Onondaga County hotel occupancy rate jumps nearly 16 percent in June

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Hotels in Onondaga County saw a surge in guests in June 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 increased 15.8 percent to 74.0 percent in June from 63.9 percent a year prior, according to STR, a Tennessee–based […]

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NYSSCPA elects Syracuse CPA Abboud as secretary/treasurer

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SYRACUSE — The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) announced it has elected Anthony T. Abboud, principal of Firley, Moran, Freer & Eassa, CPA, P.C., as secretary/treasurer of its board of directors. His one-year term began on June 1. Abboud joined the Society in 1998 and is a member of the Syracuse

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Craftsman Inn renovation nearing the homestretch

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

MANLIUS — After months of renovation work, the Craftsman Inn and Suites’ updated and upgraded look is starting to come into focus. Work is complete on the hotel section of the property, where a more open lobby greets visitors. Labor continues in the suites section of the hotel and in the restaurant and banquet areas,

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MANLIUS — After months of renovation work, the Craftsman Inn and Suites’ updated and upgraded look is starting to come into focus.

Work is complete on the hotel section of the property, where a more open lobby greets visitors. Labor continues in the suites section of the hotel and in the restaurant and banquet areas, which are being overhauled and expanded.

Robert M. Spoto, chief operating officer for Widewaters Hotels, the owner of the Craftsman Inn and 20 other hotels in the U.S. and Canada, says the upgrades have been planned since it purchased the East Genesee Street property in 2016.

Work at other Widewaters Hotels properties — including Vail, Colorado, and Bradenton, Florida — delayed the work here a bit, he says.

The inn has kept its signature Stickley furniture, he explains, but sent it back to the maker for refinishing. In the hotel section, the now black dressers and desks coordinate with black trim and black barn-style fittings on the shower doors, and bedroom doors in suites.

“We just felt there was a real need for a quality hotel on that [east] side of town,” Spoto says.

Touches include tiled bathroom floors, the same mattresses used at Waldorf Astoria hotels, and showers often replacing tubs.

“A business traveler doesn’t need a bath tub,” he says. However, rooms with double beds usually keep the bath because family travelers make use of it.

Similar upgrades are moving along in the suite section of the property, where new wiring can be seen through still-open ceiling grids.

With its headquarters on the eponymous parkway in DeWitt, Widewaters had been interested in having a hotel property in Central New York for some time, Spoto says. When the Craftsman came on the market, Widewaters leadership saw what could be not just another property, but a place that could serve as a training site for its other operations and a facility where new concepts and products could be tried out.

A concept new to the region, perhaps to all of upstate New York, is the wood-fired grill where a large portion of the food will be prepared when the former Limestone Grille reopens as the Craftsman Wood Grille and Tap House.

Patrons of the former grille won’t recognize much. “There’s nothing left of it,” says Spoto. Workers tore out the stairs and loft from the dining area and even removed the kitchen flooring. The front exterior has been redesigned and a covered patio on the west side of the restaurant can provide space for as many as 100 people, says Craftsman Inn and Suites General Manager Paul McNeil.

Amid the noise of construction, McNeil shows off the grill that will be the center of the open-concept kitchen. An 8-foot-long, stainless steel Grillworks Infierno grill, which burns nothing but wood, stands ready amid the construction material for installation. At a cost that exceeds many cars, the grill will require the fire be tended, coals shifted, and cooking surfaces be raised and lowered. The main fire sits up high, so coals can drop down below one of two cooking surfaces. That will make the flames visible throughout the restaurant, McNeil says.

In addition to the grill, the restaurant will have a wood-fired pizza oven, Spoto says.

With 89 rooms in all — 68 on the hotel side and 21 in the suites section — this is Widewaters Hotels’ smallest property. However, “because it’s so close, we want this hotel to be a true representation of our company’s quality,” Spoto says.

When Widewaters brings employees or guests to town, they stay at the Craftsman, he says. On a recent evening, 12 people in town for a meeting at Widewaters were staying at the Craftsman. “We want them to see what level of product and services we have to offer,” Spoto says.

McNeil, until recently the general manager at the Marriott Downtown Syracuse, points out some things that visitors may not notice. On the east side of the property, what had been a hill has been cut away and a retaining wall, installed to create space for 40 more parking spots. The construction of the patio roof allowed the ballroom ceiling to be raised to 16 feet, and new restrooms are far larger than previous restrooms.

The changes have cost about $3.5 million, Spoto says, but he expects the final costs to go higher before work is completed.

McNeil says he expects the suites to be ready for travelers by the beginning of September, “or maybe sooner.” The restaurant won’t be open for a couple of weeks after that to give staff time to train, break in equipment, and learn recipes. “You never want to practice on a guest,” he notes.

