Do you think your home could be more energy efficient? During week one of a four-week “Winterize and Energize” series, energy advisors from the Albany County Cornell Cooperative Extension will explain the NYSERDA home energy savings program.
NYSERDA is The New York State Energy Research And Development Authority, which works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate economic growth, and improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers. The information that will be presented will include what program is a good fit for you and your home, how to get started, a walkthrough of the process, and what incentives are available.
The October 23rd W&E will provide information on Energy Audits with Jack Hall Plumbing & Heating. The topics covered in this presentation will include” What is an energy audit?” and why it is beneficial for energy savings for your home. This presentation will explain the basic steps of an energy audit, and what to expect from a contractor. The tax incentives available for an energy audit will also be explained during the presentation.
On October 30th, the W&E presentation will feature “Heat Pumps 101” where topics will include what heat pumps are, how they can be used in heating and cooling your home, and are whether heat pumps are the right choice for you.
The final presentation of the “Winterize & Energize” series culminates on November 6th, with a presentation featuring Solar/Community Solar and Solar/EVs. This presentation will include information about determining if solar power is a good fit for your home, as well as an overview of rooftop solar, ground-mounted solar, and community solar. Other topics will include what to expect with solar power, what questions to ask your contractor, and a summary of electric vehicles.
In 2014, SPoT Coffee was a new addition to the restaurant scene on Glens Street in Glens Falls… Now, just under a decade later, they are a mainstay of Downtown Glens Falls! SPoT Coffee, through the leadership of District Operations Manager Bill Dingman, is always on the lookout to expand offerings and find ways to service more customers… With this in mind, SPoT has moved to provide more substantial and widespread catering options through ezCater.
EzCater was established in 2007, to connect businesses with restaurants through an online marketplace. SPoT Coffee recognized the opportunity, and Bill has been able to implement the expansion with the help of his seasoned crew. Dingman is thankful to be a part of the thriving Glens Falls community: “Honestly…We think that this cafe has really grown in terms of revenue over the last couple of years, and we are really thankful and really glad to be part of the community. We want to be the epicenter, where Glens Falls starts their day, and ends their day,” he said.
Bill knows that he owes the success of the cafe to his tenured staff, as low staff turnover is not a common trait of the cafe model: “I’m proud of our staff… They’ve done a fantastic job. We’ve added the number of staff that we are holding at any particular time because of revenue growth… We are employing more people. The demand is there, and we are really thankful,” he said.
SPoT Coffee is open “777” – from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, seven days a week. “We have to wake up and do it every day… Our staff has had to adjust, grow, and get stronger. They manage when there is a line out the door all day,” Bill said.
As SPoT Coffee grows and adds more dynamic offerings, catering is at the forefront of their endeavors… Joining on with ezCater has allowed SPoT Coffee to service more customers in more communities, and increases catering options for potential customers that are further away – the first catering order that SPoT filled through ezCater was for customers in Corinth, instantly proving the value of the expansion!
Catering allows SPoT Coffee to increase revenue with less impact on the staff, and with Bill Dingman, it all comes back to having a reliable staff: “There had been some concern that we wouldn’t be able to have a busy cafe and keep the product that we would need for catering… We have the tenured staff, and that has allowed us to have the information to make it work. We have folks who recognize where we are, what we are doing, and see the opportunities… That’s the benefit to having long term employees,” he said.
To order from SPoT Coffee on the ezCater.com website, the minimum order is $75.00. For more information, please visit ezcater.com, or Spotcoffee.com.
On Thursday, October 19th, Crandall Library will host a free Folklife concert featuring Maire Ni Chathasaigh & Chirs Newman. This dynamic duo is made up of two extraordinarily talented international musicians!
Maire is one of Ireland’s most important and influential traditional musicians. Her love of the Harp began at age eleven, and her West Cork background influenced her technique while she played traditional music steeped in oral traditions. Chris, a prolific composer, arranger and record producer began playing the guitar at age four, and played his first paying gig at the age of fourteen in a folk club.
The pair made their debut on the main stage at the 1987 Cambridge Folk Festival, and have been touring the world together ever since.
Their talent is recognized the world over: the “Blazing guitar and dancing harp” (Irish Linen). This celebrated partnership of “one of the UK’s most staggering and influential acoustic guitarists” (fRoots) with “the doyenne of Irish harpers” (Scotland On Sunday) has presented its unique musical vision in twenty-two countries on five continents, to venues ranging from the tiniest of village halls to palaces in Kyoto and Istanbul, London’s Barbican, Sydney Town Hall, and the Philharmonie in Cologne. Expect a breathtaking blend of traditional Irish music, hot jazz, bluegrass, and baroque, spiced with striking new compositions.
