OSWEGO — Seven Oswego County not-for-profit organizations received grants from the Richard S. Shineman Foundation in its second grant round of 2019 at its July board meeting, the foundation announced.

The funded projects cover a wide range of focus areas, including health and welfare for children, education, arts and culture, civic benefit, and historical preservation, the Shineman Foundation said in a news release.

The grants will benefit Oswego County in several ways. The largest award — $100,000 — was given to Camp Talooli in Pennellville for its capital campaign to transform its facilities to year-round use, beginning with the new multi-purpose building: Nakomis Lodge. 

The Shineman Foundation made several health and welfare grants, including Integrated Community Planning, which was provided funding to spearhead a child-care expansion pilot program to fill the identified gaps of infant care and provision of care during non-standard hours. Blessings in a Backpack – Fulton Chapter received funding to feed children over the weekends for the upcoming school year.

In the education arena, the Shineman Foundation awarded Fitzhugh Park Elementary School a fourth-year grant to continue the expansion of its “very successful” Leader In Me program, the release stated.

The foundation made a capacity building grant to Oswego Opera Theatre to enhance its website and expand its marketing and social-media platforms. Another capacity building grant was provided to Fulton Youth Soccer for the renovation of its main facility building. 

The Pulaski Historical Society received funding from the Shineman Foundation to renovate and upgrade the Military Room in its Pulaski museum. 

The release didn’t break out the amount of funding for each individual grant.

The mission of the Shineman Foundation is to be a “catalyst for change” to enhance the quality of life in Oswego County. The foundation says it uses its resources to fuel economic vitality, to encourage strong social bonds that improve the community, and to build the capacity of its nonprofit partners.

SYRACUSE — LiteracyCNY announced that its board of directors recently appointed five new board members from area organizations. They are:

• Mary Katherine Buckley, audit manager, Fust Charles Chambers 

• John Maas, regional director, Office of the New York State Attorney General 

• Caitlin Moriarty, director of membership, CenterStateCEO, Tech Garden 

• Crystal Rhode, marketing coordinator, C&S Companies 

• Mike O’Shea, CPA and tax principal, Firley Moran 

LiteracyCNY also announced that its newly elected board president is Bill Kriesel, managing member of Diversified Capital Management LLC. 

Bill Kriesel expressed enthusiasm for the new class of board members. “The energy and backgrounds of the new board members will be a great addition to our organization. We have spent the last few years focusing on adding board members from all sectors, including business, government and academia,” he said in a news release. “I think with these new members, our board now has a broad mix of expertise and experience, which will help us accomplish our mission.” 

Other newly elected officers for the LiteracyCNY board are: Jon Mathews, Syracuse Marriott Downtown hotel manager, as VP; Marlena Daher-Rahman, Syracuse Educational Opportunity Center director of community engagement, as secretary; and Richard Sargent, an attorney, as treasurer.

LiteracyCNY’s mission is to provide adults in Central New York with the literacy tools and skills that they need to be contributing, productive, and engaged members of the community. It advocates for adult education, providing instruction, and partnering with other community-based agencies. LiteracyCNY says it enrolled more than 350 adult students last year and consistently exceeds its New York Department of Education mandates.

SYRACUSE — Thad Hunkins took over as owner, president, and CEO of NCC Systems, Inc. at the beginning of the year. 

The family-owned NCC Systems is an electronics-integration company with locations in Watertown, Potsdam, and Plattsburgh, as well as Washington, D.C., per its website. The company’s products include fire systems, commercial and residential-security systems, CCTV camera systems, door-access control systems, phone systems; and pro sound and public-address systems.

Hunkins’ father, David, is the firm’s VP and minority owner.

Thad Hunkins returned to the company after serving in the U.S. Air Force for nearly 30 years, having retired from service in July 2018.

When he agreed to assume control and operate the business, Hunkins realized he had a problem. “That’s not something I have any experience in,” he noted.

Hunkins was among 30 veteran entrepreneurs who participated in the 12th annual Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV) held  in July at Syracuse University. The program targets those who want to start or grow their own business.

Getting involved

Once his family learned that Hunkins would be leading the family business, one of Hunkins’ sons asked him if he would be taking any business classes to prepare him for his new role. 

“I thought that was very sage advice,” said Hunkins, noting his son is a computer electrical engineer who works in New York City. 

Hunkins spoke with reporters during an EBV media day held July 24 at Syracuse University’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

As he was transitioning out of the military, he had a chance to participate in the military’s transition-assistance program, or TAP. It provides programs offering help in how to find a job and includes a program on entrepreneurship and starting your own business. Hunkins signed up for “all of them,” he said. 

At the same time, he also met Chris Dambach, president of Industry Standard USA of Clay, at a Veterans Institute for Procurement program. Dambach had recommended he get involved in the EBV program. 

“I had not heard of that … It was never on my list of things to do,” Hunkins recalled.

But it became part of his to-do list in 2019. Before the program concluded, all the veteran entrepreneurs went before an expert panel to pitch an idea they were pursuing to get some feedback on how to proceed. 

For his presentation, Hunkins planned to discuss NCC’s plans for growing geographically, specifically mentioning that the firm has a presence in Plattsburgh with “couple of technicians” but no dedicated office building. But he wants to change that.

“The team is on board with let’s go to Plattsburgh. Got some land. We’re going to put up a building and fill it with technicians who do nothing but secure and protect Plattsburgh,” Hunkins said of the firm’s plans for that area of Northern New York. 

