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By Terry Hannum and denise ricHardson
Oneonta: It’s a great place in which to work, grow and enjoy life.
Oneonta Mayor Dick Miller uses those words as a wel-come to visitors to the city and its website.
Like some residents, he came to Oneonta to join Hartwick College and decided to stay. Since 2003, he has shared his business background in academic, municipal, economic and arts settings.
The Otsego County Chamber will recognize Miller as a Eugene A. Bettiol Jr. Distinguished Citizen during the annual Celebration of Business dinner on Saturday.
See Miller on page 3
By sHirley o’sHeaContributing Writer
Springbrook, a nonprofit organiza-tion that has been serving the needs of children and adults with devel-opmental disabilities in locations throughout Central New York since the 1960s, is the 2011 winner of the Otsego Chamber’s NBT Bank Distin-guished Business award.
Patricia Kennedy, chief executive officer of Springbrook, said recently that her “first response” to learning of the Chamber’s recognition of the organization was to think back over Springbrook’s accomplishments dur-ing the past year, and of the dedicat-ed staff and board and the strategic vision that have made Springbrook’s growth possible.
The NBT award is “really reflec-tive of years of hard work,” Kennedy said.
See Springbrook on page2
and
The Eugene A. Bettiol Jr. Distinguished Citizen
of the Year Richard P. Miller Jr.
Julie leWiS | the Daily StarCity of oneonta Mayor Richard P. Miller sits at his desk in City Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2011, one year after taking office.
The NBT Bank Distinguished Business of the year Springbrook
The Otsego County Chamber salutes
A supplement to The Daily Star and The Cooperstown Crier on Thursday, March 22, 2012
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Erna Morgan McReynolds & Country Club Auto Group
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Congratulations...
“Springbrook is one of those businesses that relies on lots of people doing the right thing all the time,” Kennedy said. “It’s really a hands-on business. I’m so proud of all the people at Spring-brook _ all the workers.”
Springbrook employ-ees number 980 as of Jan. 12, making it one of the region’s largest employ-ers, according to Kira DeLanoy, the organiza-tion’s assistant director of marketing and public relations. They come from more than 100 towns and villages in central New York, and nearly 300 of those em-ployees live in Oneonta.
Springbrook’s employ-ees include teachers, nurses, physical and occupational therapists and direct-care provid-ers, DeLanoy said.
The workers are “ex-tremely dedicated and absolutely knowledge-able about what they do,” DeLanoy said.
According to Spring-brook’s website, Spring-brook employees provide services to approximate-ly 700 individuals with special needs.
Springbrook began in 1925 as Upstate Homes for Children, provid-ing care and placement services for orphans,
DeLanoy said.However, in the late
1960s, Upstate Homes “saw the need to serve children with develop-mental disabilities,” DeLanoy explained. Upstate Homes started a school and expanded its programming to include adults.
In 1925, Upstate Homes began its work with a donation of $100 from the First Baptist Church, Kennedy said. Eighty years later, the organization, renamed Springbrook in 2005, has $40 million in revenue. Springbrook’s annual operating budget is $36 million.
Educational services include a school for in-dividuals age 5 through 21 and a pre-school, Kids Unlimited, which features an integrated program for typical children and those with disabilities.
Springbrook operates 21 community homes located in Otsego, Chenango and Madison counties, as well as five community-based day habilitation programs, DeLanoy said.
Funding for Spring-brook’s services comes largely from New York state, as well as from do-nations from individuals
and foundations, accord-ing to DeLanoy. Fund-raising efforts are coor-dinated by Springbrook’s Office of Marketing and Fund Development.
Kennedy said that Springbrook’s success is the result of “a lot of things coming together at the right time for us.”
The organi-zation’s recently completed $5 million capital campaign, which involved
raising matching funds, has helped to make possible a $25 million expansion of its main campus in Portlandville.
“The whole campus (is being) revitalized,” Ken-nedy said, with improve-ments including a new lunchroom and cafeteria, new classrooms, a gym, and redone roadways, pedestrian pathways and septic system.
“The kids are excited. We’ve never had a gym where we could play bas-ketball,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy said the ex-tensive campus improve-ments have “positioned
us for the next 50 years.”According to Kennedy,
Springbrook’s “core vi-sion” has remained the same _ “helping those people who most need our help.” She said the organization achieves its goal by following “an efficient and effective business model.”
