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Utica native opens studio for creatives
UTICA — A little over a year after opening his first business in Utica, Nazaria (Nazzy) Deloach has opened a second business, providing even more space for creatives to do their thing. 4K Creative Studios, LLC, located at 9898 River Road, expands upon what Deloach started when he opened Dreamer Studios, LLC in June 2023. […]
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UTICA — A little over a year after opening his first business in Utica, Nazaria (Nazzy) Deloach has opened a second business, providing even more space for creatives to do their thing.
4K Creative Studios, LLC, located at 9898 River Road, expands upon what Deloach started when he opened Dreamer Studios, LLC in June 2023.
“I wouldn’t say it was an evolution of Dreamers, but what I wanted Dreamers to be from the start,” he says of his new business venture. “What 4K really is, is a shared creative space. I want it to be the shared creative hub of Central New York.”
While Dreamer Studios focuses on sound recording, 4K Creative has something for every creative type, Deloach explains.
From sports media to photo shoots of all types, 4K offers it all — either with its own team of professionals or just as a space for lease where people do their own work.
4K Creative Studios has two photographers, a videographer, a graphic designer, and Deloach as creative director available to clients. The 1,500-square-foot space is divided into five bays that can be used for photography, podcasting, videography, and more. The studio even offers a green screen, RGB lights, an easel, and a variety of photo backdrops. Those renting the space can also bring in their own props and equipment.
“Even if you have your own photographer or videographer, you can still come in and use the space,” Deloach says. That even includes bouncing ideas off the staff.
It’s all part of Deloach’s vision of a space that gives creatives without a voice a space to have one and a place where creatives meet and form connections with other creatives. “It’s all about unity for me,” he says.
Deloach is hoping the studio will benefit small businesses in the greater Utica area that may have creative ideas but lacked a way to bring them to fruition before.
“I want to be that company for Utica that shows and sheds light on all the other companies,” he says.
Another area Deloach is hoping to really tap into is sports media with local school districts and athletes.
“I know how huge it is to have media days,” he says, adding he’d like to participate in such events with local schools. “In today’s world, sports and showing off your school is huge in social media.”
His studio can give schools or even individual athletes the media they need to show off with products like highlight reels and photos.
Deloach is working to get the word out about his new space through social media, an email campaign, attending Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce events, and more.
He thinks the space itself plus having a creative team on hand helps set his studio apart from the competition.
“We understand what people are coming for,” he says. “It’s a creative space built by creatives. Who wants to go to a baseball stadium built by soccer players?”
4K Creative Studios (www.4kcreativestudios.com) celebrated its grand opening on Jan. 17 via a ribbon-cutting event with the Greater Utica Chamber.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of CNY names new board officer, three new board members
SYRACUSE — Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York (RMHC of CNY) has announced the appointment of a new officer and three new members to its board of directors for 2025. Ron Tascarella, first VP and chief lending officer at Pathfinder Bank, has been named treasurer of the board of directors. The charitable organization
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SYRACUSE — Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York (RMHC of CNY) has announced the appointment of a new officer and three new members to its board of directors for 2025.
Ron Tascarella, first VP and chief lending officer at Pathfinder Bank, has been named treasurer of the board of directors.
The charitable organization additionally announced that Jenny Dickinson, director of special children services at the Onondaga County Health Department; Ben Greene, chief financial officer at KPH Healthcare Services, Inc.; and Geoffrey Henderson, managing director and financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual, have been appointed to the RMHC of CNY board for 2025.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York says it operates the CNY Ronald McDonald House — located at 1100 E. Genesee St. in Syracuse — 24 hours a day, year-round, at no cost for families whose children are receiving inpatient or outpatient medical treatment at Syracuse–area hospitals and affiliated clinics.
Oneida County to contribute $150,000 to B-52 restoration project
ROME, N.Y. — The B-52 bomber displaced and damaged during last July’s tornado in Rome is one step closer to being put back into place.
Dominick Falcone Agency, Falcone Associates sold to Illinois firm
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Dominick Falcone Agency, Inc. and affiliate Falcone Associates, Inc., of Syracuse, have been acquired by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG), a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm headquartered near Chicago, Illinois, Gallagher announced this week. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed in Gallagher’s Feb. 3
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Dominick Falcone Agency, Inc. and affiliate Falcone Associates, Inc., of Syracuse, have been acquired by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG), a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm headquartered near Chicago, Illinois, Gallagher announced this week.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed in Gallagher’s Feb. 3 announcement.
Dominick Falcone Agency provides property/casualty insurance products to commercial and personal-lines clients primarily in Central New York, and its affiliate Falcone Associates provides employee-benefits services to businesses and individuals.
Michael Lavalle and David MacLachlan, partners in the Dominick Falcone Agency, and Renee Guariglia and Chris Marshall, partners in Falcone Associates, and their teams will remain in their current office location, Gallagher said. The firms, which had about 15 employees before the sale, according to the Falcone website, have an office at 507 Plum St. in the Franklin Square area of Syracuse.
