The Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau hired Kelly Boucher as director of convention services.
Boucher’s primary role will be to work directly with meeting and event planners to ensure a strong Saratoga meeting, conference or convention experience.
Boucher, a 15-year hospitality and events industry professional, most recently served as the education and events manager for the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association.
She has a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from Johnson & Wales University and a master’s of business administration from the College of Saint Rose. She managed a bed and breakfast for several years and has earned her certified guest service professional designation.
Boucher is a 2010 graduate of the Leadership Saratoga program and currently serves as the vice president of the program’s alumni association.
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Brittany Lindenmayer was named relationship manager at Ballston Spa National Bank.
Lindenmayer will be responsible for providing financial solutions to customers and for maintaining the daily operations of the bank’s Greenfield Center and Wilton branch offices.
She comes to BSNB with retail banking experience from a regional financial institution where she was the supervisor of the operations department. Lindenmayer earned her bachelor of science degree in English from the SUNY Oneonta.
Lindenmayer has participated in a number of community activities, including most recently a roadside cleanup with BSNB’s Volunteers in Action and also as a new trail steward for Saratoga PLAN.
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Kevin Bright has joined the Caffè Lena board of directors.
Bright is one of the original executive producers behind the Emmy Award-winning television series “Friends” and is vice president and founding director of Emerson College Los Angeles.
Early in Bright’s career, he produced numerous specials for Johnny Cash and David Copperfield. In 1986, he produced the Cable ACE Award-winning series “The History of White People in America,” as well as HBO specials starring Robin Williams, Harry Shearer and Paul Shaffer. In 1989, he received his first Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series as supervising producer on Fox’s “In Living Color.” In 1992, Bright won a Cable ACE Award for Best Comedy Series as executive producer of “Dream On.”
Bright lives in Los Angeles and spends summers in Saratoga County.
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NBT Bank announced that Benjamin Ziskin was hired as vice president and commercial banking relationship manager.
Ziskin, of Burnt Hills, is responsible for developing and managing business relationships with commercial customers throughout the Capital Region. He is based at NBT Bank’s Gloversville Financial Center located at 12 Fremont St. in Gloversville.
Ziskin has 33 years of commercial banking experience. Prior to joining NBT Bank, he was vice president in the corporate banking division at First Niagara Bank and was responsible for analyzing commercial loan applications as well as developing new client relationships and enhancing existing relationships. Previously, he held management positions in commercial lending at Hudson River Bank, Mohawk Community Bank and Amsterdam Federal Bank
Ziskin earned his bachelor’s degree from SUNY Albany. He serves on the board of directors of the Home for Elderly Women of Montgomery County and the finance committee of the Montgomery County ARC.
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The Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership announced the addition of Shelby Schneider as director of business retention and expansion and Jennifer Dufore as office assistant and bookkeeper.
Schneider and Dufore are the Partnership’s fourth and fifth hires in recent months.
Schneider will be based in the Partnership’s Malta headquarters and will focus on accelerating Business First Saratoga, launched in March. She comes to economic development after spending two and a half years managing national marketing and local business development for Shmaltz Brewing Co. in Clifton Park. She also worked at the Saratoga Economic Development Corp. (SEDC), where she served in the roles of marketing director and economic development specialist, and Empire Zone coordinator where she managed a state economic development incentive program on behalf of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors.
Dufore, who will also be based in Malta, will be focused on office administration and financial reporting. A native of Ballston Spa, she recently returned to Saratoga County with her family from Boston. She has more than 15 years of administrative and financial experience, including stints at Liberty Mutual and Mass Insight.
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Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC announced that co-founder Tara Anne Pleat, Esq., was elected a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
ACTEC is a national professional organization of approximately 2,600 lawyers who have demonstrated the highest level of integrity, commitment to the profession, competence and experience as trust and estate counselors.
Individual lawyers meeting the criteria for membership are nominated by Fellows of the College, and are subjected to careful review by both state and national membership selection committees prior to consideration by the regents of the College.
