SYRACUSE — The Central New York Sales & Marketing Executives (CNYSME) will honor Mark Re — VP & regional manager of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services — as the 43rd recipient of its annual Crystal Ball Award.

CNYSME will recognize Re during the annual Crystal Ball and Sales & Marketing Excellence Awards presentation and celebration on the evening of April 30 at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown.

“I was heartened. I was humbled,” Re told CNYBJ in a Nov. 30, 2018 phone interview, regarding his award selection. “I do choose to lead my life a certain way, and I do a great deal of volunteering and giving back because I feel strongly about it. I don’t necessarily flaunt it.”

When CNYSME representatives visited Re, he just assumed they wanted him to volunteer for a given project. He wasn’t expecting the notification on the Crystal Ball Award. 

“So I was surprised. It was a pleasant surprise,” Re adds.

An “enduring symbol” of the organization’s mission, CNYSME annually awards the Crystal Ball to a local businessperson or group of business people “in recognition of their contributions to the sales and marketing profession and for their endeavors in the areas of community development and support.” 

Founded in 1935, CNYSME says it is the only organization focused exclusively on the needs of sales and marketing professionals in Central New York. Its mission is to help members grow their businesses by offering workshops, training sessions, networking opportunities, and scholarships to those planning a career in the industry.

About Mark Re

Re is a licensed real-estate broker and holds several designations, per the CNYSME news release. He has served as president of the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors (GSAR) and as president of the Central New York Information Services “for several years.” Re is also an approved instructor for the New York State Association of Realtors and serves on the “Leading Edge Advisory Board” of the National Association of Realtors.

GSAR has previously honored Re with its “Realtor of the Year Award” and twice chose him for its “Realtor Broker/Manager of the Year Award.” The organization also selected him for its “Good Neighbor Award.” 

Additionally, he has received Chicago’s Nationwide Real Estate Recruiting Network “Recruiter of the Year Award” and most recently, the New York State Association of Realtors “Community Service Award.” 

Re has served on the boards of director for area nonprofit organizations, including Onondaga Community College, Upstate University Hospital, Crouse Hospital, Cortland Repertory Theatre, Salt City Center for the Performing Arts, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, and the Salvation Army Advisory Council. 

Onondaga Community College in October chose Re for its Alumni Faces Award. And, the United Way of Central New York presented Re with its “Customer Service Award” for outstanding contributions to the community.

Crystal Ball Award: Criteria, recent past winners

The criteria for Crystal Ball recognition includes holding a position as CEO, president, or director of a Central New York business; a person who visibly impacts the progress and prosperity of Central New York; a leader who “demonstrates commitment to superior quality and professionalism;” a person who “fosters excellence” in their industry; local involvement in community and civic organizations; and “demonstrates and practices an appreciation” of the sales and marketing industry, per the CNYSME.

“When I look at the criteria that CNYSME’s Crystal Ball Award is based upon, Mark Re is living proof of what the award represents,” Brooks Wright, CNYSME president, said in the release. “His leadership qualities, community involvement, knowledge of sales and marketing in his industry and philanthropic participation in so many worthy organizations are what this recognition is all about. He truly ‘pays it forward,’ and CNYSME is proud to honor Mark Re. I look forward to presenting him with the Crystal Ball Award on April 30.” 

Re will join a list of past Crystal Ball winners that includes the 2018 recipient, Kimberly Boynton, president and CEO of Crouse Health; the 2017 winner, Phil VanHorne, chairman and CEO of BlueRock Energy, Inc.; the 2016 recipient, Allen Naples, senior VP and regional president of M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB); and the 2015 honoree, Robert Daino, then-president and CEO of WCNY, the area’s public broadcaster; 

Other past winners include Howard Dolgon, owner, president, CEO, and team governor of the Syracuse Crunch minor league hockey team in 2014; Peter Belyea, president of CXtec and TERACAI in 2013; Debbie Sydow, former president of Onondaga Community College in 2012; and John Stage, founder and CEO of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in 2011, according to the CNYSME website.

Consumer sentiment in upstate New York edged up to 89.0 in the first quarter of 2019 from the last reading of 88.4 in the fourth quarter of 2018.

That’s according to the latest quarterly survey of upstate New York and statewide consumer sentiment that the Siena College Research Institute (SRI) released on April 9. 

Upstate’s overall sentiment of 89.0 was 4.3 points below the statewide consumer-sentiment level of 93.3, which declined 0.6 points from the fourth quarter.

The statewide figure was 5.1 points lower than the first-quarter figure of 98.4 for the entire nation, which is down 0.1 points from the fourth-quarter measurement, as measured by the University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index.

New York’s index of consumer sentiment remains in the low 90s for the third consecutive quarter, and the survey numbers were “a little stronger than I thought they would be,” says Doug Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI founding director.

He recalled the stock market in December was “really not very strong at all,” and he was worried that any of those concerns among consumers might “spill over here a little bit.” 

“But, generally speaking, these numbers are looking pretty good,” says Lonnstrom, who spoke with CNYBJ on April 17.

He also notes that the survey’s current-confidence component is much higher — 101.2 —compared to the future-confidence component both among statewide and upstate respondents. The upstate future-confidence sentiment measured 81.3, while the statewide future-confidence sentiment measured 88.3. The overall consumer-sentiment index figure is a combination of the current-sentiment and future-sentiment components.

“People feel much better about today than they do tomorrow in every category. It doesn’t matter … man, woman, upstate, downstate, high income, low income, Democrat, Republican. In every case, people are feeling better today than they are about tomorrow,” says Lonnstrom.

In the first quarter of 2019, buying plans rose 4.3 percentage points since the fourth-quarter measurement to 33.9 percent for furniture and increased 2.8 points to 23.2 percent for major home improvements.

Buying plans were down 0.7 percentage points to 23.7 percent for cars and trucks, slipped 1.7 points to 49.4 percent for consumer electronics, and fell 1.5 points to 10.5 percent for homes.

“Buying plans are looking pretty good … down in a few cases, up in a few cases … still strong. So people are looking at buying cars, homes, home improvement, furniture, consumer electronics, TVs, and tablets,” says Lonnstrom.

Gas and food prices

In SRI’s quarterly analysis of gas and food prices, 50 percent of upstate respondents said the price of gas was having a serious impact on their monthly budgets, up from 44 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 and up from 41 percent in the third quarter of last year.

In addition, 44 percent of statewide respondents said the price of gas was having a serious impact on their monthly spending plans, up from 43 percent in the fourth quarter and up from 35 percent in the third quarter.

When asked about food prices, 62 percent of upstate respondents indicated the price of groceries was having a serious impact on their finances, up from 60 percent in the fourth quarter and up from 53 percent in the third quarter.

At the same time, 59 percent of statewide respondents indicated the price of food was having a serious impact on their monthly finances, down from 61 percent in the fourth quarter and up from 52 percent in the third quarter of 2018. 

“A year ago, only 29 percent of the people felt it was having a real bad impact on their family budget. That figure is now up to 44 percent, so we’ve got to keep an eye on that,” says Lonnstrom.

SRI conducted its survey of consumer sentiment between March 7 and March 20 by telephone calls to 384 New York resident adults via landline and cell phones and 420 responses drawn from a proprietary online panel of New Yorkers.

It has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points, according to SRI.