Lockheed Martin’s Suburban Syracuse facility wins $23M Navy contract modification

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SALINA — The Lockheed Martin, Rotary and Missions Systems plant just north of Syracuse has recently won a nearly $23.1 million modification to a previously awarded U.S. Navy contract to exercise an option for AN/SLQ-32(V)6 design agent engineering, incidental material, and travel. Work will be performed in Lockheed’s facility in the town of Salina, and […]

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Geneva General Hospital earns ACR ultrasound accreditation

Health Care, Subscriber Only

GENEVA — Geneva General Hospital has recently been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in ultrasound. The accreditation resulted from an extensive review by the American College of Radiology (ACR), according to a news release from UR Medicine Finger Lakes Health, the hospital’s parent organization. Ultrasound imaging, also known as sonography, uses high-frequency sound waves

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Lewis County firms win $104K for improvement, visibility projects

Nonprofits, North Country, Small Business, Subscriber Only

LOWVILLE — Eight Lewis County businesses will use grant awards totaling nearly $104,000 for various projects. Naturally Lewis, Inc. says the money comes from two different funds. The organization in late November announced the recipients of grants from the Building Business Fund and the Small Things, Big Impacts Fund. Building Business Fund is designed to

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LOWVILLE — Eight Lewis County businesses will use grant awards totaling nearly $104,000 for various projects.

Naturally Lewis, Inc. says the money comes from two different funds. The organization in late November announced the recipients of grants from the Building Business Fund and the Small Things, Big Impacts Fund.

Building Business Fund is designed to provide matching funds to businesses looking to scale-up their business operations through various “tools,” and the Small Things, Big Impacts Fund seeks to provide matching funds to businesses and organizations looking to increase their visibility.

A total of $103,600 has been awarded to eight businesses in Lewis County; the awarded projects are estimated to have an impact of over $334,000 for the local economy.

Naturally Lewis administers the services of the Lewis County Development Corporation.

Besides the recipients announced below, Naturally Lewis also noted that applications for the Small Things, Big Impacts Fund are open through this Thursday with $5,000 in funding remaining for 2024.

Funding recipients

The Building Business Fund aims to help businesses that are looking to expand or diversify and “demonstrate an overall benefit” to the community with matching grants greater than $10,000.

The recipients include S&S Spray Foam Insulation of Lowville, which was awarded $45,000 to help pay for a new spray foam system that will allow the addition of full-time positions.

At the same time, Snow Ridge Resort of Turin will allocate a $30,000 grant for interior upgrades in the Wax House to develop a four-season event venue.

In addition, Greene Acres Processing, LLC of Boonville will use its $25,000 award to help pay for a multi-tier sickle bar to “enable enhanced hemp harvesting operations by improving crop-cutting quality and efficiency,” Naturally Lewis said.

The Small Things, Big Impacts Fund provides matching grants totaling between $500 and $1,000.

The recipients included Squishy’s BBQ & Catering of Lowville, which was awarded $1,000 to help pay for a branded vinyl wrap on a trailer.

In addition, Harrisville Food Pantry will use its $450 grant for two interchangeable signs to promote events and programs, and Steeple & Hearth Marketing Collective of Lowville will allocate its $250 award toward a branding project.

The matching grants also included $1,000 for North Country Property Maintenance of Lowville, which will help pay for print and digital-marketing materials including yard signs, website development, and promotional materials.; and $900 for Old Croghan Engine House in Croghan, which will help fund four exterior signs that will impact three commercial tenants.

SBA says 14 upstate small-biz owners complete THRIVE

Small Business, Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Their businesses operate in communities that include Boonville, Oneonta, Syracuse, and Auburn. A group of 14 small-business owners from across upstate New York on Dec. 6 completed the SBA’s THRIVE program. THRIVE is a redesigned version of the SBA’s annual Emerging Leaders program, an entrepreneurship-development program that helps small businesses grow and expand,

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SYRACUSE — Their businesses operate in communities that include Boonville, Oneonta, Syracuse, and Auburn.

A group of 14 small-business owners from across upstate New York on Dec. 6 completed the SBA’s THRIVE program.

THRIVE is a redesigned version of the SBA’s annual Emerging Leaders program, an entrepreneurship-development program that helps small businesses grow and expand, the Upstate New York district of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) said in its announcement.

Only one cohort was offered in New York, so this year’s class was “the most geographically diverse of any prior years,” the SBA said. Participants represented nine different counties, some traveling five hours one way to learn and support their peers during in-person sessions, the agency added.

