Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Come out swinging for Christopher







Airway Meadows to hold tournament to benefit 5 year old Christopher Ramsey

Christopher Ramsey is a local 5-year old resident. On February 1, 2007, he was diagnosed with stage 4 high risk neuroblastoma. The tumor has metastasized to his bone marrow. Since then he has undergone months of chemotherapy and stem-cell re-implantation. He is currently at the PICU at Boston Children's Hospital.


Airway Meadows Golf Club in Gansevoort will be holding a golf tournament on Saturday, August 18th. It will be a 4-player 18 Hole scramble with a Noon registration followed by a shotgun start. The cost is $70 per player and includes greens fees, cart, prizes, BBQ picnic, draft beer and soda all day. A portion of the registration fees plus all proceeds from raffles, auction and on course competitions and games go directly to Christopher Ramsey. Deadline for entry is Monday, August 13th and the field is limited to 144 players. Golfers should sign-up early to guarantee entry. Contact the Pro Shop at the golf course or call 518-792-4144.

Hole sponsor signs are available at the cost of $50 each with all the proceeds going directly to Christopher.



Kevin Nielsen
Airway Meadows Golf Club
518-792-4144

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Sutton's for Men

Donna Sutton continues the Sutton's Marketplace tradition of excellence with an expansion into another market: Men's Clothing. Birch Creek Outfitters is a new branch of the Sutton's company offering clothing for both men and women, located at the former Smokey Bear BBQ location.

Last Friday the store had a ribbon cutting, on hand for the celebration were Donna Sutton, Gabe Sutton, Pam Worth, and Peter Carusone all from the Sutton's management team, Mark Sidoti, John Crawford and Josh Koons representing the Adirondack Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors as well as fellow ARCC member Michael Borgos and other friends and staff.





Congratulations and continued success!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

CDPHP Eyes Effeciency with New Appointment

CDPHP ANNOUNCES BETHANY R. SMITH, CPA,
SELECTED AS CORPORATE CONTROLLER



CDPHP today announced the appointment of Bethany R. Smith, CPA, to corporate controller in its finance division. In this position, Smith will provide oversight for all activities in the accounting department, including financial and regulatory reporting and internal controls.

“Bethany has extensive experience in accounting and financial reporting, management, and communications that will provide us the efficiency and effectiveness necessary to continue our strict adherence to low-cost administrative services,” said William J. Cromie, MD, MBA, president and CEO, CDPHP.

Prior to joining CDPHP, Smith was senior manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, formerly Coopers & Lybrand LLP, a division of PricewaterhouseCoopers International. Her experience includes more than 12 years of public accounting with clients in industries including insurance, financial services, and state and local government.

Smith earned a bachelor of science degree in accounting from the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh and is a certified public accountant in the state of New York. She and her husband, Shawne, reside in Schenectady with their two children.

About CDPHP™

Founded and guided by physicians, CDPHP and its affiliates currently serve members in 29 counties throughout New York state and seven counties in Vermont. In 2006, the CDPHP commercial health plan was ranked fifth in the country, and top ranked in New York state, in a collaborative report, U.S. News & World Report/NCQA “America’s Best Health Plans” 2006®. The CDPHP Medicare Advantage program, Medicare Choice, and the Medicaid program, Select Plan, ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, in the nation.

The four affiliated companies of CDPHP include a family of products: Capital District Physicians' Health Plan, Inc.—HMO, Healthy New York, Medicare Choice, Medicaid, Child Health Plus, and Family Health Plus. CDPHP Universal Benefits Inc.® —PPO, High Deductible PPO, POS, and EPO. Capital District Physicians' Healthcare Network, Inc. —self-insured plans; and APA Partners, Inc. —third party administration (TPA). Visit CDPHP .

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

An Olympian Among Us

Dr. Daniel O'Keefe, President of the Glens Falls Tennis and Swim Club recently personified the words of Norman Vincent Peale:


Live your life and forget your age


as he won the gold medal at the National Senior Olympics of 2007 on the third of this month. Playing in the blistering afternoon heat of Louisville, Kentucky just two days after being admitted to the hospital with acute hypertension, O'Keefe and his partner, Ed Gall, handily won the 85-90 year old bracket of the Doubles Tennis competition.

Recently Dr. O'Keefe was kind enough to share his medal with Todd Shimkus during a tour of the Club.



Bravo Dr. O'Keefe, bravo!

