Fedor starts as Onondaga County Medical Society’s new president

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A family medicine physician with St. Joseph’s Physicians is the new president of the Onondaga County Medical Society. The installation of Dr. Justin Fedor as the organization’s 192nd president was part of its annual meeting held Nov. 7 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Syracuse, Destiny USA. Fedor succeeds Dr. MaryAnn Millar […]

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A family medicine physician with St. Joseph’s Physicians is the new president of the Onondaga County Medical Society.

The installation of Dr. Justin Fedor as the organization’s 192nd president was part of its annual meeting held Nov. 7 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Syracuse, Destiny USA.

Fedor succeeds Dr. MaryAnn Millar as president, the Onondaga County Medical Society said.

Besides Fedor, other executive council officers installed that evening include Dr. Joseph Spinale, president elect; Dr. Robert Dracker, VP; Dr. Michael Sheehan, treasurer; and Dr. Barry Rabin, secretary.

The Onondaga County Medical Society is a professional organization of more than 1,000 member physicians in the Syracuse area.

About Fedor

Fedor is a family medicine physician with St. Joseph’s Physicians and the medical director of the Fulton and Central Square urgent-care locations. He’s also the medical director for the North Syracuse Central School District.

Fedor graduated from the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his family medicine residency and internship at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse. He also chairs the Medical Society’s young physician committee.

Service awards

The Onondaga County Medical Society also recognized HealtheConnections with its distinguished service award — the Medical Society’s highest award — for distinguished service to physicians, hospitals, patients, and the community.

The Syracuse–based nonprofit HealtheConnections “provides health-information exchange services, population health improvement resources, and value-based solutions to 26 counties of the Central, Southern Tier, and Hudson Valley regions,” per its LinkedIn page.

In addition, the Medical Society honored Dracker with the Physician Service to the Medical Society award for “his contributions and decades of service” to the Onondaga County Medical Society and the Medical Society of the State of New York.

It also recognized Dr. Sunny Aslam with the Physician Service to the Community award for his “compassionate and dedicated care and outreach to the most vulnerable populations in Syracuse.”

Dr. Frederick Parker was honored with the Commendable Service by a Retired Physician award for his “ongoing efforts to promote excellence” in patient care at Upstate Medical University and “extensive” philanthropic efforts in the Syracuse community.

The Medical Society also recognized She Matters, a community outreach program at Upstate Cancer Center, with the Organization Service to Medical Care award. It was honored for its efforts in educating women in underserved areas of Syracuse about the importance of breast-cancer screenings and early detection.

In addition, the Jerry Hoffman Advocacy Award was presented to Zachary Visco — American Medical Association (AMA) medical student representative — for his advocacy on behalf of the AMA and the Medical Society.

2019 Innovation Resources Directory

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CASE at Syracuse University 2-212 Center of Science & Technology Syracuse, NY 13244 – Phone: (315) 443-1060 – Website: case.syr.edu – Year Established: 1984 – Organization Type: incubator, funding source – Services/Resources Offered: forge university-industry research and development collaborations; engage students; deliver customized technology workshops and short-courses; host networking events; pursue funding opportunities; commercialize technology;

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KeyBank survey: Optimism Growing Among Women-Owned Small Businesses

Banks & Credit Unions, Small Business, Subscriber Only

Business is good, according to women small-business owners. A new Key4Women 2019 Financial Confidence Survey Report finds many women believe their business growth is set to continue and expand. The report, which surveyed 250 women small-business owners, finds 71 percent are highly optimistic of achieving their goals in the next 12 months, a 5 percent

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It’s That Time of the Year to Shop Small

Business Mentors, Small Business, Subscriber Only

In between the big-box holidays of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sits Small Business Saturday, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year — on Nov. 30. Created to help small businesses to capture a larger piece of the critical holiday season spending, this nationally recognized day celebrates the incredible contributions that small businesses make to their local

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Since 2011, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has been a formal co-sponsor of Small Business Saturday, which was founded by American Express the year prior. In 2018, an estimated 104 million U.S. consumers reported shopping or dining at local, independently owned businesses on Small Business Saturday. According to an NFIB survey, in 2018 U.S. consumers who said they shopped at independent retailers and restaurants on the day spent a record high of an estimated $17.8 billion.

