The 25th Ironman Lake Placid will take place on Sunday, July 21; its course is defined along roads throughout Lake Placid, Keene, Jay, Upper Jay, Au Sable Forks and Wilmington. Ironman Lake Placid organizers have, once again, established a community liaison to assist businesses and community members with questions related to race training and travel throughout the region, along with addressing specific race-day issues. The community liaison is the primary point of contact regarding road closures, traffic delays and other inquiries or concerns. This position is expected to work closely with race officials and other local agencies to quickly mitigate any issues that arise. According to Ironman Lake Placid Race Director Greg Borzilleri, the community liaison will work closely with the local community to ensure coordination, provide timely information and address any questions that may arise. “The community liaison position was established two years ago and was extremely successful in assisting businesses and community members,” he said. Recognizing the impact of a large-scale event like Ironman Lake Placid, the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) led a task force in 2021 to address community concerns, improve safety and logistics and establish ways to communicate more effectively with community members and race participants. One important outcome was the establishment of the community liaison position to be a direct line of communication between the local community, spectators, athletes and race organizers in preparation for the race, and during the event. The task force evolved, becoming known as the event committee, and remaining in place to support the Ironman event.Residents and community members are encouraged to reach out to the Ironman community liaison for assistance before and during the race via email at IMLakePlacidCommunity@ironman.com or by phone at 888-497-5009.The public should expect road closures and associated traffic delays beginning shortly after 5:00 a.m. that day. Traffic pattern changes and delays will impact communities along the bike and run course. A list of traffic detours and road closures can be found at ironman.com/im-lake-placid-course.According to ROOST Chief Operating Officer Mary Jane Lawrence, the event committee meets throughout the year to review opportunities for continued improvement. “We recognize that improvement is a continual process,” she said. “The group meets post-race, as well, to review the event and consider additional recommendations based on feedback from athletes, volunteers, businesses and community officials.”

Lake Placid, adirondacks, usa — Lake Placid Mayor Craig Randall and Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism President James McKenna learned about the new Olympic agenda at the World Union of Olympic Cities summit in Switzerland. The agenda was addressed at the Smart Cities and Sport Summit, held in mid October in Lausanne, Switzerland. The summit also included the annual meeting of the World Union of Olympic Cities, which Lake Placid has been an active participant in for eight years. The new Olympic Agenda 2020, which sets forth new guidelines for Olympic bids, focuses on ways to make Olympic Games both benefit and reflect the communities they are held in. It emphasizes building infrastructure that reflects the long-term needs of the region, increasing business investment and helping develop the next generation of leaders. It also highlights sustainability, requiring Olympic bids to show long-term solutions to help the environment and combat climate change. Mayor Craig Randall and ROOST CEO James McKenna attended the summit and participated alongside representatives from some of the most influential cities in the world. “The Lausanne Summit is an opportunity to share information and resources with other Olympic host cities,” said Mayor Randall, who is a member of the World Union of Olympic Cities Executive Committee. "We are honored to represent Lake Placid, which remains an example of the games being an appropriate mechanism to meet community development goals." Lake Placid has been a winter destination since 1905, and the goal of community leaders has been to establish the destination as a world sports center and resort since the 1920s. “As we approach the winter season, we’re again reminded that we’ve been playing in the snow in Lake Placid for more than 100 years, and hosting two Olympic Winter Games has helped solidify the village as a premium international destination for winter outdoor recreation,” McKenna said. The WUOC is firmly committed to the development of exchanges of experience between cities that have hosted, or are going to host, Olympic Games or other major international sports events.

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.