ITHACA — The United Way of Tompkins County (UWTC) has recently elected Jason Moore, VP of commercial lending at Tompkins Trust Company, to chair of its board of directors.

Moore has been with Tompkins Trust Company, in commercial lending, for eight years, the banking company said in a news release. His responsibilities include growing and maintaining Tompkins Trust’s commercial-loan portfolio, building and cultivating lending-client relationships that include real-estate developers and investors, the agriculture industry, the energy sector, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities.

“Speaking on behalf of the United Way of Tompkins County, our funded and community partners, and my staff team, it is challenging to express the collective appreciation and excitement generated by Jason Moore’s election as Chair of the Board of Directors. Jason has been a part of UWTC since his days at Cornell Real Estate, and his service has continued through his time at Tompkins Trust Company. He is a tireless volunteer who leads and inspires by example and an uncompromising ethical and professional compass,” James Brown, United Way of Tompkins County president and CEO, said in the release.

Moore has been a volunteer with United Way since 2009. He has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture and life science and master’s degree in real estate investment and finance, both from Cornell University.

NEW HARTFORD — The New Hartford Chamber of Commerce recently announced the election of Eric Bjornland as a new member of its board of directors. 

Bjornland has been serving as chair of the chamber’s membership committee and has been a “major contributor to the growth the chamber has achieved so far this year,” according to a New Hartford Chamber news release.

Bjornland is president of Technology Innovations CNY, located at 2617 Genesee St. in Utica, near the New Hartford town line. He has more than 20 years of experience in the office technology industry. His company provides customers with laser toner and ink cartridges, postage meter ink and supplies, laser printers, computers, software, and more, according to its website. Bjornland’s customers include many local companies, as well as universities, hospitals. and nonprofit organizations between Albany and Buffalo.

DeWITT — Art Werksman Associates recently leased 2,660 square feet at 6295 East Molloy Road in DeWitt for the firm’s planned, new office furniture showroom. 

The company owners have been operating the business from their home in Cicero. Recent growth enabled the business to lease a space that includes private offices, storage space, and a showroom for clients, according to a news release from JF Real Estate. 

Matt Funiciello of JF Real Estate represented Art Werksman Associates in the lease transaction, while Ed Rogers of Oliva Companies represented the landlord.

Art Werksman Associates says it is a manufacturers’ representative firm that focuses on the corporate, education, health care, and hospitality sectors. The office-furniture manufacturers it represents include Boss, ESI, Lesro, OFGO, Trendway, and Trinity, according to its website. Art Werksman started the business in 1977. 

SYRACUSE — The top official at Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TAST) believes upcoming Burger King promotions will help boost restaurant sales in the second half of the year, following a disappointing first six months.

“Looking ahead, we are confident that the Burger King marketing calendar, including the Impossible Whopper launch … and more effective promotions, can generate stronger sales performance and better restaurant-level margins through the remainder of the year,” Daniel Accordino, chairman and CEO of Carrols, said in the company’s quarterly earnings report issued on Aug. 8. 

His comment came after Carrols, the largest Burger King franchisee in the U.S., reported a net loss of $3.7 million, or 9 cents a share, in the second quarter. That compares to net income of $7.8 million, or 17 cents, in the prior-year quarter, Syracuse–based Carrols said. 

The company’s net loss in the second quarter included a $7.4 million loss on extinguishment of debt due to the 2019 refinancing and write-off of previously deferred financing costs, $400,000 of impairment and other lease charges, $1.4 million of acquisition expenses, and $1.2 million of integration expenses.

“While we are disappointed with our 2019 first-half performance, we do not believe that these short-term results reflect a shift in the fundamentals of our business model,” said Accordino. 

He also noted that restaurant-level profitability and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) during the second quarter were challenged by a number of factors, specifically higher commodity costs, labor-cost pressures, and less effective promotions compared to the year-ago period. 

“In addition, as we are early in our integration of the Cambridge merger, our results do not yet reflect any of the gains in sales and efficiencies that we expect to achieve once the integration is complete. Based on our experience and track record, we are confident that we can improve the sales and overall financial performance of the Cambridge restaurants over time as we assimilate them into our platform and implement our financial and operating systems,” said Accordino. 

Carrols owned and operated 1,023 Burger King restaurants and 58 Popeyes restaurants in 23 states on June 30.

The company on April 30 completed its merger with Memphis, Tennessee–based Cambridge Franchise Holdings, LLC which resulted in Carrols acquiring 165 additional Burger King and 55 Popeyes restaurants in 10 Southeastern states. 

Carrols on June 11 also completed the acquisition of 13 Burger King restaurants in the Baltimore, Maryland market, the firm said.

MORRISVILLE  —  The Morrisville College Foundation board of directors recently elected three new members to its 23-member board.

The new members — John DeVito, Brian Haugli, and Mary Claire Helmer — took office on July 1. They will serve three-year terms. 

DeVito, of Averill Park, is senior VP and director of government banking and cash management for Berkshire Bank, in Albany. Prior to Berkshire Bank, DeVito worked at KeyBank, where he managed the government banking line of business. He is a member of the NYS Government Finance Officers Association and the NYS Bankers Association and serves on multiple committees for both organizations. DeVito, originally of Utica, earned a bachelor’s degree from Le Moyne College and an MBA degree from Sage Graduate School.

Haugli is co-founder and partner at Side Channel Security, an executive-level security consulting firm located in the Greater Boston area. He previously served as VP and chief security officer at the Hanover Insurance Group, in Massachusetts. Prior to that, he was senior advisor for the U.S. Department of Defense, where he handled strategic initiatives at the Pentagon which involved cybersecurity, information risk management, auditing, and compliance. Haugli earned a bachelor’s degree in information technology – network administration from SUNY Morrisville in 2006.  

Helmer, of Morrisville, is a reading teacher in the Troy City School District, where she has served for more than 20 years. Her parents, William and Joan Helmer, are both former SUNY Morrisville faculty members. Helmer earned an associate degree from SUNY Morrisville in 1981, a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Oswego, a master’s degree from Syracuse University, and also a master’s degree from the University at Albany. 

The Morrisville College Foundation was founded in 1976 to serve as the fundraising vehicle for SUNY Morrisville. The foundation seeks and distributes charitable gifts from private sources to fund programs and services for students and the college that are not funded by state resources. That includes scholarships, academic-enrichment programs, and co-curricular programming like intercollegiate athletics.

LITTLE FALLS — The more than 110,000-square-foot, former Redco Foods, Inc. manufacturing facility located on Hansen Island in Little Falls was recently sold. 

Redco Foods sold the property to Luminati VTOL in July for $750,000 with plans to utilize the facility to design manned and unmanned vehicles for commercial and defense applications. The island is located in the middle of the Mohawk River.

Jeffrey D’Amore of Cushman & Wakefield/Pyramid Brokerage Company exclusively represented the marketing of the property and facilitated the sale on behalf of the seller, Redco Foods, according to a news release from the real-estate firm.

Luminati VTOL says on its website that it was formed through the acquisition of a number of rotorcraft companies, as well as purchases of designs and manufacturing rights. The firm says it is designing manned and unmanned vehicles for commercial and defense applications. Daniel Preston is the company’s owner. It was previously located on Long Island.