Northern New York's Premier Business Monthly
HOLLY BONAME / NNY BUSINESS
Growing up along the St. Lawrence River, Jeff Garnsey comes from a long line of outdoor guides and navigators. Today, after 26 years of serving with the U.S. Navy, he is fufilling his dream of continuing the family tradition and is a master captain and guide operating Garnsey’s Classic Island Cruises throughout the Thousand Islands region. We spoke with Mr. Garnsey about his career path and life on the water.
AMANDA MORRISON / NNY BUSINESS
A long-awaited and much-debated plan to regulate water levels on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River was adopted by the U.S. and Canadian governments Dec. 8. Clayton’s Save the River was among the groups that pushed for nearly two decades for an updated regulation strategy. We sat down with the organization’s executive director, Lee Willbanks, to talk about the environmental and economic impacts of Plan 2014.
For the past 21 seasons, something special has happened in Burrville that involves one close-knit family and lot of apples. It’s where apple cider and doughnuts are happily married and old traditions continue while new ones are born. For legions of north country residents, autumn wouldn’t be autumn without a few sips of nature’s sweetness at Burrville Cider Mill. We sit down this month with Tina L. Steiner, the matriarch of the current generation of Steiners who, since 1996, have owned and operated the mill.
River Hospital CEO Ben Moore III in talks about the future of health care in the north country in his Alexandria Bay office last month. Photo by Stephen Swofford, NNY Business.
For River Hospital the last 10 years since Ben Moore III became CEO has been a transitional period as it experienced financial challenges, backlash from the Medicaid reimbursement changes, and then growth with the help of programs like the outpatient program for soldiers with PTSD coordinated with Fort Drum and TRICARE. Mr. Moore sat down with us this month to discuss how River Hospital overcame the challenges facing it and the future for the hospital and the north country’s health care industry as a whole. [Read more…]
Dani R. Baker, co-owner and operator of Cross Island Farms, a certified organic farm on Wellesley Island. The farm is in its 11th year of operation.
After a career as a psychologist, Dani R. Baker never thought she would own the only diversified certified organic farm in Jefferson County, but since establishing Cross Island Farms on Wellesley Island in 2006 she and her partner, David Belding, have turned a small vegetable garden into a diversified farm with about 100 different vegetables, livestock, and her newest endeavor, an edible forest garden. This month we sit down with Ms. Baker to discuss the place of small, niche farms in the north country’s agriculture industry. [Read more…]
Rande S. Richardson, executive director of the Northern New York Community Foundation, at the future home of the foundation and the new Northern New York Philanthropy Center, 131 Washington St. Photo by Amanda Morrison, NNY Business.
For nearly 87 years, the Northern New York Community Foundation has worked to strengthen communities across Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties by investing in efforts to improve the quality of life for all who live, work and play in the north country. Next year, the community foundation will move its offices to a historically renovated building that formerly housed the Black River Valley Club in the heart of downtown Watertown. The move will also open the doors to the Northern New York Philanthropy Center, a new endeavor for the community foundation that aims to put philanthropy within reach of everyday people. This month, we sit down with Rande S. Richardson, executive director of the community foundation since 2009, to learn more about the foundation’s mission and how it continues to serve north country residents. [Read more…]
Watertown International Airport manager Grant W. Sussey talks about several projects in his office at the county-managed airport. Photo by Justin Sorensen, NNY Business.
Serving as Watertown International Airport’s first airport manager, Grant W. Sussey, stepped into the role during a period of extensive growth involving substantial projects like the runway extension and an addition on the airport’s terminal to make space for TSA checkpoints. He sat down with us this month to discuss the continued success of the airport’s operations and plans to transform it into a future economic driver of the region. [Read more…]
William L. Fox, St. Lawrence University’s 18th president, discusses his tenure leading the university and his own undergraduate experience as a member of the class of 1975 in his Canton office last month. Photo by Justin Sorensen, NNY Business.
When St. Lawrence University president William L. Fox first arrived on campus in 1971 for a visit during his senior year of high school, he instantly knew that he’d found his undergraduate home. Fast-forward some 38 years to 2009, and Mr. Fox, a 1975 graduate, made a serendipitous return to campus as the university’s 18th president. With the nation’s economy in a tailspin, he’d take the reins at the storied institution while facing incredible challenges as the university’s endowment plunged 35 percent, losing nearly $100 million. But, as Mr. Fox tells it, the perseverance of an academic institution revered by its alumni helped to carry it through hard times. Now in his seventh year at the helm, Mr. Fox and the team he leads have set a course of innovation and adaptation that he believes will propel St. Lawrence well into the future. We sat down with Mr. Fox last month for a conversation about what makes St. Lawrence a jewel in the crown of higher education. [Read more…]
