Category Archives: Business Briefs

Olivia Huffman is the newest addition to Keller Williams Capital Region in the office in downtown Saratoga Springs.

Prior to her move to Keller Williams, Huffman worked for a year and a half with Amy Sutton and Gerard Wise at Roohan Realty.

In her time at Roohan, she executed over $500,000 in commercial sales and leases, including offices, retail, property management, land for development, and storage, the company said. She also created a monthly architectural blog on unique buildings in Saratoga Springs, with professor James Kettlewell. She will continue this effort at Keller Williams.

***

The Adelphi Hotel has hired Connie Cook-Slocum, a hotel professional with over 19 years of experience, as the new director of event sales.

Prior to starting with The Adelphi Hotel, Cook-Slocum was director of catering sales at the Desmond Hotel.  She was the previously off-premise catering sales director at Mazzone Hospitality.

The Ballston Spa Business & Professional Association will hold a networking breakfast 7:30-8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9, hosted by Rebuilding Together Saratoga County at 132 Milton Ave. in Ballston Spa.

Rebuilding Together Saratoga County partners with volunteers year round to help homeowners in need live independently in safe and healthy homes and build healthy neighborhoods through their programs. Its resale shop in Ballston Spa sells donated items at a fraction of the cost and all proceeds are used to provide home repairs for veterans, seniors, individuals living with disabilities and families in need.

Cost for the breakfast is $5 with advance reservation—prepayment available at www.ballston.org—or RSVP to info@ballston.org and pay at the door. Non-reserved walk-ins pay $10.

Business and community members are welcome. They need not be a BSBPA member to attend this event.

The 2017 Holiday Match charity program conducted annually by Stewart’s Shops raised $1.89 million for local children’s organizations.

Company officials said the fund drive set a record for the fourth consecutive season.

From Thanksgiving Day through Christmas Day, Stewart’s customers donated $945,000 to the program, which is an increase of approximately $19,000 over last season. Each individual donation is matched penny-for-penny by Stewart’s Shops.

There are no administrative costs and 100 percent of the funds benefit local, nonprofit children’s organizations.

“This program is proof that your small change can really add up and make a big impact on local kids,” said Stewart’s Shops President Gary Dake. “Teaming up with our customers to support our communities is just another reason why we say, we are closer to you.”

The Ballston Spa Business & Professional Association will hold a networking breakfast 7:30-8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9, hosted by Rebuilding Together Saratoga County at 132 Milton Ave. in Ballston Spa.

Rebuilding Together Saratoga County partners with volunteers year round to help homeowners in need live independently in safe and healthy homes and build healthy neighborhoods through their programs. Its resale shop in Ballston Spa sells donated items at a fraction of the cost and all proceeds are used to provide home repairs for veterans, seniors, individuals living with disabilities and families in need.

Cost for the breakfast is $5 with advance reservation—prepayment available at www.ballston.org—or RSVP to info@ballston.org and pay at the door. Non-reserved walk-ins pay $10.

Business and community members are welcome. They need not be a BSBPA member to attend this event.

Saratoga National Bank and Trust Co. has again been named a Top Small Community Lender by the U.S. Small Business Administration for the Capital Region.

This is the fourth consecutive year Saratoga National Bank has received the award.

The SBA recognizes the most active 7(a) lenders in three asset-size groups. In the 2017 federal fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Saratoga National Bank approved 12 loans worth over $550,000 in SBA loans, making it the top-performer in its category for the Capital Region.

Saratoga National Bank has been an SBA lending partner since 1988. Its commercial lending team covers the greater Capital Region from Albany to Saratoga counties.

***

Mannix Marketing Inc., a digital marketing agency and SEO company based in Glens Falls, was named the winner of the 2017 US Search Awards in the Best Use of Search/Retail  category.

Mannix was recognized for its work on an organic SEO campaign for Gettysburg Flag Works, beating nine other nominees named to the shortlist. The fifth-annual US Search Awards recognize leading SEO, PPC and digital marketing organizations based or working in the United States.

Saratoga Casino Hotel presented a $15,000 donation to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region.

The donation came off funds raised from the casino’s All-Star Sports Festival on Sept. 23.

The All-Star Sports Festival featured over a dozen revered former professional athletes, including Super Bowl champion Lawrence Taylor, World Series champion Wade Boggs and Triple Crown winning jockey Steve Cauthen. The athletes participated in a full day of activities including autograph signings, a celebrity softball game and a home run derby contest.

A portion of all tickets sold, as well as proceeds raised from home run derby, comprised the donations.

***

Mannix Marketing, Inc., a digital marketing company based in Glens Falls, has made the 2017 US Search Awards’ shortlist in the “Best Use of Search – Retail” category.

Recognized for its work on an organic SEO campaign for Gettysburg Flag Works, Mannix Marketing was named to the list along with nine other organizations.

The fifth-annual US Search Awards recognize leading SEO, PPC and digital marketing organizations based or working in the United States.

Developed and facilitated by Senior Digital Marketing Strategist Jessica Tracy and Digital Marketing Strategist Amberly Rundell, Mannix Marketing’s shortlisted campaign focuses on increasing organic search traffic from individuals and businesses looking to purchase products from Gettysburg Flag Works, a leading provider of fully customizable flags and banners.

