OSWEGO COUNTY
BUSINESS April / May 2019
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OswegoCountyBusiness.com
More Growth Ahead Terry LeRoy built one of the most successful companies in Central New York, the LeRoi Inc., which manufactures body jewelry and sells it globally. The business he started 24 years ago in the basement of his home is now moving to a much larger location in Oswego, opening up new opportunities for growth.
Is Your Workplace Making You Fat? See health stories inside Is it time to buy? Sell? Special on real estate inside
CNY’s Business Magazine
WE CARE LIKE FAMILY
We are growing and have exciting career opportunities in the health care industry. To join our talented, professional team, please visit one of our care facilities career pages for available positions.
Become a part of Our Family!
Life in balance.
A company philosophy that speaks to a continual process of individual and collective development to improve our well-being, quality of life and personal relationships.
17 Sunrise Drive Oswego, NY 13126 315-342-4790 | www.MorningstarCares.com
Our Mission.
To provide people in our community with healthcare, customer services, support & employment to achieve their individual best quality of life.
Our Vision.
RESIDENTIAL CARE CENTER
To redefine skilled nursing care through successful team development, use of technology, progressive service and being a strong community partner.
Our Team.
Registered Nurses Licensed Nurses Certified Nursing Assistants Physical Therapists Occupational Therapists Speech Therapists Social Workers Recreational Therapists Dietitians
Waterville
Nurse Aides Housekeeping Laundry Finance Maintenance Medical Records
220 Tower Street, Waterville, NY 13480 315-841-4156 | www.WatervilleCares.com
Assisted Living Community
132 Ellen Street, Oswego, NY 13126 315-343-0880 | www.TheGardensByMorningstar.com
Aaron
Manor
Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
100 St. Camillus Way, Fairport, NY 14450 585-377-4000 | www.AaronManor.com
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
CBNA06624_Cmrcl_9875x13125_Ad, 9.875”w x 13.125”h finished, 4C no bleeds COATED
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APRIL/MAY 2019 • Issue 161
PROFILE KRISTIN BULLARD
Kristin Bullard has a tough job: recruit physicians, who can choose to work anywhere in the country, to come to live and practice in Oswego. Find out how she is succeeding in her year-old job. See story on page 14
COVER STORY
Homegrown entrepreneur Terry 56 LeRoy makes a move
Real Estate
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• Sellers’ market: Housing shortage persists in CNY, nation • Real estate outlook. What agents say about the market • Top real estate professionals get recognized • Sector sees greater influx of young people • Bad landlords, bad tenants
Banking
SPECIAL FEATURES New Role for President Stanley SUNY Oswego president elected co-chairwoman of top economic development...........................20 Over 50? Watch Out! Analysis shows more people over 50 are pushed out of their jobs than choose to leave on their own...............38 Nancy Weber Community and agriculture leader still full steam ahead..........................................................................................................71 WellCare Urgent Care Buffalo health provider, with practices all over CNY, to add 14 new locations this year...................................76 Working Together Oswego County health care partners look to curb high incidence of poor behavioral health....................................80 Health Spas It’s a $1 trillion industry that continues to thrive. We profile five local spas.........................................................................85
SUCCESS STORY Lindsey Aggregates has invested about $7.5 million in recent years. It provides construction, trucking services and features the highest-quality aggregate on the market today. ......................92
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• Community Bank to surpass $11 billion in assets • Pathfinder Bank looking to Onondaga County for growth • Cyberspace: Questions to Fulton Savings Bank’s Melissa Keller
DEPARTMENTS On the Job How do you retain your best employees?............................9 How I Got Started: Bob Bateman, Cakes Galore & More.........................12 Where is Sandra Scott Island of Bali in Indonesia.....................................18
Newsmakers .................................................................................................22 Business Updates..............................................................................................................................30
My Turn Newspapers: An industry in crisis .........................................69
Dino’s House of Burgers: A place you can dive mouth-open into 28 great burgers 4
Economic Trends Programs can facility region’s growth ......................73 Guest Columnist How to improve your hiring process ........................95 Last Page
Kateri Spinella discusses her Anthony House project.....98
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
APRIL / MAY 2019
YOUR CENTURY 21 GALLOWAY REALTY AWARD WINNING TEAM Congratulations Ed! 2018 Agent of the Year
Ed Fayette
GALLOWAY REALTY
William R. Galloway
Lic. Real Estate Salesperson President’s Award, CENTURION, Quality Service Pinnacle Producer
Lic. Real Estate Broker Gold Medallion Quality Service Pinnacle Office
Oswego County’s #1 Real Estate Agency.
(315)
342-2111
Constance Ryan
Lic. Real Estate Salesperson Masters Diamond, Quality Service Producer
Jeffrey Tonkin Lic. Associtate Real Estate Broker Masters Diamond
Marilyn Boyzuick Lic. Real Estate Salesperson Masters Emerald
www.Century21Galloway.com 7 Bridie Square Oswego, New York
Each office is independently owned and operated
Mark Constanza
Lic. Real Estate Salesperson Quality Service Producer
Susan Henry
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Kim McPherson
Lic. Real Estate Salesperson Quality Service Pinnacle
Martha Sturtz
Lic. Real Estate Salesperson Quality Service Producer
Call Bond when you want a law firm that understands your unique business needs and opportunities. We take the time to consider every angle and provide you with personalized solutions. We’re a firm devoted to a thriving future for our clients and the communities in which we live.
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bsk.com APRIL / MAY 2019
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Affordable Business Solutions............................34 Allanson-Glanville-Tappan Funeral Home...................34 ALPS Professional Services.24 Ameriprise Financial (Randy Zeigler)................41 Apple Country Retreat.........33 ARISE......................................83 Bond, Schoeneck & King, Attorneys at Law................5 Borio’s Restaurant.................27 Buckingham Brothers.............8 Builder’s FirstSource............25 Burke’s Home Center...........23 C & S Companies..................99 Canale’s Italian Cuisine........27 Canale’s Insurance & Accounting .................23, 24 Century 21 Galloway Realty.................5 Century 21 Leah Signature..................52 Chase Enterprises..................41 Community Bank....................3 ConnextCare..........................17
Advertisers Crouse Hospital.......................7 Darco Manufacturing...........11 Dusting Divas Inc..................26 Eis House................................27 Financial Partners of Upstate..........................52 Foster Funeral Home............55 Freedom Real Estate.............37 Fulton Community Development Agency......24 Fulton Savings Bank.............47 Gartner Equipment...............41 Hair We Are...........................91 Harbor Lights Chemical Dependency......................79 Haunted Oswego Tours.......33 Hematology-Oncology Associates of CNY............79 Howard Hanna Real Estate.........................47 J P Jewelers.............................33 Johnston Gas..........................24 Laser Transit...........................21 Lawn King..............................11 Lindsey Aggregates..............23 Local 43 (NECA EBEW).......74
Longley Brothers...................37 Mimi’s Drive Inn...................27 Mitchell Speedway Printing..............................37 Mr. Sub ...................................27 Ontario Health & Fitness.....83 Operation Oswego Co....26, 99 Oswego Community Development Office.........13 Oswego County Federal Credit Union.......................8 Oswego County Mutual Insurance...........................21 Oswego County Stop DWI...........................34 Oswego Health ...................100 Pathfinder Bank.....................16 Port of Oswego Authority...........................72 Prevention Network.............79 Prosachik Law Firm..............11 RanMar Tractor......................25 RiverHouse Restaurant........27 Riverside Artisans.................33 Rudy’s.....................................27 Salvatore Lanza
Law Office.........................34 SBDC – Small Business Development Center........37 Scriba Electric.........................24 Spereno Construction...........25 Springside at Seneca Hill.....83 SUNY Oswego, Office of Business and Community Development....................74 The Gardens at Morningstar .......................2 Tobacco Free Network of CNY...............................79 Tully Hill Chemical Dependency Treatment Ctr....................83 United Wire Technology......26 Valley Locksmith...................23 Vashaw’s Collision................72 Volney Multiplex...................23 WD Malone............................24 White’s Lumber & Building Supply...........25 Woodland Acres Townhomes.........................6 WRVO.....................................96
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
APRIL / MAY 2019
Nationally Recognized Stroke Care. Say “Take Me to Crouse.” As one of just 10 hospitals in New York State to have earned Comprehensive Stroke Center certification, Crouse Health is proud to provide the full range of stroke care services.
Minutes Matter Comprehensive stroke centers are the best-equipped medical centers in a geographical area that can treat any kind of stroke or stroke complication. At Crouse, receiving fast stroke diagnosis and treatment starts even before patients arrive at the Emergency Room. Once on the scene, our Emergency Medical Services partners start communicating with our ER and stroke teams, providing information vital for immediate treatment. Working together, we’re consistently meeting — and exceeding — aggressive door-totreatment times that surpass the U.S. average. Crouse provides options for post-stroke rehabilitation, as well as continuing education to patients, our EMS partners and the community about the risks factors and signs of stroke.
Advanced Stroke Rescue Crouse is the only hospital in the region equipped with two hybrid operating room suites, allowing our multidisciplinary stroke team to provide the most advanced endovascular stroke rescue capabilities 24/7.
Exceeding Stroke Treatment Standards Median Time (minutes)
37
2016
38.5
2017 2018
35
YTD
Source: AHA/ASA Get With the Guidelines
If tPA is given within three hours of symptoms, the effects of stroke decrease significantly. Crouse has earned the American Heart/Stroke Association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus recognition for meeting — and exceeding — AHA guidelines for giving tPA within 45 minutes.
Community Partner KNOW YOUR STROKE SIGNS
F. A. S. T.
FACE DROOPING
ARM WEAKNESS
SPEECH DIFFICULTY
TIME TO CALL 911
As a New York State-designated Primary Stroke Center since 2007, we’ve worked to raise awareness in our community about the warning signs of stroke. With our designation as a DNV Comprehensive Stroke Center and home to the region’s newest ER, Crouse Health continues to deliver superior stroke care to Central New York patients.
S T R O K E ? C A L L 911. crouse.org/stroke APRIL / MAY 2019
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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THE PLACE TO SHOP AT ONEIDA LAKE SHORESS For all your building supply & hardware needs. Now proudly selling Benjamin Moore paint! www.buckinghamshomecenter.com
315-623-9786
CNY’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Full service grocery store. Shop our fresh baked goods, a large craft beer selection & the best freshly cut meat on the North Shore!
OswegoCountyBusiness.com
www.buckinghamsmarket.com
Associate Editor
315-623-9472 45 Redfield St, Constantia, NY 13044
Editor and Publisher Wagner Dotto Lou Sorendo
Columnists
L. Michael Treadwell Bruce Frassinelli, Sandra Scott Sharon E. Jones
Writers & Contributing Writers
Deborah Jeanne Sergeant Christopher Malone Kenneth Sturtz, Aaron Gifford, Sarah McCrobie, Payne Horning Mary Beth Roach, Allison Kanaley
Advertising
Peggy Kain Ashley Slattery
Office Manager Beth Canale
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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 © 2019 by Oswego County Business. All rights reserved. PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Buffalo, NY Permit No. 4725
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P.O. Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126 Phone: 315-342-8020 Fax: 315-342-7776 Email: Editor@OswegoCountyBusiness.com
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
APRIL / MAY 2019
ON THE JOB What Do You Do to Retain Your Best Employees? Interviews by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant “Stewart’s employees are called partners, and they really are, since they own nearly 40 percent of the company through their ESOP, which is 100 percent funded by the company for anyone working at least 1,000 hours a year. After six years in the plan, a partner’s balance is usually greater than a year’s pay.” Erica Komoroske, PR specialist, Stewart’s Shops, Ballston Spa with 334 shops across New York and Vermont. “We retain our best talent by giving them opportunities to grow with new responsibilities and goals. Also, our team is included in making major decisions.” Dustin Trimble, general manager, The Eis House, Mexico “Every study I have seen says pay is a factor but not the No. 1 factor in retention. Of course, you must pay
APRIL / MAY 2019
competitive wages, but workplace, good benefits and a chance for advancement all matter, yet as important is management attitude, it gets listed as more likely to keep or drive employees away. Almost always, if you have high turnover it’s a combination of things including internal issues.” John Henry, CEO, Mitchell’s Speedway Press – Phoenix Press, Oswego “Ice cream in Upstate New York is typically a seasonal operation with part-time job opportunities. It can be difficult to retain great employees under these conditions. Three factors that help are empowerment, mentorship, and fun. It’s important to empower staff, especially younger individuals who might be stepping into their first job. All new hires go through a training period. Giving them a voice, and listening to it, from the beginning, helps set everyone
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
up for more success. Students on summer break make up most of my team, and I understand ice cream service is not their long-term goal. However, through the hiring process, I try to learn what those goals actually are so I can help them while they’re helping me. This might mean providing opportunities to develop a specific skill, connecting them to someone else in the community, or simply being available to talk. Food service is serious business, but ice cream is still fun. In fact, this is part of the reason why people indulge in it, so fun becomes an important part of what we offer, too.” Amanda Hughes, owner, The Ice Cream Stand, Syracuse “We help create a social circle for them. Many studies show that people stay in places because of the people in their lives. Commonspace is a live/work community in downtown Syracuse that creates an instant neighborhood for residents.” Troy Evans, president, Commonspace, Syracuse “Trying to hire someone who has the knowledge of filling a position as a travel adviser or consultant is very challenging. You can train someone on a computer but it is very difficult to find someone who knows their geography or has extensive traveling under their belts. We try to send our employees as much as
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possible on FAM [familiarization] trips to different areas of the world so it boosts their knowledge in order to sell to our clients. Also, if we meet certain quotas with our vendors and we receive awards or recognition, we like to extend our appreciation to our employees by having a special luncheons or dinners to commend them. Our employees’ selling skills and knowledge are what keeps our business afloat. Happy employees means a successful company!” Sandy Shue, manager, Canalview Travel Service, Inc., Fulton “Oswego County Opportunities has made great strides over the last five years to increase wages which has made our jobs more competitive. We recognize that the workforce is changing. We have a group of leaders who are examining the needs and wants of the generations that are hitting the workforce now. As the workforce changes, so must the agency. As a nonprofit agency, we have minimal funds for awards and bonuses. The most important thing we do on the front end of employment is to ‘hire for heart,’ which means we look to hire people who have a genuine interest in the work they will be doing. Once we find the right person, we train the employee with the technical skills they will need in order to work successfully. When we have employees doing work they enjoy, it gives them a degree of satisfaction and self-fulfillment.” Jo-Lyn Phillips, HR generalist, Oswego County Opportunities, Inc., Fulton “Real estate is a business like no other. Our industry is made up with real estate salespersons and real estate associate brokers, both being independent contractors. Affiliating with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brings name recognition and marketing support. Associating your name with ours on signage, business cards and personal brochures gives credibility to your business as a real estate practitioner. We strive to build long lasting relationships with our agents as they are developing relationships in the community. Eric Pedrotti, Licensed Real Estate Associate Broker, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, North Syracuse and Oswego
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“With a small business, it is difficult to offer salaries and benefits that compete with larger employers, but what I can offer is flexibility. So, I have extended scheduling flexibility to one of my employees who needed to work remotely — across many states — for several weeks so she could address and support her parents’ health problems and medical appointments. I am currently juggling work schedules to enable another one of my employees to complete her bachelor’s degree. I am very supportive and encouraging of my employees with furthering their education goals. These types of efforts can be extended by small business owners to address individual employee and family circumstances that aren’t frequently accommodated by larger businesses. This can help retain employees and provide real value to the employee relationship. I also try to invest in employees by sending them to training programs and conference experiences, when appropriate.” Randy L. Zeigler, private wealth adviser, Ameriprise Financial Services, Oswego “We are, first of all, very selective when we hire someone new. They must be completely onboard with our mission and be passionate about it. We offer stability and a lot flexibility in schedules. I am also sure to provide plenty of chocolate and coffee.” Theresa Wilkins, executive director, Pregnancy Care Center of Oswego County, Oswego “Our employees are what makes Burkes Home Centers a successful building supply center in Oswego County. Our staff’s average employment is over 20 years as we supply them with the tools to excel in this competitive industry. Online training and product training from our manufacturers are conducted monthly. Lastly, we offer competitive pay along with 401k, health insurance and an industry best vacation and personal time off package.” Charles Handley, president, Burkes Home Center, Oswego, Fulton “The Child Advocacy Center is a child-centered, family friendly place to work, so we are also familyfriendly with our employees. We support our employees with flexible scheduling to attend their children’s OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
special events and take care of their ‘fur babies,’ too.” Karrie Damm, executive director, Child Advocacy Center of Oswego County, Fulton “We try to be liberal with cell phone benefits, company trucks and paid vacations after one year of employment. We have a free fully equipped gym that most utilize daily. We foster a family atmosphere and value our employees. We also promise year-round employment and haven’t had a layoff for over 20 years.” Anthony Pauldine, Anthony M. PauldineContractors/ Developers, Oswego “I don’t have employees — my daughter helps me out when needed — but from experience, employees need to know they are an asset and appreciated.” Donna Lupien, owner/operator, Lupien’s Gifts & Engraving, Oswego “Giving our employees the very best experience is our superpower. If our employees or volunteers are having a fulfilling experience, they are fully engaged and invested. Finding each employee’s strengths and their ‘unique way to shine’ is the best way to have a successful working environment for all involved! We adore it when our team says ‘We just love working with Theatre Du Jour.” That is the ultimate goal.” Tammy Lynn Wilkinson, artistic director, Theatre Du Jour, Oswego “Since we are a church, loyalty more than anything else keeps the employees working here. We have two full-time pastors and three part-time employees. The parttime employees receive no benefits. The pastors get paid sick time and holidays, and help with the mortgages on their homes in addition to their salaries. The church does not have health insurance for them, but they get an allowance to help with their health insurance. If there is money in the budget, Christmas bonuses are given to all the staff.” Karen Dorman, office manager, Oswego Alliance Church, Oswego
Advertise in Oswego County Business — CNY’s only business magazine — for as little as $71 per month. Reach more than 25,000 readers in the region. Call 315-342-8020 APRIL / MAY 2019
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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SBobtarted Bateman How I Got
Life and career are sweet for owner of Cakes Galore & More in Oswego By Lou Sorendo
Q.: What was the motivation behind launching your own bakery? A.: Growing up, I enjoyed creating artwork and during school years, thought I would grow up to be an art teacher. Life had other plans when I worked for John Barbera at Parkside IGA, in the deli and bakery. Learning the basics of baking, I then became an employee at Price Chopper in Oswego. When my now oldest daughter came along, I remember making one of the first decorated cakes for her first birthday. Shortly thereafter, people started asking me to make cakes for a variety of occasions. After working at Price Chopper — during which time I served as bakery manager — I decided to start my own business after leaving work one day and seeing my now current location [40 E. Seneca St., Oswego] up for sale. Q.: What were some of the more significant costs associated with launching the enterprise? A.: When I decided to jump into business for myself, my wife Barbara and I bought the building that we are in now, with the owner holding the mortgage. With dollars from my 401K through Price Chopper, improvements were made to transform the two rooms into a bakery kitchen and showroom and to purchase inventory and merchandise to get started. Probably the most significant cost was time spent rehabbing the space as we took from October until March to get things done. I couldn’t have done it without the help of family and friends because during that time, I was still working full time. Q.: What were some of the foremost challenges involved in starting your own business, and how did you manage to overcome them? A.: I could bake and decorate, but I couldn’t guarantee that, “If you build it, they will come.” My wife took a couple days off from her job to help me and she was so nervous when people weren’t walking into the shop, she just had to leave and go back to her job. So, I guess the biggest challenge are the unknowns, like will I have customers? Did I do the right thing? Can I do this on my own? It didn’t take long for things to be profitable. Q.: You have been providing baked items for more than 20
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
APRIL / MAY 2019
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Office
‘I decided to start my own business after leaving work one day and seeing my now current location up for sale.’
years. Can you share what has contributed toward the longevity of the business? A.: Having a quality product that people like is the major factor. I further believe that putting myself out in the community made a difference as well. To this day, I go to area schools and decorate for the children, most particularly kindergarten students when they do “B” week. I would go to the school and in front of the children, decorate a cake with all items OSWEGONY.ORG that begin with the letter “B.” I think since my last name is Bateman, it fit, plus my name is Bob and my wife’s name is Barb and we lived in a blue r and I Wa e Wate rfron house drove a black car. tGet it? te O S Wr G O N Y.O RG Pa Eks S The letter “B”& surrounded me! It was parents of these YOU funny to have the Breitbeck Park LOWING FOR Harborinto Trail young childrenLower come my shop TOS IN THIS West and tell me thatRiverwalk their children would Riverwalk East come home and talk about “Baker O&W Railroad Promenade & nty Tourism Office Bikeway Bridge Bob.”
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Experience Oswego on the Water
Where waterfront exploration meets breathtaking beauty
H. Lee Whit e Mar it im The H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego was founded in 1982 and is located at the end of West First Street Pier in Oswego, within the Oswego Harbor and Oswego’s Historic Maritime District. The Maritime Museum offers educational programming, a history lecture series, and hosts several unique events throughout
th to an 1 in e o an W H. Lee Whit e Mar it ime MuseN
Waterfront &Parks
The H. Lee White Maritime Museum
Breitbeck Park at Oswego was founded in 1982 and is located at the end of West First Street Pier in Oswego, within the Oswego Harbor Lower Harbor Trail and Oswego’s Historic Maritime District. Maritime Museum offers educational Riverwalk West The programming, a history lecture series, and
S LANDING MARINA reet NY 13126
GONY.ORG
Q.: What does the future hold for Cakes Galore & More? A.: I guess at one time I thought I could and would do this forever, but my wife and I will retire and we have actively sought to find someone with the same passion for this business as I have.
Breit beck Par k
Breitbeck Park is one of Oswego’s most Q.: What is your ideal retirement spectacular locations for experiencing scenario? Lake Ontario.A.: Recently updated docksis that I My ideal retirement allow visitors to walk out onto the can retire and have winterwater in a warmthat Cakes Galore and takeer in climate the trulyand exceptional beauty of & More can live on with the new owner, Oswego’s waterfront. when the time comes. APRIL / MAY 2019
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Riverwalk East hosts several unique events throughout O&W Railroad Promenade & Bikeway Bridge HLWMM.ORG Market Street Pocket Park
Market Street Pocket Park
Q.: What is the most gratifying aspect of running your own business? A.: I have been making birthday and wedding cakes for a couple of generations now. It’s so rewarding to have these families come back to me time after time and for so many occasions. This community has been so supportive of my business and I. It’s been wonderful.
the year. Visitors will enjoy a se tour of the museum which show an array of maritime artifacts fr 17th through 20th centuries. H include ship models, navigation equipment, maritime paintings, of the history of the Oswego Li and the National Historic Landm WWII Tug, LT-5, which participa Normandy Invasion.
Breitbeck Park
Breitbeck Park is one of Oswego’s most spectacular locations for experiencing Lake Ontario. Recently updated docks allow visitors to walk out onto the Mar in a & water and take in the truly exceptional beauty of B oat Launches Oswego’s waterfront.
Where Meets E r in a & Ma
Marina &B oat La Boat Launches
With so much waterfront oppor Oswego boasts numerous marin boat launches. Three marinas lo Oswego Harbor offer a variety o temporary or seasonal mooring. are located by the Coast Guard Second Street on the west side o
Breit beck Par k Breitbeck Park is one of Oswego’s most spectacular locations for experiencing Lake Ontario. Recently updated docks allow visitors to walk out onto the water and take in the truly exceptional beauty of Oswego’s waterfront.
Oswego Marina
Wright’s Landing Marina
W
With so much waterfront opportunity, Oswego The Oswego Yacht Club O boasts numerous marinas and boat launches. Veteran’s Park Landing (River bo Three marinas located inside Oswego Harbor offer O a variety of options for temporary or seasonal te mooring. Boat launches are located by the Coast Guard Station near Second Street on the west side ar of the harbor.
Se
OSWEGONY.ORG
When you visit Downtown Oswego, you get the best of all worlds — river and lakefront views mixed with exciting shopping and endless dining opportunities.
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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PROFILE By Lou Sorendo
KRISTIN BULLARD Director of physician recruitment for Oswego Health takes on critical role in challenging environment
W
ith an average temperature of 48.1 degrees and average annual snowfall at 141 inches, Oswego County is certainly not for the faint of heart from a weather perspective. Kristin Bullard is in her second year as director of physician recruitment at Oswego Health. When asked if it is difficult to recruit physicians and advanced practice providers to an area such as Oswego County, Bullard said that it depends on the individual. “Many candidates are drawn here if they have ties to the area. For example, they grew up here, trained here or have family and friends in the area,” she said. “For others, it is an easy choice as our lakefront community offers four distinct seasons and year-round activities with a postcard-worthy sunset.” Bullard pinpointed some of the more common reasons physicians and health care professionals choose Oswego Health as a place to practice. “Our recruited physicians tell us that Oswego Health is big enough to offer a rewarding and challenging career as far as treating patients with a range of illness and injuries, yet small enough for them to get to know their patients and our community,” Bullard said. Today’s physicians desire an improved work-life balance and flexibility, which as an independent health system, Oswego Health is able to offer, she noted. “Physicians that we recruit also like the fact that this independence allows our leadership to be easily accessible and not located many miles or states away,” Bullard added. Also, physicians are attracted to the community’s affordable and “comfortable” standard of living, as well as its four distinct seasons, she said.
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According to bestplaces.net, it is less expensive to live in Oswego County when compared to the state and nation. Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living difference, according to the website. The median home cost in Oswego County is $100,000, compared to $282,000 in New York state.
Applicable experience Bullard’s previous work experience and education has helped prepare her for the position as director of physician recruitment. Not only does she have years of recruiting experience, but close to four years of business-to-business sales experience. Bullard, 30, previously worked as a sales account executive for CGI Communications, an internet marketing company in Rochester. “In this role, I sold internet marketing products in person and over the phone to businesses nationwide,” said Bullard, noting there was a lot of traveling involved as well. “This role trained me on researching my prospects, cold calling, listening for the true objection and closing deals,” she said. “My training made me confident to speak in large or small groups and have the ability to connect and commu-
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
nicate effectively with others. Having this sales experience has been a vital part of my success today.” After years of recruiting, Bullard was offered the opportunity by her previous employer to switch to the health care recruitment side “I was hooked and wanted to take my career to the next level,” she said. “Coming to Oswego Health was an easy decision as I was born and raised in this community. It is rewarding to bring in quality physicians and
APRIL / MAY 2019
advanced practice providers to this organization that I know will take care of not only my community, but my friends and family as well. “I am truly happy with where I am in my career.”
Solid skill set The Fulton resident possesses the strengths and personality traits that make her the right fit as director of physician recruitment at Oswego Health. “I offer what I call a 360-degree view of the area, since I am from the area and quite familiar with all that it has to offer someone moving to our community,” she said. She grew up in Fulton, a city she still calls home. “I am often told that I am approachable and friendly. I am detail-oriented and have strong conviction and passion when I am speaking to candidates based on my lifelong roots in the community,” she said. Bullard said her supervisor at CGI Communications was a significant influence regarding her choice to pursue sourcing as a career choice. “I was with the company for more than three years and had much success in the two sales roles that I held,” she said.
Lifelines
Birth date: Nov. 7, 1988. Birthplace: Born at Oswego Hospital; raised in Fulton. Current residence: Fulton. Position: Director of physician recruitment Education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, SUNY Brockport. Affiliations: Association of Staff Physician Recruiters — a professional network and organization for in-house physician recruiters; Leadership Oswego County-Class of 2019; Upstate New York Physician Recruiters; member, Oswego Health Employee Engagement Committee. Family: Married to husband, Bobby, for three years; the couple has a 2-year-old daughter, Gianna, and is expecting a baby boy in July. Hobbies: Spending time with family and friends; camping; concerts and movies APRIL / MAY 2019
“As new hire classes started, I was selected as the current employee to sit down with them, welcome them, and explain not only the ups and downs of the sales world, but how to find their own path to success,” she said. “Although these individuals had already been hired, this is when I knew recruiting was for me.” In terms of career goals, Bullard said physician and advanced practice provider recruitment is not only challenging, but involves a long process from sourcing to starting the provider. “I’d love to spend additional effort toward employee engagement, retention and relations of the providers I’ve recruited,” she said.