First Show: Crandall Library Glens Falls, NY – Thursday, October 19th, 7:00 PM (Doors open at 6:30) – Crandalllibrary.org
Second Show: At the Historic Salem Courthouse, Salem, NY – Friday, October 20th, 7:00 PM (Doors open at 6:30) – www.salemcourthouse.org
The music scene is about to get a new infusion of talent in the Capital Region! The Albany Rock Pit opened on August 1st, and is already setting lofty goals based on the premise of team building and community through live performances. Located at 9 Norman Drive in Albany, The Albany Rock Pit is gearing up for its grand opening on October 24th, 2023.
The Albany Rock Pit accepts students as young as 5 years old, and offers four different age groups lessons and performances: “This all evolved when my daughter’s music school closed,” says Kim Lindh, co-partner now professionally as well as personally with Tess Collins, the owner of McGeary’s. “There’s a nichemarket that was unfulfilled… Music is needed. It’s an outlet. It’s both expressive and therapeutic”.
“The space was available next to Kim’s shop and it’s in the perfect area,” stated Collins. “We were able to transform the space into a music school within 30 days during the Summer… And, since we’ve opened, we’ve seen an influx of students and instructors. They realize what we’re trying to build here… We’re absolutely stressing team building and community,” she said.
“What sets this apart from any other music school, the kids interact together and will have an opportunity to play live in the local music scene,” continued Lindh. “The kids are multi-talented. They’ll not only be able to set up their own equipment and perform their own sound checks, but they play different instruments, too… So, you’ll see them switch off playing different instruments as they go from song to song. And, what’s good for them, they’re not paying a venue to have a recital or a performance. They’re getting the real experience now with the guidance of the school, so they’re fully prepared for what they can expect down the road.”
“The first show for these kids will be December 2nd and 3rd at September’s in Colonie,” continued Collins. “They’ll perform a variety of hits from the 1980s, while sprinkling in songs from the 1960’s associated with the ‘British Invasion’… Then, once we get into the first quarter of 2024, we’ll change up the musical theme on a quarterly basis.”
The Albany Rock Pit just hosted their first “Open Mic/Free Jam Friday” which will continue the first Friday of every month!
The ribbon-cutting ceremony – the first ever for both Collins and Lindh – will be Tuesday, October 24th at the Albany Rock Pit. Assembly member Pat Fahy will be attending the ceremony.
For more information regarding the Albany Rock Pit, please contact Kim Lindh at kimlindh@albanyrockpit.com, or Tess Collins at Tess@mcgearys.com. You can also visit their Facebook page at Albany Rock Pit.
The Lake George Association held the 8th Annual Adirondack Champlain Regional Salt Summit at The Fort William Henry Hotel and Conference Center in Lake George to bringing together stakeholders from around the Adirondacks – many of them from Warren County – to discuss the ongoing effort to keep roads clear while using less road salt.
Warren County and the towns along Lake George in the county have been leaders in the use of saltwater brine instead of road salt – an emerging technology as experts have looked to lessen the damage that road salt does to the environment.
Warren County Department of Public Works Superintendent Kevin Hajos, center, was among the event’s panelists. Hajos was a member of the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force, which studied ways to reduce road salt use and issued a report earlier this fall.
The day-long event was held to bring experts together with highway personnel to refine ways to cut road salt use in the Adirondacks. Warren County DPW has been one of the leading agencies in use of salt brine; purchasing equipment to make and distribute brine that is also used by town highway crews in the county.
Senator Daniel Stec and Lake George Town Supervisor Vinnie Crocitto unveiling the historical marker
New York State Senator Daniel Stec was joined by Lake George Town Supervisor Dennis Dickinson and Deputy Town Supervisor Vinnie Crocitto in unveiling the new “Fort George” historical marker near the entrance to Lake George Battlefield Park on Sunday, October 8th, 2023, before approximately 40 interested members of the public.
The marker describes the final destruction of the patriot fortification by British Major Christopher Carleton as the ultimate act in his series of raids on military and private property during the fall of 1780. This unveiling was orchestrated by Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance Trustee Pat Niles, who led a tour after the unveiling ceremony of locations in the park that are connected to Carleton’s raid.
In addition to Senator Stec and Pat Niles, speakers at the event included Margy Mannix (Lake George Town Historian) and Charles Vandrei, Historic Preservation Officer for the State Department of Environmental Conservation.
