SYRACUSE — A total of 25 teams turned out Saturday, Jan. 20, for the fourth annual Central New York Regional VEX IQ Robotics Challenge, held at the Museum of Science & Technology (MOST) in Armory Square.

The event is organized by the MOST and sponsored by SRC, Best Buy, The Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation, Berkshire Bank, Lockheed Martin, Syracuse University, NASA, and the Technology Alliance of Central New York, according to a MOST news release.

Winners of the 2018 Robotics Challenge include:

– The Teamwork Champion Award, presented to each of the two teams on the highest-scoring alliance in the Teamwork Challenge finals, was won by FrostByte of Freezing Code Robotics Club from Oswego, and Granville Horde-A, from Granville Junior High School in Granville.

– The Teamwork Second Place Award, for the two teams on the second-highest scoring alliance in the Teamwork Challenge finals, was presented to Granville Horde-C, from Granville Junior High School in Granville, and Gator Robotics A, from Grant Middle School in Syracuse.

– The Excellence Award, presented to a team that exemplifies overall excellence in creating a high-quality VEX IQ robot, was awarded to FrostByte, a team of the Freezing Code Robotics Club from Oswego.

– The Design Award recipient, honored for students’ ability to implement the most effective and efficient robot-design process, was presented to South Onondaga Robotics (A) of Syracuse. Teams that submit detailed engineering notebooks are eligible for this award.

– The STEM Research Project Award, given to the team that makes the most effective STEM research-project presentation, was won by South Onondaga Robotics (B) from Syracuse.

– The Robot Skills Champion Award, presented to the team with the highest combined Programming Skills Challenge and Driving Skills Challenge score, was awarded to FrostByte, a team of the Freezing Code Robotics Club from Oswego.

– The Judges Award, bestowed upon a team the judges determine is deserving of special recognition, was presented to South Onondaga Robotics (A) from Syracuse.

– The Amaze Award, given to the team that builds an “amazing,” high-scoring robot and clearly demonstrates overall quality, was awarded to Granville Horde-D, from Granville Junior High School in Granville.

– The Create Award, presented to the team whose robot design incorporates a creative engineering solution to the design challenges of the season’s game, was awarded to Granville Horde-A, from Granville Junior High School in Granville.

– The Energy Award, given to a team that displays a high level of enthusiasm and passion, was presented to Knight Industries (1), from Lincoln Middle School in Syracuse.

– The Sportsmanship Award, presented to a team that has earned the respect and admiration of the volunteers and other teams, was won by Robotic Brainiacs, from Edward Smith K-8 in Syracuse.

– The Volunteer of the Year Award, given to an event volunteer who demonstrates a commitment and devotion to their community, honored Andy Jordan of Lockheed Martin.

The MOST says it is a science and technology museum for people of all ages, seeking to inspire learning through hands-on education and entertainment. The MOST is regularly open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. It’s also open on Mondays for holidays and local school vacations. 

LANSING — The credit union’s security cameras captured the whole thing.

The hoodie-wearing robber walks in the door, steps up to the teller, and points a handgun at her. 

The teller opens her cash drawer and passes the money to the robber. He sets the gun down and adjusts the cash, picks up the gun, and moves to the next teller. She cooperates as well.

Then the robber turns and walks out. As he leaves, another person is entering the branch and steps back as if in surprise.

In just under a minute, the Jan. 17 armed robbery of the Cornell Federal Credit Union branch in Lansing was over and the robber gone.

“It was very impressive,” says Tompkins County Sheriff Kenneth Lansing, speaking of the way the tellers and others in the credit union handled themselves. Lansing says they did what they were supposed to do: “To the best of your ability, cooperate and be as calm as possible.”

“You can’t get macho; this isn’t television,” he adds.

American Bankers Association executive VP James Chessen agrees. “The primary concern is the safety of the customers and the bank employees,” he says. 

Chessen explains that frontline bank employees are trained in procedures for robberies. Every new employee gets trained and refresher training takes place periodically. In an area where robberies have been reported, training may occur more frequently, he adds.

Heather Wyson, ABA’s VP of payments and cybersecurity, says banks cooperate on improving security. “We don’t see security as a competitive issue. Members share lessons learned,” she says. “In addition to lessons learned, our members often share recommended practices and help to develop training resources for others to use.” 

One way they share is through the ABA Bank Capture program. It allows banks to swap information about robberies and frauds that are targeting banks.

Chessen says such sharing is one factor that has led to a steep decline in the number of bank robberies. FBI statistics show that in 2003 7,465 bank robberies occurred in the U.S. In 2016, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the U.S. experienced 4,251 robberies, according to the FBI. That’s a 43 percent decline in 13 years.

Another factor may be that would-be robbers have noticed that banks aren’t so easy to rob and the proceeds are usually not that great, “usually less than a couple thousand dollars,” Chessen says.

There is also a high probability of getting caught, he says. Government regulations dating to the 1960s require security procedures be in place, including things like cameras of the type that recorded the Lansing robbery.

Law enforcement takes bank robbery very seriously. It’s been a federal crime since 1934 and the FBI, along with Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department, Ithaca Police, Cornell University Police Department, New York State Police and the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office worked the Lansing robbery.

That resulted in the arrest, just 9 days after the robbery, of 32-year-old Chaio Slater, of Ithaca. He was charged with the Lansing robbery and a December robbery at the Tompkins County Trust Company branch in Ithaca.

While Slater’s case will be handled by the criminal-justice system, the sheriff says that the tellers who followed their training may need counseling or other help. “There are things we never forget,” he says. 

Chessen adds that the need for help after a robbery varies greatly. “You don’t know how traumatic it was for a person.”

Expressing his admiration for how the tellers maintained their calm throughout the robbery, observing what they could and following their training, Lansing says, “I’ve had guns stuck in my face and it’s easier said than done.”         

