Local, family owned and operated Thomas Pest Services owners Bill Clark and Sarah Thomas-Clark last month hosted an inaugural virtual walking event in support of Cerebral Palsy, with a month-long campaign to raise funds and awareness of the cause, in honor of their daughter.

“We couldn’t be more thankful to everyone who walked, participated, and donated to our event,” said Sarah Thomas-Clark, Vice President, Thomas Pest Services. “This cause always means so much to us because of our daughter, Riley, and wish to spread awareness for others who live and strive with CP.”

As part of the fundraiser, Thomas donated 10% of all sales for the month of March.

This, combined with their facebook fundraiser, totals nearly $7,000 to be donated to the Cerebral Palsy Foundation.

The Clarks’ daughter Riley was diagnosed with right side spastic hemiplegia when she was one and a half years old. While Riley has suffered impairment to her coordination and fine motor skills, Riley is a fighter, and has been attending weekly occupational and physical therapy to help with her condition.

The Clarks and Thomas Pest Services honor the CP cause not just for Riley, but for the whole Thomas team; a number of other employees at the company are also affected by cerebral palsy. 

To learn more about Riley’s story and how she has inspired Thomas Pest Services, check out www.thomaspestservices.com/cerebral-palsy-awareness.

Miss Always Ready, a 9-year-old mare owned by Three Chimneys Farm, delivered a filly by Three Chimneys stallion Palace Malice on April 13 at the farm as part of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s Foal Patrol Season 4. The newborn filly weighed in at 132 pounds with a height of 42.1 inches. This is the third foal of the season delivered on Foal Patrol. Both the mare and foal are healthy and doing well. 

Miss Always Ready, a daughter of More Than Ready out of the Dehere mare Miss Seffens, delivered her Palace Malice filly more than two weeks after her expected date of March 30. The foal is a full sibling to Structor, winner of the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Structor was Miss Always Ready’s first foal. She has also given birth to fillies by Palace Malice (2019) and Gun Runner (2020).

There are four mares participating in Foal Patrol Season 4. Along with Miss Always Ready, the mares Miss Chapin (Mill Ridge Farm) and To the Moon Alice (Old Tavern Farm) have already given birth this season. The final mare in this season’s program is Janae at Safari North Farm in Versailles, who is scheduled to deliver her foal by Malibu Moon any day now. 

Foal Patrol is a one-of-a-kind interactive web project featuring a collection of live cameras where people can view real-time streams of mares and their foals. The live camera feeds will be available according to each horse’s daily schedule, set by the farm. For more information, visit foalpatrol.com. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — In honor of their 10th anniversary in April, local agency SIX Marketing has launched a “Share What You CAN” Can Drive to benefit the Franklin Community Center. 

Tin or aluminum is the traditional 10th anniversary gift, so Saratoga Springs-based SIX Marketing decided their 10th birthday would be the perfect time to hold a can drive.

SIX will donate all canned goods collected to the Franklin Community Center in recognition of the non-profit’s continued dedication to supporting local families both prior to and during COVID-19. 

To collect canned goods, SIX and two community partners will set up drop-off boxes outside their locations throughout the Spa City. Members of the community can donate canned food items at the following locations through April 30. Those locations are: SIX Marketing (445 Broadway), Battleground Fitness (426 Maple Ave.) and Spoken Boutique (27 Church St.).

To help spread the word about SIX’s “Share What You CAN” Can Drive, participants are encouraged to share a photo of themselves dropping off their donations on social media with the hashtag #sharewhatyouCAN. 

SIX Marketing has long been dedicated to humanizing their approach to marketing and helping others grow. The company began in 2011 as a marketing and PR firm, but over the years it has evolved into a growth agency. For more information about SIX, go to: SIX.marketing 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation presents this year’s Historic Homes Tour virtually on Mother’s Day Weekend, May 8-9. 

The 2021 tour delivers the exclusive opportunity to see interiors of beautiful private homes and buildings, including spaces typically not accessible during an in-person tour. The tour will be available throughout the weekend allowing viewings during the time of the viewer’s choosing. 