“We are strategic in our vision,” Kennedy said. The “key tenets” of that vision include being a leader in the field of services to individuals with developmental dis-abilities and the best em-ployer in the region, with a “skilled and compas-sionate workforce.”
Kennedy said Spring-brook administrators are “collaborative in devel-opment of ideas” and operate the organization according to “a basic code of ethics about what’s important.”
Kennedy said that the organization seeks to act on opportunities as they present themselves. A case in point is Spring-brook’s recent purchase of the former St. Mary’s School in Oneonta.
According to DeLanoy, the St. Mary’s facility will house an employee training center, IT and
purchasing departments, administrative offices for community programs, service coordination and consolidated supports and services, respite and rehabilitation services, and community recre-ational services. The campus will also serve as the home for Spring-brook’s pre-school program.
DeLanoy said that she anticipates staff will be moved into the new facil-ity by July or August.
Springbrook will open the Golisano School, named for donor B. Thomas Golisano, this summer. The Golisano School will offer “a very clinical approach to individuals with autism (with) best practices in our educational setting,” Kennedy said.
Another recently an-nounced initiative is the partnership between Springbrook and SUNY Oneonta in offering a Master of Science degree in special education to
teaching assistants in Springbrook classrooms for students with autism. According to a Spring-brook media release, the program will enable employees to receive tuition reimbursement upon completion of the degree program.
Roxana Hurlburt, Otsego County Chamber Board Chairwoman, said that Springbrook is a “great partner in the community.”
The organization’s ex-pansion “has enhanced the number of employees in our community,” Hurl-burt said.
Hurlburt said Spring-brook’s employees are “very caring people.”
“What they do for the students is phenomenal,” Hurlburt said.
Springbrook will be honored at the cham-ber’s annual dinner and Celebration of Business on at 7 p.m. March 24, in the State University College at Oneonta Hunt Union Ballroom.
springbrookcontinued from page 1
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The event will be in the Hunt Union Ball-room of the State Univer-sity College at Oneonta starting at 5:45 p.m.
Bettiol, a businessman and supporter of the arts, recognized possibili-ties of Oneonta, and in his memory, the Otsego County Chamber be-stows an annual award. Presenters will highlight contributions Miller has made to area.
“Mayor Miller has given a great deal back to the community and county,’’ said Roxana Hurlburt, chairwoman of the Otsego County Chamber Board of Direc-tors.
During his campaign to become mayor, Miller emphasized several goals, and a review of those objectives reveals he has been true to his pre-election words focus-ing on youth recreation, improved relations be-tween the local colleges and the community, ad-dressing factions among local government enti-ties and enhancement of theater and performing arts.
Miller’s work toward reviving a financially un-stable Foothills Perform-ing Arts and Civic Center was particularly note-worthy, Hurlburt said.
Miller, who previously said he was humbled to be named as a recipient, said the reference to the arts center was especial-ly meaningful because Bettiol was an advocate and founding board member of Foothills.
In 2009, Miller ran for office as an independent candidate in his Collabo-rate for Oneonta party and on the Democratic line. When announcing his candidacy, after retiring from Hartwick College, he said, “In my six years in Oneonta, I have fallen deeply in love with this commu-nity. The closeness and lack of pretentiousness
here is very appealing. There is little town-gown friction, and people like one another.
``Those who have come before us have created that environment, and I am committed to the task of maintaining and enhancing it,” he told The Daily Star.
Before his election to the mayor’s office, Miller made positive changes in institutions of higher
education, promoted the importance of local busi-nesses and encouraged others to become in-volved. He is in the third year of a four-year term.
From 2003 to 2008, Miller served as the ninth president of Hart-wick College, a private liberal arts and science institution with about 1,500 students.
Previously, he was a vice chancellor and
chief operating officer of the State University of New York, and before that, he worked 13 years in vice presidential roles at the University of Rochester.
Miller was president and chief executive of-ficer of Case-Hoyt, with which he was affiliated from 1974 through 1987.
He studied sociology at Middlebury College
and served in the Army, returning to civilian life in 1967 a decorated Viet-nam veteran, according to his biography.