The Malta Business & Professional Association (MBPA) recently hosted the ninth annual Taste of Malta at Hudson Valley Community College’s TEC-SMART in Malta.

The evening featured a variety of area restaurants who served samples of their best fare to over 200 attendees. As they have for the past seven years, the MBPA donated event proceeds to the Ballston Spa Central School District to support educational enrichment programs and initiatives.

This year’s event raised $4,000 for the Ballston Spa Partnership for Innovation in Education Fund, a component fund of the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region. The funding will be used to support the district’s Clean Technologies & Sustainable Industries Early College High School, implemented at TEC-SMART in partnership with Hudson Valley Community College.

* * *

Campagna Restaurant in Malta is hosting its annual charity dinner to benefit the Malta Veteran Appreciation Program (MVAP), a local organization that provides charitable support services to veterans. Last year’s event raised over $4000 to help fund MVAP’s many activities including special projects and facilitation of needed services.

The event begins Sunday October 8th at 5 p.m. and will include a champagne happy hour, a  four-course meal prepared by Campagna’s Executive Chef Mark Graham, numerous raffle and silent auction items, and live entertainment.

Tickets are $85 per person and can be purchased in advance calling Campagna at 518-289-5693.

* * *

Soroptimist International of Saratoga County, an international volunteer organization for business and professional women, is seeking women who provide the primary source of financial support for their families and are in need of financial assistance to go back to school. 

In addition to being the primary wage earner, the applicant is required to: have a financial need; be accepted or enrolled in an undergraduate or vocational skills training program; be a resident of any of the locations where there is a Soroptimist chapter; and not have previously been a recipient of this award,

Soroptimist members are ineligible.

To apply for the grant, email a request for an application to Cynthia Eletto at cynthiaeletto@gmail.com Applications must be returned to Soroptimist International of Saratoga County by Nov. 15.

* * *

The Adirondack Trust Co. Community Fund will accept grant applications from eligible nonprofit charities until Sept. 30. 

Grant information and application forms may be obtained from the Adirondack Trust Company Community Fund website at ATCCF.org/nonprofits.

 The fund was established in 2009. Officials said the resulting yearly Lend-a-Hand grants help improve the quality of life and address issues of common concern in the area. In 2016, the Community Fund allocated $42,270 toward 23 Lend-a-Hand grants. The grants funded local, nonprofit organizations’ programs in such diverse areas as veterans’ outreach, mental health services, wildlife education, homelessness prevention, youth services, and the arts.

 Grant recipients will be announced by the fund’s Independent Advisory Committee in December.

Over the past six years, the Community Fund has provided 101 grants in excess of $193,000.

* * *

Creatacor Inc., an exhibit design, fabrication and trade show management provider, was included in Event Marketer’s Fab 50 list of 2017.

The Fab 50 list recognizes the work done by the top fabricators serving the event and trade show industry.

Event Marketer created the first editorial listing of top fabrication partners five years ago as a guide, selected through a rigorous application and judging process that highlights the top 50 with complementary profiles detailing stats and capabilities. The builders on the list tackle trade shows, museums, outdoor installations, retail spaces, global tour builds and much more.

This is the fourth year Creatacor has made the list since its initial release in 2013.

* * *

For the second year in a row, Saratoga Hospital was named one of the nation’s “most wired” healthcare providers.

The “most wired” designation is based on an annual Hospital & Health Networks magazine survey that measures how hospitals and health systems use technology to improve communication, safety and patient-provider relationships.

A total of 35 New York hospitals made the list, which was released this week by the American Hospital Association’s Health Forum.

More than 2,100 hospitals nationwide participated in the survey. Of those, 461 earned the “most wired” designation by meeting requirements for infrastructure, business and administration, clinical quality and safety, and clinical integration.

The Adirondack Trust Co. has once again earned a coveted 5-Star rating from BauerFinancial, a national bank-rating firm.

A five-star rating indicates the bank excels in areas of capital adequacy, profitability, asset quality and much more. The Adirondack Trust Co. has earned and maintained the honor for 44 consecutive quarters, earning the even higher honor of being an “exceptional performance bank”.

BauerFinancial, Inc., based in Coral Gables, Florida, has been reporting on and analyzing the performance of U.S. banks and credit unions since 1983.

* * *

Saratoga Casino Hotel’s community outreach team, Hands For Hope, provided a free meal to more than 300 guests at an outdoor picnic in June benefiting Project Lift. The event took place at the Columbia Pavilion inside Saratoga State Park.

Franklin Community Center’s Project Lift initiative is a free after-school program aimed at providing students in grades 1-5 with positive role models and additional education. The goal of the program is to offer a positive developmental path for students in the Saratoga Springs school district.

Saratoga Casino Hotel created Hands For Hope in the spring of 2016 to encourage employees to get involved in local causes across the Capital Region. Nearly two dozen casino employees volunteered their time to assist with catering the event. Saratoga Casino Hotel donated all of the food and drinks that were provided at the picnic.

* * *