Vision, Ambition & Pragmatism

It's every entrepreneur's fear that one day their business will be obsolete, left behind by advancing technology and surpassed by a rapidly changing world with rapidly changing needs.

But even in the face of a possible high-tech boom just to the south, where Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering is growing, and Malta's Luther Forest Technology Park is trying to entreat Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to build a new factory, businessmen like Mark Miller remain cautiously optimistic about their futures.

Miller, who owns Americlean in South Glens Falls, believes the potential exists for companies in this area to generate more business for themselves by providing services they already offer to high-tech facilities.

Miller himself is doing this now.

Americlean, a commercial and industrial painting and cleaning company, is working on the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering campus.

And while the work Americlean employees are doing is not exactly high-tech, it is pretty important to the overall function of a high-tech facility.

"Americlean's work is centered at NanoFab 300 North, a 250,000-square-foot building that is part of CNSE's Albany NanoTech complex," CNSE Director of Communications Services Stephen Janack explained in an e-mail. "Americlean is pressure washing vaporizers that are used to pump nitrogen into the facility.

"That work is essential in ensuring that there is a consistent and precise flow of nitrogen, which is regarded as one of the important gases used in the process of development and manufacture of computer nanochips."

While Miller is happy to be doing this work, he's not blind to the fact that Americlean will have some updates to make to its service packages if the company is to branch out and do more with computer chip makers in the future.

Miller is particularly aware of this when it comes to clean room maintenance. Clean rooms are very tightly controlled environments in which everything from temperature to employees' clothing is strictly regimented to protect the computer chips being made.

"There's a huge difference in what we do compared to cleaning clean rooms," Miller said. "We have a little training and research to do."

Still, he sees opportunities for Americlean and other local contractors during the development phase of these high-tech facilities.

"That's where a lot of work is going to be for local contractors -- during new construction," Miller said. "For us, for instance, I don't see our company involved much after a facility's complete, unless it's for something like these vaporizers."

The vaporizers are large, external structures on which ice accumulates due to the nitrogen passing through them, which is very cold, Miller said. His job is to remove that ice build-up.

John Aspland, owner of Adirondack Plastics & Recycling in Argyle, agreed that there will be various opportunities for local firms like his to capitalize on the tech trend. But he stressed that changing in order to grasp those opportunities may be a challenging necessity.

Recognizing this, Aspland has been working hard to learn how the plastics and paper recycling business he runs might need to change or evolve in order to accommodate the material recycling needs of the high-tech sector.

That work, however, has not been so fruitful.

"We haven't even been able to get our foot in the door yet," Aspland said. "But eventually, we'll pull through and get to the right guy."

Aspland is banking on the fact that every company generates some kind of waste, but he is also co nfident because he has had to adjust his business plan before.

When medical device manufacturers Tyco and Mallinckrodt closed years ago, Adirondack Plastics faced a troubling outlook.

Aspland recalled that those companies made up more than half his business.

But he managed to push on and re-invent a now-burgeoning company by adapting.

Todd Shimkus, president and CEO of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, agreed that doing research on the computer and nanoscience tech sector is a good idea, especially since the future of local businesses' involvement with high-tech companies is uncertain.

"It's still somewhat unknown, to be honest," Shimkus said. "High-tech companies in Hillsboro are using fewer and fewer local vendors, since they need those vendors that can service all their locations all over the world."

Shimkus was one of about 20 delegates who visited Hillsboro, Ore., this spring to learn how that community has been impacted by explosive growth in the computer chip manufacturing industry.

"But, as Americlean shows, there will be opportunity," Shimkus said. "Mark's instance shows a different side of the situation -- there will be specific plant needs.

"It's kind of like the big box stores. They have enormous, high-quality distribution systems, but when one of their trucks blows its tires out, they're probably going to Warren Tire."

Len Fosbrook, president of the Economic Development Corp. of Warren County, agreed that possibilities exist even though local businesses probably will not be able to provide high-tech companies with the raw materials used to create products or do research.

"The supply chain is a little out of our reach, but there's a wealth of opportunity," he said.

"The obvious thing is construction jobs; that comes first to mind. But the people employed by these industries will also need goods and services, whether it's a restaurant, a laundry or banking."

According to Janack, hundreds of companies provide various kinds of support to just the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

"Americlean is just one of well over 500 local, regional and New York State companies that have provided over $400 million in goods and services at CNSE's Albany NanoTech complex over the past decade," Janack said.

