Saratoga Business Journal

Skidmore Business Competition Won By Students Who Started A Bakery Business

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020

Maya Ling, left, and Emily Egan won the Freirich Business Plan Competition at Skidmore College for the bakery business they created called Coven.
Courtesy Skidmore College

Skidmore College student entrepreneurs were awarded more than $50,000 in prizes recently in the 10th anniversary Freirich Business Plan Competition.
First prize of $20,000 cash went to Maya Ling ‘20 and Emily Egan ‘20 for their bakery business, Coven.
Self-described “natural leaders, entrepreneurs and doers,” Ling and Egan met during their first year at Skidmore in the dining hall, where they bonded over their shared love of food, college officials said. They grew their passion into an herbal bakery and lifestyle brand that focuses on core values of quality local ingredients and community.
Coven baked goods are infused with herbs, flowers and spices. Current cookie flavors include rosemary dark chocolate, lavender orange, cardamom ginger and hibiscus black sesame. In addition to creating delicious treats, Coven also engages with customers on online platforms to share recipes, cooking tutorials and articles to “generate a community excited about a healthy and fun lifestyle,” said Egan.
“When we decided to enter the competition, we could never have imagined that we would end up where we are now,” said Ling. “We have never pursued something more ambitious, and have never felt more accomplished than we do now.”

Knitt LLC Hopes Its Online Service Will Help Nonprofits Get Funds During COVID Crisis

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020

By Susan E. Campbell
Knitt LLC, the entity that brings together nonprofit groups and companies having a common mission, is hoping its online match-making service about to go online will have a strong positive impact on helping people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The landscape for charitable giving and receiving changes every day as the COVID virus lingers,” said founder Lisa Munter, who has served on the boards of a number of local nonprofit organizations.
“Events the nonprofits hold to maintain funding are being cancelled or postponed,” she said. “They desperately need to reach out to offset these losses.”
On the giving end, companies all over the state are also facing financial constraints, hindering their ability to make donations.

Business Briefs: May 2020

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020

Due to current circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Adirondack Health Institute’s Enrollment Assistance Services and Education (EASE) team has stopped seeing clients in person, however, continues to offer health insurance enrollment assistance via telephone.

Personnel Briefs: May 2020

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020

Morgan Stanley announced that Kathleen Grasmeder, managing director, portfolio management director, financial advisor in the firm’s Glens Falls and Oneonta Wealth Management offices, has been named to Forbes Magazine’s list of Top Women Wealth Advisors for 2020, listed on forbes.com.
The “Top Women Wealth Advisors” is a select group of individuals who have a minimum of seven years of industry experience. The ranking, developed by Forbes’ partner SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data, rating thousands of wealth advisors and weighing factors like revenue trends, AUM, compliance records, industry experience and best practices learned through telephone and in-person interviews.

Stewart’s Shops Offers Funds To Help Nonprofit Groups During The Current Crisis

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020

Stewart’s Shops, which has a longstanding history of giving back to nonprofits in local communities, has started a fund to help.
“During these difficult times, the need is even more prevalent” to help nonprofits, a company news release said. “The coronavirus virus has impacted different groups in different ways.
Stewart’s is encouraging nonprofits impacted by COVID-19 to reach out for additional help for sustainability. Grants will be given on a case by case scenario as they come in. There is no deadline for submission.
As of April 30, the company reported nearly $200,000 in grants had been awarded.
With an increased demand on services, many nonprofits are experiencing strains on budget, staffing and resources. “Whether you are a food pantry feeding families in need or a concert venue/theater uncertain about the future with ticket sales on hold for an indefinite time; there is no doubt that these current circumstances are difficult for everyone,” the company said.

Hudson Headwaters Renovated Women’s Center Has More Comprehensive Services

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020

A staffer works at the newly renovated Women’s Center in Glens Falls.

By Susan E. Campbell
Women’s Health, part of the Hudson Headwaters Health Network, reopened its doors on April 6 following months of interior renovation.
The changes make the center at 90 South St. in Glens Falls “an optimal experience” with more comprehensive services for women and their families, according to practice leader Sally Howard.
“We expanded up and down,” said Howard, who has been with the practice for three years. “The physical expansion of the facility creates an environment where patients and providers feel they will get the best care.”
Hudson Headwaters Health Network has centers from Champlain down to Moreau and west to North Creek. The recently re-named Women’s Health became a part of the network in 2013, said Dr. Ted Denious, who co-leads it with Dr. Danielle Goertzen.

