Towne, Ryan & Partners PC announced that
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo appointed firm principal
James T. Towne Jr. as a Member of the New
York Racing Association Franchise Oversight
Board for a term to expire in 2015.
The board is an entity
with responsibility
for overseeing NYRA finances
as well as its adherence
to procedures
for awarding contracts.
NYRA runs Saratoga Race Course, as well as the
horse racing tracks at Aqueduct and Belmont.
Towne practices across a wide range of legal
areas, including an extensive equine and gaming
practice. He is admitted to practice in New York
and Vermont.
Amy Van Voast Raimo joined Saratoga
Hospital as executive
director of the hospital’s
foundation and vice
president for community
engagement.
Raimo comes to Saratoga Hospital after
10 years at Albany Medical
Center Foundation,
where she served most
recently as director of corporate and foundation
relations. She also was director of principal gifts.
Prior positions include marketing manager for
Urban Retail Properties-Colonie Center shopping
mall, director of development for Special Olympics
New York, and director of public relations for
The Great Escape-Six Flags.
Raimo has a bachelor’s degree from Smith
College in Northampton, Mass., and professional
certifications in marketing and public relations.
She is a past president of the Junior League of
Schenectady and Saratoga Counties and has
held volunteer leadership positions with Special
Olympics New York and the Empire State Youth
Orchestra.
Bouchey Financial Group in Saratoga Springs
announced four new hirings recently.
Ela Sanford was hired as account manager.
over 10 years of experience at Paychecks. She is
licensed in life, accident, & health insurance.
primary responsibility
is providing day-to-day
service to client, including,
but not limited to
processing enrollment
changes, researching
and resolving claims
questions and issues,
and answering coverage
questions.
Deborah Klippel joins the benefits team
with over 26 years of
health insurance expertise
from CDPHP.
Her primary focus as
an account manager is
providing day to day service
to clients including
processing enrollment,
resolving claims issues
and assisting with benefit
questions.
more than 25 years accounting
experience with
both public and private
sectors of the business
community.
as accounting specialist,
her responsibilities include
providing customer
support for clients utilizing
a flexible spending
account when they have claims to be processed.
She has more than 12 years of financial
planning, operational and business analysis experience
working at The Ayco Co. LP. In her role
as senior associate, her responsibilities include
helping with client service requests, assisting
clients with their financial planning, particularly
in divorce situations and assisting with the firm’s
401(k) / 403(b) service.
Colin Nevins of Saratoga Springs was hired
as an insurance intern by Insurance Agency Group
of New York LLC, in Saratoga Springs.
Nevins is a graduate of SUNY Geneseo with a
bachelor’s degree in English literature. He has
spent the last four years working in Los Angeles in
film production and various writer’s rooms. Nevins
specialized in reviewing and writing scripts for
clients as well as creative research, fact checking,
and liaison to production offices.
Robin Davey, a financial professional with
Sequoia Financial Group
and the Albany branch
of AXA Advisors LLC,
was inducted into the
company’s Hall of Fame.
Davey’s office is located
at 5 Maxwell Drive,
Suite 100 Clifton Park.
Davey has 35 years
of experience in the industry,
and joined AXA Advisors as a financial
advisor in 2003. She focuses on helping individuals
and business owners address financial goals
and provides an array of financial protection and
investment products and services including life
insurance, annuities and investments as well as
college, estate, retirement and business planning
strategies.
Davey has a bachelor’s degree in accounting
from Siena College and a master of science degree
in accounting (taxation) from SUNY Albany. In
addition, she holds the CPA, CFP, CLU professional
designations.
Dr. H. Fletcher Starnes Jr. of Saratoga
Surgical Specialists has joined Albany Medical
Center’s Department of Surgery.
Starnes has practiced in Saratoga County for
20 years, providing surgical expertise in general,
breast, thyroid, and gall bladder surgery as well
as treating skin cancers. He also specializes in
advanced laparoscopic surgery, focused ultrasound
breast and thyroid surgery as well as needle
surgery with ultrasound.
Board certified with the American Board of
Surgery, Starnes completed fellowship training
in surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering
Cancer Center in New York City and served
his residency in general surgery at Brigham and
Woman’s Hospital, Harvard University, in Boston.
Starnes is seeing patients at 381 Church St. in
Saratoga Springs (previously the Saratoga Surgical
Specialists site).
The Saratoga Hospital Foundation Legacy
Society recently honored Terry Lee for her 23
years as executive director
of the foundation at a
luncheon at Longfellow’s
Inn and Restaurant.
During the years, Lee
raised more than $41
million for Saratoga Hospital,
created a culture of
philanthropy both within
and outside the Hospital,
and raised the bar
for fundraising throughout the Capital Region,
foundation officials said.
New Legacy Society members in attendance,
who received the exclusive 14k gold de Jonghe
ivy pin, included Karl Broekhuizen and Mary
DiSanto-Rose.
BST financial and management consulting firm
announced the hiring of Branden Elmendorf
a senior tax associate.
His previous experience includes working for
Syracuse and Rochester-based firms. He is a
graduate of Siena College and currently resides
in Gloversville.
Laurie Cronin is the new director of pharmacy
at Saratoga Hospital.
Cronin has an extensive
background in
health care pharmacy
system management.
Hospital, she was the
director of pharmacy
for Oneida Healthcare
in Oneida, and director
of pharmacy for Bassett
Hospital of Schoharie County in Cobleskill.
She earned a bachelor’s degree and a doctor
of pharmacy degree from Albany College of Pharmacy
of Union University. She also possesses a
professional certification in geriatric pharmacy.