It’s no secret that small businesses across upstate New York create two of every three net new jobs and are vital to the health of our local economy. Some of those owners are entering their very first holiday season and offer a new opportunity to shop small. Entrepreneur Amy Wilson used Onondaga Small Business Development Center (SBDC) counseling to open Mixed Methods in downtown Syracuse this fall, featuring artists’ work and handcrafted, unique gifts. Others like Jean-Pierre Lavigne are expanding just in time for the holidays, opening a new bicycle shop location in Potsdam with help from SBA microlender Adirondack Economic Development Corporation.

While many of you are making plans for your holiday shopping, I encourage you to make sure you include visiting local small businesses to find those perfect gifts for family and friends. Visit your favorite stores and even a few new ones too and be sure to show your support for small businesses on social media using #shopsmall. While you’re out shopping, choose to eat at a locally owned restaurant and to keep supporting your community. Entrepreneur Sarah Lukens made her dream a reality with SBA-backed financing from Berkshire Bank to purchase Tamarack Café this fall, choosing to invest in her future and her community of Inlet.

On Nov. 30, shoppers can join in by getting out and shopping small. Shoppers can show their love and support for the small shops and restaurants that are an important part of their local communities and that they can call their own. If you are a small-business owner, make sure you’re prepared for the holiday shopping season by checking out helpful advice at http://www.sba.gov/saturday. Supporting our small businesses on Small Business Saturday and throughout the year ensures their successes, as well as sustaining vibrant and thriving upstate New York communities for many years to come.

Bernard J. Paprocki is district director for the SBA’s Syracuse district office. He is responsible for the delivery of SBA’s financial programs and business-development services for a 34-county region in upstate New York.

Per capita personal income growth in CNY lags behind U.S. average

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Subscriber Only

Per capita personal income increased 4.9 percent nationwide in 2018, but growth was slightly slower across Central New York’s metropolitan areas, according to new statistics released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Nov. 14. The BEA defines per capita personal income as “an area’s personal income divided by its population.” The bureau

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Why Salespeople Don’t Make More Sales

Business Mentors, Subscriber Only

Things don’t go well for some salespeople. Simply put, they say they want to sell, but their numbers tell a different story. What’s missing? What needs to change? The answer may rest in how salespeople view their job. We can call it task tunnel vision. It’s common throughout business organizations, including sales departments. Here’s how

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Things don’t go well for some salespeople. Simply put, they say they want to sell, but their numbers tell a different story. What’s missing? What needs to change?

The answer may rest in how salespeople view their job. We can call it task tunnel vision. It’s common throughout business organizations, including sales departments. Here’s how to spot it: a salesperson says, “That’s not what I’m hired to do. I want to sell. Just leave me alone and let someone else do all that other stuff.”

Whether salespeople recognize it or not, they are like many others who are self-defining about their job. They put up an impenetrable mental wall that stops them from venturing outside their self-imposed prison. All they want to do is make sales. Ironically, their mindset has the opposite effect; they fail to get the order.

The way to break free from task tunnel vision is to focus on what customers look for in a salesperson. Here are three common customer expectations.

Customers expect a salesperson to be their advocate

The role of the salesperson is more necessary today than ever. It’s a fact. With everyone having incredibly instant access to information, it may seem counter-intuitive to suggest that salespeople are needed more than ever — except that it isn’t.

There is nothing worse than making a purchase only to discover that it’s not what we wanted, even though the promise of the internet is to make us better informed so consumers won’t make buying mistakes. The sheer volume of returns from online purchases alone puts that idea to rest.

Confusion and doubt make the salesperson’s role more critical than ever. With the complexity and plethora of today’s products and services, what customers need (and deserve) are advocates, those whose job it is to help them sort things out so they can make decisions that are in their best interest.

