwines built their company on a shoestring. Since she was “hugely pregnant” at the time as Taylor put it, she tapped a few friends and cousins to model their clothing for the website. The couple sells their clothing through their website and on a few local racks such as at Syracha’cuse, a store in Camillus. They view the local presence as a way for shoppers to pick up a last-minute gift. Their items are made on demand by a third-party screen printer because they could not find a local provider. “We’ve had a great reaction since we launched, though it’s slowed down since COVID,” Matt said. “It’s starting to pick up as people want to support local businesses for the holidays.” The couple maintains full-time jobs, Taylor as a third-grade teacher for the Syracuse City School District and Matt as a manager of a creative team for Ad-
vanced Media New York in Syracuse. “There are so many growth opportunities,” Matt said. “It’s been a fun first year. There’s lots of growth opportunities in the future.” The Sourwines have received orders from customers are far-flung as Hawaii. Matt thinks that it’s likely people with roots in the area. “It’s our goal to sell something to someone in every state,” he said. They are considering adding gift items such as mugs and perhaps photos of scenic Syracuse vistas. It has been a challenge getting their name out, especially considering the ease of ordering items online and receiving them within two days. “We don’t have a huge budget, but we’ve done a pretty good job considering the amount of time we have in our lives,” Matt said. “It takes time to build a brand. That’s a challenge of any business.” SYR Clothing Co. primarily markets through social media ads and posts and through sending out press releases. As a two-person company, the Sourwines can remain nimble and tap trends as they happen. They have touched on COVID-19 in their designs, for example. “We came out with shirts that say, ‘Spread love, nothing else,’” Taylor said. “We had a lot of orders for that. When SU was having trouble with graffiti we started a line with ‘Stronger Than Graffiti.’” It takes about a week between the date a customer orders an item and when it is received. The couple likes to give back to the community. Each month, they donate a portion of each order to a different charity, such as Food Bank of Central New York, Clear Path for Veterans, CNY Community Support Fund, CNY SPCA, On My Team16 and Rescue Mission. For November, it was Salvation Army. “There are fewer red kettles out there this year,” Matt said.
BUSINESS UPDATE
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he always wanted, but he made sure it was exactly what Ryan wanted to do. “He worked into it the same way I did. I worked at Nine Mile Point and did something different, and then realized real estate was the way to go and jumped in,” he said. “Every buyer and seller is different, but when you grow up and live in a small community like Oswego, you really get a sense of the pulse of the community and what a typical buyer and seller is looking for,” Ryan added. Plentiful experience
Ryan Galloway, right, joins the business started by Thomas Galloway (seated) and run by his father, Bill Galloway.
Ryan Galloway Joins Family Real Estate Business Third-generation real estate specialist ramps up role at Century 21 Galloway Realty
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hen Thomas Galloway and his late wife Bridget began independently selling real estate and insurance out of their home in Oswego in the mid-1960s, little did they know their grandson Ryan would be a third-generation real estate sales professional in 2020. Ryan is stepping into a job that both his father Bill and grandfather Tom experienced. In 1994, Bill and his wife Elaine purchased Century 21 Galloway Realty from his father Tom. Bill became the broker-owner and has devoted more
than 40 years of his life to real estate. For the third-generation real estate agent, it means more than just a career upgrade. “It feels like I am carrying on the family legacy into a new generation,” he said. “There is a sense of tradition attached to that.” Ryan said there was a time when he and his parents were tentative about the decision. “But now that it’s here, it’s the best decision,” he said. For Bill, seeing his son follow in his career footsteps was something
BUSINESS UPDATE
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Ryan grew up in a family that lives and breathes real estate, and that upbringing helps him in terms of taking on the challenges as a real estate salesperson. “I’ve heard and seen so many situations that my dad and grandfather and everybody in the business has had to deal with over the years,” he said. He said paying attention to how his father and grandfather worked through challenges and thinking of what could have been done differently will pay dividends in his career. Ryan said his main strengths lied on the technology and advertising side. “I think I am good at problem solving on the fly. I am able to run through scenarios quick in my head and try to find the best solution,” he said. His dad recalls the days of working in the industry pre-internet. “We started with books, and now we have to do everything online with COVID-19,” Bill said. “Ryan and Elaine can tell you that I may not be the greatest at this, but they are probably impressed that I merged everyone together for this virtual interview,” he added. He said technology is advancing at a “mind-blowing” pace, and having a person in Ryan who grew up in the Internet age is certainly an advantage. Social media is a tremendous plus in the industry now, particularly with COVID-19. “They keep coming out with more things to utilize all these tools on Facebook, but we also have an online filing program,” Ryan said. “With COVID-19, the way we are able to have e-signatures on contracts really helps to keep person-to-person interactions down while we are still able to do business. It’s been enormous during the pandemic.” “We are very excited that Ryan has decided to carry on the family business. He does have a lot to offer,” she said. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
“We all work very well together and respect what each one does. Ryan has great knowledge and experience from working in the office and growing up in the real estate world.” “He has a great relationship with everyone in the office and that’s a really good feeling on our end to see. We are proud parents for sure,” she added. Managerial background Ryan worked as a store manager at Fajita Grill for many years, and that role helped in terms of developing business skills that included interacting with co-workers and the public on an effective level. “At the restaurant, there’s always something crazy or wrong going on. You have to be on your toes at all times and make quick decisions. I think that’s what helped me the most,” he said. “Everybody is different, but there’s a common thread with people that you can interact with,” he said. Ryan also has worked in the office management and advertising side of the business for more than four years. That experience has provided him with a firm understanding of the administrative and marketing end of real estate. Having the administrative side down gives Ryan a full grasp of the entire real estate transaction. “A lot of times as an agent, when you get everything signed and done, you don’t realize and get a full grasp of the entire real estate transaction,” he said. Elaine has been a significant influence on his life and career. “She is just huge for me. The energy she brings into the office is something we all feed off, and she is a big influence in everything we do there,” Ryan said. Elaine has watched her son develop in the back office, and said he now has the advantage of that foundation as well as the listings and sales side of the business. “It’s the best of both worlds, because he has knowledge of both sides of the business instead of just one or the other like Bill and I have,” she said.
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PROGRESS ISSUE Don’t miss the next issue of Oswego County Business
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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SPECIAL REPORT
CNY Nonprofits Struggle Amid Pandemic, Optimistic About Future By Ken Sturtz
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s the COVID-19 virus upended day-to-day life and plunged Americans into financial calamity, nonprofits sprang to action: emergency food, mental health care, medical treatment, social services, education, even safeguarding cultural and historic treasures. While the pandemic has affected everyone, the plight of nonprofit organizations has been somewhat less noticeable. Nearly every Central New York nonprofit — from major hospitals and universities, to food pantries and museums — has felt the pressure. “The nonprofit sector was under and is under completely unprecedented stressors,” says Frank Ridzi, vice president of community investment at 42
the Central New York Community Foundation. Many organizations have seen demand for their services skyrocket. Ohers have struggled to provide services amid the pandemic. The financial strain has been especially difficult, Ridzi says. Nonprofits haven’t been able to hold their typical fundraising events or haven’t been reimbursed by the government for their services. “It’s a really scary storm,” he says. “It’s a much larger gap in funding than we could ever fill.” Even some of the area’s largest nonprofits have been affected. St. Joseph’s Health and Syracuse University announced layoffs. New York’s continuing budget OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
crisis crippled many nonprofits that receive significant portions of their revenue from state contracts. The state has long had a reputation for dragging its feet when paying nonprofits, but this year state agencies have delayed payments as the state wrestles with a massive budget shortfall and the uncertainty of federal aid. ACR Health provides services across Central New York, including syringe exchanges, medical support programs, testing for sexually transmitted diseases and services for LGBTQ youth. The organization relies on government contracts for 90% of its budget and says the state was late paying $1.6 million for a range of services. In July, ACR Health furloughed 70 employees, DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
nearly half its staff, and closed three of its eight offices. LiteracyCNY became another victim of slow state payments. Before the pandemic, the organization trained volunteers, who helped hundreds of adult students learn to read each year. Because of the pandemic, volunteers were working virtually with less than a hundred students. After six decades LiteracyCNY announced it would cease operations before the end of the year. It cited $100,000 in outstanding payments from the state — about a third of its budget — as one of the reasons. Even nonprofits with diverse revenue streams have struggled. The Rescue Mission operates a chain of Thrifty Shopper stores that brings in more than 60% of its revenue. But the stores were forced to close in spring. “From a financial level one of the bigger problems was the closing of our stores,” says Tori Shires, chief development officer. “When you suddenly shut down the Thrifty Shopper stores for three months you find yourself in quite a predicament.” In March the Rescue Mission, which runs a homeless shelter and meal program, laid off 285 employees. The layoffs included staff from its thrift stores as well as nonprogram staff. The Rescue Mission continued operations and later put its employees back on the payroll thanks to a $2 million PPP loan. Over the summer, it reduced its staff by 21 positions. The Rescue Mission has since reopened its thrift stores and began selling some items online to supplement store revenue. Though they were forced to cancel several of their larger annual fundraisers, some have gone forward and donations have remained steady. The PPP loan as well as support from the Central New York Community Foundation and other foundations has helped the Rescue Mission “get over the financial hump,” Shires says. Aside from financial challenges, Shires says the Rescue Mission, like other nonprofits, has had to learn how to adapt to serving clients. “The first challenge is how to provide great service and safe service to all of the people that we serve on the program side of things,” she says. The Rescue Mission runs a 183bed dorm-style homeless shelter, the largest in the region, and Shires says they wanted to make sure they did everything possible to safeguard the health of clients, staff and volunteers. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
The main dining room of the Clarence L. Jordan Food Service and Culinary Education Center in Syracuse seen during a holiday celebration for clients last year. In 2019, the Rescue Mission completed a $5.8 million expansion of the facility, which serves meals year round to anyone in need. During the pandemic, the Mission has had to adjust how it serves up to 700 meals a day to clients to ensure everyone’s health and safety.
A Rescue Mission chef prepares meals for delivery to clients at the Rescue Mission’s facilities in Auburn. During the pandemic, the Rescue Mission has delivered meals to many people in need to limit exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Staff separated beds and began checking clients daily for symptoms. Anyone who shows symptoms is sent to be tested immediately. Shires says they have only had minimal cases of COVID-19, which she says is a testament to the diligence of the staff and the rigorous cleaning procedures that have been instituted. Serving meals to those in need also required changes. Shires says they wanted to keep community members coming in for meals from infecting shelter clients and vice versa. In November they expanded dining hours at their food service building: community members eat the first hour and shelter OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
residents eat the second hour.
Adapt or Perish
“It’s the nature of nonprofits to adapt,” says Betsy Copps, senior director of operations for Oswego County Opportunities (OCO). “We have to do that all the time with changing community needs, changing economic climate, and shifting of funding.” While nonprofits are accustomed to adapting, Copps says it was unlike anything OCO had experienced before and the organization was forced to write a new playbook as it went. OCO is the community action agen43
cy for Oswego County, administering more than 50 human services programs and employing hundreds of staff. In mid-March OCO began working to equip as many staff as possible to work remotely. “We were fortunate because we never really closed,” Copps says. A few programs did close and there were a few layoffs, Copps says, but OCO’s diversity of programs and funding sources proved to be a strength. Some programs were reimagined. Head Start staff put together packages to drop off to families so children could do activities at home. In several facilities for adults with disabilities, the staff couldn’t come and go due to concerns about infection. So OCO temporarily
repurposed transit drivers to handle pickup and delivery of essential supplies like groceries and hygiene items. “It was an interesting, exciting time for us to see how we could come together and work toward mitigating a crisis,” Copps says. OCO’s operations aren’t back to normal yet. Some staff still work remotely and meetings are held via video conference. And there are Plexiglas barriers and more space between desks in offices now, which is especially challenging. In human services making a human connection is vital, so it’s been challenging adapting to barriers and distance, Copps says. In-person outreach remains very limited, though social media interaction shot up 400%
earlier this year as staff used it to connect with clients. The H. Lee White Maritime Museum in Oswego similarly turned to social media this spring to share relevant photos and pieces of history; the museum’s Facebook page saw a 2,000% increase in visits, Executive Director Mercedes Niess says. The museum was forced to close in mid-March, but managed to reopen at the start of July, in time for the summer season, which provides most of the museum’s earned income. The museum had to develop a plan outlining its health and safety procedures. Masks are required and staff and volunteers have their temperature checked every day. The building is also cleaned daily. Most events — Oswego Paddlefest, history lectures and boat building seminars — have been canceled, but Niess says the museum was able to adapt and go forward with its annual boat tours to Oswego’s West Pierhead Lighthouse, which raise money for the museum. And the annual Christmas at Sea open house will still happen, albeit with social distancing. The museum also developed a new pandemic friendly program for families called the Canal to Shore Challenge. A booklet highlights 23 historic sites along the Oswego Canal and Lake Ontario. Participants visit each one, take a selfie with museum mascot Sailor Sam, and upload the photos. Finishers receive a custom patch from the museum. Niess says the program is part of an effort to allow people to learn about the area’s maritime heritage whether or not they physically visit the museum.