Primary care in high demand Bullard said there are several in-demand physician specialties that Oswego Health is in need of today. “We are seeking more primary care physicians to meet the health care needs of Oswego County’s more than 120,000 residents,” she said. “With that said, since I arrived a little more than a year ago, we have successfully recruited two primary care physicians and three advanced care providers.” Bullard added Oswego Health has two other primary care physicians that it expects to join the staff later this year. Other areas that are difficult to recruit are dermatology, ophthalmology, pulmonology, cardiology and gastroenterology, she said. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s county health rankings, in the area of clinical care, the ratio of people per primary care physicians is significantly higher (2,730:1) in Oswego County when compared to New York state (1,200:1). That same disparity exists when it comes to dentists, as the ratio in Oswego County is 2,250:1 compared to the state ratio of 1,240:1. The gap also applies to mental health providers with Oswego County showing a ratio of 820:1 compared to the state at 390:1.
Cutting-edge attractions Bullard said it is “extremely vital” to prospective recruits to have state-of-the-art facilities and equipment — such as Oswego Health’s OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
“Our recruited physicians tell us that Oswego Health is big enough to offer a rewarding and challenging career as far as treating patients with a range of illness and injuries, yet small enough for them to get to know their patients and our community.” multimillion-dollar computed tomography scanner — at hand. Oswego Health has strived to have not only the best CT scanner, but also other cutting-edge equipment, Bullard noted. Physician Care P.C. — a multi-specialty medical group affiliated with Oswego Health — is in the process of introducing a new Center for Orthopedic Care. Bullard noted Oswego Health has recruited two “talented and gifted” orthopedic surgeons who will soon be providing care locally. “To offer the community the best care possible, we are building an advanced orthopedic suite at the Fulton Medical Center that will be unrivaled in the area,” she said. “The suite will be attractive and feature its own dedicated digital X-ray equipment. Patients will receive personalized care from the staff, which will include a patient navigator, ensuring the most efficient care.” Bullard said complementing state-of-the-art technology are physicians, nurses and other clinical professionals who provide top-flight care on a daily basis. Two recent accolades support this: Oswego Hospital was recently awarded the top grade of A by the Leapfrog Group for the quality of care that is provided. In addition, Oswego Health’s entire surgical nursing staff earned the prestigious CNOR certification, signifying they’re committed to offering the highest quality of care to its surgery patients. 15
Publisher’s note By Wagner Dotto
W
e’re always happy this time of the year. The weather gets warmer, the sun is out almost daily — and it’s time for us to publish the Summer Guide The Best of Upstate New York. This will be the 24th edition that we’ve published. That‘s right, 24 years in a row. The first few years, the guide was distributed as the “Vacation Guide” and was limited to Oswego County. Today we distribute the Summer Guide in several regions, stretching from the Finger Lakes to the Adirondacks. It’s all over the place. The Summer Guide has worked and grown over the years because it is simply the best place for advertisers to promote their businesses during the season. Ads are inexpensive and bring great results — and we’re happy to have many repeat advertisers. The colorful magazine is widely available — and free of charge — all season long, which means advertisers get a lot of mileage out of their ads. On top of that, the entire publication
deal of support from tourism officials and business owners who advertise with us. At the same time, we’re fortunate that readers have responded in an enthusiastic manner and have picked up every single copy of the publication. We’re now working hard to keep the Summer Guide interesting, lively and generating business to hundreds of advertisers who trust our publication. As always, we encourage all businesses to advertise in the publication and promote their services and products. As we say in our flyers, advertise once and get results all season long. is available online with links to all advertisers. Online readers click on the ads and it takes them directly to the advertiser’s website. A couple of years ago we revamped our site. It’s visually appealing, easy to navigate and has tons of information for visitors and residents alike. Check it out when you get a chance. The address is — cnysummer.com Over the years we’ve had a great
WAGNER DOTTO is the publisher of Oswego County Business Magazine.
Norm Swanson Owner Tailwater Lodge Altmar, NY
Pathfinder Bank is We chose Pathfinder Bank because of the personnel involved. The communication skills. The attention to detail. Pathfinder Bank is a community Bank. It’s not a bank that moves people in and out of the market. It’s a bank that pays attention and understands what we do. Pathfinder Bank is My Bank.
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Member FDIC
APRIL / MAY 2019
Say hello to healthy. 54 dedicated physicians and healthcare providers.
Say hello to a more convenient way to stay healthy in Oswego County. Formerly known as NOCHSI, ConnextCare offers a comprehensive set of services family and internal medicine, pediatrics, dentistry, psychiatry, social work under one medical group. Patients within our network can now visit any of six locations at any time. And because we’re seamlessly connected, our staff can access your medical records at the touch of a button. It’s a faster, more convenient and easier way to keep yourself and your family healthy. APRIL / MAY 2019
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
17
Where in the World is Sandra Scott? By Sandra Scott
Island of Bali
Indonesian island is known for its forested mountains, beaches and coral reefs
I
f the show tune “Bali Ha’i” makes you think of the Indonesian island of Bali that is understandable but the song from the musical “South Pacific” actually refers to a mystical island visible on the horizon but unreachable. The real Bali is definitely reachable. It is a popular vacation destination known for its forested mountains, beaches and coral reefs — plus it is a favorite for those looking for yoga and meditation retreats. The beaches are the biggest tourist draw including the white sand beaches
of Kuta, Nusa Dua and Sanur. There are also black sand beaches in the north. Even if the beaches are the reason for the visit one should make time to learn about the unique culture. Several resorts have specially constructed Balinese theaters and present The Ramayana on a regular basis. The Ramayana,, a Hindu story written in the third or fourth century BC, is a classic romance. Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu, is robbed by his father’s second wife of his rightful position as heir to the throne of the kingdom and is banished to the forest.
His beautiful and faithful wife, Sita, and his younger brother, Laksmana, accompany him. Trials, separations and other tribulations ensue. Fortunately, guests are provided with a synopsis of each scene so the story is easy to follow. One of the very best ways to learn about a culture is through cooking. Bumbu Bali, in Nusa Dua, not only operates an excellent Balinese restaurant but it also offers regular classes in Balinese cooking. The day starts with a trip to the market to learn about the different vegetables and fruits and to
Many hotels offer short classes or demonstrations on everything from flower arranging to Balinese dance lessons. 18
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
APRIL / MAY 2019
get the freshest catch of the day. Back at Bumbu Bali the preparation continues. Many hotels offer short classes or demonstrations on everything from Balinese dance lessons to flower arranging. Bali is just one of many Indonesian islands but while most Indonesians follow the Islamic religion the most predominant religion of Bali is Hindu. Tanah Lot Temple, about 12 miles north of Kuta, is one of Bali’s most important landmarks famed for its unique offshore setting. The onshore site has smaller shrines, restaurants and a cultural park presenting regular dance performance. It can be easily accessed by a short trail across the golf course of Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort. When in Kuta one should pay respects at the memorial where in 2002 at least 202 were victims of a terrorist bombing including 88 Australians, seven Americans, and visitors from 23 other countries. Every March the people of Bali celebrate the Hindu holiday of Nyepi, a “Day of Silence.” It is the day before their new year and is a public holiday of silence, fasting and meditation for the Balinese. It is observed from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning. Nyepi is a day reserved for self-reflection and as such, anything that might interfere with that purpose is restricted. The main restrictions are no fires; lights must be kept low, no working, no entertainment, no traveling; and, for some, no talking or eating at all. Although Nyepi is primarily a Hindu holiday, tourists are not exempt from the restrictions. Although they are free to do as they wish inside their hotels, no one is allowed onto the beaches or streets, and the only airport in Bali remains closed for the entire day. Everyone could probably benefit from such a day. Bali has a fairly even climate all year round. Americans can get a 30-day visa on arrival for $35. English is commonly spoken in tourist areas. For the best deal bring USDs and exchange them in Bali for rupiah.
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. APRIL / MAY 2019
Tanah Lot Temple is one of Bali’s most important landmarks, famed for its unique offshore setting and sunset backdrops.
Nusa Dua, built in 1970s, is known as an enclave of large 5-star resorts. It has more than 20 resorts catering to visitors.
Bali natives playing gamelan, the traditional ensemble music of Bali, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
19
CNY REDC co-chairs Deborah F. Stanley (SUNY Oswego), right, and Randy Wolken (MACNY), left. They met with Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul at a State Budget briefing March 20 at SUNY Oswego’s Syracuse campus.
New Role for President Stanley Recently elected as co-chairwoman of CNY Regional Economic Development Council, Stanley discusses new role and talks about her top priorities
S
UNY Oswego President Deborah Stanley has been appointed co-chairwoman of the influential Central New York Regional Economic Development Council (CNY REDC), a public and private partnership dedicated to facilitating economic growth in Onondaga, Oswego, Cayuga, Cortland, and Madison counties. She is the first co-chairwoman from Oswego County and replaces Danielle Laraque-Arena, former president of SUNY Upstate Medical University. Stanley will lead the organization alongside Randy Wolken, president and CEO of The Manufactures Association of Central New York We
20
asked Stanley about her plans as she assumes the leadership position.
1.
How will your experiences benefit and guide you as take on this leadership position at the CNY REDC? During my tenure as president of SUNY Oswego, we have become actively engaged in the missions of our economic development partners including CenterState CEO, the Manufacturers Association of Central New York (MACNY), Operation Oswego County, the Port of Oswego Authority and numerous municipalities and nonprofit organizations that contribute to building the capacity for OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
regional growth. As a higher education partner, we have the ability and responsibility to advance the global knowledge economy — by developing human capital and talent, as well as research, innovation, and proactive institutional engagement.
2.
As a former member of the CNY REDC, what would you say the organization has done well and what are areas for potential improvement? I have served as an active member of the CNY REDC since its inception and am very proud of our region’s efforts to not only cultivate APRIL / MAY 2019
exceptional projects but also consistently secure top spots in total funding awarded. Central New York has been named a ‘Top Performer’ all five times the state has recognized regions with this distinction [2014-2018] and was the among the top regions receiving economic development funding during the first three rounds of awards that began in 2011. I am particularly proud of the work that many of our CNY partners put in to secure the most money of any grant given in 2018, and the consistent strategy and planning that has resulted in more than $1.2 billion in funding for the region since 2011.
3.
According to the 2018-2019 Progress Report from the CNY REDC, Central New York’s overall economic health is improving but still lags behind national and state growth rates over the last five years. How can the CNY REDC help facilitate that growth? The CNY REDC needs to stay true to its strategies around embracing a new model of growth, including looking at future markets in areas that align with our core strengths. We also need to genuinely embrace our plans to create greater access to opportunities for individuals with every skill level and from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
4.
Access to a skilled and trained workforce is consistently identified as a challenge for businesses in the region. What can the CNY REDC do to address the issue and how do local colleges and universities, like SUNY Oswego, play a role in that? In higher education, the underpinning focus is staying relevant — to help diversify and strengthen economic sectors. We develop human capital in an effort to not only serve existing workforce needs but also actively and continuously assess and plan for new program areas that complement the workforce needs five and 10 years from now. This is an ongoing effort to understand labor and sector trends, as well as stay ahead of the ever-changing modes of delivering curriculum.
5.
You’re assuming a leadership position at the CNY REDC after the region just won the top prize at the state’s annual Regional Economic Development Council awards — $88.2 million. Which of the 91 projects that funding is supporting are you
APRIL / MAY 2019
most excited to help implement? There is no single project that stands on its own; each plays an important role in our economic ecosystem. In fact, the REDC works very hard to avoid the trappings of a zero-sum game. Having a solid cross section of projects from all of our region’s core sectors including manufacturing, technology, health, education, arts and tourism, provides the infusion of capital necessary to grow and diversify target areas. We also place a great deal of strategy around improving our infrastructure — contemplating investment, growth and transformation.
6.
What are your top priorities during your tenure as co-chair? As co-chair with Randy Wolken, I will be focused on working with our regional partners to facilitate the goals of the CNY REDC … strengthen targeted industry concentrations that leverage unique economic assets; improve competitiveness in and connections to regional, national and global economies; and revitalize the region’s urban cores, main streets and neighborhoods.
7.
You’re the first CNY REDC co-chair from Oswego County. How, if at all, do you think that will benefit the county? As the first co-chair from outside Onondaga County, my top priority is to reinforce participation for all the counties represented in our region. We are extremely fortunate that our region is integrated and fully understands its mutual goals and progress. As co-chair, I will continue to advocate for intentional engagement, outreach and relevancy. This is a core value that has served our institution and our regional community very well.
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What’s next for the CNY REDC? Our focus will be on the next round of funding from the Regional Economic Development Council initiative in our continued effort to create sustainable and livable communities within our region and help drive our local economies forward. Our regional strategy must include quality education, quality health care, a sustainable environment, well-maintained infrastructure, vibrant cultural and recreational activities and economic opportunity for all.
Interview by Payne Horning OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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SUNY Oswego CFA Research Challenge Team won its bracket and took second overall in the recent annual Western New York Chartered Financial Analyst Institute Research Challenge. From left, faculty adviser Mary Tone Rodgers, the college’s Marcia Belmar Willock Professor of Finance, and student team members Dillon Nimako, Amy Alba, Sami Rajput, Ahmed Albajari and Sean Paul Owen present the trophy to Richard Skolnik, dean of SUNY Oswego’s School of Business.
SUNY Oswego Team Places High in Financial Research Competition The SUNY Oswego CFA Research Challenge Team won its bracket and took second overall in the annual Western New York Chartered Financial Analyst Institute Research Challenge on Feb. 18. In its bracket, Oswego students bested Syracuse University, the University of Rochester and Niagara University before placing only behind overall winner Canisius (which won a bracket including Cornell University, University at Buffalo and SUNY Geneseo). The student team consists of Amy Alba, Ahmed Albajari, Dillon Nimako, Sean Paul Owen and Sami Rajput. The competitive event offers “hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis,” said Nimako, the team captain and a senior finance major. “Students work in teams 22
to research and analyze a publicly traded company and then write a research report on their assigned company with a buy, sell or hold recommendation.” Mary Tone Rodgers, the college’s Marcia Belmar Willock Professor of Finance and previously a Wall Street analyst for three decades, is the team’s faculty adviser. Matt Wilson, a 2013 SUNY Oswego graduate who is now an equity research associate at Oppenheimer & Co., served as an industry mentor for the team. “This is a great accomplishment for our school,” Nimako said “We attribute our team’s success to rigorous persistence, excellent chemistry and an amazing faculty mentor to assist us in the process.” The preparation included around 150 hours of work between August OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
to February, and entailed performing intensive research, preparing a research paper, creating the presentation and practicing to ensure the best delivery of their gathered facts. The team won a $500 prize — in $100 Visa gift cards for each student. “My personal biggest takeaway of this experience was the merits received from working with a determined, ambitious, high-spirited, dependable team,” Nimako said. “Over the duration of the project, my teammates (and faculty mentor) became more than just associates; but rather my best friends, and I genuinely hope that I’ll have the pleasure of working with them again in the future.” The Western New York competition was sponsored jointly by the CFA Society of Buffalo and the CFA Society of Rochester. About 300 societies around the world sponsor teams in these competitions, which name one international winning team each year. APRIL / MAY 2019
Fulton Businesses Support ‘Stone Soup, Too!’ A number of Fulton businesses have joined together to support Stone Soup, Too!, a fundraiser in support of local food pantries sponsored by the United Way of Greater Oswego County, (UWGOC). The event is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 9 at Fulton’s Holy Trinity Parish, 309 Buffalo St. “For a $5 donation, participants will enjoy a full lunch — from soup to dessert — thanks to local restaurants and businesses,” said Lexie Wallace, UWGOC resource development director. Nonperishable food item donations at the event are also encouraged. Among those supporting the luncheon with food donations Kathy’s Cakes and Specialty Treats, Blue Moon Grill, Red Baron Pizza and Jim and Whitney Mirabito, owners, Save-A-Lot discount grocery story. “There will also be prizes and drawings at the event,” Wallace said, and four delicious soups to choose from.” Other supporters include C’s Farm Market, Davis Brothers, Dunkin’ Donuts, Foursome Diner, Fulton Lions Club, Kinney Drugs, Mimi’s Drive-In, and Tavern on the Lock Restaurant. For more information, visit oswegocountyunitedway.org, rdunitedway@ windstream.net, or call 315-593-1900.
Oswego County Airport to Have New 10-bay T-hangar Oswego County will receive $865,000 to build a new 10-bay T-hangar at the county airport in Volney, according to a recent announcement by Gov. Cuomo. The addition will enable the airport to house 10 new aircrafts. “This is great news for Oswego County,” said County Legislator Stephen Walpole, District 14, Oswego, chairman of the legislature’s infrastructure, facilities and technology committee. “ The increase in aircraft based at the Oswego County Airport will enable us to increase revenue and the level of serviceability through additional aircraft storage leasing and associated revenue in fuel sales. All the hangars that we have on the field are full, and we have a lengthy waiting list of pilots wishing to base their planes at our facility. The APRIL / MAY 2019
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addition of 10 new hangars will help bring them here to Oswego County and to the airport.” County Airport Manager Brandon Schwerdt applied for the funding last summer through the state Department of Transportation aviation capital grant program. The new 10-bay hangar will accommodate most sizes of general aviation aircraft and will be fully enclosed with electric bi fold doors. Schwerdt said the airport has four existing 10-bay hangars. The need for additional hangar space has been noted for many years. County departments will do all the site work and pavement associated with the project in order to keep costs down. “This contributed greatly to us receiving the award of these funds,” said Schwerdt. Gov. Cuomo said the Oswego County grant is part of $23.6 million in infrastructure funding awarded to support safety enhancements, modernize facilities and improve 31 local airports across the state. “New York’s airports represent the front door to our local communities and are critical to facilitating tourism and business development,” said Gov. Cuomo. “A world-class airport is crucial to regional economic growth, and by investing in the modernization of our local airports we are creating vibrant communities where people want to live, work and play.” Located off Route 176, in Volney, the Oswego County Airport offers fuel services, hangar and tie-down space, a restaurant, flight school, pilot lounge and de-icing services. The airport serves industries, businesses and private pilots in Oswego and surrounding counties, and is designated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a reliever airport to Hancock International airport.
NY Sea Grant Receives Grant to Support Lake Sturgeon Restoration New York Sea Grant (NYSG) is among the most recent recipients of support from the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF) for its work to support lake sturgeon recovery efforts in New York and lead outreach and education programs to inspire appreciation for this prehistoric freshwater fish and state threatened species. APRIL / MAY 2019
The fund has been supporting local efforts around the world aimed at saving wildlife, inspiring action, and protecting the planet with more than $75 million distributed to nonprofit organizations since 1995. Lake sturgeon was once abundant in New York, but populations began to decline in the mid-1800s, largely as a result of overharvest, dam construction and habitat degradation. The fishery was closed in 1976 and lake sturgeon were designated a New York State Threatened Species in 1983. Additionally, lake sturgeon are listed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) as a “Species of Greatest Conservation Need” and considered a priority species for recovery in New York. Today, it is illegal to possess lake sturgeon or target them while fishing in New York. The fish is also considered a species of cultural significance to the Mohawks of Akwesasne and other Haudenosaunee Nations surrounding the Lake Ontario, Niagara River and St. Lawrence River watersheds. Indigenous peoples in these regions have a long history of subsistence fishing of lake sturgeon. Tribal nations are a key partner in conservation and education outreach efforts for this species. Over the next two years, Disney support of the “Inspiring Lake Sturgeon Conservation” project will help NYSG and its partners address portions of more than half of the three dozen statewide recovery actions identified in the New York State Lake Sturgeon Recovery Plan. “Support from the Disney Conservation Fund will help increase awareness about lake sturgeon and the challenges they face as a threatened species in New York. Lake sturgeon populations are showing signs of recovery, and we want to encourage that recovery,” said project leader Jesse M. Lepak, Ph.D., New York Sea Grant’s Great Lakes Fisheries and Ecosystem Health Extension specialist, based in Ithaca.
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Serving Lunch from 11:30 a.m. and Office Luncheons Welcome ServingBusiness Lunch from 11:30 a.m. Serving Lunch Dinner from a.m. Business and Office Welcome Served fromWelcome 5Luncheons p.m. | Friday from 4 p. Business and 11:30 Office Luncheons Business and Office Luncheons | Friday Dinner Served from 5Welcome p.m.from Dinner Served 5 from p.m.4|p.m. Friday from 4 | FridayRooms Dinner Served Three from 5 p.m. from 4 p.m. Banquet available for Wedding
Three Banquet Rooms available for Wedding
Rehearsal Dinners, Bridal Bab Three Banquet Receptions, Rooms available for Wedding Three Banquet Rooms available forand Weddi Receptions, Rehearsal Dinners, Bridal and Baby Receptions, Rehearsal Dinners, Bridal and Baby Showers, and any other special events. Receptions, Rehearsal Dinners, Bridal and Showers, other special events. Showers, and anyand otherany special events.
Famous Italian Cuisine.
Showers, and any other special events.
Accommodating up to 300 guests. Accommodating to 300 guests. Accommodating up to 300up guests. No party too No small. party is too small. Noisparty is too small.
WE SPECIALIZE IN:
• Off-Site Catering • Training and Staff Events • Personal Service & Customizable Offerings • Fine Dining • Lodging Open 7 days a week Call: 343-3540 156 West Utica Street, Oswego, NY 13126 canalesrestaurant.com
315-963-3830 theeishouse.com
Accommodating up to 300 guests. No party is too small.
8891 McDonnells Parkway | Cicero, NY 13039 8891 McDonnells Parkway Minutes from Routes 81 and 481 | Cicero, NY 13039 Minutes from Routes Parkway 81 and 481| Cicero, NY 315-699-2249 8891 McDonnells 8891 McDonnells Pkwy Cicero, NY 13039 315-699-2249 www.borios.biz Minutes from Routes 81 and 481
Minutes from Routes 81 and 481 www.borios.biz 8891 McDonnells Parkway | Cicero, NY 315-699-2249
315-699-2249 Minutes from Routes 81 and 481 www.borios.biz www.borios.biz 315-699-2249 www.borios.biz
“We Don’t Make the Only Sub in Pulaski. Just the BEST!”
“Mr. Sub” Serving Pulaski since 1972
Lakeside Drive-In
Our Family Feeding Yours Since 1946
Telephone:
(315) 509-4281 Website:
www.riverhouserestaurant.net 4818 Salina St, Pulaski, NY 13142
Lunch and Dinner Service Monday - Saturday 11am - 9pm Business Meetings | Seminars Parties | Receptions Salads, Burgers, Sandwiches, Pastas, Seafood, Beef, Chicken, Pork
APRIL / MAY 2019
Thank you for your support over the years & we look forward to serving you in 2019
OPEN MID-MARCH THROUGH OCTOBER (5 Days a Week thru April)
Fish Burgers Hots & Homemade Desserts
Salads, Tacos, Pizza & Wings
OVER 36 VARIETIES OF HOT & COLD SUBS! 4840 N. Jefferson St., Pulaski OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
We accept Visa, Mastercard & Debit
Call-in orders are welcome…
298-6021
SERVING BREAKFAST, LUNCH and DINNER Serving 7 days a Week - Fast Service- Fresh Coffee Plenty of Parking
Mimi’s Drive In Rt. 481 North, Fulton • 593-7400
Like us on RudysLakesideDrive-In 78 Co. Rte. 89 Oswego, NY www.RudysHot.com 315-343-2671
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Mon-Thurs 6-9 • Fri & Sat 6-9 • Sun 6:30-9
Advertise in Oswego County Business — CNY’s only business magazine — for as little as $71 per month. Reach more than 25,000 readers in the region. Call
315-342-8020
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DiningOut By Christopher Malone
Restaurant
Guide
Dino’s House of Burgers grilled avocado burger.
Dino’s House of Burgers D
A place you can dive mouth-open into great burgers
ino’s House of Burgers in Oswego makes a bold, confident statement about its burgers being gourmet. The adjective is associated with unique and high quality. In 12-point font, there are two lines of menu text — “Winner of CNY’s Best Burger Judges Choice Award” and “Winner of Syracuse Burger Battle Championship.” In 2016, the restaurant opened its doors in Central New York’s harbor city. Baldwinsville native Jason Accordino jumped into the food industry, focus28
ing on the food staple and creating a ferocious lineup of beefy sandwiches to decimate competition. Burgers bring up burning questions: What makes a burger better? Quality of beef? Ingredients? Piled on additions? Consider everything? It’s food for thought while squeezing in at the bar of Dino’s. The dining area isn’t very large. There are a couple high tops, a couple booths, and giveor-take five one-piece elongated tables. For families, it’s perfect. This isn’t the OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
most welcoming for a couple’s night off from cooking, but there’s the option of grabbing takeaway. There were awkward moments. There isn’t a distinctive sign to indicate where to check in, so we were initially unsure if we could seat ourselves. It took almost 10 minutes to get a menu and waters. There were also noticeable drafts. We didn’t sit across from the window, but the Oswego winds kept pushing in faint, persistent cold bursts. The front door leads into a lobby. APRIL / MAY 2019
A cross section of the Dino Burger with grilled cheese sandwiches, mozzarella sticks, marinara sauce, and the angus beef patty. The jalepeño poppers appetizer (five for $6.95) was ordered along with three burgers and various sides for our meal. The poppers can be ordered with cream cheese or cheddar. The lightly breaded and fried appetizer was great overall, save the noticeable flavor of the popular pepper and its creeping heat — the peppers’ seeds were removed along with heat intensity. Opting for cream cheese was the right choice, because it went incredibly well with the tasty, seed-filled raspberry dipping sauce. The lineup: A standard burger with ghost pepper cheddar cheese and a side of fries ($9.95); the avocado burger with grilled avocado, bacon, mayo and a side upgrade of mac and cheese ($16.95); and the notable Dino Burger ($14.95). The latter is topped with a couple mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce. It’s sandwiched between two grilled cheese sammies, and two big onion rings sit on top. We opted for tater tots as the side, which came loaded with scallions, bacon and queso. All burgers include lettuce, tomato, and onion. Dino’s has a $30 challenge: a towering Dino Burger times three. If a patron eats the meal in a half hour, it’s free (but consider doctor copays). I don’t know where the meat comes from aside from an unknown distributer, per Dino’s staff. But the meat quality was good. Plus, the chef and kitchen staff cooked the three burgers as ordered (medium rare) very well. The basic burger’s ghost pepper cheddar cheese had weak heat, but still a good cheese. The avocado burger was the favorite of the three; the crispy bacon, avocado and light mayo were a great combo. The Dino’s burger was a fun option, and was “lighter” than expected. Eating a specialty burger is exciting and yields satisfaction similar to riding a roller coaster for the first time. There is a rush and sense of quasi accomplishment. There is gratification. But a burger is still beef with a bunch of ingredients piled on top to accentuate it. More ingredients mask a burger. The sides were good. The fries were tasty and didn’t come loaded with salt. The tater tots were cold; the “medium” queso was OK at best, but the bacon did the trick. The cheese APRIL / MAY 2019
Dino’s loaded tater tots with scallions, bacon, and queso. sauce, aside from great consistency, had an off-putting funk to the flavor. Unfortunately, we ordered regular tots, but went with it. And we were charged $5.95 for the snack-size instead of the “small upgrade.” The side of basic mac and cheese with scallions was fantastic. The cheese sauce of medium thickness and it was very flavorful. With 20 percent tip, the total came to $70.48, which is very pricey. I feel I paid for quantity, not quality. We will probably return to Dino’s House of Burgers, but we won’t rush back. Afterthought: The meal wasn’t entirely consumed as there was too much food. Burger leftovers were cooked into omelettes the following morning. Buns were toasted. Fries and tots turned into home fries. The mac and cheese was just as delicious and even enjoyable cold. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Standard mac and cheese side.