At Hartwick, Miller was committed to the importance of making “liberal arts in practice a reality,” a college biog-raphy said, and he was credited with attract-ing $35 million in new gifts and commitments,
boosting the college’s endowment by nearly 50 percent and leading ef-forts to improve campus buildings.
Enrollment increased, even as Miller advocated to preserve a low stu-dent-to-faculty ratio.
Now as the 20th mayor of the city, Miller is working to strengthen Oneonta, its assets and community.
Julie leWis | file RichaRd P. MilleR JR. stands on the Hartwick College campus overlooking an infrastructure project of new sidewalks and steps near Dewar Hall on June 19, 2008.
Millercontinued froM page 1
NBT Bank is pleased to partner with The Otsego County Chamber
in honoring our area businesses, recognizing Springbrook
as the NBT Bank Distinguished Business of the Year
Congratulations to HonoreeMayor Richard P. Miller, Jr.
Eugene Bettiol, Jr. Distinguished Citizen of the Year
Member FDIC
Congratulations!
CHERRY VALLEY COOPERSTOWN EDMESTON ONEONTA RICHFIELD SPRINGS
Congratulations
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George AllenGeorge Allen is vice
president of Northern Eagle Beverages in Oneonta.
Allen, 47, has worked for Northern Eagle Bever-ages since 1988.
He was born in One-onta and is an Oneonta High School graduate. He attended the State University College of Technology at Delhi and University of South Florida. He graduated from the State University College at Oneonta with a Bachelor of Arts de-gree in English.
Allen lives in Oneonta with his fiancee, Elizabeth Murwin, and two Labrador retrievers, Buckley and Higgins.
He is a member of the Oneonta Elks Club and the Oneonta Country Club, is on the board of directors for the New York State Beer Wholesalers Association, is a past president of the board of directors for the United Way of Otsego and Delaware Counties and was just named to the Hartwick College Citi-zens Board.
This is his fifth year on The Otsego County Chamber Board of Directors. He is chairman of the Special Proj-ects Committee, and is on the Business Action and Technol-ogy committees.
“Over the past few years we have seen businesses both large and small struggle in this economy,” he said. “Having a strong Chamber of Commerce is an essential tool for these local businesses to not only survive, but also prosper. It is an honor to serve on this board. We are all volunteers that are working together to improve the busi-ness environment of Otsego Country for now and the future.”
Scott BonderoffScott Bonderoff is vice pres-
ident of Patient Services for Bassett Medical Center and is responsible for administrative oversight of several clinical
and support departments. He sits on hospital committees for safety, service excellence, quality management and patient flow, among others. In addition to services on the Cooperstown campus, his work reaches into Oneonta, Herkimer County and Bassett’s affiliates around the region. Before work-ing for Bassett Healthcare, Bonderoff worked in manage-ment for Rehabilitation Sup-port Services Inc. in Otsego County and Albany.
Bonderoff has a Bachelor of Science degree in psychol-ogy from the State University College at Oneonta and a Master of Business Adminis-tration degree in health care administration from Bingham-ton University. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Medical Group Management Association.
For the past three years, Bonderoff has served on The Otsego County Chamber board of directors and sits on the Special Projects Commit-tee. Bonderoff has lived in Otsego County for 27 years and for the past 20 years in the Cooperstown area with his wife, Mary, and three sons, David, Max and Sam.
He is a coach for the Coo-perstown Youth Little League and is a board member for Cooperstown Youth Football.
He enjoys baseball, downhill skiing and cycling, and volunteers as a certified ski patroller. Bonderoff also volunteers for community projects as a member of the Cooperstown Lions Club.
Colleen BrannanColleen Brannan is senior
assistant to the president at the State University College at Oneonta and a 27-year veteran of the college.
She joined the SUNY Oneonta staff as a residence hall director in 1985 and was appointed assistant dean of students in 1988. She served in that role until her second
child was born in 2000.From 2001 through 2010,
she worked for Oneonta Aux-iliary Services, the nonprofit corporation that oversees services at the college. With OAS, she served as special projects assistant, marketing and communications man-ager and assistant executive director.
Brannan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary educa-tion and a Master of Science degree in counseling, both from SUNY Oneonta.
She served as president of the college’s Alumni Associa-tion Board of Directors from 2004 until 2006.