While Widewaters operates hotels with many well-known brands — Hilton, Holiday Inn, Hampton, DoubleTree and others — the Craftsman Inn and Suites will stay independent, Spoto says. “Definitely,” he adds.

Spencer cable company formally rebrands as Haefele Connect

Regional News, Small Business, Subscriber Only

SPENCER — Haefele Connect, a cable company based in Tioga County, recently rebranded from its former name of Haefele TV Inc. Haefele Connect celebrated with a ribbon-cutting event with the Tioga Chamber of Commerce and the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce. The cable company hired Blink Digital to help with the redesign of the

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SPENCER — Haefele Connect, a cable company based in Tioga County, recently rebranded from its former name of Haefele TV Inc.

Haefele Connect celebrated with a ribbon-cutting event with the Tioga Chamber of Commerce and the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce.

The cable company hired Blink Digital to help with the redesign of the logo and rebrand, Amber Harris, marketing manager, tells CNYBJ. The firm is located at 24 E. Tioga St. in the village of Spencer and has been in business for 35 years.

Haefele Connect serves residential subscribers, but has some municipality and commercial subscribers. As of early July, it had 5,724 subscribers across 22 municipalities, per Harris. Haefele served only Spencer when it first opened in 1983.

In 2015, Gov. Andrew Cuomo established the $500 million “New NY Broadband Program,” which provides New York State grant-funding in three phases to support projects that deliver high-speed Internet access to unserved underserved areas of the state. Haefele was awarded money in each of the three phases. The first phase, which was awarded in 2015, gave Haefele $271,568. Phase 2 granted the firm more than $5 million in 2016. And most recently, phase 3 gave the cable company just over $2.9 million.

Haefele Connect, which has used these funds to provide Internet access and cable TV to more people across the state, prides itself on its local workforce, which Harris says allows for a quick response to customers.

Haefele employs 23 people — all local and some of whom have worked there for more than 15 years, Harris says.

The company moved into its office space in 1987, which is evenly split between technicians and administrators, Harris says.

Lee Haefele, a former TV repairman, founded the company in 1983. Haefele is still president, and his youngest son Jeremy, is now VP of the company.

Harris says the company gives back to its community by supporting local initiatives, such as the Broome-Tioga County Relay for Life, the Inspire S-VE Community and Fitness Center, and the Nichols Pond Park renovation.

Believe in Syracuse elects Zorn as new board president

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Also announces other board officers SYRACUSE — Believe in Syracuse recently announced it has elected Esther Zorn as the new president of its board of directors and has also appointed several other board officers. Believe in Syracuse is a nonprofit organization that says it promotes positive perceptions and improves the quality of life in the

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Also announces other board officers

SYRACUSE — Believe in Syracuse recently announced it has elected Esther Zorn as the new president of its board of directors and has also appointed several other board officers.

Believe in Syracuse is a nonprofit organization that says it promotes positive perceptions and improves the quality of life in the greater Syracuse area.

Zorn is a founding board member of Believe in Syracuse and is a long-time resident of the city of Syracuse, the organization said in a news release. She graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in journalism and international relations.

Zorn and her husband stayed in Syracuse and raised their three children, who have now all left the area. Zorn and her husband have chosen to stay in Syracuse for reasons including the beauty of the Central New York area, its easy access to many other attractive metropolitan and natural areas, its affordable housing, and its friendly people, the release stated.

Zorn is a past president of WBOC (Women Business Opportunities and Connections) and now board member of Zonta, member of Rotary of Eastwood, and was recently chosen to serve on the Agent Leadership Council for Keller Williams Realty Syracuse, where she is continuing her more than 16-year career as a real estate associate broker.

The Believe in Syracuse board has elected Jessica Bumpus as VP. She has been a resident of the Syracuse area since 2004, moving from central Texas to pursue a bachelor’s degree at SUNY-ESF. After having her son in 2007, she decided to settle in the area. Bumpus currently works at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo as the gift shop manager and buyer, the chair of the Conservation Committee, and member of the Education Committee. Bumpus is the treasurer for the Rosamond Gifford Zoo chapter of American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) and former executive board member of GreeningUSA, the release stated.

Matthew McArdle is the new treasurer and a member of the board of directors of Believe in Syracuse. He graduated from Westhill High School and received a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University, where he studied accounting and finance. McArdle is a CPA and a manager at DiMarco, Abiusi, & Pascarella CPA.

Elected as board secretary, Mery Liranzo-Nieves is a three-year resident of Syracuse, originally from southern New Jersey. She has a bachelor’s degree from Stockton University in New Jersey in business management. Liranzo-Nieves currently works at the Social Security Administration.

