Last week, Empire State Development, the New York state agency in charge of the 10 Regional Economic Development Councils, appointed new co-chairs to the North Country council. The leader of the Lake Placid-based Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism and the president of Jefferson Community College will succeed the organization’s original leaders.
When the regional Economic Development Councils were first created in 2011, North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas and Clarkson University President Dr. Tony Collins were appointed to lead the North Country’s council. The regional council represents Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.
The two long-time leaders are now stepping down. Douglas says he and Collins were the last of the original chairs still serving on any of the 10 councils. “It’s with a smile and great satisfaction that Tony Collins and I wrap up an eight-year run together. We were the last two original co-chairs that were teamed together by the governor eight years ago left standing. It was time to let some fresh leadership take hold and to move on let things evolve. It was only meant to be a two-year appointment. We’re very satisfied and great things have been done and the legacy continues.”
Douglas is optimistic that the new co-chairs are well positioned to take a fresh look at the council’s work. James McKenna has been a member of the council since its inception and is now stepping into a co-leadership position. “It’s been really exciting being involved in that council because really for the first time we have the entire North Country, literally from Lake Champlain to Lake Ontario, working together. I think that there’s a good foundation now. Cooperation and friendships have been formed by a lot of the individuals across the entire region. Everybody has a good understanding of the direction our council is going. So I think that I’m in a really good position because everything is already moving forward. And if we look at the assets that we have throughout the North Country I think that we’re well positioned to really grow the economy in a way that is appropriate for our region.”
Dr. Ty Stone is new to the North Country Regional Economic Development Council. Installed as president of Jefferson Community College in Watertown in July 2017, she wanted to serve on the council and was appointed co-chair. “It will give me an opportunity to do some of the things that I really believe in strongly. And that is about bringing more partnerships together to advance the great work that we do in the North Country. And I think that if we’re able to that in a way that we take our resources and leverage them better we can serve more people. So that is something that is really exciting to me. I’ve done similar work in Dayton, Ohio where I come from so it just feels like a really good fit. And the other thing I think is when you get a call, at least from my perspective, from the governor’s office asking you to do something you don’t say no.”
McKenna and Stone plan to meet in Lake Placid this weekend.
In the first eight years of funding, the North Country received $614.3 million for more than 600 projects.