In this episode, our hosts Mike Nelson and Derek Foster interview four students at the Blue Collar College – Tim, Jonathan, Jawid and Edon! Their incredible stories showcase the strength of the Blue Collar spirit – between preserving heritage, community values, working hard to chase those dreams, and even acts of genuine heroism, the future for the next generation of Blue Collar workers is looking bright!
Kurt W. & Florence Stoffel sold property at New Vermont Road to Lake George LAnd Conservancy for $100,000
Chester
William & Lynn Sutch sold property at Van Guilder Road to Fiddlehead Holdings LLC for $40,000
James Christopher Mrazek sold property at Grove Street to Haley Grygiel for $14,000
Alonzo Roberts sold property at 1436 N. Gore Road to Bienvenido Gonzalez Jr. & Adriane Gonzalez for $243,200
Ellen M. O’Brien Revocable trust sold property at 11 East Shore Road to Kenneth & Cynthia O’Bien for $600,500
Glens Falls
Renee Hahn sold property at 71 McDonald Street to Girard Properties LLC for $105,000
Clute Enterprises, Inc & Haviland Park Townhomes, LLC sold property at 54 Overlook Drive to William Lanzisero for $319,900
Serena M. Lafayette sold property at 9 Dudley Street to Michael & Daniel Green for $220,000
Elizabeth S. Duell sold property at 21 Mohawk Street to Loren & Sharon Carpenter for $210,000
Mary Ellen Bernard sold property at 9 Vanderheyden Street to Cory P Porter & Kellyn Perkett for $252,500
Wynn Star LLC sold property at 11 Keenan Street to Baldwin Enterprises LLC for $110,000
Estate of G. Emmitt Smith sold property at 29 Fort Amherst Road to Amy W & John S Kraft for $420,000
Melchizedek Real Estate & Development LLC sold property at 40 Hunter Street to Tyler Carman for $220,000
Horicon
Tate Michael Higgins & Vidvinzka Higgins sold property at 246 Grassville Road to Vidvinzka Higgins for $16,000
Schroon Properties LLC sold property at Lakeshore Drive to Moss Creek Holdings LLC for $139,000
William C.Hoff & Ann Waldorf-Hoff sold property 416 East Shore Drive to Christian & Tracy Clevenger for $1,349,900
Johnsburg
Angelo & Mary Lobue sold property at 28c Freebern Road to Fabio Danisi & Barbara Chatr-Aryamontri for $290,000
2361 Properties LLC sold property at 52 Fairview Ave to Angelo N. & Mary F. Lobue for $295,000
Dwight Allen sold property at Barney Hill road to Elizabeth B. Cressman for $35,000
Lake George
37 Greenfield LLC sold property at 50 Christina Ct. to Lauren & Jamie Cohn for $2.2-million
Robitaille Living Trust dated Dec 6 2021 sold property at 16 Ochs Pond Road to Ziggy & Diane Rozalski for $480,000
BDC Crosbyside LLC sold property at 6 Foot Path Way to Sedat M. & Andrezza Surmeli for $659,000
Stony Creek
Steven & Kathleen Cole sold property at 182 & 186 Lens Lake Road to Jason M. & Susan M. Hoffman for $35,000
Thurman
Lee H. & Carol A. Eckl sold property at 493 Bowen Hill Road to Scott M., Jeanine M., & Laura J Henderson for $77,500
Queensbury
Nancy Machell (aka Nancy Marocco) sold property at 18 Margaret Drive to Cristina Marchese for $240,000
Alfred J. Balsamo & Tina M. Gonzales sold property at 27 Sunset Drive to Laura T. Stone for $290,000
Michael J. & Deborah A. Spaulding sold property at 55 Winconal Lane to Jennifer K. Ivanov for $590,000
Bryan Townsend sold property at 849 Sherman Ave to Anthony Redd Squadere for $200,000
Brendan & Cindy Murray sold property at 16 Surcingle Road to Monsour Enterprises LLC for $110,000
Lakeshore Acres LLC sold property at Pilots Knob Road to Santore’s World Famous Fireworks, LLC for $100,000
Kathleen J. Wood sold property at Corinth Road to Warren County for $5,000
Garnet Holdings, LLC sold property at 19 Forest Road to Michael DiBernardo for $386,000
Andrew P & Margaret Urban sold property at 10 Minnesota Ave to Craig Turner for $40,000
Warrensburg
Bradley West sold property at 19 Third Ave to Dylan Robert Anable for $210,000
George D McGowan sold property at Pucker Street to Jaclyn Mulligan & Adam G Luccesi for $160,000
