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GBJ 9 Broad Street, #7 Glens Falls, NY 12801
VOL. 36 NO. 9
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HH The Business Newspaper of Warren and Washington Counties HH
www.glensfallsbusinessjournal.com
NOVEMBER 2024
Improvements At Gore And Whiteface Ski Peckham Industries Has Provided Quality Work Areas Guarantee A Better Winter Experience And Environmental Stewardship For 100 Years
(From left) Ashley Walden, Betty Little, Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado, Sterling Goodspeed, and Jim Siplon join employees at the groundbreaking for the new lodge at Gore Mountain Ski Bowl.
Leading Peckham Industries, a fourth-generation business, are (l-r) General Manager Gregory Peckham, Kingsbury site manager Rachael Young, and President/CEO Damian Murphy.
Courtesy of Gore Mountain Ski Area
BY PAUL POST Olympic Regional Development Authority has invested $17 million on capital upgrades at Gore and Whiteface mountains for the upcoming ski season. Projects include replacing antiquated lifts, updating and maintaining existing lifts, improving snowmaking and electrical infrastructure, and modernizing buildings and lodges. At Gore, workers broke ground last spring on a new 18,300-square-foot lodge at North Creek Ski Bowl, operated by ORDA adjacent to the main ski center but owned by the Town of Johnsburg. The new lodge, complete with a restaurant and two levels of outdoor patios, is scheduled for completion in 2025. In addition, the Ski Bowl’s old Hudson chairlift has been replaced with a new detachable
quad servicing all levels of ski trails. These are the latest in a series of Ski Bowl upgrades ORDA has undertaken since December 2022. It has installed chairlifts, improved trails, upgraded snowmaking systems, modernized, and expanded the Joe Minder Lodge, and developed a professional Nordic center with certified racecourses. Also in time for this winter, at Gore’s main ski area all of the Northwoods Gondola cabins have been replaced with new eight-passenger cabins with ski racks that better accommodate modern, wider-diameter skis and snowboards. “We continue our vision of a multi-faceted Gore Mountain that serves the local community and achieves sustainable goals while being an all-season travel destination that provides a positive impact on the entire region for decades Continued On Page 3
Paul Post photo
BY PAUL POST Peckham Industries has 17 hot-mix asphalt plants and 26 stone quarries in five states including a large operation on Vaughn Road in Kingsbury where crowds gathered recently to celebrate the fourth generation, family-owned company’s 100th anniversary. “Not too many businesses make it to 100 years and less than three percent make it to the fourth generation,” said Damian Murphy, the firm’s president and chief executive officer. “It goes back to the values that have been there since the founder’s days. We talk about safety, integrity, dedication.” “Be consistent,” he said. “Even though things are always changing, those values never change. People know that about our business, whether it’s our customers, communities or work force. They know they can trust us and that we’re here for the long term.
“The bigger story we like to talk about is the culture in our business,” Murphy said. “That’s what really differentiates us. One of the key phrases is, ‘Our word is our bond’.” Recent large projects have run the gamut, such as paving a long stretch of the Northway from Schroon to North Hudson, and construction of large parking facilities in The Bronx and at UBS Arena where the NHL’s New York Islanders play. The Kingsbury plant opened in 1962, one of the first in the nation to be operated as a batch and drum plant, and was replaced by a larger facility in 1985. The new plant’s first big asphalt supply was for a major paving job on the Northway in Saratoga County, from Exit 13 in Malta to Exit 9 in Clifton Park. Founded by William H. Peckham in his tiny White Plains apartment, the company survived Continued On Page 12
Cornell Cooperative Extension Takes Over George Ferone Will Be Honored With The Taste NY Shop At Adirondacks Welcome Center J. Walter Juckett Award At ARCC Dinner BY SUSAN ELISE CAMPBELL Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County has taken over management of the Taste NY shop at the Adirondacks Welcome Center in Glens Falls, according to Greg Stevens, assistant director of the extension. For those unfamiliar with CCE, it is a subsidiary of Cornell University, the land grant university for New York. CCE translates Cornell’s world renowned, science-based research into knowledge through educational programs administered by independent associations in nearly every county in the state. “We are about building vibrant communities through education,” said Stevens, who has a 26-year career with CCE. Stevens oversees the 4-H Youth Development Program and the Family and Consumer Science Program for the Saratoga extension. There is a third area, Agriculture, which Stevens said is how land grant universities were established. Taste NY was launched by New York’s Department of Agriculture and Markets to highlight the quality, diversity, and economic impact of food and beverages grown, produced, or processed in the state, says the department’s web site. Its events, promotions, and stores are seen state-wide.
Discover New York’s flavors at the Adirondacks Welcome Center with Taste NY farm-fresh vending options. Saratoga Business Journal
A Taste NY store has been operating in the Adirondacks Welcome Center located between Northway Exits 17 and 18 with oversight by the Lake George Visitors Center. The Department of Agriculture and Markets approached CCE Continued On Page 15
The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) has announced that the 36th Annual J. Walter Juckett Community Service Award will be presented to George A. Ferone. He will be presented with the award at the ARCC Annual Dinner on the evening of March 7, 2025 at The Sagamore Resort. Ferone had a long-standing career at Tribune Media Services, Inc. where he completed a tenure of just over 44 years. Upon his retirement he was a highly respected member of their executive team and regarded as a leadership role model in the business community. One of his major contributions was working with local municipalities to build a 40,000-square-foot facility on Media Drive in Glens Falls, which led to keeping 400 jobs locally. His commitment to the local workforce included service on the Saratoga/Warren/ Washington Counties Workforce Investment Board, and the Job Discovery Promotion & Planning Committees. “Mr. Ferone gave so much to our community and we are so grateful for his service,” said ARCC President & CEO Tricia Rogers. “His dedication to his career, coupled with his many years of community service, clearly demonstrate his love for our community.” Ferone’s commitment to the health of the
George Ferone will receive the J. Walter Juckett Award at the ARCC’s annual dinner. Courtesy of ARCC
region is evident in his board and committee service for Glens Falls Hospital, the Glens Falls Hospital Foundation, and Albany Med Health Systems. Having served Glens Falls Hospital for close to 20 years, his continued dedicaContinued On Page 12