Josephine Todaro, director of case management
at the law firm of Wilcenski & Pleat
PLLC was presented with the “Beyond the Letter
of the Law Award” from the Resource Center for
Accessible Living (RCAL) at the Center’s 30th
anniversary gala at the Bearsville Theater in
Woodstock. The award was given in recognition
of Todaro’s many years of service, support and
advocacy for individuals with disabilities.
In addition to a lifetime of advocacy and case
management, Todaro continues to facilitate
monthly support groups for individuals with brain
injuries in the mid and upper Hudson Valley. During
her career, she has facilitated more than 500
such support groups and has been recognized by
the Brain Injury Association of New York State
for her innovative and skills building approach.
Edward Parham of Clifton Park, director
of public relations
at Rueckert Advertising
and Public Relations
Inc., was recognized
with the 2013 Outstanding
Practitioner Award
from the Public Relations
Society of America’s
(PRSA) Capital Region
Chapter.
Handed out at the
PRSA’s Empire Awards
gala in Albany, the annual honor is given to a
Capital Region public relations professional who
has achieved exceptional success, displayed the
highest ethics and is dedicated to serving the
community and the profession.
With more than 20 years of experience in
the PR industry, the England native has developed
strategies for events including the annual
Freihofer’s Run for Women, which has grown 23
percent during his involvement; the Troy Turkey
Trot, which saw its largest field ever in 2012; and,
the American Diabetes Association’s Saratoga
Tour de Cure cycling event, which raised a recordbreaking
$1.25 million in 2013.
Prior to joining Rueckert Advertising and
Public Relations, Parham served as director of
community relations for the American Lung Association
of Central New York, director of public
relations for Major League Soccer’s bid committee
in Boston and assistant press officer for World Cup
USA 1994/Boston venue, where he provided media
relations support for hundreds of international media outlets.
The LA Group added Michael D. Hale, RLA,
CPESC, to its staff as a
landscape architect and
environmental specialist.
Hale joins the firm
after serving two years
as an environmental specialist
and environmental
and historic preservation
manager and environmental
advisor for
FEMA Region 2 (NJ/NY).
He also owned and managed his own landscape
architecture and environmental consulting firm,
Enviroscapes by Design, and brings over 30 years
of experience in environmental analysis, planning
and permitting, and landscape architecture.
Hale will lead in environmental planning/
permitting projects collaborating with The LA
Group’s Commercial/Residential, Educational/
Institutional, Public Spaces and Resort design
studios where he will assist in the planning for
federal and state agency projects, parks and recreational
facilities, resorts, and private initiatives.
Hale earned a B.S. from Cornell University and
is a registered landscape architect and certified
professional in erosion and sediment control.
Select Sotheby’s International Realty, with
offices in Saratoga Springs, Bolton Landing and
Lake Placid, announced the addition of Dan
Collins as partner.
A graduate of Siena College, Collins was
employed with D.A. Collins Construction, most
recently serving as vice president of business
development for the full service construction
company. He has served on the Saratoga County
Chamber of Commerce board of directors, Leadership
Saratoga Alumni Association board and New
York Construction Materials board of directors.
Collins was also named as a “40 under Forty”
honoree by the Capital District Business Review
in 2011, a program which identifies and celebrates
the achievements and promise of 40 outstanding
business people each year.
Local financial advisors Jeffrey Vahanian
and Bonnie Boyce of Vahanian & Associates
Financial Planning Inc. in Saratoga Springs, were
recipients of special honors at the ConnectED
National Conference in Las Vegas.
meeting hosted by
Advisor Group, with more
than 3,300 attendees
from across the county.
Vahanian, a certified
financial planner, is a
member and past chairman
of the Royal Alliance
National Advisory Board
whose 10 members work
with Royal management to facilitate delivery of cutting edge services.
was inducted into the Royal Alliance Master’s
Club, acknowledging his 25 year affiliation with
the company.
Boyce, also a certified
financial planner,
was acknowledged for
her three-year role as
chairperson of the Royal
Alliance Administrative
Council where she is a
board member.
chief compliance officer
for Vahanian & Associates,
is a past recipient
of the Royal Alliance National Compliance Audit
Award and has been with the firm for 22 years.
Fingerpaint Marketing added Lila Fisher to
its account service team.
Fisher most recently was a senior account
executive with Evoke Health, where she played
a role in prelaunch tactics and the legal review
process for clients in the pharmaceutical
industry.
Prior to Evoke Health, Fisher was an account
executive at LBi Health NYC. There, she gained
experience in brand launches, integrated customer
relationship management programs, digital
marketing and search engine optimization.
Fisher earned her bachelor’s degree in government
from St. Lawrence University.
Arrow Financial Corp., parent company of
Saratoga National Bank and Trust Co., announced
the appointment of Tenée Rehm
Casaccio of Bolton Landing to its board
of directors. She replaces Mary-Elizabeth T.
FitzGerald, who is retiring.
Casaccio will continue to serve as a director
for Arrow subsidiary Glens Falls National Bank
and Trust Co., a position she has held since 2010.
Casaccio is president of JMZ Architects and
Planners PC in Glens Falls. She earned her bachelor
of architecture degree from Virginia Tech in
Blacksburg, Va.
She holds licenses to practice architecture in
New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania and is a
member of the American Institute of Architects,
New York State Association of Architects, and the
Society for College and University Planning. JMZ
is certified as a women-owned business in New
York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Casaccio is a graduate of the Adirondack
Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) 1994
Leadership Class; she co-chaired the formation
of the ARCC Network for Enterprising Women;
and she served as chairwoman of the ARCC board
of directors.
Casaccio is a former director of the Warren
County Economic Development Corp. and the
Hudson River Local Development Corp. and a
member of Glens Falls National Bank’s Regional
Advisory Board. She is trustee and incoming chairwoman
of The Hyde Collection, as well as chairwoman
off its Facilities Committee. She also serves
on Glens Falls Hospital’s board of governors.