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An update from Executive Director Gina Mintzer
This year is already off to a great start! Locally we've been enjoying all the ice bars and winter activities. There's a great schedule coming up for Lake George Winter Carnival that includes the return of ECS Sanctioned Snow-Cross Races at the Warren County Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this weekend!

We are staffing the Information Center on the corner of Beach Road and Canada Street weekends in February. The hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.

In this newsletter you'll find an update on our Travel Show Circuit and how you can still participate, as well as a lot of other exciting news from within our membership!

You'll also see information in this newsletter about an upcoming coffee with Lake George Village Mayor Robert Blais and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region at the Holiday Inn Resort in Lake George where we will discuss how you can help with Krantz Cottage, the first ever Ronald McDonald House Charities Family Retreat House!
Learn how you can donate, volunteer, or help with construction and remodeling needs of Krantz Cottage, a new 4-bedroom vacation home in Lake George for families with children who are battling serious illnesses.

Looking toward the summer season, please note we are already receiving inquiries about housing for J1 students. If you offer housing, please let us know ASAP by calling our Receptionist Sandy at 518-668-5755.

We are also exciting to announce a new member group online.
At the request of our Membership Committee, we have started a new Members-Only Group on Facebook where you can network online! Scroll down to the "News" section of this email for a link so you can request to join. Would you like to join the Membership Committee? Email Kim Saheim or call (518) 668-5755.

We are continuing our Social Sidekicks program to help connect Chamber members and welcome new folks to the business community. Please call or email Kim if you'd like to be part of that.

The Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce Women in Business is sponsoring a Blood Drive again on March 4! Please click here to register your appointment. Donating 1 pint of blood could save 3 lives.

If you have exciting news you'd like us to highlight in the next newsletter, please email it to Amanda Metzger or call her at (518) 668-5755.

Thank you for your continued support!

Cheers,
RSVP Today!
Our monthly mixer in February will be a breakfast, with the theme "We Love Our Members!" Our Events Committee had some feedback from members that they wanted to have more events in the morning, so we decided to switch it up this month. It will be the same format as our Business After Hours Mixer -- just before the work day instead of after it! Click here to RSVP.
Submit You Specials!
Please tell us about your upcoming specials for Presidents Day, Winter Break, Valentine's Day and anything else coming up! We want to help promote your business. Please click here to submit your special!
If you're interested in advertising in our monthly consumer e-blast, the cost is only $50 per email. Please email Amanda Metzger at [email protected] for more details. This is sent to approximately 25,000 emails. The average Open Rate is 14% and the average Click Through Rate is 22 percent. The deadline for materials for the next consumer e-blast is this Friday, February 8.
Show Time!
We had a busy January Travel Show Circuit including the following: the New Jersey RV & Camping Show from January 18-20; the New York Times Travel Show from January 25-27; and the Canadian Snowbird Show in Lakeland, Florida from January 29-30.

There is still time for your business to benefit from sending brochures with us to our February and March shows including: the Springfield Sportsman Show in Massachusetts; the New York Women's Expo in Siena College; the AAA Southern New England Travel Show in Foxborough, Massachusetts; and the National Women's Show in Montreal, Quebec. Take a look at the Trade Show Co-Op sheet for buy-in cost and deadlines.

These addditional Travel Show opportunities are also available:

  • Sending someone from your business to attend with us and help out in our booth. The Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce will pay for the booth registration, you would be responsible for travel, meals and lodging for your staff member.
  • Donating a gift certificate for an overnight stay, admission tickets for attractions, gift cards for meals or services,etc. to be included in our "Get-Away, Give-Away" package given away at each show. 

Please contact Kim Saheim at (518) 668-5755 if you are interested in participating in our 2019 Travel Show Co-Op program.
Debbie and Betty are headed to Lake George soon for a visit! Here they are posing in front of our backdrop with photo props at the NYT Travel Show.
This is 11 year old Addysen. She is excited to come to Lake George and do a cannonball! 
Here she is in front of our lake backdrop at the NJ RV & Camping Show. 
High Peaks Hospice Ribbon Cutting
We joined High Peaks Hospice and Adirondack Regional Chambers of Commerce for a ribbon cutting and open house in January at the new High Peaks Hospice office location at 454 Glen Street Glens Falls, NY 12801.
High Peaks Hospice has launched an excellent video series seeking to end misconceptions to hospice care and spread awareness about what they do. Be sure to follow them on social media and see some of these videos.
LGRCC Ribbon Cuttings are sponsored by Kingsbury Printing. M&M Digital Printing sponsors ARCC Ribbon Cuttings.
If you're adding to your business, opening a new location or celebrating an anniversary, we'd like to help publicize your great news! If you'd like to have a ribbon cutting at your business, click here for our form.

The Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cuttings are sponsored by Kingsbury Printing .
News
Hot off the press! The 2019 Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce & CVB Annual Four-Season Travel Guide is out for distribution. Thank you to all the advertisers who supported this publication. Your ad will be seen by tens of thousands of people through our targeted distribution plan.
There is also a Member Directory, so if you sent your paperwork back to us in the fall you have a listing in this important piece.
Throughout the year, we interact one-on-one with tens of thousands of visitors to our region. We continue to see demand for both print and digital resources and include elements such as the "Lodging Grid" because we see a demand for basic, helpful information that covers commonly asked questions regarding accommodations and amenities.
This year, we also launched an effort to capture people’s stories about the area, which you will see on Page 41. Our destination is special to people for so many reasons. We want to encourage everyone to share how they found the area and why they love it so we can share their stories with current and potential visitors. If you want to share your story, click here.
The 70,000-circulation distribution plan includes the following areas throughout the year:
  • NYC Region, Best of Long Island Hotels
  • Central Massachusetts Hotels, Interstate 91, MA
  • Northern New Jersey Hotels
  • Westchester County Train Stations
  • The Berkshires of Massachusetts areas
  • Albany/Capital District areas including Columbia County, Saratoga and Northwestern, CT
  • AAA’s of CT, NJ, MA, NY
  • Information areas: Adirondacks Welcome Center, Village Information Center and the Chamber Office
  • Eight (8) Consumer Travel Shows
  • Welcome packets for large regional events
  • Direct mail for visitor inquiries
  • Members as requested and allowed to display/distribute
Please note that the February CVB meeting will be changed from Feb. 14th, to  FEB 13 at 9am at the Holiday Inn Express off Exit 18 in Queensbury. Please RSVP by February 8th to myself and to Amanda Berrigan at  [email protected] .
If you can not attend, please watch for the minutes which will be emailed from Kristen Hanifin.
We're looking to fill a table of 6 people for the SUNY Adirondack Foundation Howl Trivia Night on Friday, March 22! This event will take place in the Northwest Bay Conference Center in Adirondack Hall. In additon to being such a fun event, this will support SUNY Adirondack Foundation, so please join us!
Email or call Gina Mintzer at (518) 668-5755.
The Law Enforcement Officers (LEO) Weekend is returning to Lake George again from June 14-16, 2019.
LEO Weekend is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that organizes this annual event in its 3rd year and pays for the families of fallen officers (Blue Star Families) to visit Lake George. The mission is to provide all active and retired law enrichment officers, friends and families a chance to enjoy a weekend together while supporting the families of officers who died in the line of duty.
Please mark your calendar for a fundraiser coming up on Saturday, Feb. 16 at Humbugg's in South Glens Falls.
The organizers are looking for donations for raffle baskets to auction. Please contact Carol Linehan at 518-260-2343 if you'd like to donate. It's tax-deductible and supporting a great cause!
Adirondack Life Magazine is starting to work on the Adirondack Life Show coming up July 12-14 at the Lake George Forum. 
If you're interested in purchasing a booth for the show, click on the above image for more information!
The Lake George Association was awarded an Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention Grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program for the 2019 season. The $5,300 grant will be used to continue the Lake George Association’s invasive species public education and outreach programs, focusing on:
  • Personal interactions with visitors and boaters throughout the season at various locations and events, and
  • Education about and interception of aquatic invasive species at car-top boat launch on Lake George.
The grant joins the tens of thousands of dollars that the Lake George Association will commit in 2019 to removing invasive Eurasian watermilfoil, surveying the entire Lake shore for new areas of invasive species, and for supporting our  Asian Clam Citizen Science Day  as well as the Lake George Park Commission’s  Mandatory Boat Inspection Program .
Lake George Waterkeeper Chris Navitsky, PE, has been selected as the recipient of a statewide award for his work using the study of algae near the shore of the Lake to identify and prioritize potential sources of pollutants.
The Lake George Waterkeeper is a program of The FUND for Lake George.
 Mr. Navitsky will be formally presented with the Linn H. Enslow Memorial Award from the non-profit New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA), a statewide organization of leaders in water quality management, at the Association’s annual meeting today in New York City!