Dino’s House of Burgers Address 7 Bridge St., Oswego, NY 13126 Phone 315-216-6536 Website/Social dinoshouseofburges.com www.facebook.com/dinoshouseof/ www.instagram.com/ dinoshouseofburgers Hours Sun. – Thurs.: 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Fri. – Sat.: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. 29
BUSINESS UPDATE By Lou Sorendo
Sky is the Limit Fulton-based business — CNY Drone Works — ready to take off to new heights
F
or two local business partners, it is safe to say they share lofty goals. John McGraw and Sean Falconer are co-owners of CNY Drone Works in Fulton. The business provides turnkey unmanned aerial systems solutions, services and training. The partners help public safety departments create their own drone programs, guiding users from initial research to procurement and training. It also provides commercial drone services, and specializes in everything from photography to 3-D scanning and agricultural mapping. Both partners owned separate businesses prior to linking together to form CNY Drone Works. McGraw, 50, is originally from Oswego and now resides in Fulton. He is well known in the area as the
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former owner of Uniforms Etc. from 1995 to 2017. He specialized in supplying uniforms and accessories, on-site screen printing and embroidery service, and digital printing and sign making. Falconer, 30, is originally from Baldwinsville. Now a Camillus resident, he attended Hobart College in Geneva for undergraduate work before earning a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Syracuse University. Falconer started his previous venture, Falcon View Aerial Photography, in 2014 with the intent to bring high-quality aerial media services to the design, construction, and real estate markets in Upstate New York. “A mutual friend put us in touch with each other and we grew the partnership and created CNY Drone Works LLC,” McGraw said. “We both started our previous businesses early on when OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
John McGraw and Sean Falconer are co-owners of CNY Drone Works in Fulton. the UAS programs were just taking off. By creating a partnership, we have been able to grow into markets that we may not have been able to as separate businesses.” The partners’ startup costs were in excess of $100,000, and McGraw noted the extent of investment is a function of one’s willingness to engage in relationships with manufacturers. “I was doing my own drone thing for a while, focusing on photography and video,” Falconer said. “Ever since the beginning, I was asking myself, APRIL / MAY 2019
‘How can I improve this? How can I sell them? How can I up my game?’” “John has run businesses before and knows the game. It was a no-brainer for us to team up,” said Falconer, a registered architect who is married with one child and another on the way. “I think we complement each other perfectly,” McGraw said. “The financial end of it is more my side, whereas Sean is more into marketing, social media and building our website. We pair well together.” McGraw said the business has been doing “phenomenally,” even achieving a 30 percent increase in revenues from 2017 to 2018. “The margins are good, as are the projections,” Falconer added. The partners agree that the timing is right being the industry is still in its infancy. “We’ve been looking at a number of ideas, and that includes creating office space where we can meet with clients and potentially have a showroom where we can display drones and what’s available,” McGraw said. He said that goal hopefully will be realized this spring. “We’ve been working with a couple of different entities to find some space,” McGraw noted.
Cutting-edge applications Using state-of-the art camera drones, CNY Drone Works captures on-demand high-quality images and video from unprecedented aerial perspectives. It provides aerial services for a variety of markets and can help finish projects with professional editing. The business also specializes in asset inspection and construction surveying. DJI’s Phantom 4 has the ability to create surveys that are precise to one centimeter of land, an existing building or anything in the build environment, Falconer noted. Users can create multi-dimensional maps of land, certainly beneficial to contractors. “Contractors use them a lot for site work on a job. They have to do a lot of cuts and fills, and they can now get centimeter-grade accuracy by measuring from a 3-D map,” Falconer said. “They can determine the volume of dirt needed to fill a void, or how much cut needs to be made,” he said. Roofers can also create measurable 2-D maps of a large roof and can pinpoint the locations of skylights, pipes APRIL / MAY 2019
and chimneys. “Contractors can use this information and know exactly what to bid on a job so they are not going under or over,” he said. “They are winning jobs with this technology. It is pretty amazing stuff.” CNY Drone Works recently added Dedrone and its DroneTracker to the business. Dedrone specializes in protecting organizations from malicious drones by securing airspace using advanced hardware and software technology. “We not only sell drones, but we are also looking to help protect and mitigate drone threats,” Falconer said. “As we saw with the Gatwick Airport drone incident a few months back, a single drone operator can really wreak havoc on organizations, especially something like an airport, university or prison.” In late December of last year, hundreds of flights were cancelled at Gatwick Airport near London, England, following reports of drone sightings close to the runway. “When I saw the Gatwick thing
happening, it really struck me that this is something an organization can really use,” he added. An organization can now detect when a drone is approaching and how to mitigate it, Falconer noted.
Lucrative industry According to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the market of drone-powered solutions in the world’s power and utilities sector is worth nearly $10 billion. In relation to the power industry, drones are used for asset and maintenance management, construction and repairs, emissions monitoring and disaster recovery. There is also the threat of drone-assisted terrorism. “That is always a risk out there. Any person with ill intent could use a drone like any other thing, such as a car or weapon, to attack facilities,” he said. “Drones are new and all industries are now trying to figure out how they fit in this new drone ecosystem.”
CNY Major Drone Test Site
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he Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, or NUAIR, an alliance of public, private and academic organizations, was named by the Federal Aviation Administration to operate the only Northeast test site for drones in Central New York. The testing corridor features a 50-mile long air space stretching from Rome to Syracuse. “It truly will grow the industry,” said Sean Falconer co-owner of CNY Drone Works in Fulton. “Right now we have to fly within a visual line of sight, but with the corridor, they are going to do testing for beyond the visual line of sight, which will involve GPS coordinating to track the drones.” “The set up for the UAS corridor is an important resource for the advancement of the industry, particularly issues surrounding using drones beyond visual line of sight,” said CNY Drone Works co-owner John McGraw, noting the Oswego County Airport is also working with NUAIR and its corridor. The FAA sets rules on commercial drone applications, including maximum height. The maximum height pilots can fly drones is 400 feet above ground level. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Also, those wishing to fly drones at night must apply for a waiver from the FAA. These types of regulations protect commercial airliners, McGraw noted. A pilot’s license is not necessary to fly a drone, but pilots of drones for commercial purposes must meet requirements of FAA’s rules for flying UAVs. A mid-level drone costs between $500-$1,000. “I think the cost will come down as things happen,” said Falconer, noting there are a number of drone manufacturers on the rise. These include DJI, Unique Aviation and Parrot. “We try to outfit the customer with a drone that will work for their specifications,” Falconer said. Falconer purchased his first drone for $2,000 in 2014, and now there are drones on the market that can perform the same functions, and even better, for less than $700. “The technology is also improving,” he added. Commercial drone insurance is available, although as a niche market. “Not many insurance companies are doing it, but more are getting involved in it,” Falconer said. 31
BUSINESS UPDATE By Sarah McCrobie
MaryAnn Groves and her husband Randy have owned Ranmar Tractor Supply since 1991. MaryAnn began working at the shop in 1976, when her father, Richard Walter, owned it.
Pulaski’s Ranmar Tractor Supply Thrives in Niche Market ‘There is no slow season. “We’re always busy,’ says owner
A
t Ranmar Tractor Supply on Route 11 in Pulaski, customer service and small town values have been a staple of the business for generations. So, too, has the presence of co-owner MaryAnn Groves, who helped instill those values and build relationships during the past four decades. Groves began working at the tractor supply shop in 1976, when her father, Richard Walter, owned the business. She was still in high school at the time, but took on various tasks around the shop on weekends and 32
during the summer. “I had a social studies teacher who called me TQ, meaning Tractor Queen. I didn’t really like it at the time, but I guess I embraced it,” Groves recalled, laughing. For Groves, that nickname became part of her identity after she graduated from Mexico High School in 1979. She began doing “a little bit of everything” for her father’s business. As a full-time employee, she worked to build a loyal customer base and wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty in the shop. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
“I’ve been known to twist wrenches and rebuild carburetors,” Groves said. “I mostly do paperwork and order parts, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get the work done. I’ll sweep the floor, empty the trash, mow the lawn … anything to help out.” That attitude has served the business well since Groves and her husband, Randy, purchased it in 1991. Randy, who has a business management degree and an aptitude for mechanical work, capitalized on the opportunity for a business venture APRIL / MAY 2019
with his wife. They embraced the chance at ownership and changed the name from Walter Tractor Supply to reflect their names as equal partners of Ranmar Tractor Supply. “The biggest challenge is the commitment that a whole family has to make,” Groves said. “My husband and I work together 24/7/365. We have a daughter and we’ve never taken a family vacation. It’s such a commitment to be business owners, but it’s our choice.” Business ownership for the Groves family has been a labor of love. They said they love each other, the community and, most of all, their customers. MaryAnn Groves noted that many of the customers have spanned generations, with the majority comprised of families that own large parcels of land or those seeking vintage tractor repair or parts. “I have a lot of customers that I remember being in here as children; now they have children of their own when they stop in for something,” Groves said. “It places a lot of confidence in people when they come in year after year, because they know your business hasn’t survived by doing wrong. Our customers trust us and the work we provide, and that’s why we’ve stayed in business.” Not only has the company stayed in business for decades, but it is thriving. Its small staff is constantly doing work such as transmission and engine repair, tire replacement, tune-ups and other troubleshooting procedures. “There is no slow season,” Groves said. “We’re always busy. There aren’t many dealerships around that do what we do; we’re few and far between.” With such a steady flow of customers and projects to work on, Groves noted that they considered expanding at one point but decided against the idea due to concerns finding additional skilled workers in the field. “We are happy where we’re at right now,” Groves said. “We’re not all retail sales and I think the service end will really carry us through. As a business, you have to find your niche, and we’ve found ours.” The Groves continue to work with their niche market to build a thriving business, and they don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. “I’ve been here a long time, but retiring? No,” Groves said. “I would have no idea what to do.” APRIL / MAY 2019
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Law office of
Salvatore F. Lanza, ESQ.
A Competent Attorney For Serious Matters
(315) 598-1928
154 South 2nd St., Fulton, NY 13069
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David and Tracy Dingman of Fulton, owners of The Medicine Place in Phoenix, recently acquired The Fulton Medicine Place.
Dingmans Acquire Fulton Medicine Place
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avid and Tracy Dingman of Fulton, owners of The Medicine Place in Phoenix, recently acquired the Fulton Medicine Place, from Frank and Fran Badagnani, who founded both businesses. The Dingmans have owned the Phoenix store since 2012. “As former pharmacists for Frank and Fran, we are delighted to carry on the small-town personal service and care they that they established in Fulton in 1987, and Phoenix in 2007,” David said. “The folks in Fulton and Phoenix are our friends and neighbors, and we look forward to serving them for many years to come. “We’ve also added services that our customers have requested at the Fulton Medicine Place. We now offer free delivery in Fulton, just as we have for years in Phoenix. There is also a free, Medsafe medication disposal kiosk for unused and expired medication, which we continue to offer in Phoenix. CBD oils are also available now at both the Fulton and Phoenix locations. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
“In addition, we’ll continue to offer vaccinations in the store for flu, pneumonia, shingles and tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap). David Dingman said both Fulton and Phoenix pharmacies provide total healthcare packages with knowledgeable pharmacists, quality products, and personalized services. In addition, they fill workers compensation prescriptions and accept most insurance coverage plans. They maintain personal medication profiles, and will offer durable medical equipment, and carry a variety of Leader Brand non-prescription products, which offer all the quality of national brands for up to 50 percent less. The Medicine Place is part of the Leader Network of more than 3,000 independent pharmacies. “This gives us the buying power of a chain while maintaining the personalized service of an independent store. We guarantee our customers quality, service, professionalism, and value,” said Dingman. APRIL / MAY 2019
Multi-Color Corporation–Fulton Operation Being Sold Business once known as The Morrill Press has new ownership
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os Angeles-based private equity firm Platinum Equity LLC is acquiring Multi-Color Corp., one of the largest label companies in the world. Multi-Color Corp. services some of the most prominent brands in the following market segments: health care, high-performance computing, food and beverage, specialty (automotive and consumer durables), and wine and spirits. Multi-Color Corp. has a location in Fulton that employs 46 people. In 2018, the Fulton operation continued supply of labels for its two largest orange juice customers, transitioning nearly 200 items with new graphics. Multi-Color is the fifth printing company to occupy the plant that originally opened in 1871 as the Morrill Press. The plant was sold to Sonoco
Flexible Packaging during the 1990s and operated under that banner until December of 2003 when the company closed the Fulton plant. Spear inherited Sonoco machinery and the workforce was educated on the latest pressure-sensitive technologies. Constantia Flexibles Group, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, acquired Spear in April of 2013. In November of 2017, Multi-Color completed the purchase of 23 of Constantia’s label operations, including Fulton’s. The deal is valued at $2.5 billion including the assumption of $1.5 billion of debt. Multi-Color shareholders will receive $50 in cash for each share of stock that they own as a result of the agreement. The announcement comes after Multi-Color ’s stock plummeted 15
Foster Funeral Home Acquired by Rollings FS Georgia-based funeral service takes the reins
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ollings Funeral Service of Peachtree City, Ga., has acquired Foster Funeral Home, which has locations in Fulton and Hannibal, according to Cassandra Nelson, Foster Funeral Home manager. “As we celebrate our 100th year, we remain an independently owned and operated business,” Nelson said. “Paul Foster continues working with the business as a consultant, and all other professional directors and staff have been retained. “There’s always a licensed funeral director available to respond to a family’s needs, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. “We will continue to operate as Foster Funeral Home and offer all the services and support in Fulton, Hannibal and Central New York APRIL / MAY 2019
that families have depended on for a century.” Greg Rollings, RFS president and CEO, and his wife Debbie, secretary treasurer, head the company, which operates Foster funeral homes in 35 locations in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and New York. The New York locations, in addition to Foster Funeral Home, are Allen Memorial Home, Endicott, and Olthof Funeral Home, Elmira. “When Debbie and I were considOSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
percent to $43.28 per share in recent months following its quarterly earnings report that missed estimates. The company’s board said then that it was considering “strategic alternatives” for the company. Multi-Color’s assets and employees are expected to be a strong fit for Platinum Equity LLC’s WS Packaging Group, according to reports. Platinum Equity has acquired more than 250 companies since it was founded in 1995. The sale is expected to be complete in the third quarter and is subject to Multi-Color shareholder approval, regulatory clearances and other conditions.
By Lou Sorendo ering this acquisition, we both admired and respected the longstanding tradition of quality service and family support that Foster Funeral Home has provided to Central New York, starting with his grandfather, Rudolph P. Foster, in 1919, and continuing with his father, Clifford C. Foster,” Greg said. “During his tenure, Paul ensured that this business flourished, while keeping the small-town attention and caring that people have come to expect for three generations. We are proud to continue to offer the personal care and quality service that Paul and his family established.” Greg Rollings has been a licensed funeral director since 1984 and founded RFS in 2001. According to its website (rollingsfuneralservice.com): “Each funeral home is still operated on a local level, but managers work directly with the Rollings’ family to develop budgets, set up advertising and public relations, determine pricing and establish proper human resources practices. Having a manager at each location that may one day be the owner ensures that he or she is going to provide the service that families deserve.” 35
Facade of CoreLife Eatery in DeWitt. The restaurant has capitlized on the demand for fresh food.
CoreLife Eatery Continues Expansion Mode Chain already has restaurants in 50 locations — owners plan to add 20 to 25 more stores this year By Mary Beth Roach
S
igns have been up along West Genesee Street in front of the Fairmount Fair plaza in Syracuse announcing that the CoreLife Eatery is coming soon to that location. By the end of January, workers had razed the former Party City location in the plaza, and a construction fence was set up in front of the site, all to make way for the much-anticipated restaurant that has already met with great success at the openings of its last two area stores. One of the eatery’s representatives confirmed that CoreLife Eatery is going into that spot, and one of the founders, John Caveny, said they hope to be open in Fairmount by fall. When its most recent store in the Marshall’s Plaza in Dewitt opened in December, it was the best grand opening they’ve ever had, according to Caveny. After its restaurant opened on
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Buckley Road in North Syracuse in May of 2015, the owners expected to see a dip in the numbers, but that didn’t happen. Fairmount is one of between 20 and 25 stores slated to open in 2019, joining a list of at least 49 restaurants located as far south as Florida and as far west as Utah. Half of the locations are company-owned and half are franchisees. “We own most of the stores that we can drive to,” Caveny said of the company, whose headquarters are in Binghamton. “We have people from as far away as Salt Lake City hear about the concept. Word gets around.” People who have worked in the restaurant business for several generations are operating many of the businesses, but they want to do something different than fast food. Caveny has 15 years of experience behind him. He had owned Jolime OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Fresh Garden Cafe, and he had locations in North Syracuse and downtown Syracuse. The name for the café was a combination of the first two letters of the members of the Caveny family: John; his wife, Lisa; and their daughter Megan.
Concept is hatched
Initially, Todd Mansfield, who has an extensive background in wellness and nutrition, and Binghamton-area businessman Larry Wilson approached Caveny with the opportunity. Wilson founded Hoopla! Frozen Yogurt and Video King, and operated various Moe’s Southwest Grill franchises in New York and Pennsylvania. They wanted to take a look “at a version of healthy eating in New York and what that would look like,” APRIL / MAY 2019
Caveny said. CoreLife’s partners also look at their restaurants not just as eateries, but instead as a service for people that are looking to get healthy. The menu includes grain, green, rice, broth and build your own bowls, power plates and with grains or greens as the base, a selection of accessories, toppings and dressings. With so many diets being restrictive, the founders wanted to turn that around, according to Caveny. In starting out, the business was focusing on people that were going to gyms, doing yoga, or training for a marathon. But they soon realized there was a demand for access to good, healthy food beyond the gym and track. “You just come through the door, and no matter what you get, it’s going to be good for you. It’s going to taste crazy great. A couple of hours later, your body tells you, ‘Thank you,’” Caveny said. One of their signature dishes is bone broth. Being in Upstate New York, they knew there had to be soup on the menu, Caveny said. They took a lesson from a generation or two ago. Not wishing to let anything go to waste, great-grandparents would gather meat bones with a little bit of beef on them, put them in a kettle, with roots and vegetables, let it steep overnight, and strain the bones out with the result being broth. “I think the broths are something you’re going to see us do more and more with. First off, it tastes really, really good. Second, the more you drink the broth, I think you’re going to realize that your body’s really craving that,” Caveny said. CoreLife prides itself on the connections it makes in the communities, according to Meggan Camp, community relations director and brand ambassador for CoreLife. “We’re making healthy taste great. That is undeniable,” she said. “The experience that people have when they walk in the door and the way that they feel when they leave speaks volumes about what we’re offering people. When you feel good, you hold onto the things that make you feel good. You have a place where anyone can come — vegan, vegetarian, if you’re eating animal protein, or people with allergies. “We’re here to really serve everyone at the table. I just think that’s been the key to our success.”
BUSINESS UPDATE
APRIL / MAY 2019
Noelle & Faye
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121 East First St. Oswego, NY 13126 • 315-312-3493 OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Over 50? Watch Out A recent analysis shows more people over 50 are pushed out of their jobs than choose to leave on their own By Allison Kanaley
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hen the Harden Furniture Factory closed in January 2018, the announcement came with immediate layoffs for most of its 175 workers. Over the next six months or so, some workers were called back to finish a contract job for the renowned highend furniture manufacturer, located just outside Camden in Oneida County. Dawn Gerber, who had already logged 42 years at the factory, wasn’t one of them. Then 60 years of age, she was just a few years from retirement, and was hopeful that seniority — or possibly loyalty — would account for something as workers were picked to come back. She watched younger workers — those who had put in less time, and were probably getting paid less — get chosen to go back to work at Harden. “A lot of them didn’t really have the time in that some of us did. I’m sure that was part of it.”
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Gerber, of Camden, is among a growing number of Americans who are losing their jobs at a crucial time — too early in life to retire, and seemingly too late to jump into the employment pool again. A recent analysis by ProPublica and the Urban Institute, a Washington think tank, shows that more than half of workers over age 50 are either laid off at least once or leave their jobs under circumstances they didn’t choose. The Health and Retirement Study, conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, followed a cross-section of 20,000 American workers from the time they turned 50 in 1992 through the rest of their lives. ProPublica analyzed the data through 2014, the latest numbers available, and found that 56 percent of workers leave their jobs at least once after age 50, under employer-driven circumstances, such as layoffs due to a OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
company downsizing or restructuring. That means more people over 50 being pushed out of their jobs than choosing to leave on their own. The HRS study results suggest 50-plus workers are on shaky ground when it comes to job — and financial — security, concluded ProPublica. By this age, most workers are looking forward to retirement, many with at least an outline of a financial plan or target for how and when they will retire. And they need to find work to carry them through to retirement. The HRS data indicates it is more difficult for older workers to find jobs that are equal to or better than the ones they lost. In some cases, they can’t find work at all. When it became clear that leaving the workforce was coming more quickly than she planned, Gerber weighed her options, realizing quickly she didn’t APRIL / MAY 2019
have many. “I worked at a mill all my life,” Gerber said. “I didn’t have any other skills. Where am I going to go at age 61?” For most of her time at Harden, Gerber operated a ripsaw, a planer, or a walk-behind forklift. She dipped into her 401(k) account for living expenses, and applied for unemployment benefits — something she’d never done before in her life. At age 60, she couldn’t fathom going to another factory and being put on a rotating shift that might require working nights.
ProPublica analyzed data through 2014, the latest numbers available, and found that 56 percent of workers leave their jobs at least once after age 50, under employerdriven circumstances, such as layoffs due to company downsizing or restructuring.
Re-joining the workforce Entering the workforce after the age of 50 comes with a sizeable set of challenges. Older workers take on more financial risk than their younger counterparts when they enter a new career or a new field. They have less time to earn money, which means a shorter window for things like making retirement account contributions, paying off any higher education loans, and paying off a mortgage. Comparing the cost of further education or startup costs to bottom-line earning potential can deter many over-50 workers from venturing into a new career or launching a new business. There is also a psychological aspect. Leaving a job involuntarily can be crushing, especially when it means the loss of a career, or separating from a company after long-time employment. “I felt damaged,” said Steve Buchiere, after the newspaper editing Buchiere job he’d held for 15 years was eliminated. Buchiere, now 59, spent part of his early career as a reporter in Oswego County before moving to Palmyra in the 1990s. A longtime editor and opinion columnist for The Daily Messenger in Canandaigua, he watched the newspaper staff there dwindle in 2015, and suspected he’d eventually be part of the cuts aimed at saving the company cash as readership followed the national trend downward. When his fears materialized and his position was eliminated in late 2015, Buchiere, at age 55, was looking at involuntary unemployment for the first time in his career. APRIL / MAY 2019
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Protecting against age discrimination
Schenck “It wasn’t easy,” he said. And while he hoped to find a job in his field, he was well aware the opportunity landscape was sparse. He says he understood the economics of the newspaper’s decision to cut his position, but it was tough emotionally to leave a job he’d had, and enjoyed, for so long. Still, Buchiere couldn’t imagine reinventing himself for a totally different career, and hunted for newspaper jobs in the region. “I was going to try to keep doing what I was doing.” With his skill set, he found more job opportunities in the southern states, but balked at the idea of uprooting his then-teenage son, who has autism, and his wife. “I was starting to ponder [moving], but for a lot of people, that’s just not an option.” It was networking that ultimately landed Buchiere a reporting job at Geneva-based Finger Lakes Times in March 2016. It’s about an hour’s drive from his home, and he took what he describes as a “substantial” pay cut. He says the priority was keeping his family from having to move. Troubles have hit some fields of work harder than others. In the newspaper industry, jobs fell 45 percent from 2008 to 2017, according to Pew Research Center analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics survey data. Buchiere was among thousands who lost their jobs. 40
Protections for aging workers have been around for decades. The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 makes it illegal to discriminate against workers over the age of 40. The rule generally applies to employers with over 20 employees, although several states, including New York, have made their own laws to bring smaller companies, and lower ages, into the fold as well. The New York State Department of Labor website — labor.ny.gov — gives step by step guidance on how to file a discrimination claim. Yet in 2017, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which handles all types of discrimination claims, received 20,857 claims of age discrimination. More than one in five of all claims handled by the EEOC were age-related, according to the AARP. Interestingly, a 2009 Supreme Court ruling puts a higher burden of proof on those claiming age discrimination. A recent study by the American Association of Retired People (AARP) shows that 72 percent of women between the ages of 45 and 74 said they thought people encountered age discrimination in the workplace, only 57 percent of men shared that view. Kerryanne Schenck of Mexico is a music teacher at a private middle school in Syracuse. As she works toward her master’s degree and New York State Education certification — an effort she set aside to raise young triplets — a series of frustrating roadblocks has threatened to derail her goals. “I do worry about if I want to go back to public school that I will have ‘too many’ years [of age], and won’t get hired because they won’t want to pay me for them,” said Schenck, who is nearing 50. Simply put, she wants to be compensated at a comparable rate that takes into account her experience as well as the investment she’s made with coursework. Indeed, most older workers who find themselves re-entering the job market are making less than they were previously. Only one in 10 makes as much money as they did before, the ProPublica analysis found. Pay rates not only affect the near-term for workers, but their ability to plan for retirement as well. It takes time to rebuild, both financially and professionally. Some areas of work seem to carry OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
a higher risk of real or perceived age discrimination. Technology, for example, and the entertainment industry, are fields commonly sought by younger workers, and are considered unchartered territory for workers of later generations. More and more, new jobs are being offered without traditional benefits like health insurance or 401k plans, or with reduced incentives that force employees to take drastic cuts in pay, or make other concessions like regular travel or an unanticipated move. Factors like these add stress to already challenging situations. Schenck has also hit obstacles in her quest for New York state teacher certification, which is required to teach in the public school system. She taught for 12 years in New York and eight years in Maryland before returning to teaching at a private school and deciding to pursue her master’s degree and state certification. Master’s degree programs in education typically take two years of full-time coursework. “My undergraduate degree was perfectly fine to certify me for 12 years and now returning back to the profession, it is not,” said Schenck. “The (New York) State Education Department will tell you it’s because certification requirements have changed, but why do my colleagues that hold the same degree from the same time period with the same age get to keep their certification?” Trends in employment are leaving many mature job-seekers feeling the cold shoulder. In general, the working population is aging: people are living longer, healthier lives. Some people choose to work longer in order to retain health insurance benefits, or pad retirement income. Many opt to work into their 70s, past typical retirement age, simply because they love their jobs and aren’t ready to retire. Workers over age 50 in America are 40 million strong, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “I was thinking I might work until [age] 64,” said Gerber, who added that she enjoyed her job, and the people she worked with felt more like family than coworkers. She’s still angry about the way her career ended, and admits the emotional scars sometimes weigh more than the financial burdens. There was pride in working for so many years in one place, Gerber explained. But the end being let go, and not making it to retirement seems a story somehow unfinished. “You feel like you’ve lost your right to retire.” APRIL / MAY 2019
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REAL ESTATE
Sellers’ Market Housing shortage in CNY continues, a trend that mirrors problem nationwide By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
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ationwide, home buyers face some of the lowest inventory available in years. According to local real estate professionals, the trend holds true in Central New York as well. “You can feel it anecdotally, but statistics show it, too, especially over the past five years,” said Patrick Haggerty, licensed real estate salesperson with Century 21 Leah’s Signature in Baldwinsville. In January 2014, his firm had enough Oswego County inventory to
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last 10.3 months, meaning it would take that long to exhaust the supply of new homes if no new homes were listed. By January 2019, that had plummeted to 4.2 months. Onondaga County demonstrated the same trend, going from 6.1 months to 2.7 months, “which is extremely low,” Haggerty said. Amber Spain-Mosher, real estate salesperson with RE/MAX Masters in Skaneateles, said that in January 2018, her agency had 12 new listings of homes. In January 2019, only three. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
“Sellers who’ve been sitting on the fence: it’s the time to sell.” Judy M. Winslow, real estate broker with Hunt Real Estate ERA in Manlius.