COVID-19 Community Support Fund
Dawn Ellis, 11, of Oswego, is pictured with Flat Sailor Sam in front of the National Historic Landmark Tugboat LT-5 in Oswego’s Historic Maritime District. The Canal to Shore Challenge -- sponsored in part by the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and the New York State Canal Corporation -- was developed to allow families to learn about the area’s maritime history remotely. LT-5 is one of the sites of interest. 44
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
When the pandemic hit earlier this year, the Central New York Community Foundation found itself in an unusual situation. With vast resources and reach, the foundation typically invested significant time and effort identifying large community problems — childhood lead poisoning in Syracuse, for example — and then spearheading solutions with community partners. “As this hit, we saw this was a much bigger crisis than we could solve on our own,” Ridzi says. “We had to figure out what our role would be.” After conferring with community partners, the foundation created the COVID-19 Community Support Fund and seeded it with $300,000. The idea was that other funders would contribute to one pot of money and the foundation DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
and its partners would move quickly to make grants where they were needed most. This was a significant departure from the norm; traditionally each foundation has its own application systems, grant processes and timelines. Foundation staff divided funding into three categories. The first was immediate human needs, such as making sure food pantries had enough food and providing diapers to parents. The second included health-related items like PPE for health care workers and first responders. The third focused on efforts to help nonprofits adapt to the new environment. This included help moving staff to work remotely or meet with clients virtually. It also included efforts to ensure critical care workers had childcare and children and schools were able to adapt by providing new learning materials. By the end of July, the support fund had raised nearly $1.8 million and distributed 97 grants totaling more than $1.4 million to Onondaga County nonprofits. Affiliate funds in Cayuga and Oswego counties distributed 45 grants totaling more than $360,000. “We look at trends over the years and that’s how we decide what to respond to,” Ridzi says. “But this was lightning speed. We were responding to immediate need.” The foundation remains in solid financial shape, Ridzi says, because its emphasis on long-term planning allows it to increase funding in times of crisis, such as during the 2008 recession. He says this year the board approved more funding and delayed as many projects as possible to divert money to emergency needs. As the pandemic has continued, the foundation has tried to help nonprofits that have been struggling to stay afloat. The goal is to help them adjust in an orderly fashion rather than suddenly collapse, Ridzi says. Despite the pressures, many nonprofits expressed confidence that they would ultimately weather the pandemic. Copps says the sacrifices staff have made has been heartening and that the whole experience will make OCO a stronger organization in the future. Shires noted that the Rescue Mission had survived hard times before, including recessions, depressions, wars and the 1918 pandemic. “We’re going to survive through this one too,” she says. “We are very confident we will be here going forward.”
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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
315.422.9538 | CNYCF.ORG DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
45
SPECIAL REPORT
Building Material Costs Skyrocket, Some Items Hard to Find Contractor: Same project that cost $2,300 in the spring, now goes for $8,300 By Ken Sturtz
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n the spring Joe Spereno furnished an estimate for a woman who wanted a deck built on her house; material costs: $2,300. Three months later, when the woman decided to go ahead with the job, he tallied up the new price for materials: $8,300. “It was insane,” Spereno says. “I told her ‘You should obviously wait and let’s hope everything goes back down.’” Throughout the year hardware stores, homeowners and contractors have been forced to contend with widespread shortages of many types of building materials and hardware and skyrocketing prices for other items, such as pressure-treated lumber. Typically, when hardware or building material prices fluctuate so dramatically it’s due to a specific issue related to supply or demand, says David Logan, a senior economist at the National Association of Home Builders. “This pandemic has kind of in46
duced the perfect storm of double-sided negative effects on both the supply and demand sides,” he says. Earlier this year the pandemic forced many people to work from home, which contributed to an explosion in DIY projects and hiring contractors to do work on houses. Consumers responded by buying up building supplies, especially from big box retailers. That’s a major reason some suppliers have had trouble keeping materials in stock, Logan says. While consumers were gobbling up supplies, manufacturers were forced to shut down or idle their plants due to the pandemic. And as borders closed, supply chains were disrupted. Key components became difficult to obtain and imported items, especially from China, disappeared. Logan says people first noticed a shortage of residential lighting fixtures during the first quarter of the year. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
The U.S. imports a substantial portion of its lighting fixtures, with about 90% coming from China. As imports plummeted, lighting fixtures became difficult to find. The biggest shortages, which began in mid-April and May, included lumber and wood products, Logan says. In particular, pressure-treated lumber, dimensional lumber and decking practically disappeared from many shelves as limited supply failed to keep up with rising demand. The result was record high prices for lumber over the summer. Prices have eased about 40% since mid-September, says Logan, but the average price of lumber in 2020 will still shatter previous records. Spereno, of Mexico, owns Spereno Construction. When the pandemic forced people to stay home in the spring, he was sure his business would slow down. Instead he began receiving DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
calls from eager customers, some with stimulus checks they wanted to spend. “Everybody was sitting at home wondering ‘what can I do to improve my house’ or ‘lets finally get this fixed,’” Spereno says. “So, it actually went the other way.” He had enough work to keep himself and five employees busy, but soon began noticing material prices creeping up. Pressure-treated lumber eventually shot up more than 300%. Oriented strand board (OSB) — long used as a cheap alternative to plywood — skyrocketed from $10 a sheet to $27. As much demand as there was to add porches and decks and to start other building projects, Spereno says some homeowners ultimately decided to hold off on projects and wait for the price of materials to come down.
Plumbing supplies line the wall. Hardware store owners have struggled to keep imported items, such as plumbing accessories, in stock.
Shortages started in the spring Local hardware stores began experiencing difficulty stocking certain items, especially pressure-treated lumber. Tim Searles, owner of New Haven Building Supply, says that for most of the year he has struggled to keep a consistent supply of pressure-treated lumber in stock. The price soon soared, hurting local contractors. Any items imported from China — nails, screws, plumbing fittings — have been hard to find. Earlier this year customers, stuck at home with little to do, cleaned out most of his home and garden supplies. OSB as well as plywood shot up in price and became harder to find. Searles began helping his father around the hardware store as a child. Four decades later, he says he can’t remember a similar stretch of material shortages and price increases. “It’s the worst I’ve ever seen it,” he says. Although prices and supplies have improved somewhat during the fall, Searles says roughly 40% of the items he orders are still out of stock or backordered. Bernie Meade has experienced a similar phenomenon. Meade, who has owned Parish Hardware with his wife for 16 years, puts a weekly order in with his supplier that typically includes a list of about 400 items. Under normal circumstances there might be fewer than a dozen items out of stock, he says. These days, however, he’s lucky if he gets half of what he orders. Shortages started in the spring, but DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
A forklift moves metal roofing at New Haven Building Supply.
Lumber and other building materials sit stacked at New Haven Building Supply. Store owners have struggled to keep certain items, such as pressure-treated lumber, in stock. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Joe Spereno, owner of Spereno Construction in Mexico. Initially he thought the pandemic would slow his business down. “Everybody was sitting at home wondering ‘what can I do to improve my house’ or ‘let’s finally get this fixed,’” Spereno says. “So, it actually went the other way.” things didn’t really become bad until May, Meade says. Some items that were in short supply were obvious. They sold tons of deck screws for all the porches people were building. Gardening supplies became hard to find in the spring as people embraced growing their own food. Seeds nearly sold out, as did chicken wire to keep out unwanted animals. And then there are the canning jars to preserve the harvest. “Everybody is looking for canning jars,” Meade says. “There’s just nothing available.” Meade says some items such as PVC pipe for plumbing and the plastic conduit for electrical wiring have been tough to find, or are only available in limited quantities. Some items have been out of stock for a week or two, other for months on end. And some quirky items seem to be out of stock for no obvious reason. For example, Meade says brown window caulk, never a bestseller, has been difficult to stock. “The less popular items are more likely to be out than the more popular items,” he says, noting that manufacturers unable to meet demand have focused on producing popular brands. The situation for Deaton’s Ace Building & Home Center in Pulaski was even more perilous than most. Manager Mike Deaton says they 48
had spent months planning a major reset to the store, to include moving isles and redesigning the layout. The project got underway with a crew from out of town just as the pandemic worsened in March. As an essential business, the store never closed, which made things more difficult. What was supposed to take five weeks ended up taking months, Deaton says, and left the store’s inventory completely rearranged. Deaton’s was soon selling out of many items, such as facial masks and cleaning supplies. Ace began scouring the market to find comparable products to replace the out of stock brand names. Deaton says they sold tons of homesteading supplies in the spring, including canning supplies and garden seeds and equipment. With so many people spending more time at home, sales of smoke detectors climbed as did lawn care supplies. Deaton says their stock of grills and BBQs was decimated and only began to trickle back in the fall. Still, building materials remained the scarcest and subject to dramatic price fluctuations. Deaton says he went several months being out of virtually everything in treated lumber. The shortage of deck boards and 4x4s became so acute that customers began modifying their decks to make use of thicker lumber OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
that was available. Deaton says he has many Amish customers who do carpentry and use plywood in shed construction. Those who already had purchase orders to build sheds were forced to modify their plans. Others who had already been paid for the work lost money, he says. Sandpaper was hard to stock for a while. Drywall and insulation are slow coming; Deaton called his supplier in the fall to place an order and was told it would be six weeks before the manufacturer would be shipping. “We’ve gotten to the point now where we do have some treated lumber available to us and some other things that had been really behind previously, but the price is so high,” Deaton says. “Every supplier and store are making decisions about do I stock up now, is this going to get worse?” Deaton says they bought treated lumber when the price was high; now that the price has softened they’re selling some of it at a loss.
When will it end? In the past couple months, as supplies have slowly returned, shortages have shifted to other areas. Contractors have reported shortages of fasteners, screws, nuts, bolts and brackets. The reason for the shortage is due to disruptions in the supply chains internationally, says Logan, the senior economist at the National Association of Home Builders. Appliances, especially dishwashers and refrigerators, have become scarcer. Builders are seeing waits of up to six weeks to get them. Many appliances for the U.S. market are assembled in Mexico. Shutdowns occurred significantly later in Mexico than the U.S., Logan says. As existing inventory has run low, supply has yet to catch up. When will the shortages end and prices return to normal? It’s tough to say, especially with so much uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. Whether things return to normal will likely depend on two factors, Logan says. The first is whether or not home construction levels off heading into winter, as is typical. The second is whether production at lumber mills and manufacturers of other materials in short supply continues at the pace it has. If demand eases and supply catches up, there’s a good chance things will stabilize, Logan says. “Sometime early in the new year you could see a semblance of normalcy,” he says. “That’s the hope.” DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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Bruce Frassinelli bfrassinelli@ptd.net
Understanding and Spotting Fake News President Trump popularized the term ‘fake news’ but fabricated news articles have been around for a long time ‘We are living in a new political world and, for better or worse, the old rules no longer apply. That’s why we need to be vigilant about what we see, hear and read’
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. 50
Y
ou probably have heard the story about the 32-year-old father of two from Salisbury, North Carolina, who in 2016 read that a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C., was harboring young children as sex slaves as part of a child-abuse ring led by former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her chief campaign aide, John Podesta. Maybe you reacted as I did: How could anyone with half a brain believe such nonsense? Looking into this further, we would have found that the articles making these claims were showing up relentlessly on the internet on sites including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as part of thousands of fake stories during and after the contentious 2016 presidential campaign. The same thing happened in 2020 during the midst of another presidential campaign, but this time many of these social media platforms became more aggressive in blocking or taking down these posts and websites. Going back to the pizza shop episode, Edgar Welch found these stories believable and drove six hours to the Comet Ping Pong pizza shop to check it out. Shortly after his arrival, he fired an assault-type AR-15 rifle. Thank goodness, no one was hurt. Welch told police he came armed to help rescue children, but he gave up peacefully after satisfying himself that what he had read was not accurate. Fake news articles — especially throughout 2016 and again this recently completed election season — became a fixture on social media. They were designed to deceive, and they depended on wide circulation from believers who shared these false posts. Almost all of us have done this at one time or another, unwittingly becoming a pawn in a cat-and-mouse game of manipulation. This “fake news,” a term that has been popularized by President Donald Trump, is nothing new. We still see lurid headlines on the front pages of supermarket tabloids,
although they are not as pervasive as they were a generation ago, because the internet has become the weapon of choice for the nefarious to spread their gospel of lies, innuendo and misdirection. Although Twitter and Google began flagging some articles in 2020, challenging their factualness (even those of the President), Facebook and some other platforms are less likely to provide enough oversight to identify all bogus posts. This is some of the fallout in a society such as ours that treasures free speech. “Identifying the `truth’ is complicated,” wrote Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook. “While some hoaxes can be completely debunked, a greater amount of content, including from mainstream sources, often gets the basic idea right but some details wrong.” Zuckerberg said he believes sites such as his must be extremely cautious about becoming arbiters of truth. When push comes to shove, the bottom line falls upon us, the readers, viewers and listeners to sort through what is factual and what is not. It’s human nature to embrace a viewpoint that strongly mirrors our own, but is it true? If we pass along a fake story to friends without considering the consequences, we become complicit in this problem. If this happens often enough with a bogus story, it takes on credibility and a life of its own. “The reason why it’s so hard to stop fake news is that the facts don’t change people’s minds,” said Leslie Harris, a former president of the Center for Democracy & Technology, a nonprofit that promotes free speech and open internet policies. In the 2016 election Marco Chacon made up a story about Clinton calling Bernie Sanders’ supporters “a bucket of losers.” It came from a fake story he had posted on his website saying that Clinton made the remark at a secret speech she had given inside a Goldman Sachs boardroom. Once posted, the story quickly went
My Turn
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DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
viral and was even picked up by Fox News and given wide coverage. Fox later issued an apology after finding that the whole thing was a hoax. The story took on the presumability of accuracy after Clinton had called half of Trump supporters “a basket of deplorables.” There are some tips that have been developed to spot “fake news.” • Read past the headline. Often the following news story does not deliver what the headline promises. Reading the headline without reading the heart of the story can result in a false impression. • Who published the article? Unfamiliar websites should raise red flags about its trustworthiness and prompt a search to verify its authenticity. • Check the publication date — Bogus articles resurface after a few years and make the rounds again parading now as new disclosures. • Who wrote the article? Is it a legitimate journalist or is it someone who has an ax to grind or maybe even a paid political operative for a major party or organization? Think about the consequences of sharing a sensational story, said The Huffington Post. “Fake news sites rely on readers to share and engage with their articles in order for them to spread. In extreme cases, these fake articles can balloon out of control and have unin-
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
tended consequences for those involved in the stories,” the news site said. Although the article about the pizza shop incident mentioned at the beginning of this column occurred about four years ago, the business owner and the employees still get death threats and online harassment. The false claims have been debunked scores of times. Why are so many online readers so easily duped? I maintain that “complexity” is one of the public’s biggest challenges in finding the truth. It is much easier for someone to weigh in on the latest controversy involving the Kardashians compared to an issue such as COVID-19, climate change or nuclear energy. That is why too many consumers are willing to have someone form opinions for them on complex topics rather than research the pros and cons for themselves. It reminds me of a segment on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah when one of his correspondents went to a Trump rally after the Mueller Report was released. Trump had proclaimed total vindication, which, of course, was far from the truth. Trump kept tweeting and saying, “Read the report,” a statement picked up by his supporters. In The Daily Show segment, the correspondent asked about a dozen Trump supporters who had recommended reading the report whether they had read it. Every one
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
of them said “no,” yet here they were parroting the words of the President but not following their own advice. In his book “Humbuggery and Manipulation,” F.G. Bailey says that no leader can survive as a leader without deceiving others. He claims they put politics before statesmanship and are not the virtuous people they claim to be. “They distort facts, oversimplify issues, promise what no one can deliver, and they are liars,” Bailey said. In addition, the leader’s followers blindly follow and spread, even amplify, the misinformation. Middle Ages Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli, who proposed the theory that power is at the heart of all politics, believed that private moral virtues were inappropriate and ineffective for public political life and that a leader need only pretend to possess these ethical qualities. French diplomat and dramatist Jean Giraudoux once said, in essence, that “the secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” We are living in a new political world and, for better or worse, the old rules no longer apply. That’s why we need to be vigilant about what we see, hear and read, and, on top of that, be scrupulous about what we share with relatives, friends, neighbors or other so-called “true believers.”
