Each week in our Adirondacks, USA newsletter, we have a promotional spot for sale to one of our business partners. On average, over 6.5% of the total referrals the email generates to our websites are sent to the promo page connected to this ad. If your business would like to be featured in our weekly email, contact Glenn Pareira at glenn@roostadk.com or 518-874-0255.

Jan. 9, 2017 Lake Placid, NY - The Northern Adirondack Board of REALTORS (NABOR), in conjunction with the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST), unveiled today a package of videos aimed at highlighting Adirondack communities as a desirable place to live, work and play. The videos are designed to inspire and encourage people to relocate here by showcasing the regions’ assets, including the natural beauty, vast outdoor recreation, diversity, quality schools, and tight-knit communities. “These videos are meant to give those thinking of moving here a better feel of what we have to offer,” said NABOR Board President Nick Politi. “We wanted to use testimonials from business owners and residents describing why they chose to live here — from the diversity of the population, art galleries, hiking and skiing, to the family-friendly communities and small class sizes in the public schools. The Northern Adirondacks are a great fit for anyone who enjoys an active lifestyle, who wants to retire in a beautiful place, or for those who are looking for an alternative to the urban lifestyle.” Each video highlights the assets of the town and surrounding region, and includes interviews from residents who have started businesses, local officials and residents. As Vanessa Pillen, co-owner of the Dance Sanctuary, said in her testimonial, “What if you could settle in the place you want to vacation? The more time we spent up here, the more our hearts were pulled to Saranac Lake.” Below are links to the videos: Saranac Lake Lake Placid Westport Wilmington Malone Tupper Lake They will live on each of the respective ROOST regions’ websites under the ‘live here’ sections and will be shared on ROOST’s social media channels. A paid media campaign begins today, targeting both local residents and the leisure traveler. They will also reside on NABOR’s website. “Our mission has always been to provide valuable information about our communities to the public, and we hope these videos help spread the word about how wonderful it is to live here,” said Politi. ROOST is the accredited destination marketing organization (DMO) responsible for promoting Essex, Hamilton and Franklin counties in the Adirondacks of New York. For more information about ROOST and its team, visit roostadk.com. ###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Carrrie Gentile, Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) communications coordinator (cgentile@roostadk.com) at (518) 621-3665 Jon Lundin, Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) public relations coordinator (jlundin@orda.org) at (518) 523-1655 ext. 5313 Lake Placid, NY - The International Children’s Winter Games will bring the spirit of international youth competition to Lake Placid in 2019. With up to 1,000 athletes expected to participate from Jan. 6-11, 2019, the multi-sport and cultural event gives young athletes from around the world a chance to compete on a world-class stage. Who: ICG President Torsten Rasch and Lake Placid Village Mayor Craig Randall, along with other members of the ICG. What: Mr. Rasch and Mr. Randall will sign the letter of agreement officially announcing Lake Placid as the ICG host in winter 2019. The public is invited to attend. Where: Olympic Jumping Complex, Intervale Lodge. When: Tuesday, January 23, 2018, 10 a.m. Modeled after the Olympics, the ICGs were created in 1968 with the goal of promoting peace and friendship. Each year, athletes ages 12 to 15 from about 60 cities around the world compete with their peers. Winter sporting events include alpine, freestyle, and cross country skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, figure and speed skating and hockey. Lake Placid’s event may include winter sliding sports. ###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Carrie Gentile, communications coordinator Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism direct: 518.621.3665 or 518.523.2445 ext. 123 ROOST ANNOUNCES 2018 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Lake Placid, NY - The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) is pleased to announce its 2018 Board of Directors. The new and returning board members were confirmed during ROOST’s Annual Meeting and Social held January 15 at the Intervale Lodge at the Olympic Jumping Complex, which was attended by ROOST staff, board members, marketing partners and elected officials. The board of directors, responsible for governing the organization, is comprised of directors from throughout ROOST’s eight Adirondack regions. For 2018, the board welcomes five new directors: Chandler Ralph, former president/CEO of Adirondack Health; Garrick Smith, owner/operator of Hotel North Woods; Michael Doran, general manager of Holiday Inn Express in Malone; Nick Politi, associate real estate broker at Merrill L. Thomas and Shawn Goodway, general manager of The Whiteface Lodge. They join sitting directors Ed Finnerty, vice president and counsel, Champlain National Bank and ROOST board chair; Melinda Little, president, Point Positive, Inc., Saranac Lake and first board vice-chair; Jill Cardinale, owner of The Pines Inn and second board vice-chair; Charlie Cowan, financial consultant with Longrun Wealth Advisors LLC and board treasurer; Bob Hockert, owner of Adirondack Sauna in Wilmington and boardsecretary; Mike Beglin, owner of Beglin’s Lake Placid Jewelry and Gifts; Beth Hill, executive director at Fort Ticonderoga; Sarah Wilson, Sarah Wilson Communications in Keene; Marc Galvin, owner of the Bookstore Plus; James Lemons, executive director of the Lake Placid Center for the Arts; Mark Jessie, owner