Archive: Business & Technology

Alternatives Federal Credit Union announced Award winners at its Annual Meeting on Thursday, June 20 at the Ithaca Farmers Market. The Volunteer of the Year is Bill Goodman; Holly Payne is the Student Credit Union Volunteer of the Year; and the Jeff Furman Award for Social Responsibility in Business went to Jillian's Drawers, a local and natural parenting store.

The Jeff Furman Award is presented annually to an Alternatives' member business that exemplifies social responsibility in business, businesses that: hire women and minorities, pay a Living Wage, have a positive impact on the environment, exemplify honest, beneficial, and healthy core values, and give back to the community in the form of product, services, cash donations, and volunteer time. Our Community Outreach and Development Committee selected Jillian's Drawers and its owner, Mandi Meidlinger.

Congressman Tom ReedRep. Tom Reed and members of his Small Business Advisory Board met Monday at Seneca Beverage in Elmira to discuss major obstacles facing “main street.” Reed heard from more than a dozen small business leaders on ways to break down governmental barriers to hiring and business growth.

“Without a doubt, the biggest takeaway from the discussion was how uncertainty coming out of Washington is hindering our small business owners,” Reed said. “Major contributing factors include our $17 trillion dollar national debt, implementation of Obamacare, and the burdensome tax code. Uncertainty makes employers hesitant to make major investments in their businesses and as a result, we’re not seeing the recovery we could.”

TCAD has made its first loan from the Sustainable Business Loan Fund to the Finger Lakes Fresh Food Hub. A social enterprise project of Challenge Workforce Solutions, the new, 18,000 square foot facility in Groton will create 35 jobs, many of which will be filled by individuals that face barriers to employment. The food hub will also work with local farmers to aggregate, store, and perform value added processing for local produce and products, and then use the existing Finger Lakes Fresh distribution networks to get their products to market.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 27th to symbolically mark the beginning of the project with plans to be operating in October of this year. The $1.8 million project also received funding from New York State, Tompkins Trust Company, and the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS) and PathStones Corporation, not-for-profit housing developers, announced the opening of the marketing window for the Breckenridge Place Apartments located at 100 West Seneca Street, Ithaca, NY. Applications for affordable one and two bedroom apartments are being accepted for two weeks.

A high volume of applications is anticipated; therefore applications will be randomly drawn in a lottery process monitored by INHS. Applications will then be processed in order drawn and screened to meet the INHS tenant selection criteria. Each applicant may submit only one application. Duplicate applications/submissions will result in disqualification. Only applications received by the deadline of July 31 will be included in the lottery.

The Ithaca/Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau unveiled its newest permanent display, a retrospective tribute to the late advertising guru, Howard Cogan, who is credited with coining the slogan 'Ithaca is Gorges'. Cogan didn’t just invent the now iconic phrase almost 40 years ago - he literally gave it to the City of Ithaca to use freely by declining any trademark rights. He effectively made 'Ithaca is Gorges' an invitation for tourists and travelers alike to experience the city he loved so much, while at the same time coining a phrase that local residents would come to own and embrace on their own, sometimes unique terms.

In an event to be held at the Convention & Visitors Bureau, 904 East Shore Drive on Wednesday, June 19th at 10am, Cogan’s immediate family will be present as we thank them and their beloved Howard for his iconic contribution. This event will celebrate his genius and his generosity.

Aurora, N.Y. – Aurora Inn Inc. announced the Express Café—one of their dining entities at Wells College— is one of the bronze recipients for the 2013 Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards, given by The National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS). Named for a NACUFS founder, past president and highly regarded innovator, the Dining Awards celebrate exemplary menus, presentations, special event planning, and new dining concepts, and provide an avenue for sharing ideas and creative presentations in campus dining services.

More than 100 colleges and universities across North America submitted entries in six categories, including Residential Dining Concepts, Residential Dining—Special Event, Retail Sales—Single Concept, Retail Sales—Multiple Concepts/Market-place, Catering—Special Event, and Catering—Online Menu. A team of six judges examined each entry carefully and selected top candidates in each category.

A staff work team of the Tompkins County Personnel Department has received a state organization’s highest award for its development of the County’s online employment application system.

At its annual dinner June 4, the New York State Association of Personnel and Civil Service Officers (NYSAP&CSO) bestowed the 2013 NYSAP&CSO Merit & Fitness Award for Contributions in Support of the NYS Constitution, the Civil Service Law and the Association on the members of the Tompkins County Online Application Team.  This team consists of Jackie Thomas (Team Leader), Heather Buck, Doreen Lauper, Anna Smith, and Stephen Estes.  Each participant was presented with a plaque in recognition of the accomplishment.  The project had been submitted to the State Association judges, who compared the project to a number of others throughout New York State.

AT&T announced Tuesday the expansion of its mobile Internet network in Tompkins County, extending access for advanced mobile services, devices and applications to more customers in the region. As the result of a cell site upgrade, customers have access to the mobile Internet network along Route 96B between Ithaca and Candor.

“As part of the community we’re always looking for new opportunities to provide an enhanced customer experience, and our investment in the local wireless network is just one way we’re accomplishing that,” said Marissa Shorenstein, president, AT&T New York. "We’re working to build a network that’s smarter and better to provide our customers with a superior mobile Internet experience that also helps drive new economic opportunities for small business across the state.”

Aurora, N.Y.—TripAdvisor announced Thursday that travelers on its site have honored the Inns of Aurora with a Certificate of Excellence award. The accolade, which honors hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding reviews and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Only the top-performing 10 percent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award.

To qualify for a Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travelers on TripAdvisor, and must have been listed on the site for at least 12 months. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.

Thomas P. DiNapoliNew York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli will take his case to ExxonMobil shareholders on Wednesday for the fourth consecutive year as the New York State Common Retirement Fund’s (Fund) resolution (page 69) calling on the company to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity heads to a vote.

“ExxonMobil remains an obstinate outlier among Fortune 500 companies by its failure to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” DiNapoli said.  “This lack of an explicit policy sends a message that applicants and employees can be discriminated against on the basis of non-job related criteria. It just doesn't make sense from a bottom-line standpoint.”

The Jewelbox of Ithaca and Micky Roof Jeweler Goldsmith are opening an Inlet Island Waterfront Sculpture Garden located next to The Jewelbox.

“As one of the founders of the Greater Ithaca Art Train, the Inlet Island Waterfront Sculpture Garden is an extension of the trail," says Roof.  "Sculpture is one of the most difficult mediums to display. The Jewelbox has the the space to display this work and help these artists sell their sculptures. Sculpture adds interest to our neighborhood and beauty to our lives.”

Ithaca, NY -Two Ithaca-based companies received an award for being a best company to work for at the Central New York Business Journal’s "Best Places to Work" awards ceremony on Tuesday, May 14th.

HOLT Architects, a local architecture firm since 1963 was named as a Best Place to Work in the under 50 employee category - citing their focus on quality of life, professional development, volunteerism, innovation, and design excellence as factors in determining their rank.