The average sales price has increased 3.5 percent on average in that timeframe, and most homes sell for their list price without the traditional dickering. “Buyers are making higher offers from the start,” Spain-Mosher said. “A lot of times, a seller has multiple offers so it will sell quickly.” The amount of time to close is about 45 to 65 days. Faye Beckwith, real estate agent and owner of Freedom Real Estate in Hannibal, said that the current APRIL / MAY 2019
market “is the lowest inventory in our history.” She’s optimistic, since the weather is just beginning to warm up, which usually influences more people to consider moving. “Right now, we have a shortage of homes on the market,” said Judy M. Winslow, real estate broker with Hunt Real Estate ERA in Manlius. “Sellers who’ve been sitting on the fence: it’s the time to sell.” She added that especially for homes priced less than $300,000, it’s a seller’s market. “When you get over that amount, around $400,000, those sellers take a beating.” Shelley Hoffman, real estate salesperson with 315 Realty Partners in Baldwinsville, also said that the more modest homes, those around $100,000 to $155,000, “are where most of my bidding wars are. The houses are selling in two hours sometimes. I had one buyer that ‘lost’ three homes in a bidding war.” Other agents agree with her take on the industry. Bill Galloway, broker and owner of Century 21 Galloway Realty in Oswego, said that every type of home is in short supply in the area. “It’s hard, when we’re seeing multiple offers coming on homes that are listed because there are so few homes on the market,” Galloway said. “We aggressively look at the homes on the market.” He said that although construction is increasing in the area, it’s not keeping pace for homes that meet the needs of people seeking a place to retire or start out. Millennials, finally establishing themselves in the workplace and getting out of their parents’ spare room, are taking advantage of low interest rates and snapping up the starters: small homes that are move-in ready but don’t have a lot of expensive appointments. Galloway said many millennials are working from home and don’t see a need to move away to a big city. Even outlying rural areas work, providing there’s high speed internet access. That means more young people remain in the Central New York region to buy their first home, he said. As for retiring baby boomers who want to downsize, those diminutive Cape Cod and ranch homes with small yards are tough to find. As another trend, Galloway has APRIL / MAY 2019
2018-2019: What a Difference a Year Makes Amber Spain-Mosher, real estate salesperson with RE/MAX Masters in Skaneateles, said that inventory rates in major cities in Cayuga, Oswego and Onondaga counties demonstrate the trend of limited available real estate from January 2018 to January 2019. New listings for the month of January has been down across the region as compared to January of 2018.
City New Homes in January 2018-20190
Percentage
• Auburn 19 to 8 -58% • Syracuse 70 to 58 -17% • Oswego 21 to 10 -52% noticed more boomers moving back to New York for their final years to be near family after living for a dozen years or so in Florida. This segment also competes for modest sizes homes. Eric Pedrotti, manager for North Syracuse and Oswego Berkshire Hathaway Realty, said that low interest rates represent a big factor for low inventory, along with sellers who are nervous to sell. “They are afraid they can’t find one to move into,” he said. He hopes the inventory issue will spur new construction. “Building is the way to go if you want to move up,” Pedrotti said. “In four to six months, you will be in a new house.” In addition to millennial and baby boomer purchases in the market, as well as low interest rates, Don Radke, president of Central New York Information Service, Inc. in Syracuse, said that aging-in-place represents another factor. “Seniors like to stay in their homes and that’s a growing trend,” he said. Instead of paying for nursing home care, many find that it’s more affordable and comfortable to modify their homes to fit their health needs. “What we’re trying to get out strongly to those who want to sell is, there are more buyers on the market than we’ve had in years,” Radke said. “But those who want to buy, get yourself prequalified and get in the market so you’re ready to buy when the right house is available. “Get out and see the properties and get ready to make a decision. Don’t go home to think about it overnight. Properties are literally selling in days when they’re priced right and are in good condition.” Few are attracted to fixer-uppers or flipping for profit. More people OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
are interested in move-in-ready homes, not waiting for repairs and upgrades, according to professionals interviewed for this story. Investing in pricy upgrades isn’t as necessary to woo buyers during a time of low inventory, but homes should be free of flaws and obviously outdated appointments to stand out, they said. “Getting into homes quickly is important,” Haggerty of Century 21 said. “Act on it quickly if it’s something you like. it’s not an environment in which a buyer has to give it too much thought and time. Acting quickly and making a strong offer from the get-go gives the buyer the best chance.” John FitzGibbons, broker and owner of FitzGibbons Real Estate in Oswego, said that the way to help buyers is ensuring they’re qualified and ready to roll before looking. Technology also helps. “We use our website so buyers can review the current inventory and get updates as soon as things are available,” FitzGibbons said. “Our agents are in the market all the time to stay up-to-date so we can get people into the right houses as soon as they’re available.” Agents also help potential buyers get ready for the process. Century 12’s Galloway said, “We help them get their banking in order so when they see the appropriate housing option, they can be decisive and prepared. We’re working with first time buyers before they start the process to ensure their ducks are in a row. “As things come along, we use the tools available to make sure we get access to listing ASAP. We use our website so buyers can review the current inventory and get updates as soon as things are available.”
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Real Estate Outlook What the Experts Say By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
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hile we’re already several months into 2019, the busy part of the real estate season is just getting started. As the weather warms up, more people consider selling and buying a new home than when snow flies. Whether it’s just to make the move easier or the change in season sparking the notion for a change in scene, springtime kicks off moving time. To follow is the outlook on the market provided by a few local real estate professionals. “We’re really optimistic. Interest rates are still low. We’ve been doing this almost 34 years now. We entered the market when rates were 18 percent and you had to have 20 percent down. Things have changed a lot since then. It’s a lot easier for buyers, for example. I expect 2019 to go well. There are a lot of new buyers entering the market and inquiring as to what we have. We’re anticipating more late spring and early summer purchases. That’s when people really start looking because no one wants to move in winter, when it’s cold and snowing. We’re looking forward to the emerging market and with spring, people will start to move around a little bit more.” Faye Beckwith, real estate agent and owner, Freedom Real Estate, Hannibal
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“It seems as though the uncertainly about interest rates is past. The inventory concerns are in terms of having the appropriate inventory. Buyers are out there and looking, so houses’ price will stay strong and homes will sell quickly. We’re looking for a very good year for buyers and sellers.” John FitzGibbons, broker and owner, FitzGibbons Real Estate, Oswego
“I think it will be a good real estate market. I think there will be a little more inventory, but not enough to eliminate the shortage. As inventory comes in, it will get sold. We’ll have a good, strong market in 2019. Hire a Realtor. Get that individual onboard so you can be successful in the marketplace.” Don Radke, president of Central New York Information Services, Syracuse
“We’ve had a very strong market so far and it looks like it will remain strong. I hope sellers start listing. Interest rates look like they’ll remain stable throughout the year.” Bill Galloway, broker and owner Century 21 Galloway Realty, Oswego
“I think we’re going to see more of what we had last year: a continuation of limited inventory. We’re going to see a continuation of lower sales. In 2019 we’ll see more of the same.” Amber Spain-Mosher, real estate salesperson, RE/MAX Masters, Skaneateles
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“I think the market will continue to stay strong. This environment of constrictive supply will continue. The decline in supply is flattening because there’s not much more room for it to go down. I think the market will stay strong and continue to be a seller’s market. It can be a frustrating environment for buyers, as there’s not much to look at. They can find themselves in multiple offer situations and potentially losing out on houses. Overall, the market is strong and will continue to stay strong.” Patrick Haggerty, licensed real estate salesperson, Century 21 Leah’s Signature, Baldwinsville
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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“I think it’s going to be a busy year. They were talking about a downturn to the market but I don’t see that. I’m ahead in listings this year compared with last year. It’s going to be another seller’s market and won’t stabilize.” Shelley Hoffman, real estate agent, 315 Realty Partners, Baldwinsville
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“It’s hard to tell what will happen. It depends upon hiring rates, if a company leaves the area or comes or what interest rates will do. But no matter what the interest rates are, people still buy houses. They just buy a less expensive house. It would help if taxes would go down. People come in from out of town and find out the taxes and they think it’s a lot of money.” Judy M. Winslow, real estate broker, Hunt Real Estate ERA, Manlius
APRIL / MAY 2019
REAL ESTATE By Lou Sorendo
Top Gun F
Ed Fayette: Setting standard for sales, customer satisfaction on local real estate scene
or Ed Fayette, it’s not lonely at the top. The No. 1 sales agent in Oswego County in 2018, Fayette is collecting hardware quicker than homes being placed on the market. Fayette was recently named Century 21 Galloway Realty agent of the year, the second straight year he has captured the award. He also won it in 2011 and 2006. In addition, Fayette earned the Century 21 CENTURION, President’s Producer and Quality Service Pinnacle Producer awards last year. Fayette is the top producer in all of Oswego County for selling more than $11 million in homes and property and making nearly 100 transactions in 2018, according to Century 21 Galloway Realty. Does he feel the stress of being No. 1? “I don’t think of it as pressure. I think of it as responsibility. I demand a lot of myself because I don’t want to let everyone else down,” he said. “I always say just keep my blinders on and keep working hard. If good things come my way, I’m happy, proud and humble,” he said. “No one needs to light a fire under me; I’m my own toughest critic and coach. I just want to do the best I can, and I’ve built this reputation and am not going to let anything ruin it,” Fayette said. Fayette started working at Century 21 Galloway Realty after teaching elementary school locally for 33 years. In 1983, he graduated from St. Bonaventure University after earning a master’s degree in education and began teaching that same year in Central Square. He taught at Central Square for three years, and then was hired by the Oswego City School District to teach in his hometown. He then went on to teach at Fitzhugh Park Elementary School for 30 years. APRIL / MAY 2019
Fayette has always had another gig going on besides teaching, such as working for STAR 105 radio, being a disc jockey at special events, writing his “As I See It” column for The Palladium-Times, or writing for Destinations Travel Magazine. “I think of myself as a duck: smooth and calm on the water, but underneath, its feet are paddling like crazy,” Fayette said. In 2004, in an effort to help his children get through college, Fayette decided to venture into real estate. He recalls the weeks of stringent coursework he did to prepare for an intense three-hour licensing exam to become an agent in Oswego. After the dust had settled, he was
welcomed with open arms by William Galloway, broker-owner of Century 21 Galloway Realty in Oswego. “Real estate isn’t as glamorous as people think,” he said. “It’s not what you see on HGTV.” “It’s a lot of work. You must have strong communication and interpersonal skills,” said Fayette, noting he has melded his educational background with real estate.
Teaching point “I taught each of my students to be a good person and to listen, and that you are not always going to get your way, like it or not,” he said.
Fayette at his office in Oswego.
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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“I took all that I preached and put it into practice,” said Fayette, noting it was a successful endeavor given the success of his two children, Zach and Morgan. “It’s almost like being a doctor in terms of what is required and expected of me,” he said. The comparison is valid: His cell phone is being blown up at any and all moments, and “no time is sacred anymore,” he added. “That’s OK, because the world has changed in that sense. It’s a 24/7 type of world now,” he said. Fayette is focused on returning those calls promptly, a skill set that leads to appreciation from his customers. In terms of dealing with other agents, Fayette said it is important to establish guidelines from the get-go. “I tell agents, ‘We have to play nice in the sandbox or we don’t get paid,’” he said. Fayette uses social media extensively and features 26-to-30-second video clips of available homes in the form of e-flyers. Why such short clips? Research shows the average time a person spends watching a video on Facebook is 27 seconds. Fayette arrived on the real estate scene after the days when listings came in the form of a hard-copy monthly book. “Now I get onto what is called a ‘hot list,’ and all the new listings in all of New York state are available, and I can narrow it down by location, price, number of bedrooms or whatever I want,” he said. Fayette adheres to the age-old sales slogan of “ABC”: always be closing. “Don’t let things fall apart too easily,” said Fayette, noting that the majority of deal busters normally involve issues surrounding home inspection, a lien or title or buyer’s financing. Fayette also noted he arms himself with statistics at showings to fortify his stance along with mastering the use of social media. He has evolved from the love of making the deal to loving to put deals together knowing how much it means to people, whether they are buying or selling. He takes pride in maintaining a significant presence on social media — whether it be Facebook or Instagram. “It’s like inventing a miracle drug, and the generic versions come out a few months later,” Fayette said. “I never thought six or seven years ago that my cell phone would be used more for texting than calling,” he said. 46
Mark Re to Receive 2019 Crystal Ball Award Howard Hanna Real Estate general manager to be honored by the Central New York Sales & Marketing Executives
T
he Central New York Sales & Marketing Executives (CNYSME) have selected Mark Re as the 43rd recipient of its annual Crystal Ball Award. Re will receive the award April 30 at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown during the annual Crystal Ball and Sales & Marketing Excellence Awards presentation and celebration. An enduring symbol of the organization’s mission, the prestigious Crystal Ball is awarded annually by CNYSME to a local businessperson or group of business people in recognition of their contributions to the sales and marketing profession and for their endeavors in the areas of community development and support. The criteria for Crystal Ball recognition includes: holding a position of chief executive officer, president or director of a CNY business, a person whose visibility impacts the progress and prosperity of Central New York, a leader who demonstrates commitment to superior quality and professionalism, a person who fosters excellence in their industry, local involvement in community and civic organizations, and demonstrates and practices an appreciation of the sales and marketing industry. “When I look at the criteria that CNYSME’s Crystal Ball Award is based upon, Mark Re is living proof of what the award represents,” said Brooks Wright, President of CNY Sales & Marketing Executives. Re has a bachelor’s degree in human resource management and law and public policy from Syracuse University and is vice president and regional manager of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services Central New York & Northern New York Regions. Re has earned the “Realtor of the Year Award” and twice received the “Realtor Broker/Manager of the Year Award” from the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors” as well as their OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Mark Re will be recognized by the CNY Sales & Marketing Executives on April 30 in Syracuse. “Good Neighbor Award.” He received Chicago’s Nationwide Real Estate Recruiting Network “Recruiter of the Year Award” and most recently the New York State Association of Realtors “Community Service Award.” Re has served on a number of nonprofit boards, including Onondaga Community College, Upstate Medical University Hospital, Crouse Health Hospital, Community General Hospital, and Cortland Repertory Theatre, among others. In 2018, Re was bestowed the Onondaga Community College Alumni Faces Award.
APRIL / MAY 2019
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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REAL ESTATE By Lou Sorendo
Right at Home A
Study: Greater number of new, young people entering real estate business
n increasing number of younger and inexperienced workers, including those from the millennial generation, is choosing the real estate industry as an occupation. National Association of REALTORS membership has increased from 1.22 million in March 2017 to 1.3 million in April of 2018, according to a recent study by the NAR. Younger Americans entering the industry have driven this increase. The study found that 29 percent of real estate agents have less than two years of experience. William Galloway, broker-owner of Century 21 Galloway Realty in Oswego, sees this trend as apparent in Oswego County. Galloway noted that Century 21 is moving forward with a rebranding of the business, an initiative that has not happened in many years. 48
“They have a real feeling of what buyers are looking at and they are more at ease with marketing themselves because they have grown up with social media and technology that is so important in our business today.” “This is due to the fact that millennials have made a dramatic impact on the real estate market,” he said. “With the real estate market being driven by young buyers, we see new young agents getting into the business, driven by the fact their friends are all buying in the market.” OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Galloway said younger people today look at business differently than when he was entering the job market. “We looked at getting a job, working for a company for 40 years and then retire,” he said. “Today, young people see the benefit of being theirown boss. They are not tied down and limited to what they can earn for income. “The harder they work, they get the benefits with increased commissions and a greater feeling of accomplishment.” Florence Farley, sales professional with Berkshire-Hathaway HomeServices CNY Realty in Oswego, has also noticed the trend of younger real estate agents breaking into the industry to some degree. “Many of the new agents aren’t necessarily young in age, but are people investigating a second career APRIL / MAY 2019
or supplementing their existing jobs with part-time,” she said. Farley said there are many young people coming out of school who enjoy being independent and not having to conform to the 9-to-5 mentality “that our parents considered job security.” They enjoy the flexible hours and creativity, she said, while many are looking to pay off student loans with supplemental income. “They are not afraid to participate in the ‘gig economy,” she said. Recently, Harvard Business Review asked some of these independent workers what it took to be successful in this climate. Farley noted they cultivate four types of connections: to place, routines, purpose and people — that help them endure the emotional ups and downs of their work and gain energy and inspiration from their freedom. “New Realtors who want to be successful as independent contractors have to be disciplined enough to ‘produce or perish,’” she noted. Farley said the new wave of real estate agents bring a real appreciation for the use of mobile technology, social media and are comfortable in co-working spaces. “Whether in a coffee shop, their car or a hotel lobby, they are able to connect to the digital, streaming, cloud-based world and serve the needs of their clients,” she said.
Trending upward Galloway noted there are common characteristics among younger agents that bode well for a career in real estate. “What I see and realize is younger agents look at things completely different than the way I have looked at things over the years,” Galloway said. “They have a real feeling of what buyers are looking at and they are more at ease with marketing themselves because they have grown up with social media and technology that is so important in our business today.” Galloway is keeping pace with the times by relocating his office and modifying it for millennials. The new headquarters will be located at 120 E. First St., Oswego. “We are moving away from the old office set-up with desks and offices and moving to an open floor plan APRIL / MAY 2019
with high top desks,” Galloway said. He noted this layout allows agents to carry their laptops around to any area to work with clients. “The phone system will be different as well because phones will transfer to agents’ mobile phones and not tie them down to office desk phones,” he said. “The technology is all about speed and allowing agents to more efficiently deliver quality service their clients deserve.” In terms of real estate broker-owners creating space to accommodate the needs of younger agents, Farley said it is an area that is still evolving. “Good brokers help new agents with training and offering the software and technology that they
need to be successful,” she said. “They help them find that balance between the traditional real estate agent knowledge of taxes, financing and government regulations with an understanding of the Multiple Listing Service data in order to put together a decent market analysis.” She referred to realtors as “the original freelance employees.” She said the new NAR promotion is termed, “That’s Who We R.” “A Realtor is not just an agent, but must abide by a code of ethics and balance that responsibility with our duties as fiduciaries,” she said. “Even many investment brokers are not fiduciaries. Our primary responsibility is to the client, not just the company with whom we are affiliated.”
New Wave in Real Estate By Lou Sorendo
Henry L. Giberson IV Electrician by day, real estate agent by night What catapulted Henry L. Giberson IV into the real estate profession was a land purchase. “My wife Gloria and I contacted a real estate agent to assist us with the purchase of a particular piece of land. While the agent was great at what she did and highly qualified, I found myself wanting to have the same knowledge and insight that she held in regard to the real estate world,” he said. That’s when he decided to better understand the process as a whole — the transactions, language, and interactions with attorneys, bankers and other key players. “I live by the phrase ‘knowledge is power’ and therefore became compelled to arm myself with just that,” said Giberson, noting he then discovered a program of study and embarked on coursework. “I work as an electrician by day and a real estate agent by night,” he said. “I’m currently working part-time as a real estate agent and hope to make OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Giberson this a full-time opportunity because of the joy this career provides,” he said. “In the meantime, I’m taking advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow while embracing any and all successes on my journey.” Giberson attended Oswego High School and also works for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 43. 49
He is in his second year of working for Berkshire Hathaway Home Services of CNY. For much of his childhood, Giberson worked alongside his grandfather, Ralph Rose, considered a “jack of all trades.” “From him, I learned much about carpentry and the importance of honesty and hard work,” he said.
Building relationships Giberson, who turns 41 on April 30, said in addition to a high set of moral values, his training in the trades enhances his ability to better inform clients about the services he is able to provide. “I have learned through the years as my grandfather’s apprentice and as an electrician the importance of customer service,” he said. “Building a relationship and establishing rapport are fundamental.” He said his diverse skills and experience coupled with honesty, a strong work ethic and the ability to form solid relationships with others will be keys to his success in the field. He and his wife, Gloria Canale Giberson, have been married for 17 years and have four children ranging in ages from 3 months to 12 years. Both were born and raised in Oswego and work in the community. He added that balancing work and family life poses a challenge. “There are only so many hours in a day, so the job regularly demands that you prioritize, get organized and be extremely efficient with your time and energy,” he said. “Other challenges include saturation of agents in the field, and the need to stay current with an evolving market and the profession as a whole. Giberson noted the most gratifying aspect of the real estate industry is the interaction and relationship he builds with clients. “As a Realtor, you play a significant role during a major milestone in your client’s life,” he said. “You journey with them through the emotions, the ups and downs, and, with hope, see the smile at the end when the keys are in their hands.” Giberson said that call or referral offering additional business because of those lifelong connections that he establishes “make it all worth it.”
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Jenny Marie Arroway Newcomer to real estate industry cautions that not all that glitters is gold For Jenny Marie Arroway, who began in the real estate business in June of 2018, it is important for newcomers to the business to throw caution to the wind. Arroway, an agent for Century 21 Galloway Real Estate in Oswego, said the trend of younger people and those with limited experience getting into the industry is fueled by the notion of “not having to work for somebody on a 9-to-5 basis and essentially making your own hours. “Commissions seem great from the outside, but you don’t realize getting into it that it costs money to own your own business. You have to put a lot up front, and it takes months before you get a return on investment and for deals to close.” “You have to market yourself, and it’s just not easy to jump in and start making money,” she said. “A lot of people don’t last because of those unrealistic expectations.” “If you’re going to make it your career, you need to have realistic expectations, so a lot of people do have it as a second job,” she said. Arroway said she intends to work in real estate until retirement. She looks forward to building the community, whether it is through organizations such as the Oswego Renaissance Association or other nonprofit organizations. “I just want to be part of this growth that Oswego is going through right now,” said Arroway, noting the Port City “is where my heart and soul is.” “I can’t wait to see what happens in this city going forward and being part of that change,” she added. Arroway, 47, said she is a great communicator and enjoys making other people happy. “My passion is helping people realize their dreams of owning their own home,” she said.
Back on familiar ground Arroway, originally from Indianapolis, Ind., attended schools in Oswego before moving to Florida in 2001. After 17 years in the Sunshine State, OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Arroway
“You have to market yourself, an it’s just not easy to jump in and start making money.” she relocated back to Oswego in what she terms as the best move of her life. “When I left, I swore I would never come back. But after visiting my sister here during the holidays over the last couple of years, I saw a lot of change happening in neighborhoods,” she said. “I was like, ‘This is the hometown I’ve always wanted.’” “I saw people coming together and building community, and I started to get homesick,” she said. While bartending at the Lake Ontario Event & Conference Center in Oswego, the Oswego Renaissance Association was holding an awards ceremony for individuals who had received grant funds to revitalize their properties. Various individuals spoke at the event about their experience and what they had accomplished in the community by putting work into their homes. “It brought tears to my eyes. I knew then I wanted to be part of this and part of the change,” she said. Arroway is spearheading revitalization efforts on her block in the city, and is heading up the grant application process. APRIL / MAY 2019
“Being in real estate is not just a good move for career reasons. It’s also being a voice in the community while building and developing community. I wanted desperately to be part of that,” she added. Arroway said in a small city like Oswego, real estate competition is stiff, particularly being that she has been gone for the past 17 years. However, she enjoys working with “legends in the business” and is able to get their expertise and learn from them. Besides the challenge of stiff competition, the market features a low inventory of homes now. “You really have to be able to work with what you have and navigate buyers through some of these waters, especially New York taxes. A lot of them are not prepared for the actual cost of owning a home in New York state,” she said. “Across the board, and this is anywhere and not just in New York state, people have a home and love it. When they want to sell it, they might not realize it’s really dependent on the market, and not what they have put into their home. It’s a fluid thing,” Arroway said.
Emergence of social media Arroway noted social media is “huge” when it comes to outreach, and recently did a virtual open house featuring one of her listings. By virtue of that showing, she acquired two more listings. She said virtual open houses are trending upwards as some people are tentative about having actual open houses because of privacy concerns. “At least that first look cuts out some of the people who are just kicking tires,” she said. In order to attain a high level of success, Arroway said it takes time to reacquaint herself with the community as well as marketing. “I see Oswego being put on the map very soon and becoming the next Skaneateles,” she noted. Arroway majored in psychology and minored in theater at SUNY Oswego. In Florida, she attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale for interior design, and she hopes some day to incorporate that skill set into her career goals. When she is not busy with real estate, Arroway is into gardening at her home by Breitbeck Park in Oswego, and enjoys lake life that includes kayaking and canoeing. APRIL / MAY 2019
New Wave in Real Estate Elizabeth Dufore First-year realtor: ‘You are only going to get out of it what you put in’ Honesty is not only the best policy, but also the best business approach. For Elizabeth Dufore, her honesty is a strength that bodes well for her in the real estate industry. “I am a very honest person. I think that will serve me well by being able to build lasting relationships and connections with people,” the Rhinebeck native said. Dufore, 30, said people want to work with someone they can trust, not just someone looking to make a sale. “I am also very driven and motivated. I can’t just sit around,” she said. “I need to be constantly challenging myself and growing. Since real estate is always evolving, I think it will be a great fit for me.” “I chose real estate as an occupation because I really wanted to find something I was passionate about and found interesting,” she said. “Purchasing a new home is such an exciting experience and I think it’s great to be part of that.” What motivated her the most was “probably the flexibility of being able to make your own hours and create your own schedule. “I have another job as a financial analyst as well and the flexibility gives me the chance to break into a new profession without giving up my other
“I chose real estate as an occupation because I really wanted to find something I was passionate about and found interesting.” OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Dufore obligations.” While real estate offers welcome flexibility, that can also serve as one of the job’s challenges. “You are only going to get out of it what you put in. You need to be disciplined enough to put the time in or you won’t succeed,” she said. “You essentially work for yourself, which means you need to put in the effort.” Dufore, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business, said some of the more gratifying aspects of working in real estate involve being able to help people. “Helping other people makes you feel good! It can also be very rewarding when you finally start to see your hard work pay off,” the Oswego resident said. Her long-range goals include eventually moving to an area that features a warmer climate and breaking into the real estate industry there. “I would like to get into real estate investing but for now I am focusing on some of my short-term goals as a new agent,” she said. “I am using this first year as a stepping stone and learning experience. Dufore, who has an 11-year-old son, enjoys working out, staying healthy and reading. 51
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REAL ESTATE
Slum Landlords, Serial Bad Tenants Ready for the property rental business? Be prepared to deal with a wide variety of tenants (ps: in some cases, it may not be a pleasant experience) By Marie Taormino-Kouthoofd
A
ll mankind may be created equal, but not all renters are woven from the same cloth. The jig is up, the news is out and the message is clear — the war on slum landlords has begun. Pick up your local newspaper, search online and you will find a resounding call on landlords to step up and take responsibility. A cry is going out to these business owners to start caring for our neighborhoods and to stop taking advantage of our residents. Using rental permits and increased fines as leverage, the headlines forcefully warn of stricter regulations, code enforcement sweeps, crackdowns and waging an all-out war. Refreshing notions to be sure, but could there be a flip side to this equation? Perhaps another variable we might factor in? It’s easy to get caught up in the hype, jump on the bandwagon and join the crusade against the bad guys. Rightfully so, individuals who ride on the shirt tails of the poor should be taken to task. Absentee, neglectful landlords
APRIL / MAY 2019
cause property values to plummet, neighborhoods to deteriorate and, most importantly, squeeze the economically depressed by trapping them in substandard housing. Make no mistake: Slum landlords — as they are so freely called — are a blight on society. Their neglectful and shady practices give all landlords a bad name. But for every low-down, no good slum landlord who engages in shady practices, some argue there is a wretched renter, terrible tenant and low-down leaseholder lurking in the shadows.
