Symposium will focus on diversity and economics Aaron Mair, Professor Wallace Ford headline speakers KEENE — The Adirondack Diversity Advisory Council (ADAC) announced its 2016 Symposium, Towards a More Diverse Adirondacks,” to be held on Saturday, Aug. 13 at the SUNY ESF Adirondack Interpretive Center in Newcomb. This year’s theme is the intersection of diversity, economics and social justice. The symposium will engage attendees with business and economic leaders from throughout the Adirondacks and New York State in a dialogue about vital ways in which this intersection can make life better for everyone in the Adirondacks. “We feel strongly that this year’s symposium will offer a lot to local businesses and organizations who want to take advantage of a rapidly diversifying state” said Pete Nelson, ADAC Coordinator. “How to engage this diversification and at the same time do the right thing in being more welcoming and inclusive, continues to be in important discussion in many places here, including at this year’s Common Ground Alliance Forum.” “Throughout ADAC’s work we have been told by many people that a truly welcoming and inclusive environment is about day-to-day life, the world of goods, services and the commerce of a community,” said Chris Morris, Communications Officer with the Adirondack Foundation. “Small things like equality stickers on windows or doors, multicultural displays and signage, or available foods and cosmetics for people of different colors and cultures, make a big difference. We know they are essential to fostering a true environment of belonging.” Added Willie Janeway, Executive Director of the Adirondack Council: “In a time of sweeping demographic evolution, and in a Park where economic challenges abound, Adirondack businesses who understand the importance of welcoming a diverse customer base will profit from a much broader and more lucrative market. This will strengthen the Park and help it remain a national jewel.” The heart of the symposium will be a panel discussion featuring Adirondack business and economic leaders. Panelists include: · David M. Kahn, Executive Director of the Adirondack Museum · Kate Fish, Executive Director of the Adirondack North Country Association · Scottie Ginn, ADAC Advisory Board member, Adirondack resident and Former Vice President and Diversity Advisor at IBM · Don Papson, co-founder of the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association Professor Wallace Ford will deliver a kickoff presentation. Professor Ford is Chair of the Public Administration Department at Medgar Evers College, and has taught at Columbia University, New York’s School of Public Affairs, and others institutions. He has held positions ranging from Counsel to the New York State Assembly Committee on Banking to President of the State of New York Mortgage Agency. As the direct appointee of New York State Governors Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo as well as New York City Mayor David Dinkins, he has also served as Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Commerce and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Business Services. The keynote speech will be given by Aaron Mair, President of the National Sierra Club. Mr. Mair is the first African American to lead the United States’ largest environmental organization. Mair founded the Arbor Hill Environmental Justice Corporation, which was a member of the White House Council on Environmental Quality from 1998 to 2000. He also founded, served as board member, and lectured at the W. Haywood Burns Environmental Education Center in the Albany Capital region of New York. In 2000, Mair received an EPA Environmental Quality Award for clean-up of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on the Hudson River. Mair also served as a board member at the New York League of Conservation Voters in 2000. The Symposium will begin at 9:00 AM with refreshments and coffee. The proceedings will kick off at 9:30 AM and continue until 4:00 PM with a reception after. Lunch will be provided. The registration fee is $25. . For more information contact Pete Nelson at AdirondackDAC@gmail.com.

