The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) Board of Directors approved two new members at its recent annual meeting. Board Chair Jon Donk introduced Emily Brown and Paul Hai as the most recent additions to the board. “We’d like to welcome Emily and Paul to the ROOST Board of Directors,” he said. “Their backgrounds, expertise, and local knowledge will provide benefit and insight to ROOST as we continue to focus on our destination marketing and management work.”Emily Brown is the owner and co-founder of Above Social, a digital marketing firm based in Wilmington, NY. She is also the owner of Small Town Spirits located in Wilmington. Prior to opening Above Social in 2018, Emily was the manager of O’Neills Stadium Inn and served as marketing assistant for Fox Run at Orchard Park. Emily holds a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Canisius University.Paul Hai currently serves as director, Timbuctoo Climate Science and Careers Summer Institute in Newcomb, NY. He has also served as associate director for the Adirondack Ecological Center since 2018 and the associate director for the Northern Forest Institute since 2016. Paul has worked in the field of Informal Science Education for almost three decades, having led multi-disciplinary educational programs and initiatives including curriculum design, course development, workshops, and conferences, along with academic, professional, and public education and outreach initiatives, focused on Adirondack natural and human history, environmental and social justice, and leadership development. According to ROOST CEO Dan Kelleher, the board of directors is responsible for defining the organization’s long-term goals, fiduciary oversight and ensuring that future plans support its mission. “ROOST board members focus on the organization's strategic direction,” he said. “ROOST’s mission and vision remain at the forefront of all board decisions and future plans. We look forward to welcoming and working with Emily and Paul as we continue to develop our initiatives and complete our important work.”“We are pleased to have Paul Hai and Emily Brown joining ROOST’s Board of Directors,” stated Essex County Chair Stephen McNally. “These two individuals bring diverse geographic representation and backgrounds that will ensure Essex County continues to be the fastest growing tourism economy north of the Mohawk River.”Two representatives from the Essex County Board of Supervisors, Town of Elizabethtown Supervisor Cathleen Reusser and Town of Jay Supervisor Matt Stanley, serve on the ROOST board in an ex-officio capacity, providing real-time information exchange between ROOST and the county’s board of supervisors. “We are grateful for Essex County’s commitment to this organization along with the supervisors’ professional insight, expertise, and unwavering service.” The ROOST Board of Directors also elected its officers for 2026: Jon Donk, chair; Chandler Ralph, vice chair; Garrick Smith as treasurer and Susan Delahanty as secretary. ROOST officers serve in their executive role for one year; each board term is three years, with a maximum of three terms. Each board member represents a different industry and region of the Adirondacks.Additional ROOST board members include: Juliet Cook and Dan Rivera representing the Lake Champlain Region, Andrea Crisafulli representing the Adirondack Hub Region, Nick Politi and Alex Madden from the Lake Placid/High Peaks Region, Jodi Gunther and Leslie Karasin from the Saranac Lake Region, Hillarie Logan-Dechene from Hamilton County, Rebecca Kelly from the Whiteface Region, and Mariann Rapple also representing the Lake Champlain Region.The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism is a destination marketing and management organization that leads tourism initiatives in Essex and Hamilton counties, along with the Adirondack communities of Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, and Tupper Lake. ROOST’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for residents by managing and diversifying the region’s tourism economy while promoting sustainable visitation.The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) Board of Directors approved two new members at its recent annual meeting. Board Chair Jon Donk introduced Emily Brown and Paul Hai as the most recent additions to the board. “We’d like to welcome Emily and Paul to the ROOST Board of Directors,” he said. “Their backgrounds, expertise, and local knowledge will provide benefit and insight to ROOST as we continue to focus on our destination marketing and management work.”Emily Brown is the owner and co-founder of Above Social, a digital marketing firm based in Wilmington, NY. She is also the owner of Small Town Spirits located in Wilmington. Prior to opening Above Social in 2018, Emily was the manager of O’Neills Stadium Inn and served as marketing assistant for Fox Run at Orchard Park. Emily holds a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Canisius University.Paul Hai currently serves as director, Timbuctoo Climate Science and Careers Summer Institute in Newcomb, NY. He has also served as associate director for the Adirondack Ecological Center since 2018 and the associate director for the Northern Forest Institute since 2016. Paul has worked in the field of Informal Science Education for almost three decades, having led multi-disciplinary educational programs and initiatives including curriculum design, course development, workshops, and conferences, along with academic, professional, and public education and outreach initiatives, focused on Adirondack natural and human history, environmental and social justice, and leadership development. According to ROOST CEO Dan Kelleher, the board of directors is responsible for defining the organization’s long-term goals, fiduciary oversight and ensuring that future plans support its mission. “ROOST board members focus on the organization's strategic direction,” he said. “ROOST’s mission and vision remain at the forefront of all board decisions and future plans. We look forward to welcoming and working with Emily and Paul as we continue to develop our initiatives and complete our important work.”