Roohan Realty announce its top Realtors for 2017. The top five agents, in order, are Valerie Thompson, Kate R. Naughton, Meg Minehan, Palma Pedrick and Christine Hogan Barton.
In addition, the Rookie of the Year award went to Neil Corkery and the top commercial Realtor was Amy Sutton.
In total, these accomplished Realtors achieved over $51.5 million in real estate property sales last year, the company said.
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The Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau has hired Chloejean Tedford as its director of convention services. In this role, she will work directly with meeting and event planners to ensure their meeting, conference or convention is a truly memorable Saratoga experience.
Tedford has more than 5 years of experience as a Saratoga hospitality professional. Most recently, she worked as the senior event services manager for the Saratoga Hilton. Prior to that she served as an event manager for Mazzone Hospitality, working specifically with clients at the Canfield Casino.
She has a bachelor’s degree in communications and event planning from SUNY Oneonta, and is working to obtain her certified meeting professional designation later this year.
Tedford will report to Mary Jo Janis, who was recently promoted to vice president, convention sales and services. Janis has led the sales team for the last several years as director of convention sales.
In another staff updates, Nancy Jess was been promoted to national sales director. She will manage all sales activities for the corporate, education and film and entertainment market segments. She joined Discover Saratoga in 2015.
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The Adirondack Trust Co. has promoted Priscilla Petta to assistant vice president and Caroline Putman to assistant treasurer of the bank.
The company also promoted Matthew D’Abate to president of the company’s insurance division, Amsure and senior vice president of the bank.
Petta joined the company in 2010 as a financial analyst in the Credit Analysis Department. She has held numerous positions in the bank over the last eight years, including credit analyst II, and commercial loan portfolio analyst manager with her new promotion. She is now responsible for managing a team of credit analysts in the Commercial Loan Department.
Petta has over 23 years of banking experience and holds a B.S. in management from SUNY Binghamton and an M.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.
Putman first joined the company in 1982 as a management trainee. In 1987, she re-joined the company in the Data Processing Department before moving to an accounting position until 1993.
Putman re-joined the company in 2014 as a senior auditor. She now holds her current position in the bank’s Wealth Management Group as an IRA administrator. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College and her M.S. in accounting from NYU Stern.
D’Abate joined the company in 1996 and held a variety of retail banking management positions until 2003, when he began working with Gene Quirk and the newly formed Adirondack Trust Insurance Agency, now known as Amsure. D’Abate’s most recent role was as the manager of commercial insurance for Amsure.
He received his Master of Business Administration from Union College and Bachelor of Arts in economics from Skidmore College. In addition, he has earned the certified insurance counselor (CIC) designation. D’Abate is a current board member of the Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau, and has served as a board member and treasurer for the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association and Wellspring.
D’Abate’s predecessor, Quirk, has been with the Adirondack Trust Co. for over 15 years. He retired as president of Amsure but will remain with the company as a consultant until the end of the year.
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The board of directors of the National Museum of Dance announced the appointment of Laura DiRado as the new director of the museum and School of the Arts.
DiRado had served as interim director since September. As a freelance graphic designer specializing in interpretive display design, she joined the National Museum of Dance in 2013 in the position of design and development coordinator. This role subsequently evolved into exhibitions coordinator and designer which included management of the museum’s archive and collection.
DiRado designed the museum’s recently published book,” National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame: Celebrating 30 Years,” and she will continue to design all exhibitions presented by the museum.
DiRado serves on the board of directors of the Upstate New York/Vermont Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). She is the founder of Team Dance Museum, an active member of the LLS Team in Training sports endurance program, which raises money for LLS while training for marathon, half-marathon, triathlon, and/or cycling events. She is also the co-creator of A Purple Tie Affair, an annual fundraiser hosted by the museum and supported by Team Dance Museum that benefits local charities helping families battling cancer.
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The Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP law firm announced two new partners, Nicole S. Green and Scott D. Shimick.
Green joined the firm in 2009. She practices in many areas of corporate and business law including mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings, contract negotiation, choice of entity/entity formation, corporate governance and strategic planning.
Green also counsels nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations with respect to formation, operational and tax compliance matters, including obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status from the IRS and compliance with laws related to the solicitation of charitable contributions.
Shimick joined Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP in 2015. He has been a member of the firm’s federal and state taxation and business, corporate and commercial practice groups. For over 12 years, He has been advising businesses on various tax planning strategies and representing clients before the IRS and the state Department of Taxation and Finance with respect to audits and litigation.
