Have you been to Wilmington, home of Whiteface Mountain lately? If you have, you might have noticed some fancy new signs, an even fancier new bridge and some other notable improvements that really gussy the community up! Curb appeal is an important aspect of a community - especially a community that relies heavily on tourism. It reflects a sense of pride, boosts local morale, makes a great impression on visitors and who knows; it could catch the eye of potential investors, too. A collaborative effort by the Town of Wilmington, the Whiteface Region Visitors Bureau, local businesses, organizations and volunteers over the past few years, many small changes are having a big visual impact, and they aren't done yet! HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS: The new bridge on Route 86 over the Ausable River right in the middle of Wilmington opened this spring, and included some improvements, including wider shoulders to allow for safer bicycle use and decorative lighting. New, attractive light posts Welcome signs reflect the town's Adirondack location and feature Whiteface Mountain! Street light banners - sponsored by local businesses, these banners reflect a consistent brand and link to the destination website, whitefaceregion.com. Park signs at all of the public parks - with landscaping that is maintained by a generous local volunteer. Birdhouses, made and donated by Mountain Lake Services, appear in various locations throughout the town parks and add a nice splash of color! The Poor Man’s Downhill sign has been designed for this popular biking trail. Businesses have gotten into the act, too! (Examples below - the new sign at Up A Creek Restaurant and the outdoor terrace added at the Hungry Trout.) Stay tuned: the quest to upgrade Wilmington's curb appeal isn't over yet! - Kim Rielly is the director of communications for ROOST

Wilmington spruce-up, millennial marketing, county fairs, DMAI and more - check out the latest ROOST News! ow.ly/SRoi30398ov

Origin Coffee Co. proprietor Jecinda Hughes is one of the newest additions to the ROOST board, starting in January of this year. The Saranac Lake businesswoman adds a youthful voice to the group. Jecinda grew up in northeastern Tennessee, venturing to the Adirondacks in 2000 to attend Paul Smith's College. She earned an associate degree there as the college was transitioning into a four-year school, and she took some time off to let the kinks of the program be worked out before returning there to earn a bachelor's degree. During her time at Paul Smith's, she got the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica as part of a travel tourism program, and she stayed on a coffee farm there. She found out that coffee has as many complexities to it as wine does, and started to get into learning about it as a hobby. In typical Adirondack fashion, Jecinda generally worked in a restaurant as a second job while doing office work as a her day job. She always found that she was more passionate about the restaurant work, though, and would wish she was there while in the office each day. She always loved Saranac Lake, and she bought a house here six years ago, knowing it was where she wanted to raise her daughter and stay for the foreseeable future. But she knew she needed to turn her passion into her full-time job. She had always loved Bean-to, Saranac Lake's previous coffee shop, and felt a void in the community when it closed, since coffee shops often serve as such an important community gathering space. So she started working on a business plan, and when the space became available, she took over the lease at 77 Main St. For about four-and-a-half months, she was busy all the time managing and helping with the complete conversion of the space from a retail store to a coffee shop, and finally, Origin Coffee Co. opened on June 11, 2015. In the year the coffee shop has been open, Jecinda has been pleased with space it has carved out in the community. A strong core of local customers helped the shop break even through one of the most difficult winters, tourism-wise, in recent memory. And she looks forward to the Hotel Saranac's reopening, which she hopes will inspire a more vibrant downtown and will take Origin to a whole new level. Getting involved with ROOST Jecinda jumped at the chance to join the ROOST board. She had worked with ROOST in the past, especially when she worked at the Adirondack North Country Association for two years — the two organizations collaborate frequently, since ANCA focuses on economic development, and tourism is such an important part of economic development in the North Country. She was aware that the impact that ROOST has on the region is huge, so she was happy to get a chance to be able to help with that in any way. She has spent her time on the board so far getting familiar with the back end of how ROOST works as an organization and learning its larger, overarching goals that sometimes get lost in general public discussion. Then she expects to be able to contribute more and see where her voice fits in the big picture. Since ROOST's reach has grown significantly and covers so much area, Jecinda thinks it's important to have representatives from each region in that area, and she wants to be a strong voice for Saranac Lake on the board. She also wants to be a voice for the younger generation of business owners, noting that Saranac Lake has seen a whole slew of younger entrepreneurs lately, accounting for 40 new jobs in the area. Check out this video that ROOST created before Jecinda joined the board:

Whiteface Visitors Bureau officials are looking for local businesses to get involved with this year’s Festival of the Colors. The festival, which has become the highlight for the beginning of the fall season in the Whiteface Region, is quickly approaching. Once thought of as a simple craft fair, the event has evolved into a true hometown festival bringing the community together for a day of fun and community pride. Local police, fire, and DEC officials will be on the scene showing off their gear throughout the day. The event also includes live music, a chili cook-off, and entertainment, plus numerous activities for kids, all of which are made possible free of charge thanks to local sponsors. The visitors bureau is looking for more businesses to get involved by: Having booths showcasing their unique products. Sponsoring a charity booth or non-profit group. Both options would help participating local businesses to gain exposure to both area residents and our visitors. It will also give both groups of people an idea of how many opportunities are available throughout the region. Any businesses interested in participating should contact Michelle Preston at the visitors bureau by phone at 518-946-2255 or email at info@WhitefaceRegion.com.

ROOST is helping flood victims in Louisiana by donating clothing to help replace what they’ve lost. Thousands of people in Louisiana have lost everything they own after sudden flooding engulfed their homes, businesses, and communities. Ironman Lake Placid Race Director Greg Borzilleri first got the idea to donate clothing through a Facebook group he follows about event management. An event manager in Louisiana, who was familiar with the fact that many events have leftover branded apparel afterward, posted a call looking for donations. Greg responded immediately, and he sent about 150 shirts down to help. ROOST staff thought that was a great idea, and quickly set about doing the same. Kerry Blinn and Bethany Valenze pack up boxes. After getting the necessary information from Greg, ROOST employees recently boxed up five boxes of apparel: one box containing about 150 Ironman Lake Placid T-shirts, one with about 100 Empire State Winter Games jackets from 2015, and three boxes each packed with about 60 Empire State Winter Games T-shirts from this year’s event. The boxes are scheduled to be delivered Thursday to the group that organizes the Louisiana Marathon, which is helping with flood relief efforts in the Baton Rouge area.