Courtesy of Veda Film Company
By Paul Post
Saratoga National Bank & Trust Company has $1.1 billion in assets and works hard to support and improve the financial futures of all its business and personal clients throughout the Capital Region.
When Chairman Raymond F. O’ Conor — he’s been with the bank since its 1988 founding — needs a break from such responsibilities he and hiking partner Joe Murphy head to the mountains for “An Above Average Day.”
That’s the title of a new documentary film scheduled to debut at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24 on WMHT-PBS in conjunction with Earth Week.
“If you told me a few years ago that a pair of superb filmmakers, Katera and Aviral Kapoor of the Veda Film Company, would feature my buddy Joe and I in a documentary film I wouldn’t have believed it,” said O’ Conor, a Wilton resident.
O’Conor, 69, and Murphy, 39, a SUNY Albany academic advisor, of Halfmoon, have hiked more than 4,000 miles and climbed more than 400 peaks since a chance meeting — or was it fate? — on an Adirondack Mountain Club group hike in 2009.
They are Adirondack 46ers and Catskill 3500 Club members, having summited every mountain in both summer and winter, and have also achieved the prestigious feat of climbing all 115 mountains in the Northeast with an elevation of 4,000 feet or more.
Following a career as a U.S. Border Patrol agent and Department of Defense special agent, O’Conor made a dramatic change into the financial services and banking industry. After 25 years, he retired from Saratoga National Bank as its chief executive officer, but still serves as chairman and is on the board of directors of Arrow Financial Corporation and its subsidiary banks, Glens Falls National and Saratoga National.
He’s also a Wilton town councilman and is chief executive officer of the Saratoga County Capital Resource Corporation, a not-for-profit community development organization.
O’Conor continues to deal with many types of challenges and difficult business decisions, some of which greatly influence the lives of customers and the hundreds of employees he’s responsible for as well.
He’s discovered that arduous outdoor adventures are a great training ground for overcoming life’s obstacles, establishing priorities and maintaining a healthy balance in his personal and professional life.
“I’m fond of saying that there is nothing better for the body, mind and soul than being in the wilderness, sauntering along a stream, sitting at the base of a waterfall or enjoying the view from atop a mountain. It is all the more special to share the experience with a good friend,” O’Conor said.
“Joe and I have had many challenges along the way with unexpected foul weather, extreme cold and heat, rugged bushwhacking, severe blowdown and other obstacles,” he said. “During an Adirondack traverse of the Lower Great Range on a Friday the 13th in January, it crossed our minds that we might have to hunker down for the night as a blizzard with blinding snow and bitter cold struck. We always carry emergency equipment and supplies for such an occurrence.”
“With poor visibility and no service, we relied on an old-school map and compass to find our bail-out trail and avoid an overnight stay,” he said. “It was a lesson in always being prepared for whatever life or nature may throw at you.”
O’Conor and Murphy got acquainted during an Adirondack Mountain Club group hike of the Seward Range on May 23, 2009. At the time, Murphy was residence life manager at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. In his current position, he does superb work with the SUNY Albany students assigned to him and does everything possible to help prepare them for success in life and future careers.
“We enjoyed the heck out of the 12 hours, 18 miles and thousands of feet of elevation gain we shared that day,” O’Conor said.
During the past 15 years they’ve also completed the New England Hundred Highest, the New Hampshire 52 With A View, Adirondack Fire Tower Challenge in summer and winter, the Lake George 12sters, Saranac 6, Lake Placid 9, Adirondack Blue Challenge (10 mountains), the ADK-9 Challenge, the Vermont 5 (4,000-foot peaks), Vermont Fire Tower Challenge, Fulton Trifecta and several individual mountains.
Many of these were on dog-friendly trails with Murphy’s beautiful golden retriever, Moose.
“About four years ago I received a Facebook message from Katera, who had followed social media posts that Joe and I did about our adventures, asking if we would be the subject of a documentary film,” O’Conor said. “Coincidentally, Katera is originally from Saratoga Springs and more than 30 years ago Katera and my daughter, Meghan, were members of the YMCA gymnastics team.
Once again, fate seems to have been at play with regard to O’Conor and Murphy’s hiking interests.
Filming for “An Above Average Day” was done in the Adirondacks and Vermont.
“Among the most remarkable things about the process are Avi and Katera’s technical and directorial skills,” O’Conor said. “Joe and I were also impressed with their ability to haul equipment on hikes and operate the drone camera. They were absolutely delightful to work with.”
“No matter how challenging or exhausting one of our outings is, the adventure always ends with us declaring that it has been ‘an above average day’,” he said.