SARATOGA SPRINGS — Home Made Theater (HMT) received a grant award totaling $49,500 from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to support the recovery of the nonprofit arts and culture sector. Following New York State’s $105 million investment in the arts for FY2022, NYSCA has awarded more than $80 million since June 2021. 

HMT will use the funds to help fulfill their mission, which is to enrich the cultural life of the Capital Region and beyond by offering a diverse range of locally-sourced live theater created by professionally-minded artists, providing the opportunity for exciting and rewarding participation in all aspects of theater to the community.

For more information about Home Made Theater visit www.homemadetheater.org.

ALBANY — Aligned with its charitable mission of “Helping Kids Be Kids” and its recognized commitment to supporting children, families, and communities throughout the Capital Region, Pioneer has presented $3,000 donations to each of 21 local nonprofit organizations. With these donations, Pioneer has now exceeded $1 million in giving to the Capital Region community since its Charitable Foundation was launched in 2018. 

The donations were made during a check presentation ceremony at Pioneer’s headquarters in Albany. 

Each of the nonprofit organizations receiving donations are located in, and serve residents of, the Capital Region. They include: AIM Services, Inc., Autism Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region, Boys & Girls Clubs of Schenectady, Capital District YMCA, CEO, Crossroads Center for Children, Family and Child Services of Schenectady, 15-LOVE, Homeless and Travelers Aid Society (HATAS), Hope 7, Lansingburgh Boys & Girls Club, Living Resources, Northern Rivers, Rensselaer County Department for Youth, SEAT Center, Things of My Very Own, Troy Youth Association, Unity House, Vanderheyden, and Wildwood Programs. 

Since being established in 2018, Pioneer’s Charitable Foundation has supported more than 375 local organizations that focus on the health and welfare of children, addressing critical needs such as housing, nutrition, and health care, and providing educational, social, and recreational opportunities. In addition to financial support, Pioneer’s employees are actively engaged in outreach efforts, volunteering more than 10,000 hours and helping to select organizations to receive funding. 

Organizations seeking charitable requests establish a Pioneer employee link prior to the request being completed; the employee then assists with submitting a request for consideration. Importantly, all administrative costs of the Foundation are covered by Pioneer, ensuring that 100% of all donations go directly to local charitable organizations. 

Individuals interested in supporting the Pioneer Charitable Foundation may make a secure online donation at www.pioneerny.com/community.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Wesley Community announced that Jenna Lord, Director of Nursing at the Wesley Health Care Center, has received the 2021 Professional of the Year Award from LeadingAge New York. 

The Professional of the Year Award recognizes contributions of a professional working in the aging healthcare field toward the well-being of the elderly or chronically ill in his or her community. The award nomination is open to any long-term care, housing, and services professional who demonstrates civic involvement as well as professional dedication, accomplishment, and field expertise. 

Lord is responsible for leading and supervising the nursing staff and overseeing the care provided to residents at the Wesley Health Care Center. She has extensive health care experience and has been an active member of the Wesley Health Care Center team since 2008. 

Lord’s dedication to the profession also led to her recognition as Registered Nurse of the Year at Wesley Health Care Center in 2018. She received the honor following numerous peer nominations and an extensive review by a panel of administrators at The Wesley Community. 

For more information about The Wesley Community, visit www.thewesleycommunity.org. 

Get in shape. Save money. Get organized. Sound familiar? ‘Tis the season for examining your life and identifying ways to improve. As we are all aware, the problem is following through on our promises. This being a financial post, we will view each of those goals through the lens of your finances and propose methods to help you stick with them.

Without going down the rabbit hole of nutrition advice, getting in shape is essentially calories in versus calories out. Simple, but not easy. Translated into money terms, this is cash in versus cash out. With that in mind, creating a budget is similar to going on a diet. In the beginning, the excitement of making progress with your finances quickly turns into the reality of a tedious task that is easy to skip. How do we make it stick? Turn the tracking of your expenses into a habit. The easiest way to do that is to tie it to something you already do. For example, if you eat lunch at your desk at work, pull up your online bank account and record expenses immediately after opening your sandwich. Not an Excel expert? There are free online resources like mint.com, which can aid this process. Tracking calories identifies the worst offenders, providing intrinsic motivation to omit those offenders from future consumption. With your money, this becomes, “I spent how much on streaming services last month? I need to fix that.”