Special thanks to The Post-Star for providing such wonderful coverage of our members in articles such as the one you have just read.

Monday, July 23, 2007

A Golden Find for CDPHP




RENÉE GOLDERMAN JOINS CDPHP AS DIRECTOR, HEALTH CARE QUALITY

Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan, Inc. (CDPHP) today announced the appointment of Renée S. Golderman, MS, RN, CNA, BC, to director, heath care quality. Golderman will lead the development, coordination, and communication of health quality initiatives at CDPHP. She brings more than 20 years’ experience in the health care industry to her new post.

“Renée has significant knowledge of clinical practice, management, and professional leadership,” said William J. Cromie, MD, MBA, president and CEO, CDPHP. “Her diverse background will be integral to the assessment, measurement, and implementation of health quality initiatives which support our commitment to excellence.”

Prior to joining CDPHP, Golderman served as the director of nursing for Seton Health System. In addition, she has also held clinical management positions at New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, and New Britain General Hospital, New Britain, Connecticut. She has also served as a clinical educator for The Eddy.

Golderman holds a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing from SUNY Buffalo, and a master’s of science in health care management from RPI. She is board certified in nursing administration by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and is a member of the New York Organization of Nurse Executives (NYONE).

A native of Middletown, New York, Golderman currently resides in Guilderland with her husband and their three children.

About CDPHP™
Founded and guided by physicians, CDPHP and its affiliates currently serve members in 29 counties throughout New York state and seven counties in Vermont. In 2006, the CDPHP commercial health plan was ranked fifth in the country, and top ranked in New York state, in a collaborative report, U.S. News & World Report/NCQA “America’s Best Health Plans” 2006®. The CDPHP Medicare Advantage program, Medicare Choice, and the Medicaid program, Select Plan, ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, in the nation.

The four affiliated companies of CDPHP include a family of products: Capital District Physicians' Health Plan, Inc.—HMO, Healthy New York, Medicare Choice, Medicaid, Child Health Plus, and Family Health Plus. CDPHP Universal Benefits Inc.® —PPO, High Deductible PPO, POS, and EPO. Capital District Physicians' Healthcare Network, Inc. —self-insured plans; and APA Partners, Inc. —third party administration (TPA). Visit CDPHP.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Remembrance



Fort Hudson Health System held a dedication ceremony of Monday, July 2nd for the Veteran's Memorial. Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand arranged for the flag used in the Washington Flag presentation to be flown over the United States Capital on June 7th, 2007. The Congresswoman sent Lisa Manzi from her office as a representative at the ceremony. Manzi presented the flag to Mr. John A. Matochik Jr., DVM the Fort Hudson Foundation President and Veteran of War.


Senator Betty Little also participated in the ceremony with a flag presentation. Andrew Cruikshank, CEO Fort Hudson Health System presented a plaque. The Rasing of the Colors was executed by American Legion Post 574 of Hudson Falls.

The veterans honored in the ceremony:

Donna Allie, Maynard Alverson, Dan Anderson, Vivian Blakely,
Mike Brown, Roy Brown, Gwendolyn Bussey, Moses Carma,
Jack Coburn, James Conway, Elizabeth Dickinson, Bernard Dobler,
William Edwards, Mike Eggleton, David Eldridge, Kevin Fisher,
Gus Griffing, Gary Hammond, Paul Hillman, Irving Jenkins,
Walter Komsa, Patty Kupiec, Angelo LaSarso, Richard Leight,
Don MacArthur, Vincent Malvuccio, Robert McClard,
Mary McKenna, Howard Miles, Tammy Moss, Robert Munger,
Larry Olsen, Jim Patton, Stanford Searl, Edward Seely,
Floyd "Pete" Smith, Len Smith, Bill Ward, Dean Warde,
Arnold Weatherwax, Bob Winney, Frank Williams.

A Royal Welcome Of Course


A special welcome to Meg and Eric Woodbury of Kingswood Golf Course. Seen in this picture with their dog Louie and in one of the carts from the course, they invite ARCC members to come by to visit the clubhouse. They are located at 111 County Route 41 in Hudson Falls.

You can also visit here to get signed up to their email list where you'll receive information about specials, discounts and upcoming events.