Saratoga PLAN Conservation Group Gets Largest Ever Donation For Trail System Work

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020

A $500,000 from the Sarah B. Foulke Charitable Fund will help develop a 20-mile trail system through the Southern Palmertown Range, pictured here.
Courtesy Saratoga PLAN

Saratoga PLAN recently received its largest private cash gift ever—$500,000 from the Sarah B. Foulke Charitable Fund for producing the Friendship Trails System.
The donation will underwrite the planning, design and stewardship of more than 20 miles of publicly accessible, permanently conserved trails in the 40,500-acre Southern Palmertown Range, an ecologically important area that stretches north from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs to the Hudson River, and is bordered by routes 9 and 9N, on the east and west, respectively.
Saratoga PLAN aims to design Friendship Trails that will provide enjoyment through an inclusive spectrum of outdoor activities: walking, running, wheelchairing, dog-walking, mountain-biking, horseback-riding, bird-watching, botanizing, forest-bathing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and learning about nature and local history.

Hudson Headwaters Finds Telehealth Network A Big Help During Pandemic

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020

If anything good comes from the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth will fall into that category, Hudson Headwaters Health Network Chief Medical Informatics Officer Dr. Kevin Gallagher said.
“I think this is an exciting time in health care and a really great opportunity for us to redesign our care delivery,” he said in an interview about the organization’s telehealth program, which expanded rapidly to accommodate COVID-19 concerns and social distancing guidelines.
“I think we’re just at the tip of the iceberg with how we can get creative with this.”
Hudson Headwaters Community Relations Manager Jane Hooper said the network was planning to introduce telehealth this year over a number of months, but the pandemic dramatically upped that time line.
Gallagher joined Hudson Headwaters March 2, and just days later telehealth became the main focus of his work as the organization had to start addressing how to minimize COVID-19 exposure for patients and providers.
He and other network leaders started meeting in the main conference room and mapping out how to deploy virtual visits. They discussed information as it came, including regulation changes that made different platforms more accessible and certain services billable.

Adirondack Trust Hopes Cuomo Will ‘Keep An Open Mind’ About Opening Race Track

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020

With the status of this year race meet at Saratoga Race Course up in the air, and indications being that horses will run, but fans won’t be allowed in, local businesses are concerned about the economic implications.
Racing season has a huge impact on local businesses—restaurants, hotels, bars, downtown shops, employees at the track and many more. Regarding that, officials at Adirondack Trust Co. released a statement in conditions as they exited on May 1st.
That statement follows:
“Gov. Cuomo … expressed doubt about the advisability of opening major attractions like the Saratoga Race Course, saying gatherings of large crowds might impede efforts to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
An attraction like the Saratoga thoroughbred racing meet would draw fans from across New York and from neighboring states, he said, and potentially spread the virus.
Cuomo is absolutely correct in placing the health and safety of all New Yorkers as his top priority. With respect to welcoming the public this summer at the Saratoga thoroughbred race track, we hope he will keep an open mind. The circumstances of this pandemic change rapidly and conditions could change for the better sooner than expected. With robust public health protections in place, it may still be safe to open to the public, at least on a limited basis.

National Hotel Association Says Some 70 Percent Of Staffs Laid Off Or Furloughed

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020

This chart provided by the American Hotel & Lodging Association shows the sharp decline in occupancy rates. It has led to massive layoffs in the industry. Many hotels have temporarily closed.
Courtesy AHLA

The American Hotel & Lodging Association released data today showing that 70 percent of hotel employees have been laid off or furloughed as eight in 10 hotel rooms across the nation remain empty.
As the crisis, the impact to the travel industry is nine times worse than the 9/11 tragedy, with forecasted occupancy rates for 2020 hitting record lows worse than rates in 1933 during the Great Depression, the AHLA said.
“With the impact to the travel industry nine times worse than September 11, the human toll of this public health crisis has been absolutely devastating for the hotel industry. For the hotel industry our priority is rehiring and retaining our hardworking employees who power our vibrant industry,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. “Hotels were one of the first industries affected by the pandemic and will be one of the last to recover.
“The CARES Act was an important first step with a lot of supportive measures for the hotel industry, but we need Congress to make important changes to the program to reflect the current economic reality and help the employees in the industries that have been impacted the most.”