You're invited: ANCA Annual Meeting

Join ANCA's board, staff and friends for our 2022 Annual Meeting, where we'll explore the future of the North Country economy with a focus on small businesses, local food systems, clean energy, and diversity, equity & inclusion.

• What: ANCA Annual Meeting: Growing the New Economy of Tomorrow
• When: Friday, September 23, 2022, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. with reception to follow
• Where: The Wild Center, Tupper Lake, NY
• Cost: $25 includes meeting, reception & admission to The Wild Center

Be inspired by regional innovators

Registration includes opportunities to experience The Wild Center and gather with the ANCA Community: 

• Explore the Center, Wild Walk, nature trails, cafeteria & shop for the day.
• Engage with dynamic community leaders via talks & multimedia presentations.
• Join Wild Center Executive Director Stephanie Ratcliffe for a tour of the inspiring new “Climate Solutions" exhibit. 
• Gather for an outdoor reception featuring local refreshments & craft beverages.

In April, the Adirondack Diversity Initiative hosted a 2-day Communicating for Change Summit to provide insight, conversation and training for leaders interested in facilitating nonviolent communication in their communities.

In ANCA's latest What's Up North Blog, ADI Scholar Activist David Epstein-HaLevi reflects on key takeaways from the summit and how NVC can empower us to create spaces that are welcoming of all.

Building Welcoming & Belonging in the Workplace

Are you ready to create a space of welcoming and belonging in your workplace? Are you seeking ways to attract and retain diverse talent and understand the needs of your clientele?

Join ADI and ANCA CPR staff for an entry-point exploration of different methodologies —including nonviolent communication — and learn how to better articulate feelings, needs, requests, and boundaries in the workplace. This event is open to all, including small business owners and staff, aspiring entrepreneurs and nonprofit personnel.

• What: Building Welcoming & Belonging in the Workplace Workshop
• When: Monday, September 19, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Where: Dewey Mountain Recreation Center, Saranac Lake, NY
• Cost: Free

Ashlee Kleinhammer and Steven Googin started North Country Creamery in 2013 with just 10 Shorthorn and Jersey milking cows. Their herd has since grown to 52 cows — 30 of whom produce milk for a variety of farmstead cheeses, creamline yogurts and raw milk. At Clover Mead Farmstore, located on their 115-acre property in Keeseville, they sell these and other local and value-addedproducts.

North Country Creamery places a high value on sustainable and organic practices at every level, including ingredients for their dairy products and treatment of their cows. The farm is 100% grass-fed, Non-GMO, NYS Grown & Certified, and Animal Welfare Approved. Ashlee and Steven are proud that the majority of their dairy products stay within the Adirondacks and all are sold within New York State. 

On August 17, ANCA and the Cooperative Development Institute (CDI) hosted a learning session about an exciting opportunity to develop a cooperative housing project in Lake Placid. 

Read about it in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, Lake Placid News and Adirondack Explorer.

Want to get involved or join the project's steering committee? Contact housing@adirondack.org.

Explore nature and race in The Woods

Join us at the Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake for a performance of The Woods and a post-show talk-back moderated by ADI Director Nicky Hylton-Patterson.

The Woods explores our learned relationships to the American landscape and the consequences those cultural narratives have on young Black Americans.

Small Communities. Big Opportunties. returns

We are thrilled to announce the Small Communities. Big Opportunities. conference is will be back in 2023! The learning and networking event for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to take over a North Country business will be held in person and offer more ways to help you realize your business ownership dreams.

Save the dates! February 12-14, 2023 in Saranac Lake

Over 150 riders have registered for Bike the Barns! The event is sold out, but you can still sign up to get on the wait list and join us for the finish line celebration:

• What: Bike the Barns
• When: Saturday, October 8, 2022
• Where: Champlain Valley, NY
• Start/finish: The Hub on the Hill, Essex, NY

Want to help out? Sign up to volunteer.

Thank you to our sponsors

Thank you to the growing list of generous sponsors who are supporting Bike the Barns and ANCA's work with local farms and food businesses:

Energy upgrades with community solar

Does your community want to make clean energy upgrades but is unsure of where to start? If there's community solar or hydro power available through a provider in your region, you may be able to transition your municipal electricity accounts to renewable energy — like the Town of Harrietstown recently did.

Contact energy@adirondack.org to learn more. 

Open Farm Weekend

Join Adirondack Harvest for the inaugural Adirondack Cuisine Trail Open Farm Weekend. The event will feature several farms and food businesses on the Boquet Valley Cuisine Trail, one of the six distinct trails that highlight agriculture and local food in the Adirondacks. 

• What: Open Farm Weekend
• When: September 2-5, 2022
• Where: Various locations

Federal grants for meat processors

The NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets is launching a $5 million meat processing grant program later this spring.

Contact localfoodsystems@adirondack.org for information about this and other grant programs for farms and food producers.

Downtown Revitalization Initiative & NY Forward Grants

Governor Hochul recently announced $200 million for two downtown redevelopment programs: Round 6 of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) and the first round of NY Forward. Each program supports initiatives that develop vibrant downtown destinations across the state, with NY Forward newly created to serve the unique needs of smaller and rural communities. 

If your community is planning to apply for a DRI or NY Forward grant in 2022 or 2023? Our ANCA CPR team is available to discuss how ANCA could support projects that stabilize and grow small businesses, incorporate clean energy projects and more.

Applications for both programs are due on September 23. Contact Zach Hobbs, ANCA CPR Outreach Coordinator, zhobbs@adirondack.org to learn more.

Check out our jobs page for openings with member and partner organizations and regional nonprofits:

• Executive Director: Adirondack Rail Trail Association
• Communications Director: Cooperative Fund of the Northeast
• Director of Communications: North Country School/ Camp Treetops

Have an opening you want to promote? Send a web link to jobs@adirondack.org.