The THRIVE program stands for “train, hope, rise, innovate, venture, and elevate.” It provides participants with a curriculum that includes mentoring, in-person coaching, and self-paced instruction. The hybrid model combines virtual and classroom sessions, “ensuring flexibility and accessibility for busy business owners,” the SBA said.

“The Upstate SBA team is proud to celebrate the graduation of another successful THRIVE cohort,” Dan Rickman, director of the SBA Syracuse-Upstate New York district, said in the agency’s announcement. “With two thirds of net new jobs being created by small businesses over the last several years, it’s clearly critical to support the growth of our small businesses in order to sustain a healthy local economy. This amazing group of small business leaders have spent the last six months working together to develop strategies and skills to grow their businesses, and they’ve already started achieving some of their goals, such as hiring more employees, expanding into new markets, and building strong foundations for continued success.”

THRIVE also seeks to help small businesses develop and execute strategic growth plans.

Participants worked over a six-month period from late June to December. These business owners were involved in an interactive curriculum; received coaching from experienced business experts; and developed a three-year strategic growth action plan.

The current THRIVE program uses a hybrid model that requires participants to meet in Syracuse monthly in addition to accessing parts of the curriculum online. Altogether, the program provided more than 100 hours of instruction, the SBA said.

The Upstate New York district office has hosted over a dozen cohorts of the Emerging Leaders program over the past decade, including 12 in Syracuse and three in Albany, with nearly 180 total graduates.

PARTICIPANTS

The following is a list of this year’s THRIVE participants, along with their business name and its location.

• Andrew Carter, owner of Resilienx in Syracuse

• Tonya DeMulder, owner of Sunshine Counseling Services in Oneonta

• Paige Flori, owner of Boutique Wines, Spirits & Cider in Fishkill

• Lee Frisbee, owner of Frisbee’s Landscaping, Ponds & Patios in Rochester

• Kyle Hierholzer, owner of Hand in Health Massage Therapy in Syracuse

• Sean Lattimore Sr., owner of Springside Inn in Auburn

• LaTerese Matthews, owner of Van Dyke Norris Cleaning Services in Syracuse

• Maria Metthe, owner of Salt City Coffee in Syracuse

• Vicky Panissa, owner of Dakota Property Preservation & Home Improvement in Central Islip

• Joanne Rauch, owner of CR Fletcher in Syracuse

• Shannon Secor, owner of R2I Defense in Boonville

• Catherine Toniatti-Yanulavich, owner of Applied Biophysics in Troy

• Tina Webster, owner of Finger Lakes Staffing Services in Canandaigua

• Alex Zaranski, owner of Saucy Confections in Syracuse

Syracuse native serves in U.S. Navy aboard guided-missile destroyer

Subscriber Only

Seaman Christopher Parks, from Syracuse, operates the helm in the bridge of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88) in the North Pacific Ocean, on Nov. 21. The Preble is forward-deployed and assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force. PHOTO CREDIT: U.S.

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Tropical Smoothie Café opens in DeWitt

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

DeWITT — W2B Management LLC has opened its seventh Tropical Smoothie Café, LLC location in Central New York at 5761 Celi Drive in DeWitt. The opening comes about a month after W2B — a partnership between Roger Wagner, Jr. and brothers Rick and Mark Bartlett — opened a café in Camillus (shown in accompanying photos).

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DeWITT — W2B Management LLC has opened its seventh Tropical Smoothie Café, LLC location in Central New York at 5761 Celi Drive in DeWitt.

The opening comes about a month after W2B — a partnership between Roger Wagner, Jr. and brothers Rick and Mark Bartlett — opened a café in Camillus (shown in accompanying photos).

At just under 1,400 square feet, the newest café features a slightly different style than the usual, Wagner says. The dining room will have about four or five tables as well as a counter.

“It’s a smaller café,” he says. “It’s set up for grab and go.” Diners can order ahead using the mobile app and have their order ready and waiting for them when they arrive, he adds.

The hope is to capitalize on those lunching on the go, Wagner says. Nearby, there are a number of medical businesses, and he hopes employees will swing by for lunch.

“We feel like there’s a huge need that’s underserved,” he says. Featuring smoothies made with fresh fruit and other ingredients, as well as wraps, flatbreads, and bowls, Tropical Smoothie offers something different for a quick meal, Wagner contends. “The whole eat healthy thing is catching on.”

W2B opened its first Tropical Smoothie Café in Victor in 2021, but has since sold that location to the general manager, who was looking for the opportunity to grow, Wagner says. The company also has cafés in Webster, Irondequoit, Cicero, New Hartford, and Camillus.

