David Bejou, dean of the College of Business and Social Sciences at West Virginia State University and a tenured professor of marketing, was appointed provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at SUNY Empire State College.

Bejou will be responsible for the academic enterprise of SUNY Empire State, headquartered in Saratoga Springs, including the education of nearly 19,000 students learning at 34 locations throughout the state, at eight international locations, face to face, online and through a blend of all these modes, at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s levels.

For the past 25 years, he has served public higher education in academic and administrative leadership roles of increasing responsibility and complexity. His nearly 18 years at the Historically Black Colleges and Universities of West Virginia State University; Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, N.C.; and Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va., have provided him with an appreciation for institutional missions. This experience building and accrediting undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees provides a valuable breadth of academic experience, college officials said.

“David Bejou’s record of success in public higher education in teaching, learning, scholarship and research, as well as his commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, make him the ideal individual to lead SUNY Empire as its chief academic officer,” said Merodie A. Hancock, president of the college. “I look forward to working with David, and the entire college community, as we expand on the college’s next 50 years of academic excellence and innovation.”

“I am honored, privileged and elated to join SUNY Empire State College and look forward to working with President Hancock, the college’s senior leadership team, its highly dedicated faculty and staff and motivated students, so that together, we will meet and exceed students’ diverse learning goals,” said Bejou.

Bejou’s appointment is the result of a national search, which was conducted by a college committee comprised of students, faculty and staff. He begins his new leadership role with the college on July 1.

The Capital Fund of Saratoga County Inc. is presenting the 40th Saratoga Springs Horse Show on the grounds of Yaddo. It is the final year of the event at that venue.

“It looks like it will be another good year for the show” said Tom Fueston, president of the Capital Fund of Saratoga County. “With the addition of a third week of competition two years ago, the exhibitors are sharing their joy at being able to spend more time in beautiful, historic Saratoga Springs, often touted as their most favorite stop on their equestrian circuit.”

The venue is located at 305 Union Ave., Saratoga Springs.

Next year the show will move to a new venue, allowing options for future expansion of services to exhibitors. To that end, the management of the Saratoga Springs Horse Show is presently vetting several locations in and around Saratoga Springs for 2018 and beyond.

Competition started on May 3 and takes place Wednesday through Sunday of each week, through May 21. Warm-up and first competitions begins between 7:30-8 a.m. Most competitions are over by 5 p.m.

Daily admission on Friday, Saturday and Sunday is $4 per person, 12 and older. Admission is free on Wednesday and Thursday. The admission booth will be manned by three different charities who will get to keep the admission receipts for their programs—the Saratoga Race Track Chaplaincy; Tears Foundation, Saratoga Chapter; and Angel Names Association of Saratoga.

Each day a “charity of the day” will be selected and all tips and donations given at the food tent, souvenir area and bistro will be given to that charity.

This year the featured events include the $30,000 Saratoga Cup Grand Prix on May 7, the $30,000 David B. Wood Cup Grand Prix on May 14 and the $15,000 Steve and Yvonne Sullivan Cup on May 21. Each of those events will begin approximately 3 p.m.

Cudney’s Launderers and Dry Cleaners Inc. has a new owner, but she is no stranger to the business. 

Joyce Ure, former vice president and general manager, took over as president and owner on April 14. She plans to continue the Cudney tradition of service and community involvement.

“There is no one I would rather see assume my father’s business,” said Lynette Cudney Whaley, former company president and daughter of founder James E. Cudney.  “Joyce works hard to honor our family values. In addition to running the company for the past 10 years, she is active in Saratoga Rotary and the Downtown Business Association.  Giving back to the community will still be a priority for Cudney’s.”

James Cudney, a Saratoga native, entered the laundry business in 1952 when he rented a small location on Lake Avenue that had just four washing machines. The company grew over the years and now has a freestanding plant, four storefronts, two laundromats and a home and business delivery route. 

Lynette and her husband, Dan, had been operating the business since 1997. Ure joined the staff that same year as the assistant bookkeeper. 

According to Dan Whaley, “It became evident right away that she was organized and efficient. Her interest and involvement in day-to-day operations grew and she is now more than qualified to operate on her own.  We are very happy that she is willing to take on this challenge.” 

“I was so proud that Lyn and Dan wanted me to continue the business after their retirement,” said Ure. “Having spent 20 years with them at the helm, I have wonderful examples of how the business should be run and how to give back to the community that supports us.  Being able to join the Downtown Business Association, currently vice president, and being an active member of the Saratoga Springs Rotary Club, that is all thanks to the support and encouragement of the Cudney’s team.”