Not Just Prime Property, Home


A week ago today Peggy Blake of Coldwell Banker Prime Properties expanded her team as she welcomed Jeff Spence to Coldwell Banker Prime Properties.

Also on hand to welcome Jeff were: Bruce Forman, George Ludwig, Shelli Cameron, Jeanne LaPoint, Pam Armstrong and Kelli May.

Congratulations!

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

An Internationally Local Victory

TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES TO CONSOLIDATE UPSTATE NEW YORK FACILITIES

Move Will Unite 400 Employees Currently Split between Two Facilities in Warren County


CHICAGO–July 17, 2007–Tribune Media Services (TMS), a subsidiary of Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), today announced plans to consolidate its upstate New York-based operations in a new building in the Town of Queensbury, NY. The planned 66,000 square foot facility is being built by Albany, NY-based BBL Construction Services, LLC. TMS and BBL have entered into a long-term leasing arrangement that will begin next summer. Four hundred employees of TMS’ Entertainment Information Products division will work in the building.

“Consolidating these two large offices will enable TMS to become even more efficient and competitive in delivering the best entertainment information products in the world,” said TMS President and CEO David D. Williams. “This move further strengthens our continuing commitment as one of the major employers in Warren County and the region, whose citizens and community leaders have helped create an environment where we can thrive.”

The TMS Entertainment Products Division is a leading provider of print, online and on-screen television listings, movie showtimes and entertainment-related editorial information to media and consumer electronics companies. In addition to its offices in upstate New York, the division has headquarters in Chicago and major operations in Milwaukee, Dallas, Los Angeles and Amsterdam (The Netherlands).
About Tribune Media Services
Tribune Media Services (TMS), a subsidiary of Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), is a leading provider of information and entertainment products for print, electronic and on-air media in the United States and abroad. It distributes TV and movie listings and related editorial content under the TMS and Zap2it brands; syndicates comics, editorial cartoons, features and opinion columns; creates and distributes a variety of online information products; licenses editorial content from national periodicals; and manages national advertising networks. TMS also markets news, features, information graphics and multimedia content to media clients around the world through McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information, visit the website.
About Tribune Media Services Entertainment Products Division

Tribune Media Services (TMS) is a leading provider of print, online and on-screen entertainment listings and editorial information to newspapers and online media, cable and satellite operators, and consumer electronics companies. Offering a full line of enhanced entertainment information products and services, TMS' TV information clients include Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, New York Times, USA Today, TiVo and Microsoft. TMS collects information from more than 16,000 broadcast, cable and satellite sources worldwide. Its newspaper, cable and satellite program magazines reach more than 30 million households in over 50 major markets on a weekly and monthly basis. Additionally, TMS' electronic program guide (EPG) is available in 9 million homes worldwide.

TMS print and online advertising networks provide opportunities to reach nearly 70 million people, through major market newspaper TV supplements and Zap2it.com. TMS Movie Products collects data from more than 37,000 movie theater screens in North America to create and market print and electronic movie information products and services. TMS Movie Products clients include Carmike Cinemas, Inc., Clear Channel Interactive, Cox Communications, Inc., Los Angeles Times and others. TMS is also the licensing agent for ticketing services from Fandango, the nation's largest online and phone movie ticketing service.

Additionally, TMS offers Zap2it.com, a leading entertainment information website for TV and Movie listings and features, and information on the latest video and DVD releases. For more information about TMS, visit the website.

About Tribune Company

TRIBUNE (NYSE:TRB) is one of the country’s top media companies, operating businesses in publishing, interactive and broadcasting. It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is the only media organization with newspapers, television stations and websites in the nation’s top three markets. In publishing, Tribune’s leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.), The Sun (Baltimore), South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel and Hartford Courant. The company’s broadcasting group operates 25 television stations, Superstation WGN on national cable, Chicago’s WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Popular news and information websites complement Tribune’s print and broadcast properties and extend the company’s nationwide audience.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

There's a New Deputy in Town (at The Hyde)

The Hyde Collection’s board of trustees is pleased to announce that Erin B. Coe has been promoted to the position of Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Museum effective June 25, 2007. Ms. Coe has served as Curator at The Hyde since 1999. As Deputy Director, Coe will be the officer in charge when the Director is not on the Museum premises. The title Chief Curator acknowledges Ms. Coe’s role as the head of the curatorial department and staff. This promotion recognizes Coe’s eight years of expertise and leadership with respect to collections and exhibition research and development, publications, and the management of the curatorial department including overseeing the care and conservation of the Museum’s collection of nearly 3,000 art objects. According to the board of trustees chairman Bernard Brown, who announced the promotion on June 25, “Erin has done a remarkable job for us since coming to The Hyde. Her enthusiasm and knowledge of the collection is unparalleled.” Philip McIntire, chair of the Human Resources Committee stated, “Erin herself is one of the jewels of our collection. Her knowledge, her experience, and her absolute devotion to the Hyde deserve this recognition.”