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SPECIAL REPORT
New Leader Wants to Grow ‘Minority Chamber of Commerce’ Me’Shae Rolling became president of Upstate Minority Economic Alliance in September. She shares her plans to grow the group, which already has about 150 members By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
M
e’Shae Rolling wants minority-owned businesses to have equal representation in the American’s economy. In September, she became executive director of Upstate Minority Economic Alliance (UMEA) in Syracuse, an 52
organization that serves as a minority chamber of commerce to promote the economic power of minority-owned businesses. She personally understands the challenges of beginning a new business. She transitioned into business ownOSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
ership while still working a day job in events planning. Now she operates Financial Literacy, which offers classes on financial empowerment, and is a franchisee of Event Prep, which provides event planning to clients nationwide. Because of the pandemic curbing travel and events, she’s shifting more attention to Financial Literacy. Her businesses helped her forge the many connections in the local business world that have helped her take the reins at UMEA. Rolling believes that helping minority-owned businesses grow benefits all businesses in the region. “African-Americans, Latinos and new Americans contribute billions into our local, regional and national economies,” Rolling said. To be specific, the organization’s website states that in 2017, Black and Latino buying power exceeds $170 billion in Upstate New York. “We’re purchasers of goods and services,” Rolling said. “Just as we’re the consumers of goods and services, we’re the producers of goods and services.” A group of community leaders established UMEA in 2015 to initially reach Onondaga County; however, the organization is beginning to attract entrepreneurs in the Capital Region and Downstate. Rolling noted that entrepreneurs in more rural areas are also seeking membership with UMEA. “They are expressing a desire to connect with other entrepreneurs of color, and ones from Downstate seek us, even though that market is established with resources because they enjoy the intimacy of our organization through our webinars,” Rolling said. Around 150 people and organizations are members of UMEA. Rolling said that the nonprofit’s benefits include networking opportunities, educational webinars and virtual forums, and a listing on the organization’s website, www.upstatemea.com Before the pandemic, these were in-person; however, like most organizations, UMEA adjusted to the times in April. Despite a shift to the virtual world, meaningful business connections still happen. “At the end of last month, we hosted a networking event and I’m already hearing stories where people are hiring each other for their project,” Rolling said. The organization also helps facilitate introductions for company leaders who identify a connection they would like to make. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
UMEA is part of the Build Cuse Collaborative and an affiliate of CenterState CEO. Anyone who joins UMEA at the professional level receives base membership at CenterState CEO. To help build minority representation in the business world, the organization developed a joint UMEA/ CenterState CEO ambassadorship for events like ribbon cuttings and anniversary celebrations. “We want to make sure Black and brown businesses are more represented in that,” Rolling said. Rolling looks forward to making 2021 the best year yet for UMEA. “We are definitely in the growth phases,” she said. “It’s like an airplane. In our first five years, we were just trying to get off the tarmac. We then had low altitude and now we’re trying to ascend to high altitude. We’ve accomplished much but we have even more cut out for us.” The organization plans to make its website more robust and useful to members, which is especially important considering that is often the first point of contact. UMEA also plans to continue to offer more webinar series to connect to its audience because of the continuing effects of the pandemic. In addition to membership in UMEA, the organization also offers connection through becoming a Friend of UMEA for “those who are socially conscious and want to connect with our audience and provide contracting or employment opportunities,” Rolling said. “This came about because our stakeholders were saying to us, ‘Why not make a Friend of UMEA category?’” Membership per year ranges from the $100 student membership to the $2,500 executive level membership.
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DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Still here for you.
Do we even have to say it? A lot has changed! But at OCO, our mission remains the same: To provide services that empower people, support communities and change lives.
That means more cleaning and disinfecting, extra precautions to protect clients and employees, and new technologies to connect online. We’re proud of the ways our communities have pulled together. We’re very proud of our employees who come to work every day because many of our services never close. For now we may all have to be a bit more distant, but we’re never far away!
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Transportation. Addiction recovery. Job readiness. Sexual health. Cancer Screenings.Homes for the developmentally disabled. Head Start. WIC. Meals on Wheels. Housing for homeless youth, adults and families. Mental health services. Reproductive health. Outreach. Crisis Hotlines. After-School programs. Literacy.
Help OCO Stay Strong! Donate. Volunteer. Call 315.598.4717 ext. 1082 315.598.4717 | www.oco.org | 1.877.342.7618 crisis hotline OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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COVER STORY
Challenging Times for Leader of Local U.S. SBA Office Upstate district director of U.S. Small Business Administration leads agency that serves as saving grace to those financially hobbled by global pandemic By Lou Sorendo
B
orn on March 14, 1955, Bernard J. Paprocki shares the same birth date as theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. While Einstein is known for his incredibly high IQ and contributions to the world of science, Paprocki is using his role as director of the Upstate district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration in Syracuse to help maintain the sustainability of beleaguered business people battered by COVID-19. Paprocki is responsible for the delivery of SBA’s financial programs and business development services for a 34-county region in Upstate New York. “Initially, we had no idea of the size and scope of the volume that was going to hit us,” Paprocki said while reflecting back on the onset of the pandemic. “You hear the expression ‘drinking water from a fire house.’ It was bigger than that. It was like the Alaskan Pipeline,” he said.
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A key factor was individuals’ personal concern for their own health, and in terms of logistics, it was key to move to a virtual environment as quickly as possible. Implementation of the CARES Act has been described as “flying a plane and building it as you go, which was the case,” Paprocki said. “The program had to get out there quickly in order to be effective.” Many different questions popped up regarding issues associated with the CARES Act — officially known as Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security — that had yet to be addressed at that time. Continuous information was being supplied by the U.S. Treasury Department, the agency managing the program and setting its rules and regulations. SBA’s duty was to implement it, and oftentimes it was “awkward and difficult” to properly understand what became a work in progress. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Paprocki, 65, said the process could have been better. “The hardest thing to do was be able to get the right information to businesses, many of which were desperate,” he noted. He said his staff features several people who are at higher risk due to their age or parental status. “You have to be very careful and considerate in terms of how you take care of them,” he said. Paprocki noted he believes employees like working from home as much if not more than they did coming into the office. Not only are there fewer distractions, but time saved can be spent attending to important matters other than work, said Paprocki, who commutes to Syracuse from his Baldwinsville residence. “I have more hours available to me to balance all the things I’ve got to do, whether it’s getting yard work done or returning phone calls. Nothing is wasted time,” he added. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Bernard J. Paprocki at his Syracuse office on Nov. 13. Photo by Chuck Wainwright. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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Paprocki said prior to the pandemic, he was not a big proponent of tele-working. “I did not do that and hadn’t done that in my career,” he said. However, “this has truly changed my opinion about tele-work,” said Paprocki, praising his team for how well it responded. When conditions improve and people return to work, Paprocki said he would consider tele-work for employees if it helps their own situation and their work gets done.
Rebranding effort For many years, Paprocki has been district director for the SBA’s Syracuse district office. However, “Syracuse” has been rebranded out of the name. Paprocki and his team recently rebranded the Syracuse office into the Upstate district office of the SBA. “We cover 34 counties in Upstate New York,” he said. “We really didn’t feel like calling it the Syracuse district office reflected where we are and what we do.” The district extends from Syracuse to Albany, Paprocki said, and when people outside the area associate Syracuse with the district office, the perception is they don’t believe it is necessarily an
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accessible resource. The area stretches from the mid-Hudson Valley to the Finger Lakes to the North Country. Because of COVID-19 and a global pandemic that has paralyzed large and small businesses throughout the nation, the SBA has never played a larger role. At the SBA, Paprocki is heavily involved in administering the “three Cs”: Access to capital and loan programs; counseling and training programs; and government contracting programs. “Those are primarily the three programs I am involved in delivering on a daily basis,” said Paprocki, whose duties also include managing the three SBA offices in his district and the employees that staff them. “Generally speaking, it has been pedal to the metal since March,” Paprocki said. “There’s nothing I can tell you that would describe the volume, intensity and unprecedented situations that we’ve experienced between March and now.” “Throw in the presidential election and a few other things that have occurred in this country that have been major disruptions to a lot of things,” he added. “It’s been a very, very challenging time.” To make matters more challenging, the work is being done virtually. “I’ve been working from home since late March,” said Paprocki, noting
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
that he does go to the office several times during the week to attend to routine matters. His role has drastically changed from someone who is frequently out in the marketplace and field visiting with business contacts throughout his expansive region. “That has come to a complete halt for the most part,” he said. Now, the focus is on how to maximize the district office’s capabilities in terms of getting information out virtually. “That has been the biggest change as well as managing employees and keeping them engaged,” he said.
Experience factor Paprocki has accumulated a vast amount of experience and knowledge since he joined the agency in 1987. He’s been at the Syracuse office since 1991. “The experience that has helped me the most during this time probably has been the relationships and contacts I’ve built up over that time frame,” he said. He said in his position, it is imperative to be calm and persistent while fielding a vast amount of questions from people seeking help. Today, that help largely comes through the CARES Act and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan grant and
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
loan program. He said it has been a challenge to navigate through a lot of confusion and being able to guide not only small business customers but also employees who are receiving directions from multiple sources regarding how to implement program provisions. The Salamanca native said it is vital to have strong internal communications not only with employees and supervisors, but also with agencies administering other programs. His team meets virtually every morning at 9:30 a.m. “Quite honestly, I enjoy that. We’ve never had the kind of communication we have now, even when we all worked in the same office,” he said. “It’s been really enlightening in terms of keeping everybody on the same page. I’m fortunate to have a great team to work with.” An avid sports fan, Paprocki played sports through his collegiate years. “I’ve always been an advocate of teamwork and I think that has played very well during this time,” he said. Paprocki played football and ran both indoor and outdoor track at SUNY Cortland, where he graduated in 1977.
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
In those days, there were no concussion protocols in football. “Basically, ice is all we had,” the former running back and kick returner said. Paprocki got his bachelor’s degree in political science at SUNY Cortland in 1977. He earned his Master of Business Administration degree at St. Bonaventure University.
An uncertain future As 2021 dawns, SBA has all of its current programs that it offered pre-pandemic in effect. Staples such as the SBA’s 7(a) loan program, SBA loan guaranty programs, its 504 loan program, the microloan program, counseling and training programs and government contract program are all up and running and operating at pre-pandemic levels. On the radar for the SBA is the possibility of a disruptive government shutdown and transitioning to new leadership in Washington. “We ultimately work directly for
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the president,” Paprocki said. From a funding perspective, the district director said the agency is in good shape. “We’re no longer the best kept secret in government just because of the pandemic,” he said. “We have created a market out there for ourselves with folks who have never heard of the SBA that have applied for Payroll Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. They are now potential customers going forward.” Paprocki said if the SBA maximizes its ability to continue to have relationships with all of the new customers it has developed over the past several months, it will do a more effective job in proving its effectiveness by showing actual outcomes regarding what the agency does. “That’s the big deal in government today. People want to know what they are getting for the money they are putting into agencies such as ours,” he said. Questions loom as to what the future will look like for businesses and what has changed in the business environment due to COVID-19. “A lot of people can say, ‘we’re
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not going to need office space;” “we’re going to be working virtually” or ask, “what about these restaurants and other businesses in downtown Syracuse that rely on office workers to make a living?” Paprocki said. “There are a lot of questions going forward.” Paprocki said the pandemic sped up processes that were already in effect and happening, especially in retail. “Not only did it cause a lot of deaths and sickness in people, but the same was true for businesses that were not functioning very well before this happened. It sped up their demise as well,” he added. Paprocki and staff will be focused on discovering what needs businesses will have down the road and prepare to adjust and pivot to what’s happening in the field. Paprocki and his wife Ellen have two adult children: Jessica and Bernard
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III. His wife works as a commissioner on the state’s Workers Compensation Board.
Helping hand There are 68 district offices within 10 SBA regions across the United States. When Paprocki arrived at the Syracuse office in 1991, there were about 30 workers in the Syracuse office, 14 in Elmira and seven in Albany. Today, there are seven employees, two disaster temps and an attorney. “When I first walked in, there was one computer and it was in a box in my office,” he said. “We used to do all the work when it came to approving and liquidating loans or litigating cases one by one in our office,” Paprocki said. Banks used to send in applications to the SBA for review, and the SBA would work directly with commercial bank lenders one loan at a time. “If a loan went bad, we went through a whole liquidation process. When a loan had to be litigated, we had a whole legal team that was in the office,” Paprocki said. What the SBA did to change that was establish a centralized process center for the organization, allowing all aspects of the operation to be done in a more consistent manner. “You could get an opinion on what was an approved SBA loan going from Buffalo to here, and across the country you could have 68 different opinions about what was a good SBA loan and what wasn’t,” he said. The change allowed lenders — particularly large lenders — to get involved with SBA programs because they received more consistent decisions across state lines. A reduction in paperwork ensued, and then computers began to streamline operations.