In the community, Brannan serves on the Main Street Oneonta board, the Educa-tion and Business Action committees of The Otsego County Chamber.
She and her husband, Alex, who teaches math and coaches soccer at Oneonta High School, live in Oneonta with their son, Alex.
Their daughter, Megan, is a junior at the State University College at New Paltz.
Scott DavisScott Davis is a graduate of
Keystone College in La Plum, Pa., with a major in business.
He is chief executive officer of The Coun-try Club Automotive Group, a seven-fran-chise auto group that sells Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi, Kia and Nissan vehicles, on Oneida Street in Oneonta.
He is president of Oneonta Automotive Lease & Rental Center Inc., an automobile rental car company with Rent-A-Wreck and Priceless car rental franchises and a 50-car rental fleet, at 48 Oneida St. in Oneonta. Davis is also president of West End
Self Storage, a 100-unit self-storage business at 48 Oneida St. in Oneonta, which is also a Penske Truck Rental Dealer specializing in local and one-way moving truck rentals.
He is a member of the board of directors of A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital in Oneonta and member of the board of directors of the technology division of the State University College of Technology at Delhi.
Davis and his wife, Kathy, live in Otego and have two daughters, Heather and Erin.
A fourth-year member of The Otsego County Chamber Board of Directors, Davis serves on the Member Ser-vices Committee.
Sean GahaganSean Gahagan, a Bing-
hamton native, is the vice president of retail merchan-dising and licensing for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Coo-perstown. Before join-ing the Baseball Hall of Fame, Gahagan worked in various brand management positions for licensees of Ralph Lauren, Nike and Wilson Sporting Goods.
He received his undergrad-uate degree from the State University College at Oneon-ta, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Binghamton University.
Now serving his fourth year on the Otsego County Chamber board, Gahagan is a member of the board’s Membership Committee and is chairman of its Education Committee.
Gahagan and his wife, Kelly, live in Binghamton and have two children, Grace and Ryan.
Marc KingsleyMarc Kingsley is a native
upstate New Yorker and the owner/innkeeper of the Inn at Cooperstown, an 18-room restored historic hotel in downtown Cooperstown. He is responsible for all daily aspects of running and man-aging the hotel.
He served in the U.S. Air Force for 10 years before receiving an honorable discharge and moving to Atlanta, Ga. He met his wife, Sherrie, in Georgia, and she persuaded him to move back to upstate New York. They now live in Coo-perstown.
He serves on The Otsego County Chamber Board of Directors. Kingsley also serves on the Community Board for the Bank of Cooperstown.
Mark GrygielMark Grygiel is assistant
vice president at New York Central Mutual Fire Insurance Co. in Edmeston.
A lifelong resident of Oneonta, he graduated from Drew University with a Bach-elor of Arts degree in economics and political science in 1990.
He joined The Otsego County Chamber in January 2007, and is the past chair-man of the board of directors.
“I am very fortunate that New York Central is such a strong advocate of communi-ty involvement,” he said. “It is because of their support and encouragement I am getting more involved.”
His wife, Michelle, is an English teacher at Oneonta High School. They have a 6-year-old son, Zachary.
“The challenges the busi-ness and residents of Otsego County face this year are ones many of us have never been confronted with before,” Gry-giel said. “The Otsego County Chamber has always been on the front line battling for local business in Albany and we will continue that fight, but the time has come for all of us to stand together and let our voices be heard.”
Douglas C. GulottyDouglas C. Gulotty, 48, and
his wife, Cherie, an elemena-
try mathematics teacher live in Westford.
He operates Douglas Gulot-ty and Associates Inc., apply-ing his 27 years of business experience to the benefit of business clients throughout upstate New York. Gulotty is skilled in strategic planning, analyzing capital structure and cash flow, credit-wor-thiness, marketing and sales strategies, operations and personnel management. He also teaches manage-ment to upper class students at the State University College of Technology at Delhi.
Gulotty is a graduate of the State Uni-versity College at Oneonta, with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and economics, graduating magna cum laude. He is also a 1995 graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Delaware, graduating cum laude.
Gulotty serves as a trustee for Schenevus Central School. He is president and direc-tor of the Otsego County Development Corp., and a director and chairman of Membership Committee for The Otsego County Chamber. He has served on numerous boards for nonprofits serving children and the develop-mentally challenged.
