SBJ 9 Broad Street, #7 Glens Falls, NY 12801
SARATOGA BUSINESS JOURNAL
VOL. 29 NO. 9
HH The Business Newspaper of Saratoga County HH
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GLENS FALLS, NY 12801 PERMIT #600
NOVEMBER 2024
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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. 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 and is expected to boost year-round recreational tourism, further enhancing the resort’s im-
Courtesy of Gore Mountain Ski Area
pact on the local economy. 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 eightpassenger cabins with ski racks that better accommodate modern, wider-diameter skis and snowboards. “We continue our vision of a multi-faceted Continued On Page 13
Leading Peckham Industries, a fourth-generation business, are (l-r) General Manager Gregory Peckham, Kingsbury site manager Rachael Young, and President/CEO Damian Murphy. 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
Paul Post photo
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 Continued On Page 3
Cornell Cooperative Extension Of Saratoga The Love Our Locals Campaign Strives To Takes Over Management Of Taste NY Support Businesses In Saratoga County 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
Discover New York’s flavors at the Adirondacks Welcome Center with Taste NY farm-fresh vending options. Saratoga Business Journal
seen state-wide. A Taste NY store has been operating in the Adirondacks Welcome Center located between Northway Exits 17 and 18 with oversight by the Continued On Page 9
The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce has kicked off its Love Our Locals $20.24 campaign, an initiative that emphasizes the importance of supporting local businesses and non-profit organizations. The campaign began on November 1 and continues through the remainder of the year. During this time, residents and tourists who support any business or non-profit in Saratoga County by spending or donating $20.24 or more are eligible to enter a gift card giveaway. Individuals are encouraged to submit their receipts of $20.24 or more online at www.saratoga.org/love-our-locals to enter. Each week, the chamber will randomly select winners for $100 in gift cards to businesses across the county. Love Our Locals $20.24 is sponsored by SaratogaWine.com and many area businesses that donate gift cards as the prizes. This campaign started during the pandemic as Save Our Locals $20.21, which resulted in more than 2,000 entries from locals whose purchases directly aided in the county’s economic rebound from COVID-19 restrictions. In 2022, the Save Our Locals program was recognized with a New York State Tourism Excellence Award from the New York State Tourism
Joann and Matt Swapp help Chamber President Todd Shimkus kick off Love Our Locals 2024. Courtesy of Saratoga County Chamber
Industry Association. Since then, the campaign was renamed Love Our Locals and remains a popular and purposeful annual effort. Continued On Page 4