“It’s hard to believe we didn’t even have cell phones back then,” he said. “Cell phones have freed people up with texting and emails, and all that has evolved during my time here.” “The amount of work that can be done on a daily basis with that many fewer people has exponentially increased as well as the amount and number of loans,” said Paprocki, noting that the number of people the agency has helped more than doubled at a lesser expense to taxpayers. Streamlining the manner is which different loan programs are processed and giving lenders their own ability to approve loans on site if they demonstrate over a number of years that they understand SBA programs helped to pare down staff, Paprocki noted. “We gave them the keys to the castle in terms of guaranteeing SBA loans by themselves. They don’t have to come to us,” he added. In terms of the evolution of the district office, attention became more focused on marketing and outreach. “This was strange to most people who got hired as accountants and loan officers to do back office kind of work,” he said. “This was a big change for many people in order to bring that new culture into the office,” Paprocki said. “We now had to market programs, put a face on the SBA and let businesses know that we are here to help them access our programs.” He noted the development of partnerships was key to all of that. “We switched from being really whatever came through the door to now being out the door,” he said. Paprocki is a member of Beaver Meadows Golf Club, the Onondaga Ski Club and Beaver Lake Nature Center. He also bikes, plays the piano and enjoys photography.
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L. Michael Treadwell ooc@oswegocounty.org
County of Oswego IDA Presents Annual Report
T Agency’s programs supported creation of 238 new jobs, retention of 1,068 existing positions
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.
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COIDA supported 23 projects that have or will be investing more than $111 million in Oswego County.
he County of Oswego Industrial Development Agency (COIDA) presented on Nov. 3 its annual report to the Oswego County Legislature’s economic development and planning committee. The report provides an account of COIDA’s economic development activities during the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which ran from Aug. 1, 2019 to July 31, 2020. During this productive period, COIDA to create 42 jobs in Oswego County. The supported 23 projects that have or will be projects that are being assisted through investing more than $111 million in Oswethis program are HealthWay in the town of go County. Furthermore, these projects are Richland and Brown Dog Wood Products expected to create 238 new jobs and retain in the town of Palermo. 1,068 existing positions in Oswego County Other forms of asover the next three to five sistance administered years. Economic Trends by the COIDA during During the 2019-2020 the 2018-2020 fiscal year fiscal year, COIDA providincluded the Micro Enterprise Program ed or approved assistance through five of Economic Development Fund, which supits nine financial assistance programs. The ported two projects, the PILOT Economic two programs which supported the greatest Development Fund, which supported two number of projects were the Straight Lease projects, and the Housing and Urban DeTransaction and the USDA Intermediary velopment Economic Development Fund, Relending Program Economic Development which supported one project. Fund, representing 78% and 9% of the projects Business projects assisted were distribrespectively. uted throughout Oswego County, located in The Straight Lease Transaction provides 11 towns and both cities. Projects representfinancial assistance to companies via real ed numerous industry sectors, including property tax, sales and use tax and mortgage manufacturing, services, housing, tourism/ recording tax exemptions as authorized by recreation, warehousing, agribusiness, NYS General Municipal Law. The program healthcare, energy and mixed-use. supported 18 projects projected to create Eight projects were energy related, six 154 and retain 1,068 jobs in Oswego County. were manufacturing, one was agribusiness, Some examples of projects that were one was tourism related and two were assisted through this program include mixed-use and two were service businesses. Universal Properties in the town of Mexico, Seven of the 23 projects were in solar Northland Filter in the city of Oswego, 43 energy, representing 30% of all projects North Marina in the town of West Monroe, and 33% of total capital investment. Detail GSPP in the town of Hastings, Huhtamaki on each is provided in the COIDA annual in the city of Fulton, Champlain Valley in report which may be found at www.oswethe town of Oswego, DePaul Properties in gocountyida.org. the city of Oswego, ASA Volney NY Solar Members of the County of Oswego IDA in the town of Volney and LeRoi, Inc. in the Board, during the fiscal year, are Gary T. Toth city of Oswego. (chairman), Nicholas M. Canale, Jr. (vice The USDA Intermediary Relending chairman), H. Leonard Schick (secretary/ Program Economic Development Fund was treasurer), Thomas Kells, Morris Sorbello, capitalized from a loan from USDA and Tim Stahl, and Barry Trimble. L. Michael matching funds from the COIDA. It provides Treadwell serves as the chief executive officer loans primarily for the purchase of machinery and Kevin LaMontagne serves as the chief and equipment, as well as renovations. The financial officer. program supported two projects expected OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
SUNY Oswego Faculty Earns Best of Show in National Broadcasting Competition SUNY Oswego broadcasting and mass communication assistant professor Michael Riecke won Best of Show for faculty audio at the Broadcast Education Association’s On-Location Creative Competition and Showcase Oct. 24. Riecke’s winning entry, “As Theaters Cancel Summer Seasons, Creative Spirit Carries on,” aired on WRVO Public Media in April, profiling the financial challenges and the artistic opportunities facing theater professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I was genuinely surprised and honored when my name was announced,” Riecke said. “More than anything, it felt great to see SUNY Oswego across the screen, especially with competition from much larger institutions in the mix.” An experienced storyteller, award-winning broadcast journalist and theater enthusiast, Riecke realized in spring that restrictions related to coronavirus would be “bad news for regional theater companies, especially the summer stock theaters,” he said. “I wanted to explore the financial challenges the theaters and their employees were destined to face, but as I interviewed my sources, I quickly realized they’re artists,” Riecke recalled. “They weren’t fretting about the loss of money. They were more concerned about the pause in their work – performing and creating. Ultimately, my story merged both elements and became a piece about how a financial hit from the shutdown wasn’t diluting the creative energy of theater professionals.” The Broadcast Education Association holds two faculty creative competitions annually, with this competition part of the BEA On-Location conference, held virtually this year. The competition features categories including audio, video, scriptwriting and commentary, with judges placing top selections in the showcase, where Riecke’s submission was one of two “Best of Show” winners. Riecke said he was grateful that Jason Smith, WRVO Public Media’s news director, and Bill Drake, WRVO general manager, continue to appreciate and support long-form journalism via WRVO-FM and their website, WRVO. org. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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Former Homeless Man Helps Syracuse’s Hungry By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
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hen Al-amin Muhammad hands out a lunch or clothing to a homeless person, he knows firsthand what it feels like to need and receive this kind of help. Muhammad lived on the street for a decade while living in Georgia. He had dealt in drugs and served time in prison. Eventually, he contemplated ending his life. “I overcame that with a good caseworker who empowered me to get myself together,” he said. It was Ronald Santos, a social worker and addiction counselor from
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Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency, who helped Muhammad turn his life around. Shortly after, Muhammad moved to Syracuse and learned that numerous studies named it as one of the poorest cities of its size in the US. Feeling burdened to help, he started We Rise Above The Streets Recovery Outreach, Inc. He began hosting cookouts for people in need — regularly feeding 2,500 in a single event — and delivering food to people struggling to get enough food. He also started talking with community leaders about what could be done to OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
alleviate poverty in Syracuse. By 2015, he started Sandwich Saturday, in which 15 volunteers would meet at Lincoln Middle School on James Street to assemble sandwich lunches to deliver to about 200 to 300 homeless and less fortunate people each week near Rescue Mission. The group also began collecting and assembling personal care kits and clothing items for distribution. “I wanted to bring the community together to help the homeless and less fortunate,” Muhammad said. He has lived the life and knows what homeless people need to survive: food, clothing, hygiene items and to communicate with people. When training volunteers, he tells them that the first thing to give is a smile. “The majority of the homeless are just like us but a tragedy happened,” Muhammad said. A sandwich handed out on a Saturday is only the start. He builds a level of trust with those he serves and helps them connect with resources to help them become self-sufficient, Muhammad also offers classes at his office on Oak Street. Anyone interested can learn about good health, gaining employment and a getting a place to stay. “You take a drug test before going to class,” Muhammad said. “If it’s positive, they go to Narcotics Anonymous before they come back. I’ve been out there in the community. When people see that trust and start listening to you. You really understand what’s going on.” Two years ago, a homeless young man at the Dunkin Donuts on Salina Street rested his head on the table in his booth while waiting for his phone to charge. A worker thought he was sleeping in the restaurant and poured ice water over his head, causing him to flee the building. When Muhammad watched a video of the incident on social media, he felt touched by the helpless look on the young man’s face. He knew he had to advocate for him. The following day, Muhammad protested on his behalf outside the restaurant and the event went viral on national news. The following week, 575 volunteers showed up to volunteer and assemble sandwiches for the hundreds of people in need waiting to receive them. He has been interviewed by numerous media outlets, including CBS Morning News. The City of Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh named March 19, 2018, Al-Amin Muhammad Day. It still is hard for him to believe his own success story could happen to DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
“a person like me with a background like mine, who gave up on life and was invisible and has been through so many trials and tribulations,” Muhammad said. “Only one person believed in me and told me I am someone and I can strive for greatness and help others.” In addition to operating We Rise Above the Streets, Muhammad works as a paid public speaker at events nationwide, although that has fallen off since the pandemic hit. He began providing home care to children with autism. While he had three months off in the spring, he wrote a book, “My Purpose of Life: One Man’s Tale Inspires a Wave of Humanity,” available as a print-ondemand title for $35 from Amazon and Kindle. “It’s about my story and everything I’ve been through,” he said. “There’s a message in the story to never give up.” Although Muhammad went out to help the community by himself for the summer and fall, Sandwich Saturdays started up again with volunteers in mid-November. Volunteers must register before coming. We Rise Above is funded mostly by community-sourced donations; however, Muhammad is considering applying for grants. With his organization’s five-year history, he feels sure he is in a better position now to apply for grants successfully. “My mission was accomplished in that we’re doing something that no one ever did: bring community together from all different walks of life, rich, poor, kids, adults,” Muhammad said. “Were’ all there to help humanity and to give information to the community. We keep eye contact when we meet the less fortunate. We do more listening and less talking. Sandwich Saturday isn’t just a hobby. You take these tools with you Monday morning. I’ve really been blessed.”
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Tim Nekritz nekritz@gmail.com
Reading in a Pandemic: How Has it Impacted the Community?
‘With reading books among the reported trends as people spend more time in their homes, how did that impact local booksellers and libraries?’
Tim Nekritz is director of news and media for SUNY Oswego, where he spearheads telling the stories of the campus community. 64
T
he pen, the old saying goes, is mighty than the sword. But is the pen mightier than the pandemic? With reading books among the reported trends as people spend more time in their homes, how did that impact local booksellers and libraries? It was somewhat complicated by the initial — necessary — restrictions, but people still found ways to go local in seeking out reading material. The river ’s end bookstore in Oswego was able to maintain service for clients, thanks to a robust web presence that allowed for online ordering followed by touchless delivery or curbside pickup, store manager Emil Christmann said. Used bookstores Backstreet Books in
Fulton and Time and Again Books and Tea in Oswego, however, have remained closed throughout. Local libraries have adjusted as well, as important community touchstones that provide access to wide audiences. Christmann said the river’s end bookstore needed to change its operations with the initial shutdown, but credited their customer loyalty for weathering the early part of the pandemic. “Through the initial lockdown right up to the present day, our community has responded by taking advantage of our curbside service, home delivery and competitive shipping rates,” Christmann said. “Some orders are placed over the phone while
Tim’s Notes
Staff at the river’s end bookstore in Oswego. “Through the initial lockdown right up to the present day, our community has responded by taking advantage of our curbside service, home delivery and competitive shipping rates,” said store manager Emil Christmann. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
many have been submitted through our website, which was due for some fine-tuning anyway. We’re fortunate to have already had it up and running though; fellow booksellers have told us that without a web presence, or even with a fledgling site, it has been difficult to keep up.” Christmann noted tools like bookshop.org, which launched in early 2020, and BINC have offered some bookstores a lifeline, as have loans and grants made available to businesses. Changing operations along the way has been necessary. “We’ve been generally more conservative when ordering products far in advance, yet we simultaneously have to try to predict bestsellers and popular items for the holidays, so it’s an interesting balancing act, to say the least!” he said. “And of course, we are following safety protocols, adjusting when and how everything gets cleaned, before, during and after store hours.”
Warming up
Christmann did note an uptick in reading interest, especially before the warm weather, as “we were delivering quite a few books to people who wanted some new stories to keep them entertained.” “When it warmed up, people were happy to be out and about again, calling ahead and picking up their books,” he noted. “New and existing reading groups have started hosting their book club meetings virtually. We’ve seen a healthy presence of the SUNY Oswego community. And now that it’s getting cold again, and people are starting to strategize for their holiday shopping, we’re seeing people stock up once more.” As for what trends the booksellers saw, “jigsaw puzzles, board games and coloring books have certainly enjoyed a bit of a renaissance lately,” Christmann said. With literature, “I think the mix of genres and topics has remained largely consistent,” he added with new biographies, historical fiction (for escapism) and traditional strong storytellers like Stephen King remaining staple lines. “I think one of the most significant overarching trends this year has been the current demand for, and subsequent abundance of, titles regarding systemic social injustices in the US — specifically those authored by members of marginalized groups who have the lived experience, and therefore authentic DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Interior of Time and Again Books and Tea in Oswego: “With no tourism this year, we continued to be closed because the risk of contracting COVID wasn’t worth the extremely small profits,” owner Deborah Engelke said.
