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Five Star Urgent Care rebrands as WellNow Urgent Care
Five Star Urgent Care has rebranded and changed its name to WellNow Urgent Care. The organization describes itself as “one of New York’s fastest growing

Rome Hospital Foundation’s Brew Ha Ha event raises more than $18K and attracts 350
ROME — The Rome Hospital Foundation announced that its recent 8th annual Brew Ha Ha event netted more than $18,000 for the foundation, which provides financial support to Rome Memorial Hospital. The fundraiser attracted a crowd of more than 350 people to the Woods Valley Ski Area in the town of Western, northeast of Rome,
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ROME — The Rome Hospital Foundation announced that its recent 8th annual Brew Ha Ha event netted more than $18,000 for the foundation, which provides financial support to Rome Memorial Hospital.
The fundraiser attracted a crowd of more than 350 people to the Woods Valley Ski Area in the town of Western, northeast of Rome, on Sept. 22.
Event attendees were able to select tastings from more than 60 craft beers, including newly released fall flavors, the foundation said in a release. Teddy’s Restaurant served a variety of brats with sauerkraut and grilled peppers and onions, macaroni and cheese, and chicken riggies. The band “Work Related” provided live entertainment.
Brew Ha Ha is one of three primary fundraising events held each year by Rome Hospital Foundation. Its annual golf classic, held in June, netted more than $43,000. The foundation’s Annual Gala is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 10, from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Turning Stone Resort.
Rome Hospital Foundation is a separate 501 (c) (3) that accepts gifts on behalf of Rome Memorial Hospital and works to fund both present and future equipment and program needs.
Bodycote leases Clay warehouse
CLAY — Bodycote has leased a 10,800-square-foot warehouse at 4629 Crossroads Park Drive in the town of Clay. Mark Rupprecht, of CBRE/Syracuse brokered the lease, according to a news release from the real-estate firm. Lease terms were not disclosed. Bodycote provides thermal processing services, improving the lifespan of a product for several industries including aerospace,
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CLAY — Bodycote has leased a 10,800-square-foot warehouse at 4629 Crossroads Park Drive in the town of Clay.
Mark Rupprecht, of CBRE/Syracuse brokered the lease, according to a news release from the real-estate firm. Lease terms were not disclosed.
Bodycote provides thermal processing services, improving the lifespan of a product for several industries including aerospace, automotive, medical, and construction.
The building was previously occupied by DV Flora, a wholesale flower and floral supply provider, which is now operating its New York distribution center in DeWitt
Some recent tweets that came across the @cnybj Twitter feed, offering various small business, tech, HR, and career tips. Katie Mazzocco @FSProductivityDo quick “side trips” to social media, videos or games cause you to lose track of your day, #entrepreneur? Here’s my solution to get back the time lost in your #smallbiz. > http://bit.ly/2LBAo8A PrestigeBizCoach
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Some recent tweets that came across the @cnybj Twitter feed, offering various small business, tech, HR, and career tips.
Katie Mazzocco @FSProductivity
Do quick “side trips” to social media, videos or games cause you to lose track of your day, #entrepreneur? Here’s my solution to get back the time lost in your #smallbiz. > http://bit.ly/2LBAo8A
PrestigeBizCoach — Coaching For Small Businesses @RobertViney|
Keep Improving Your Business By Learning How To Run It Better. The best in business do that. Copy their ways … To boost your success.
Fundbox @fundbox
While traditional @SBAgov #loans can take as long as two or three months to finalize, the SBA designed their SBA Express loan program to provide much faster funding to small business owners in a pinch: https://fbx.bz/2OhnTFj #SMB
NFIB @NFIB
The #SmallBiz economy has seen 45-year record highs in job openings, hiring plans, job creation, and compensation increases in 2018. See more from our latest Small Business Economic Trends report: https://www.nfib.com/surveys/small-business-economic-trends/
World Economic Forum @wef
This is how #AI can help you make sense of the world https://wef.ch/2IcGkDb
Kristen Poborsky @KristenPoborsky
How to Optimize Your Blog Post in 10 Minutes or Less #SEO #SEOTips http://bit.ly/2odumzT
Seotomation @seotomation
Top 12 Link Building Mistakes In-House SEOs Make & How to Avoid Them by @brentcsutoras via http://searchenginejournal.com — http://amp.gs/hXnZ
Paychex @Paychex
When the many #HR demands fall on the shoulders of one person, what can be done to alleviate the burden? These resources may help during challenging times. http://spr.ly/6011DfakH
Jayden Kim @JaydenKim_JK
“The old days of HR are over. Today onward we need to revolutionize and the best people who can do this are HR punks.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2018/10/10/how-punk-rock-can-revitalize-human-resources/#468a207e9267
Mark C. Crowley @MarkCCrowley
I want to challenge the notion that we need to make our workplaces more “human.” We don’t. What we need instead is to create workplaces where both the #leadership & culture is “humane.” It might sound like a quibble, but humane means respectful, considerate, caring, & kind.
VETS_DOL @VETS_DOL
Job creators: Get the latest updates on the #HireVets Medallion Program at https://www.HireVets.gov
6C Dialer @6cdialer
#HR #chatbots are changing the way routine HR processes and functions are done. They are making HR more efficient and agile; let’s understand how. https://buff.ly/2yhui9p
Hannah Morgan @careersherpa
6 Things Every New Job Seeker Needs To Know https://buff.ly/2w6QBxB #newjobsearch
What She Said! @WhatSheSaidTalk
Changing #careers is exciting but also frightening – there is no right answer but @MeridianCU’s @dilysdcruz has points for us to think about – https://www.facebook.com/WhatSheSaidTalk/videos/2181996862076146 …