Jon HansenJon Hansen is serving his
sixth term on The Otsego County Chamber board after joining in January 2006.
He has been in the insur-ance busi-ness since 1980 and is a partner at the Gordon B. Roberts Agency Inc.
He is a member of the Cham-ber’s Business Action and Executive committees.
Hansen lives in Oneonta with his wife, Maureen.
MORE CHAMBER BOARD MEMBER BIOS CAN BE FOUND ON PAGE 5
AllenBonderoff
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OTSEGO COUNTY CHAMBER BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Brannan
Roxana HurlburtRoxana Hurlburt is vice
president of Information Sys-tems Division Inc. ISD is a full service technology company with a staff of 15 profession-als. ISD’s dedicated staff pro-vides the highest levels of service and support and as a strate-gic business partner. ISD provides a wide range of technology solutions to businesses large and small.
Hurlburt joined the Otsego County Chamber Board in 2008. She served on the Member Services Committee before appointment to the Executive Board of the Cham-ber. She is serving as 2012 chairwoman of the Board of Directors.
“It is a wonderful opportuni-ty to serve as a voice for busi-ness. Our Chamber connects its members to the people, issues and information that matter most to business in these very complex economic times. In today’s environment it is our civic responsibility to give back to our communi-ties,” she said. “We are so very fortunate to live and work in the greater Otsego County where we retain a close and personal hands on approach to the growth and expansion that serve our citizens.”
In addition to her Chamber work, her involvement in other civic duties have given her the opportunity to work with many organizations, non-profits, individuals and events in our locale. Always actively involved, she is serving her community as Parent Teacher Organization president at Unatego, on the Otego Little League and as past president of Otego Fire Department Auxiliary. She was instrumen-tal in the establishment and was a charter member on the Board of Directors of the Unatego Dollars For Scholars Program.
Lifelong residents of the area, Hurlburt and her hus-band, Jim, live in Otego and enjoy the wonderful quality of life this area has to offer.
Brian HutzleyBrian Hutzley is vice chan-
cellor for financial services and chief financial officer for the State University of New York.
In this capacity, he is responsible for SUNY’s $10 billion annual all-funds budget as well as strategic in-frastructure manage-ment and operations of the university.
His administrative responsi-bilities also include oversight of the offices of finance and budget, business affairs, and university accounting. Hutzley also works on the university’s strategic planning, shared ser-vices and strategic sourcing initiatives.
Before joining system administration in June, Hutzley was vice president for business and finance at the State University College of Technology at Delhi, where his responsibilities included strategic visioning and oversight of budget and plan-ning, computer information systems, accounting, purchas-ing, food service, campus bookstore, and community service, including continuing education programs.
At the college, he was also the president of the College Association of Delhi Inc., a member of the Board of Trustees for the College Foun-dation at Delhi Inc., and the operations manager for the Research Foundation.
He also serves on numerous SUNY Strategic Initiatives in-cluding Leadership Advisory, Budget Task Force, Resource Allocation and Information Technology Transformation. Hutzley is also chair of the SUNY-wide Entrepreneurial Century Strategic initiative, which includes research and innovation, small business and entrepreneurship, as well as student sandbox and competitions.
Hutzley was the president of the State University of New York Business Officers Association, providing invalu-
able vision, insight, and policy support for the entire SUNY system.
His previous positions in-clude director of finance and strategy for Mead in Sidney, where he drove acquisitions and alliances processes, bud-geting, credit and collection and accounting services. Be-fore Mead, he held manage-ment positions at Amphenol Aerospace, AT&T and NCR.
His expertise includes stra-tegic planning and implemen-tation, financial planning and controls and organizational and leadership development.
He is on the board of directors of The Otsego County Chamber and on the Chamber’s Business Action Committee. Hutzley is also on the boards of directors for the Otschodela Council for the Boy Scouts of America, the Sidney Community Founda-tion, the Art and Soul of the Catskills Festival and the Delaware County Empire Zone Administration Board.
Hutzley has a Master of Business Administration de-gree from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University.
He is originally from Michi-gan and now lives in Gilberts-ville.
Eric JervisEric Jervis is a partner in the
law firm of Harlem & Jervis. Jervis, 31, is a lifelong resident of Oneonta, and graduated from Oneonta High School in 1998.