‘We are struggling’
We are in better shape for this than we would have been earlier in our tenure,” Engelke said. But since “small brick and mortars often make the majority of their yearly income during the summer tourism season,” the loss of Harborfest, Super Dirt Week, Pumpkinfest and the like has impacted businesses like theirs greatly, she noted. “With no tourism this year, we continued to be closed because the risk of contracting COVID wasn’t worth the extremely small profits,” Engelke said. “We do offer curbside, and after four or more months, several of our regular customers are now calling ahead, paying by PayPal, check, cash, and picking up their orders on our deck. This has worked fairly well, but of course, there is no browsing for items that they weren’t aware we had. A large portion of our sales in normal times are people looking for something to do.” While they do have their inventory posted online at Amazon and EBay,
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voices, to speak about that which they write,” Christmann said. “A number of such books continue to dominate regional and national bestseller lists,” he said. “Uncomfortable truths are just that — uncomfortable. But to see so many people actively seeking them out as a means of understanding in hopes of healing is, if nothing else, an encouraging sign, given everything we’ve been through so far.” Deborah Engelke of Time and Again Books and Tea, said she and her husband Ray are still mulling the future of their bookstore, at least the brick and mortar version. Engelke said hers is not an unusual case, with some estimates finding more than half of such businesses might not make it. “We are struggling, no doubt about that. But as we just entered our 20th year, most of our business loans are paid.
“these sales are very small as we aren’t able to procure inventory for resale,” Engelke noted. “A lot of our inventory comes from driving up to a hundred miles, for the most part, for huge fundraiser library, school, church sales,” she noted. “We compete with other vendors and select quality merchandise for our shop and our online shops. We haven’t had that opportunity this year. Therefore, we don’t have good stuff to sell online, either.” Online sales can place brick-andmortar shops at a disadvantage, as competitors may have less overhead which allows for lower prices, although Time and Again is the kind of operation that can compete through excellent service. But huge online retailers like Amazon that can provide lower-price options and free shipping is hard to compete with on costs alone. Thus any shift to reading more hasn’t helped their bottom line much, Engelke said. “Our curbside pick-up customers are folks that know our inventory, but maybe not what we have in stock today,” she said. “They call and leave a message, and we call them back with exact titles, cost of item and a discount we offer for remaining loyal to us through this. The trends are the same as they have always been here: murder mysteries, action, suspense, children’s titles, and one buyer bought a very rare out-of-print title early on in the pandemic the week we closed our door that he’d noticed last time he was browsing.”
Libraries keep serving
Public libraries around the county are finding ways to cope as well. As nonprofits, finding ways for them to continue their mission of serving the community remains paramount — and they rose to the challenge as best they could. “During June, most of the libraries in Oswego County attempted remote programming and then moved to curbside service,” said Kathleen Mantaro, who is the president of the Oswego Public Library board of trustees and secretary-treasurer for the Oswego County Library Council. “Recently, library by library, our Oswego County libraries have adjusted delivery of services based upon their particular set of circumstances: such as size, staff, budgets, logistics and patron needs as well as continued
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compliance with the governor’s changing model of COVID-19 requirements.” One of the libraries that has been able to reopen in the fall, the Fulton Public Library focused on what it could do remotely through summer. They stayed connected by providing virtual programming, from story times to poetry readings to fitness classes four to five times a week; increasing access to electronic materials; giving free access to their WiFi and furnishing 15 WiFi hotspots to patrons for 30-day checkouts; waiving overdue fines and fees; offering free outdoor crafts for families; and establishing grab-and-go options for materials and services like copying, printing and faxing. “Our Grab-and-Go has been steady since we started it in June and last month [October] we opened up to browsing and computer appointments as well,” said Fulton Public Library Director Caroline Chatterton. “We are so happy to once again have our patrons in the building. Everyone has been very respectful of the new procedures we have in place for visiting the library and we look forward to our next phase of reopening.” Reading, particularly during the pandemic, has served many purposes, including “comfort, distraction, escape, self-care, mindfulness, education,” Chatterton said, with comfort and self-care perhaps the two most notable. “With so much uncertainty in the world, there’s great comfort in the predictability and safety of a pastime like reading,” Chatterton noted. “Knowing that no matter what happens, I can sit down at the end of the day with a good book and a hot cup of tea is a great solace for me and, I’m sure, others. Additionally, while we are constantly bombarded with bleak messages and news from the media, reading can be a type of self-care and escape from reality. Too much news consumption can be anxiety-inducing and so many people are finding it necessary for their mental health to turn off the TV or phone and pick up a book.” While patrons continued to generally stick with the wide variety of genres the library offers, Chatterton said some interesting trends did emerge. “A good number of patrons found great comfort in formulaic genres like thrillers and mysteries (James Patterson, Lee Child, Louise Penny, etc.) while others took this extra time to branch out and read genres they normally wouldn’t try,” Chatterton said. “Still, others OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
settled into the safety of familiar plots by re-reading tried-and-true favorites and classics. Since reopening in June and resuming the purchasing of new books we can’t keep our bestsellers on the shelves and with the election any political books have been a hot commodity as well.” The Oswego Public Library had not yet been able to open its doors as of November, but like other libraries around the county and country, they have opened themselves to whatever community needs they can fill. Once allowed to offer curbside service to patron requests this summer, they made this available, mainly for books and videos from their own materials, the 64 libraries in the North Country Library System and additional libraries outside the area. Oswego’s patrons are huge readers, and found reading a safe activity, a great way to escape, an opportunity to peruse about travel while not able to take a regular vacation, a calming influence in troubled times, a means of self-improvement and a source of entertainment when some other offerings — like new movies and live sports — were curtailed. In surveying staff, Mantaro found increasing demand for books of a political nature, as well as popular authors and best-selling fiction, cookbooks and books about previous pandemics. Families and children particularly enjoyed their favorite series and topics they started learning since school began again. Children’s programming for the Oswego Public Library was a big emphasis, as Children’s Program Director Karen Swartz said they were able to run a full remote summer of kids’ programs. These included make and take craft bags, which families picked up and then assembled while connected remotely; a regular online themed story hour (expected to continue through at least December); highlighting such community entities as Man in the Moon Candies, Fort Ontario, the Richardson-Bates House and the Oswego City Police through sharing their stories remotely through the library; and a city-wide scavenger hunt on the theme of fairy tales. And if a happily ever after in a post-pandemic world may seem far away, at least all those providing access to written words and other materials continue to help Oswego County find as much joy in these chapters as they can.
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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Surprise Casualty of Pandemic: Some of CNY’s Seasoned Teachers Veteran teachers across the region who might have otherwise continued working have decided to retire early By Ken Sturtz
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hen the Mexico schools ordered its students home in mid-March due to the pandemic and switched to virtual learning, Michael Charbonneau quickly realized he was at a disadvantage. For years Charbonneau, a high school English teacher, had thrived in his classroom. He relied on raw enthusiasm to keep his students’ interest and fed off
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their energy. One week he’d have them dissecting a piece of literature. The next they might act out Shakespeare or analyze poetic lyrics of music. Charbonneau says his teaching style was ill-suited to virtual learning and he struggled with the medium. “To say that I hated the distance learning is an understatement,” he says. “I stunk at it.” OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Charbonneau was eligible to retire, but had wanted to teach at least another year. But with no end to the pandemic in sight and, facing the prospect of returning to virtual teaching in the fall, he reluctantly decided to retire. Across Central New York veteran teachers who might have otherwise continued working have decided to retire early. Their reasons include reluctance DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Michael Charbonneau with his students in the Mexico schools. to continue teaching virtually, health concerns and the possibility that layoffs will affect less experienced teachers. “This was just the straw that broke the camel’s back as far as staying in education,” Christine Jordan says. Jordan, 56, of Camillus, spent 20 years with the Syracuse schools. She enjoyed teaching, but over the last few years she began considering retirement. She says morale among teachers in the district was sagging and violence became more common. She worked 12 years as a teaching assistant before teaching English as a second language. She later switched to sixth-grade academic intervention services and then taught social studies for a year. She says the student population in academic intervention was tough. She had a few situations where students pushed her during scuffles. Last year she went back to being a teaching assistant before deciding whether to retire. Jordan also has a condition that leaves her with a compromised immune system. She says she was reluctant to continue jeopardizing her health. She also worried that if she didn’t retire, someone else would likely lose their job due to budget cuts. “If I stayed I would be taking a position away from somebody who probably needs another 10 years before they can have the choice of retiring or not,” she says. “I think it was the best DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Michael Charbonneau, on senior recognition day, speaking at commencement, and with a class of his students.
Christine Jordan, 56, of Camillus, spent 20 years with the Syracuse schools. She recently retired because of issues caused by COVID-19. She is shown with one of her students. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Teacher Mary Ann DeMar about her early retirement: “It was very hard,” DeMar says. “It was a decision that I really didn’t want to make, but decided that for my own health and safety that I needed to do that.” choice to save somebody else from the chopping block and finally take my exit myself.”
‘It was very hard’ Mary Ann DeMar had also been thinking about retirement. DeMar, 54, of Liverpool, spent 34 years teaching. She began her career teaching in Catholic schools, so she didn’t have enough years of service to retire and planned to teach another six years. She worked as a reading teacher in the Fulton schools, then as director of literacy and universal pre-kindergarten before going back into the classroom to teach reading again. More recently she had become an instructional coach working with teachers at Granby Elementary School. When the school district moved to virtual learning, her job became more challenging and less fulfilling. And DeMar has lupus; the disease and the treatment for it can weaken the immune system. DeMar says she had taken precautions previously to avoid germs and getting sick through school. 70
But when discussions began about hybrid learning, she says she worried about her health and her effectiveness as a teacher. “With the COVID I was at high risk,” she says. “I just felt like I couldn’t risk going into a hybrid program if they really thought the COVID was going to last.” DeMar struggled with the decision to retire. She enjoyed interacting with the children and working with her colleagues. But she had no way of knowing how long the pandemic would last, how long the school would use a hybrid system or when a vaccine might become widely available. She made up her mind in June. “It was very hard,” DeMar says. “It was a decision that I really didn’t want to make, but decided that for my own health and safety that I needed to do that.”
Waiting for a vaccine Around the same time, Charbonneau was wrestling with the retirement OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
decision. He wanted to teach one more year. After 33 years, Charbonneau, 56, of Baldwinsville, says he had a great schedule and bright students who enjoyed learning. But he also knew he didn’t want to spend a whole school year miserable under a virtual learning model that he felt wasn’t right for him. He also reasoned that any layoffs were likely to cost a newer teacher their job if he stayed. He reluctantly put in his retirement paperwork. “I’m not happy about it, but I’m at ease with it,” he says. “I’m comfortable with it.” Jordan struggled with the decision to retire right until the end. She waited so long to hit the submit button on the computer that the system timed out and she had to start over again. “You have all those thoughts going through your head,” she says. “As soon as I push that button that 20 years is going to go away.” When the pandemic subsides and a vaccine is readily available, Jordan says she’d like to continue teaching, perhaps for a parochial school or in another setting. DeMar also hopes to substitute teach once there’s a vaccine. She says that after retiring she felt awkward over summer, but has enjoyed being outside for the fall weather instead of in a classroom. She and her husband were able to leave their pool open past Labor Day and DeMar says she’s enjoyed having more time for reading and crafts. She misses the students and socializing with other teachers. But she says her former colleagues have described their struggles with hybrid learning and assured her she made the right choice. Charbonneau spent the summer golfing, gardening and “taking a deep breath.” He says he and his wife, who retired from teaching a year before him, plan to do some traveling. He also plans to look for a new job, the first time in 33 years. He says he’s considered everything from teaching to Uber or delivery jobs. As he and the other retired teachers in Central New York begin a new chapter, Charbonneau says he’s feeling a lot of empathy for his students and colleagues and a little bit of guilt. “As professionals, teachers will figure this out. It’s not going to be ideal, but they’ll figure it out,” he says. “It’s going to be really hard for kids.”
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Front of the current J.C. Penney store on the east side of Oswego.
Surviving COVID-19 As Oswego J.C. Penney lingers, ex-employees recall retail of yesteryear
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hen J.C. Penney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year, many wondered about future of the department store chain’s longtime Oswego location. The once formidable retail powerhouse was in the midst of a long decline, the victim of mismanagement, as well as competition from the internet and discount department stores. When the coronavirus pandemic forced retailers to shutter their stores this spring, J.C. Penney collapsed. As part of its restructuring the company announced the closure of 154 of its 850 stores, including its stores in Oswego and at Destiny USA. But weeks later the company decided that a handful of stores, including in Oswego, would not close after all. The reason for the change wasn’t clear, but the news caused many former employees to reflect on their time there and what has changed. Before J.C. Penney opened in the Oswego Plaza in February 1977, the space was occupied by W.T. Grant. Largely forgotten today, Grant was the nation’s 17th largest retailer when it filed for bankruptcy protection in 1975. Bev Bateman worked there before it closed.
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
She was surprised when she received a phone call from the human resources officer at W.T. Grant. “She called me, she said ‘You want to come to work?’” Bateman says. J.C. Penney was opening a new store in the location, the woman explained. She was told to report to work the next day. The reason for the hurried hiring soon became clear. “We started of course in the stock room because all the freight got shipped in,” she says. “And we were wall to wall, ceiling to floor boxes.” Bateman and the other new hires, many of whom had worked for W.T. Grant for years, checked all the new merchandise in, brought it to the floor and set up the departments throughout the store. There was training on the cash registers and more work to ready for the opening. Preparing the new store was exciting and nerve-racking, Bateman says. There were scores of people in management lurking around and everything had to be just so for the opening. When it opened the store had more than 50,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a 96-seat restaurant, a six-bay automotive center and a salon. There OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
was a robust catalog department and a sewing department; the store even sold firearms and ammunition for a while. Over the year’s J.C. Penney phased out many sections, choosing to focus on its core department store offerings. Mike McCrobie was a sophomore at SUNY Oswego at the time and looking for a part-time job while he attended school. “Back then a good part time job like that — if you had it during the school year and in the summer — that could pay your tuition for the year,” he says. “Not so much anymore.” McCrobie was hired as a sales associate before the store opened. He remembers being taught customer service skills and being shown a film on the history of J.C. Penney. He didn’t do much shopping at the bigger department stores in downtown Syracuse such as Chappell’s and Dey Brothers, and developed a loyalty to J.C. Penney. His first credit card was a store card. He says the Oswego store was well suited to the needs of the community. For example, when he worked in the men’s department it wasn’t uncommon for a mother to come in with her teenaged son and say he needed a suit 71
When it opened in 1977, J. C. Penney had more than 50,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a 96-seat restaurant, a six-bay automotive center and a salon. There was a robust catalog department and a sewing department; the store even sold firearms and ammunition for a while.