This isn’t to suggest that salespeople pretend they’re “consultants.” That’s not only fakery, it’s also what makes customers suspicious of salespeople and gives them a bad name.

Some may think that the role of customer advocate is too much to ask of those who sell — and it may be for some salespeople. It isn’t, however, for those who believe trust is the basis for earning the order. It’s an opportunity to be more than a huckster, a true professional.

Customers expect answers to their questions

Whatever else the internet may have done, it has made us more inquisitive. As one marketing director said, “People are always searching for answers. And whoever provides the best answers to the most questions at the end of the day will be the winner.”

If this is true, then why are so many salespeople in such a rush to launch their sales spiel? Are they just in a hurry or are they afraid that customers will start asking questions?

It’s time to drop the sales presentation and to turn it into a customer-focused FAQ session. It might start this way: “Here are some questions customers ask, along with my answers.” When you let customers know you value questions, it’s easy to shift into asking them for theirs. When this happens, sales presentations become interactive learning experiences that satisfy both the salesperson and the customer.

Customers expect to be offered choices

Researchers have long shown that too many choices lead to being overwhelmed. If you’ve gone to a paint store, no one needs to tell you about “choice paralysis.” After about five minutes looking at paint chips, you want to get out of there.

However, faced with too few options makes us want more before deciding. We may even feel we’re being forced into doing something we may come to regret. Yet, this is what happens when salespeople skew presentations so they lead straight to one conclusion. When this happens, customers don’t buy — they rebel.

So, ask yourself how many choices can you get your head around without getting overloaded. Some say about six or seven. But even with that number, the task is to narrow the field down further. This is when the salesperson’s job is to help the customer make an appropriate decision. The scenario might go something like this:

• Let’s go through the options. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each one?

• Would you eliminate any? OK, we have several left. Let’s discuss and make a choice.

• Are you comfortable going with this choice?

This is a quick way to narrow down the options to two or three so customers can settle on the one that’s best for them.

While making sales is the goal, how you get there may be the most important part of the journey.

John Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales strategy consultant and business writer. He is the creator of “Magnet Marketing,” and publishes a free monthly eBulletin, “No Nonsense Marketing & Sales Ideas.” Contact him at jgraham@grahamcomm.com or johnrgraham.com

GGH’s New Vision Medical Careers program announces 2020 class

Health Care, Subscriber Only

GENEVA — Finger Lakes Technical & Career Center’s (FLTCC) New Vision Medical Careers program has announced its class of 2020. This year marks the 25th anniversary for New Vision Medical Careers, an educational partnership with Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES and Finger Lakes Health, parent of Geneva General Hospital. Finger Lakes Health employees will spend more than

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GENEVA — Finger Lakes Technical & Career Center’s (FLTCC) New Vision Medical Careers program has announced its class of 2020.

This year marks the 25th anniversary for New Vision Medical Careers, an educational partnership with Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES and Finger Lakes Health, parent of Geneva General Hospital.

Finger Lakes Health employees will spend more than 2,000 hours mentoring the 17 students in the New Vision Medical Careers program this year, according to a Finger Lakes Health news release.

Located on the campus of Geneva General Hospital (GGH), this program blends academic, experimental learning, and career education. It offers high-school seniors from surrounding districts an interdisciplinary classroom approach that allows students to study anatomy, pathophysiology, ethics, medical terminology, economics, and English concurrently, gain college credit, and apply practice-based learning in a multidisciplinary professional environment.

Each year, 17 students are chosen for the one-year, “academically rigorous” program for college-bound seniors planning on majoring in pre-medicine, nursing, laboratory science, physician assistant, chemistry, biology, physical therapy, or other allied health fields, the release stated. Applicants come from FLTCC’s 15 component schools and selection is “highly competitive.”

The program allows students to explore a full array of medical careers in 24 different departments, while gaining 125 hours of clinical experience and nine college credits. Rotation sites are in four, six-week blocks of analogous units: acute care, diagnostics, surgical, and unique populations to enhance students’ understanding of patient/resident care, increase retention of clinical knowledge, and master system-based practices. On average, each student will have 95 mentors and will interact with more than 100 patients and residents throughout the school year, Finger Lakes Health said.