Digital Hyve plots further growth, including plans for Buffalo office
SYRACUSE — Digital Hyve, a Syracuse–based digital-marketing agency, has generated explosive growth since its founding in mid-2014, and the firm plans more growth in the year-ahead, including opening a new office in Western New York. Digital Hyve has grown from $102,000 in revenue in 2014 to $5.2 million in 2017, according to Jeff Knauss, co-owner.
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SYRACUSE — Digital Hyve, a Syracuse–based digital-marketing agency, has generated explosive growth since its founding in mid-2014, and the firm plans more growth in the year-ahead, including opening a new office in Western New York.
Digital Hyve has grown from $102,000 in revenue in 2014 to $5.2 million in 2017, according to Jeff Knauss, co-owner. And he’s projecting the firm to finish 2018 with revenue of $8 million.
The company was recently ranked No. 52 on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.
Digital Hyve, which had just two employees at the start — Knauss and fellow co-owner Jacob Tanner — has grown to a staff of 33 currently. It has 28 employees in Syracuse and five in Rochester, the co-owners say. The company plans on growing to 45-50 employees within the next year.
Digital Hyve expects to branch out further into Western New York by opening an office in Buffalo in the next six to 12 months, Knauss and Tanner say.
“We certainly do quite a bit of business already in Buffalo so that’s allowing us to be able to stand up an office out there,” Knauss says.
Digital Hyve has recently hired Eric Fuller as director of business development, based in Buffalo. He will oversee the agency’s business-development efforts companywide, including up and down the New York State Thruway corridor.
Fuller has been based in Buffalo “for a long time,” says Knauss. His previous jobs include working at Agency 720, handling Chevrolet’s advertising business, as well serving as a regional sales manager at Sinclair Broadcast Group, according to Fuller’s LinkedIn profile.
Digital Hyve has already added some new Buffalo–area clients, based solely on Fuller’s relationships in the region, says Knauss.
Business focus
Digital Hyve focuses on digital marketing alone. That includes building websites, offering search-engine optimization (SEO) services, search-engine marketing, social-media retargeting, display ads, geofencing, email marketing, and more, according to Knauss. “What we like to say is we take a brand and a message and connect that brand and message to a very targeted consumer online,” he says.
The two biggest drivers of Digital Hyve’s revenue are social-media marketing and search-engine marketing (including SEO), according to Knauss. Ads on Google, Bing, Facebook, and Instagram are a big part of that.
Digital marketing is changing all the time — for example, Google and Facebook change their algorithms everyday — so agencies like Digital Hyve face pressure to track the changes to stay cutting edge and make the best recommendations to marketing clients for obtaining a return on investment.
How does Digital Hyve stay on top of these changes?
“A big way we stay on top of that… we are partners with Facebook and Google,” says Tanner. “Now we’ll get emails maybe the day before a big update comes out.”
Digital Hyve will also get access to test out a new ad service rolled out by Google. The firm can then take that to clients and test it with them to see if it works or not, he adds.
Digital Hyve’s Syracuse headquarters is in a 7,500-square-foot office in the 100 Clinton Square building at 126 N. Salina St.
Kabari Wellness Start-To-Fit formally opens in New Hartford
NEW HARTFORD — Kabari Wellness Start-To-Fit in New Hartford formally opened on Oct. 9 with a ribbon-cutting event with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce. The business, located at 50 Genesee St., says it offers a wide variety of services that include chiropractic care, rehabilitation services, a 24-hour full-size gym, personal training, fitness classes, and
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NEW HARTFORD — Kabari Wellness Start-To-Fit in New Hartford formally opened on Oct. 9 with a ribbon-cutting event with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce.
The business, located at 50 Genesee St., says it offers a wide variety of services that include chiropractic care, rehabilitation services, a 24-hour full-size gym, personal training, fitness classes, and clinical whole food nutrition program.
Kabari Start-To-Fit says its mission is to “restore clients to a level of health at which they can return to an active and physically fit lifestyle. Its main focus is improving the quality and functionality of all its patients and clients.”
Dr. Kingsley Kabari is the business owner. He is a licensed chiropractor, a health and fitness specialist, and clinical whole-food nutrition specialist, according to the Kabari Wellness website. He is trained in a variety of specialties and techniques, including muscle activation, active release technique, nasal specific technique, connect X, and kinesio taping.
Dr. Kabari received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from the New York Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls in 2014.
Kabari Wellness also has locations in Whitesboro and Waterloo.