The stores manager Jeff Bame (from left), Kay McCollum, Jan Edwards, and Barb Arras at one of the store VIP nights.
Barb Arras and store handyman at one of their VIP nights. for calling hours after a death in the family. When he worked in the shoe department, there’d be a rush for back to school shoes in the summer and a flood of men seeking winter boots in the fall. “It just really catered to the needs of the community,” he says. “Everything from a sit-down restaurant to shoes, clothing, bedding, you name it.” Years ago, J.C. Penney would do small things that went a long way toward employees building relationships with customers, says Barb Arras. Arras started at the store in 1991 as seasonal holiday help and stayed 23 years. She worked her way into human resources and managed several departments over the years including jewelry, shoes and women’s. She remembers when the store had special VIP nights. The employees dressed up in tuxedoes and served cake to customers. 72
“We really got to connect with our customers back then,” she says. “Now there’s just not that time, you just can’t do it.” There were other personal touches. At Halloween they dressed in costumes and handed out candy to trick-or-treaters. At the start of the Christmas season they distributed complimentary J.C. Penney ornaments to shoppers. And Santa Claus arrived each year, holding court in the middle of the department store and meeting with children. For many years the store also held an annual Easter egg hunt, complete with an appearance by the Easter bunny. They also had a photographer come in for portraits several times a year. “It was a much different atmosphere when I was there,” Arras says. “It was special. It was more of a personal touch back then.” OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
When Arras worked in jewelry she went out of her way to find exactly the right item for customers. She once had a customer who wanted a special pair of 1-carat earrings. Arras worked tirelessly to track down the perfect earrings for the customer. “She was just so happy,” Arras says. “Like I said, it was personal back then.” The store made an impression on Susan Sawyer. As a teenager in the 1980s she says the cool kids shopped at J.C. Penney. She saved her babysitting money to buy a trendy yellow polo shirt from the store. Sawyer watched her older cousin get a job at J.C. Penney and decided she wanted to work there too. When she was old enough, she put in an application and returned to the store each week for months to update it. She was hired in high school and continued throughout college. “It was home,” she says. “It was family.” As much as she liked her job, Sawyer says that like many young associates she ended up spending a good chunk of her paycheck on clothes. The associate discount at the time was 15 percent and employees could snag new items that came in and place them on layaway. It didn’t help that associates needed to be well-dressed for work, Sawyer says. “They had a very strict dress code back in the ‘80s,” she says. “You’d get called on the carpet if your ankles were showing.” Men were expected to wear shirts and ties, but sport jackets were preferred. The dress code wasn’t the only thing that was stricter. Any time a cashier had a lull they were expected to check the fitting rooms or straighten up merchandise. “We didn’t leave that store at night until it looked perfect for the customers the next day,” Arras says. “It’s just a totally different atmosphere today, in every store I think. I don’t think anybody DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
has the time to do that anymore.” Jan Edwards was hired in May 1977 as an associate in the fabric and gift department and eventually worked her way into management. She believes the employees’ commitment to providing excellent service helped sustain the store through corporate reductions. Unlike the heavy turnover more typical of retail today, Edwards says the store was buoyed by a core group of employees who enjoyed their jobs and stayed on for years or even decades. If a job at J.C. Penney could be demanding at times, there were also moments when the company showed it appreciated its employees. There were special luncheons to celebrate associates’ birthdays and other special occasions, Edwards says. Summer picnics complemented the annual Christmas party, which was held off-site, after the holidays. Supervisors even found a way to make the sometimes-agonizing job of asking customers to sign up for a store card more fun. They were always thinking up contests to make the task more bearable and, for many years, the store met its goals for signing up new customers. Employees took pride in engaging with customers and their input was valued, especially when purchasing was
Mike McCrobie, a writer and former English teacher in Oswego, was a sophomore at SUNY Oswego looking for a part-time job while he attended school. “Back then a good part-time job like that — if you had it during the school year and in the summer — that could pay your tuition for the year,” he says. File photos still done locally. She says customers reciprocated by remaining loyal shoppers. “The store always had a family atmosphere on both sides of the counter,”
Edwards says. “The community was very committed to supporting local business which has been the key to the store’s success.”
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‘COVID. COVID. COVID.’ By George Chapman Special for Oswego County Business
T
hese are the words of our soon-to-be former president at a campaign rally just days before the November election. It was said somewhat sarcastically because it was dominating the headlines and he predicted we would never hear another word about COVID-19 after the election. Well … COVID-19 continues to dominate the news and our lives as the pandemic worsens and we approach 300,000 deaths. Thankfully, vaccines will be distributed throughout the early months of 2021. The virus, however, will continue to impact and influence our well- being, healthcare delivery and the news throughout 2021.
Average Age Continues to Rise
We are getting older. The New York Times ran an article in 2020 on the pending healthcare crisis facing the country as we age. (The impact of the pandemic remains to be seen.) Our birthrate is at a record low, continuing a steady decline since DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
75
the 2008 recession. Ten thousand baby boomers are retiring every day and they are living longer. In 10 years, by 2030, the population of the prime caregivers (4565) will increase by just 1% a year, while the population over 80 will increase by an astounding 80%. To compound the approaching dilemma, once you reach 85, your chances of developing Alzheimer’s is 14 times higher than when you’re 65 to 70. Most of the help received by the elderly, 83%, is provided by relatives or neighbors — without compensation — and two thirds of the caregivers are women. According to the National Institute on Retirement Security, the median savings of people in middle age is just $15,000. It is estimated that people over 65 withdrew $22 billion from their savings to cover what Medicare doesn’t. And Medicare does not cover long term care. It is human nature to kick the can down the road, ignore reality and avoid uncomfortable debate. Pending crises aren’t really addressed until they are smack in front of us. 2030 is just around the corner.
ID Doc Shortage Continues
With the coronavirus grabbing the headlines, overlooked is the fact that Infectious disease experts (ID docs) are a fading breed. There has been a 40% decrease in medical students enrolling in ID training programs or re s i d e n c i e s b e tween 2009 and 2019.
Infectious disease is one of just two subspecialties where not all residency slots are filled. Telemedicine can help by transmitting increasingly rare and valuable expertise to physicians working in even the remotest areas. Telemedicine also allows physicians to treat patients remotely, keeping them from coming into EDs and offices and infecting provider staffs and other patients.
Drug Prices Will Remain Uncontrolled
The House bipartisan bill authorizing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate drug prices on behalf of the 165 million people covered by Medicare and Medicaid remains stalled in the Senate and most likely will not be tabled for a vote in 2021. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican, spearheaded the bipartisan bill. Opponents of the bill have argued that negotiating prices is a form of “socialism.” The rather timid bipartisan bill would authorize CMS to negotiate just 25 prices the first year, then ramp up to more over ten years. Drug prices remain totally unchecked while CMS literally sets prices and fees for physicians and hospitals. Rather than negotiate prices with U.S. drug manufacturers, the latest scheme is to buy drugs from Canada and Mexico where they are much cheaper. Both countries have told us they purchase just enough drugs for their citizens and have no interest in our roundabout scheme.
Amazon’s Impact to Increase
Just as Amazon changed the way we shop, resulting in the closure of 9,000 brick-and-mortar stores last year alone, so it is changing the way we receive medical care. It will continue to open primary care clinics, expand virtual medical services and introduce an on line pharmacy called PillPack. Amazon is working on an Alexa-based program whereby consumers can query drug interactions and side effects as well as
manage their meds. Information will be updated regularly. The company is also working on clinical speech recognition whereby provider patient conversations will automatically be documented in the medical record. This will have a significant impact on “he said, she said” conversations. Amazon has the wherewithal, size, money, supply chain, artificial intelligence and IT expertise to alter the entire healthcare delivery system. Industry observers believe Amazon will have the same impact on brick-and-mortar providers as it did on stores. In lieu of the dire predictions of a physician shortage, Amazon could considerably reduce the deficit with increased automation and artificial intelligence.
COVID-19 in Perspective
Various computer models have attempted to predict U.S. deaths from this pandemic. The earliest estimates were upward of one million deaths. These early predictions were based on spurious data from China. A year into the pandemic, we have more experience. Models in mid- April were predicting fewer than 100,000 deaths. The final tally for 2020 may exceed 300,000. It helps to put the impact of the virus in perspective. The major causes of death for 2018: • Heart disease: 655,381 • Cancer: 599,274 • Alzheimer’s/dementia: 267,311 • Emphysema/COPD: 154,603 • Stroke: 147,810 • Diabetes: 84,946 • Drug overdose: 67,367 • Pneumonia/flu: 59,690 • Liver disease: 55,918 • Renal failure: 50,504 • Car crash: 42,114 • Septicemia: 40,718 • Guns: 39,201 • Falls: 37,558 • Hypertension: 35,835 • Parkinson’s: 35,598 • Digestive diseases: 31,015 • Arterial diseases: 24,808. In 2018 the US population was 327 million. COVID-19 with 300,000 deaths will move into third place behind cancer and before dementia.
George W. Chapman is a healthcare business consultant who works exclusively with physicians, hospitals and healthcare organizations. He operates GW Chapman Consulting based in Syracuse. Email him at gwc@ gwchapmanconsulting.com. 76
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Telemedicine to Increase
Undoubtedly, COVID-19 is the catalyst for the widespread acceptance and use of telemedicine and virtual visits. As the virus resurges, providers may either postpone your upcoming routine office visit or offer to “see” you via telemedicine. Medicare has relaxed privacy and billing requirements for providers, (MDs, NPs, PAs, social workers, therapists, mental health providers) making it far easier for them to offer and bill for virtual visits. Smart phones and personal computers are acceptable for virtual visits. You must agree to the virtual visit verbally. Over the next several months. Medicare has relaxed physician supervision of nurse practitioners and physicians assistants, granting these two advanced practitioners more independence. Physicians can still provide virtual care across state lines regardless of the state they are licensed. No one could have predicted that a pandemic would be the catalyst or “black swan” event for telemedicine. Up until the pandemic, telemedicine was used infrequently. Virtual visits were just 10% of a typical provider’s schedule in 2019. In April 2020, it had ballooned to 46%. Industry experts are predicting that telehealth could be $250 billion a year in spending post pandemic. Both providers and consumers have adapted to the new reality. According to a recent consumer survey by McKinsey & Company, 75% of respondents are highly or moderately likely to use telemedicine services. Seventy-five percent of respondents who recently received services via telemedicine were satisfied. Up until the pandemic, providers were somewhat reluctant to incorporate telemedicine into their business models, primarily due to poor reimbursement from insurers. Before the pandemic, telemedicine was used primarily to reach isolated, rural or homebound patients. The unknown is whether or not Medicare will continue the improved telemedicine reimbursement beyond the pandemic. The longer this pandemic lasts into 2021, the further the “horse is out of the barn”. Medicare would certainly face a backlash from both providers and consumers who have adapted to this care delivery care option. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Reopening Healthcare, Again, in 2021
The initial surge in the spring of 2020, forced hospitals and physician offices to close to non-emergent care. The postponement or cancellation of elective surgeries and routine office visits put most pproviders in dire financial straits and most resorted to furloughing or laying off staff as bottom lines floundered. In April, CMS issued guidelines for providers to open up again for normal business. By summer, things started to return to normal. But with the pandemic resurging at the end of 2020 to heights never imagined last spring, providers may start to limit care again. Decisions to limit care will be consistent with federal, state, and local orders, CDC guidance, and in collaboration with state and local public health authorities. Last spring, with the initial surge, providers were hampered by shortages of personal protection equipment (PPE). That is still somewhat of an issue this time around. But now a worsening and more devastating problem is provider burnout and stress. As if that isn’t enough of a problem, competition for nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists among hospitals is furious. Traveling nurses can earn as much as $7,000 to $10,000 a week, especially in rural areas. While it is great for nurses, it is straining already disastrous hospital bottom lines.
“Retailization” of Healthcare
The pandemic will cause this trend to accelerate. In addition to opening more and more primary care, dental, vision and
‘Traveling nurses can earn as much as $7,000 to $10,000 a week, especially in rural areas. While it is great for nurses, it is straining already disastrous hospital bottom lines.’ OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
mental health clinics, mega corps like Walmart have introduced healthcare insurance products. Walmart Insurance Services began selling Medicare plans last August in the Dallas Fort Worth area market. Not to be outdone, Walgreen’s plans to open 500 to 700 clinics called VillageMD over the next five years. The plan is to employ 3,600 primary care providers. Half of the clinics will be located in federally designated medically underserved areas. It remains to be seen how this will impact the private practice of medicine and hospital systems that also employ providers in remote, off campus facilities. The obvious question is where will all these care givers come from?