of Raquette River Brewing in Tupper Lake; Lisa Hess-Marks, owner of Pine Cone Mercantile in Schroon Lake and Andrea Holderied, operations director at Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort in Lake Placid. Current Board Directors Mark Galvin, James Lemon and Beth Hill were re-elected to an additional three-year term. Director Justin Smith’s term on the board expired. “We are very pleased to welcome five outstanding community leaders and businesspeople to the ROOST Board of Directors,” said Ed Finnerty, board president. “With the three board members who were re-elected for an additional term, I believe our 21 person board possesses a wealth of outstanding talent and expertise and will provide the vision and leadership needed to guide ROOST in the coming year.” During the event, ROOST CEO James McKenna spoke briefly about the organization’s progress and growth in 2017, including its momentum on social media and increased website traffic. Specifically, ROOST gained 107,000 new Facebook followers across its eight regional social media platforms and its umbrella site, adirondacks, usa saw a growth of 118 percent. There was also a 5.5 percent increase in website traffic, leading to 3.5 million website sessions. As an accredited destination marketing organization (DMO), ROOST is responsible for promoting Essex County, Franklin County, Hamilton County, the Town of North Elba, the Town and Village of Tupper Lake, Harrietstown, Lake Placid, Piercefield, and Saranac Lake, New York to the traveling public. In addition to leisure travel promotion, ROOST is responsible for sales and marketing for the Conference Center at Lake Placid and town-wide conventions. ###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Carrie Gentile, communications coordinator Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism direct: 518.621.3665 or 518.523.2445 ext. 123 Governor Cuomo invests $13 million to bolster tourism in the North Country through new lodging Lake Placid, NY - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is furthering his commitment to growing tourism in the North Country with the state’s investment of $13 million this year for the development of new lodging properties. The 2019 New York State Executive Budget, released this week, includes $13 million in capital funding through the Regional Economic Development Councils (REDC) and the Upstate Revitalization Initiative to spur development of lodging in the Adirondacks and the Thousand Islands regions. In addition, Empire State Development will commission a study to identify lodging development opportunities in those regions. The North Country Regional Economic Development Council (NCREDC) convened a lodging task force in 2017 to create a model for successful lodging development as a source of sustainable tourism, after identifying that there is a lack of full-service, modern lodging options that attracts today’s traveler. “We made a strong case for making some significant funding available for hotel development in the North Country and once again Governor Cuomo has responded positively," said Garry Douglas, president of the North Country Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of the NCREDC. "It's the latest example of his confidence in the strategies set by the REDC, and we are hopeful that this commitment will help to attract new, quality development proposals over the next couple of years so we can continue to build a quality future for our tourism economy.” “Through the NCREDC, we have been activating tourism as a driver to diversify our economy and create demand to accelerate private investment,” said Anthony G. Collins, president of Clarkson University and co-chair of the council. “The governor’s commitment to invest in new and improved lodging across the region will further elevate global recognition of the North Country as one of the special places on the planet to visit, live, work and study.” As reported in the annual State of the State earlier this month, thanks to Governor Cuomo’s investments in tourism, New York state has experienced unprecedented growth in visitation and tourism, resulting in an economic impact of almost $105 billion last year. For this growth to continue, the governor recognizes the need for full-service lodging. With the $13 million, grants will be made available to developers to incentivize building these types of properties. Members of the NCREDC lodging task force are encouraged by the news. “Encouraging investment in new and improved lodging has been consistently identified by stakeholders as a key to growing tourism jobs in the region,” said Gary DeYoung, director of the Thousand Islands International Tourism Council and co-chair of the NCREDC lodging task force. “The governor’s commitment to providing the tools needed to attract that investment will go a long way toward assuring tourism continues to be a growth industry in the Thousand Islands.” “Through the NCREDC’s efforts over the last seven years, tourism has been identified as number one growth industry in the North Country,” said James McKenna, president of the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) and co-chair of the NCREDC lodging task force. “We have the natural environment and attractions, but are lacking modern hospitality infrastructure. The governor’s leadership in identifying tourism as the number one economic driver in our region is the incentive needed to transform the North Country’s economy.” "The Governor reaffirmed his commitment to the North Country, and the solutions he identified in yesterday's budget briefing is exciting,” said William G. Farber, Chairman of the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors and member of the NCREDC lodging task force. “One would think that after all we have accomplished together, this would become more anti-climactic, but success just never gets old. Lodging is a critical Adirondack/North Country need, so the Governor's partnership on this issue is great news.” ###