Following graduation, he attended Canisius College. There he obtained a degree in political science and a minor in business. He was also a four-year member of the football team, and an academic All-American his senior year.
After graduation from Canisius, he attended Albany Law School.
He lives in Oneonta with his wife, Melissa, and sons, Chase and Trey.
He is a member of the New York State, Otsego County and Delaware County bar associa-tions, as well as a member of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers.
He is also on the Board of Directors for the Oneonta Family YMCA, and is a Rotar-ian.
Rachel Lutz JessupRachel Lutz Jessup is
banking officer and assistant branch manager for NBT Bank of Oneonta. Jessup was born and raised in Oneonta, the daugh-ter of Al Sayers and the late Joan Lutz, both who have been active members of the Chamber. Joan Lutz was the first recipient of the Cham-ber’s Distinguished Citizen Award.
Jessup has been in the banking profession since 1986, the past 10 years with NBT Bank. She graduated from Oneonta High School and has her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Alfred University.
Jessup is vice president and an active volunteer for Main Street Oneonta, a member (and first female member) of the Oneonta Rotary Club and a member of the First Presby-terian Church in Oneonta.
This is her fifth year on the Otsego County Chamber Board of Directors. She is a longtime member of its Spe-cial Projects Committee.
Jessup lives in Oneonta with her twin daughters, Kacey and Jamie, and her son, Andrew.
Paul A. LawrencePaul A. Lawrence is general
manager of the Holiday Inn in Oneonta. He and his family moved to Oneonta six years ago from Gainesville, Fla., because of a transfer with his company, Charter One Hotels Inc.
He is a graduate of Concord University in Athens, W.Va., with a degree in travel indus-
try management. Lawrence is a fourth-year
member on The Otsego County Chamber Board of Directors and serves on the Tourism Committee.
Lawrence and his wife, Che-rie, have four boys, Taharen, 17, Anthony, 13, Zyeir, 9, and Kar’ri, 8, which keep them very active in school func-tions and sporting events. The Lawrences also have a 2-year-old daugh-ter, Na’omi.
He has been the manager of the Country Club Minor League Baseball Team for three seasons, and supports Oneonta High School athletics as a member of the Booster Club.
The Lawrences purchased a house in Oneonta and live in a neighborhood that has made them feel welcome, he said.
Carolyn LewisCarolyn Lewis is the eco-
nomic developer for Otsego County. She was appointed member to The Otsego Coun-ty Chamber Board of Directors in 2010, but has served on the Chamber’s Business Action and Technology committees for several years.
Lewis said she is pleased to assist The Otsego County Chamber as it represents and serves the interests of mem-ber business while working to create an environment and economic climate for success.
In addition to serving on several industry-related boards, Lewis is vice president of the board of directors for Opportunities for Otsego.
Originally from Glen Rock, N.J., Lewis graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and sociology.
Upon graduation, she moved to Boston, where she was a marketing assistant for Wellington Management Co., and for two years she lived in
Chicago, employed by Murray Johnstone International as a data analyst.
Lewis moved to Otsego County in 2000 with her husband, Philip, a Cooper-stown native. They have three children, Spencer, Addison and Ben.
Armand NardiArmand Nardi is a former
publisher of The Daily Star, The Cooperstown Crier, The O-Town Scene and Upstate Life magazine. He arrived to the region in May 2010.
He moved from Gainesville, Texas, where he was the pub-lisher of the Gainesville Daily Register, a CNHI newspaper. CNHI also owns The Daily Star.
Nardi entered the newspa-per industry in 1989 where he began his career in advertis-ing sales in Waldorf, Md. Before that he was an evidence
analyst for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, White Collar Crime Division, in Washington, D.C.
He serves on the board of directors for The Otsego County Chamber and is on the Chamber’s Special Projects Committee. Additionally, he serves on the Events Com-mittee for the Main Street Oneonta Board of Directors and serves on the board for Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center.
Nardi grew up in Colts Neck, N.J., and attended high school at The Pennington School in Pennington, N.J. He received his bachelor’s degree from Lycoming College in William-sport, Pa. Nardi enjoys life in Upstate New York.
“With a great sense of com-munity and limitless outdoor activities, Otsego County is a wonderful place to raise a family.” He said, “We enjoy taking in all the treasures of the region.”