For every low-down, slum landlord who engages in shady practices, there is a wretched renter, terrible tenant and low-down leaseholder lurking in the shadows
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
The business of business A landlord’s goal is to provide a service, in this case housing, and get paid for that service. As business owners, they have legal and civil responsibilities and rights. Landlords, like all business owners, are to follow the dictated guidelines provided, hopefully not only by law, but their conscience as well. Not all tenants are terrific. It’s great when a symbiotic tenant-landlord relationship is established and both parties are found culpable for their actions. But, when that relationship is lacking, that’s when the trouble sets in. Good tenants are a rental property owner’s dream. Paying their rent in a timely fashion, they take care of and maintain their rented home. Responsible tenants report issues promptly, beautify their surroundings and serve as an asset to the community. But tenants, like landlords, are a cross-section of the population and not all tenants add value. Beyond the rigorous selection
53
Tenants and Turbulence Here are some head scratchers we’ve dealt with over the years as landlords: Landlord: “No pets allowed.” Tenant: “What exactly does no pets mean?” Can’t I have just one goldfish? What about a lizard?” One-liners: “The window just fell out.” “The doorknob fell off.” “That’s not my dog. I’m just dog sitting for a couple months.” “That was always like that.” “That was never there.” Landlord: “What happened to the screen?” Tenant: “Oh, the handle was sticking so we just cut it with a knife, no problem.” When we asked a tenant about a new body-sized hole in sheetrock: Tenant: “The lights were off and I accidentally walked into the wall” (The tenant weighs approximately 100 pounds soaking wet). When we asked a tenant why the stove was outside in the elements, and the tenant responded: “It was too dirty because I spilled grease on it, so I got a new one.” Landlord: “Rent has not been paid to date.” Tenant: “Sorry can’t pay this month, have to pay my car insurance. I’ll try to get you something next month, though.” When we asked a tenant about damage and flood under a sink, the tenant responded, “That’s not my fault. I never go under there.” This is the same tenant who tried to sell us a stove that was being repossessed. Tenant: “Can you get a plumber over here? The basement is flooded” We arrive to find the basement flooded from the hose the tenant forgot to shut off. It’s Christmas vacation, and a tenant calls to inform us that the pipes burst and they are in need of immediate assistance. The plumber arrives for the emergency call to find the toilet overflowing from a clog that was caused by tenant. 54
process, background and credit checks, rental references and verified income, there is a growing population of serial bad tenants. Possibly lacking a pro-social role model in their life, they survive by any means. With limited education, they may have inadequate hygiene practices, lack the ability to maintain a household, litter the property with debris and unwittingly destroy the very place they call home. Some may struggle with mental health issues, physical disabilities or drug and alcohol abuse, while others may be perpetrators or victims and survivors of domestic violence. Then there are the unscrupulous characters. These malicious malcontents are filled to the brim with entitlement and apathy. Armed to the teeth with the knowledge of their rights, these despicable deadbeats make it a career of using and abusing the system. Serial slumming, they create havoc in otherwise peaceful neighborhoods. They indiscriminately destroy our city, leave behind a trail of destruction, have no regard for community and target those willing to lend a helping hand. Worse yet, protected by the system and little documented income of their own, they walk away without recourse. Why not kick ‘em to the curb? Evictions take time and cost money. Knowing what to say and how to act, tenants can buy time with the judge and use the system to their advantage. Many are securely locked into an annual lease. This lease is dictated and backed by their assisted housing. Exercising their rights, they can extend their stay a considerable amount of time while they destroy the property beyond recognition and continue to terrorize the neighborhood. As should be, most assistive or intervention programs are set in place to protect the tenant. Eligibility requirements are minimal as are the behavioral expectation of the tenant. For instance, if one is to join the homelessness initiative with their local municipality and help the homeless, an annual lease is signed. But landlord beware: As long as the individual is off the street and the lease is signed, what happens from here on in can become the landowner’s problem.
Underbelly of society Working as a charge-medications nurse some years back, I recall talking with a colleague at the finish of a usual OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
hectic shift. Daily exposed to the human condition, we shouldered the pain of watching people suffer from a myriad of diseases, some physical, some mental, some nice people, some not so nice. How I missed the days of my youth working at a jewelry store where the utmost priority was to make the glass showcases shine. With that, my colleague and I agreed that we could pick any average citizen off the street and expose them to what we just experienced and most would run off screaming in disbelief. Having worked side by side with my husband in the business of renting residential housing for over 20 years, we also at times want to run screaming in disbelief. Imagine if you will, that I came into your home or your place of business and urinated on your carpets. What if I ripped your light fixtures from your ceilings? Perhaps I performed magic and, voila, made all your smoke detectors disappear? Would you mind if I rocked your toilet until the seal broke and flooded the bottom floor of your house? And when you asked me to leave, I meticulously took the trap off your upstairs bathtub, then returned it after I methodically drilled holes in the drain pipes, thus leaving a special surprise for the downstairs’ neighbor when the water is next used. Oh, for the grand finale, I’ll superglue the locks. OK, perhaps I’m not so malicious. Why not carefully eat the chocolate off an entire box of Little Debbie Swiss rolls and leave their mutilated carcasses on an open platter for an indiscriminate period of time? Maybe I’ll never take out the trash but continuously litter the lawn. Get ready for excrement, maggots, bedbugs, fleas and more. Yes, real estate has it all. Think it’s your bag? Be sure to acquire a good sense of humor, a real thick skin and a generous financial cushion. As the pendulum swings so fervently toward the right of the tenants, good-intending small business owners looking to lead by example and lend a helping hand to those fallen on hard times best be vigilant lest they get a good swift kick in the teeth.
Marie Taormino-Kouthoofd, along with her husband Rod, own RMK Properties in Oswego. They have several rental properties in the area. APRIL / MAY 2019
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
55
COVER
A New Move for
Terry LeRoy Homegrown entrepreneur who started a specialty jewelry manufacturing company in the basement of his home and grew it to sell products worldwide relocates to Oswego By Lou Sorendo
L
eRoi Inc., a body jewelry manufacturing company that has carved an indelible niche globally for its custom designs and brand, is making a new home in the Port City. LeRoi Inc., owned by Terry LeRoy, will be moving from Fulton into a site at 212 W. Second St. in the city of Oswego.
LeRoy expressed excitement about the transition. “The size and layout are perfect for our operations,” said LeRoy, noting the building is nearly 11,000 square feet, approximately five times the space it presently has at its Fulton location. The new location will be up and running this spring. “So not only will it give us the 56
space we need, but also plenty of room to expand,” he said. LeRoy, an Oswego native, said the new site features plenty of office and administrative space and overhead doors that will facilitate moving equipment easier. LeRoy said the key to retrofitting the space into what the business needs comes down to the floor plan. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
“We’ve been in business for 24 years, so we understand our business intimately,” he said. “We know how to make the daily flow of manufacturing, polishing and assembly efficient in a small space. The biggest challenge will be how to translate the daily processes into a larger area.” The relocation was incentivized by a $130,000 job creation grant through APRIL / MAY 2019
the NYS Community Development Block Grant program, administered and managed by the city of Oswego’s Community & Economic Development Office. LeRoy noted the grant was a vital component of the relocation plan. “Applying this grant to the purchase price was the incentive we needed to help us make the transition,” he said. City of Oswego Mayor William Barlow noted LeRoy invited him to his business to check out what it does. “I went to tour the facility and was literally amazed at his entire operation, everything from his many customers worldwide, to how hard his employees were working, to the amount of production he made out of his location,” Barlow said. Barlow said entrepreneurs like LeRoy “are the exact type of business owners and people I want in Oswego and the jobs his company provides are reliable, good-paying jobs that provide people with a great living wage.” The mayor told LeRoy that he would do whatever it takes to get him to re-locate to the Port City. “So together, with the help of Pathfinder Bank and Bill Galloway [broker-owner of Century 21 Galloway Realty in Oswego], we found a location, I offered some financial assistance, pledged my support and we made it happen,” Barlow said. “He knew we were having issues with limited work space and said that if we were to move into Oswego, he had some ideas to help make that appealing to us,” LeRoy said. It was approximately eight weeks from when Barlow visited to the time the grant was received and LeRoy closed on the property. “That is just incredible,” he said. LeRoi Inc. employs 40 workers.
World renowned LeRoy said building a strong brand and managing cash flow properly has positioned the business to make this expansion happen. “Over the years, the business has had some very fruitful and very lean times,” he said. “The lean times taught us to be cautious about spending and to learn how to really respect and manage money.” The LeRoi brand is world-renowned, giving the business stability in the industry, LeRoy said. “We believe that we make the highest quality body jewelry in the world,” he said. “We have always been at the APRIL / MAY 2019
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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LeRoi Inc. crew posing for photographer Chuck Wainwright on March 7 in Fulton.
forefront of design and innovation and are deeply rooted in the body modification industry. This is a very loyal and tight-knit community of artists and shops across the world. All of our jewelry comes with a lifetime guarantee as well.” All of this results in a progressive and prosperous business model that ultimately allows the business the ability to make financial decisions, such as purchasing its new property, he added. LeRoy said his most valued and important assets are his employees. “We have an amazingly talented and dedicated workforce of individuals that make this all possible,” he said. LeRoy said he looks at the business as “a living, breathing organism.” “It’s like a person’s body. If it’s given the respect and attention it deserves, it thrives. If it gets neglected, it 58
suffers,” he said. He said in a sense, LeRoi Inc. is its own being and has a particular health associated with it. “In our case, it is prosperous and healthy because of our thriving and happy workforce. We all care very much about LeRoi Inc., each other and what we do,” he said. LeRoy recently won the Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce’s 2019 Community Investor Award. “It was a great honor for LeRoi Inc. to be acknowledged and given this award, and it feels amazing. I share this award with all of our incredible employees who made it possible,” he said. “This award will be placed in a prominent location in our business so that our team can feel proud of this accomplishment.” LeRoy has garnered his personal OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
skill sets and strengths toward becoming an accomplished entrepreneur. “I am optimistic, disciplined and goal-oriented, and I love creating jewelry, music and art,” he said. “I love great ideas and new ways of thinking and seeing things. “I like to multi-task and evolve with the times and keep an open mind about life and its possibilities. “When I feel strongly about an idea, I don’t hesitate and like to take the risk and jump off the ledge. I also give myself the grace to make mistakes, take a step back, reflect, and then move forward,” he added. “Life is exciting to me, so I’m interested in most things. However, jewelry, art, music, fitness and animals are my top choices in terms of hobbies,” he said.
APRIL / MAY 2019
Terry LeRoy with Julie Truell, his chief operating officer. She has been with the company for 23 years.
Support system In terms of major support and influences, LeRoy said his father, Bob LeRoy, Julie Truell, his chief operating officer, and his fiancé Tammy Wilkinson are invaluable. His dad became vice president of LeRoi Inc. in 2013. “He is an incredible man,” said LeRoy, noting his father served with Navy Seabees from 1957 to 1962 and was stationed at Guam, Chichijima and Kodiak islands. In late 1960, he was employed at General Electric for 12 years as an electrician and in 1974 joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 43 in Oswego, where he has been a member for 45 years. “He has been in charge of all the build-outs and relocations LeRoi Inc. APRIL / MAY 2019
Terry LeRoy’s fiancé Tammy Wilkinson, right, checking jewelry specs with a co-worker. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Bob LeRoy, Terry’s father, is an early backer of LeRoi Inc. He became a vice president of the company in 2013. has had over the years,” LeRoy said. Coincidentally, he was the general foreman of CPS Electric, the former owner of the new location at 212 W. Second St. in Oswego. “He worked out of that building for years and knows it very well. He has been a huge inspiration in my life and I love and respect him deeply,” LeRoy said. For Bob LeRoy, moving to the Port City will be beneficial for LeRoi Inc. because the new facility will provide thousands more in square footage. “This increased area allows for more equipment and employees, and the results will be more sales for LeRoi and growth for the city of Oswego,” he said. Bob said he is “very excited” to be part of his son’s business and helping it become successful. “It’s a privilege and honor to be able to share the success,” he said. Bob said the Navy Seabees are responsible for sparking his interest in the construction trades, starting with power line construction. “Over the years, it has taken me on a life journey involving all trades,” he said. “That journey has helped me develop people and supervisory skills. That has been helpful in getting the job 60
at hand done.” There is an old Seabee saying that has been Bob’s life motto: The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer. Terry added that Truell has been with the company and “in the trenches with me” for 23 years. “From the company’s early beginnings in 1995 when we were located in a workshop in the basement of my residence until now, she has helped to shape and grow LeRoi,” he said. “She is an incredible person and her skills are nothing short of impressive.
“Julie has been integral in helping bring this company to the next level. I couldn’t do this without her.” Theatre DuJour founder Tammy Wilkinson has been an amazing support as well, LeRoy added. “She is extremely talented and her love and encouragement helps keep me focused and inspired. We bounce ideas off each other on a daily basis,” LeRoy said. In addition to working as a goldsmith at LeRoi Inc., Wilkinson also assists in the marketing and branding of the company.
Community Backing Terry LeRoy, a Minetto resident of owner of LeRoi Inc., said costs associated with the relocation to the new building in Oswego, located at 212 W. Second St., are approximately $100,000. This includes new construction inside the building, minor repairs on the existing structure and some new equipment. He said that several people played an instrumental role in the logistics of OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
purchasing his new building. These people include Thomas Galloway of Century 21 Galloway Realty in Oswego; Thomas Schneider, president and CEO of Pathfinder Bank; Justin Rudgick, director of Oswego Community & Economic Development Office; and L. Michael Treadwell, executive director of Operation Oswego County and CEO of the county Industrial Development Agency.
APRIL / MAY 2019
LeRoy: Body Modification Industry Still a Young Industry
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ntrepreneur Terry LeRoy said the body modification industry — which includes body piercing — is still a relatively young industry and is only 25 to 30 years old, he noted. “Each year, it continues to grow. There are literally tens of thousands of shops across the world,” he said. LeRoi Inc. sells its products wholesale to retail outlets across the globe. “Because we are a jewelry manufacturer and our roots are in fine jewelry creation, we can pretty much make anything as it pertains to jewelry designs,” he said. “But our primary focus and business model is high-end body piercing jewelry manufacturing.” LeRoy spoke about what consumers look for when seeking out a place to have body piercing done. Some choose a shop based purely on price alone, he
“But our primary focus and business model is high-end body piercing jewelry manufacturing.”
noted. “Unfortunately, this could be physically dangerous for a number of reasons. There should always be a concern regarding blood-borne pathogens and low-quality jewelry,” he said. When a person is dealing with body piercing, he or she is dealing with puncturing the skin and the potential
LeRoy received the “Community Investor Award” from the Greater OswegoFulton Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 13. The award celebrated his ongoing commitment to the local business community. Pictured are Julie Truell, LeRoi Inc. chief operating officer; LeRoy and his fiance, Tammy Wilkinson; and Katie Toomey, the chamber’s executive director. “It was a great honor for LeRoi Inc. to be acknowledged and given this award, and it feels amazing,” said LeRoy APRIL / MAY 2019
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
for diseases entering the body. “If proper techniques and sterilization processes are not in place, this could be very dangerous,” he said. “In addition, low-quality jewelry made with low-grade materials can also contaminate the body. What I’m saying here is that when you shop based on price alone, you’re risking your health.” He said people should always be concerned about their health and look for a reputable shop that adheres to the highest level of health standards. “This is the type of shop where the owners will be more than happy to show you all of their sterilization techniques and discuss in detail the type of high-quality jewelry that they use,” he said. LeRoy said prices will be higher but in the long run, it is always worth it. “These are the type of shops that LeRoi Inc. sells to and that consumers should seek out,” he said. LeRoy said more than likely, this type of shop is also a member and supporter of the industry’s “governing body” — the Association of Professional Piercers. The APP is a California-based, international nonprofit organization dedicated to the dissemination of vital health and safety information about body piercing to piercers, health care professionals, legislators, and the general public. The APP also has specific jewelry standards that members agree to adhere to regarding implant grade materials and jewelry styles that are at the highest level, LeRoy added. Since 2006, LeRoi Inc. has been a corporate member and sponsor of the APP (www.safepiercing.org). Hot products that are trending are nose, navel and ear jewelry. “These are our bread and butter for sales. This is also our retailers’ bread and butter, which means this is what is currently popular,” he said. “There have been many trends over the years in jewelry style and placements. Precious metals jewelry is now at the forefront of our customers’ requests. It’s more than 50 percent of what we create.” LeRoy said his business’ innovation, longevity, dependability, customer service and quality craftsmanship give him a competitive edge. “We personally know many of our customers and have built strong relationships over the years,” he said. “All of these things help us remain competitive. In our industry as far as our customers are concerned, the cost of the jewelry isn’t necessarily the determining factor for the sale.” 61
BANKING By Lou Sorendo
Kinderhook Bank Corp. in the Albany area. The bank was recently acquired by DeWitt-based Community Bank, NA.
A Capital Move Community Bank, N.A. assets now surpasses $11 billion, following acquisition of Kinderhook Bank Corp. in the Capital District
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wo financial institutions that share a commitment to community-based banking and customer service are now one. Community Bank System, Inc. is acquiring Kinderhook Bank Corp., parent company of National Union Bank of Kinderhook, in an all-cash transaction valued at more than $93 million. Community Bank, N.A. — a subsidiary of CBS Inc. — has more than 240 customer locations and ATMs across Upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont and western Massachusetts. The bank has locations in Oswego, Fulton, Hannibal and Pulaski. Community Bank, N.A. has assets of about $11 billion. The DeWitt-headquartered company is among the country’s 150 largest financial institutions. The completion of the acquisition is expected to be in the second quar62
ter of 2019. Kinderhook Bank provides Community Bank, N.A. a solid operating presence in the Capital District, with total assets of nearly $640 million, deposits of $560 million and 11 banking offices across a five-county area. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will have approximately $11.3 billion in assets. “I think as part of our overall strategy, we want to grow organically in the markets where we already have representation and we also want to grow over time through high-value acquisition opportunities,” said Mark E. Tryniski, president, chief executive officer and director at Community Bank System, Inc. “That’s our broadbased growth model.” In looking at Community Bank, N.A.’s existing franchise footprint, it is heavily represented in Western and Central New York, the North CounOSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
CEO Mark Tryniski.
“We wouldn’t be where we are if we didn’t have the people and culture in our organization. Growing and succeeding are fun.” — Mark Tryniski APRIL / MAY 2019
try, and extends its presence through the Mohawk Valley. “If you look at a map of our franchise and where we had representation and where we didn’t, there was a hole in the middle, and that was the Greater Capital District market,” he said. The bank leader noted the acquisition was a combination of strategic and geographic interest. Tryniski, who earned his bachelor’s degree at SUNY Oswego, characterized Kinderhook as a community bank that offers the same types of products and services that Community Bank, N.A. does. “They’ve been around for 160 years in those markets,” he said. “They are a well-established, high-quality institution in those markets and a good opportunity for us and, frankly, for their shareholders.” Tryniski noted Community Bank, N.A. has a history of acquisitions and has done approximately 20 over the last 10 years. Not all of them involved banks. Community Bank, N.A. also has a significant benefits administration business that operates across the country and in Puerto Rico, as well as an insurance business. “We’ve done a fair amount of acquisitions over the years, usually at least one or two a year,” he said. “Most of them are smaller.” Tryniski said Community Bank, N.A. has a core competency in acquisitions and in integrating them in such a way that it reduces customer impact “to zero.” Tryniski said a significant measure of any acquisition’s success is limited impact on customers. “It’s basically ensuring that continuity of accessibility and ease of use across multiple distribution channels. That really is the one principal measure of success,” he said. Tryniski said acquisitions are “all a little bit different,” but the overarching objective of any acquisition is to make it seamless to customers. “If you can do that, it will be successful,” he noted. “That is always the focus, and that will be the case this time. It’s a high-quality franchise that doesn’t have any issues, difficulties, complexities or challenges that we feel are going to make it unusual in any way,” Tryniski added.
APRIL / MAY 2019
Community Bank, N.A. has a history of acquisitions and has done approximately 20 over the last 10 years. Win-win situation In terms of benefits, Tryniski said the acquisition gives existing customers an increased physical presence in the form of branches and ATM options. “For our shareholders, the benefit is it’s a high-value, low-risk opportunity that is going to be solidly accretive to shareholders in terms of earnings per share and dividend capacity,” he noted. “It’s an all-cash transaction, so we are not diluting our existing shareholders by issuing stock to their shareholders. That’s another element of benefit for our shareholders,” he said. For Kinderhook’s customer base, they will enjoy the benefits derived from being acquired by a larger bank. They will plug into a much broader, deeper set of products and services that Community Bank, N.A. features as a result, Tryniski said. “I would say the benefit to their shareholders is that they enjoy a transaction which provides them with a substantial market premium,” he said. Market premium is the difference between Kinderhook Bank’s trading price before the acquisition’s announcement and Community Bank, N.A.’s transaction price. Upon the transaction’s closing, the names of all Kinderhook branches will be changed to Community Bank, N.A., and all signage, collateral materials, debit cards and checkbooks will be switched in a total rebranding process. “We will rebrand Kinderhook Bank to Community Bank, N.A.,” Tryniski said. Community Bank, N.A. launched a commercial lending business in the Capital District early in 2018. “We had a really successful inaugural year of operation in the Capital District,” Tryniski said. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
He said the recent acquisition “is just going to further enhance the depth of our franchise there.” “We didn’t have branches, but now we will. We have been doing a fair amount of marketing, principally around business lending, and we will of course expand that much more broadly into retail and other kinds of general brand marketing in the Capital District,” he added.
‘Vibrant’ demographic Generally speaking, Tryniski said the Capital District is relatively similar to markets in Central New York. “If you look at the demographics and economic characteristics, it’s a bit more vibrant in terms of all the employment, housing, development and new business formation,” he said. “There’s a lot of economic activity that is a result of Albany being the state capital as well, which I think is additive to the economy and demographics of the Capital Region.” Tryniski said not all banks use mergers and acquisitions as a growth model, but many do. “We have a history that has given us some experience and expertise and the ability to grow through acquisitions, and doing it in a way that has been beneficial to our shareholders over the long term,” he said. Tryniski said Community Bank, N.A. has built a reputation in the industry as a high-quality acquirer. “We know what we are doing and are very transparent about what this means to all of us,” he said. “We are very transparent about the economics to our shareholders and to their shareholders.” He said that reputation of transparency and integrity has been helpful to Community Bank, N.A. in attracting potential merger partners.
What’s ahead? In regards to further expansion, Tryniski noted Community Bank, N.A. has an active and ongoing dialogue and engagement with other institutions, both within and contiguous to its existing footprint. Tryniski, who has been with the bank since 2003, noted Community Bank, N.A. is represented well in New York state, outside of the New York City metropolitan region. “We are not interested [in the 63
NYC market] and it is not a strategic focal point of ours,” said Tryniski, adding there are other places in the state that are generating interest. “New York City is a very different market than Upstate New York,” he said. “It has a different economy, competitive environment and regulations.” The bank is heavily entrenched in Vermont, and further extension into New England “would make sense,” he said. Community Bank, N.A. also has a healthy presence in northeastern Pennsylvania, and opportunities abound in central and western Pennsylvania. “We’ve had dialogue with banks in eastern Ohio as well, so I think those are all markets where we have the opportunity to continue to engage with other banks about potential partnership opportunities,” he added. “We wouldn’t be where we are if we didn’t have the people and culture in our organization,” he said. “Growing and succeeding is fun.” In terms of competitive edge, Tryniski said Community Bank, N.A. displays a “very high” level of financial performance. In fact, Forbes magazine recently rated Community Bank, N.A. as the third-strongest financial institution in the United States. Since Forbes began featuring a list of best banks about 10 years ago, Community Bank, N.A. has been ranked every year. The ranking of third is its best mark yet. “We’re pretty proud of that. It’s really a reflection of the quality of people and the culture in our organization,” he said. “It starts with financial strength. If you don’t have financial strength as an organization, growing by way of mergers and acquisitions is almost impossible.” “My view is if you do the right things every day to serve your customers and support your communities, the financial success and strength is a byproduct of that,” he said. “That’s the way we manage the organization. The focus is really on our customers and communities, and doing the best we can every day to serve our customers and communities and to support each other. “Our financial strength and success, operating performance and earnings per share are just a byproduct of that focus on our customers and communities.” 64
BANKING By Lou Sorendo
Looking to Onondaga County for Growth Pathfinder Bank, which recently opened a branch on Route 31, Clay, will soon open another branch on Syracuse’s southwest side. It’s also looking at locations in Eastwood and the Syracuse Inner Harbor for additional branches
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pathfinder is a person who goes ahead and discovers or shows others a path or way. That same definition can be applied to Pathfinder Bank, a community financial institution that is growing at a whirlwind pace throughout Central New York. Pathfinder Bank recently purchased a vacant 119-year-old mansion in Syracuse’s southwest neighborhood and plans to turn it into a branch office with community meeting rooms. Jim Dowd, executive vice president-chief operating officer for Pathfinder, said the bank is focused on enhancing convenient access to customers in the Syracuse area. Dowd said Pathfinder has already been active in the Syracuse market in the form of loan activity. “Since 2014, we have been in the Pike Block location [109 W. Fayette St.] and our loan growth in the city of Syracuse and the Onondaga County had been substantial,” he said. What resulted was the creation of a pent-up demand for Pathfinder’s deposit activities. “Since we didn’t have the branch network like we do in Oswego County in that location, we needed to expand,” Dowd said. Also in 2014, Pathfinder Bank officials noticed resurgence in Onondaga County, particularly in Syracuse where there was a movement of residents miOSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
grating back into the downtown area. “We happened to see this tremendous resurgence that was going on there, and it was timed perfectly with our Pike Block office in the heart of Armory Square in downtown Syracuse,” he noted. Dowd said as Pathfinder began to do significantly more lending into that market, there was a need to fund that lending through deposit gathering. “The only way for us to be able to do that is to expand the number of locations that we have and give us access to different pools of customers,” he added. The new branch is a former mansion at 506 W. Onondaga St. on the city’s southwest side that is considered underserved. Pathfinder worked with both Syracuse-based civic and community leaders, and used their help in choosing this particular location that is close to the heart of downtown. The bank has hired VIP Structures in Syracuse to be the architect on the project. “We know with their skills sets combined with our knowledge and desire, we will get the outcome we are looking for,” he said. Dowd has been managing Pathfinder’s bank facilities for about 10 years, and has experience in branch renovations as well as building new branches. APRIL / MAY 2019
Pathfinder
Pathfinder Bank is renovating this former mansion at 506 W. Onondaga St. on Syracuse’s southwest side and will turn it into one of its branches. The branch will also feature space for community meetings. The bank plans to open additional branches in Onondaga County. “But I’ve never taken a 120-year-old mansion and turned it into bank space and community meeting space, so it does present some different challenges that we are not accustomed to at other locations,” he said. Pathfinder intends to restore some of the building’s historical integrity, although the bank does not seek to have it established as a National Historic Registry site. Pathfinder will establish meeting rooms on the second floor that will be made available to community groups for educational and financial literacy training and other events. APRIL / MAY 2019
Pathfinder Bank expects to exceed the coveted $1 billion mark in assets sometime this year OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Dowd said upon convening with civic and community leaders in the Syracuse area, it was determined there was need for this type of space. “We want to make sure all of the communities we serve have economic, social and cultural vibrancy,” Dowd said. Dowd noted there is “vibrant activity” occurring around the former mansion, and Pathfinder’s efforts will continue positive momentum and development in that section of the city. He added there is a “tight-knit group” in that area that “just needs more access to capital in order to launch 65
their business ideas and start building momentum in that market.”
