TICONDEROGA — Adirondack Foundation has teamed up with PRIDE of Ticonderoga and the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce to host a capacity building seminar for nonprofits and community organizations. The seminar, “Collaborative Fundraising in a Small Community,” will take place from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, Sept. 18, at Inter-Lakes Health in Ticonderoga, NY. “From healthcare and economic development to arts, culture, recreation and more, nonprofits and community organizations deliver important services to in the Adirondack region,” said Cali Brooks, executive director of Adirondack Foundation. “We’re pleased to offer trainings like this to help these organizations become more effective and efficient than they already are.” Renowned nonprofit consultant and trainer Andy Robinson will lead the session, which focuses on effective fundraising in small communities. More information about Robinson can be found at www.andyrobinsononline.com. “Eighty percent of charitable funds come from individual donors, not foundations or corporations,” Robinson said. “In this seminar, we’ll learn to build a fundraising program that honors your mission, engages potential donors, and raises more money for the many organizations in your community.” Topics will include: Where money comes from: Building a diverse funding base Rural fundraising: Looking beyond the locals Addressing myths and misinformation about how fundraising works Shared fundraising strategies you can use with partner organizations Helping your board members become effective fundraisers “You'll leave with a dozen practical ideas you can implement immediately,” Robinson added. “This is an interactive workshop, so come prepared to participate.” The seminar costs $10 per person, which includes coffee, tea, snacks and other refreshments. To register, or for more information, please call the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce at (518) 585-6619 or email chamberinfo@ticonderogany.com. For more information about Adirondack Foundation, visit www.generousact.org. For more information about PRIDE of Ticonderoga visit www.prideofticonderoga.org. For more information on the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce visit www.ticonderogany.com.

LAKE PLACID — The Lake Placid Hall of Fame Committee has named its nominees for induction to the Lake Placid Hall of Fame. The inductees for the 2015 class are James B. McKenna and Beverley Pratt Reid. The 2015 nominees will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, which can be found in the Conference Center at Lake Placid. The 32nd Annual Induction Banquet will be held, Nov. 7, 2015, at the Conference Center at Lake Placid and is scheduled to begin with a cash bar at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $38 and are now available at the Olympic Center box office through Tuesday, Nov. 3. The Lake Placid Hall of Fame began in 1983 and has inducted over 100 individuals, as well as the members of the 1948 U.S. Olympic four-man bobsled team and the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. Permanent plaques commemorating each member are on display in the Conference Center at Lake Placid. James McKenna, who is the CEO of Lake Placid's Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, has had an extraordinary impact on the success of Lake Placid and the surrounding region. He has been instrumental in the nurturing of sports and local athletes through the Uihlein-Ironman Sports Fund of Lake Placid, providing financial support for competitive local young athletes with regional, national and international promise and nonprofit organizations that expose area youth to summer and winter sports. In addition, McKenna has served on many committees, and as a trustee for the Henry Uihlein II and Mildred A. Uihlein Foundation, he has helped countless individuals and organizations rise to the level of their dreams. Reid, who was born in Lake Placid in 1933, has always been, and continues to be, extremely proud of her heritage and the community of LakePlacid. She has dedicated her 83 years of life to her family, friends, and the community of Lake Placid through volunteer work with the Lake Placid Pee Wee Association (now known as LPYAA), Lake Placid Central School Alumni Association, Lake Placid Adirondack Church, Lake Placid/North Elba Historical Society, Lake Placid Beautification Inc., and the Lake Placid Public Library. To be considered for induction into the Lake Placid Hall of Fame, individuals should be past or current residents of the Olympic region or have some significant connection to the area. Carefully selected by Hall of Fame Committee members, all nominees must have made significant sports, cultural or civic contributions to the region, or their endeavors must have enhanced the historical heritage of the area. The 2015 Lake Placid Hall of Fame Committee is Ron Butler, Sue Cameron, Ben Cross, Alison Haas, Jack Irvin, Jack Laduke, Carol Nevulis, Howard Riley, and Carrie Wardlaw.

The Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce, in coordination with the North Country Small Business Development Center, will host two Small Business Seminars this fall. The seminars are titled Demystifying Credit Card Processing and 10 Tips for Growing Your Small Business with Instagram. For more information, click here: Fall 2015 Business Seminars.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – When members of the USA Luge national and junior national teams gather each September for the annual start competition, it can only mean that a new racing season is fast approaching. It’s also an indicator for the athletes as to how their conditioning and start training regimens have progressed during the off-season. The answers will come on Friday, Sept. 18, at 6 PM at USA Luge headquarters, 57 Church Street in Lake Placid. The event is open to the public free of charge, with rides down the ramps as a fundraiser to be offered after the competition. A number of recent Olympians will be in the competitive field. Julia Clukey, a 2010 Olympian from Augusta, Maine, is among the world’s quickest from the start handles. She will use that ability to hopefully return to the World Cup podium. Clukey, now in her 18th campaign, achieved a silver medal in February 2013. “The start competition is a good way to evaluate where I stand physically for the upcoming season,” stated Clukey. “With World Championships in Koenigssee (Germany) this year, the start absolutely makes or breaks a chance for a top performance. With it taking place a few weeks before our on ice training starts, it’s a good transition back into competition mode.” Clukey has a team-high seven indoor start titles in Lake Placid and four international championships, held annually in Meransen, Italy. Sochi bronze medalist, 2009 World Champion and three-time Olympian Erin Hamlin of Remsen, N.Y. will also be in the lineup. On the heels of these veterans will be hard-charging Summer Britcher of Glen Rock, Pa., and Emily Sweeney of Suffield, Conn. Up and comer Raychel Germaine of Roswell, Ga., has graduated from the junior ranks. She hopes that a shoulder injury rehabs by September 18. Sochi Olympian and two-time start champion, Tucker West, who was also the team’s youngest start winner in 2011, is anxious to return to the event after completing another semester at Union College. West is one of the World Cup circuit’s fastest starters. However, another 2014 Olympian, Aidan Kelly of West Islip, N.Y., has gotten much stronger since the Games, and is ready to usurp West’s position. Kelly’s 2014-2015 season was curtailed by injury. Riley Stohr, of Whitehall, Mich., will be the top junior in the field, pending his medical clearance following shoulder surgery. Stohr made his World Cup debut in Lake Placid last season, posting an 11th place result. The doubles division will also be watched closely as USA Luge debuts a pair of new teams that want their place on the national team. The start race, on the team’s artificially refrigerated ramps, will come approximately one month from the competitors return to the full length track at Mount Van Hoevenberg, outside Lake Placid. The Norton National Championships will be held in late October and early November in both Lake Placid and Park City, Utah. The World Cup luge tour opens for the 2015-2016 campaign on Nov. 28-29 in Igls, Austria. For more information on the Fastest Sport on Ice®, log on to teamusa.org/USA-Luge # # #

Nonprofits and community organizations are invited to participate in a training seminar on Thursday, Sept. 17. The capacity-building seminar, “Building a Board that Works,” will be hosted by Adirondack Foundation, the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, and the Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce. It will take place from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library. For more information, click here: TL nonprofit seminar PR. Click here to register.