He lives in Otego with his wife, Cathy, their 6-year-old son, Armand, and multi-mix dog, Daisy.
MORE CHAMBER BOARD MEMBER BIOS CAN BE FOUND ON PAGE 6
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THE DAILY STAR AND THE COOPERSTOWN CRIER
OTSEGO COUNTY CHAMBER BOARD OF DIRECTORS
HurlburtHutzley
Jessup
Jervis
Lawrence
Lewis
Nardi
Bill ReevesBill Reeves is employed by
the Country Club Automotive Group as a sales professional with Country Club Used Car Supercenter on Southside Oneonta.
Reeves is co-founder and former publisher of Hometown Oneonta, a weekly newspaper mailed to more than 9,000 homes in Oneonta and West One-onta every Friday. Hometown Oneonta began operations in September 2008.
Before becoming pub-lisher of the Hometown paper, Reeves was advertising direc-tor of The Daily Star.
Bill attended Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minn., and moved back east and has been living in the area since 1993.
Reeves enjoys golfing and fishing and is an avid Boston sports fan.
He lives in Laurens with his wife, Linda.
They have three children, Danielle, Scott and Matthew.
Nicholas SavinNicholas Savin is the district
superintendent for the Otsego Northern Catskills Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
With the exception of work-ing in the Adirondacks as the super-intendent of the Hadley-Luzerne School Dis-trict, he has lived and worked in the greater Oneonta area since 1992.
He served as the assis-tant superintendent and high school principal of Stamford Central School for several years, and before his appointment as district superintendent, served as the superintendent of Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School.
Savin earned his Bachelor of
Science in education degree from the State University College at Oswego. Later, he graduated with a Master of Science degree in education administration from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn.
Soon after, he also received additional certification in special education.
Savin lives in Springfield Center with his wife, Judy. Their three daughters are Stamford Central School alumnae.
Tanya ShalorHead Start director for
Opportunities for Otsego Inc., Tanya Shalor is a board member of the Otsego Chamber.
Previously, she served as pub-lisher of The Daily Star for three years. She started her newspa-per career with the company as the comptroller and human resource director in 2000 and was promoted in 2007. Before her position with the local newspaper, Shalor worked with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in Manhattan as a fund accountant, and with a local Oneonta waste disposal firm.Shalor received her bachelor’s degree, with honors, in ac-counting from Elmira College.
She is a graduate of the Leadership Otsego program and serves on the Advisory Council for the organization. She is also a board member of the Tri-County Young Profes-sionals and a Rotarian.
Shalor serves on The Otsego County Chamber’s board of directors and on the Cham-ber’s Business Action Com-mittee and Special Projects committee. She serves on the board of the Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care.
Shalor and her husband, Kevin, a contractor, live in Worcester with their 5-year-old daughter, Hailey.
Steve SinnigerSteve Sinniger is a lifelong
resident of Otego. He grew up
on a dairy farm and graduated from Unatego High School in 1977. He attended Hartwick College, where he majored in geology and anthropology and graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
After college, Sinniger re-turned to work on the family dairy farm with his parents. The farm was sold in 2000, but he continues to rent the land from the new owners and produces hay for a number of equine operations in the area. He said he’s a strong supporter of agricul-ture. As a member of the New York Farm Bureau, he tries to help others who make farming their livelihood.
Sinniger has served on the Otsego County Farm Bureau Board of Directors since 2003. Four of those years, he served as the county president. He also serves as a director on the New York Center of Agricultur-al Medicine and Health Safety Advisory Board.
He is also active in the Otsego County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs and is a Grange member.
He serves on the Chamber’s Education and Business Ac-tion committees.
“I know the Chamber does great things for local businesses,” he said. “In my opinion, one of a Chamber’s greatest achievements was the creation of Farm Bureau by the Binghamton Chamber of Commerce in 1911.”
Joseph E. SutarisJoseph E. Sutaris is senior
vice president and regional banking executive of Com-munity Bank N.A. in Oneonta.
He serves as lead executive for CBNA’s Central New York Region and is responsible for the per-formance
of 22 branches located in the
eight county CBNA Central New York Region. He joined CBNA in April 2011 after serv-ing Wilber National Bank for 16 years, following a merger of the two banks.