Continued expansion The branch will be the Oswego-based bank’s fourth office in Onondaga County. In addition to its downtown Syracuse office, it has a branch on Route 31 in Cicero and opened one recently on Route 31 in Clay. According to Dowd, this is part of an overall strategy on the part of the bank to seek greater market share in Onondaga County. Pathfinder Bank has been domiciled in the city and county of Oswego for nearly 160 years. “We are certainly a dominant force when looking at our significant market share in the city and county of Oswego,” he said. Dowd said to expect a continued effort on behalf of Pathfinder to branch even more into Onondaga County. “We feel there is a lot of organic movement that we can get from growth, and it seems like people are seeking out the community bank model, which is a little bit different than the larger, big bank model,” he said. Within the community bank structure, local decision-making really comes into play. “We don’t have to look toward someone in New York City, or Buffalo, or North Carolina, or someone in London to make decisions,” he said. “Our decision-makers live, work and play in the markets that we serve.” Meanwhile, Pathfinder continues its dedication to supporting communities, not only through charitable gifts and dollars, but through its employee base. “It’s amazing when you look at the leadership positions that our employee base has in so many of these cultural, civic and nonprofit organizations,” he said. “We really embrace the communities that we serve, and I think that’s been very successful for us.” Through its charitable community service donation initiative, the financial institution contributed more than $500,000 in 2018 to support a variety of organizations throughout the region. “If something is happening in a community that we serve, usually we are involved in one way or another,” he said. “That’s just a reflection of how important those communities are to us. If we can make them better economically, it’s only going to benefit us across the board.” 66
Clay branch hopping Pathfinder’s latest branch location on Route 31 in Clay is a testament to the bank’s efforts to successfully provide ease of access and convenience, Dowd said. “We opened the Route 31 branch in Clay last November, and our deposit gathering is way ahead of our wildest dreams,” he said. “We have become incredibly embraced by the local community, and I was impressed with the level of retail deposit growth [versus deposits by businesses and municipalities]. Dowd said success in a different market comes about in a multitude of ways. “No. 1, it’s a result of all the hard efforts that went into branding who we are, and our efforts with marketing, community outreach, and developing community support,” said Dowd, adding that Pathfinder is highly visible through billboards and television advertising. “There was a buzz about us,” Dowd said. Pathfinder took a building that was set off the roadway in a darkened space and literally brightened it up. Just as important as that was to success are the people that staff the Clay location. “We felt that we were able to get very talented people who had expertise in banking in that market,” he said. “We felt that knowledge and experience would be essential to our growth and that has definitely been reflected in the first couple of months.” Dows said the bank’s growth has been organic. “We’re not out buying smaller institutions and then trying to meld our culture with theirs. That’s not an approach we want to take,” Dowd said. He noted there is “plenty of room” for organic growth in the Greater Central New York region.
No looking back Dowd noted that top leadership at the bank, including president and CEO Thomas Schneider, vice president-commercial team leader Ron Tascarella, and regional president-Syracuse market Calvin Corriders, are all working diligently to support the markets Pathfinder serves. “Lending growth has been outstanding. I think it’s the markets that are really deciding how fast we are going OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Jim Dowd to grow or not,” Dowd said. Dowd said historically, the bank has been growing loans at a 15 percent annual growth rate, and that has been accomplished without prospecting. “People are coming and knocking on our doors,” he said. “It’s word of mouth coming from one satisfied customer to the next,” he added. Pathfinder has seven branches in Oswego County and a loan office in Utica, and the bank is looking at locations in Eastwood and the Syracuse Inner Harbor for additional branches. Pathfinder opened a loan office in Utica in 2017. “We see similar trends in the downtown Utica market that we saw for our growth in Syracuse, and we want to position ourselves in the market at the beginning of those similar trends,” Dowd said. “We also have some individuals within our management team who have a lot of ties in the Utica market, and they had a sense of this growth,” said Dowd, adding that three people staff the loan production office. Dowd said the Utica location is already making an impact. “We’ve been generating loans in the market just like we did in Syracuse, with lending activities followed up by deposit-gathering activities,” he said. Dowd said he does see future growth for Pathfinder in the Utica market in the form of a full-service branch. The SUNY Oswego graduate said APRIL / MAY 2019
in terms of a time frame, Pathfinder would be satisfied to build one new branch per year over the next three years in Onondaga County, including the southwest branch. “I think that would be a pace of growth for our actions that is reasonable and efficient,” he added.
Eyeing $1 billion mark Pathfinder added 29 employees to its ranks in 2018, and closed the year with 170 total employees. “We knew we were growing fast, and to be honest, in the beginning, the growth of our balance sheet was outpacing the growth of our ability to serve that balance sheet,” Dowd said. “We are preparing for the future, and preparing to be a $2 billion institution now and in order to do that, you have to get ahead of the curve, pave the road to that post, and got to act like a $2 billion institution even though we are only a $1 billion institution,” he said. “What we saw is that we needed additional people to service loans and handle the compliance aspect, and we needed better systems in place and more people,” he said. “That build was intentional. It’s a build for our future growth, and you always want to be ahead an yourself, and never want to have to catch back up from that growth.” “Certainly, those 29 people are positioning us for growth in the future,” he added. Meanwhile, total assets grew by 6 percent during 2018. “That growth is lower than what we had experienced in the past. We were experiencing probably more in the lines of 12-to-15 percent growth in that category,” Dowd said. The lower growth rate was attributed to the bank’s efforts to serve additional customers as well as adding to payroll. “The business is there for us, and we can see ourselves growing organically and significantly right here in the market without acquisitions. We want to make sure we are ready for growth,” he said. Income was up approximately $600,000, or 17 percent, when comparing 2018 to 2017. Total income for 2018 was just over $4 million. As of Dec. 31, 2018, total assets at Pathfinder Bank stood at $933 million. Dowd said to expect the bank to exceed the coveted $1 billion mark this year.
APRIL / MAY 2019
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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BANKING By Lou Sorendo
6 Questions
for Melissa Keller Talking cyber-security in financial institutions with the new chief information security officer at Fulton Savings Bank Q.: Can you describe what your role is as chief information security officer? A.: As the chief information security officer, I am responsible for overseeing and implementing the bank’s cyber-security program. I’m also responsible for enforcing cyber-security policies, which cover everything from data confidentiality, email and social media policies, passwords to network access, mobile devices, and disaster recovery. We must also comply with the regulations issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services applicable to all regulated entities covering cyber-security. Q.: You hold a certificate in cyber-security issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Is this credential becoming a staple for professionals in the world of finance nowadays? A.: There are many different credentials relating to cyber-security at varying levels of expertise and responsibility. This one is specific to those in finance providing the fundamentals of cyber-security. As time goes on, I think more finance professionals will also want some sort of information technology and cyber-security knowledge, whether it is to help protect the company they work for or for their own personal awareness and protection. Q.: Malware attacks, phishing scams, system hacks and identity theft have become commonplace today. What are some of the more significant cyber-security threats to banking institutions today? What are the keys to countering them successfully? 68
“Hackers are continually devising new methods to try to gain access to confidential information.”
- Melissa Keller
A.: All of those mentioned are significant risks to banks today. In order to safeguard the bank from these threats, the appropriate systems for preventing, monitoring and detecting such threats need to be in place. These systems need to be tested continuously. Educating employees and customers is also key, because they need to be aware of the various tactics hackers use to gain access to confidential information, such as phishing emails. Phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers. We have such systems in place. But our job doesn’t end there because the hackers are continually devising new methods to try to gain access to confidential information. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Melissa Keller Q.: What are the keys to gaining clients’ trust in regards to demonstrating that you can successfully manage threats? A.: I think education is key. If you inform them of the reasons we enforce various security measures such as passwords, security questions, independent verification, etc. then hopefully they will realize it is for their own protection. In addition, we provide information on our website and Internet banking site regarding issues such as fraud alerts, security tips, and Internet fraud. Q.: How vital is it to adopt policies and controls to prepare, manage and recover from a cyber-attack? A.: It is imperative to have policies and procedures in place in the event of a cyber-attack. These need to be tested as well. Everyone needs to know what his or her role is if such an event were to occur in order to mitigate any potential damages and keep the bank up and running. Q.: What are some of the more gratifying aspects of being in charge of cyber-security at Fulton Savings Bank? A.: It’s good to know that my work has contributed to the security of the bank and has assured others that we are doing our best to protect everyone involved. APRIL / MAY 2019
Bruce Frassinelli bfrassinelli@ptd.net
Newspaper: An Industry in Crisis Layoffs and cost-cutting initiatives continue to ravage newspapers — large and small
‘Each layoff of a trained and competent journalist is one less voice speaking out on behalf of the community. Each layoff reduces the ability of a news organization to do the depth and breadth of coverage that a community needs and deserves.’
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hen it comes to journalism, in some respects this has been the best of times, but too often it’s been the worst of times. I have seen some of the best reporting in decades from The New York Times and The Washington Post, sparked by the contentious presidency of Donald Trump. Investigative reporting, once feared to be going the way of the horse and buggy, is back in full flower at these powerful national dailies. But these two well-financed stalwarts that are committed to excellence in journalism stand in major contrast to what has been going on elsewhere in the field. At too many other metro dailies, as well as at regional and local papers, the slicers-and-dicers are doing irreparable damage to a once proud industry. For nearly two decades, newsroom staffs at some of the nation’s most well-known properties have been ravaged in the name of cost-savings, even survival, and the hemorrhaging did not stop as we plunged into 2019. Within a one-week period in January, Gannett, owner of USA Today and scores
of regional and local papers, announced yet another series of layoffs in what seems to have become an annual ritual. Gannett is under pressure from a hedge fund that specializes in taking over struggling print properties and squeezing even more lifeblood from them. MSG Enterprises Inc., better known as Digital First Media, has become synonymous with cost-cutting and jobs-elimination. Gannett, which at one time was headquartered in Rochester, owns properties in six New York state communities — Binghamton, Elmira, Ithaca, Poughkeepsie, Rochester and Westchester County. Democrat and Chronicle reporter Sean Lahman in Rochester tweeted that there were newsroom layoffs at his paper in the latest batch of Gannett chopping. Gannett also owns such well-known properties as the Detroit Free Press, the Des Moines (Iowa) Register, the Bergen Record in Northern New Jersey and the Arizona Republic. Gannett officials warned staff in December that the largest-circulation newspaper chain in the nation will become a smaller company “in the future.” Less than a month later, the
My Turn
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. APRIL / MAY 2019
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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NY Sea Grant Receives Grant to Support Lake
Sturgeon Restoration
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ew York Sea Grant (NYSG) is among the most recent recipients of support from the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF) for its work to support lake sturgeon recovery efforts in New York and lead outreach and education programs to inspire appreciation for this prehistoric freshwater fish and state Threatened Species. The fund has been supporting local efforts around the world aimed at saving wildlife, inspiring action, and protecting the planet with more than $75 million distributed to nonprofit organizations since 1995. Lake sturgeon was once abundant in New York, but populations began to decline in the mid-1800s, largely as a result of overharvest, dam construction and habitat degradation. The fishery was closed in 1976 and lake sturgeon were designated a New York State Threatened Species in 1983. Additionally, lake sturgeon are listed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) as a “Species of Greatest Conservation Need” and considered a priority species for recovery in New York. Today, it is illegal to possess lake sturgeon or target them while fishing in New York. The fish is also considered a species of cultural significance to the Mohawks of Akwesasne and other Haudenosaunee Nations surrounding the Lake Ontario, Niagara River and St. Lawrence River watersheds. Indigenous peoples in these regions have a long history of subsistence fishing of lake sturgeon. Tribal nations are a key partner in conservation and education outreach efforts for this species. Over the next two years, Disney support of the “Inspiring Lake Sturgeon Conservation” project will help NYSG and its partners address portions of more than half of the three dozen statewide recovery actions identified in the New York State Lake Sturgeon Recovery Plan. “Support from the Disney Conservation Fund will help increase awareness about lake sturgeon and the challenges they face as a Threatened Species in New York. Lake sturgeon populations are showing signs of recovery, and we want to encourage that recovery,” said project leader Jesse M. Lepak, Ph.D., New York Sea Grant’s Great Lakes Fisheries and Ecosystem Health Extension specialist, based in Ithaca.
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future had arrived as layoffs were announced at properties throughout the widespread chain but not publicly. At one time, Gannett would give public information on its layoffs, but no longer. The same reasons for the layoffs were given to employees as in the past — print revenue (both advertising and circulation) is down, and digital revenue, on which the company is banking its future, does not come anywhere close to making up the difference. A trimmer, slimmer Gannett might look even more appetizing to a hedge fund company that wants to make even deeper cuts. Digital First Media owns nearly 200 publications across the country. Its largest shareholder is Alden Global Capital, a New York-based hedge fund that specializes in investing in or taking over troubled properties. The company has been excoriated as “vultures” and “piranhas.” Matt Pearce of the Los Angeles Times told Gannett staffers, “If Digital First is knocking on the door, lock the deadbolt.” Joshua Benton of NiemanLab was quoted in the Columbia Journalism Review as saying “Digital First is the worst owner of newspapers in America, and they will do their best to draw blood from Gannett’s already desiccated stone.” Bernie Lunzer, president of The NewsGuild Communication Workers of America said to the Poynter Institute, an industry think tank, “Gannett is choosing the low road, a direct result of the hostile efforts at a takeover by Digital First Media. Both companies have lost sight of the critical product they are meant to provide — journalism. Newsrooms that could be preserved are being decimated for Wall Street. Let’s find a way to sell these properties to the communities they serve before it is too late.” In addition to what happened at Gannett in January, BuzzFeed, a wellknown online news service, announced it was laying off 15 percent of its employees, and Verizon Media announced a 7 percent layoff at HuffPost, AOL and Yahoo news services. In all, about 1,000 media jobs were lost at the three companies during the first two weeks of this year. We may have become numb to what has happened to newspapers and other media in our country. Some may even cheer their decline, egged on by President Donald Trump and some of his fiercest supporters who contend that OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
We may have become numb to what has happened to newspapers and other media in our country. Some may even cheer their decline, egged on by President Donald Trump and some of his fiercest supporters who contend that the media are the “enemy of the people.” the media are the “enemy of the people.” Among its many problems, trust in the press is declining as Americans increasingly turn to partisan sources more in tune with their own opinions and beliefs. Each layoff of a trained and competent journalist is one less voice speaking out on behalf of the community that he or she serves. Each layoff reduces the ability of a news organization to do the depth and breadth of coverage that a community needs and deserves. A growing number of major media companies are measuring journalists’ productivity these days by the number of clicks their stories and posts are getting online. Regrettably, this leads to trivialized reporting on pop culture subjects and a reliance on sensationalism and exaggeration to capture more “looks.” This then becomes a business strategy that seeks to fatten the bottom line. Outsized profits have always been a false god, but in the news business, the public trust must be the ultimate consideration. The profits are a means to an end. A strong news organization can do better work, perform a greater public service if it is financed well. When it comes to a choice between profits and serving the public’s best interests, the choice should be obvious; too often, it is not. Any competent research will show that most of the major crime, corruption and wrongdoing that occurs in a community is uncovered initially by the dogged legwork and determination of journalists. APRIL / MAY 2019
SPECIAL REPORT
Nancy Weber, left, is pictured with former New York Farm Bureau President Dean Norton and New York Farm Bureau Foundation Director Sandie Prokop. Among other things, Weber is president of Oswego County Farm Bureau.
Nancy Weber Community and agriculture leader still full steam ahead By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
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resident of Oswego County Farm Bureau, New York Farm Bureau board member, New York State Pro-Ed chairwoman, board member of the New York Agricultural Society, supervisor of the Witter Agricultural Museum, LEAD NY Member, coordinator for Northeast Organic Farming Association of NY — is there anything in agriculture that Nancy Weber hasn’t done? Well, she didn’t grow up on a farm or even participate in 4-H with leased animals. That makes her enthusiastic participation in the Oswego County agriculture scene even more impressive. “Nancy has been a long-time advocate for New York agriculture,” said Steve Ammerman, New York Farm Bureau public affairs manager. “Her passion and commitment to educate others about modern day agriculture is important as consumers are becoming more interested in where their food comes from.” APRIL / MAY 2019
She’s also involved in the community in ways that don’t have as much to do with agriculture. Weber sits on the Regional Economic Counsel for Central New York and the State Workforce Investment Board and is chairwoman of the town of Mexico planning board. Weber’s husband, Sam, introduced her to farming when they began dating in the early 1970s. On their second date, they milked cows on his father’s dairy, an experience that terrified her at the time. But eventually the big — and gentle — bovineS won her over. The couple married in 1973 and eventually, she and Sam took over his family’s farm. The Webers joined Farm Bureau shortly after their son was born in 1974. “None of our friends could deal with our lifestyle,” Weber said. “Going out was difficult — doing barbecues and taking trips and all the things you do when you’re not on a OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
farm. We needed to develop a new group of friends. It sounds weird but it’s true. It was wonderful and we’re still members of Farm Bureau.” She has always volunteered, such as for the ambulance service. Now 68 and retired from working as an art teacher in Mexico and for Verizon in 2002, Weber has more time to volunteer. The couple sold the dairy herd five years ago so they could get into beef and reduce their need for manpower on the 250 acres of Mexican Pride Farm. They now have 20 head of beef as they build their herd. The farm is certified organic and the cattle are all grass-fed. “When the foxes don’t get them, we raise chickens,” Weber quipped. One of her top memories of her farming life so far was as a member of LEAD NY, a Cornell University program. She took a field trip to Chile in 2007 for a few weeks. “We left during that blizzard,” 71
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More Growth Ahead Terry LeRoy built one of the most successful companies in Central New York, the LeRoi Inc., which manufactures body jewelry and sells it globally. The business he started 24 years ago in the basement of his home is now moving to a much larger location in Oswego, opening up new opportunities for growth.
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New in Town Tim McKernan is the facility manager for EJ USA. The company is moving to Oswego County (from Cicero) and bringing with it nearly 100 workers
PROGRESS ISSUE Yes, Central New York’s economy is growing a lot faster than in recent years, but not as fast as other Upstate cities like Buffalo, Rochester or Albany.
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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Weber said. “Once we got out of the county and got on the flight, we were fine. We got to Chile and turned on the news and there was film footage of Mexico, New York. I almost fainted. I said, ‘That’s my hometown!’ The amount of snow was historic — 10 feet.” By the time she returned home seven weeks later, many of the roads still had snow on them. The roof of her circa 1850 farmhouse had split, thanks to the weight of the snow. “You’d think that house would’ve been through everything it would have been through,” Weber said. She also supervises the Witter Museum at the New York State Fairgrounds, which just celebrated its 90th anniversary last year. “We had a big celebration at the fairgrounds,” Weber said. “It’s one of the oldest buildings, one of the first 10, and the only brick one.” Fun fact: the donated 1876 cabin inside was reconstructed on the site and the museum was built around it. It’s one of the main exhibits of the museum that Weber said always attracts lots of attention. She felt pleased that last year, the fair featured Debbie Lum, a historic interpreter in the cabin, who engaged in traditional household duties while fairgoers toured the building. The museum also celebrated the Erie Canal last year because of the 200th anniversary of the waterway’s groundbreaking and because of its importance to agriculture. “Farmers chopped the trees, and dug the ditch and were the beneficiaries because they had a way to get their produce to a market,” Weber said. “There were not a whole lot of roads so travel was difficult. It was a boon for agriculture in the state having the canal.” The museum is open only during the fair; however, Weber would like it to open during other events. “It’s a pity,” Weber said. “They used to do school programs.” She has also been busy leading the museum’s efforts to erect a bandstand and plant a heritage apple orchard, grapes and hops. That wasn’t her first gig at the fair. Before the museum, she oversaw the Horticulture building. She also works for the state as a test monitor for the Department of Civil Service and also administers general equivalency diploma tests. APRIL / MAY 2019
L. Michael Treadwell ooc@oswegocounty.org
Programs that Facilitate Region’s Business Development and Growth Operation Oswego County (OOC) is a Small Business Administration (SBA) certified development company and is authorized to finance projects using the SBA 504 loan program, which is designed to promote economic development growth and job creation in small businesses.
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. APRIL / MAY 2019
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feasibility, job opportunities and peration Oswego County and the environmental compliance. If the applicant County of Oswego IDA offer a varineeds help in developing a business plan ety of options to businesses looking to support the project, they will be referred for financial assistance for a project. to and assisted by the Small Business Operation Oswego County (OOC) is Development Center at SUNY Oswego’s a Small Business Administration (SBA) Business Resource Center. certified development company and is IDA EDF financing may be used to authorized to finance projects using the purchase machinery and equipment, SBA 504 loan program, which is designed inventory or to provide working capital. In to promote economic development growth some instances, proceeds may be used for and job creation in small businesses. The building or site acquisition, construction or program can make the overall financing renovations. structure for a new business or project In order to maximize the economic more attractive and affordable. impact of the financing available, the The SBA 504 program offers following types of projects are eligible accessible, fixed-rate, long-term financing for assistance under for land, buildings and the various IDA Economic Trends equipment. Businesses EDF programs: (1) eligible for SBA 504 manufacturing facilities; (2) warehousing loans are independently owned, for-profit and distribution facilities; (3) research businesses that are ready to expand and and development facilities; (4) service create jobs. An SBA certified development and support facilities deemed essential; company, such as Operation Oswego (5) tourism-related businesses that are County, can finance 40 percent of the essential to the county’s overall tourism project with a SBA 504 loan, a bank lends development programs; and (6) other 50 percent and the small business provides economic development related projects 10 percent equity. deemed essential and necessary for the Local businesses who have utilized county’s economic well-being. Housing the SBA 504 Loan program include projects, other than commercial housing River House Restaurant, Pulaski; Off such as apartments, student housing, and Broadway Dance Center, Granby; Holiday affordable housing, are not eligible for Inn Express, Oswego; The Eis House, financing assistance. Mexico; Hardwood Transformations, All projects must demonstrate a Williamstown; Nonna Dina Pizzeria, need for financing. IDA EDF financing is Central Square; iFreeze, Fulton; Great Bear designated to be used in conjunction with Childcare, Phoenix; Mark’s Service Center, other funding from non-IDA sources, such Hastings; Bardy’s 4 Seasons Tire and Auto, as banks and other economic development Sandy Creek and Finger Lakes Stairs & lenders, to serve as either “gap” or Cabinets, Schroeppel. “subsidy” financing. The IDA administers several economic “Gap” financing provide funds development fund (EDF) programs that needed to complete a total project, which we designed to create new jobs through would not be available from other sources. the expansion of existing or creation of “Subsidy” financing becomes new businesses, to retain existing jobs, necessary when sufficient funds are to increase the county’s tax base, to help available from other sources but the cost diversify the county’s economic base and of these funds is at a level that renders the to improve the quality of life in Oswego project financially unfeasible. Therefore, County. the IDA EDF program funds are required To qualify for financing, applicants for a lower total project funding rate. must prove credit worthiness, project OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Local businesses who have benefited from IDA EDF funding include K&N’s Foods USA, Fulton; HealthWay Home Products, Richland; Malone Trucking & Excavating, Hannibal; Fulton Animal Hospital, Fulton; United Wire Technologies, Constantia; Teti Bakery, Volney; iFreeze, Fulton and Stephen Baker, O.D., Oswego. Another loan program used by the IDA is the USDA Intermediary Relending Program (IRP). IRP offers short-term, fixed rate loans. This is a unique program that was capitalized by the agency borrowing funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and relending these funds to eligible businesses. IRP loan proceeds may be used to purchase machinery and equipment, inventory, renovations, or to cover soft costs, start-up costs and working capital. Local businesses that have used the IRP program include Designer Hardwood Flooring, Williamstown; Fulton Tool, Fulton; Kleis Equipment, Constantia; Universal Metal Works, Fulton; Lindsey Aggregates, Palermo;
Doty Contracting, Volney; Bella Fattoria, Hannibal; and North Country EPS, Central Square. The County of Oswego IDA may also provide financial assistance to qualified business applicants in the form of issuance of taxexempt or taxable revenue bonds, or by participation in straight lease transactions for purposes of conferring real property tax, sales and use tax, and/or mortgage recording tax exemptions. Companies that have utilized the agency’s straight lease transaction incentives to grow and expand their businesses or to establish a business in Oswego County include the following: Novelis Corporation, Scriba; Tailwater Lodge, Albion; Allen Chase Enterprises, Scriba; R&D Design and Associates, Schroeppel; The Gardens by Morningstar, Oswego; Lake Ontario Event and Conference Center, Oswego; SAM North America, Schroeppel; Fulton Companies, Richland; Felix Schoeller, Richland; Page Material Management, Scriba; iFreeze, Fulton; Hardwood Transformations, Williamstown; Geo Hotel, Oswego; The Maples Assisted
Living Facility, Fulton; Finger Lakes Stairs & Cabinets, Schroeppel; Lakeside Commons, Oswego; EJ USA, Schroeppel and Harbor View Square, Oswego. OOC offers technical assistance to businesses wishing to submit a NYS Consolidated Funding Application through the CNY Regional Economic Development Council. This single application provides applicants access to multiple state funding sources. Last year, businesses that were approved for funding included Lindsey Aggregates, Palermo; Maple Hollow Farm, Hannibal and East Lake Commons, Oswego. These programs help to provide the means for Oswego County businesses to secure the financing they need to expand and grow. The programs can also be used to help a firm remain competitive thus helping to retain and maintain jobs in the County. If you have a project that could benefit from one of the above financing initiatives, contact Operation Oswego County at 3431545 or visit ooc@oswegocountyida. org, to download application forms.
Greater Impact and Success SUNY Oswego helps solve problems. We provide advisement and training for business, workforce development opportunities, and technical assistance www.ibew43.org www.ibew43.org
and training for nonprofit organizations. We build relationships in Central New York.
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IBEW THE IBEW LOCAL LOCAL 43 43 THE OFFICERS OFFICERS OF OF IBEW IBEW LOCAL LOCAL 43 43 4568 Pat –– President 4568 Waterhouse Waterhouse Road Road Pat Costello President Alan Marzullo -Costello Bus. Mgr. / Fin. Secretary Clay, Don Morgan –– Bus. Fin. Clay, NY NY 13041-9613 13041-9613 (315)422-0435 (315)422-0435 Don Morgan Bus. Mgr. Mgr. Fin. Secretary Secretary Kevin Crawford - President
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Officeofof Business Business and Office andCommunity CommunityRelations Relations 103 Rich Hall, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126 121 E. First St., Oswego, NY, 13126
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
oswego.edu/obcr oswego.edu/obcr| •315.312.3492 315-312-3492
APRIL / MAY 2019
Summer Guide
The Best of Upstate New York 2019 Edition
250,000-plus readers • Free distribution all season long
AVAILABLE IN PRINT AND ONLINE Free linkable ad @ www.cnysummer.com
REACH 250,000 READERS THIS SEASON. 1 AD = ALL-SEASON RESULTS
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Reasons to advertise in the 2019 edition
CNY SUMMER GUIDE The Best of Upstate New York
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CONTENT — The CNY Summer Guide has become the most comprehensive publication about tourism and entertainment in CNY. It carries feature stories and a great calendar that highlights the season’s hottest events.
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DISTRIBUTION —The guide is widely distributed all season long, starting before Memorial Day weekend — all the way to the end of the vacation season. This guarantees more readership and exposure for your ad.
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Distribution this year will include all Wegmans locations in CNY Published by Local News Inc. (dba Oswego County Business magazine) P.O. Box 276 • Oswego, NY 13126 • Phone: 315-342-8020 • Fax: 315-342-7776 • Email: editorCNYsummer@gmail.com APRIL / MAY 2019
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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HEALTH By Payne Horning
Questions to John Radford, MD
The owner and founder of Buffalo-based WellNow Urgent Care talks about the rapid expansion of his urgent carer practice
With recent acquisition and new sites, WellNow today has more than 30 facilities in NYS. Owner, who launched the business in 2012, plans to open 14 new locations this year alone, including some around Chicago
which today is WellNow Urgent Care.
