Appointment announced
POTSDAM — CITEC Solutions recently expanded its team of experts with the addition of Steven Lockwood of Malone, who brings 11 years of experience in the areas of productivity improvements, plant management, quality systems and problem solving.
With management experience developed at Camoplast, Multina USA and General Motors, Lockwood is able to identify and implement cost savings that translate into increased profitability for companies.
"There are great opportunities for companies in the region to become more profitable by systematically identifying inefficiencies and correcting those," he said. "As a member of the CITEC team, we have the expertise to help companies determine how best to achieve the impacts they need to be as competitive as possible.
Lockwood received his Liberal Arts Associates Degree from SUNY Canton and his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Plattsburgh State.
CITEC Solutions is a nonprofit economic-development organization that receives financial support from Empire State Development's Division of Science, Technology and Innovation, which works to facilitate the integration of innovation and technology throughout New York's economic-development efforts.
The advisers of CITEC provide assistance in sales and marketing, manufacturing-process improvements, lean enterprise, strategic business planning, energy and utility efficiencies, human-resources training, funding access, new product development and more.
For more information, visit www.citec.org or call 315-268-3778.
Award bestowed
PLATTSBURGH — The Advocacy and Resource Center Foundation has presented its 2011 Pinnacle Award to Clark Forster of CFA Insurance Agency, LLC.
The Pinnacle Award was presented in recognition of his outstanding commitment and financial support. The ARC Foundation is a fundraising organization associated with the Advocacy and Resource Center of Clinton County.
The center has been providing treatment and residential services for the mentally retarded and developmentally disabled for more than 50 years. At present, the agency serves 550 participants in its various programs through the efforts of 460 employees.
As the level and scope of public funding for these services are curtailed, the need for funds from private sources is critical to maintain a high level of service. The ARC Foundation appreciates Forster's and other community members' continued commitment.
Training completed
PLATTSBURGH — Nick Martineau of Taylor Rental in Plattsburgh has completed the JLG Electric Lift Service Training.
Martineau attended the three-day intensive training in McConnellsburg, Pa. He was awarded a certificate for the training and knowledge of electrical lifts. Martineau has been with Taylor Rental for six years as the head technician.
Also, Jose Rivas completed a Briggs and Stratton Technical Seminar. Rivas attended the day-long intensive training in Schenectady.
He was awarded a certificate of completion for the seminar and knowledge of the hands-on training. Rivas has been with Taylor Rental for four years as head mechanic.
Flood relief
JAY — Ward Lumber is challenging people to give a donation for the ongoing Tropical Storm Irene flood victims fund and will match those gifts 2 to 1, doubling their donations.
That pool of funds will be used to match all gifts from employees, customers and friends for a target grand total of $10,000, including Ward Lumber's match up to $5,000.
For the Town of Jay, the impact was high. More than 175 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Property damage was so severe that many families will never be able to return to their homes.
Some remediation will come in the form of flood insurance, for those who had it, and FEMA dollars may help. However, these will not go all the way to making families and small businesses whole again. The unmet need is estimated to be well over $1 million.
The Jay Flood Relief Fund and the Keene Flood Recovery Fund have been established at the Adirondack Community Trust to receive tax-deductible gifts to support the hamlets of AuSable Forks, Jay and Upper Jay, Keene and Keene Valley. A committee of local volunteers will evaluate applications for assistance and determine how grants will be allocated.
Checks may be mailed to the Jay Flood Relief Fund or the Keene Flood Recovery Fund at Adirondack Community Trust, Ward Lumber Challenge Match, P.O. Box 288, Lake Placid, N.Y., 12946, or contribute online at www.HelpJayNY.org or www.keenefloodrecovery fund.org. Donors must note their gift is meant for the Ward Lumber Challenge Match so it can be designated correctly.
Seminar offered
PLATTSBURGH — Protecting Technology: Patent and Trade Secret Basics will be covered in a seminar to be presented from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, by attorneys from Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC and will be hosted at the North Country Chamber of Commerce.
Veteran patent attorney Tom Kohler will discuss the basics of patent protection.
Trade secrets can also protect valuable business information ranging from customer lists to business plans to technological innovations. Experienced intellectual property rights litigator Walter Judge will examine what a trade secret is, when it is preferable to a patent, how to identify and protect it, and trade secret misappropriation.
Kohler is a registered patent attorney and experienced patent litigator who has worked in diverse technology areas including medical devices, consumer products, Internet and computer products, semiconductor fabrication and telecommunications.
Judge joined the firm in 1992 after working for a prominent Boston firm. In more than two decades of litigation practice, he has litigated copyright, patent, trademark and trade-secret matters and managed numerous trials and appeals in state and federal courts in Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine.
The seminar, which includes breakfast, is $15 for North Country Chamber members; $30 for non-members. For more information or to register, call the chamber at 563-1000.
Nominations sought
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Small Business Administration is seeking nominations for awards honoring the critical economic role small businesses play in federally funded research and development through SBA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.