Committed to his commu-nity, Sutaris serves on several local boards, including the Oneonta Family YMCA Board
of Trustees, A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital, SUNY Delhi College Council and the Otsego Coun-ty Chamber of Commerce. He is a past board member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and former member of the Oneonta Kiwanis Club. Sutaris also served several years as a coach for the Oneonta Little
League and Oneonta Soccer Club.
Sutaris holds a Master of Business Administration de-gree in finance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Rutgers University.
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Leif Van CottLeif Van Cott is director of
operations at Unadilla Silo Co. Inc.
Van Cott was born in Sidney and lived in One-onta until the age of 6. His family’s business, Unadilla Silo Co. Inc., has been operating in Otsego County for more than 100 years. His involvement in the company represents the sixth generation of Van Cotts.
At 13, he began attending Eaglebrook School, a small boarding school in Deerfield, Mass. After graduating in 1994, he attended Phillips Ex-eter Academy in Exeter, N.H.
After graduating from Ex-eter in 1997, he attended Bos-ton University. He then gradu-ated from BU’s School of Management in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in finance.During his high school and college years, he interned at Unadilla Silo in the estimating and accounting department to become familiar with the family business. Shortly after graduating, he moved to New Hampshire and took a posi-tion in the human resources department at Wheelabrator Technologies, a subsidiary of Waste Management Corp.
In late 2004, he returned to upstate New York and took over as director of operations at Unadilla Silo Co. He lives in Oneonta with his children, Xander and Gwyneth.
Of The Otsego County Chamber, he said, “I feel great being able to work for an organization that is deeply committed to fostering the financial success of Otsego County businesses.”
Romona N. WenckRomona N. Wenck is the
superintendent at Laurens Central School, a position she has held since 1998.
Before that, she served the district as an interim super-intendent for the 1997-98 school year, as well as serving as a dean of students for one year, and as a physical
education teacher for about 19 years.
Wenck began teaching in the district during the 1977-78 school year, serving as a physical education teacher and coach.
Over the years, she coached the girls varsity soccer, volley-ball, basketball and softball teams, as well as establishing and coaching the boys modi-fied soccer team.
Wenck was the director/instructor of the Laurens Jaguars Drill Colorguard Program for almost 20 years, work-ing with the winter and summer col-orguards.
Wenck hails from Waverly, where she attended elementary and high school. From 1973 to 1977, she attended and graduated from the State Uni-versity College at Cortland, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree, with a major in physical education and concentrations in athletic training and psychology.
Wenck returned to Cortland to earn a master’s degree in physical education with a focus in the area of percep-tual motor development. Dur-ing the early 1990s, Wenck attended the College of St. Rose to obtain her degree/certification in school district administration.
Wenck serves on a variety
of committees and organi-zations within the Laurens Central School District and the Otsego Northern Catskills Board of Cooperative Educa-tional Services. At Laurens, she is an active member of the Shared Decision Making and Technology Commit-tees, the Athletic Booster Club, POMP (Patrons of Music People) and the Colorguard Advocate group. At ONC BOC-ES, she serves on the Execu-tive Committee, Instructional Support/Student Programs Advisory Committee, and the CASEBP Long Range Plan-ning/Executive Committee.
In addition, Wenck serves as the vice president to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Section IV Executive Committee.
Wenck was first asked and accepted to serve on the Education Committee of the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce. In January 2011, she began serving on the board of directors.
My goals in serving on the committees are to help build bridges, to serve as a conduit of information, and to create an higher level of understanding between the needs and requirements placed upon local school districts and the needs of the businesses in our communi-ties,” she said. “I look forward to this challenge, especially in light of the fiscal crisis of the state, and the resulting impact this has on schools and local businesses.”
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Thank you!We are honored to receive the Otsego County Chamber’s NBT Distinguished Business Award.
105 Campus Drive
Oneonta, NY 13820
607-286-7171
www.springbrookny.org
Our employees are the heart of Springbrook
and this honor was made possible by their
hard work and dedication.
Thank you to the most highly trained,
compassionate, and skilled staff in
Otsego County.
Our congratulations to Mayor Richard Miller
The Eugene A. Bettiol, Jr Distinguished
Citizen Award Winner
Springbrook.
The leader in providing
innovative supports for
people of all ages with
developmental disabilities.