3.
Since 2012, your company has quickly expanded its presence in New York state – and continues to grow today. Was that expansion and large footprint always part of the plan? From our earliest beginnings, we have always been committed to serving communities where there is a need for greater access to quality urgent care. Our
growth is a reflection of the rapidly growing urgent care industry across New York state. It connects directly to how we provide our communities’ residents with greater access to quick and convenient medical care for nonlife-threatening injuries and illnesses. Today, we have more than 30 locations and are one of New York’s fastest growing urgent care providers. We are very proud of that.
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Tell us a little about your background in health care. I am an emergency room doctor turned healthcare entrepreneur. In my almost 20 years as an entrepreneur, I have been driven to find ways to keep patients healthy and safe in a rapidly changing health care industry. Appropriately, the companies I’ve founded share a common commitment to offering quality care that is accessible, affordable and quick. I’ve always believed that patients come first.
2.
How did your experience in the industry contribute to your decision to create a chain of urgent-care facilities? In my time working in the emergency room, I worked closely with health systems, doctors and patients. This gave me a firsthand appreciation for the challenges faced by healthcare practitioners and patients. It’s an up-close experience, and you truly empathize with the emotional and financial complexities that patients face. I saw an opportunity to provide greater and convenient access to non-emergent care that put patients first. This inspired me to create Five Star Urgent Care,
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Physician John Radford atteneds the opening of a WellNow Urgent Care in Vestal. Radford is the founder and owner of WellNow, which has more than 30 locations in New York, mostly Upstate. He’s planning 14 new facilities this year, including in the suburbs of Chicago. He started the business in 2012. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
APRIL / MAY 2019
WellNow Urgent Care is not currently located outside New York state but we do have plans to expand to the Illinois area with locations in Crestwood and Evergreen — both suburbs of Chicago — in 2019.
4.
In October, Five Star rebranded itself as WellNow. Why the change and what does it represent? The name “WellNow” ties back to our company’s strong history of putting the needs of our patients first. We believe the new brand best aligns with our mission of providing high quality, quick and convenient urgent care. It also reinforces our focus on empowering every patient when it comes to managing their healthcare decisions about where, when and how they receive treatment. For us, the name is a true representation of our service and our standards of getting patients and their families back to being well. Now.
5.
How is WellNow addressing the medical needs of Upstate New York? The urgent care industry continues to grow, both in Upstate New York and across the country. As a Western New York native and longtime healthcare practitioner, I’ve seen it firsthand and saw the need for an urgent care
H
care clinics is growing rapidly. Patients seeking medical care often don’t want to wait. By offering longer hours, walk-in formerly service and the opportunity to check in online, urgent care centers can fulfill patients’ needs in a way that traditional doctors’ offices often cannot. Financial network that can match this region’s burden is another consideration. growing demands for quality care. This is Urgent care centers can sometimes especially true for smaller communities provide an alternative to emergency where it’s common for care to be less departments and facility fees. It’s a accessible. way to provide middle ground to care We address this Open in a7 Days few ways.No Appointment Low Online for non-emergent needs. Wait employs Times a Week Check-Ins WellNow highly talented and NeededWe’re cognizant of all of these experienced urgent care providers. We things — capacity, hours, convenience have more than 600 employees, which and more. We don’t take our status for include 95 percent full-time staff. This granted and are always looking for new allows us to truly get to know our ways to stay connected with patients. Open seven week View current wait times check not in online business, sodays thatawe can deliver quality, Trust isand earned, to be expected. 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. at www.WellNow.health convenient care with consistency. Our recent growth, which includes Western What is next for WellNow? New York’s MASH Urgent Care joining We are continuing to grow. our network, also means that we are Looking ahead, we have plans to able to serve an even greater number open approximately 14 new locations of communities — both in Upstate New in 2019 which will allow us to further York and across the state. deepen our connections across New York state, while also starting to expand What role does urgent care play in the into Illinois. larger health care industry, and has it Through it all, our commitment changed at all in recent years? to putting patients first will never As the urgent care industry continues change. We deeply value the strong to grow, we are always looking for ways relationships with communities and to stay ahead of our field by continually individuals we serve. This passion is making ourselves available to patients. what brings us to work, every day. For example, demand for urgent
We Help Make It All Better
7.
6.
Harbor Lights Honors Retiring Dr. Jay Chapman
arbor Lights Chemical Dependency Service recently honored physician Jay Chapman who retired as the organization’s medical director. Chapman served in that position since 2010 and received a plaque from Harbor Lights’ director Stanley Long. Chapman, who is an avid bird photographer, presented Harbor Lights with one of his prized photographs picturing a dove which he indicated is an image signifying the work done at Harbor Lights. The Mexico-based nonprofit provides outpatient clinic services to people with alcohol and substance abuse problems. It has provided these services for more than 25 years. Physician Amanda Ray has been appointed as new medical director for Harbor Lights. APRIL / MAY 2019
Physician Jay Chapman receiving an award from Harbor Lights’ director Stanley Long. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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HEALTH By Serena Gordon
Doughnuts are among the highest calorie items people get at work. The list also includes pizza, soft drinks, sandwiches, chips, cookies, brownies, pastries and burgers.
Is Your Workplace Making You Fat?
C
andy dishes, cupcakes and cookies abound in the typical office, so if you’re striving to eat healthy, the workplace can be a culinary minefield. Researchers surveyed more than 5,000 people and found that about one in four working adults said they got food or beverages from work at least once a week. Many of those foods were high in calories, processed grains, and added sugar and salt, according to scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “People should probably be concerned about all the foods they’re getting at work. So many of them are free, but people don’t realize that all those free foods do add up to a lot of calories over the week. And, those calories don’t necessarily line up well with [healthy] dietary guidelines,” said study author Stephen Onufrak. He’s an epidemiologist with the CDC’s nutrition division. The study reported that the average worker ate about 1,300 calories of foods obtained at the office every week. Foods consumed at work included those purchased from vending machines or cafeterias, as well as those eaten for free in common areas, meet78
ings or worksite social events. Among the top 10 items obtained at work — either free or purchased — were coffee, water, soft drinks, sandwiches and potato chips, the study found. The highest calorie items people got at work — free or purchased — included pizza, soft drinks, sandwiches, chips, cookies, brownies, donuts, pastries and burgers. “Since so many of these foods were free, workplaces can adopt healthy meeting policies that encourage healthy foods that are more in line with workplace wellness efforts,” Onufrak said. He added that workplace wellness programs are effective at reducing workplace costs and absenteeism. Dietitian Samantha Heller said people definitely underestimate the calories they eat at work. “You don’t think much about it if you grab a bag of chips in the break room, but that’s 150 calories. And if you do it three or four days a week for months, those calories really start to add up,” she said. And the ubiquitous office candy dish? “You grab a pre-wrapped chocolate or two as you walk by and think nothing of the calories,” Heller added. “But if you do that a few times every OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
day, slowly those extra calories will put on the pounds.” If your office provides food in meetings, break rooms or a cafeteria, Heller ssuggested that you ask whoever does the ordering to include some healthy selections. She also advised that just because cookies and other treats at work are free, it doesn’t mean that you have to eat them. “We don’t like to turn down free food, but there are many days it’s going to be someone’s work anniversary or birthday. You don’t have to eat something to celebrate with them,” Heller said. It’s easier to forgo office goodies if you’re not hungry, she noted. “If you’re not hungry, you’re more in control,” Heller said. “If you can, bring healthy food to work with you.” The study findings were published online Jan. 22 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Serena Gordon is a reporter with HealthDay News, where this article was originally published. APRIL / MAY 2019
Prevention Network Promoting Healthy Choices
occa
315-471-1359
CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY SERVICE
www.preventionnetworkcny.org Prevention Network has been making Central New York a healthier community since 1949 by providing proven measurable programs which prevent addictions and address related concerns.
In the Community
Victim Impact Panel n Impaired Driver Program Information and Referral Services n Coalition Development and Support Professional Training and Development Classes n Family Support Navigator Recovery Support Services
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n Botvins Life Skills Training for middle and high school students n Teen Institute n Custom tailored assembly style alcohol and other drug presentations in schools and youth groups.
Parents
n Parenting Wisely
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If you think something is wrong with this picture, you should see what’s happening in stores. That’s where tobacco companies spend more than half a million dollars every day here in New York State on promotions where kids can see them. And the more kids see tobacco, the more likely they are to start smoking.
The average age for a new smoker is
13
APRIL / MAY 2019
YEARS OLD.
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Take action now at SeenEnoughTobacco.org facebook.com/TobaccoFreeNYS @TobaccoFreeNYS
79
HEALTH By Lou Sorendo
Behaving Badly I
Oswego County health care partners look to curb high incidence of poor behavioral health
t takes a village to raise a child. It also takes a collaborative effort among many healthcare players to address some of the more pressing behavioral and mental health challenges occurring in Oswego County. Oswego County is ranked second to last in terms of health rankings in New York state, according to the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program, a collaborative effort between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Jiancheng Huang, public health director for the Oswego County Health Department, said the rankings provide a snapshot of how a community’s health is influenced by the way people live, work, learn and play in Oswego County. “Health is not just having health care and health insurance,” he said. “In general terms, health, of individuals or a community, is determined by many social and economic factors.” To measure how social and economic factors influence local health, the study looks at health on two levels — health outcomes and health factors. In 2018, Oswego County was ranked 61st among 62 counties in the state on the basis of health factors. In fact, over the past nine years, the county’s health factors’ ranking fluctuated around 60th. Under the umbrella of health factors are health behaviors, clinical care, socioeconomic factors and physical environment. In terms of clinical care, however, Oswego County achieved a ranking of 26th in 2018. “The ranking of health behaviors has been poor,” Huang said. “From 2011 through 2015, Oswego was last among 62 counties in health behaviors. In 2016, the community’s collective efforts lifted the ranking up from the bottom, although it has still been in the lowest tier among all counties since then.” Huang said the county has seen some improvements in health factors’ 80
rankings in recent years. He said data shows the county’s health factors’ ranking fluctuates with its health behaviors’ ranking. “From a community standpoint, to improve the health rankings, Oswego County needs to focus on improving residents’ health behaviors,” he said. “Specifically, Oswego has high smoking rates, obesity rates, and binge drinking rates in the state and region.” He said many agencies and organizations are aware of these behavioral issues and have developed many initiatives, programs, and partnerships to help
residents in recent years. Huang said over the past several years, the Oswego County Legislature has encouraged the health department to use these annual rankings as a starting point to set up priorities and develop new partnerships to improve community health. He said many agencies in the county also use ranking data to improve health in the county. For example, he said the Center for Instruction, Technology & Innovation has developed innovative, long-term programs to address educational chal-
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• With photo: jiancheng huang
Jiancheng Huang, public health director for the Oswego County Health Department OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
APRIL / MAY 2019
lenges reflected in the ranking data. Other agencies, such as Oswego Health, ConnextCare, Oswego County Opportunities, Farnham Family Services, and the Oswego County Department of Social Services are streamlining services in the wake of social determinants that threaten public health. “Many of the collaborations and programs address health behaviors and mental health,” Huang said. “With the community’s collaboration and comprehensive approaches to address social determinants of health, our county’s health ranking will keep improving,” he said. “I hope at the individual level that more residents will take advantage of and participate in these new initiatives and programs to adopt healthy behaviors.”
Assessing resources Huang said he believes the county needs to maximize two kinds of resources — material and non-material. “I have worked and lived in Oswego for more than six years, and find Oswego a well-netted and resilient community,” he said. “I think we are never short of non-material resources.” Huang said in order for change to occur, “we have determination, collaboration and dedication.” Teresa Woolson and her VOW (Victor Orlando Woolson) Foundation exemplify this type of effort. VOW is active in combating the opioid and synthetic drug epidemic while promoting mental health in the community and beyond. As for material resources, Huang said the county lacks funding to fulfill many of its projects. “This is not unusual for many rural counties,” he said. In 2018, the team at the health department was recognized by the National Association of County and City Health Officials for its efforts to partner with other private organizations to decrease rates of tobacco use in the community. Oswego County OB/GYN, PC is the centerpiece of the program, where clinical intervention is conducted. “The practice has made significant contributions to and sacrifices for improving community health,” Huang said. These types of public-private partnerships are vital in addressing some of the societal ills that plague Oswego County, he noted. “This honor is not for the department; it is for our community’s homeAPRIL / MAY 2019
grown, multi-sectoral partnership program called ‘Smoke Free for My Baby & Me’,” he said. “The major reason that it was recognized as a model practice is because the program creatively bridges local resources to clinical intervention for pregnant smokers to quit smoking.” Since the program was rolled out in 2015, other partners have seen improvements on the smoking front while helping the socio-economically disadvantaged, Huang said. The success of the partnership shows how health improvement should be about community collaboration and not a single agency’s task, Huang said. He noted many enrollees missed appointments when the program was introduced at the clinic. “It was not surprising when we found that transportation was a barrier for most of the missed appointments,” Huang said. He said that factor was something a clinician “could do very little about.” One partner, however, did step up. Integrated Community Planning of Oswego purchased bus passes and gas cards for those experiencing transportation difficulties. These free passes and cards helped to keep women in the program for continuous intervention, Huang said. “As the clinicians schedule their tobacco cessation sessions with their prenatal check-ups together, the program also increased prenatal care for these women enrolled in the program,” Huang said. The program initially intended to help more women with public insurance than those with private insurance, he noted. “We did recruit more publicly insured smokers. But data showed more enrollees from the publicly insured group dropped out of the program as opposed to privately insured folks,” Huang said. Also, Huang said county officials learned that modifying adult behavior is not an easy task. The health department director said there were many other challenges — such as cravings and stress — that kept interfering with clinical intervention measures. That’s when Oswego County Opportunities provided a peer educator to work with those who struggled the most in quitting. Huang said the peer educator used her own experience in quitting tobacco and encouraged and advised others to reach their personal goal of quitting. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Despite the dropout rate, the program still helped more publicly insured smokers be smoke-free post-partum in one year than their counterparts in the past three-and-a-half years. “Without the partnership, clinical intervention alone would not be able to help these struggling women so effectively,” Huang said. “We need more partnerships like ‘Smoke Free for My Baby & Me” in our county to improve our health status,” Huang added. In addition to various partners’ contributions, the initiative received local funding from the United Way of Greater Oswego, the county legislature, Reach CNY and Elks Lodge in Oswego.
A community problem Huang said poor mental health, including binge drinking and substance use disorder, imposes heavy tolls on the community. “Many of the individuals with mental health issues have other conditions, too,” he said. Farnham Family Services has noticed the connections and has introduced yoga classes, a chronic disease self-management course, and other services to clients. These additional services are complemented by other agencies, such as the county health department offering evidence-based CDSM. “Building collaboration and partnerships is the right direction to take to address our community’s health issues,” he said. Huang said as a rural community, the county does have limited material resources. He said upon reflection with other health-related agencies in the county, a consensus was reached. “We should not wait to have a perfect plan, then start to work. Instead, we should begin to work together as we explore ways and resources to improve our community,” he said. Huang said the new Oswego Health behavioral health services’ facility in the Port City is highly anticipated and welcomed, and will benefit the health department in terms of sharing efforts to address mental and behavioral health challenges in Oswego County. “Oswego Health has made great efforts to bring the facility into the county,” he said. “They have also worked hard in recruiting mental health care professionals to the county.” 81
HEALTH By Lou Sorendo
The Cure of Kindness Empathy needed in order to improve community health rankings
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e kind to one another. It may sound simple, but for Nicole Kolmsee, director of community services for the Oswego County Division of Mental Hygiene-Department of Social Services, it is what’s needed from a community standpoint to improve Oswego County’s relatively dismal state health rankings. Oswego County has historically been rated among the worst counties in the state when it comes to health outcomes and factors, such as behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. The county is ranked second to last in terms of health rankings, according to the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program, a collaborative effort between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. “We need to pay closer attention to other people around us and make a commitment to spend time with others and interact face to face,” she said. “We must invest in the community and get involved in efforts to make a difference in someone’s life. “Let people know they are not alone. Be accepting and supportive of other’s differences and choices. If not accepting, then at least be tolerant and do no harm.” Kolmsee said from DSS’s perspective, there is not enough awareness concerning the rate of poor behavioral and mental health in Oswego County. “I believe human service providers, schools, the Department of Social Services, and law enforcement have an awareness,” she said. “However, the general community is likely unaware if the issue has not touched their lives directly.” To make matter worse, Kolmsee said there are not enough local resources to match demand in terms of being able to help those requiring mental or behavioral health services in Oswego County.
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She said workforce challenges present an obstacle when it comes to expanding provider capacity. “There is a shortage of all levels of behavioral health providers in Oswego County,” she said. “Adequate levels of funding are needed to spur development of community and housing support services. There are gaps in the continuum of care that still need to be filled.” Kolmsee applauds the efforts on behalf of Oswego Health to construct a new behavioral health services’ facility in the city of Oswego. Plans for the new center include an expansion of both adult outpatient and inpatient services. “This will allow more people to receive care,” said Kolmsee, adding that plans also call for on-site primary health care. “This will offer an integrated approach and is expected to result in improved engagement and physical health outcomes,” she said. “The new center is anticipated to be a more welcoming place to both receive and deliver care.” This will be a significant improvement over the current location on Bunner Street in Oswego, she said. “I am optimistic this will provide greater success with staff recruitment and retention, which will ultimately benefit those receiving care,” she noted.
High rate of suicide Mental Health America recently released its State of Mental Health Report, which ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on several mental health and access measures. The report notes the country is dramatically falling short in meeting the needs of those with mental health concerns. Kolmsee said Oswego County reflects this nationwide shortfall. She said Oswego County’s suicide rate is higher than the overall New York OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
state rate and is the highest in Central New York. From 2014-2016, Oswego County had 15.6 deaths per 100,000 of population due to suicide. This ranks it among the worst 25 percent of counties in the state. In CNY, Madison (12.5), Cayuga (11.3), Onondaga (10.2) and Oneida (9.1) counties have better marks than Oswego County. In addition, Oswego County lacks adequate capacity for outpatient treatment and long-term supportive living environments for individuals with mental health issues, Kolmsee said. She said recent health care system redesign has decreased the intensity of some critical community supports prior to the development of alternative services included in the redesign plan. “This has left children and adults with mental health support needs with fewer options while the system scrambles to adjust,” she noted. Kolmsee said poor behavioral health manifests itself in poor physical health, poor school performance, unemployment, interpersonal conflicts, social isolation, homelessness, substance abuse, and interactions with law enforcement that may lead to hospitalization or arrest. Kolmsee said to be cautious when examining the definitions used in the health rankings established by the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program. “I would first encourage people to review the definitions used for the health rankings,” she said. “This ranking is in part based on a measure of adults reporting ‘poor mental health days,’ and not on individuals having a diagnosed mental illness,” she said. Rather, the measure is based on adult responses to the question, “Thinking about your mental health, which includes stress, depression, and problems with emotions, for how many days during the past 30 days was your mental health not good?” Kolmsee said the division’s role is to work with providers, funders and community leaders to improve the local service system to provide adequate levels of quality care and support for Oswego County residents. “Goals of our local and regional planning activities include increasing capacity for mental health and substance abuse treatment, developing crisis intervention services, reducing stigma and increasing awareness of mental health issues and available services,” she said. APRIL / MAY 2019
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Mental Health Woes Are Rising in Young Americans — Is Social Media to Blame?
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oung Americans may be more vulnerable to depression, distress and suicidal thoughts or attempts than their parents’ generation, and social media might be fueling that troubling trend. So claims a review of a decade’s worth of data on roughly 200,000 teens between the ages of 12 and 17, and 400,000 young adults over 18. Investigators found that beginning in the mid-2000s, those under the age of 26 started reporting a huge rise in symptoms related to all three mental health problems. The spikes ranged from about 55 to 70 percent. No such jump was seen among adults over the age of 26. “Other studies had also document-
APRIL / MAY 2019
ed an increase in mental health issues among adolescents, but it was unclear whether this was a shift among people of all ages or a generational shift,” explained study author Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University. The latest findings suggest a generational shift is indeed underway. These young adults “are experiencing mental health issues at a much higher rate than millennials were and are, even after accounting for year and age,” Twenge said. Millennials are those born between 1981 and 1996. Why? “These increases in behaviors,” Twenge said, “cannot be explained by [more] awareness or acknowledgement.” OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Instead, Twenge thinks the likely culprit is the explosive rise of social media over the past 10 years. The result, she said, is that “the way teens and young adults spend their leisure time has fundamentally changed.” They “spend less time with their friends in person, and less time sleeping, and more time on digital media,” Twenge noted. “The decline in sleep time may be especially important, as not getting enough sleep is a major risk factor for depression and suicidal thoughts.” What’s more, digital media is “something that happens to them every day, for hours at a time,” she said. “So, it makes sense it would have the largest impact on their mental health.” 83
HEALTH By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Newly Created Organization to Promote Better Health Outcomes Partnership between St. Joe’s and University of Rochester Medical Center aims at lowering health cost for patients, providers
I
mproving care and lowering costs are in the best interest of both patients and care providers. That’s why St. Joseph’s Health in Syracuse and University of Rochester Medical Center formed Concordia Healthcare Network, LLC: to help participating care providers improve quality, access and cost of care. Accountable Health Partners, a clinically integrated network, operates Concordia, which formed in January 2019 to serve providers across New York as they transition into value-based care. “What the patients see is more of an effort and more resources contributed to maintaining the health of the individual,” said Mark Murphy, chief strategy officer at St. Joseph’s Health. This means that participating health systems work to keep costs down by promoting good health among patients. Reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital admissions, for example, saves the health system money and keeps patients healthier, as does scheduling routine screenings and annual physicals with a primary care provider. For patients with chronic health condition, contacting the primary care provider earlier can help mitigate the effects of the condition. This can help keep patients out of the hospital and at home if possible, supported by home care or their families. Maintaining care at home provides a big savings and can keep patients in their own familiar surroundings. Other facets of the program include exploring cost-saving options like generic maintenance medication if it’s as effective as brand name or conservative 84
management over more invasive and expensive options, such as surgery. “It’s about making sure patients are aware there are less expensive options,” Murphy said. “Many of those patients have deductibles and co-pays.” Embedded care managers, registered nurses working for the health systems, act as facilitators between the physicians and the patients at home. The managers call patients with active medical conditions to see if they’re getting their prescriptions filled after being released from the hospital, for example. Patient navigators are also part of the program. These non-clinical employees promote health by making sure patients have all the services they need, such as mammograms, colonoscopy and an annual physical. Increasing the follow-through with patients should help reduce expenses caused by lack of compliance to doctor’s orders and inadequate preventative care. Participating health systems also share analytic data to improve how they support patient health. Unlike electronic medical records, which keep track of information on specific patients, this data is general in nature. Individual patients aren’t identified, only statistics about trends among patient populations, such as by age groups, gender, and health issues. That kind of information can help health systems track what type of patient has experience hospital re-admissions so they can adjust their supports to help reduce re-admissions. “Even though every health system will be responsible for managing their own patients, there’s lots of value that OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Mark Murphy, chief strategy officer at St. Joseph’s Health. can be created if they get together and share what can be helpful in managing a particular patient population,” Murphy said. He wants to see every health system participating to promote good health, reduce costs, and improve patient satisfaction. Instead of going to the emergency room in a state of crisis, most patients would rather visit their primary care provider proactively. “We’re helping reduce barriers that made them less able to do that in the past,” Murphy said. “It’s important that patients see value and that we’re doing something they want to do.” The health systems make an upfront investment and over time, as costs reduce through improved care, a portion of that is allocated to the health system. “Ultimately, we want the cost passed on to the patients and lower health insurance premium costs,” Murphy said. Three health systems have committed to participation in Concordia: Family Health Network of Central New York, a federally funded community health center serving residents of Cortland and contiguous counties; Lourdes Hospital and its physician network, serving Binghamton and the Southern Tier; and Innovative Health Alliance of New York (IHANY), serving Albany and the Capital Region. APRIL / MAY 2019
I
SPAS
n recent years, more people around the world have begun to recognize the importance of wellness — a trend that has seen the value of the industry increase year after year. The market size of the global wellness industry amounts to approximately $4 trillion dollars. The beauty and anti-aging segment is by far the largest, constituting APRIL / MAY 2019
around $1 trillion dollars. In Oswego County, the wellness and spa industry is alive and well with options for healthy eating and weight loss, fitness, alternative medicine and stress relief and relaxation. Here is a look at several beauty and wellness centers in the area.
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Stories by Maria Pericozzi 85
Port City Day Spa
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Heaven away from home: Spa offers complete package
fter nearly 30 years in the industry, Cindy Reed made her dreams come true by opening a salon and spa on the Oswego River called Port City Day Spa. Located at 9 E. Cayuga St. in Oswego, the salon and day spa offers a variety of services, including hair designs for everyone in the family, cut and coloring, nails, waxing and cosmetics, facials, body treatments, and microblading, which is a semi-permanent technique to enhance the appearance of eyebrows. “I believe in training and I am a product junkie,” Reed said. “I believe there are always things bigger and better that come out.” Reed also sells upscale skin, hair and makeup products for customers in a three-tier price range. The salon carries less expensive products, a medium product and an elite product. “That way everyone, no matter how much money they make or what their income is, can leave here with a professional product in their hand,” Reed said. Reed went to Oswego County BOCES for hairdressing when she was in high school and worked at a salon in Mexico called Main Street Styling Salon. She then decided she wanted to have a family and ran a salon out of her house for 13 years. “It was excellent for raising a family, but I always had the dream to do something bigger,” Reed said. Both of her children took the military route after high school, and it gave her a chance to start thinking about creating a business. She put herself through business classes at SUNY Oswego and became a traveling sales rep, gathering her ideas to open her own salon in 2011.
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Port City is it
When choosing a spot for her salon, she knew her Oswego facility was the place. It had easy access, good parking, and even has a scenic view of the river and the lighthouse on Lake Ontario, she said. “We get a lot of walk-ins from people that come from Canada by boat,” Reed said. “We have hockey events where people stay here and sometimes the moms don’t want to go over and freeze and watch the hockey games, so they come here to get a massage.” Reed said her massage therapist, Shanley Branch, is the best. “She’s unbelievable,” Reed said. “I’ve even had local chiropractors send people here, so she’s extremely talented.” When she started out, the business was for improving herself as a person, but it became something she can give back to generations to follow. One day, she is hoping to sell the business to someone who is going to take it in the right direction. She employs between 12 and 15 people at a time. A
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
few of her stylists came to her brand new. “They’ve only been with me seven or eight months,” Reed said. “I enjoy watching them grow and teaching them all the tricks of the trade, and teaching them how to better themselves, and making sure they continue their education and don’t get stagnant. In any career, you can always push yourself to the next level.” Last year, Reed partnered with a wedding planner to be able to take weddings from day one through to the end. She averages between 35 and 45 weddings a year and is booked 18 months in advance. She is hoping to grow that part of the business even more and is striving to add stylists to just do weddings. Being a business owner is a rewarding experience and Reed said she has met a lot of great people. She said she has made a profit in the business since day one, which is hard to do. “[Managing has] its tough spots,” Reed said. “Definitely you learn how to manage other people and how to be a good leader and try to give back to the youth.”
