Building Economies that Rebuild Community

New Economy News | May 2019

Double feature on June 6th:
community & co-ops

Join ANCA and partners for two special events on June 6th at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. Don't miss these back-to-back conversations about important rural economic issues and opportunities:

REGISTER NOW! Building economies that rebuild community

ANCA, Adirondack Nonprofit Network and Lake Placid Center for the Arts invite you to an evening with Anthony Flaccavento, author of Building a Healthy Economy from the Bottom Up.

- What: "Building Economies that Rebuild Community: A Bottom Up Strategy for Healthy Resilient Places."
- When: June 6, 2019, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
- Where: Lake Placid Center for the Arts

$10 admission. Free for ANCA & ANN members. Book signing before & after the presentation. Refreshments & cash bar reception at 5:00 p.m.

Lending to North Country co-ops

Join ANCA, the Center for Businesses in Transition and partners for a conversation among regional financial institutions & economic development professionals about financing for worker ownership & supporting the growth of cooperative development.

- What: Lending to North Country Cooperatives: A Conversation about Financing & the Growth of Worker Ownership
- When: June 6, 2019, 3:00-4:30 p.m.
- Where: Lake Placid Center for the Arts

Registration: FREE

Many thanks to the following partners for their support and participation: North Country Center for Businesses in Transition, Adirondack Economic Development Corporation, Cooperative Development Institute, Cooperative Fund of New England, Democracy at Work Institute and Onondaga Small Business Development Center at Onondaga Community College.

More on worker ownership...

Panelists, speakers to present at Hamilton County workshop

The 3rd in a 5-part Center for Businesses in Transition workshop series focuses on converting businesses to worker ownership models.

What: Transitioning to Worker Ownership
When: June 5, 2019, 8:00-10:30 a.m.
Where: Adirondack Experience, Museum in Blue Mountain Lake

Host: Hamilton County Economic Development & Tourism and Hamilton County IDA

FREE & open to the public

Learn more

Local panelists and guest speakers include:

- Ralph Beisler, Stamford ACE Hardware
- Rob Brown, Cooperative Development Institute
- Frank Cetera, Onondaga SBDC at Onondaga Community College
- Carolyn Edsell-Vetter, A Yard & A Half Landscaping Co-op and Cooperative Federal of New England

For those who can't attend in person, "viewing parties" are available throughout the region. All workshops are recorded for later viewing on ANCA's YouTube channel.

Learn more & register

Member profile

Welcome Bionique Testing Laboratories!

In the Harrietstown Business Park, adjacent to the Adirondack Regional Airport, Bionique Testing Laboratories is a small business with a global scope. Serving both domestic and international clients, Bionique specializes in testing for mycoplasma contamination in various products within the life science and biopharmaceutical industry.

The relative remoteness of their location is no obstacle to the high level of patient focus or business growth. The staff, sourced mostly from various local colleges and universities, is a team of highly qualified, technically trained professionals. Over the last 28 years Bionique has grown to 26 employees.

Bionique is a net wealth generator, with 97% of revenues derived from outside of the state of New York. Bionique has goals of expanding its capabilities and capacities to better serve the patients who rely on its results.

Learn more about Bionique

FarmShare Fund helps feed families

Fund supports five regional projects

Earlier this month, ANCA announced the recipients of this year's FarmShare Fund Mini Grant Program. The 2019 program is supporting five projects that are combating hunger and improving food security in the North Country. We look forward to watching these projects unfold in the months ahead!

Photo courtesy of Healthy Families Jefferson County

Composting projects take root

Composters process school scraps

Plans for a mechanical drum composter that was piloted at North Country School in 2016 will soon be implemented at two other regional schools: Hermon-DeKalb and Lake Placid Central Schools.

The NCS project, supported by ANCA and funded by NYSERDA, provides a effective, replicable and eco-friendly technology that offers multiple benefits for schools and communities.

Photo: John Culpepper of North Country School operates the school's composter.

Make new friends at Bike the Barns

Farms. Food. Friends. Make new friends and great memories at ANCA's Bike the Barns, an annual celebration of Adirondack North Country food & agriculture.

This year's farm-by-bike tour will start & finish at Tucker Farms, a 5th-generation potato farm in Gabriels -- about 10 miles from downtown Saranac Lake, NY.

What: 2019 Bike the Barns
When: Sunday, September 29, 2019
Where: Tucker Farms, Gabriels, NY

All proceeds from the event go to the FarmShare Fund.

Clean energy for all

Franklin County adopts energy loan program

Kudos to Franklin County legislators, who voted to establish a loan program that will support energy upgrades and improvements for local businesses.

The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing program brings the county closer to achieving NYSERDA's Clean Energy Community designation and access to grant funding for clean energy projects.

To learn more about PACE financing, contact ANCA's Jamie Rogers at jrogers@adirondack.org.

Read news coverage

Aggregation project still accepting participants

It's not too late for Saranac Lake area building owners and managers to take part in the Aggregation for
Community Energy Security (ACES) program and take advantage of reduced-cost energy audits & efficiency upgrades.

Contact Energy Circuit Rider Nancy Bernstein to learn more at nbernstein@adirondack.org.

Learn more

Increased solar access in Mooers

The town of Mooers will be providing access to solar power for eligible low-income households as part of a state-wide NY-Sun/NYSERDA project.

The Mooers solar project will include 600 to 700 program participants once it’s up and running.

Learn more

In case you missed it

A selection of stories that have captured our attention in recent days:

- Piecing it together: Can the North Country’s downtowns be reinvented? - NCPR
- China’s ban on scrap imports helps US recycling plants - Associated Press
- This City Has A Radical Plan To Get Rid Of Bosses - HuffPost
- Winning the War on Poverty: The Canadians are doing it; we’re not. - NY Times

The jobs connection

ANCA is hiring!

We are seeking a part-time Membership & Events Coordinator to fill a vacancy left by the wonderful Hannah Gibbons-Arthur!

Are you a detail-oriented, organized & imaginative team player who is driven to work with and support local people and communities? Apply today!

Learn more

Check out our jobs page to learn about openings with ANCA members and partners, including the following:

- Donor Development Manager, Ausable River Association
- High Peaks Information Center Assistant Manager, Adirondack Mountain Club
- Administrative Assistant, Berkshire Farm Center & Services for Youth
- Associate Development Director, The Nature Conservancy - Adk Chapter

Have an opening you want to promote? Send a web link to jobs@adirondack.org.

Job opportunities

We're pleased to announce the addition of Jerry Loch to ANCA's Clean Energy Program staff as an Energy Circuit Rider. Prior to becoming an official staff member, Jerry worked with ANCA as a subcontractor on a number of clean energy projects and workshops throughout the North Country.

Welcome to the ANCA team, Jerry!