Believe in Syracuse has elected Sally Sayles-Hannon as its new sergeant of arms. She is a diversity educator and active community organizer/advocate in Central New York, the release said. She has been an instructor at five U.S. universities and colleges. She currently holds an instructor position at Cayuga Community College in Auburn in the School of Social Sciences and Education. Sayles-Hannon has a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Grand Valley State University, a master’s degree in women’s studies from Texas Woman’s University, and is a Ph.D. candidate in cultural foundations of education at Syracuse University. She is presently the chair of the Community Service Committee. Sayles-Hannon moved to Syracuse in August 2008 from Dallas, Texas.

“We will rise by lifting others, and we as the new board of Believe in Syracuse are excited to work together and continue to lift Syracuse up as a great place to live and work,” Zorn said in the release. “We are also well aware that through effective collaboration with other organizations and the city leadership, more grassroots work can get done. Believe in Syracuse intends to work on retaining people in Syracuse while attracting new businesses so jobs will be plentiful and Syracuse can rise to the top of any list.”

NBT Bancorp to pay quarterly dividend of 25 cents in mid-September

Banks & Credit Unions, Subscriber Only

NORWICH — NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: NBTB) recently announced that its board of directors has approved a third-quarter 2018 cash dividend of 25 cents a share. The dividend will be paid on Sept. 14, to shareholders of record as of Aug. 31. It’s the same amount that NBT paid last quarter when the banking company

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Auburn to organize plan for spending $10M in Downtown Revitalization Initiative

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AUBURN — The City of Auburn will soon begin the process of developing a “strategic-investment plan to revitalize” its downtown area. The state has awarded the Cayuga County community $10 million in funding as the Central New York winner of the third round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI). Auburn will use up to $300,000

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AUBURN — The City of Auburn will soon begin the process of developing a “strategic-investment plan to revitalize” its downtown area.

The state has awarded the Cayuga County community $10 million in funding as the Central New York winner of the third round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI).

Auburn will use up to $300,000 in planning funds from the $10 million DRI grant to develop its downtown plan, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on July 27.

A local planning committee that will include municipal representatives, community leaders, and other stakeholders will lead the effort, supported by a team of private-sector experts and state planners.

The plan for downtown Auburn will examine local assets and opportunities and identify economic development, transportation, housing, and community projects that “align with the community’s vision for downtown revitalization and that are poised for implementation.”

The downtown Auburn investment plan will outline the spending of DRI grant funds on “revitalization” projects that will “advance the community’s vision” for its downtown and that can “leverage and expand” upon the state’s $10 million award.

Auburn’s plan for the DRI’s third round will be complete in 2019.

“Work to be done”

The Central New York regional economic-development council chose Auburn as part of a “competitive” process, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Auburn will use the $10 million in state funding to “revitalize its downtown neighborhoods and generate new opportunities for long-term growth,” Cuomo’s office said.

Even though recent public and private investment; local planning efforts; and capital-infrastructure projects have started to “catalyze” the downtown area’s redevelopment, “there is still work to be done” along the city’s riverfront; transportation corridors; and arts district that are part of the DRI investment area and “provide the greatest potential for vacant property revitalization and corridor enhancement,” Cuomo’s office said.

Auburn now joins the cities of Oswego and Cortland, which were Central New York’s winners in the first and second DRI rounds, respectively.

The announcement complements CNY Rising, the region’s economic-development blueprint.

As in the first two rounds of the DRI, one downtown in each of the state’s 10 regional economic-development areas is selected as a $10 million winner, per Cuomo’s office.

Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Vets graduates latest class

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SYRACUSE — Matthew Putt, a veteran of the U.S. Army, helps operate Boss Security and Automation in Horseheads, a firm that specializes in the design and installation, and maintenance of surveillance systems, alarm systems, and some fire systems. Putt, a Corning native, served in the Army for about five years, including service at Fort Drum.

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Putt, a Corning native, served in the Army for about five years, including service at Fort Drum.

He was among the nearly 30 participants in the latest Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV) at Syracuse University, which has the support of the school’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF).

Putt and a partner launched the company “about three years ago.” His business currently has eight employees.

“I really wish I would’ve had this three years ago … for me, it’s really been a week of obviously learning a lot of new things but also a time to reflect and be away from the office and really look at the last three years as a whole and get that spark back,” said Putt.

He spoke with local reporters on July 26 at Syracuse’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

EBV is a nine-day, “intensive” program for veterans who are focused on starting and building a business. The program concluded with a graduation ceremony July 28.

The program is “giving veterans the ability to craft their own vocation,” said Misty Stutsman, director of entrepreneurship and small business at Syracuse’s IVMF.

Stutsman also spoke with local media that same day in the Whitman School where veterans were involved in course work.

The participants include veterans from 16 states and Puerto Rico. The group includes six veterans from upstate New York.