Five members of the ROOST team traveled to Old Forge’s The View last week to attend the 10th annual Common Ground Alliance Forum, “Building Blocks for the Adirondack Community Success.” ROOST staff at Common Ground from left: James McKenna, Kerry Blinn, Marjorie Waterson, and Jess Collier. Not in the photo but in attendance at the forum: Michelle Clement. The CGA has been holding this forum annual for 10 years with the goal of each of the various interest groups in the Adirondacks, which can sometimes be contentious, coming together to find common ground to help mold the future of the Adirondacks. This year's forum opened with remarks from Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who talked about what a special region we have in the Adirondacks. After some other introductory remarks, the group of about 180 attendees from throughout the Adirondacks and beyond broke off into eight different groups to discuss various Adirondack issues. ROOST CEO James McKenna partnered with with DEC Region 5 Director Bob Stegemann to lead a session called "Capitalizing on the Park's Resources to Leverage Economic Investment to Help Maintain or Create Vibrant Communities." ROOST Visitor Service Specialist Marjorie Waterson also attended the session and took notes. The large group was full of excellent, constructive feedback, and probably could have spent a full day or even a week discussing the topic. ROOST CEO James McKenna talks to the group. They decided that the two most important things the regions need from the state would be restructuring economic programs specific to Adirondack Park hamlets' sustainability and survivability and increasing investment in maintenance of state assets to promote private interest. Steps the workgroup suggested to be added to CGA's Blueprint for the Adirondacks included creating a one-stop shop where people interested in investing in the region could find out about all the existing regulations that would apply to a project, and finding case studies that display investment successes that would help increase optimism. Bob Stegemann presents the results of a discussion about economic investment. Michelle Clement, ROOST's marketing manager for Tupper Lake and Hamilton County, helped facilitate a session called "Responding to/Leveraging Changing Demographics," which was also well-attended. Michelle Clement takes notes. Adirondack Diversity Advisory Council Coordinator Pete Nelson facilitated the discussion. The workgroup discussed a variety of issues and barriers that limited diversity and an aging population impose on the Adirondacks. Much of the conversation focused around opportunities and actions that can be taken to broaden the diversity among Adirondack residents and visitors and how we can make the Adirondacks more accessible and attractive to a diversified population, from signage and marketing materials to creating a support system. Some of the conclusions that arose included the need to do research so that it isn't simply “another white man’s plan to tackling diversity.” This topic will be further during the diversity symposium in Newcomb in August. Pete Nelson presents the workgroup's discussion results. Kerry Blinn, ROOST administrative assistant and DMP coordinator, and Jess Collier, ROOST communications and public relations coordinator, both attended a session about women in Adirondack leadership positions, which focused mainly on women in politics. The discussion was lead by Barb Rice, Saranac Lake's representative on the Franklin County Legislature and new Adirondack Park Agency commissioner, and Teresa Sayward, who represented the area in the New York State Assembly after having served on her town and county boards. Barb Rice, left, and Teresa Sayward lead a group session. The group was small but passionate. Attendees discussed many of the challenges women face in the political world, from feeling unqualified and having to be asked to run for office multiple times in the first place, to the "old boys network" that creates an easy pipeline for men in office but overlooks women, to balancing work, politics, and family. Kerry Blinn participates in the discussion. The group asked the state to look into imposing term limits and campaign finance reform, both of which would limit the influence of any old boys network, and school integration, such as programs to introduce politics to children (boys and girls!). They also came up with the idea of creating a formalized network of women who are currently in leadership positions who can support one another and help keep them where they are. Other groups discussed a variety of topics ranging from recreation needs to the APA's role. Everyone from ROOST agreed that it was a worthwhile day full of interesting people and ideas, and we look forward to joining the conversation again next year. Thanks to the Adirondack North Country Association for organizing this great event! Photo courtesy of Adirondack Foundation More photos! [gallery size="medium" ids="19238,19237,19234,19230,19229,19228,19227,19225,19223" orderby="rand"]

Ironman and Star Trek - this week's ROOST News has it all!

In the coming weeks, ROOST will start creating and promoting ‘Lake Placid Packages' through the new Inntopia booking system on lakeplacid.com. These packages will bundle a stay in Lake Placid with value-added attractions/activities that are also available a la carte on the system. Once the packages are created, ROOST will be implementing paid promotional campaigns that feature select packages on the system based on appropriate niche target markets. ROOST will only be able to package lodging and activities that are currently available in the system and will be contacting these lodging and activity providers with more information shortly. If you own a lake placid based business or lodging property and are not currently in our booking system, contact adsales@roostadk.com for more information. Don't miss out on the opportunity to take advantage of this new sales channel and the opportunity to be included in a Lake Placid Package!

Ed Finnerty, the vice chairman of the ROOST Board of Directors, has been on the board for seven years in his current stint, but his involvement with the organization goes back decades. It’s hard to get Ed to talk about himself. He’s definitely not interested in self promotion. But he’s very willing to talk about his involvement with ROOST and all the organization has done over the years. Ed first got involved with ROOST back when it was the Lake Placid Chamber of Commerce. He was on that board in the 1980s, when the organization acted as both a chamber and a visitors bureau. When someone reached out to him to see if he wanted to join the board once more in 2009, he was pleased to get involved again. He sees ROOST as an important organization throughout the region, not just in Lake Placid, as it has the ability to promote the brand of the entire Adirondack region rather than every community and organization attempting to do its own promotion. Since the economic impact of tourism on the North Country economy is huge, it’s important to have a strong organization like ROOST focused on tourism promotion efforts in a unified way. He also believes that ROOST has the power, more so than any other organization in the region, to work with municipalities and organizations throughout the area to stage large-scale events like Ironman Lake Placid and the Empire State Winter Games. He sees ROOST’s strengths only growing now and in the future. But he says the most important challenge the organization faces moving forward is keeping all the various municipalities and other interests of the region working together for the greater good. “I think it’s crucial that this collaborative effort continue,” Ed said. It’s also important that the counties continue to support occupancy tax legislation and the collection of it, because it’s essential to funding these marketing efforts. Ed is uniquely positioned to see the influence of ROOST throughout the greater region, as he travels throughout the region regularly in his position as general counsel and vice president of Champlain National Bank. He regularly bounces between branches in places like Lake Placid, Elizabethtown, Willsboro, and Plattsburgh — the time he spends traveling around the region may even rival that of ROOST CEO James McKenna. For the record, Ed grew up in Rochester and went to college there before heading to law school in Albany. He moved to Lake Placid in 1978 to be a part of the organizing committee for the 1980 Olympics. He got married while here, and he and his wife decided that Lake Placid was the best place for them to live, and they’ve been enjoying it ever since. Ed loves the multitude of outdoor recreation options around here. He was one of the people who helped start the New York State Ski Educational Foundation Nordic program in the area, and he has served as a board member of the U.S. Ski Team, so much of his free time over the past 35 years was helping to make sure that the region’s young people would have a chance to learn winter sports.