The New Vision Class of 2020, led by instructor Laura Van Niel, includes students representing the following school districts: Canandaigua Academy — Reilly Reber, Madison Ryan, Alena VonRhedey, and Sarah Weinel; Geneva High School — Camryn Bailey, Mitchell Burrall, Joel DeVries, Paige O’Brien, and Grace Whiteleather; Honeoye Central School District — Jacob Slocum; Marcus Whitman High School — Jacob Nemitz; Mynderse Academy — Margaux Eller and Michael Eller; Naples Central School District — Shaylyn McGory; Victor Senior High School — Renee Merriman; and Waterloo High School — Sean Bronson and Sennett Turner.

“Watching the patient’s attitude change due to my mentor’s encouragement proved the important role nurses play in patients’ compliance,” Camryn Bailey, a Geneva High School senior, said after a recent clinical rotation at GGH.

Closing the Skilled-Labor Gaps with Apprenticeship Programs

Opinion, Subscriber Only

With an estimated 10,000 baby boomers turning age 65 each day and approaching retirement, there is a growing need to find qualified individuals to fill jobs across many employment sectors. One tool that is helping businesses fill these skilled-labor gaps are apprenticeship programs. The recent National Apprenticeship Week helped draw attention to these important state-managed

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With an estimated 10,000 baby boomers turning age 65 each day and approaching retirement, there is a growing need to find qualified individuals to fill jobs across many employment sectors.

One tool that is helping businesses fill these skilled-labor gaps are apprenticeship programs. The recent National Apprenticeship Week helped draw attention to these important state-managed programs that allow people to be paid while obtaining technical certificates and other credentials that lead to successful careers.

Apprentices work full time under the supervision of a skilled worker and commit to taking related classroom instruction at night or on weekends. Apprenticeship positions can be offered by an employer, groups of employers, or jointly by employers and unions. In each case, the employer(s) or a union works in conjunction with the New York State Department of Labor to register the position with the apprenticeship program. The apprenticeship opportunities are then listed by region in a special section of the Department of Labor’s site. Central New York and the North Country currently have opportunities available in construction, health care, carpentry, electrical engineering, and masonry.

There are several advantages to obtaining an apprenticeship position. One advantage is that the job-placement rate is high. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly nine of 10 apprentices are employed after completing their apprenticeship. Another benefit is the competitive salaries associated with skilled labor. The average starting annual salary for a skilled laborer is $60,000. In New York state, apprenticeship opportunities have increased in part thanks to a $4.2 million grant that the state received from the U.S. Department of Labor in 2017 and other recruitment efforts. In December 2017, there were 16,717 apprentices and in August 2018, there were 18,334.

Apprenticeship programs have long served as an excellent alternative for high-school graduates who choose not to attend a four-year college. Depending on their interest, an apprentice can learn skills relating to a variety of fields. In fact, the additional funding recently provided by the U.S. Department of Labor is designed to help develop apprenticeship opportunities in emerging fields such as advanced manufacturing, health care, and information technology, as well as other in-demand occupations.

Employers, local unions, business organizations, nonprofit organizations, or groups of employers may apply for an apprenticeship through the State Department of Labor. For each apprenticeship, a contract is established between the apprentice and the employer and registered with the Department of Labor. Each apprenticeship has its own standard training outline, which details the on-the-job training and classroom instruction requirements. Classes and training materials are typically paid for by the program. The length of each apprenticeship varies anywhere from one to six years. Typically, those interested in joining an apprenticeship program have their high-school diploma, but some apprenticeships can start earlier as long as the applicant is 16 years old and meets other qualifications outlined by the sponsor.

Classroom-related instruction is fulfilled through a trade school, local college, or through a BOCES program. At the successful completion of the apprenticeship program, the Department of Labor awards the apprentice with a “Certificate of Completion.” To learn more about apprenticeship programs and about local jobs and apprenticeship programs, please visit: www.labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/factsheets/pdfs/P535.pdf. You can also visit a list of active sponsors who are advertising apprenticeships at https://labor.ny.gov/apprenticeship/appindex.shtm.