While the Porch Party typically kicks off this signature event, this year it will be held on Thursday, June 17 in anticipation of allowing a safe gathering to welcome the summer season and to celebrate the success of the tour. Due to gathering mandates, the Porch Party may have limited attendance – honorary committee members and corporate sponsors will be guaranteed admittance.

Founded in 1977, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation is a private, not-for-profit organization that promotes the preservation and enhancement of the architectural, cultural, and landscaped heritage of Saratoga Springs.

For information about the tour, or becoming an honorary committee member or sponsor, go to: saratogapreservation.org. 

Who: Alan Richer, The Toga Chip Guy

Q. Have you always lived in Saratoga Springs? 
A. I grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Syracuse University. I’ve lived in Houston, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Albany. Now I have a house on the lake in Saratoga. 

Q. How would you describe what you do?
A. I am a chip historian.

Q. Can you give a brief description of  the history of the potato chip in Saratoga Springs?
A. The potato chip was popularized in Saratoga Springs. There are a lot of myths and legends around how it was invented. There is evidence that it was invented outside of Saratoga by a famous doctor in 1817 whose cookbook talked about “potato shavings.” The claim in Saratoga was in 1853 – 30 years later. 

Q. How did you get interested in chips?
A. While looking at art for my recently purchased home on Saratoga Lake in 2004, Michael Noonan, protégé of George Bolster, first told me about the various versions of the myths and legends surrounding Moon’s Lake House and the Saratoga Chips. He had original photographs of Moon’s Lake House, George Crum Speck, his sister Aunt Katie Weeks Adkins, and some of the early boxes, which he later sold to me. I was fascinated by the fact that the original name for the potato chip was the “Saratoga Chip” and wanted to determine how the name spread across the U.S. and abroad and was later phased out, something nobody else had ever done.

Q. Do you have any chip memorabilia or collectibles?
A. I have the largest collection of Saratoga Chips [brand name memorabilia]. I have a 40×40 display with bags, tins, machinery, and signs. It took me a long time to get a picture of an Aunt Jemima Potato Chipper (dates back to the 1900’s). While I have the photo, I have never been able to find the actual chipper. I once did a presentation for a Brown Bag Lunch at the Saratoga Springs Public Library and one of the attendees told me he had one. By the time I got done meeting attendees after the presentation, he had left, and I did not get his name and wasn’t able to determine if he actually had one or if he was willing to sell it. 

Q. In your opinion, what is the best chip flavor and the worst chip flavor? 
A. I like the traditional kettle chip (not a fan of spicy chips). 

Q. What is your go-to chip brand that you snack on?
A. A lot of companies send me chips, so I’m always eating new ones. When I go to the store, I’ll pick up the 40% Less Fat Cape Cod Chips, but all chips have their distinct niches.

Q. Can you give us an interesting trivia fact about chips?
A. Most people assume they are made with Idaho or Maine potatoes. But most of the potatoes used to make potato chips come from Michigan. 

Q. You have made quite a few media appearances. Do you want to name some of the things you have been featured in? 
A. I have done two segments for the History Channel’s “The Food That Built America” on Frito-Lay and Pringles. I have been interviewed by CBS, NBC, the Boston Globe, and various other television and radio stations, newspapers, and magazines. I am prominently featured on The Chips That Took Over The Snack World podcast (produced by History Channel’s “The Food That Built America”). I have partnered with the Saratoga Springs Lions Club to put on two chip festivals. Recently, on March 25, I did a Zoom fundraiser for the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation.

Want to learn more about potato chips? Check out Alan Richer’s website at togachipguy.com, his blog “My View of the World Through the Prism of the Potato Chip”, and his Toga Chip Guy Facebook page. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS – An eight-week course of classes in mindfulness meditation and stress reduction will take place – in person – at Caffe Lena, starting April 10.

The Saturday Morning Sessions are held 8:30 to 10 a.m. and run April 10 through May 29 and provide instruction in formal mindfulness meditation methods including a body scan, gentle yoga, sitting meditation and walking meditation.

“We know from research that the eight weeks works well for major changes in people’s mental health and well-being. And we do know it creates lasting traits like tolerance, patience, loving kindness, compassion,” says Pierre Zimmerman, of One Roof holistic health center in Saratoga Springs.  

