ROOST CEO James McKenna was inducted into the Lake Placid Hall of Fame this weekend at a ceremony at the Conference Center at Lake Placid. Beverley Pratt Reid, historian of the town of North Elba and village of Lake Placid, was also inducted. ROOST employees and community members joined to celebrate the accomplishments of both hall of famers. Plaques honoring both McKenna and Reid have been added to the more than 100 Hall of Fame plaques on display on the second floor of the Conference Center near the 1932 Ice Rink. ROOST CEO James McKenna speaks at his Lake Placid Hall of Fame induction ceremony. McKenna's bio: James McKenna's vision for the future of Lake Placid and the Adirondacks convinced him nearly 40 years ago that tourism and preservation must serve as the foundation for cultivating and sustaining the region’s economic vitality while advancing Lake Placid’s role on national and international stages. As a champion of both destination planning & promotion and sustainable economic & sports development, McKenna embraces regional tourism as the key to unlocking the potential of Lake Placid and the Adirondacks as sustainable brands while also ensuring Lake Placid’s reputation as a premier international destination. Frequently challenging conventional wisdom, McKenna remains fresh and innovative as he successfully traverses the complex world of destination planning and marketing. As a leader in recognizing and reacting swiftly and strategically to changes in the travel industry, he implements proactive initiatives to guarantee that Lake Placid and other Adirondack communities are armed with the cutting-edge tools needed to compete in the global marketplace. His unique ability to bridge ever-changing political, environmental and economic perspectives enables him to guide those with different and often polarizing views to focus on shared goals and long-term solutions in order to safeguard the vitality of Lake Placid and the Adirondacks. McKenna represented the Village of Lake Placid at nine Olympic Winter Games and continues to deliver national and international presentations regarding Lake Placid’s Olympic heritage. As a founding delegate to the World Union of Olympic Cities, he preserves Lake Placid’s Olympic legacy and guarantees that our community continues to stand shoulder-to-shoulder among leading Olympic cities of the world. McKenna engineered the formation of the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) as an organization based on the principles that tourism must reflect the needs of communities, improve the quality of life for residents, and neither disrupt nor inhibit the environment or the heritage of its member communities. By assembling a team of savvy professionals he steers ROOST in its efforts to balance strategic tourism marketing with destination planning initiatives in order to achieve a sustainable economy for the region. His appointment by the Governor to the North Country Regional Economic Council furthers his long-term influence on the regional economy. Dedication to, and philanthropic leadership of, the Henry Uihlein II and Mildred A. Uihlein Foundation led to establishment of Heaven Hill Farm as a non-profit meeting and fundraising center, the Uihlein/Ironman Sports Fund and to the development of the beloved community preserves, Henry’s Woods and Heaven Hill Trails. Lake Placid salutes James McKenna’s lifelong dedication to our communities and his enduring vision that we must embrace innovation, stewardship, and regionalism in order to preserve the heart of our Adirondack communities and to ensure a vibrant and sustainable future for Lake Placid. Blue skies ahead! ROOST employees gather to celebrate their CEO. ORDA CEO Ted Blazer and ROOST CEO James McKenna point out their logos on McKenna's Hall of Fame plaque.

ROOST in the news ROOST CEO James McKenna presents the results of the most recent Leisure Travel Study to the Essex County Board of Supervisors. READ THE ARTICLE

The village of Tupper Lake will present its Draft Municipal Park Master Plan and Beach Feasibility Study at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23, at the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library, 41 Lake St. The Draft Master Plan was developed following extensive outreach to residents and community organizations, and organizers are now looking for the community to review the plan and provide feedback. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. The Waterfront Park Master Plan and Beach Feasibility are priority projects identified in the recently completed Revitalization Strategy and Action Plan. The public workshop will be led by Terrain Landscape Architecture and Melissa McManus, the community’s revitalization project coordinator. The village and town of Tupper Lake and the consultant team invite all to join the meeting and give feedback. Following the meeting, the draft plan will be available for review at the Village Office at 53 Park St. and www.tupperlakeny.gov. Please contact Melissa McManus at 518-297-6753 or melissamcmanusllc@gmail.com with any questions. This project is funded by the Environmental Protection Fund Local Waterfront Revitalization Program administered by the NYS Department of State.