Scott Mill sold property at 116 Forest Lake Road to Mauren E Mitchell for $39,900
Washington County
Argyle
James E Bain sold property at 460 Dutchtown Road to Cherokee Manning for $115,000
Beshara Enterprises LLC sold property at 300 Durkeetown Road to Nicholas John Stoltz & Adrianna Stoltz for $369,900
Cambridge
Kevin M. Ryan sold property at 63 Durfee Road to Aaron M & Lindsay R Heller for $400,000
Easton
Chalen Lathrop Exec. of Estate of Grace M. aka Erma Snell sold property at Grove Road to Harold Snell & Tracy Hebert Snell for $45,000
Fort Edward
Michael T. O’Sick as Exec. of Estate of Mark T. O’Sick sold property at 67 Perkins Drive to Halee Scarincio & Brayden Ordway for $205,000
Granville
John R., & Stephen C. Winn sold property at Burtis Avenue to Steven Betit for $125,000
Greenwich
Karen H. Griffis sold property at 680 County Route 49 to Meyers Burnell Properties LLC for $142,500
Kristin Nelson Darrow as Admin of Estate of James C. Darrow Jr. sold property at 12 Hill Street tot Brymer Construction for $235,000
James J., & Sarah McMillan sold property at Spraguetown Road to John D. Solan Jr. & Jana L. Solan for $81,000
Hartford
Lynne Aubrey & Laurie Shackelford sold property at 5711 County Route 30 to Amber Walden for $150,000
Joel & Claudia Rutter sold property at 1121 LUndy Road to Eric Michael Bates for $269,000
Jackson
Dwight C. McGee Jr. as Trustee of the Louise M Walrath Irrevocable Trust sold property at Route 22 (Portion of Colfox Road) to John M & Fannie A Miller for $95,000
Cory & Sarah McMiIlan sold property at 130 McMillan Road to Sydney Gorner & Anders Proft for $211,000
Kingsbury
Jeffery Ledgard sold property at 1112 County Route 41 to Tiffany Wheeler Pond for $159,000
Salem
Tauno K. Wirkki sold property at 4029 State Route 22 to Deborah Giovannangelo for $13,200
US Bank Trust National Association, Trustee of RCF 2 Acquisition Trust sold property at 28 Vale Street to Anthony Catalano & Mary Kate Bykowski for $58,500
Wayne H. Judge , Esq. Ref. Terry L Morrison & Stacey A Morrison aka Loya sold property at 88 Pitt LAne to US Bank Trust National Association, Trustee of Bungalow Series IV Trust for #211,607.31
White Creek
Nicole Kiebeiko as Trustee for the Phillip R., & Barbara A, Kingaley Family Revocable Trust sold property at128 County Route 68 to Alec Thomas McMorris & Crystal L McMorris for $635,000
US Bank Trust National Association, Trustee of VRMTG Asset Trust sold property at 994 Chestnut Hill Road to Marion L Wadsworth for $76,000
Jonathan C. Blackburn sold property at 25 North Park Street to Edward & Gloria Sampson for $180,000
Whitehall
Michael J. Senecal as Admin of Estate of Wayne R Senecal sold property at 327 Buckley Road to Kurt Bradley Kessler Sr. for $291,000
William Carswell, Debra Carswel, & Alan Carswell sold property at 238-240 Broadway to Emily Marie Winchell & Colby Ryan Casey for $139,000l
Ian Macleod sold property at 0 County Route 9 to Andrew & Sacha Lewis for $26,000
Denise Groessbeck sold property at 314 County Route 9 to Andrew & Sacha Lewis for $36,000
On Thursday, October 5th, at 10:30 AM, a press conference was held outside of Glens Falls City Hall to announce Northern Power and Light’s partnership with Boralex to offer a Community Hydro Subscription Program. This program brings locally sourced hydro power to the local community! The City of Glens Falls is the anchor customer for this project, and is working with Northern Power and Light and Boralex to make community members and local businesses aware of the opportunity to participate in this program.
Mayor Collins
Jeff Flagg – the Economic Development Director for the City of Glens Falls – was on hand for the press conference: “We are here today to celebrate and advocate for the opening of the Northern Power and Light, Boralex, Community Hydro Subscription Program that the city is engaged in, and we are hoping that other member of the community and the region will engage in as well,” he said as part of his opening remarks.