The practices offer students a means of self-regulation and encourage the cultivation of greater awareness. Students learn to reduce their particular symptoms of psychological and somatic distress as well as to respond to challenges with less reactivity and greater clarity. The course also provides instruction in informal mindfulness meditation practices such as being in nature and eating with awareness.

Midway through the course, students learn about the physiology of stress and how it relates to their individual stress reactivity patterns. Using the latest scientific research, we explore how the act of mindful noticing activates innate internal resources that can change our perception of daily events, including stressful ones. This altered appraisal allows students to use a broader range of both internal and external responses so that they need not remain locked in stress patterns.

The Stress Relief & Management program takes place at Caffe Lena, 47 Phila St. Pre-registration is required. Masks must be worn at all times, and coronavirus safety measures, including distancing, will be practiced.

The complete schedule and fee information is available at: https://www.oneroofsaratoga.com/saratoga-stress-reduction/. To register or for more information, call 581-3180 and contact the administrative director at ext. 300 or Dr. Selma Nemer at ext. 307.

ALBANY — For six weeks, they wore red every day. They shared educational messages and raised money to change the statistic that heart disease is a woman’s No. 1 health threat. 

The Men Go Red for Women campaign concluded on Friday, March 19, and the six participants raised a total of $38,837.00. 

The top three fundraisers were: Sean Moloney of Merrill Lynch, who raised $13,008.28; Dave DeMarco of Saratoga National Bank and Trust and Arrow Financial, who raised $10,806.72 and Brain Sheldrick of CAP COM Federal Credit Union, who raised $8,722.40. Charles Amodio of Ferraro, Amodio and Zarecki CPAs; Miguel Molina of Bank of America; and Sean Willcoxon of Mazzone Hospitality were the other Men Go Red participants. 

Nicole Leonard and Jackie Sheffer, both of Merrill Lynch, co-chaired the campaign, which is part of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign. That campaign raises awareness about women’s heart health, and funds to improve women’s health. 

The men will be honored at the 2021 Go Red for Women Luncheon on Nov. 12. 

QUEENSBURY — We Are Brewnited, a registered 501(c)3, has announced the latest collaboration fundraiser for local hospitality workers. 

This effort comes after two successful Brewnited campaigns and is the result of donations from many individuals, Ball Corporation, Death Wish Coffee Company and a series of events at local bars restaurants and beverage centers. More than $50,000 has been distributed directly to local hospitality workers in the Capital Region since Brewnited was founded in Spring 2020. 

Brewnited now introduces a new chapter called “Nominate Your Covid Hero.” It works like this: Simply fill out a form nominating a deserving local resident on wearebrewnited.com, and Brewnited will send your Covid hero a gift card to the independent Capital Region bar or restaurant of your choice. 

Nominations are valid for healthcare workers, first responders, and service industry employees in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, and Washington Counties.

Visit wearebrewnited.com to Nominate Your Covid Hero or to make a tax-deductible donations. 100% of fund will be distributed locally. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The League of Women Voters of Saratoga County will host a virtual conversation with Congressman Paul Tonko and a panel of student activists on Climate Change: Solutions from the National to Local Level. 

The event will be held 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, March 31 and will be moderated by Professor Anne Ernst, Environmental Studies and Sciences at Skidmore College. 

Congressman Paul Tonko will discuss the actions and goals of the federal government in regard to climate change in the current administration, followed by a panel of youth activists discussing local initiatives.

This online presentation is open to the public via Zoom and is co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters and Sustainable Saratoga. Register in advance by going to the League website, http://www.lwvsaratoga.org and go to Events. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues and to influence them through education and advocacy.

BALLSTON SPA — The Saratoga County History Center presents a family-friendly craft fair at Brookside Museum. The free event will be held 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 5.

Guests will be able to shop a wide variety of locally handcrafted collectibles, antiques, and farm products.  Moreover, the event is juried, and vendors will be judged on their originality, creativity, and craftsmanship.  No mass-produced or commercially-made items will be permitted. 

Brookside Museum is located at 6 Charlton St. Ballston Spa. A well-preserved 1792 mansion, Brookside houses the records, collections, and exhibits of the Saratoga County History Center. 

For more information, visit the SCHC website at: www.brooksidemuseum.org, or call 518-885-4000.