CHAMBER HONORS BUSINESSES, LOCALS
Chamber of Commerce, Development Alliance recognize community members
The 14th annual Business Recognition Awards will honor eight local businesses and community members who have proven themselves to be outstanding members of the Ulster County community.
The awards, presented jointly by the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce and Ulster County Economic Development Alliance, recognize business leaders, businesses and community members that are leaders in their sectors, have achieved outstanding results, or who have shown dedication and commitment to furthering business and the quality of life in Ulster County.
This year, Johnny LeHane of Rhinebeck was named Entrepreneur of the Year.
Also being honored are: Mother Earth’s Storehouse as Business of the Year; Home Plate Deli & Caterers/Olive’s Country Store & Café as Small Business of the Year; Travis Rask of Gagnon & Associates CPAs as Emerging Young Leader; Honor’s Haven Resort & Spa as Tourism Business of the Year; Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center for Commitment to the Community; and Lowe Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning for the Heritage Award.
Additionally, Scott Herrington, owner of Sav-On Party Central, will receive the Len Cane Heart of Ulster County Award.
“The Chamber would like to congratulate the recipients and offer special thanks to those who provided the nominations and the independent panel for the final selections,” Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce President Ward Todd said in a statement. “These best of Ulster County awards are peerdriven and an excellent way for the business community to recognize outstanding efforts.”
The awards will be presented at a dinner on Oct. 25 at the Wiltwyck Golf Club, 404 Steward Lane, Kingston. Tickets are $100 per person and the dinner begins with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.ulsterchamber.org.
The following information is based on Freeman interviews and archives, as well as nomination forms.
Entrepreneur of the Year: Johnny LeHane
LeHane is the co-founder of the adult sports league CLUBWAKA, the Hudson Valley Startup Fund, and CO, which offers shared workspace in Rhinebeck for individuals, startups, and companies of all sizes. A Rhinebeck resident, he is a member of the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce and has sat on the board of the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce Foundation. LeHane also speaks at the chamber’s Ulster Leadership Development Institute and to business students at SUNY New Paltz.
“Obviously, it’s an honor,” LeHane said of being named Entrepreneur of the Year.
“I’m drawn to where folks are active and mission-aligned,” LeHane said recently. He said much of CLUBWAKA’s work is in Dutchess County, but it has also started being offered in Kingston.
CLUBWAKA was founded in 1998 as the World Adult Kickball Association, providing adult sports leagues, social activities, and events.
LeHane said it is his main venture and job.
CO was launched in September as a cooperative in conjunction with people across the region, LeHane said. His founding partners in CO are from places like Saugerties and Marlboro, he said.
According to its website, CO offers shared workspace, including meeting rooms and event space. It offers daily, part-time or full-time membership to its users and is cooperatively-owned and operated.
And the Hudson Valley Startup Fund was begun in 2015 to create an organized investment group, LeHane said.
Hudson Valley Startup Fund is a member-managed seed capital fund, comprised of successful business and community leaders who invest their time and resources to support the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, according to its website. The fund provides seed funding, mentorship, and connections for local entrepreneurs while delivering investment returns to its members.
LeHane said working with four partners, from Dutchess and Ulster counties, the fund brought together 44 investors to raise more than $1 million to invest in Hudson Valley startups ready to grow substantially. He said they have invested in six companies and are raising money for their second fund. All the businesses have a local connection, LeHane added.
“I see the strength in the Hudson Valley as working together and working across the river, rather than allowing it to divide us,” LeHane said. He said he is dedicated to a diverse economy in the Hudson Valley and does not conform to geographic lines so much.
He and his wife, Melissa, moved back to the Hudson Valley in 2005 because they feel it is a great place to raise their children, LeHane said. He said, though, when they moved back to the area they realized the economy had not moved past the loss of IBM.
LeHane said he would take any opportunity he has to help the Hudson Valley realize what is possible when it has lots of different and dynamic employers.
Business of the Year: Mother Earth’s Storehouse
In 1978, brothers Chris and Kevin Schneider opened Mother Earth’s Storehouse in the Kings Mall in the town of Ulster. The grocery store, which is focused on offering healthy, organic options, opened a second location in Saugerties in 1995, followed by a third in Poughkeepsie in 1998. Between the three locations, Mother Earth’s has approximately 147 full- and part-time employees.
“We got interested in nutrition and green products,” Chris Schneider said of the impetus for starting Mother Earth’s Storehouse. “And at the time, there wasn’t really too many sources around here. It seemed like a good opportunity.”
Mother Earth’s Storehouse has a large selection of organic products and those that are GMO-free. It offers vegan and vegetarian options and has a large produce section, as well as meats and an organic deli. There is also a from-scratch bakery and café, which offers regular and gluten-free options. The store also offers vitamins and herbs, as well as personal care products.
When Mother Earth’s opened, it was an unlikely competitor to larger food chains, according to its website. They had their own niche selling locally produced food and supplements. Though modest in size compared to bigbox supermarkets, Mother Earth’s has always focused on wholesome, nutritious foods and supplements that are not laden with artificial ingredients, the site states.
And, according to their nomination form, the Schneiders have supported many other local organizations and charities over the years, including the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley. They have also supported local school programs and performing arts activities in the area.
Chris Schneider said his business has many loyal employees and customers who, over the years, have helped Mother Earth’s grow. He said he was very surprised to be named Business of the Year.