APRIL / MAY 2019
Integrative Healing Spa I
Business in Oswego is the epitome of a hands-on operation
ntegrative Healing Spa started as Amber Gilbo’s personal massage therapy practice. However, it grew to become a large spa in Oswego when her clientele became too large for her to handle personally. Gilbo has been doing massage therapy for 18 years and moved to her location at 3 Fourth Ave., Oswego, in 2011, expanding into offering skincare and other services besides massages. “I got into massage therapy because I was really interested in helping people,” Gilbo said. “Originally, I was going to school for physical therapy, and decided I preferred a more handson approach.” Gilbo graduated from the Onondaga School of Therapeutic Massage in 2000. Melinda Ashley Myers, a licensed massage therapist, joined Integrative Healing Spa in 2012 to better serve her clientele. The spa offers body treatments, facials, massage therapy, waxing, reflexology, and wellness services. Gilbo also offers Reiki therapy, which is an ancient Japanese hands-on technique
used to relieve stress and discomfort, as well as promote healing and balance to the body. There are also multiple packages offered for individuals and couples. Gilbo grew up in New Haven and lives in Pulaski. She decided to open the business in Oswego because she had already become known in the Port City.
Closer to the action “New Haven is not really much of anything, and Oswego is the closest town,” Gilbo said. “Once I moved to Pulaski, I became established in Oswego and it didn’t make sense to move.” Being a business owner, Gilbo has learned to adapt and be creative. Gilbo is hoping to see continued growth for the future of Integrative Healing Spa. “I think we have a strong presence in the community with a great reputation,” Gilbo said. “I would like to continue with that.” The goal of Integrative Healing Spa is to help people find a healthy way of life, Gilbo said. Education in the field is really important and is something she
works hard at. “We want to help people understand how much massage therapy can help, beyond feeling good when they are on the table,” Gilbo said. “It’s really a way of life and a lifestyle and can produce benefits that are long lasting.” Integrative Healing Spa takes a holistic approach, which sets the spa apart from others. It also sells products for customers to take home with them to use daily. “We foster a mind-body balance,” Gilbo said. “We look at things in the big picture, versus trying to treat symptoms, and we create a personal environment.” Customers that come in are not treated like numbers, she noted. “It’s really personalized, and everyone is treated as important from the time they walk through the door,” she said.
Amber Gilbo APRIL / MAY 2019
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Mirbeau Inn & Spa Introducing a touch of European style to modern-day spa experience
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or a weekend getaway, Mirbeau Inn and Spa in Skaneateles is the place to go. Mirbeau, loosely translated as “reflected beauty,” exhibits the soft light and warm colors of a private French wine country estate. It opened in 2000. Pamela Maes, property manager, has been with the company for five years. She said the location has a feeling of being the same since she started but is always being updated to stay consistent with the French wine country estate theme. “We have gone through some updates, making sure our facility has maintained integrity, but stayed true to its nature,” Maes said. The property is a French wine country chateau and has lots of touches of Monet’s impressionism from his paintings. When the property was first built, the concept was to provide a European experience right in your own back yard. “We’re designed to be a getaway for people that live nearby, so you wouldn’t have to travel far to find an escape for yourself that was extraordinary and totally different from your day to day,” Maes said. The intention was people don’t have to hop on a plane or train to receive a world-class experience. There are a variety of services that are offered, including massages, Vichy treatments, facials, facial enhancements, body treatments, and hand and foot therapies. The menu is constantly updated to incorporate new treatments
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with increased therapy benefits. Over the last two years, the business has incorporated the Vichy room, where guests lie in a shallow, wet bed, similar to a massage table. Large quantities of warm water are poured over the guest as a way to get a shower while laying down as part of a body treatment. “Our [spa] menu is always a work in progress,” Maes said. “It is always changing, always updating, and we add seasonal services off menu which change throughout the year as well.”
A great escape The spa portion was designed to be a sanctuary for people to get away. “As people’s lives are busy and fastpaced, and everyone works hard in this day and age, this is a space where people can slow down and relax and find more balance in their lives,” Maes said. As the company grows, Maes said she is focusing on classic pleasures but
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
being aware that they are staying up to date with trends as well. “We see people bring home items to remind them of the spa, and they incorporate those things in their daily lives too,” Maes said. The spa offers a line of products guests can purchase to bring home, including a shower spray, essential oils and a whole line of body care products, which will remind people of their experience. Guests can also purchase bathrobes and mattresses they used at the inn, to bring the spa experience home. Bookings for the spa are available online, over the phone and on-site. There are three other locations in Albany, Plymouth, Mass., and another in Rhinebeck, which is opening in the fall of 2019. The Rhinebeck location will be based off of an old-world chic Parisian hotel, but with the modern comforts today’s travelers expect.
APRIL / MAY 2019
The Hamill House
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Boutique spa a one-stop beauty, relaxation destination
eg Coholan Pierce opened The Hamill House in Baldwinsville a little over a year ago and has built relationships with each of her customers at the day spa. The customer service at The Hamill House is what Coholan Pierce said sets her spa apart from others. “All of our clients really are very close to us,” she said. “We know all of their families; we know so much about each and every individual. It’s not just someone coming in to see a random technician. Every single person we see has a relationship with us.” The day spa, located at 49 Oswego St., offers massages, skin care, lashes and brows, makeup and waxing. There is also Sissy’s Boutique, which used to be a stand-alone store, inside of The Hamill House. Pierce said the goal is to offer an experience that isn’t just a “run-of-themill” salon. “It’s a place to go relax, hang out and get a cup of coffee,” Pierce said. “People love [the boutique] too. They can come in, shop, get their services done, so it’s been a great partnership as well.” She started in the beauty industry 10 years ago doing freelance makeup work for friends and family, but decided to get her esthetics license in 2013 and open her own business. She grew up in Baldwinsville and has spent her whole life in the area. She opened the spa in Baldwinsville because her family always does business in the area, so she said it was an appropriate spot. “[The Hamill House] has been something unique that the community is starting to appreciate,” Coholan Pierce said. “I saw a need for it. There are a ton of hair salons in Baldwinsville, but there’s not something that’s a little bit different that offers skincare and massage services.”
much more trying than I could have ever imagined,” Pierce said. “I love every minute of it. My clients have become some of my best friends and it is definitely something I wouldn’t trade for the world, but it is constant 24/7 hard work.” Each person who works for The Hamill House is a local mom, Pierce said. “It’s women-owned; we’re all kind of working to build our own businesses,” Pierce said. “I think that’s something that really attracts people and sets us apart from other businesses in the area.”
In the future, she is hoping the business will grow and she can provide more jobs for the community. She is also hoping to expand her physical location but continue to stay local. She said the experience has impacted her life in ways she wouldn’t have imagined, both good and bad. “I don’t think when you go to start a business anybody can really prepare you for what’s to come. I think it’s just something you have to learn for yourself,” she said.
Received input first She spoke to several clients before opening the business, and they wanted a space that was a more unique where they could go and feel like they were relaxing in a spa-style environment. Over the last year, she has learned being a business owner means you’re never off the clock. “Being a business owner is so APRIL / MAY 2019
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Hair We Are Salon and Spa Fulton entrepreneur bolstered by solid team
K
im Doyle grew up in Fulton and has been in the beauty industry for 30 years. She started her own small salon, but expanded to two houses, which is now a full-service salon and spa. “I’ve got more girls here now than I’ve ever had and I have the best team I’ve ever had,” Doyle said. The full-service salon and spa offers everything from cuts and colors, perms, straightening, extensions, makeup, nails, waxing, eyelash extensions, facials, massages and body scrubs. Beauty school was something to do instead of going to college for Doyle. She went to beauty school with her friends after high school and said it was the right thing for her to do because she loves it. She then opened her salon at 201 Academy St., Fulton. “I love Fulton. Fulton has been my home,” Doyle said. “I did travel a bit for a few years, but there’s no place like home.” All three of her sons live in the area with their wives, and two of their spouses also work at the salon. “I call them my ‘daughters-inlove,’” Doyle said. “The girls here are very supportive, and my family is very supportive.” Doyle said each of her employees takes the business to the next level.
“I would not have what I have today if it were not for every single one of these girls and my husband,” she said.
Takes challenge head on Doyle didn’t expect to open a full-service salon. “I’m not afraid. I like challenges,” Doyle said. “When I say we’re a full-service salon, I mean we’re a full-service salon. We do it all.” Luckily, Hair We Are Salon and Spa is a strong salon, so Doyle said she is hoping the business will keep going. When she can’t work anymore, her “daughter-in-love” Megan will take over the business. As a salon, Doyle has helped other business owners in the area. They’ve worked with the city and other businesses to put banners on bridges in the area that advertise other businesses. “I’ve had no problem with the
things we’ve needed to do with the city [of Fulton] and pairing with the city,” Doyle said. Next year will be the fourth year of doing the supportive banners. “I can’t tell you how great this city is, the people here, the city workers and the clients,” Doyle said. She said the employees of the salon are in a good financial situation because they can come to work every day and count on the customers and clients coming in to generate good business. “The customers here in Fulton, you can’t ask for better clients,” Doyle said. She has learned a lot as a business owner. “When you have a business, you have to be proactive and get the team that works best together,” Doyle said. “I absolutely have that. These girls are phenomenal. Some of them have been with me for 20 years.”
Kim Doyle 90
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
APRIL / MAY 2019
Services We Provide n Hair Cuts n Colors n Perms n Microdermabrasion n Chemical Peels n Facials n n Eye Lashes n Microblading n Permanent Cosmetics n Lip and Brow n n Wedding up styles n Permanent Make-up n Make-up n Manicure n Pedicure n n Gel Polish n Massage n Waxing Brows and Body n Body Scrubs n Foot Detox n n Lash Lifts n n Hair Extension n Spray Tanning And More n
(315) 598-5467 or (315) 598-5534 www.hairwearesalonspa.com IN GOOD HEALTH — UPSTATE NEW YORK’S HEALTHCARE NEWSPAPER FOUR DISTINCT EDITIONS — 110,000 COPIES DISTRIBUTED MONTHLY In Good Health publishes separate editions in 4 Upstate New York markets.
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In Good Health | P.O. Box 276 • Oswego, NY 13126 | (315) 342-1182 | cnyhealth.com APRIL / MAY 2019
OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Success Story Lindsey Aggregates
By Lou Sorendo
Newly acquired, state-of-the-art aggregate and sand processing equipment at the Lindsey Aggregates facility in Palermo.
Lindsey Aggregates becomes industry leader after making multi-million dollar investment into new project, equipment
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or Lindsey Aggregates, success is only a stone’s throw away. Headquartered in Scriba, the business that began under the watchful eye of Warren Vandish and his wife Virginia in 1999 has evolved into a diversified corporation that not only provides construction and trucking services, but also features the highest-quality aggregate on the market today. The business digs for aggregates and crushes them to make a variety of products. Lindsey Aggregates has invested about $7.5 million over the past three years into the company, and now is positioned to reap the dividends. “What we’ve done over the past few years is an investment in our equipment along with a change in our business model. We are less job specific and more material specific,” said company CEO Alan Levine. “That’s huge for a small business in a relatively small market,” Levine 92
said. “We decided to take that risk because we feel that our future success is based on our ability to produce new items from our existing inventory of raw material, which is huge. Our assets are terrific as far as inventory goes.” The changed business model now features Lindsey Aggregates as a manufacturer as well as supplier of labor and materials to accommodate specific jobs. Its aggregates have been supplied to virtually every market place including heavy highway, municipalities, airfields, industrial facilities as well as many residential applications. One of the most significant aspects about its new wash plant in Palermo is the ability to take what was a byproduct and convert that into $17 to $18 a ton material. “It takes material that we couldn’t utilize before, but we can now use for concrete and mason sand. It’s all high friction,” said Vandish, noting the company makes everything but blacktop OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
and concrete. “We can make any material to any specification,” said Vandish, noting all aggregate is state Department of Transportation certified. The DOT conducts inspections every year, making sure the business meets its requirements. “Now we do in-house testing three times a day of our material to make sure it meets state specifications,” Levine said. “The state is always looking for high-friction material,” said Vandish, noting that commonly used limestone is a 1-to-3 on the hardness chart, whereas Lindsey Aggregates’ material is a 7-to-9. “In using this for asphalt and concrete, it is stronger and lasts longer. When plows go across the road, they are scraping it, but they are not breaking stone out. It’s that hard,” Vandish said. The new plant in Palermo is capable of making seven products in one pass, whereas before, there were individual set-ups for each material. APRIL / MAY 2019
over 29 acres was previously untouchable to the business. In total, the business has nearly 1,000 acres to work with, with over 100 acres permitted for mining. Lindsey Aggregates location on state Route 104 East in Scriba is its hub for maintenance work and offices. It features a 10,000 square-foot maintenance shop for trucks and equipment. In the winter months, the business does snowplowing at Nine Mile Point, home to the Units 1 and 2 nuclear power facilities. It provides the benefit of keeping the business’ key employees working in the winter.
Lindsey Aggregates in Scriba is anchored by, from left, Monica Coe, secretary; coowners Virginia and Warren Vandish; and Alan Levine, company CEO. The new equipment features a wash system, and all stone products are washed of all sediment and silt. The 25-foot highly computerized wash plant uses more than 4,000 gallons of water a minute. It is one of only a handful in the Northeast and one of two in New York state. “It’s a true state-of-the-art wash system that is way beyond most of our competitors, who are using systems that are 35 to 50 years old,” Levine said. “This new machinery puts us in a class all by ourselves.” In 2017, the business grew 120 percent in sales. “It was painful, but worth it,” Vandish said. “The same thing may happen this year. We may double in size,” Levine added.
Intricate process The new washing process is intricate. Raw material is initially dumped into a 20-yard hopper, and is then directed into a scalping machine that separates all of the fine particles, which are then steered into a sand plant. A system of jaw and cone crushers then pulverizes the rock that comes from the scalping plant, with the stone going into another plant that completely washes all the dust and fine particles from it before it becomes the desired spec size off the conveyor belt. Any of the sediment that comes out of the stone plant then gets pumped back to the sand plant and reused for concrete and mason sand. The manufacturers of the washing system, based in Ireland, sent represenAPRIL / MAY 2019
tatives to the Palermo site in March to ensure that the equipment was tuned exactly right. “They want to use us as an example as well,” Levine said. “We built a stateof-the-art system, and we did a nice job on the installation.” Vandish’s staff offloaded equipment that came in Conex railroad boxes and put together what Levine described as a $2.5 million “giant erector set.” “It’s not just something you go and turn a key on and fire up,” Vandish said. “There’s a control room that’s all electronic, with monitors that tell you what everything in the plant is doing, right down to the amperage it is drawing to run the electric motors.” While based in Ireland, the wash plant’s manufacturers have a supply depot in Texas and are looking for another site in the northeast. Levine is hopeful that the company will choose Oswego County to site its northeastern supply depot. “I would love to see it be in Oswego County and create some jobs,” Levine said. “I think we could be the right people to accomplish what they are looking for. We know the industry and the machines.” Meanwhile, the addition of a state-of-the-art excavator is helping the business tremendously as well. The custom-built excavator with a 70-foot stick and boom allows the business to gain access to 30 more feet of material from its underwater resource. “We can dig down more than 60 feet into the water, whereas before, we did 20 feet. This machine can grab down 66 feet and pulls up four ton of material every time,” Levine said. That underwater inventory spread OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Getting diversified The Palermo site is one of only a few that is state DOT approved for high-friction material, a fact that Lindsey expresses to potential customers. “The products that we are producing with this wash system has diversified the company to where all the blacktop and concrete companies need these materials,” Vandish said. Prior to that, the company was involved in bidding on construction and road jobs, and while normally successful in that endeavor, after the job concluded, the business was looking for its next opportunity. “Now with the materials that we are producing today, whether we get the job or not, the concrete and asphalt companies still need this material,” Vandish said. The new plant will produce almost 4,000 tons of material daily compared to 1,800 to 2,000 tons prior to the new equipment. The business is coming off a busy winter that saw it deliver 2,500 tons a day throughout the season. Lindsey Aggregates features an array of workers with both the experience and knowledge to take the business to the next level. Ginny Vandish said Levine is “very instrumental in researching equipment options for us, especially in divergent ways we may not always think of.” “We appreciate that he is able to think of the means of getting to the goal in a manner that might be outside the box, while still keeping the outcome, the goals, clearly inside the box,” she said. “He also helps me tremendously in all things related to ‘running the office.’ This is my second career, but he has a wealth of experience. He is a true asset to our company,” she added. Jan Davidson, 75, who has been 93
with the company for 18 years, is one of several industry veterans who help anchor the staff. Davidson attends to engineering, setup and site prep work. Workers of his caliber are practically irreplaceable today, Vandish said. “To be honest, at this stage of the game, they are few and far between,” he added. In terms of the next generation of workers, Vandish said, “They got to want it for one thing. That’s a hard thing to find today.” He said it’s a challenge to motivate younger workers. “You don’t start out at the top. There’s a lot to learn,” Vandish said. However, the business’ pit manager, Jeff Warner, is a younger worker who has “learned the business in and out and has become a tremendous asset,” he added.
Lake cleanup project. “With each one of these jobs, our company has build a relationship and the customer has really liked the way we served their account,” Levine said. “That is happening with a lot of people.” “We’ve got some terrific customers and we’ve made some good relationships by doing exactly what we say we’re doing to do, be on time, and be capable of switching gears when the customer make a change or needs a different material.” “We’ve done a lot of work at the nuclear facilities as well, paving, digging, you name it,” Vandish said. “It’s
nothing to get a phone call at 1 o’clock in the morning with a problem, and you have to get out of bed and go over there.” “We both have our individual strengths and the business wouldn’t run without him, or without me, or without any one of our people,” Ginny said. “Every single team member is instrumental, a gear in a machine. They each are an important part of the process with individual strengths, value and importance. If one of the gears comes out, it doesn’t work. We are a team and a family,” she added.
Equipment intensive business Whether it’s the new wash system, the excavator or a new wheel loader the business purchased, the cost of equipment is oftentimes jaw dropping, forcing business owners to seek outside financing and lending support. The costs associated with trucking are significant as well when factoring in fuel, highway use tax, drivers’ ages, vehicle depreciation, insurances and overweight permits. The average dump truck costs about $200,000 while tractor-trailers are more than $300,000. A tarp for trailers alone costs $10,000. Kevin LaMontagne, business finance director for the Oswego County Industrial Development Agency, has been instrumental in securing a $140,000 Consolidated Funding Application grant from the state for Lindsey Aggregates. Empire State Development, meanwhile, has granted the business $700,000 to back its project. Another significant financial partner is Key Bank. “We have a lot of key people who have helped us get to where we are right now,” said Levine, noting the business’ quarry and trucking teams are top-notch. Lindsey Aggregates has teamed with organizations such as the Slocum Development Corp. on student housing projects at SUNY Oswego; Rifenburg Construction on the state Route 104 expansion project; Pooler Enterprises on a City Line Road project in Oswego; and O’Brien & Geer and the Onondaga 94
Lindsey Aggregates features its new state-of-the-art materials plant at its quarry off Red Schoolhouse Road in Palermo. It features a new washing plant that is resulting in a higher quality array of products. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
APRIL / MAY 2019
Kate Lopaze
How to Improve Your Hiring Process
F ‘Most organizations have come in line with nondiscriminatory policies that seek to eliminate blatant bias in hiring, but no matter how strict those policies are, unconscious bias will likely always come into play.’
Kate Lopaze is a career advice journalist for TheJobNetwork.com, where this article was originally published. She investigates and writes about current strategies, tips and trending topics related to all stages of one’s career. APRIL / MAY 2019
Former Google recruiter shares some tips
or years, Google has been considered kind of a gold standard in the tech recruiting and hiring field. It’s not just the lavish cafeteria or the geek-utopia vibe that has made the company such a giant and lasting success — much of the credit goes to smart hiring strategies and implementing an adaptive approach. If you’re looking to make your organization more Google-esque in your hiring (regardless of what field you’re in), former Google recruiter Kevin Grice has some insight into what you can do on a practical level.
in your talent pool. With increased diversity a non-negotiable goal for so many organizations, specifically looking for people with different backgrounds or experiences is a way to increase that diversity throughout the hiring process.
‘Research the person you’re interviewing’
Just about every candidate who comes through your door for an interview will have spent time prepping for it: researching your company, reading up on the job description, tailoring their resume to the job. It’s not only common courtesy to do some ‘Recognize your unconscious prep work yourself, but also, according to biases’ Grice, an opportunity to show off your wellMost organizations have come in line oiled organizational brand to your potential with non-discriminatory policies that seek new hire. to eliminate blatant bias in hiring. But no That means not only researching the canmatter how strict those policies are, or didate so that you can ask how conscious we are Guest Columnist substantive questions, but of hiring a qualified also ensuring that everyone person without regard on your interview panel is well-versed on for their personal gender, religion or race, the candidate as well. Grice recommends unconscious bias will likely always come “digging a little deeper,” going beyond the into play. For example, studies have found standard checks of public social media prothat people with identifiably ethnic names files. A person’s past writing online, videos, receive fewer interviews. And while unconetc., can help give you a fuller sense of the scious bias means (by its very nature) that candidate — much more than a cursory we don’t know exactly why we’re rejecting read of their resume 10 minutes before the a person, it’s important to be aware that it interview. exists and to evaluate whether it could be at play in any given step of the process. According to Grice, using systematic, ‘Be present’ consistent interviews is one way to limit bias. Grice recommends giving all of your After all, if every candidate is answering attention to an interview. We live in a multhe same questions at the same point in the titasking world, but stepping away from process, it’s less likely that you’re asking a email for an hour and focusing attention particular question because you have made on a candidate not only ensures that you’re an assumption about the interviewee. It getting the most out of this conversation with also makes your job easier when it comes a potential new hire, but that you’re also to evaluate and differentiate each candidate. being a good ambassador for your organization. “I’m sorry, I really need to take this” ‘Don’t look for your doppelganger’ or “I’m just finishing this email really quick” is rarely a mortal insult to an interviewee, Speaking of bias, according to Grice, but it does convey a message of, “this is not people tend to be drawn toward others who my top priority right now, sorry.” remind them of themselves, and organizaWhether your organization is a media tions want to bring in people who fit in with conglomerate or a small business, Grice’s exa particular vibe. It’s basic human nature, perience and insights show that all it takes to which means it will inevitably come into play improve your hiring and interviewing skills during the hiring process. And unfortunateare a few mindful, common-sense tweaks ly, a philosophy of “I like you because you that can make all the difference. remind me of myself” leads to less diversity OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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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 Fulton, NY 13069. Call 593-1332 or fax 598-5286.
BUILDING SUPPLIES Burke’s Home Center. The complete building and supply center. Two locations for your convenience: 38 E. Second St. in Oswego (343-6147); and 65 N. Second St. in Fulton (592-2244). Free deliveries.
CONSTRUCTION Dunsmoor Construction Inc. – Residential-Commercial Construction. Serving Oswego County. Home Improvement Contractor. 315-343-4380 or 315-591-5020.
DEMOLITION Fisher Companies. Commercial & residential demolition. Great prices. Fully insured. Free estimates. 48 years of experience. Call Fisher Companies 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, 13069. Call 593-2472.
FIREWOOD Northern Firewood & Earth Products – www.northernfirewood.net 315-668-9663 – Seasoned and Unseasoned split hardwoods. Block or Log Length. FREE DELIV-
ERY! We Accept all major credit cards and HEAP. Call today to place your order.
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 Rd. Pulaski. 298-6407 or visit www. lakeshorehardwoods.com.
LAND SURVEYOR Robert M. Burleigh, licensed land surveyor. Quality land surveying. Residential, subdivision, commercial, boundary surveying. 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, 315-6861892; Gouverneur: Depot Street, 315-287-1892.
OUTBOARD MOTORS Arney’s Marina. Route 14 Sodus Point, NY. Honda four-stroke motors, 2 hp to 250 hp. Repower your boat with the best! Call 483-9111 for more information.
TRACTOR/LAWN EQUIPMENT RanMar Tractor Supply, Sales and Service of New and Used Tractors and Farm Equipment – 5219 US Rte 11 Pulaski, New York – 315-598-5109.
HEADING: LISTING:
$159 for 1 Year Just fill out this form, and send it with a check to:
APRIL / MAY 2019
Oswego County Business • P.O. Box 276 • Oswego, NY 13126 OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
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Kateri Spinella Wellhouse Ministries, led by Kateri Spinella, is developing Anthony House, a home for people with terminal illnesses who require 24-hour care. Q.: Can you give us a snapshot as to where the Anthony House project is today? What needs to be done in order to see the dream become reality? A.: We are diligently looking for land in Oswego County. We have leads which we are actively pursuing. We firmly believe that once the land is secure, then our building project will fall right into place. We would, without a doubt, like to break ground before the end of this year. In order for Anthony house to become a reality we need to enlist the community to stand with us and support this endeavor.
the ball. The weather, which is always a challenge, helped us a great deal this year. The opportunity to get out in mid-winter and have some fun makes it very exciting. Also, our fundraiser ends up being an elegant, fun, and entertaining event. A highlight this year was eight student-interns from SUNY Oswego who worked at the ball with us. We received nothing but positive feedback from our guests about how polite they were, about how informative they were and how efficiently they managed our coat check.
Q.: How much will it cost to establish Anthony House? A.: It will cost approximately $700,000 to launch Anthony House. The land, building permits, actual building materials and furnishings will be approximately $300,000. We want to secure two years’ operational costs and we are looking at another $400,000. As we have been working and meeting with organizations in the community, people have made commitments to our building project for which we are very thankful.
Q.: What is your overall objective with the gala? A.: When we first began our plans for the ball, we had several objectives in mind. First and foremost was bringing awareness about Anthony House to the community and having an activity where people can come out and just have a good time. The food of course at The American Foundry is always outstanding!! We believe wholeheartedly that Anthony House is a resource rooted here in the community, and we want the community to be very much involved with the house and the services it provides. This is a great way to build lasting relationships. We want people to know what they are investing in. Phase 1 of our strategic plan is securing enough funding to build Anthony House, and
Q.: Who have been some of your most significant supporters during the Anthony House building project? A.: One of several organizations that has stepped up to support us is Operation Northern Comfort. They are willing to provide laborers who will actually build the home as well as make a financial contribution to help complete the project. Q.: How did the recent Black and White Masquerade Ball fundraiser go? Did it meet expectations? A.: It surpassed our expectations. We were delighted with the turnout and number of people that attended
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By Lou Sorendo the second part of that is sustaining Anthony House. People living at the house are not charged for the services we provide. When people donate, they are providing the opportunity for families to receive these services at no cost; it’s really investing in our community. Again, it’s about educating people about the fact we don’t have a resource like this in our county. We want to alleviate the challenges and burdens families face when dealing with end of life issues. Q.: What other fund-raising events do you have throughout the year that sustain your mission? A.: We are planning a fundraising event for the summer or fall. We are thinking of having an outdoor family fun day activity so that kids of any and every age group can be involved and have a variety of fun things to do. This way, the whole family can come out, have a good time, and help support a good cause. We’d like to include a BBQ, a bounce house, other kids games and perhaps a kickball or volleyball tournament for the teens; in other words a good time for all.
Kateri Spinella is the co-founder of Wellhouse Ministries, which is raising funds to open Anthony House, a home for people with terminal illnesses who require 24-hour care. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
APRIL / MAY 2019
Personalized Orthopedic Care. Right at Home. Michael Diaz, DO and Greg Keller, MD, two talented and gifted orthopedic surgeons, are collaborating with Oswego Health to open the Center for Orthopedic Care, which will offer the orthopedic services that our patients and primary care physicians have long sought for our community. Orthopedic services: ■ True sports medicine services that assist local athletes and weekend warriors return to the field or gym. ■ Complete joint replacement surgery with all pre and post-surgery appointments held locally CENTER FOR ■ Advanced fracture care in Oswego Hospital’s Emergency Department ORTHOPEDIC CARE ■ An orthopedic team that listens and spends time with its patients
Michael Diaz, DO
Greg Keller, MD
CENTER FOR ORTHOPEDIC CARE www.oswegohealth.org/ortho
315-349-5873