His tax planning includes developing strategies for clients in mergers, acquisitions, and business dispositions, as well as advising on nonqualified deferred compensation planning.
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Colleen Michelle James recently joined the team at Mannix Marketing Inc. as a digital marketing and sales strategist.
James will promote internet marketing services that will best meet client’s needs and business goals.
James brings with her 40 years of sales experience, including four years in digital media. Prior to joining Mannix, she was employed as a sales director with Mary Kay. James also worked as an independent contractor for Mannix Marketing.
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Stored Technology Solutions (StoredTech) recently announced three new hires.
Jillane Vennera manages all marketing functions for the company and works closely with the sales team to strengthen the StoredTech brand. Working out of the company headquarters in Queensbury, her primary responsibility is to develop the marketing strategy for all StoredTech locations, including their new headquarters in North Carolina.
Prior to joining StoredTech, she was the director of marketing for a large commercial real estate firm. Vennera earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in Marketing from the College of Saint Rose.
Andrew Crist was hired as an account manager. He is a graduate of SUNY Potsdam with a degree in business administration.
He has been prospecting, generating leads and networking, as well as learning the account management side of the business.
Tom Grabowski was also hired as an account manager.
Previously, Grabowski spent the majority of his career in the printing and graphics industry, most recently with Xerox. He has specialized in business-to-business account management and consulting, assisting the region’s business with their print technology needs. At Storedtech, he will be advising clients on the company’s array of services and products in the information technology, telecommunications, and security spaces.
Teal, Becker & Chiaramontc CPAs, PC , announced eight new hires.
Sue Blair, was hired as operations specialist. She came to TBC with over 20 years of experience in the engineering and construction industries.
Kristina Farrell and Karen Jennings were both hired as staff accountants.
Farrell received her Bachelor of Arts in communication with a minor in business and a Master of Science in accounting degree, both from the University at Albany. Prior to starting at TBC, she worked as a staff accountant at a smaller firm.
Jennings attended the University at Albany for both her undergrad and graduate degrees. She received her Bachelor of Science in accounting, as well as her Master of Science in taxation. Her prior experience included working as a staff accountant at another firm.
Matthew Murphy joined TBC as a staff accountant with prior experience as a tax intern. Murphy received both his Bachelor of Science in accounting, as well as his Master in Business Administration at SUNY Oswego.
Sonia Hoogkamp was hired as a bookkeeping specialist. She graduated with an Associate of Science in business from Hudson Valley Community College. Prior to starting at TBC, she performed bookkeeping services for construction companies.
Brittany Stahura was hired as a staff accountant with three years of experience as a tax analyst at another firm. She attended Bryant University while earning her Bachelor of Science in accounting, and received her Master of Science in administration with a focus in accounting from Union College.
Josh Conn, previously an intern, was hired full-time. He received both his Bachelor of Science in accounting and Master of Science in accounting, along with a certificate in forensic accounting from The College of Saint Rose.
Ludmila Alexandrov, CPA, was hired as a tax supervisor. Alexandrov received her Bachelor of Science in business administration with an accounting concentration from the University of California in Northridge. She has almost 20 years of experience as both a staff accountant as well as a tax manager at another accounting firm.
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Arrow Financial Corp. announced that David S. DeMarco, a senior vice president since 2009, will expand his role as the company’s chief banking officer.
In addition, Andrew J. Wise was added to the executive leadership team as senior vice president and chief operating officer.
DeMarco will be responsible for oversight of all retail and small business banking strategy and functions for the company.
In his role as chief operating officer, Wise will be responsible for the overall management of the company’s internal administration, including operations and strategic planning.
DeMarco will continue to serve as president and chief executive officer for Saratoga National Bank and Trust Co., a subsidiary of Arrow. Wise will continue to serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Co., the lead subsidiary of Arrow.
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Peak Neurophysiology Group named Dr. Elizabeth Meliski its chief operating officer.
Peak Neurophysiology group is an intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) practice whose mission is to establish a higher standard of care in the field of IONM.
Dr. Meliski is a medical professional with over 10 years of experience in health care. She evaluates existing operations to determine effective growth trajectories, guiding staff through marketing initiatives and professional development. She helps facilitate program development and implementation to provide patients with optimized care and treatment.
Meliski attended undergraduate school at SUNY Plattsburgh. After obtaining her doctorate in chiropractic and training in physiological therapeutics she worked locally before moving to Washington, D.C. where she ran various satellite locations for larger rehabilitative practices.