“We are pleased to have Paul Hai and Emily Brown joining ROOST’s Board of Directors,” stated Essex County Chair Stephen McNally. “These two individuals bring diverse geographic representation and backgrounds that will ensure Essex County continues to be the fastest growing tourism economy north of the Mohawk River.”Two representatives from the Essex County Board of Supervisors, Town of Elizabethtown Supervisor Cathleen Reusser and Town of Jay Supervisor Matt Stanley, serve on the ROOST board in an ex-officio capacity, providing real-time information exchange between ROOST and the county’s board of supervisors. “We are grateful for Essex County’s commitment to this organization along with the supervisors’ professional insight, expertise, and unwavering service.” The ROOST Board of Directors also elected its officers for 2026: Jon Donk, chair; Chandler Ralph, vice chair; Garrick Smith as treasurer and Susan Delahanty as secretary. ROOST officers serve in their executive role for one year; each board term is three years, with a maximum of three terms. Each board member represents a different industry and region of the Adirondacks.Additional ROOST board members include: Juliet Cook and Dan Rivera representing the Lake Champlain Region, Andrea Crisafulli representing the Adirondack Hub Region, Nick Politi and Alex Madden from the Lake Placid/High Peaks Region, Jodi Gunther and Leslie Karasin from the Saranac Lake Region, Hillarie Logan-Dechene from Hamilton County, Rebecca Kelly from the Whiteface Region, and Mariann Rapple also representing the Lake Champlain Region.The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism is a destination marketing and management organization that leads tourism initiatives in Essex and Hamilton counties, along with the Adirondack communities of Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, and Tupper Lake. ROOST’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for residents by managing and diversifying the region’s tourism economy while promoting sustainable visitation.

The 27th Ironman Lake Placid will take place on Sunday, July 19 throughout the communities of Lake Placid, Keene, Wilmington, Au Sable Forks and Jay and Upper Jay. The weekend also includes various events and activities leading up to the race beginning on Thursday, July 16.The annual Ironkids Dip-n-Dash event takes place on Friday, July 17 at 2:00 p.m. for those aged 7-17. The IronKids Fun Run is also scheduled on July 17, with four different distances based on age categories between 0-17: the diaper dash, toddler tot trot, half-mile, and one-mile race.Competitors and their supporters can visit the Ironman village at the Olympic oval, beginning on July 16. The Ironman village offers participants the opportunity to learn about various event sponsors, local attractions and businesses, visit the tech service center, and purchase official Ironman clothing and gear.The race begins at 6:15 a.m. on July 19; participants have 17 hours, from the time they begin, to finish the event. Its bike and marathon courses take athletes through Lake Placid, Keene, Au Sable Forks, Jay, Upper Jay, and Wilmington throughout the day and late into the night. Traffic pattern changes, road closures and delays will impact communities along the bike and run courses beginning shortly after 5:00 a.m. Bike and run traffic should be anticipated throughout the morning and afternoon; runner traffic will continue until midnight.A list of alternate routes, road closures, and delays, along with the Ironman course route, can be found on LakePlacid.com.Ironman Lake Placid has established a community relations coordinator and hotline 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. Residents and community members are encouraged to reach out to the Ironman community liaison for assistance before and during the race by phone at 888-497-5009 or via email at IMLakePlacidCommunity@ironman.com.Recognizing the impact of a large-scale event like Ironman Lake Placid, the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) led a task force five years ago to address community concerns, improve safety and logistics, and establish ways to communicate more effectively with community members and race participants. The task force evolved, becoming known as the event committee, and remains in place to support the Ironman event.According to ROOST Chief Operating Officer Mary Jane Lawrence, the event committee meets before and after the event to determine opportunities for continued improvement. “We recognize that improvement is a continual process,” she said. “The group meets to review the event and consider additional recommendations based on feedback from athletes, volunteers, businesses, and community officials.”Ironman Lake Placid welcomes hundreds of volunteers to assist participants before the race, along the course, in changing tents, during transitions, and at the finish line. Those wishing to volunteer for the event should sign up at ironman.com/races/im-lake-placid.