Banks that serve Central New York are among many across the country that have announced bonuses, pay raises, and other employee perks in the wake of tax cuts passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in December.

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act reduced the top federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. That triggered a tsunami of public companies announcing raises and bonuses for employees.

More than 280 companies announced raises, bonuses, increased 401(k) contributions, or, in the case of utilities, rate cuts, following the passage of the legislation, according to Americans for Tax Reform. The Washington, D.C.–based lobbying group said some 3 million American workers are affected by the changes.

Some banks announced their moves in separate statements while others made the news part of their quarterly earnings reports. Many banks noted that the new tax law was costing them money in the short term because the value of certain deferred assets dropped due to the lower tax rates.

“Fourth quarter results were negatively impacted by the newly enacted tax legislation, but a lower corporate tax rate in the future should provide many benefits to M&T,” said Darren J. King, M&T Bank’s executive VP and chief financial officer.

Details of bank pay raises

Several banks headquartered in upstate New York announced their plans to raise pay or offer other employee perks due to the cut in the corporate tax rate.

M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB), which is headquartered in Buffalo and ranks number one in deposit market share in the 16-county Central New York area, said it’s raising wages for hourly paid employees to a range of $14 to $16 per hour. M&T said that the move represented “an investment in employees of $25 million, once fully implemented.” Employees will also be paid for 40 hours of volunteer or employee resource-group activities. Additionally, the bank contributed 

$50 million to the M&T Charitable Trust in 2017, up from the average annual donation for the past decade of $18 million.

Cleveland–headquartered KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), parent of Key Bank, said it will be increasing its minimum wage and increasing its contributions to employees’ retirement accounts. KeyBank ranks second in deposit market share in the 16-county Central New York region.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ: NBTB), based in Norwich and the number three bank in deposit market share in Central New York, is increasing starting hourly pay to $15. Also, employees earning less than $50,000 a year will receive permanent raises of 5 percent. That will affect more than 60 percent of bank employees, NBT said.

Tompkins Financial Corp. (NYSE: TMP), the parent of Tompkins Trust Company, headquartered in Ithaca, announced that it is raising its profit sharing to employees to 9 percent of employee annual pay. “We also plan to raise the minimum wage paid by our company to $14 to $15 per hour based on geography and we are committed to increasing compensation for all employees earning less than $18 per hour,” the bank said. It added that the wage hikes will cost more than $1 million.

In addition, Tompkins Financial said it would leverage the benefits of the tax cuts by spending on improvements. “This includes planned investments to modernize our facilities, improve customer-facing technology and expand staff in support of these initiatives.”

New York City–based banks with operations in Central New York also announced pay increases.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) announced a five-year investment that it credited to its current strength and the tax changes, as well as “a more constructive regulatory and business environment.” The changes included raises that will average 10 percent for 22,000 employees and upping community-based philanthropic investments by 40 percent to $1.75 billion over five years.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) paid $1,000 bonuses to 145,000 employees following the passage of the tax changes. “We also shared our success with stakeholders through our high level of funding philanthropic initiatives,” CEO Brian Moynihan said in a news release.

Two New England–based banks with branches in Central New York also announced plans to share the benefits of the tax-law changes with employees.

Citizens Bank — a unit of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE: CFG) headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island — said it would pay one-time $1,000 bonuses to 12,500 employees earning below a certain level. It said 70 percent of workers would be affected. The bank also announced a $10 million contribution to its charitable foundation.

Berkshire Bank — a unit of Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NASDAQ: BHLB), headquartered in Massachusetts — announced it is raising its minimum wage to $15 an hour and paying a one-time $1,000 bonus to more than 1,000 employees, in addition to the $500 holiday bonus workers received. The bank is also contributing $2 million to its charitable foundation.          

NORWICH, N.Y. — The new federal tax law impacted NBT Bancorp Inc.’s (NASDAQ: NBTB) net-income figures in both the fourth quarter and all of 2017.

NBT Bancorp reported net income of $17.6 million in the fourth quarter, down from $19.6 million in the same period a year ago. The parent company of NBT Bank generated earnings per share of 40 cents in the fourth quarter, off from 45 cents a share in the prior-year quarter. 

NBT’s profit was reduced by taking an estimated $4.4 million, one-time, non-cash charge recorded in the provision for income taxes related to the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Without it, NBT Bancorp would have reported net income of $22 million, or 50 cents per share, up about 12 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2016.

For the full year, NBT Bank reported net income of $82.2 million, or $1.87 per share, up from $78.4 million, or $1.80 a share, during 2016. Without the $4.4 million charge, NBT’s full-year net income would have been $86.6 million, or $1.97 per share, up about 10 percent from 2016.

NBT Bancorp “delivered strong results” in 2017, including “record” net income for the fifth straight year and a new annual earnings per share “record,” John H. Watt, Jr., president and CEO of NBT Bancorp, noted in the banking company’s earnings report. NBT added that the tax law would boost future earnings and allow it to make investments in its workforce, customer offerings, and community organizations.

“Tax reform has created an important opportunity for NBT to invest in our employees, the customer experience and our communities. Allocating resources to permanent wage increases, customer-facing technology and contributions to the organizations that serve our communities is in alignment with the intent of the tax reform act and, most important, it allows us to invest in enhancing our business, ultimately increasing the return to our shareholders,” said Watt.

Norwich–based NBT Bancorp had total assets of $9.1 billion as of Dec. 31, 2017. The banking company primarily operates through NBT Bank, N.A. and through two financial services companies — EPIC Advisors, Inc., a Rochester–based 401(k) plan recordkeeping firm, and Norwich–based NBT-Mang Insurance Agency. NBT Bank has 152 branches in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. 

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com