LAKE PLACID, adirondacks, usa - Visitors to the region were drawn by outdoor recreation, were slightly younger than the mean average from previous years and spent $83 for every occupancy tax dollar spent on marketing in 2014, according to the latest leisure travel information study. James McKenna, ROOST president, presents 2014 Leisure Travel Study results to the Essex County Board of Supervisors. For the twelfth year in a row, the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) contracted an independent third party to conduct a Leisure Travel Information Study. For the last four years, ROOST engaged PlaceMaking to conduct the survey applying the same methodology as in the previous years when it was conducted by the Technical Assistance Center at SUNY Plattsburgh. ROOST is the accredited destination marketing organization (DMO) 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 providing valuable demographic data and trends, the study’s intent is to determine the effectiveness of ROOST’s marketing programs, to measure the return on investment (ROI) ratio for public marketing expenditures and the conversion rate factor, or the number of leads who actually visited the region. The Leisure Travel Information Study is based on a survey of ROOST’s 2014 trackable leads database. “Leads” represent the contact information collected from individuals who have responded to ROOST’s destination marketing efforts, such as online contest entries or newsletter sign ups. Although lakeplacid.com alone received over 1.4 million unique visitors in 2014, the survey takes only these trackable leads into consideration. Here are some highlights from the results: Average visitor party age of respondents was 49 years old; which is slightly younger than the five year average visitor age (51). Mean annual reported household income of visitors was $101,039. The average reported total visitor party size was 3.9 persons, including an average of 2.7 adults and 1.2 children. This showed a very slight decrease from average reported 2013 visitor party size, but a higher figure of children.This is the first time that the average number of children per visitor party rose above 1.0, implying stronger family visitation. The average stay reported by 2014 visitors was 3.9 nights. This represents a decrease from the 2013 average reported visit duration of 5.1 nights which had represented a historic high. The 2014 reported average stay is just below the five year average of 4.1 nights. Hotels remain number one choice of accommodations in 2014. Peaks summer (July/August), followed by early summer (May/June) were the highest reported times of visitation. Reported winter visitation (November/December and January/February) dropped considerably from 2013 levels. This may be attributable to poor stretches of weather for winter sports. Reported winter visitation (November/December and January/February) dropped considerably from 2013 levels. Outdoor activities remained, by a substantial margin, the largest draw to the area. “Relaxing, dining and shopping” remained the second most frequently reported draw to the region, followed by sightseeing. heritage and culture and then Olympic site visitation, which dropped in 2014 compared to the 5 year average. Sports and events dropped markedly from the spike in levels of attraction that were reported by 2013 visitors, and Heritage and Culture increased as a key attraction to visiting the area in 2014. Outdoor activities was again the biggest attraction to the area, according to 2014 respondents. The estimated number of leisure visitors to the region in 2014 based on contacts through ROOST and the conversion rate reported by survey respondents is over 460,000. These visitors spent nearly an estimated $158 million during these Essex County visits. “The results of this study contribute to our data decisions, and certainly inform our ongoing marketing strategies,” said James McKenna, president of ROOST. “Data such as a decrease in the average age of visitors, and stronger family visitation indicates the need to be innovative in targeting a younger audience, as traditional marketing tactics are no longer a viable way to reach the millennial generation.” “This data also underscores the correlation between our marketing strategies and the resulting economic impact to the region,” said McKenna. “Every dollar spent on marketing generated $3.72 in sales tax to Essex County. That means that in addition to $157,975,400 in direct visitor expenditures, we can also trace $6.3 million in Essex County sales tax revenue, and double that amount in New York State sales tax collections, directly to ROOST’s contact lists.” The 2014 report, additional ROOST research and more is available for download at the online resource developed specifically for local tourism-related businesses. All are encouraged to review essential news, events, marketing opportunities and information at www.roostadk.com. ### Media Contact: Kim Rielly, director of communications kim@roostadk.com

Attend a free workshop 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday to learn about growing your business by harnessing the strength of Instagram and Tripadvisor. Social media strategist Charles Tagliarino will present at the workshop, which will be held at the Saranac Lake Free Library, located at 109 Main St. in Saranac Lake.