Fellows are selected on the basis of experience, professional reputation and ability in the fields of trusts and estates and on the basis of having made substantial contributions to these fields through lecturing, writing, teaching and bar activities.
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Teal, Becker & Chiaramonte CPAs, PC, announced that Ryan M. Smith, CPA, was appointed to the shareholder group for the firm.
Joining TBC in 1997 after graduating from Siena College, Smith had previously served as a partner since 2008. With his promotion there are now 11 shareholders and Smith, 41, is the currently second youngest owner.
In Smith’s role as shareholder, he will continue to oversee all phases of audit engagements of commercial entities, with a specialization in the manufacturing, construction, and wholesale industries, as well as nonprofit entities, and governmental units including colleges.
He is an experienced tax advisor for the firm’s diverse commercial client base and works with individual tax and accounting clients. In his new role, Smith will lead the manufacturing group and continue to be a vital part of the firm’s recruiting and hiring efforts.
Outside of the office, he serves as treasurer for the Voorheesville Community and School Foundation. He is an active participant in a number of Capital Region business organizations and holds professional membership with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
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Chris Morrow, owner of Northshire Bookstores in Saratoga Springs and Manchester Center, Vt., was elected to the national board of directors of the American Booksellers Association. The association is governed by a volunteer board of 11 booksellers from across the country.
Founded in 1900, the American Booksellers Association is a national nonprofit trade organization that works to help independently owned bookstores grow and succeed.
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Colden Co. Inc., an IT Services provider in Ballston Spa, announced that Jim Lapointe, its founder and president, recently obtained his Security+ certification from CompTIA.
Lapointe, who founded Colden Co. in 2003 and added the Security+ certification in response to the growing challenge of keeping business data safe from threats like hacking and ransomware.
Lapointe also holds a number of other certifications including several other CompTIA certifications in networking and hardware, as well as the certified business continuity planner certification recognized by the Disaster Recovery Institute.
In addition to his duties at Colden Co., Lapointe is also chairman of the board for Colden Charities, a 501c3 charitable organization.
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Clifton Park & Halfmoon Emergency Corps. recently appointed Alan Bell as new executive director.
Bell will be responsible for overall effectiveness of the organization including strategic planning, leadership and oversight of all services and operations for the ambulance corps.
He began his EMS career in 1991 as an EMT, later becoming a paramedic in 1995. Bell was most recently shift supervisor for the EMS group.
He is a sergeant of the Niskayuna Police Department, where he spent the last 20 years building a career in law enforcement. Bell spent many years as an educator, focused on drug recognition and prevention. He was the recipient of the Schenectady County STOP DWI Award.
Bell has a master of public administration degree from Marist College, and received his bachelor of science in business administration from SUNY Oswego.
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The Adirondack Trust Co. announced that it promoted Lucile Lucas to senior vice president, customer experience/lending.
In her new role, Lucas will continue her work with account management in the Commercial Lending Department, while also championing new initiatives, specifically designed to enhance the overall experience customers have with the bank.
Lucas joined the Adirondack Trust Co. in 1989 as a vice president in the Commercial Lending Department. She is a graduate of Middlebury College and received her MBA from New York University. She is also a graduate of the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking.
Active in her community, Lucas is a Leadership Saratoga Fellow, and currently serves on several boards and committees, including the Saratoga Springs YMCA, Saratoga Springs Housing Authority, Saratoga Springs City Community Development Block Grant Committee and Saratoga Affordable Housing Group. Previous board involvement includes Saratoga Independent School, Saratoga Springs Universal Preservation Hall, Literacy Volunteers, Franklin Community Center and Leadership Saratoga Alumni Association.
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Biosan LLC, a manufacturer of peracetic acid products for a variety of industries and applications, has hired Joe-Ben Mattos as director of sales in North America.
The company said Mattos is a nationally-recognized expert on peracetic acid, a powerful sanitizing agent used in multiple industries. He has 20 years of experience in sales and product line management for the industrial safety and pharmacy automation industries.
His position at Biosan includes leading sales team members and growing national sales of Biosan peracetic acid.