Fingerpaint, a Saratoga-Springs-based marketing agency, announced a new partnership with Thrive Global aimed at educating employees through personal health and wellness content and empowering them with the tools they need to improve productivity and manage stress.
The partnership will kick off the re-launch of Fingerpaint University, a comprehensive, agency-wide training program aimed at enhancing Fingerpaint’s people first culture.
Thrive Global will offer Fingerpaint a platform geared at finding new ways to engage employees, the company said in a news release. Fingerpaint will also have access to the Thrive app that allows them to interact with tailored health and wellness programming on a daily basis.
Additionally, with Fingerpaint University, employees will be able to participate in peer-to-peer education, instructor-led trainings, eLearning, a speaker series, panel discussions, bootcamps and more, officials said.
New ALDI Store Will Be Built In Wilton; Officials Say It Could Be Open By End Of Year
By Rachel Phillips
Saratoga County will soon have a another ALDI grocery story open for business.
The new store will be located off Lowe’s Drive in Wilton. A new road, called ALDI Drive, will also be constructed to allow access to the store from Old Gick Road.
According to Bruce Persohn, ALDI South Windsor Division vice president, the plan is for the store to open before the end of 2020.
Contractors Group: Employment Increased In 29 States In 2019; NYS Dipped Slightly
Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between December 2018 and December 2019, while construction employment increased in 29 states from November to December, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released om January.
Association officials added that most contractors expect to continue adding to their payrolls in 2020, according to the results of the association’s annual construction forecast.
In New York state, figures showed job losses in the industry of 0.1 to 5 percent.
“Construction employment consistently expanded in at least two-thirds of the states throughout 2019, even though contractors reported difficulty in finding qualified workers all year long,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “As long as they are able to continue finding qualified workers, most firms expect to continue hiring this year.”
But finding workers is still an issue.
Business Report: HR Consultant Adds Value To A Business
By JAMES MARCO
When we first meet a potential client, and find out that they are having “HR concerns,” we find that those concerns fall into one of three major categories along a continuum.
The first is the small company who has had someone, often in the accounting department, trying to do HR and payroll in addition to their regular job. This person finds out a few tidbits about all the laws and compliance in the HR world, and feels more than a little overwhelmed.
This is really the first step in the development of an HR function: ensuring compliance. Small companies often cannot justify the cost of full time HR expertise, and often rely on HR firms for this guidance. Help with compliance—handbooks, job descriptions, and policy development—are usually the primary needs of small, growing companies.
Business Report: Standby Generators Keep Things Going
By Craig MacDonald
There was a time automatic standby generators for your home or small business were considered an extravagant purchase.
Homeowners and small business owners found it tough to justify such a purchase.
They may also have been using a Rolodex, “selectric” typewriter and even dabbled in a desk-top computer with the most modern DOS operating system available at the time. Some phones may have still worked when the power went out. The wait for the overdue FAX was inconvenient, but there were many manual tasks to be taken care of while waiting.
Enough light seemed to come in from the windows to keep all the manual tasks moving along in the office. At home, there may have been flashlights, candles and canned food to open an heat.
We’ve come a long way.
BNI Winners Circle Chapter In Saratoga Passes The $1M Mark For Business In 2019
During International Networking Week in February, BNI’s Winners Circle Chapter in Saratoga Springs was recognized for passing $1,053,000 in business in 2019.
The ceremony took place at the Inn at Saratoga on Broadway.
BNI is the world’s largest networking organization. There are two Chapters in Saratoga Springs.
The chapter meets to exchange referrals to other members. BNI members form a trusted team of referral partners who help each other grow their businesses.
President Kimberly Salerno of Salerno Law said, “It is an honor for us to be recognized in again this year. I am proud to be part of this group and the way we help each other. We have done this for 6 consecutive years.”
9 Miles East In Schuylerville To Expand Food Service With A New Restaurant In Saratoga
By Andrea Palmer
Gordon Sacks, owner of 9 Miles East, a diversified farm and food business, is passionate about what he does. And now he’s expanding services and adding a restaurant, located at 64 Excelsior Ave. in Saratoga Springs.
“Our mission is to make it easy for busy people to eat healthy, local food,” said Sacks.
The company has been around for more than a decade, and has a 29-acre vegetable farm in Schuylerville.
“We make healthy meals that we deliver to the employees of big companies in Upstate New York and in Boston. We have a subscription meal delivery service, where we bring those healthy meals to people’s homes,” said Sacks.
Five years ago, Sacks added a pizza delivery operation.
Former Jonesville Store In Clifton Park Will Become A Wood-Fired Pizza Restaurant
©2020 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Jill Nagy
Later this year, the former Jonesville Store in Clifton Park will become Classic Crust Brick and Mortar, a restaurant version of the pizza truck catering business known as Classic Crust.
For five years, the Classic Crust truck has delivered wood-fired pizza and beer to parties in the Capital District. The truck will continue to operate but between trips it will be parked at the permanent restaurant, which will be located at 989 Main St., about two miles west of Northway Exit 10.
If all goes well, the new restaurant will open in March, according to Julie Carioto, co-owner with her husband, Greg. She is also the chef.
Nearly 10,000 Online Voters Select ‘Blue, The Bluebird’ As SUNY Empire State Mascot
Courtesy SUNY Empire State
After almost 50 years, SUNY Empire State College has an official mascot.
After a month-long, online campaign that resulted in a total of 9,922 votes cast, Blue, the Bluebird, beat out its competition and will represent the SUNY Empire community.
Officials said faculty, staff, students, and alumni submitted more than 180 mascot concepts for consideration this past fall. The submissions were evaluated by a committee representing a cross-section of the college community, and three were selected as finalists: Blue the Bluebird, Cam the Chameleon, and Van the Vanguard.
Plans Unveiled To Turn Abandoned Building In Victory Mills Into Apartment Complex
Courtesy Saratoga Prosperity Partnership
Regan Development has plans to transform the former Victory Mills, a five-story, 230,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that closed nearly two decades ago, into 186 residential apartment units and a commercial microbrewery.
The building is in the Village of Victory Mills in the northeast part of the town of Saratoga, southwest of Schuylerville.
The Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership, involved in the project, calls it one of the largest economic development initiatives in the past decade in Saratoga County; a $60 million project that will breathe new life into a long-vacant industrial building.
A Westchester County-based entity that specializes in redevelopment projects, Regan Development has done other projects in the area and has a portfolio that includes more than $384 million in new construction and adaptive reuse projects.