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Lockheed Martin Owego wins more than $364M Navy order for helicopters for Norway
OWEGO, N.Y. — Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) in Owego was recently awarded a $364.3 million firm-fixed-price order from the U.S. Navy against a previously issued basic ordering agreement. This order provides for the production and delivery of six multi-mission MH-60R Seahawk helicopters for the government of Norway, according to an Oct. 26 contract announcement […]
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OWEGO, N.Y. — Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) in Owego was recently awarded a $364.3 million firm-fixed-price order from the U.S. Navy against a previously issued basic ordering agreement.
This order provides for the production and delivery of six multi-mission MH-60R Seahawk helicopters for the government of Norway, according to an Oct. 26 contract announcement from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Designed and built by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, MH-60R helicopters will allow Norway to perform multiple maritime missions, including search and rescue and coastal and offshore patrol, according to a separate Oct. 26 news release from Lockheed Martin.
“Sikorsky and the U.S. Navy have 40 years of experience designing, building and improving Seahawk helicopters for operations in extreme maritime environments, and preparing militaries worldwide for ever-evolving threats,” Hamid Salim, VP at Sikorsky Maritime Systems, said in the release.
Work will be performed in Owego (52 percent); Stratford, Connecticut (40 percent); and Troy, Alabama (8 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2027, the Department of Defense contract announcement stated.
Foreign-military sales customer funds totaling $364,312,098 will be obligated at the time of award — none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River, Maryland is the contracting authority.
Norway’s order marked the second MH-60R contract award in less than a month, Lockheed Martin said. On Oct. 12, the U.S. Navy awarded the defense contractor a pact for eight Navy MH-60R helicopters for Spain.
Sikorsky has delivered 330 MH-60R helicopters to five countries. Sixty-four more are on order or in production for India, Greece, South Korea, Australia, Spain, and Norway, Lockheed Martin said.

Berkshire Bank’s parent company to pay Q4 dividend of 18 cents on Nov. 30
Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) — parent company of Berkshire Bank, which has a large presence in the Mohawk Valley region — recently announced that its board of directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 18 cents per common share. The dividend is payable on Nov. 30, to shareholders of record as of
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Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) — parent company of Berkshire Bank, which has a large presence in the Mohawk Valley region — recently announced that its board of directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 18 cents per common share.
The dividend is payable on Nov. 30, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Nov. 16.
At Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s current stock price, the payment yields about 3.5 percent on an annual basis.
Boston–based Berkshire has about $12.1 billion in total assets and a footprint of 96 financial centers in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Locally, Berkshire has branches in DeWitt, Rome (2), Whitesboro, New Hartford (2), North Utica, Ilion, and West Winfield.

Britton joins S.E.E.D. Planning Group as a financial planner
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — S.E.E.D. Planning Group, LLC recently announced that Sean Britton has joined the firm as a financial planner in its Binghamton office. In this role, he will serve as a hybrid planning specialist, coordinating with S.E.E.D.’s financial and tax planning teams — implementing financial plans with specialized tax-planning opportunities. Before joining S.E.E.D., Britton
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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — S.E.E.D. Planning Group, LLC recently announced that Sean Britton has joined the firm as a financial planner in its Binghamton office.
In this role, he will serve as a hybrid planning specialist, coordinating with S.E.E.D.’s financial and tax planning teams — implementing financial plans with specialized tax-planning opportunities.
Before joining S.E.E.D., Britton established his own registered investment advisory firm, called STAT Financial Health. He also served as system program manager for United Health Services and has been a paramedic with Superior Ambulance Service for more than 15 years.
Britton is a board member of the United Way of Broome County and Temple Concord Foundation.
S.E.E.D. Planning Group has offices in Binghamton, Whitney Point, and Salina, as well as Knoxville, Tennessee.

FEMA to provide technical assistance to Oneida County for flood mitigation
UTICA, N.Y. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has selected Oneida County for direct technical assistance (DTA) to support its flood-mitigation project efforts along the Oriskany Creek watershed. “Being selected by FEMA for direct technical assistance will allow us to fast-track projects throughout the Oriskany Creek watershed that mitigate flooding and build long-term resiliency
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UTICA, N.Y. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has selected Oneida County for direct technical assistance (DTA) to support its flood-mitigation project efforts along the Oriskany Creek watershed.
“Being selected by FEMA for direct technical assistance will allow us to fast-track projects throughout the Oriskany Creek watershed that mitigate flooding and build long-term resiliency in those areas,” Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. said in a press release. “This gives us a game-changing ability to further protect our residents and businesses from the devastating effects of flooding.”
The is the second year of operation for the DTA program, with a total of 74 communities selected nationally. Oneida County was one of 39 localities, and the only one in New York state, chosen in this round.
While the DTA program doesn’t provide funding, FEMA offers no-cost access to engineers, architects, and other professionals to help identify projects and provide services. Those include resiliency-planning assistance, plan scoping, applying for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grants, finding other matching grants, engineering and architectural design, community visioning outreach, partnership building, advanced hydraulic modeling, targeted university research, and financial, budget, and grant management.
The DTA includes an assigned staff from the FEMA Region 2 office to support the program implementation in coordination with the New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.
The agreement will be in place for 36 months.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — FustCharles, a certified public accounting (CPA) firm based in Syracuse, recently announced it has rehired Corinne M. English, CPA and admitted her into the partnership. English is returning to the accounting firm as an audit partner after working as a director, system controller at St. Joseph’s Health for the last two and
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — FustCharles, a certified public accounting (CPA) firm based in Syracuse, recently announced it has rehired Corinne M. English, CPA and admitted her into the partnership.
English is returning to the accounting firm as an audit partner after working as a director, system controller at St. Joseph’s Health for the last two and a half years, according to her LinkedIn profile. She previously worked at FustCharles as audit manager from 2007-2021.
English specializes in providing audit, accounting, and advisory services to health-care systems and not-for-profit organizations. She received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. John Fisher College in 2007.

