The Wildlife Conservation Society Adirondack (WCS) Program based in Saranac Lake was honored Thursday, Oct. 20, by the New York State Tourism Industry Association with a “Partner in Tourism” award for Cycle Adirondacks, an annual week-long road cycling tour of the Adirondacks and surrounding region. The award recognizes a business or individual not directly affiliated with a tourism agency/entity/attraction whose commitment to tourism in New York state is demonstrated through their unique contributions. Cycle Adirondacks 2016 featured 310 participants who traveled from 35 different states and provinces to experience the Adirondacks with WCS on a route that featured 45 different communities across six counties. "As a nonprofit, community-focused conservation organization, it’s incredibly fulfilling to have the tourism industry recognize the importance of how a mission driven event like Cycle Adirondacks can provide positive impact for the region." Cycle Adirondacks 2017 is scheduled for Aug. 20-26 next summer. The route will be announced later this fall.

Tax season is right around the corner and, for many small business owners, that means dredging through receipts to try and cobble together a picture of their company’s finances over the last year. While more than 70 percent of small businesses outsource tax prep to a trusted tax professional, a business owner still needs to prepare financial records and statements in addition to maintaining good records. That's why the North Country Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and H&R Block are co-hosting three workshops called “Tax Season Survival Guide for Small Business." Join them to learn smart strategies to get organized, get your tax returns done and maybe even save some money this tax season. The workshop will be held in three locations on the following dates: Plattsburgh – Nov. 15 Saranac Lake – Nov. 17 Malone – Dec. 6 Registration is required for each event. To register, please contact the North Country SBDC by calling 564-2042, or visit the North Country SBDC at northcountrysbdc.org. The North Country SBDC is part of a statewide program funded through a Cooperative Agreement with the US Small Business Administration. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the North Country SBDC, 194 US Oval, Plattsburgh at 518-564-2042.

Small Business Saturday is a nationwide event to support our small businesses and local economy. Plus, it's a great way for customers to start or finish their holiday shopping. This year, the Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce would like to invite all our small businesses to participate in this event, which will be held on Saturday, Nov. 26. Each business will set up their own hours and offers to attract shoppers into their business. If you are interested in having your business take part in this event, please contact the Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce at 518-359-3328 or by email at info@tupperlake.com. Please include all your information so we can put you on our map as a participating business. By registering your business as part of The Tupper Lake Small Business Saturday event, it will then be featured as part of the Small Business Saturday event. Shoppers are invited to stop into the Tupper Lake Information Center to pick up Small Business Saturday shopping information and answer any questions you may have.

ROOST staffers were on the move in recent weeks, heading outside the Blue Line to learn new things and make lasting contacts that reach far beyond the Adirondacks. During this slow season, between the bustle of summer and what we except will be a snowy and busy winter, our staff made connections that will help promote the region to more people and keep us on the cutting edge of marketing ideas. ROOST Director of Communications Kim Rielly is just getting back from New York City, where she, Adworkshop's Rebecca Steffan, and a number of ORDA employees were on hand to promote the Adirondacks at the I Love New York Winter Media Night. ROOST Director of Marketing Jasen Lawrence also recently ventured to New York City, where he attended the Incite Group Marketing Summit. It offered great insights into segmentation, targeting and personalization as well as how to scale content production and the complexities of the interplay between brand, channel, content, platform and messaging. Several large brands were present such as Microsoft, Nascar, Clorox, and JP Morgan. At the beginning of the month, Daniel Cash, marketing and design coordinator at ROOST, attended the Adobe MAX Conference in San Diego, California. The conference consisted of more than 10,000 designers and creatives from around the world. In the daily sessions Daniel focused on User Experience to learn how to make our websites more effective now and in the future. He also learned about maximizing our design resources for our regions. In October, ROOST CEO James McKenna crossed the pond to attend with Lake Placid Mayor Craig Randall the annual World Union of Olympic Cities conference in Lausanne, Switzerland. They attended last year as well, and have often represented Lake Placid at the international conference over the years, maintaining the community as a major player in the international sports scene. Jim and the mayor found a photo of Lake Placid Olympian Charles Jewtraw at the start of a row of photos in the dining room at the Olympic Museum there.

ROOST has partnered with ORDA to offer Ski & Stay Packages on ROOST's LakePlacid.com and WhitefaceRegion.com websites. This is the result of months of work by staff at both organizations and marks the first time lift tickets will be sold online through these channels. Lift tickets are being sold at a discounted rate as part of Ski & Stay Packages, which are available to any lodging property with room inventory on the LakePlacid.com or WhitefaceRegion.com booking system. Lodging properties in the system will have to do very little additional setup or accounting to offer these packages. There will also be no additional charge or fee to the properties to sell these packages. Eight properties have already signed on to offer Ski & Stay Packages, and ROOST is excited to start promoting this with a targeted marketing campaign for the winter season. You can find more info here and contact Glenn Pareira at glenn@roostadk.com to start offering Ski & Stay Packages in association with your property.