Warner Bay land is now under the protection of the Lake George Land Conservancy.
The LGLC closed on the conservation of 13 acres along the edge of the Warner Bay wetlands in the Town of Queensbury in January.
The strip of land adjoins the larger 1,400-acre Dunham Bay Marsh owned and protected by New York State (NYS) Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) since 1980.
The 13-acre property was held by Warren County for unpaid taxes; instead of taking it to auction the County approached the LGLC with the offer of donating the land for conservation purposes.

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, February 13, 2019, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. when we will join Lake George Village Mayor Robert Blais and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region for "Coffee with the Mayor" at the Holiday Inn Resort in Lake George.
Learn how you can donate, volunteer, or help with construction and remodeling needs of Krantz Cottage, a new 4-bedroom vacation home in Lake George for families with children who are battling serious illnesses.
We are so honored our destination was chosen as the location for this family retreat program.
To RSVP, contact Heather Liz Copps or Jeff Yule by February 11 at 518-438-2655 or by email at [email protected] or [email protected] .
The Ronald McDonald House Charities purchased the property at 161 Ottawa Street at a reduced rate with the goal of expanding their compassionate web of comfort, hope and love to families under stress. It was formerly owned by Marcia and Howard Krantz, the former Village Attorney.


We have a new Facebook group for members ! Please request to join this group so you can network online with other Chamber members.

A&J Radio Group , a radio station member of ours based in Plattsburgh, has approached us in hopes of teaming up with our local businesses to help them reach their listening audience in the Plattsburgh and Montreal areas.

They have 3 stations: 97.9 The Moose — Real Country; WPLB AM 1070 and FM 103.7 — Mid-century Radio; and 107.1 WPLA Plattsburgh Rocks.

We hope this will help spread the message of our area’s year-round economy to another market!
Do you know a child who loves to cook?
We were contacted by a Casting Producer for MasterChef Junior, the national FOX cooking competition series where children aged 8 to 13 years old compete for the title of MasterChef Junior!
They wanted to let us know they will be in New York City on Saturday, March 2 looking for kids who love to cook and want to try out for the show!

"The casting call is a total blast for all the kids who try out and everyone leaves with a huge smile, feeling like a winner!" said Jenn Dowding, a MasterChef Junior casting producer. "I have to tell kids not to be intimidated by the skill level they see on our show because no one walks into our open casting call cooking like a MasterChef. We are looking for passion and the potential to learn and blossom into the MasterChef inside each and every one of them!"

This allows a producer to call a week prior to remind about the casting call as well as answer any questions they may have.
Register for the Legislative Kick-off Networking Reception  HERE
Register for Breakfast Meeting/Tourism Action Day  HERE


Thank you Cool Insuring Arena and Adirondack Thunder for hosting our January Mixer!
The food was delicious, and we had a blast watching the Thunder beat the Wheeling Nailers 6-2!

Calling all vendors!
Our St. Patrick's Day Weekend Vendor Fair returns this year on Saturday, March 16, 2018, at the Holiday Inn Resort in Lake George.
Admissions free for shoppers! You're sure to find great deals just as good as a pot of gold at this 2nd annual vendor fair.
  • The new Adirondack Craft Beverage Trail maps are in! If you're interested in picking some up for your location, please call the Chamber at 518-668-5755. Stay tuned for an announcement about a revamped website for this program as well.
  • We're looking for bloggers to photograph and scribe their tales from the Adirondack Craft Beverage Trail. If you're interested, email Amanda Metzger at [email protected].
SUNY Adirondack Continuing Education is offering the following Business & Career Training: (Pre-registration is required. Call 518.743.2238 or email [email protected]  to register today.)

SERVSAFE FOOD SAFETY CERTIFICATION WORKSHOP
Local hospitality and food service businesses seeking certification for employees are invited to register for a workshop.
April 29
Monday | 8am to 6pm | Wilton Center
Course #20087
Registration closes on  Monday, April 15

LEADING IN HOSPITALITY
Learn about or advance your skills with customer satisfaction-focused leadership through this two-session course focused on current and future leaders in the hospitality field. 
April 25 and May 2
Thursdays | 6:30pm to 8pm | Wilton Center
Course #20085

Learn more under  Professional Development  at  www.sunyacc.edu/continuing-education-catalog
EVENTS
Lake George Winter Carnival continues this weekend! They're bringing Snocross back on Saturday and Sunday at the Warren County Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
If you're a member and have news you'd like us to include in the next newsletter, please email Amanda Metzger at [email protected] or call the office at (518) 668-5755.
Not a member yet? Contact Kim Saheim at [email protected] or call the office. Thanks for reading!