Projects totaling $44 million announced at SUNY Poly
MARCY, N.Y. — New York State is spending $44 million on SUNY Polytechnic Institute to expand its current health-science wing and update nursing labs in

NBT Bank formally opens new Syracuse financial center location in The Post
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — NBT Bank on Thursday formally opened its relocated Syracuse financial center, which now operates inside The Post at 101 N. Salina St.

Herkimer College opens Esports Center
HERKIMER, N.Y. — Herkimer College on Thursday unveiled its new Esports Center. The center helps round out the college’s offerings surrounding the gaming industry, including

A. FRITZ, CPA has been promoted to senior manager at Grossman St. Amour CPAs PLLC. He joined the accounting firm in 1996 and works in the tax services group. Fritz practices in the areas of income-tax planning and preparation, financial-statement preparation, technology consulting, and bookkeeping. He has specialized experience in the calculation of federal low-income
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A. FRITZ, CPA has been promoted to senior manager at Grossman St. Amour CPAs PLLC. He joined the accounting firm in 1996 and works in the tax services group. Fritz practices in the areas of income-tax planning and preparation, financial-statement preparation, technology consulting, and bookkeeping. He has specialized experience in the calculation of federal low-income housing tax credits. Fritz has a master’s degree in accounting and bachelor’s degree in geography from Syracuse University.
AMY L. BRODERICK, CPA has been promoted to manager at Grossman St. Amour. She rejoined the accounting firm in 2017 after spending three years with Grossman St. Amour from 2011 to 2013. Broderick practices in the areas of audit and attest engagements and financial-statement preparation in the audit services group. She works with nonprofit entities including affordable housing. Broderick is a graduate of University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a master’s degree in accounting, and Niagara University with a bachelor’s degree in secondary math education.
CARRIE B. TANKERSLEY, CPA has been promoted to manager. She has spent most of her professional career with Grossman St. Amour since starting as an intern in 2000. Tankersley practices in the areas of individual, partnership and corporation tax-return preparation and tax planning for businesses and individuals in the tax services group. Her clients include construction, multi-state businesses, real-estate partnerships, retail distribution, and individuals. Tankersley graduated from Hartwick College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
KATELYN E. COOK, CPA has been promoted to supervisor at Grossman St. Amour. She joined the accounting firm in 2020 after completing a successful internship with the firm. Cook practices in the areas of income-tax return preparation, payroll and sales-tax return preparation, financial-statement preparation and bookkeeping for individuals and businesses in the tax services group. She is a graduate of SUNY Oswego with an MBA degree and bachelor’s degree in accounting.
BRYAN T. CZARNECKI, CPA has been promoted to supervisor. He joined Grossman St. Amour in 2021 after completing a successful internship with the firm. Czarnecki practices in the areas of audit and attest engagements and financial-statement preparation in the audit services group. His clients include public-school districts, governments and municipalities, and not-for-profit organizations. Czarnecki is a graduate of SUNY Oswego with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and MBA.
BRIANAH M. LANE, CPA has been promoted to supervisor. She joined Grossman St. Amour in 2020 upon completing a successful internship with the firm. Lane practices in the areas of audit and attest engagements and financial-statement preparation in the audit services group. She works with not-for-profit organizations including fire districts, public school districts, and government and municipalities. Lane is a graduate of SUNY Oswego with an MBA and bachelor’s degree in accounting.
BRIDGET E. ODORCZYK has been promoted to supervisor at Grossman St. Amour. Odorczyk joined the firm in 2020. Her practice includes income-tax return preparation, tax planning for individuals and businesses, financial-statement preparation and bookkeeping in the tax services group. She has special expertise in preparation of multi-state individual and business tax returns and tax returns requiring foreign filing requirements. Odorczyk is a graduate of Le Moyne College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and MBA.

Pinckney Hugo Group, a full-service marketing communications firm, has hired KATE VERZOSA as an art director, MATT OLSEN as a talent and culture specialist, MATT WEINER as an assistant account manager, and OLIVIA WATTS as a junior motion graphics designer. Before joining Pinckney Hugo Group, Verzosa was a senior designer at Magnifi U, Inc. She
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Pinckney Hugo Group, a full-service marketing communications firm, has hired KATE VERZOSA as an art director, MATT OLSEN as a talent and culture specialist, MATT WEINER as an assistant account manager, and OLIVIA WATTS as a junior motion graphics designer. Before joining Pinckney Hugo Group, Verzosa was a senior designer at Magnifi U, Inc. She also gained experience as a senior designer at another marketing organization in Central New York and as a freelance designer. Verzosa has a bachelor’s degree in communication design from the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University.
Olsen previously worked as a senior people operations associate at Hapn. He also gained experience in people operations, recruitment, and talent acquisition at organizations in New York City. Olsen has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and neuroscience from Syracuse University.
Weiner was previously an account manager at Ader, a marketing agency in Los Angeles. Prior to that, he gained experience in editing, digital marketing and social media at The Daily Walkthrough in Alexandria, Virginia. Weiner has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University at Buffalo.
Prior to joining Pinckney Hugo Group, Watts was a junior motion-graphics designer at MJH Life Sciences in Cranbury, New Jersey. She has a bachelor’s in fine arts degree in film and animation from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.