Category Archives: Business News

The Adirondack Trust Co. had a successful year for its lending through the U.S. Small Business Administration, bank officials said.

For the year ending Sept. 30, the bank approved 42 SBA 7(a) loans, amounting to more than $3.45 million. This makes Adirondack Trust Co. the top lender in Saratoga and Warren Counties as a locally headquartered community bank, officials said.

“We are very pleased with the results of our SBA lending activities this year.  For the fifteenth consecutive year, we were the most active locally headquartered and locally owned bank in both Saratoga and Warren counties, both in terms of number of loans made and in terms of the total dollars loaned, said bank President Stephan von Schenk said.

“Since our founding in 1901, this has been the center of our work. Every day, we work closely with locally owned and operated businesses, and we are proud to be able to help them grow by making SBA and other financing programs available. We are only as strong as our community, and the core of our mission is to continually serve that community and go above and beyond.”

In addition to helping business owners achieve their financial goals, The bank’s SBA lending program assisted in creating 101 new jobs across 20 businesses in the region, putting more dollars into more local pockets, according to the company.

Saratoga Brewing and DeCrescente Distributing Co., with help from the local community, raised $16,000 through an annual coaster and pinup program, in support of the Saratoga WarHorse Foundation.

“Now in our third year, this program has evolved tremendously,” said Max Oswald, general manager of Saratoga Brewing. “New organizations have come on board and put their own unique spin on the program, from hosting events like Kentucky Derby parties and Keep the Pint Night to creating a 5K team. While some of the players have changed, the mission has remained the same: to increase awareness of Saratoga WarHorse and the amazing job they do for our vets.”

Saratoga WarHorse offers veterans a three-day experience that is effective for those struggling to adjust to life after military service. The program is provided at no cost to the veterans.

According to the Department of Veteran Affairs and the Department of Defense, roughly 22 military service members take their own lives every day. Reasons include the challenge of adjustment and transition to life after military service, as well as the negative stigma around seeking help in the military community.

Saratoga WarHorse provides an interactive experience between off-the-track thoroughbreds and veterans. By utilizing the silent language of the horse, a mutual trust and  bond is established that goes beyond verbal communication, according to the organization.

By Susan E. Campbell

Financial professionals helping clients plan for a comfortable retirement are accustomed to preparing for unknowns. But what happens when foundational systems like income taxes and health care are on the verge of massive change?

“People think things are unpredictable, but they are not,” said Stacy Clifford, president of Holistic Wealth Advisors in Clifton Park. “We can only plan on what we know, while being flexible and nimble based on changes down the road.”

Clifford said her biggest challenge today is constant negativity in the media, which “casts a cloud on people into thinking they will never have enough” to live on in their retirement years.

Her firm’s holistic approach to financial success can be likened to physical health and well-being.

“If your doctor says you have high blood pressure and high cholesterol and are feeling down, there are still positive aspects of your health,” said Clifford. “It is similar in the financial field. My challenge is getting people to feel positive but not complacent.”

Clifford tells clients that saving as much as they can and making sacrifices in the short term are key to realizing long-term goals.

By Susan E. Campbell

Spencer Montgomery and the co-owners of the West Mountain Ski Resort are within $2 million of realizing their goal of “rebuilding the nuts and bolts of the core business” and restoring the ski area to the “family run, family focused, affordable resort” it was built to be in the early 1960s.

The partners will learn in December if they will be awarded a $400,000 Empire State Development matching grant. If successful, Montgomery will have received “the spark needed to raise the remaining $1.6 million so that we can operate a full ski center with the amenities that go along with it,” he said.

“We really need that assistance,” Montgomery said. “But I knew that we would have to prove ourselves first.”

Some $5 million has been invested since the partnership took over the resort during the 2013-2014 winter season. Last year was the first break-even year, Montgomery said, noting that  “revenues will double” when fully operational.

“West Mountain had been operating as half of a ski area,” he said, and many acres of land are yet untouched. The owners originally had a five-year timetable for re-branding and updating the resort, he said. But they added another 12 months to the schedule because of a bad winter last year.

Over $40,000 was raised for the Veterans & Community Housing Coalition at its second annual Veterans Ball at the Hall of Springs in November.

Some 400 people attended to support of the mission of helping  local veterans and their families with affordable housing and services while they transition to independent living.

A highlight of the evening was a special tribute to area WWII Veterans who were honored and presented with quilts made by Loving Hands in all Seasons.

The list of honored WWII veterans included Walter Blair, U.S. Army 1943-1945; Marion Buchanan, Women’s Army Air Corps, 1943-1948; Stephen Dennis, U.S. Navy 1942-1945; David Forbert, U.S. Navy, 1943-1946; John Harrigan, U.S.  Army, 1942 -1945; Ralph Nicolson, U.S.  Army, 1943-1945; Corodon Norton II, Army Air Corps, 1942-1945; Dan Riley, U.S. Navy, 1943-1946; Mario Trieste, U.S.  Navy, WWII; Thomas Woods, U.S.  Army, 1943-1945

By Susan E. Campbell

Following two and a half years of negotiation and due diligence, the Saratoga County Industrial Development Authority is now only months away from purchasing a 20-acre plot in the Luther Forest Technology Campus, a transaction that is an “ambitious and rare collaboration among the public and private sectors,” according to Rod Sutton, IDA board chairman.

The plot is part of 125 acres leased, with an option to purchase, by private developers known as the MRFA Group. Sutton said the parcel is desirable because the acreage is “fairly flat, accessible and sits on the corner of two paved roads” in the park.

The land will not be useable and saleable until power, sewer and gas lines have been extended to the site, making it “shovel ready.”

“To be of any value, the property needs the infrastructure in place,” said Sutton. “Developers do not want to buy on speculation.”