Month: January 2023

By Paul Post

The largest athletic competition in Lake Placid history—the World University Games—is coming to the north country on Jan. 12-22. It will have a large positive economic impact on the area, officials say.

There will be activities from Clarkson University, where some hockey games will be played, to Gore Mountain in North Creek, which is hosting free-style skiing and snowboarding competition.

About 2,500 athletes and coaches from 50 countries will take part, much more than the 1,072 competitors from 37 countries at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

The Lake George Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau said the Games are expected to generate about 3,700 hotel room nights, including some right in Lake George for activity taking place at Gore Mountain.

“It factors in not only athletes, but potential spectators who might be drawn here,” said Amanda Metzger, chamber marketing director. “It is an incredible opportunity to showcase North Creek and Gore and we look forward to welcoming these top athletes and helping spread the word about businesses that are open and all there is to do après-ski.”

The Games coincide with the already busy Martin Luther King Jr. holiday week, when many schools are on winter break, which should benefit area hotels, restaurants and retail shops considerably.

“It is definitely benefiting the local area, North Creek and surrounding towns,” said Julia Johnson, Gore Mountain marketing director.

All athletes competing at Gore Mountain will be housed and fed at a Lake George lodging establishment, which cannot be named for security reasons, Johnson said.

The health group aptihealth, a tech-driven behavioral healthcare provider built for higher acuity care based in Saratoga Springs, has named Tim Koehler as president and chief operating officer.

Koehler was chief operating officer at Bluestone Physician Services, where he spearheaded the company’s market expansion and transition from fee-for-service to value-based care, including the creation of Bluestone ACO. 

At Bluestone, Koehler built and led teams responsible for on-site medical care for high-risk patients living in residential care settings. As CEO and founder of Bluestone ACO, he created one of the highest performing ACO’s in the country when measured by savings per beneficiary.

Prior to Bluestone, Koehler spent nearly two decades at UnitedHealth Group (UHG), the 11th ranked company on the 2022 Fortune Global 500, in executive and management roles, the last of which was as president of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA). At DPCA, Koehler  lead development of the business model to support all core operational functions including call center, claims, eligibility, payments, network operations, fulfillment, capacity planning, product development and a proprietary technology platform. 

DPCA contracted with 27 UHC health plans and five non-UHC plans including three independent BCBS plans and over 350 self-funded employers.

By Christine Graf

After more than a decade spent working at the Dead Presidents Lounge in Albany, tattoo artist Krystal Ingram has opened her own studio in Ballston Lake.

Sans Souci Tattoo is located at 318 Ruhle Road South, just off Exit 11 of the Northway.

According to Ingram, she became interested in tattoos after her uncle got one when she was ten years old.

“I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life. I became super fascinated by tattoos and the whole culture surrounding them. My parents were completely not into tattoos at all, and I think that’s what made me want to be a part of it even more.”

A graduate of Albany High School, Ingram received a B.F.A. in print making from SUNY New Paltz in 2011. Two weeks after graduating, she began working as an apprentice to a tattoo artist at the Dead Presidents Lounge. After two years as an apprentice, she began building her own client base.

“I always felt like I wanted something that I could call my own, and I wanted to build a community that I could call my own as well,” she said. “I also knew that it was a good idea from a business perspective. I don’t have a retirement plan, so I need to invest wisely.”

The Gene Haas Foundation recently awarded the local Employment Training for Adults (ETA) Machine Tool Technology program a grant to assist with student tuition and program needs.

ETA is affiliated with the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES. The grant will help people enroll in the  Machine Tool Technology program and prepare themselves for a successful career. 

Dave Sharpe, local sales engineer with Allendale Machinery, recently presented the check to ETA instructor Jason Viele and Michelle Stockwell, administrator for adult programs.

Allendale Machinery Systems supplies manufacturing solutions for local businesses with a main product provided by Haas Automation, the largest supplier of American-made machine tools in the country. Both Allendale and Haas are big supporters of education.

“If you look around, you won’t see a product that didn’t have a machine tool involved in its creation,” Sharpe said. “For example, your toaster, refrigerator, or furnace all had machine tools making components or tooling. Medical products like the MRIs used in diagnosis are made locally. The list seems endless. The demand is behind the supply for trained people to operate the manufacturing equipment for industry. 

By Christine Graf

Less than two years after opening Cupola Coffee in Burnt Hills, owner Cindy Turgeon is expanding her 227 Kingsley Road coffee shop. Plans are currently underway to expand into an adjoining 300-square-foot space.

Before opening Cupola in 2021, Turgeon operated Sgraffito Art Studio on Route 50 and worked as an art teacher for the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School District. Her goal at the time was to finance the opening of a coffee shop—an “artful café”—in Burnt Hills where she lives. 

“Almost every other little town on the planet had a coffee shop,” said Turgeon. “We have such a great community that is so supportive, but we didn’t have a coffee shop.”

Turgeon spent close to five years putting together a business plan and educating herself on the coffee shop industry. She worked with the Small Business Development Center in Albany and attended the free workshops offered by the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region. 

“I wanted to open a place that anyone could just walk in and meet up with a friend. I also wanted a place where we could hang art and display work without it being a commission-based space,” she said. “I wanted to have something beautiful, and I knew it had to be right in the center of Burnt Hills.”