To read more about National Apprenticeship Week, visit https://www.apprenticeship.gov/national-apprenticeship-week.

William (Will) A. Barclay is the Republican representative of the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. Contact him at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us or (315) 598-5185.

Young People’s Views on Communism are Disturbing

Opinion, Subscriber Only

Suppose you learned that one in three young people is convinced the earth is flat. And that many believe the Moon landing was faked in a NASA studio. Imagine you read that a third of young folks will tell you the Holocaust never happened. Would this news disturb you? If it did, would you think

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Would this news disturb you? If it did, would you think our education system maybe has a few holes? After all, these people are not long out of school. And a third of them amounts to many millions. You would not think loony cultists could capture that many minds.

Would you perhaps place some blame on social media? Knowing that they are the primary sources of news and information for millennials.

Perhaps you would blame time. The years that have passed. You know, young people know so little about World War II and the slaughter of Jews. And they were not around to follow the astronauts and their voyage on television.

A recent survey found that more than one-third (36 percent) of American millennials and those in Gen Z have “favorable” feelings about communism. And, almost double that number said they would vote for a socialist (according to a YouGov poll conducted for the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation).

For sure, there are many culprits who contributed to these beliefs. Educators, for instance. Many young people had teachers who failed to teach the evils of communism. Many had professors who praised communism and socialism. The profs downplayed the bad publicity communism earned. They claimed communism and socialism are good, but bad guys hijacked it in some countries and gave it a bad name.

We had such idiots even from the 1930s to the 1950s. Communism was alive and butchering then. Yet many profs, journalists, and Hollywood types of those years were gulled by the propaganda. They knelt at the communist altar. Claimed the USSR was nirvana.

Hell, we have profs today who sing communism’s merits.

Anyone over age 50 who praises communism belongs in a padded cell.

Free and informed people ought to agree upon a few things: Eggs don’t bounce. No bones in tripe. You can’t straighten bananas. And communism has been abominable.

The USSR adopted communism. It rammed it down the throats of its own people. And later down the throats of millions of semi-slaves. In countries it took over after World War II. It sponsored and encouraged the spread of this disease to more countries.

Under its beloved communism, the USSR butchered tens of millions of people. It imprisoned them within its borders. It flung countless folks into unspeakable gulags. The nation tortured them for speaking out. It deliberately starved them to force the state ownership of farming. It ruled by poisonous brutality.

China took up communism under Mao. Under that system it doubled up on the atrocities of the USSR. Mao’s regime tortured, savaged and murdered 50-60 million people. Today, Chinese communists imprison over a million Muslims in concentration camps.

Cubans have exterminated thousands for their resistance to communism. Two million Cubans have fled that miserable failure of a country.

Oh, if you visit you are guided to parts of Cuba that look rundown but okay. But Cuba, by law, squelches freedoms you take for granted. It virtually imprisons its people. It tortures anyone who steps out of line.

Communism is a despicable system. It leads to mass killings, to starvation, to brutalities. It fosters ghastly sadism.

And yet more than one-third of our young people think favorably of it? What does this say about our education system, then? Do millennials also love Bubonic Plague?

If this country can turn out such ignorance, we ought to be turning our education system upside down. Its wheels have fallen off.

If we cannot educate our young people on the atrocities of communism we might as well bring back witch burning, worshiping of goat dung, and the like.

From Tom…as in Morgan.

Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home in upstate New York. You can write to Tom at tomasinmorgan@yahoo.com, read more of his writing at tomasinmorgan.com, or find him on Facebook.

ZACH LEADER

People on the Move, Subscriber Only

ABC Creative Group recently added ZACH LEADER to its creative department as a graphic designer. He has a degree in communications and film studies, along with a minor in marketing, from Le Moyne College. Leader served as the president of the advertising club on campus which helped exemplify and grow his marketing, advertising, and leadership

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