Taxpayer-funded project prompts county to seek lease extension from Crunch
SYRACUSE — The Syracuse Crunch minor-league hockey club has agreed to play its home games at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena through the 2029-30 season. The team, Onondaga County, and arena manager SMG (Service Management Group) announced the 12-year lease extension on Oct. 12. As per Crunch policy, terms of the lease extension were
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SYRACUSE — The Syracuse Crunch minor-league hockey club has agreed to play its home games at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena through the 2029-30 season.
The team, Onondaga County, and arena manager SMG (Service Management Group) announced the 12-year lease extension on Oct. 12.
As per Crunch policy, terms of the lease extension were not disclosed during the announcement at the War Memorial.
The renovation project at the War Memorial prompted the need for a renegotiated lease, Ryan McMahon, the current chairman of the Onondaga County Legislature, said in response to a CNYBJ reporter’s question.
“We invest [in the team] yearly, but we weren’t going to invest $8.5 million of the public’s money [in the arena] without a long-term commitment [from the Crunch],” he added.
The county legislature has appointed McMahon to soon assume the duties of Onondaga County Executive.
He will take over once current County Executive Joanie Mahoney vacates the position to become COO with the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
The lease extension is a “great moment” for the Syracuse Crunch, team owner Howard Dolgon said in his remarks during the press conference at the War Memorial.
“We had a six-year lease remaining, but the fact that this commitment was made was instrumental and important for us to make the commitment for 12 years. We had no problem doing it,” said Dolgon.
The first commitment Dolgon was referring to was the $8.5 million in renovations that continue at the War Memorial.
Dolgon also noted the work of Onondaga County Deputy County Executive William Fisher “who really has his finger prints all over our lease and this building.”
The announcement happened a day before the Syracuse Crunch hosted their 25th home season opener on Oct. 13, a game they lost to the Charlotte Checkers.

SUNY Cortland master’s program in speech-language pathology is re-accredited
CORTLAND — SUNY Cortland’s five-year-old master’s degree program in speech-language pathology has been re-accredited, the university recently announced. The Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) voted in April to award SUNY Cortland full accreditation for its residential graduate program through Jan. 31, 2023, SUNY Cortland said in an Oct. 9 release.
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CORTLAND — SUNY Cortland’s five-year-old master’s degree program in speech-language pathology has been re-accredited, the university recently announced.
The Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) voted in April to award SUNY Cortland full accreditation for its residential graduate program through Jan. 31, 2023, SUNY Cortland said in an Oct. 9 release.
Today, the program is nearly at full enrollment with 29 future communication-disorders professionals preparing for careers at schools and medical clinics in this “high-demand field.” The tally brings total graduate and undergraduate enrollment in the college’s Communication Disorders and Sciences Department to almost 300 students, equaling its “all-time high.”
“The master’s degree has become the entry level for the profession,” Ann Blanton, associate professor and the current department chair, said in the release, noting the importance of the program and accreditation. “So it was very timely that this department developed a master’s degree.”
Traditionally, graduates in the field who had bachelor’s degrees could always work in elementary, middle, and high schools without a master’s degree, she said.
But that will soon be a thing of the past. New York is among many states that are phasing out school clinical practice by college graduates who have only an undergraduate degree in the discipline. Hospitals and medical centers stopped employing clinicians who lack master’s degrees in certified programs “some years ago,” the university said.
Seeing this change coming, faculty in SUNY Cortland’s Communication Disorders and Sciences Department more than a decade ago began working on creating a graduate program and making sure it met the “strict professional standards” that come with accreditation, per the release. The department also shifted the teaching emphasis of the speech and hearing clinic the department runs for community members on campus.
The graduate students now help deliver the majority of free public services offered to clients of all ages at the Center for Speech, Language and Hearing Disorders. During their two years at SUNY Cortland, that gives the students the “extra hands-on experience” expected from an accredited graduate program.
Creation of the graduate program and this year’s re-accreditation mark “critical milestones” in the Communication Disorders and Sciences Department’s 50-year history, the university said.
The CAA is run by the Maryland–based American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), which is the national professional, scientific and credentialing association for more than 182,000 members and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology support personnel; and students.