Hospitals Are Not “Gaming” the Virus
There are several and totally unfounded rumblings on social media and the press regarding hospital “profiteering” during the pandemic. The inference is that hospitals are encouraged to label every respiratory infection as COVID-19 ( COVID-19) in order to get paid more. Nothing could be further from the truth. That would be out and out fraud and all the major payers like Medicare, United, Humana, BlueCross, etc. employ fraud police. Also, patients or family members of the deceased, are asked to inspect their hospital bills for suspected fraud and to report such. In 2017, well before the pandemic, the average payment to hospitals for respiratory and infections problems ranged from $13,000 to $40,000 depending on the patient’s insurance, severity of illness, comorbidities and length 77
of stay. Medicare, that pays for most of the COVID19 hospitalizations, pays an average of 20% more because … it costs more. The average patient spends 20 days in the ICU, which is the most expensive and service intensive place to be in a hospital. According to the Association of Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the average reimbursement to hospitals for COVID-19 is about $30,000. No hospital is “making money off the virus”. Medicare partially reimburses hospitals for COVID-19 care rendered to the indigent. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates two million of us will get the virus and 15% will be hospitalized when all is said and done. There are plenty of hyped up stories about exorbitant hospital COVID-19 bills. That is not newsworthy because all hospital bills are exorbitant. They are notoriously and historically absurd when compared to what they are actually are paid by insurers. Hospital charges have little to do with costs. But, despite their charges, all hospitals have suffered tremendous financial losses since the pandemic because they had to cancel all their elective surgeries. In a typical non-pandemic year, about one third of our 5,000 hospitals lose money, another third hover around break-evenand a third make a modest profit.
‘Ten thousand baby boomers are retiring every day and they are living longer. In 10 years, by 2030, the population of the prime caregivers (45-65) will increase by just 1% a year, while the population over 80 will increase by an astounding 80%.’
Uninsured Increasing The impact of the pandemic is evident in fatalities, increased social anxiety, a faltering economy and loss of jobs. It is estimated that as many as eight million workers will lose their jobs temporarily, if not permanently. Consequently, they will lose their employer-based health insurance. If the ACA is stuck down, subsidized commercial insurance plans on the exchanges will no longer be an option as it is currently for 20 million Americans. Physicians and hospitals,
already in financial peril due to the pandemic, are understandably concerned about the further strain on their revenue sources as patients lose their better paying commercial insurance plans. The newly uninsured who qualify based on income, will be covered by Medicaid. Those who don’t qualify may decide individual commercial insurance is too expensive and risk being uninsured. Health insurance, for most under 65, has traditionally been employer based. The ACA was designed to offer an alternative to employer based plans.
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Do For-profit Hospitals Provide Better Care? By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
W
hy does hospital ownership matter? New York state prohibits publicly traded corporations from owning and operating their own hospitals. Most states allow investor ownership of hospitals. “In general, New York has been stricter about private equity-backed ownership groups, but that has started to loosen over the years,” said Edward Yoo, director of Strategic Research at New York State Nurses Association in New York City. “In general, equity-backed or publicly traded health care providers have been accused of cutting costs to maximize profits, not providing high quality patient care.” He added that some healthcare corporations that own hospitals “have received a lot of scrutiny over the years over their practices after they take over or purchase institutions.” As with other industries, nonprofits operate on a different model than for-profit organizations. This can affect a variety of outcomes. In New York, the organizations that operate hospitals include the state, counties, the SUNY system and public benefit corporations. “High quality, patient-centered care and bending the cost curve are
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
two of the highest priorities for all of our hospitals,” said Nick Henley, vice president of external affairs for Health Care Association of New York State. It does not matter that the organizations are nonprofit. To remain in operation, watching costs is vital. Fortunately for patients, where for-profit care is available, the quality of care is not largely different at for-profit compared with nonprofit hospitals. A 2014 Harvard study compared 237 hospitals from when they operated as nonprofit organizations to when then became for profit. After they transitioned to becoming for-profit, their patient outcomes improved a little. While it may seem that investor-owned hospitals would create healthy competition that would drive down costs, Henley does not see that as a factor. “Competition is the reality for all hospitals, regardless of whether they’re nonprofit or for profit,” he said. Especially since in most areas, healthcare consumers can select from a variety of hospitals to meet their healthcare needs, competition is inherent. Despite this, Henley said that he has observed cooperation and alignment among hospitals to meet their community members’ needs, “both from a OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
financial and quality standpoint, and that works to reduce costs,” he said. “Even outside of formal system affiliations, we have seen hospitals in the same market or region coming together to collaborate to improve overall healthcare delivery. This has never been more true than with the COVID-19 pandemic, where we are seeing hospital and system leaders banding together to create regional command centers and share information to ensure the safest care coordination for our communities.” Henley said that government-led reforms, along with market influences, have helped drive down costs. It may also seem like for-profit hospitals would remain more financially solvent than nonprofits; however, other factors drive their viability. “Healthcare leaders say a hospital or health system’s nonprofit or for-profit status isn’t what leads it to profitability,” stated Les Masterson in an article on Healcaredive.com. “Instead, it’s the health system’s location, size, ability to scale and share of the local market. Nonprofits are in many ways facing the same struggles that for-profits are.” Nonprofit hospitals also operate from a perspective of community health through promoting preventive health, such as programs that support good health, and to subsidize care to people in need. They also seek to reach underserved populations and increase access to healthcare. “New York’s hospitals contribute over $11 billion to community benefit and investments annually — and that doesn’t include the community benefit work of our public hospitals, which are not required to report it,” Hanley said. “What you’re seeing now, both from a state and national focus is that health outcomes and health status are impacted by far more than just the healthcare you get. They’re impacted by a number of factors, referred to as social determinants of health, that are outside of traditionally what the health system provides — education, public safety, nutrition, food security, literacy, etcetera.” While most people would agree that improving in these areas is good for society, it’s more than just generating building goodwill. It brings results. “Research shows that being able to positively influence these other factors can have a real impact on the health outcomes of these populations,” he said. “What we’re seeing is our hospitals are more and more investing in these areas and partnering with community-based organizations to really make a difference.” 79
Healing the Budget
Hospitals are (almost) like businesses. They need to generate revenue to stay afloat. How do they do that? More and more they rely on additional revenue streams By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
F
or many years, hospital and healthcare providers’ reimbursement has been declining. According to Statista, hospital revenue source by payor in March 2020 was Medicare (21.8%), Medicaid (12.8%) and private or self-pay (66.5%). Private/self-pay patients pay 1.4 times the average hospital operating cost and Medicare, at 0.881 and Medicaid at 0.868 pay less. Bottom line: Medicaid and Medicare, which pay low rates, comprise together 34% of visits to hospital, which is a sizable chunk. Only 66% of hospitals’ patient visits are from patients with the higher-paying insurance companies or paying in full out-of-pocket. It’s little wonder hospitals need to seek revenue from other sources. Healthcare Leadership Council reports on its website that the number of 80
doctors not accepting Medicare patients has doubled since 2009. Currently, 81% of family doctors will accept seniors on Medicare, down from 83% a decade ago. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the issue as providers have poured money into additional PPE and equipment like heart monitors, oxygen monitors and ventilators, setting up additional triage or patient beds specific to COVID-19 patients and treating uninsured or under-insured patients for COVID-19 — with sometimes a long and costly recovery time. Earlier during the pandemic, elective and nonemergency procedures were delayed. Normally, these are top moneymakers for healthcare providers, so canceling or delaying appointments further undermines providers’ budgets. To weather financial storms like this, many healthcare providers have OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
developed revenue streams not directly related to their main mission. For some healthcare organizations, patient care is far from lucrative. They have established urgent cares throughout the area, they created day-surgical centers and other ways to increase revenue. “Many hospitals actually make their profits away from the bedside,” said Edward Yoo, director of strategic research at New York State Nurses Association in New York City. “In fact, if you look at a hospital’s operations, a lot of the time they will be at best breaking even when it comes to their patient care operations. The non-patient revenues for many providers make up the difference.” While it seems strange that an organization loses money while performing their main function, healthcare providers’ reimbursements have become so DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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control all of the above,” Yoo said. “All this trend shows is that hospitals and health care providers in the current market-based paradigm will always be concerned about revenue and solvency first and then will consider the ramifications to patient care.” At first glance, focusing on the bottom line seems uncaring; however, the ability to continue to provide care relies upon staying in the black. Meredith Price, corporate financial officer at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, said that the organization has a variety of ways to shave down costs and increase its revenue. “Some ways that St. Joseph’s makes money in addition to providing direct patient care include owning a parking garage and charging visitors for parking, owning property and leasing it to other medical providers, and operating a coffee shop and café,” Price said. Eight years ago, St. Joseph’s Health invested $15 million in a cogeneration energy plant on the hospital campus. Completed in 2014, the plant services the hospital and reduced its energy expenses by $1 million its first full year of operation. “We are now looking to enhance that investment to allow us to sell energy back to National Grid,” Price said. For some organizations, expanding their care to include an ancillary service not only makes financial sense but also improves patient care. Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists (SOS) added a physical therapy department six year ago. Todd Cardi, physical therapist, had been operating Salt City Physical Therapy in Syracuse until SOS tapped him
low that offering more than healthcare is the only way that many providers can stay solvent. Some providers have begun offering services to well patients, such as a physical therapy office selling memberships to former patients to use their equipment for general fitness, like a gym. The website www.advisory.com reports that healthcare providers are engaging in moneymakers like investing in healthcare startups or venture funds. In fact, this kind of investment jumped 304% between 2009 and 2015. The site also referenced out-patient pharmacies, which can garner a profit margin of up to 15%. Upstate Medical University maintains an out-patient pharmacy, for example. “It could also include investments in financial instruments, real estate holdings for rent or lease, supply chain, and for-profit subsidiaries that could
CREATING A FAIR AND JUST COMMUNITY WHERE EVERYONE CAN FULLY PARTICIPATE 635 James Street ◆ Syracuse, NY 13203 Phone: 315.472.3171 TTY: 315.479.6363 Web: ARISEinc.org Onondaga, Oswego, Madison, Cayuga/ Seneca, ARISE at the Farm- Chittenango
to join a new physical therapy department, along with physical therapists from two other independent practices. Cardi heads the orthopedic and sports therapy department at SOS. Cardi said that the additional revenue was not as motivating as the concept of “bringing physical therapy into the house and complementing the SOS continuum of care.” By increasing the pool of patients seen by the physical therapists, they can focus on their specialty. Cardi, for example, treats only shoulders, which he believes allows him to offer optimal care for patients with shoulder injuries. “In the past six years, we’ve decreased our stay in physical therapy — from evaluation to discharge. We have decreased care visits per patient.” He also believes that it provides a team approach to healthcare in that he works with the surgeons closely on each case. Of course, patients may choose a non-SOS physical therapist. Cardi said that about 75% of his patients are in-house referrals and the rest come from primary care providers or other outside referrals. “It’s been a win on all sides,” Cardi said. “It’s better care for patients, improved outcomes, less cost to patients and the insurance companies and it’s been great for our doctors to have another set of professionals to facilitate good outcomes.” As uncertain times continue, healthcare providers will likely continue to develop creative ways to keep their organizations operational.
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Health News BRIEFS
SUNY Names Mantosh Dewan, MD, President of Upstate Medical University
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hysician Mantosh Dewan, who has served as interim president of Upstate Medical University since November 2018, has been named president of the university. The appointment was announced early in November by the SUNY board of trustees. Under Dewan’s leadership, Upstate has been commended by the board of trustees for its work on a COVID-19 pooled surveillance testing program that has assisted most SUNY campuses in meeting regular testing for students, faculty and staff on campus. Another breakthrough under Dewan’s leadership is the development by Upstate and its Start-Up New York partner, Quadrant Biosciences, of a saliva-based COVID-19 diagnostic test that was granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Dewan has had a long and distinguished career at SUNY Upstate. He is a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor in the department of psychiatry. He is former chairman of the department and has also served as director of undergraduate education and director of residency training. He was interim dean of the College of Medicine. Throughout his career, which began at Upstate Medical in 1979 as an assistant professor of psychiatry, he has written 35 books and book
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
chapters and 75 papers, and given hundreds of presentations on topics that range from brain imaging and economics of mental health care to psychotherapy and medical education. His work has been funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Health Resources and Services Administration. Dewan has an active clinical practice and is listed in The Best Doctors in America. He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and has received the Scientific Achievement Award from the Indo-American Psychiatrists Association, the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the 2010 George Tarjan Award from the American Psychiatric Association, and designated an “Exemplary Chair” by SUNY in 2011.
Valentine promoted to director of ER at Oswego Health Leroy Valentine has been promoted to director of the emergency department at Oswego Health. Valentine has been a licensed registered nurse since 2015 and began his career at Oswego Health in 2017, working on the night Valentine shift in the emergency department. Upon graduation from nursing school, Valentine worked at Upstate University Medical Center. “I have the utmost confidence in Leroy and he is perfect for this leadership role,” shared director of nursing Melissa Purtell. “This was OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
the perfect opportunity to recognize an employee for his commitment to Oswego Health and our patients and will provide Leroy with a chance to grow in his career here.” Oswego Hospital’s emergency services department is staffed 24 hours a day by board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nurses. Each year the department provides care to more than 25,000 visitors.
Oswego Health promotes RNs to leadership positions Oswego Health recently promoted two licensed registered nurses to leadership positions within the organization. • Ryan French started her career at Oswego Health as a newly licensed RN in the medical-surgical unit in 2010. Her career quickly escalated within the organization and within one year transitioned to the intensive care unit. By 2017 she was promoted to senior RN in the ambulatory surgical unit, until recently where she has been promoted and will oversee the entire intensive care unit as director of the ICU. • Jody Wood joined Oswego Health in 2005 as a business services coordinator. Even though her career began in a nonclinical role, she quickly realized her passion for healthcare and in 2009 earned her an associate’s degree in nursing from Cayuga Community College and became a licensed RN. Once licensed, Wood worked on the medical-surgical unit until 2011 when she moved into an RN role in the surgical services unit. In 2018 she was promoted to RN educator/ staff development on the surgical services unit. In February 2020, she was again promoted to the director of the operating room and most recently was given the additional responsibilities of overseeing PACU/ASU and PAT in addition to the operating room and promoted once again to the director of surgical services. Wood is currently taking part in the RN tuition assistance program as she finishes her BSN through Empire State College.
