SYRACUSE — Jason Banuski, president and senior human resource consultant at HR One Inc., was installed on Nov. 6 as the 45th president of the Syracuse Executives Association. 

Banuski previously held the offices of secretary, treasurer, and vice president, in addition to chairing and serving on various committees for the association, according to an association news release. 

HR One is a full-service payroll and human-resource consulting firm with offices in East Syracuse and Auburn, according to its website. Since 1986, it says it has helped more than 1,000 organizations of all sizes and industries implement HR best practices and comply with “complex” state and federal employment regulations. 

Banuski’s expertise includes analysis of human-resource best practices; wage and salary administration; development of employee handbooks, performance-appraisal systems, job descriptions; one-on-one mentorship and team training, according to the HR One website. He was a 40 Under Forty honoree in 2012. Banuski graduated from SUNY Brockport with a bachelor’s degree in international business and economics.

The Syracuse Executives Association also announced its other officers of the board of directors installed on Nov. 6. They were as follows: board chairman, Garson Zausmer, Zausmer-Frisch-Scruton and Aggarwal; vice president, Robert Wilson, Henry Wilson Jewelers; treasurer, Matt Cordell, Custom Logo USA; and secretary, Chip Van Derhoof, Van Derhoof Roofing.

Also serving on the board for the 2018-2019 year are: Kirk Marinich, Marinich Builders; John Wilson, ACS Web Design & SEO; Shawn Thrall, Avalon Document Services; Scott Johnston, Morgan Stanley; Nancy Osborn, Dupli; and Robert Rothman, of Rothman Evans, P.C., as association counsel. 

The Syracuse Executives Association, established in 1974, is a business networking organization with a current membership of 70 Syracuse and Central New York. This organization of business owners and top-level managers seeks to foster “healthy business growth through networking and the exchange of business information.” The association is part of an international network of executive associations founded throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, and Australia. 

Linda Bennett is executive director of the Syracuse Executives Association.    

SYRACUSE — Hotels in Onondaga County saw more guests in September compared to the year-ago month, according to a new report.

The hotel occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county rose 2.3 percent to 63.6 percent in September from 62.1 percent a year prior, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. It was the sixth straight month in which Onondaga County’s occupancy rate increased, and it’s the 11th gain in the last 12 months. Year to date through September, occupancy is up 7 percent to 61.8 percent.

Revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, increased 3.4 percent to $65.63 in September from $63.50 in September 2017. Year to date, Onondaga County’s RevPar is up 8.6 percent to $63.62.

Average daily rate (or ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, edged up 1 percent to $103.22 in September, compared to $102.20 a year ago. Through the first nine months of the year, Onondaga County’s ADR is up 1.5 percent to $103, according to STR.

SYRACUSE — The board of trustees of the Gifford Foundation has named Sheena Solomon to be its next executive director, effective Jan. 1, 2019. 

She succeeds Dirk Sonneborn, who is retiring from the post after leading the foundation for the past eight years. Solomon is currently the director of neighborhood initiatives at the Gifford Foundation.

“The board is enthusiastic about the future of the Foundation and feels confident that Ms. Solomon is the right person to continue our mission,” Jaime Alicea, board chair said in a news release, “and we are fortunate to have someone with so much community experience to be our next Executive Director.”

Solomon has been with the Gifford Foundation since 2007 and has served as the director of neighborhood initiatives since 2011. She has also been a leader in the creation of Gifford’s citywide: “What If …” mini grant program; Nourishing Tomorrow’s Leaders; and the POWER capacity building program. 

Solomon is active locally and nationally on a variety of boards and advisory groups, including the PLACES Fellowship (a program of The Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities), You Can’t Fail Inc., Syracuse Economic Development Corporation, and the Near Westside Initiative. 

The Gifford Foundation had $18.4 million in net assets in 2016, according to state and federal tax filings from the foundation.

St. John Fisher College and the Syracuse University College of Law have announced a program that will allow a group of Fisher students to pursue an undergraduate and law degree in six years.

It’s called a 3+3 legal education accelerated program (LEAP), which is aimed at “minimizing the cost of their education,” St. John Fisher said in a Nov. 7 news release. The college is located in the Rochester suburb of Pittsford.

To be considered for the program, students must meet a set of requirements for both institutions. 

At Fisher, they must enroll as first-year students, complete the school’s first-year program, core curriculum, major, and minor requirements, per the release. 

They also need to consult with a LEAP advisor to discuss educational and career goals and earn a cumulative undergraduate grade-point average of 3.5 or higher. Students also must complete the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) with a score at or above the median LSAT score for the College of Law’s previous year’s enrolled class. 

Students also have to submit an application to the College of Law through the Law School Admission Council during their third and final year at Fisher.   

CATO — The Cayuga Economic Development Agency will use more than $79,000 in federal funding to purchase grain drying and cleaning equipment and lease it to Preferred Quality Grain in the town of Cato. 

The funding will help create two new jobs, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) said in a recent news release. 

The demand for organic grains produced in this region is “rapidly expanding,” and the equipment will help remove the weed seeds and other dockage components that “harm the products’ marketability,” per the release. Dockage is waste material in wheat and other grains.

The investment will benefit growers of wheat for flour milling, food-grade soybeans, and malting barley for the New York brewers. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Business Development grant program provided the funding, the lawmakers said. 

It’s a competitive grant program that works to support technical assistance, training, and other activities that lead to the development or expansion of small and emerging private businesses.