Three awards will be given, one for companies that have participated in the SBIR/STTR programs, one for individuals who advocate on behalf of the programs, and a third Hall of Fame award recognizing companies that have an extended period of extraordinary success of research, innovation and product commercialization within the SBIR or STTR program.
The Tibbetts Awards are named after Roland Tibbetts, who was instrumental in developing SBIR, a highly competitive program to ensure small businesses get a chance to compete for federal research and development funding, along with the opportunities it provides to profit from commercialization of the technologies they develop.
The SBIR and STTR programs currently account for more than $2.5 billion per year in federal R&D funds and are coordinated by the SBA in cooperation with 11 other federal agencies with large external research and development budgets.
The awards are presented to companies and individuals that are beacons of promise and models of excellence in high technology.
Selections for Tibbetts Awards are based on several factors including the economic impact of the technological innovation, overall business achievement and demonstration of effective collaborations.
Nominations for these awards opened Dec. 15 and will close at 5 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2012. To submit a nomination, visit tibbetts.chal lenge.gov and sbirhof.challenge.gov.
Annual awards
TUPPER LAKE — The Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce will recognize Tupper Lake's Citizen of the Year and Business of the Year at its annual meeting in February.
Nominations are being sought for each of these awards. They can be submitted at http://tupper lake.com/awards. Voting ends Jan. 31.
For more information, call the chamber at 359-3328.
Member honored
SARANAC LAKE — The Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce has signed Cape Air as a platinum member of the organization.
"We are happy to announce that the chamber is welcoming Cape Air as our first platinum chamber member," said Executive Director Sylvie Nelson. "This means the airline will be a main sponsor for all the events the chamber organizes."
The partnership will give Cape Air a presence at various community and chamber events, including the Summer Concert Series, legislative events, the Holiday Mixer and Annual Dinner.
They will also be featured on the chamber's website and in marketing material including the annual Visitor's Guide and Village Map for Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.
"Over the years, the chamber has been an outstanding resource and partner to Cape Air. We are so delighted to strengthen our partnership with the chamber. This membership offers Cape Air the ultimate opportunity to connect fully with the Saranac Lake community," said Jacqueline Donohoo, northeast marketing manager, Cape Air.
For more information, contact the chamber at 891-1990 or by email at info@saranaclake.com.
Ski center benefit
SARANAC LAKE — Home on holiday break from the World Cup circuit, Olympic biathlete Tim Burke has launched a limited-edition coffee with Adirondack Bean-To.
Proceeds from each bag of BurkeBeaner Hammer Roast sold this ski season will be donated to the campaign to build a new lodge at Dewey Mountain, where Burke learned to cross-country ski race as a kid.
Burke went on to compete in two Olympics and to become the first American to lead the biathlon World Cup in 2009.
"I support Dewey because of all the great opportunities it provided me," Burke said. "This was the place I could come not only to ski but to be with friends, meet new people and live a healthy, active lifestyle. That was important to my childhood, and I'd like other kids to have that opportunity as well."
Burke and Nordic-combined Olympian Bill Demong are honorary trustees of Dewey Mountain Friends. They are helping raise funds to improve Dewey's facilities in partnership with the Saranac Lake Rotary Foundation and the Town of Harrietstown.
BurkeBeaner coffee is organic and fair-trade. To pick up a bag at $16.50 each, visit the Bean-To at 12 Shepard Avenue. Bean-To's regular Hammer Blend is a favorite of Burke as well as Demong, who last winter also teamed up with Bean-To owners Debbie and Dan Stoorza to offer a special edition for Dewey.
To learn more about Dewey Mountain's lodge campaign or to make a donation, visit deweyskicenter.com. Checks to the Saranac Lake Rotary Foundation may also be mailed to P.O. Box 645, Saranac Lake, 12983.
IP grant
TICONDEROGA — The International Paper Foundation is providing annual support for quality educational and community-focused programs offered to North Country residents through The Wild Center in Tupper Lake. These programs strengthen the bond between children and nature in fun, memorable ways.
The Wild Center's Family Art in Nature Program, a core recipient of IP's regular support, encourages families to visit every Sunday during the winter to participate in art programs centered on animals and the natural environment. This program begins on Jan. 15. The schedule for 2012 winter programs is now available on the center's web site at www.wildcenter.org/events.
IP Ticonderoga Mill employees also provide valuable in-kind gifts of high-quality paper for printing Wild Center brochures and other products.
"We are pleased to support The Wild Center's education work," said Donna Wadsworth, mill communications manager. "This unique facility helps us all to better understand our connection to nature and our wonderful regional treasure, the Adirondack mountains of New York."
The Wild Center is a community organization for the Adirondack region and corporate leadership such as that provided by IP is critical to its ability to serve families, schools and businesses, according to Stephanie Ratcliffe, executive director of the center.
For more information, call 359-7800 or visit www.wildcenter.org.
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