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Success Story C.J. Demars Mechanical Christopher Demars worked for several contractors before being laid off during the Great Recession of 2008. Armed with solid experience, he started his own heating and air conditioning business and he hasn’t stopped growing
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hile business owners strive to have a sense of accountability, Christopher Demars takes the concept to a higher level. Demars is founder and president of C.J. Demars Mechanical, a residential and commercial heating and air conditioning business that was established in Fulton in 2009. Seven years ago, he expanded and created a shop at 24 E. Cayuga St., Oswego. Demars said the driving force behind establishing a location in Oswego was the lack of work in Fulton. Within the first two or three years of doing business in Fulton, Demars realized that Oswego was where all
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the work was. “We needed a place to do some off-site work,” he said. “There are some major players in Oswego that really helped give me a shot.” Those players, such as entrepreneurs Atom Avery and Ed Alberts, are the same developers who are transforming the Port City’s downtown landscape today. He said as 2020 winds down, nearly all of his work is in Oswego. “It’s nice having a go-to location that is within five minutes of all our projects,” he said. On occasion, his crew will do jobs in Syracuse or at locations along state Route 31 in Onondaga County. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
By Lou Sorendo
When Demars opened his Fulton location, which is used strictly for office space and administration today, he was already well established in Oswego. Developers such as Anthony Pauldine and the Paul Castaldo were instrumental in giving Demars the opportunity “at some fairly decent work,” he said. “If it were not for people like that, we really wouldn’t have a reason to bury our shovels,” he said. C.J. Demars Mechanical has been instrumental in many local projects, including Avery’s Litatro Building at West First and Bridge streets and Ed Alberts’ Riverwalk/22 Crossroads along West First Street, both in downtown Oswego. The business also worked on the new Burritt Motors facility last year as well as the Children’s Museum of Oswego. Demars and his seven-man crew are involved in plans and specifications as well as designing and building work for new installation. The business also provides maintenance for everything it installs. “We have to be able to carry every brand,” Demars said. “There could be a variety of things a particular job requires. It’s just part of the plan and spec world. An engineer designs it, and they tell you what kind of equipment to use. So we have to be able to install a variety of things.”
Higher perspective
A high school dropout, Demars learned his trade from experience while holding himself to the highest of standards. “There’s an intricate part of my character that wants to do things beyond my customer’s expectations,” he said. “You never want to disappoint anybody.” Demars has worked for “too many past employers who only did the bare minimum of what they were expected to do or tried to short change customers to try to make more money,” he said. “I never wanted to do anybody wrong. On occasion, you’re bound to make mistakes, but from an integrity DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
standpoint, you have to do things well and right whether somebody is looking or not,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, another heating guy at the minimum is going to come behind you and see your work for what it is. He is going to be your biggest critic. “You want to do things to impress the next guy coming behind you and not make more work for him.” When he launched his business in Fulton in 2009, he was starting many projects with zero dollars in the bank. This is where his faith and belief in a higher power came in. “Some of that is just relying on God’s provision for your meals and providing for your family,” he said. Demars said there were many projects that he was awarded when he desperately needed to provide materials and a paycheck for a helper. “I really had to rely on that phone call to come in for steady income to pay for jobs that were coming up,” he said. He said every time he got into a pinch financially and uncertainty reigned, he and his wife would pray.
“Within a day, I would have a month’s full of steady income and that would help to give us enough capital to get through some of the bigger projects, which has caused us to grow as we have,” he said. “It’s clichéd to preach about it, but to experience it first hand is another story,” he said. Demars said he is not accountable to just people. “If you have a belief system where you’re accountable to God, there is another factor involved. You can see what’s not seen by a normal human being,” he said. “If I’m to do things with integrity, I am doing it in his sight, not just the customer’s,” he said. Demars said there is a whole demographic of people that is “very good, honest and faith-based. He said many people are unsure of what to seek out in terms of services these days. “Our industry can be very dishonest. There are people who don’t think twice about taking advantage of you,”
said Demars, noting that a segment of his website speaks to just that. “I am telling customers, ‘I think the same way you do. You don’t have to worry about me’,” he said. Demars recalls that while working for past employers, it was not uncommon for him to be replacing furnaces unnecessarily. “There was nothing wrong with them. It was because somebody wanted to make money. A salesperson sold up instead of just fixing a simple problem,” he said. “Customers were spending thousands to replace it. I never liked that.” He said repair technicians can go through six months of a customer’s savings on a furnace replacement. “And that’s all they got. If someone should replace a furnace or boiler, I educate that person first. I am not going to put them in a position to sell them something; I am going to give them options,” he said. He details the repair cost, how long he thinks a customer has with a given
Christopher Demars, founder and president of C.J. Demars Mechanical in Fulton and Oswego, is shown at the Riverwalk/22 Crossroads project on West First Street in downtown Oswego. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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piece of equipment, and the cost of replacement. “I don’t want to scare them. I don’t know where they are financially, and I just want them to make the right decision,” he said. Although he is swamped with business now, Demars makes sure that he takes care of customers that he can’t get to right away. Customers will call him and ask for consultation in regards to whether or not they are getting a legitimate deal from another technician. “I’m OK answering those questions. I don’t want to undercut any other technician, but if someone calls, I want to take care of them the best I can.”
In the beginning
Demars worked for several firms in Syracuse doing residential and commercial work before the recession struck in 2008. “I found myself laid off and just started to throw resumes out there,” said Demars, who at that point was an estimator and project manager. “Nobody was biting and nobody was hiring, so I just started cold calling local contractors looking to bid on stuff on my own,” he added. “That’s how the ball got rolling.” His main motivation? “My fourth child was on its way, so I did it for the family. I think my wife was about four months along when I got laid off from the last company I
worked for. There’s some pressure in that,” he said. “There’s always fear of what you don’t know when it comes to running a business,” said Demars, noting he did have a taste of the back office process and “always swung a hammer.” “You go into it thinking it’s going to be a cakewalk and you’re going to make a ton of money,” he said. “And when you step into it, there’s some excitement, but also concern because you are day-to-day and week-to-week on projects.” “The biggest challenge was the anxiety that resides within you of what you don’t know,” he said. He said it is vital to understand the legal and tax aspects of the profession, skills he learned without having any official business schooling. Demars also makes himself available as an emergency service technician on a 24/7 basis. “Most of the time, I want to be the first person on the scene and the first person people see,” he said. His wife Leah, who works as a teacher’s aide for the Oswego City School District, attends to some administrative duties as well. “Without her, I wouldn’t be able to do half of what I do,” he said. “She is a good mom and holds the home well. Up until two years ago, she didn’t work. She raised our children, and her being a solid, steady influence in the home enabled me to focus on running the business.”
Started How I Got
because they are there all of the time now. They are not taking vacations; rather, they are doing things like working on their camps. COVID-19 has actually meant better business for us because people are home. People who are laid off have taken their extra money — if they had any extra money — and spent it on their homes.
Q.: What do you feel gives you a competitive edge when compared with other businesses?
A.: We price our products below the big box stores and a lot of people would rather buy local. They also 86
“I’m working for my family first. It doesn’t always seem that way because of the amount of hours I work, but they are my first concern,” he said. In terms of COVID-19, Demars said the pandemic has not forced him to change his business model, but has shone the spotlight on the labor field. “We’ve always had a hard time finding qualified labor to meet the demand,” he said. “But with COVID-19, if there is anybody who wants to work, they are working. Nobody is looking for a job.” Demars said there is a significant amount of work available in the Oswego area, but capable workers are hard to come by. “We’re very high in demand, but there’s nobody to pull from,” he said. Efforts have been made to recruit workers out of high school and try to get them excited about the field, but even that is “slim pickings,” said Demars, noting that even vocational-technical programs in the area don’t necessarily fill the demand. A skills gap that has plagued Oswego County for years has been experienced by Demars. The average age of individuals he has working for him is 50. “They are going to be retiring in the next 10 years, and this is almost industry wide,” he said. He said the value or price tag on existing workers will skyrocket going forward or he is not going to be able to find anybody.
Patty Smith, co-owner of Brown Dog Wood Products continued from page 17
see the quality in what we are doing. Also, during COVID-19, there were not a lot of products available at big box stores because they were running out quicker. We have enough connections in the lumber world where we were are able to keep material in stock. Q.: What have been the keys to operating the business on a successful basis?
A.: We’ll have to make sure to be able to keep lumber in stock to actually dry and make into products. We figure we will probably slow down through winter. If we can get OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
enough inventory between now and early spring, we’ll be ready when it picks up again. We may not be making product, but people will come and ask if we are open. We’re always here, especially during COVID-19. Hopefully, we can hire one or two more people to help in the business and allow it to grow more. Q.: What is it like working with your husband as partners in the business?
A.: It’s good and it’s bad. You’re with him a lot, and sometimes that can be a little too much. For the most part, though, I enjoy working with him. DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
Randy L. Zeigler Adjusting to Reduced Income Due To COVID-19
C ‘It’s difficult to predict when things will return to some form of normalcy. Frugal living is a wise approach that will help you get through these challenging economic times.’
OVID-19 is having a profound effect on household finances across the country. Many Americans have been laid off or required to accept reduced hours on the job. Parents who continue to work find themselves in a childcare bind due to closed schools and daycare centers. If you’re affected by any combination of these circumstances, your family may need to live on reduced income until the virus can be contained and the economy rebounds. Below are some suggestions for managing through leaner times.
Create a budget Living on less income is really about finding balance. Your expenses cannot exceed your income if you are to avoid dipping into savings or going into debt. A realistic budget reveals what you have left after fixed expenses such as your mortgage payment, utilities, car and health insurance premiums are taken off the top. You decide how to allocate the rest, for groceries, gas and other typical costs of living. With a budget to guide your spending, you remove the guesswork from living within your means.
withholding to increase what’s left of your monthly paycheck. This may mean no refund at tax time, but it will put more into your pocket when you need it, to help you stay afloat.
Revisit your savings The current health and economic crisis is a stark reminder of the importance of an emergency fund. Financial experts recommend your slush fund cover a minimum of three to six months worth of expenses. (This is in addition to your retirement account or other long-term savings.) Consider keeping your emergency funds in a separate checking or money market account so they are not blended with your regular finances. If you have an emergency fund, you can tap these resources as a last resort to prevent late payments.
GUEST COLUMNIST
Reduce discretionary spending
Randy L. Zeigler is a private wealth adviser with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. in Oswego. He is a certified financial planner (CFP), chartered financial consultant (ChFC) and chartered life underwriter (CLU). He can be contacted at 315-342-1227 or www. ameripriseadvisors.com/ randy.l.zeigler
The current health and economic crisis is a stark reminder of the importance of an emergency fund.
You may find it necessary to decrease your budget for clothing, travel, eating out and entertainment. If you’re struggling with where you can tighten your belt, look at your spending habits and flag recent “optional” purchases. For example, quarantine living has caused many of us to do more online shopping and order takeout more frequently, but both of which can quickly add up. Slash the apps that eat away at your bank account. Consider creative ways to save, such as buying in bulk, splitting groceries with a friend or neighbor or cutting down your cable bill.
Review income tax withholding You may be able to reduce your tax
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Seek financial guidance from a professional A financial adviser can be a resource during times of uncertainty, especially if you have investments and have begun retirement planning. If your circumstances are dire, there are financial counselors who can help you get out of debt and avoid foreclosure or bankruptcy.
Take the long view The current circumstances are unusual. It’s difficult to predict when things will return to some form of normalcy. Frugal living is a wise approach that will help you get through these challenging economic times. 87
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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 Oswego County Business P.O. Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126 89 OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Just fill out this form, and send it with2020 a check to: DECEMBER / JANUARY 2021
Last Page
By Lou Sorendo
Janet Clerkin Tourism industry in Oswego County hard hit by pandemic; event promotions currently on hold, says tourism and public information coordinator Q. Can you describe how badly the tourism sector in Oswego County has been affected by COVID-19? A.: Currently our occupancy tax revenues are down 31% compared to the first three quarters of 2019. Our fourth quarter is typically our strongest quarter in terms of visitor revenue, and we are hopeful that we will be able to recover some of the loss. Q. Events such as Harborfest and Super Dirt Week were canceled this year. Is there any way to gauge the negative economic impact that resulted from that? A. We don’t have hard figures, but the loss of thousands of visitors over the four- and five-day periods associated with these two events definitely affected
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our small businesses, and county sales and occupancy tax revenue generated by people who attend these events. Q. Were there any destination points or facets of county tourism that got hurt more than others? A. Event and lodging venues for wedding receptions, family reunions and conferences have been hit especially hard. Uncertainty about planning events and meetings is affecting the tourism industry across the U.S. Small businesses, including restaurants, lodgings and marinas, are struggling. Small businesses are still the backbone of our tourism e c o n o m y. We encourage our residents to do everything
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
they can to support them. Q.: Has the role of the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism & Planning changed as a result of the pandemic? A. Our mission remains the same across the whole department and like most other departments, we dedicate resources to assist during emergency situations. While we have team members contributing in various ways, the public information team has experienced the most significant increase in their daily responsibilities. We are now devoting considerably more staff resources to assist the County COVID Response Team and the County Health Department with public information activities across all realms. Q.: How is COVID-19 affecting the tourism-related planning process as 2021 dawns? Will events and activities scheduled for early in the year be treated as tentative due to uncertainties surrounding COVID-19? A. The planning process has changed due to uncertainty over incoming revenues that we have relied upon to support our marketing programs. For example, although we are optimistic that we will receive a portion of our 2020 I Love New York matching funds, we haven’t received any yet this year. The uncertainty over New York state finances is affecting our 2021 marketing strategies. The state has not announced an application process yet for 2021. We are also mindful of the decrease in occupancy tax revenue and how that could affect our budget in 2021 and subsequent years. We typically start promoting major events such as Harborfest, Paddlefest, the county fair, Apple Festival and Super DIRT Week in January. Our event promotions are currently on hold. That being said, local organizations and attractions are working hard to develop creative virtual programs until they can accept visitors again, and some are planning scaled-back outdoor events. These include the annual Tourathon Cross-Country Ski Race [Jan. 23] and the Stone Wall Snowshoe Race [Jan. 24, 2021] at Winona Forest Recreation Area. That is very encouraging news.
DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
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