“For us to be chosen as Business of the Year is a pretty big deal to us,” Schneider said.
Small Business of the Year: Home Plate Deli & Caterers and Olive’s Country Store & Café
Alex Stier and his wife, Denise, opened Olive’s Country Store in 2003 in Shokan and the Home Plate Deli in 2006 in the town of Ulster. The two sister stores have approximately 17 fulland part-time employees between them, depending on the season.
Stier said Olive’s is what they call the “Gatehouse to the Catskills.” He said it is located right on state Route 28 and operates as a country store and café.
“We’re really a Vermont country store in New York,” Stier said. He said Olive’s, which is also the Mobil gas station, has supplies for fishing at the Ashokan Reservoir or hiking up in the mountains. That includes hunting and fishing licenses, bait, hiking sticks, hatchets, and butane fuel, Stier said. He said Olive’s has also started offering items from different artists that depict scenes of the reservoir or local wildlife. The store also has a variety of other items, like goat milk-based lotions and hand creams, its own jams and jellies, and Bearington Bears.
And on the café side, Olive’s is open until 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends, offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, Stier said. He said the offerings include pancakes and omelets, as well as burgers and fried chicken.
As for the Home Plate Deli, that offers traditional deli and catering services, but can also offer an upscale catering service to its clients, Stier said. He said the deli is open six days a week but is closed on Sundays. Stier said the deli has everything from bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches at breakfast to its Grand Slam Breakfast with triple egg, triple meat, triple cheese and home fries on a hard roll. It also has pancakes and French toast, Stier said.
Lunches include sandwiches and salads, as well as burgers and chicken tenders, to name a few.
Stier said he gets a lot of calls to cater business events and lunches and can offer anything from sandwich platters to a lemon chicken or penne a la vodka type meal. He said he has catered for a variety of events, including a veterans’ luncheon and an event on a motor yacht.
With being in two locations, Stier said, his businesses get a lot of requests to help support community organizations like soccer leagues and cancer society fundraisers. He said they will donate gift certificates or food to help out.
“We’ve been blessed with a solid business so, to me, we have to be a part of the community,” Stier said. He added that he was surprised to be named Small Business of the Year. Stier said Olive’s and Home Plate have a great group of customers and a great core staff. The customers and staff allow both businesses to give back to the community, he said.
Emerging Young Leader: Travis Rask
Rask, 27, is a Kingston resident who has worked for Gagnon & Associates CPAs since December 2013. He is a senior accountant at the firm, chairman of the Young Ulster Professionals group, and a commissioner for the Parks and Recreation Department in the city of Kingston. Rask also is on the finance committee for John J. Coleman High School and has coached basketball teams for approximately eight years, including Biddy Basketball.
“It was a shock,” Rask said of being named Emerging Young Leader. “Definitely honored, humbled.” He said receiving awards is not why he volunteers. His reward, Rask said, comes from the smiles of the kids when a play goes right on the basketball court or seeing people making a connection at networking events.
“I just really like giving back to the community,” Rask said. He said all the programs he has been involved with have helped to shape him over the years and he wanted to give that back to others.
David Gagnon, who nominated him for the award, said Rask “has been an upstanding member of the community and has become one of the emerging leaders in both the business community, as well as his support of the community at large. His positive attitude energizes people around him and reflects his leadership skills.”
Gagnon added that he had asked Rask to get involved with Young Ulster Professionals. He said since Rask has taken over leadership of that group, attendance has increased from approximately 20 people to more than 50 participants. The group has also increased their community event support by continuing its highway clean-up efforts, supporting Habitat for Humanity, and the Bike for Cancer Care event.
“The organization is headed in a positive direction under his leadership,” Gagnon said.
Tourism Business of the Year: Honor’s Haven Resort & Spa
Honor’s Haven Resort & Spa opened its doors in 2007 after purchasing and renovating the previous Fallsview Resort in Ellenville, according to its nomination. Since opening, Honor’s Haven has earned their green certificate for environmentally conscious hotels and has been host to large conferences, retreats, weddings, and the annual Tulip Festival.
Representatives of Honor’s Haven did not respond to requests for comment.
The resort, according to its website, has 232 rooms and suites, as well as conferences and catering facilities on 200-acres. It offers intercontinental dining in its restaurant, as well as a cocktail lounge, a wellness center, spa and fitness center with indoor jacuzzi, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, indoor and outdoor sports facilities, and a nine-hole golf course, among other amenities.
According to the nomination, Honor’s Haven also takes pride in its local community and encourages guests to enjoy the local attractions. It also employs more than 150 people.
Commitment to the Community: Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center
The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center provides services, professional resources, and programs that unite the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning community across lines of age, race, gender, and economics, according to its website. The center’s purpose is to strengthen, support and celebrate LGBTQ people, families and groups.
The center, according to its website, “strives for positive social change through advocacy, community education, cultural awareness, and wellness programs that assist in the creation, development, and growth of LGBTQ-affirming organizations, institutions, and culture within the community at large.”
“We’re very moved and honored to be taken up by the Chamber in this way,” Jeff Rindler, executive director of the center, said of the award. “Our commitment to the community extends not just to the LGBTQ community, but to the wider community.” He added that the center, which has a staff of four, has expanded its programs in an extraordinary way. Rindler said they have doubled their advocacy efforts in the past year and tripped their services to LGBTQ youth and older adults over the same period.
The center also hosts social events, like its Drag Bingo, that are open to the wider community, Rindler