While originally a little worried how the smoothie business would hold up through New York’s chilly winters, Wagner says sales are great. Business is split about 50/50 between smoothies and food.

“We’re filling a niche with the millennial group,” he says of the Tropical Smoothie Café customer base.

W2B, which also operates a number of Burger King and Moe’s Southwest Grill locations, is working toward a base of nine cafes in its franchise area. That area spans from the Rochester area, east to Utica, north to Watertown, and south to Cortland.

“There’s a lot of opportunity as the brand recognition grows,” Wagner says. There are already plans in the works for three more cafés over the next 18 months, starting in Clay and Penfield.

Wagner says he and his partners are also eyeing some college towns, where he feels the Tropical Smoothie Cafés would be a good fit.

He can easily see the franchise growing to critical mass, with about 15 locations in the Syracuse area and seven or eight in the Rochester region.

“We’re going to build one or two a year until we completely penetrate the market,” he says.

The newest Tropical Smoothie Café location in DeWitt is open daily from 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Tropical Smoothie Café, founded in 1997, has more than 1,500 locations across 44 states.

OCC Syracuse Community Health Quick Care Clinic

Syracuse Community Health Quick Care is now open at OCC

Health Care, Education & Training, Subscriber Only

ONONDAGA — The new Syracuse Community Health Quick Care at Onondaga Community College (OCC) is now serving patients. Syracuse Community Health and OCC on Dec. 5 formally opened the new clinic on the OCC campus. The facility is open to OCC students and employees, as well as community members, the community college said in its

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2024 Nonprofit Directory

Nonprofits, Subscriber Only

Click to read the 2024 Nonprofit Directory

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Year end is a crucial planning time for nonprofits

Insurance & Financial Services, Nonprofits, Subscriber Only

The end of the year is a good time for reflection and intention setting — not just personally, but also for nonprofit organizations. “We’re talking about strategic growth and what does it mean and why is it necessary,” says Terrence Phillips, a partner in the Bonadio Group’s assurance division. “To be viable in the future,

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The end of the year is a good time for reflection and intention setting — not just personally, but also for nonprofit organizations.

“We’re talking about strategic growth and what does it mean and why is it necessary,” says Terrence Phillips, a partner in the Bonadio Group’s assurance division. “To be viable in the future, you need to grow.”

Nonprofits can start that process by conducting a self-assessment, determining where the organization is now and what its needs are, Phillips says. Those needs can then be prioritized in order of importance to tackle.

“Doing a proper needs assessment is really critical,” he says. As part of that process, an organization needs to identify where its growth will come from. Will it be organic, will it come from programs, or will it come from benefactors? Are any mergers or acquisitions on the horizon? Assessing that information can help an organization identify alternatives in funding.

If growth is coming from programs, nonprofits should plot the roadmap to the next generation of services and how it will get there?

Often, there is a misconception that a nonprofit organization can’t be profitable, Phillips notes, but profitability (producing a surplus) is necessary to keep the organization alive and fulfilling its mission.

“You need to be financially viable, and the only way you’re financially viable is to have a surplus,” he says. The difference is that a nonprofit organization needs to use the money it raises to further its mission. However, that can be accomplished in a number of ways to help keep the organization financially secure.

For example, a nonprofit can invest those funds in staffing. “Getting good people is really competitive,” Phillips says. Generating enough revenue can help a nonprofit offer competitive salaries and benefits packages in order to attract top talent.

It’s also important for nonprofits to stay on top of their industry, both at the community level and the state level, he says. Making sure the organization aligns with the state’s strategic plans can open up funding opportunities, he adds.

Finally, organizations should review any potential partnerships or affiliations with other organizations that can strengthen the mission as well as the bottom line, Phillips says. Many larger nonprofits have begun offering management-service agreements, which generates revenue for those organizations and frees people up at the other organizations to focus on the mission.

It all comes down to the that self-assessment, Phillips says, and determining if the organization has the right players and tools to achieve its goals.

Rome Community Foundation awards $141K in grants to 15 nonprofits

Nonprofits, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

ROME — The Rome Community Foundation awarded $141,083 in grants to 15 Rome–area charitable organizations in its fourth-quarter grant distribution round, the foundation recently announced. The grant recipients are: Mohawk Valley Health Services, $31,433; Capitol Civic Center, $29,000; Rome Cemetery Association, $15,000; Mercy Flight Central, $12,000; Copper City Community Connection, $10,800; Zion Episcopal Church, $9,000;

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