Saving money is a natural byproduct of the budgeting process. However, a checking account can be the most dangerous place for a recently saved dollar because we are very good at finding something to buy. The solution? Automate your savings AKA “pay yourself first.” Consider increasing the amount of your retirement plan contributions or setting up an automatic contribution to your child’s 529 plan. Just like those recurring subscription costs, automated savings become out of sight and out of mind, except you are the beneficiary instead of a company. A helpful trick if you are just looking to increase your emergency savings: set up a bank account at a separate institution and decline to set up online banking. Arrange for an automatic transfer from your main bank or directly from your check into this new account. Without the convenience of online banking providing you with daily updates on your balance, you will be surprised how the account grows outside of your field of vision. 

In my last post, I talked about the importance of getting your affairs in order to prepare loved ones for your untimely death. Getting organized provides benefits to you during your lifetime as well. Much like my wife and I gazing at a living room filled with Legos, toys, and sofa cushions, the challenge is where to start. Working with a professional provides a second set of eyes while identifying potential areas of improvement. I often tell people, “just send me everything, and I’ll sort through it.” Removing the mental stress from the organization process is the push people sometimes need. 

Personal trainers receive an uptick in clients every year when the calendar turns for good reason. People like the motivation they provide as well as their expertise. Working with a financial professional can offer the same benefits for your finances. 

For more information, visit www.contwealth.com.

David Rath, CFA is the Director of Portfolio Strategies at Continuum Wealth Advisors in Saratoga Springs. Continuum Wealth Advisors, LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor registered through the Securities and Exchange Commission.

STILLWATER — A new company based out of Stillwater is selling merchandise to promote free thought and be a beacon for like-minded individuals. 

Mallorey Schaller, founder of Revolt Over Tyranny Apparel Co., is a former Spanish teacher in a Saratoga County school district who was fired for not complying with the COVID testing mandate instituted by her school; Mallorey had tested positive for COVID prior. In response, she and her husband have created and now officially launched ROTapparel.com. 

“I always tell my students to ‘think enough of yourself to think for yourself,’ and I think I demonstrated that,” said Mallorey. “It’s heartbreaking that it resulted in me having to leave them, but I had to show integrity.” 

ROT’s designs can be worn and displayed as they sell t-shirts, canvas totes, ceramic mugs, insulated stainless steel mugs, frosted glass beer steins, Christmas ornaments, and more. Mallorey’s husband is the graphic designer, but together the husband-and-wife team is constantly coming up with new designs. They design, print, and ship everything in-house out of Stillwater. 

“I have had a lot of people reach out to me in support,” said Mallorey. “Our aim is to spread the message of freedom and show other people that they are not alone.” 

Read the full story on Saratoga Business Report (www.saratogabusinessreport.com).

ALBANY — Cardona’s Market celebrated the season of giving on Dec. 9 by combatting food insecurity in the Capital Region with the delivery of complimentary lunches to those served through the Community Connections program at Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless (IPH). The donation is the result of Cardona’s National Sandwich Day fundraising campaign on Nov. 3, 2021. 

Cardona’s Market Co-Owner August Cardona was joined by IPH Program Director Cleveland Morgan to hand-deliver the market’s signature sandwiches to more than 50 individuals and families served by IPH at The Hoffman Family Center, home of the Community Connections program, on Sheridan Ave. in Albany.

For more information about Cardona’s Market, call 518-434-4838 or visit CardonasMarket.com. For more information about IPH, visit www.iphny.org. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Fingerpaint, biopharma’s global commercialization partner for analytics-enabled integrated solutions, announced that it acquired Engage, a London-based, award-winning, data and analytics-enabled healthcare marketing firm. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. 

Engage will expand Fingerpaint’s European footprint and complement the company’s current data and analytics expertise. 

“Strengthening our global infrastructure is reflective of the diversified biopharma industry we serve worldwide,” said Ed Mitzen, Founder of Fingerpaint. “Our combined global omnichannel marketing solutions guided by – and rooted in – data will further Fingerpaint’s position as a transformative digital partner to biopharma’s commercialization needs.” 

Mary McGregor and Dave Chandler, both founders and managing partners of Engage, will continue to lead day-to-day operations. 

“Integrating into Fingerpaint will allow us to leverage its award-winning creative and digital talent and maximize omnichannel campaigns as we continue to work with global brands at every stage of the commercialization process,” said McGregor. 

“Combining our expertise with Fingerpaint’s will create best-in-class, performance-based digital capabilities for clients across the company’s integrated firms,” said Chandler. 

Engage joins integrated Fingerpaint firms MedThink, a company that empowers healthcare providers through medical communications; Leaderboard Branding, a leading global naming and branding business; 1798, a market access and commercialization firm that specializes in healthcare consulting services, including patient and provider access services; and Photo 51, a consultancy focused solely on advanced therapeutics, such as gene and cell therapies. 