About EBV

Veterans from more than 12 states participated in EBV, an eight-day program focused on starting and building a business offered through Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF). 

Participants attended classes, networking events, and presentations, “learning the fundamentals of running a business from over 30 accomplished entrepreneurs and professors,” per a July 22 news release about the program. The program at Syracuse University continued from July 20 through July 27.

They learned about subjects that include social media, human resources, technology, accounting, and personal branding, said Misty Stutsman, director of entrepreneurship and small business at the IVMF.

“They really get a whole breadth of knowledge throughout the week,” Stutsman said in speaking to reporters at the July 24 media day at the Whitman School. 

Since its founding at Syracuse in 2007, EBV has expanded to a consortium of nine schools across the country and has graduated nearly 2,000 aspiring entrepreneurs, 79 percent of whom have gone on to start their own business. And, 92 percent of those are still in business, Syracuse University says.   

AUBURN — The city of Auburn has unveiled a plan involving 13 projects that it will target with its $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) award. 

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the projects during a July 30 event at the Auburn Public Theater. The state had announced the funding award last July.

Auburn developed a plan to revitalize its downtown with $300,000 in planning funds from the $10 million DRI grant. A local planning committee made up of municipal representatives, community leaders, and other stakeholders led the effort, supported by a team of private-sector experts and state planners. 

Projects involved

Crews will also redevelop a 1970s strip mall on Seminary Street as a new shared-services, public-safety building to create office space for a city and county emergency operations center and emergency-management office, as well as facilities to replace the deteriorating City of Auburn Fire Department facility “currently located in a dam inundation zone.”

Another project will renovate the Auburn Public Theater to allow for a greater variety of programming and ensure the community anchor’s long-term stability, the state said. The project includes the creation of a café, community event space, a black box theater, an Auburn Music Hall of Fame, an elevator, kitchen space, a new entryway, and exterior renovations such as a new entrance, digital sign, awnings, and marquees.

Auburn also wants to convert a vacant commercial structure at 22 East Genesee St. into apartments and ground-floor retail space. The scope of the project includes new plumbing, electrical, sprinkler, and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems; energy-efficient windows; apartment kitchens and bathrooms; an elevator; fire-rated stairways; façade improvements; flooring and finishes; masonry and carpentry; and storage units.

In addition, crews will convert the Rudolph Building at 99 Genesee St. into a mixed-use development across from the Auburn Public Theater. New ground-floor retail space and upper-story residential units will boost traffic downtown following installation of a sprinkler system and new electrical and plumbing, renovations to apartments and other interior spaces, and façade improvements.

The plan also calls for work on a vacant three-story structure at 13 Chapel St. into a central facility for recovery, treatment, and complementary health-care services. The facility will house the existing nonprofit Nick’s Ride 4 Friends and other health-based organizations targeting issues of addiction. The project will include both interior and exterior renovations.

Auburn also wants to renovate the Willard Memorial Chapel, a National Historic Landmark, to improve its community event venue. The project consists of the interior restoration of the chapel in keeping with its original design and finishes, and exterior improvements to the parking lot and landscaping.

Also on tap is renovation work at the Seward House Museum’s barn and carriage house to serve as meeting, office, and event spaces. The project will include stabilizing and repairing the barn foundation and façade, repairing interior and exterior features, updating electrical service, conducting thermal improvements, and either fixing or removing an adjacent potting shed.

The plan also calls for the redevelopment of a centrally-located vacant site into a public plaza for events, festivals, and socializing to “round out the vision for the State Street Creative Corridor.” DRI will fund site preparation, water lines, stormwater management, seating areas, landscaping, fencing, hardscaping, and flexible performance space. The project will also include public art, moveable furniture, pedestrian-scale lighting, bike racks, and interpretive signage.

Crews will also rehabilitate 10,000 square feet of space within the Health Central building to house medical, surgical, behavioral, and dental specialties, as well as additional diagnostic and treatment services. Examples of improvements include the creation of a waiting room and reception area, exam or therapy rooms, individual and group offices, nursing or staff working areas, and administrative areas and storage.

Auburn additionally wants to establish a fund to support the establishment and growth of small businesses, improve the built environment, and increase housing options in the downtown area. The program will provide financial support to establish or expand businesses, implement exterior improvements that complement the character of downtown, and undertake interior improvements to renovate or create upper-story housing.

Arts projects

The Auburn projects include architectural and site improvements around the campuses of the Schweinfurth Art Center and Cayuga Museum of History and Arts, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release. 

Proposed improvements include a continuous outdoor walkway, parking lot and driveway upgrades, new plazas, new accessible entryways to both museums, and amenities such as lighting, signage, interpretive panels, bike racks, benches, and a play sculpture.

Crews will also renovate the vacant Plaza of the Arts building to accommodate Cayuga Community College’s new culinary arts program and provide a café and central space for community events. Interior renovations will include instructional space as well as build-out and fixed equipment for a commercial grade kitchen.

Auburn also wants to install public art throughout the DRI area to attract visitors to a new “Avenue of the Arts.” Proposed installations include sculpture and green-space improvements at the Boyle Center; a Harriet Tubman life-cycle sculpture at Freedom Park; a sculpture at South Street and Genesee Street; a mural at the Auburn Public Theater; a mural at Nash’s Art Supply; and light-pole banners along Loop Road establishing the “Avenue of the Arts.”