Cuomo: Mets coming to Syracuse required a big investment
SYRACUSE — The New York Mets’ decision to move their Triple-A affiliate and the upcoming renovation work at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse requires “a big investment.” Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Oct. 16 made the comment during his remarks at a ceremony inside the stadium, noting that the state and Onondaga County are each contributing
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SYRACUSE — The New York Mets’ decision to move their Triple-A affiliate and the upcoming renovation work at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse requires “a big investment.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Oct. 16 made the comment during his remarks at a ceremony inside the stadium, noting that the state and Onondaga County are each contributing $12.5 million and the City of Syracuse is adding $1.25 million to the stadium-renovation effort.
The New York Mets made their own big investment by buying the Syracuse Chiefs, which they will be renaming the Syracuse Mets.
“Big investment by the Mets. They bought the team, roughly $20 million to buy the team,” said Cuomo.
The governor spoke wearing a Mets jacket with the name “Cuomo” on the back, noting that it belonged to his late father.
“This jacket belonged to the 52nd governor of the state of New York, Gov. Mario Cuomo. And he kept this jacket for many, many years and he was very proud of it. And he gave me this jacket,” said Andrew Cuomo.
In his remarks, the governor announced that the Chiefs will become the Syracuse Mets when they begin play as the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets in 2019.
The Syracuse Mets are also committing to sign a lease extension to call Syracuse home for at least 25 years, Cuomo noted in his remarks before a seated audience inside the baseball stadium.
Just over a year ago, Cuomo had announced that the New York Mets had closed on a deal to purchase the Syracuse Chiefs.
The minor-league baseball team on Nov. 17, 2017 announced that its shareholders had approved the sale to the major league Mets.
Stadium project
The $26.25 million renovation project at NBT Bank Stadium will “result in an improved experience for dedicated baseball fans and visitors while ensuring the Mets’ farm-team will stay in Syracuse until at least 2043,” Cuomo’s office said in an Oct. 16 news release.
The renovation project will happen “in preparation for the arrival” of the New York Mets Triple-A affiliate, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney said in her remarks at the Oct. 16 ceremony. Mahoney will soon be leaving her position to become COO of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
The renovations will involve upgrading the clubhouse, lighting, and audio systems, replacing seats, improving the entry way, and reconfiguring the concourse and concession stands, according to Mahoney.
“This stadium is a county facility and it’s one of the jewels of our county parks system,” Mahoney said.
In his remarks, Jeff Wilpon, COO of the New York Mets, called it “a really exciting day for our franchise.”
“I can’t tell you how much we appreciate everything that’s being done here for the Mets and for us here in Syracuse,” said Wilpon.

Dannible & McKee prepares for conference focused on taxes and financial planning
DeWITT — Dannible & McKee, LLP, a Syracuse–based accounting firm, will host its annual Tax & Financial Planning Conference on Nov. 8 at the Doubletree by Hilton Syracuse at 6301 State Route 298 in DeWitt, near Carrier Circle. Dannible & McKee is headquartered at 221 S. Warren St. in Syracuse and also has an office
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DeWITT — Dannible & McKee, LLP, a Syracuse–based accounting firm, will host its annual Tax & Financial Planning Conference on Nov. 8 at the Doubletree by Hilton Syracuse at 6301 State Route 298 in DeWitt, near Carrier Circle.
Dannible & McKee is headquartered at 221 S. Warren St. in Syracuse and also has an office at 1701 North St. in Endicott.
The firm says it has designed the conference to provide “valuable insight” on the most recent tax, accounting, and financial changes facing businesses and individuals this year and to provide attendees with “key” year-end strategies, according to a Sept. 28 email the firm sent CNYBJ with details on the conference.
People can attend the conference at no cost, per the Dannible & McKee email. However, the firm would like attendees to register at its website no later than Nov. 5.

The event begins with registration that morning at 11:30 a.m. with lunch and presentations beginning at 12 p.m. The event concludes with a wine and cheese reception at 5:15 p.m.
Christina Callahan, executive director of Syracuse Regional Airport Authority, which operates Syracuse Hancock International Airport, is the event’s keynote speaker. She will discuss the airport’s terminal-improvement project and its impact on Central New York.
In addition, Dannible’s managing partner, Michael Reilly, CPA, will provide a federal tax update for businesses. Karl Jacob, CPA, partner-in-charge of tax services at Dannible, will provide a federal tax update for individuals.
The conference also includes breakout sessions with topics that include “Accounting, Reporting and Corporate Governance Update;” “Planning for a Successful Ownership Transition;” “2018 New York State Tax Update;” and “Understand Employee Benefit Plan Audits.”
Established as a partnership in 1978 by Anthony Dannible and Lance McKee, Dannible & McKee, LLP provides services in the areas of audit, tax, accounting and financial management consulting services to clients nationwide.
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