Annual Meeting PDF copy

Fort Ticonderoga event features hut building in 1776[/caption]Join Fort Ticonderoga for a weekend building project! Discover how soldiers of the Continental Army built huts at Ticonderoga in 1776 and even try your hand at colonial construction techniques. This living history weekend entitled “Lodging as the Nature of Campaign will Admit” takes place Saturday and Sunday, September 13-14, 9:30 am to 5 pm. Admission to the event is included in the Fort Ticonderoga’s general admission ticket. The Fort Ticonderoga experience also includes museum exhibitions, tours, historic trades, gardens, hiking trails, the six-acre Heroic Corn Maze and more! To learn more about the event visit www.FortTiconderoga.org or call 518-585-2821.“Watch American ingenuity in action as soldiers use boards, posts, and beams to build their new homes at Ticonderoga to prepare for the winter season,” said Stuart Lilie, Director of Interpretation. “Discover the history detective story undertaken by Fort Ticonderoga museum staff as they pieced together their research on this unique housing built at Fort Ticonderoga in 1776.” The Ticonderoga peninsula was already an old battlefield and encampment site by the summer of 1776 when American soldiers began digging in to block a British invasion southward. For soldiers, such as the Fourth Pennsylvania Battalion, their first priority was to erect earthworks with which to hold this vital ground. As the works neared completion and autumn weather began early that September, these soldiers turned their attention to building more hospitable living quarters than their canvas tents. While many Army encampments, such as that built across Lake Champlain on Mount Independence, were built in woods, the Ticonderoga peninsula had been laid bare during the French and Indian War. Without a ready supply of logs, soldiers used sawn lumber milled at the saw mill operated by the army on the La Chute River, now located in present day Ticonderoga. Fort Ticonderoga: America’s Fort™Located on Lake Champlain in the beautiful 6 million acre Adirondack Park, Fort Ticonderoga is an independent not-for-profit educational organization, historic site, and museum that ensures that present and future generations learn from the struggles, sacrifices, and victories that shaped the nations of North America and changed world history. Serving the public since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga engages 70,000 visitors annually and is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Fort Ticonderoga’s history. Accredited by the American Association of Museums, Fort Ticonderoga offers programs, historic interpretation, tours, demonstrations, and exhibits throughout the year and is open for daily visitation May 10 through November 2, 2014. The 2014 season features the Fort’s newest exhibit Founding Fashion: The Diversity of Regularity in 18th-Century Military Clothing which brings together for the first time the museum's wide variety of important 18th-century clothing, related artwork, and archeological fragments to illustrate the diversity of clothing worn by the armies who served at Fort Ticonderoga during the French & Indian War and Revolution. Visit www.FortTiconderoga.org for a full list of ongoing programs or call 518-585-2821. America’s Fort is a registered trademark of the Fort Ticonderoga Association.

Our destinations in the media August 9, 2014: Adirondack Adventures Await - Bryen Dunn Article providing an overview of the outdoor recreational opportunities in the Adirondacks, featuring fly fishing in Wilmington, mountain biking, hiking, and these businesses: High Peaks Cyclery, Nessmuk's Wilderness Guide Service, Two Fly Shop, Hungry Trout Resort, Bark Eater Trail Alliance, Lake Placid Pub & Brewery, Lake Placid Spirits Distillery, and Smoke Signals. READ ARTICLE