ALBANY — Capital Region employers will keep hiring in the new year, but they’re not likely to find recruiting relief, according to the results of the Fall 2021 Alaant Hiring Index released on Dec. 15 by Alaant Workforce Solutions, the region’s leading professional workforce services firm. The survey finds that while hiring top talent will remain a major priority for 2022, the new year will also bring the most difficult recruiting environment employers have seen in modern times. 

Even though 86% of employers expect recruiting to be difficult – the highest figure since the Index began in 2015 – 3 in 4 companies forecast hiring to increase in the new year. 

“As we head into 2022, recruiting remains a good news, bad news situation: employers are itching to hire as the economy picks up, but the challenge of finding top professionals is more difficult than ever,” said Miriam Dushane, Managing Partner of Alaant Workforce Solutions. “We’re encouraged that nearly 4 of 5 companies say they adjusted their recruiting process this year, from improving the candidate experience and streamlining the interview and hiring processes to expediting job offers. Not only is that essential in the current environment, but employers will need to sharpen those strategies as the competition for employees heats up in the new year.” 

Read the full brief on Saratoga Business Report (www.saratogabusinessreport.com).

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company announced it has earned the national Bank On certification for its new checking product, Smart Steps. The bank is one of just 166 in the country to earn this distinction from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE) to serve the unbanked and underbanked. 

The CFE works directly with national and regional financial institutions to encourage the widespread availability of safe, low-cost, transactional products within their community. The Bank On certification provides account standards and a review process that ensures everyone has access to an affordable bank account. 

Smart Steps is a checking account designed to help individuals who don’t have easy access to affordable banking services and have a goal of achieving economic independence and security. The account will be available throughout the bank’s service area in early 2022. 

For more information visit cfefund.org/bankon. 

One week ago, I was invited to testify before the New York State Assembly’s Racing and Wagering Committee chaired by Assemblyman Gary Pretlow. Joining him at the hearing were local Assembly members Carrie Woerner and Angelo Santabarbara. Besides my testimony, the committee heard from locals like James and Tina Bond, of the Bond Racing Stables, Dr. Scott Ahlschwede of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, and David O’Rourke, the CEO of NYRA.

We were all there as part of a near day-long fact check on the status of both the state’s thoroughbred and Standardbred racing industries. To me, the best news of the day was hearing Chairman Pretlow state: “One of my stated goals is to make New York State the horse racing capital of the world.” As he said this, I watched as all of the committee members shook their heads in agreement.

Not everyone in the Assembly feels this way, however. Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, a Manhattan Democrat, has filed legislation to redirect VLT revenues away from horse racing. When asked about her bill by David Lombardo, on a recent Capital Press Room broadcast, the Assemblywoman made several comments which indicated she is not yet fully informed about the importance and value of horse racing in New York’s economy, particularly here in Saratoga. 

“The stands are mostly empty,” Assemblywoman Rosenthal said. “Horse racing is not a year-round industry,” she added. She appeared to suggest that Saratoga would not suffer if horse racing at the Saratoga Race Course and Saratoga Casino Hotel were eliminated. She then called the franchise agreement between NYRA and the state, in which the state gained ownership to the race track properties in Saratoga, at Belmont and Aqueduct, as a “secret arrangement.”

It’s no secret to anyone that follows horse racing that we had paid attendance at this Summer Meeting in Saratoga that topped one million. We had a record all-sources handle. We had unprecedented media coverage. The popularity of horse racing in our community at just the Saratoga Race Course showed not only at the track but also in our hotels, bars, restaurants and retail stores all summer long. 

In her interview, Assemblywoman Rosenthal added that she had only heard negative comments from the horse racing industry to her legislation so far. That’s why I want to invite her to Saratoga. I think before she advocates for legislation that would do harm to Saratoga that she should come and talk with us directly face-to-face. Maybe we could do this next summer when she could see the track filled with thousands of fans every day. I’d love to expand this tour to include SPAC, the Casino, UPH, Caffé Lena, our parks and historic properties, our downtown stores, shops, hotels and restaurants, our horse farms, golf courses, and the City Center. 

It would be great if we could talk with her about how devastated we were when all of these destinations were closed in 2020. Maybe such a discussion and tour would make it clear to her that the secret to our success in Upstate New York is that we’ve built a multi-faceted ecosystem. Perhaps she’d then understand that doing harm to anyone of these civic institutions is a threat to all of them and to our quality of life as well as our economic sustainability.

During my testimony, I veered from the text that I had prepared. “If you look at the tie I’m wearing today, it is a horse tie purchased a Dark Horse of Saratoga,” I told the committee. “If you were to call my cell phone right now, you’d hear my ring tone which is the Call to Post. I’m probably the only Chamber President in the country where this all makes sense. But this speaks to just how important this industry is to Saratoga.” Our story is important. She needs to come see and hear it.