During her tenure at The Hyde, Coe has curated eighteen exhibitions and authored or co-authored numerous exhibition catalogues including Adolph Gottlieb, 1956 (2005), Painting Lake George, 1774-1900 (2005); Family Matters: American Impressionism and Realism (2003), Picturing Gentility: Portraits of Women in American Art (2000), and French and English Printed Textiles (1999). Additionally, Coe has directly managed the installation of over thirty-five traveling exhibitions such as Luminist Horizons: The Art and Collection of James A. Suydam, (2007); Edward Weston: Life Work (2006); Carrie Mae Weems: The Louisiana Project (2005), Masterworks: Selections from the New Britain Museum of American Art (2004), and Modern Masters: From Corot to Kandinsky (2003).

In 2003-04, Ms. Coe oversaw the interior restoration of the Museum’s historic building, Hyde House, through the development and implementation of a Furnishing Plan. This restoration project garnered several awards including the Award of Merit from the Upstate History Alliance in 2005. This major restoration project served as the basis of her newly published article “The Hyde House Furnishing Plan: Scholarship and Science to the Rescue” in the Postprints of the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works, based on the paper she presented at their annual meeting in 2006.

Coe has received other honors and awards including The Business Review’s 40 Under Forty in 2006; and the Brunshwig & Fils Scholarship to attend the prestigious Attingham Summer School for the Study of Architecture, Fine, and Decorative Arts in Great Britain in 2001.


Coe has written for several national periodicals including The Magazine Antiques and the Catalogue of Antiques and Fine Art. She is a recent contributor to Consuming Views: Art and Tourism in the White Mountains 1850-1900 (2006) published by the New Hampshire Historical Society and distributed by the University of New England Press.

Ms. Coe has served on several area boards including the Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association, the Lake George Arts Project, and presently on the de Blasiis Chamber Music Series. She holds a MA degree from the University at Albany and a BA degree from the University of New Mexico.


The Hyde Collection is a historic house and art museum complex that combines the heritage of the Adirondack Region with a distinguished permanent collection consisting of works by European old and modern masters and American artists, important decorative arts and antique furnishings. In addition, the Museum provides changing exhibitions in four gallery spaces, lectures, concerts, family activities and school programming as well as a Museum Store. Admission is FREE with voluntary donations accepted. The Hyde Collection is a publicly supported institution located at 161 Warren Street, Glens Falls, New York. Open year-round Tuesday-Saturday 10 AM - 5 PM, and Sunday noon - 5 PM., Closed Mondays and national holidays. Admission is FREE. For information, call 518-792-1761 or visit the Hyde website.

Valuable Addition to the Meadows

The Glen at Hiland Meadows, the North Country's premier retirement community has announced the appointment of Carl Cedrone, AAMS, financial advisor for Edward D. Jones and Companies, as a member of its board of directors.

A 25-year veteran of the financial services field, Cedrone has experience as an accountant, auditor, tax preparer, corporate controller and financial advisor. He joined Edward D. Jones in 1998.

Cedrone is also active in the local community. Currently he is chair of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce board of directors and a member ot the board of trustees for the Chapman Historical Museum. He also served on the board of directors for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and was the JDRF Walk chair and corporate recruitment chair this year. Cedrone is a resident of Queensbury.

The Glen at Hiland Meadows is an affiliate of The Eddy and a member of Northeast Health, a regional, comprehensive, not-for-profit network of healthcare, supportive housing and community services comprised of The Eddy, Albany Memorial Hospital and Samaritan Hospital and Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital. Please visit the Northeast Health website for more information.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Diamonds are Forever



AAA has announced the 2007 Four Diamond Award Winners. We are proud to direct the spotlight and our refined applause in the direction of two ARCC member companies that shine brightly on the list.


The Inn at Erlowest
Four-Diamond Restaurant Winner




The Sagamore
Four-Diamond Lodging Winner