Ure said she will continue on the path set forth by the previous leadership and stay at the forefront of the technological advancements in the industry and continue in the eco-friendly, community-minded ways of the Cudney and Whaley families. 

Land Remediation Inc., which provides environmental remediation and other specialized services to customers in the Capital Region and the Northeast, opened its new headquarters and operations facility at 74 Hudson River Road in Waterford on April 14.

Company officials said the $1.8 million project creates and retains more than 40 jobs and enables collaboration with a hub of businesses within Saratoga County.

Land Remediation worked with the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership to re-purpose a long-vacant industrial site, a former service center and auto salvage yard.

The newly constructed 15,000-square-foot building includes space for office and administrative functions, warehousing, manufacturing and fabrication. It also has outside storage and parking for specialized equipment and other supplies.

Land Remediation officials said they expect to hire at least 12 new employees, with an average annual salary of $60,000, over the next three years, adding to its current 29-member workforce of engineers, equipment operators, laborers and office staff.

Additionally, the new facility has enabled the attraction of another company to Saratoga County, Winn Construction, which has set up offices in the building, officials said.

Through a program offered by the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership, Land Remediation is the first company to receive a refund of  nearly $7,000 for a portion of fees incurred for processing of its funding application with  the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency. 

“We are thrilled to finally be able to locate our entire company under one roof, which will make us more efficient, expand our customer base and grow our company,” said William Lindheimer, general manager of Land Remediation. “We are excited to be in the perfect location in Waterford, where we can work with a hub of outstanding construction and service companies.”

Annese & Associates, an integrated technology solution company with locations throughout New York, recently expanded its network operations center located in Clifton Park.

In expanding the former headquarters into a network operations center, it now hosts the company’s managed services team.

The company invested $130,000 toward the creation of the center at 747 Pierce Road, Suite 2, Clifton Park.

Annese was founded in 1970 by Frank Annese in his hometown of Herkimer. The company started selling data communications equipment. Since then, it has expanded to cities around the state, including Buffalo, Albany and Utica. Services now include enterprise networking, cybersecurity, cloud computing, collaboration technology, managed and professional services and more.

The ownership of the company was passed along to Annese’s four daughters, making the company a woman-owned business recognized in four states.

At the network operations center, a team of professionals handles issues with technology in real time, according to the company. Using state-of-the-art software, the team is able to predict when problems are about to occur, and prepare for them. One notable addition is the wall-mounted displays that showcase dashboards and monitoring tools providing real-time data on the status of customer tickets.

“We are constantly receiving metrics about our customer’s problems,” said Christina Nordquist, marketing and communications associate manager at Annese. “We can even see potential issues such as the weather and check if there will be issues with the power, so we can plan ahead.”

By Margaret MacDonald

Hal Raven of Adirondack Cruise & Charter Co. recently purchased a 50-foot boat that will assist in expanding his year-old business to include more offerings on Saratoga Lake.

A busy fall season—total of 806 people were brought on cruises— precipitated Raven’s looking for a bigger boat. He found one through a boat brokerage in Wisconsin.

Built by Paul Raasoch in 2003, the boat was previously used for cruises. It looks like a steamboat might have looked on Saratoga Lake in the early 1900s.

Purchased in February, he negotiated dockage at Saratoga Lake Marina, replaced the canopies, completely sanded and stripped it down.

The boat has a 28-passenger capacity. There is a small serving station and restaurant in back of the boat. An 11-foot beam and shallow draft allow the boat to travel with ease all the way to Fish Creek.

Partnering with lakeside restaurants like Lake Local, Dock Brown’s and Nostalgia will allow the boat to foster a more dynamic sense of community, available to everyone, he said. The restaurants will cater to coordinated themes before cruises depart from the sites.

The  Saratoga Economic Development Corp.’s  (SEDC) launched its new startup incubator and early stage small business accelerator at an event on April 12 at Bow Tie Cinemas in Saratoga Springs attended by more than 250 people.

SEDC launched SPARK Saratoga in response to business professionals and entrepreneurs requests to make experienced business mentors available to accelerate early stage growth businesses.

“The mission of the incubator is to inspire, mentor and accelerate startups and early stage businesses through a proven mentor network model marshalled to support entrepreneurs by bringing them through an initial in-depth market opportunity and business gap analysis, and agreeing to an action plan,” the corporation said in a new release.

Access to financial funding networks will be potentially available as well, officials said. All ages and sectors of businesses can visit the web-based portal, www.SparkSaratoga.com, to learn more or submit an idea for evaluation.