Participants attended classes, networking events and presentations, and have been learning the fundamentals of operating a business from more than 30 “accomplished” entrepreneurs and professors.

“It’s not just one week that they’re here on campus from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. It’s actually an entire year’s worth of programming that we put into these veterans,” said Stutsman.

The participating veterans either operate their own business or are working to launch a new business, she added. Organizers like to have participants with a mix of business experience, according to Stutsman.

“Because of that, they get to learn from each other. They get to learn … the successes of the veterans that have been there and done that,” said Stutsman.

The program helps veterans like Putt, who is already operating a business, and veterans such as Austin Leathers, who is working to start a business.

Leathers, a 2005 graduate of Baldwinsville’s Baker High School who served in the U.S. Navy from 2006 to 2015, is working to launch an outdoor lifestyle clothing brand.

“I always wanted to be my own boss. I figured it was a great time to do it and this is a great opportunity,” Leathers told reporters at the event.

The business has a name but Leathers declined to disclose it because he hasn’t completed the firm’s website or other intellectual property for the business.

The EBV program has helped Leathers in meeting people, including speakers and classmates, and hearing their ideas, he told reporters.

Besides the nine-day, in-person seminar at a participating school, EVB also includes a 30-day online course, and 12 months of post-conference support.

Mike Haynie, vice chancellor at Syracuse University and founder/director of the IVMF, established the program in 2007.

Since then, EBV has expanded to a consortium of 10 schools across the country. More than 1,600 aspiring entrepreneurs have graduated from the program in its various locations, 72 percent of whom have gone on to start their own businesses.

EBV graduates have generated a total of more than $300 million through their ventures, Syracuse University said. ν

Owego’s Tom Ash Agency adds second location in Endwell

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Insurance & Financial Services, Small Business, Subscriber Only

ENDWELL — The Tom Ash Agency, based in Owego in Tioga County, has expanded into Broome County with a new office in the hamlet of Endwell. The independent insurance agency plans to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 11:00 a.m. to formally open the new

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ENDWELL — The Tom Ash Agency, based in Owego in Tioga County, has expanded into Broome County with a new office in the hamlet of Endwell.

The independent insurance agency plans to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 11:00 a.m. to formally open the new office at 519 Hooper Road in Endwell (town of Union).

Jennifer Welch, owner of the Tom Ash Agency, tells CNYBJ that she decided to open a second office because “we were ready to expand. And we do have current clients this way.” It was the first time the agency had opened an additional location.

She says the Endwell office first opened to customers in late April and adds that the ribbon cutting had to wait until she secured a new sign for the storefront.

“This is a great location here, nice central location… Sits in a nice shopping plaza here,” Welch says. She leases her space from Fishs Eddy IV, LLC, which owns the plaza. She wasn’t sure of her square footage. The one-story shopping center, which was built in 1970, encompasses more than 6,400 square feet on 2.4 acres of land, according to Broome County’s online property records.

Welch adds that there was also a “bit of nostalgia” behind her decision to select the Hooper Road site for her insurance office. “I grew up on the north side of Endicott, not too far from here. Across the street now is a Best Bagels in Town. But it was a Carvel ice cream shop when I was a kid and my dad would take me there a lot,” she says.

The Tom Ash Agency has operated at 185 Main St. in Owego since 1975. Tom Ash started the insurance agency in the early 1970s, at first from his home, and led the business until retiring at the end of 2014. Welch says she worked for Ash for 12 years as a licensed agent before buying the agency’s book of business and Owego building upon Ash’s retirement.

When asked why she decided to buy the business, Welch says, “I loved the way Mr. Ash treated customers. I loved being in that office… Mr. Ash treated clients as family. We knew their names. Many of the customers would come into the office just to have a cup of coffee and hang out… I loved his sense of community… It was the right move for me.”

The Tom Ash Agency has one employee in Endwell and two employees in Owego, for a total of three staff members for the business, including Welch. Two of the employees are licensed insurance agents, she says.

Welch says she spends three days a week in the Endwell office and the other two days in Owego.

The Tom Ash Agency offers home, auto, and business insurance. It also provides specialty lines of insurance, including personal umbrella, boat, ATV, motorcycle, snowmobile, travel trailer, golf cart, and workers’ compensation. The insurance carriers whose products it offers include Progressive, Travelers, Utica Mutual, and Eastern Mutual.

The Tom Ash Agency offices are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. ν

Terakeet appoints Fraas as chief people officer

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Terakeet, a Syracuse–based enterprise search-engine optimization (SEO) company, announced it has hired Lynn Fraas as its chief people officer, responsible for leading the firm’s human resource department. Fraas comes to Terakeet most recently from PeopleStrategy, where she served as chief operating officer. She previously was group VP of talent strategy at SapientRazorfish and

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