“This Community Hydro Project, which the City has signed on as an anchor tenant, is unique in that we are sourcing local hydro power credits from a facility here in the county that produces local jobs using local resources… This is a great opportunity for residents, businesses and municipalities around the state to access clean power,” Flagg said.
Mayor Collins was on hand for the event as well: “We continue to make small, significant steps towards clean energy. This is an opportunity for a public private partnership between Boralex and Northern Power and Light. We need more partnerships like this to drive clean energy initiatives forward. We are so happy that Glens Falls is part of this… We are moving forward,” the mayor said.
Northern Power and Light co-founder Ethan Smith said a few words as well: “This is a really exciting day… It’s wonderful to be working with Boralex again on another community hydro project, especially right here in their home town… This collaboration with the City of Glens Falls is equally exciting, and marks a new milestone. It enables individuals and communities to benefit from the resources in their own backyard,” Smith said.
Northern Power and Light, through a state-run program called Community Distributed Generation, helps small-scale renewable power producers connect directly with energy users in a way that is economically beneficial for the energy producers and the energy consumers… It’s a way to choose clean power, keep your dollars local, and not raise costs.
The City of Glens Falls is an anchor customer, and is the biggest subscriber to the program… Moving forward, the Community Hydro Projects needs individuals and businesses to sign up for the program. The City of Glens Falls, Northern Power and Light, and Boralex are working together to campaign for individuals and businesses to sign up for locally sourced hydro power.
For more information about the program and how to participate, please visit npandl.com
Business vs.busyness… oneletter makes aworld of difference.
As a founder, owner, or leader of a company, do you want to be fully engaged in building a successful business? The alternative – to be encumbered by success-defeating busyness. If you look back over the past weeks or months, and can honestly say that you have been busy but aren’t seeing positive results in your business, it’s time to take stock of where you’re applying your efforts. Are you working on growing your business, or are you stuck on the hamster wheel of daily operations?
Let’s consider your business in light of the six key components of the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®): vision, people, data, issues, process, and traction. As an EOS® Implementer, I help leadership teams strengthen each component and build a stronger company from the inside out.
So, clear your desk, silence your phone, and let’s have a chat about something we both care deeply about: your business.
First on the table is vision. I would love for you to be crystal clear on what success looks like and for your employees to have that same clarity. So, let me ask you:
Do you have a well-defined vision of what you want to achieve, and can you articulate it concisely and powerfully?
Have the people who work for you grabbed hold of that vision with both hands, and are they working toward it collectively?
Speaking of people, I would love for you to be leading a team where everyone is excited to contribute, looks forward to coming in each morning, and is the best person you can imagine for their job. If a person comes to mind who doesn’t fit that picture, remember that neither of you is happy with the current situation. So:
How much is this person costing you in terms of lost productivity, lowered morale, aggravation, and the like?
If you truly want the best for this person, how long are you going to let them suffer before either moving them to an appropriate seat in your own company, or releasing them to pursue success at another company?
We move next to data. Here, I would love for you to know exactly which actions drive success in your business, and know that you’re doing those actions so you get the results you are after. With that in mind:
Can you identify the top actions that drive cashflow, profitability, customer acquisition, etc. in your business? (Most of us track results!)
Does everyone know who is responsible for each of those actions, and how much they need to do every week to drive the results you want?
You might be seeing some of your business issues more clearly at this point, and there are probably more to uncover (don’t feel bad – it’s true for every company). I would love for you to have such an open and honest culture that you’re able to identify every challenge and obstacle. This leads me to ask:
Have you been applying a bandage to an issue to avoid finding a long-term solution?
How many times do you want to wrestle with an issue before you get to its root and solve it for good?
Let’s move on to process. I would love for you to capture the best way to do things in your business. After all, this is your intellectual property – own it by documenting it in such a way that others can be trained to do things right! Plus, defining a process makes it easy to update later on. That being said:
What are the Core Processes in your company? What’s the right way to do things?
Where do those processes go off the rails, and why? Is the gap in your process, or in performance?
Finally, we have traction. I would love for you to get the most important things done day to day and month to month so that you systematically build your company. As one of my clients said: “I want my job to be about forest management, not forest fires!” To that end, consider:
Have you identified a handful of priorities to focus on completing this quarter? (We understand that when everything is important… nothing is important!)
Do you have a pulse; nay, a cadence that everyone follows to ensure that the most important things get done?
Strengthening these Six Key Components in your business will do much more than just expand your customer base or increase your revenue – it will help you build your business from the inside out, so that you become a better, healthier, more impactful company. That’s real business growth!