The Falcone staff will now be under the direction of Brendan Gallagher, head of Gallagher’s Northeast region retail property/casualty brokerage operations, and Scott Sherman, head of Gallagher’s Northeast region employee benefits consulting and brokerage operations, the acquiring firm said.
“Dominick Falcone Agency and Falcone Associates have a strong market reputation and will further enhance our retail brokerage capabilities in Central New York,” J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “I am delighted to welcome Michael, David, Renee, Chris and their associates to Gallagher.”
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. — based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois (near Chicago) — provides insurance services in 130 countries around the world through its owned operations and a network of correspondent brokers and consultants. The company, which has about an $80 billion market capitalization, generated total revenue of more than $9.9 billion in 2024. It employs about 56,000 people across the globe.
Acquisitions are a key part of Gallagher’s growth strategy, as it completed 20 new mergers last quarter and 48 mergers for the full year, according to its latest earnings report.
Most CNY regions posted job gains in December
The Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Binghamton, and Elmira regions all gained jobs in December compared to December 2023. However, the Watertown–Fort Drum and Ithaca areas lost jobs in the same 12-month period. That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) issued on Jan. 23. December jobs data The
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The Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Binghamton, and Elmira regions all gained jobs in December compared to December 2023. However, the Watertown–Fort Drum and Ithaca areas lost jobs in the same 12-month period.
That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) issued on Jan. 23.
The Syracuse region gained 6,200 jobs between December 2023 and December 2024, an increase of 1.9 percent.
Elsewhere, the Utica–Rome metro area gained 800 jobs, a 0.6 percent rise; the Binghamton region added 1,100 jobs, an increase of 1.1 percent; and the Elmira area picked up 400 positions, a gain of 1.1 percent, in the last year.
Bucking the trend, the Watertown–Fort Drum region lost 300 jobs, a decrease of 0.7 percent, and the Ithaca metro area shed 1,000 jobs, a loss of 1.6 percent, in the 12-month period between December 2023 and December 2024.
New York state as a whole added 126,400 total jobs, an increase of 1.3 percent, in the past year, the NYSDOL said.
The Syracuse area gained 5,400 private-sector jobs in December 2024 compared to December 2023, a rise of 2.1 percent.
Elsewhere, the Utica–Rome region added 600 private jobs, a 0.6 percent rise; the Binghamton metro area picked up 400 private-sector positions, an increase of 0.5 percent; and the Elmira region gained 300 private jobs, a rise of 1 percent, in the past year.
Going in the other direction, the Watertown–Fort Drum area shed 300 private-sector positions, a loss of 1 percent, and the Ithaca region lost 1,600 private jobs, a drop of 3 percent, in the period between December 2023 and December 2024.
New York state gained 108,800 private-sector jobs, a rise of 1.3 percent, in the last year, the NYSDOL said.
NYSTEC contributes $500,000 to business center project at SUNY Poly
UTICA, N.Y. — New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation (NYSTEC) has pledged $500,000 to SUNY Polytechnic Institute to establish a cutting-edge, interdisciplinary business center, the
Tompkins Financial to pay Q1 dividend on Feb. 21
ITHACA, N.Y. — Tompkins Financial Corp. (NYSE: TMP) recently announced that its board of directors has approved payment of a regular quarterly cash dividend of
NBT Bancorp boosts quarterly dividend by more than 6 percent
NORWICH — The board of directors of NBT Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NBTB), parent of NBT Bank, N.A., recently approved a first-quarter cash dividend of 34 cents per share. The new payment is an increase of 2 cents a share, or 6.3 percent, over the dividend of 32 cents that the banking and financial services company
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NORWICH — The board of directors of NBT Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NBTB), parent of NBT Bank, N.A., recently approved a first-quarter cash dividend of 34 cents per share.
The new payment is an increase of 2 cents a share, or 6.3 percent, over the dividend of 32 cents that the banking and financial services company paid out in the first quarter of 2024. NBT will pay the new dividend on March 17, to shareholders of record as of March 3.
NBT also announced that it had repurchased 7,600 shares of its common stock during 2024 at an average price of $33.02 per share under its previously announced stock-buyback program.
NBT Bancorp is a financial holding company headquartered in Norwich, with total assets of nearly $13.8 billion, as of the end of 2024. NBT Bank is a full-service community bank with 155 branches in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut. The holding company also operates EPIC Retirement Plan Services, a Rochester–based national benefits administration firm, and NBT Insurance Agency, LLC, a full-service insurance agency located in Norwich.
LGS names three new board members
DeWITT — Leadership Greater Syracuse (LGS) has announced three new members of its board of directors: John Daniel of Usherwood Office Technology, Gina Rapasadi of Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, and Pete Wiezalis from Mower. Daniel is the director of IT services at Usherwood. He has previously served as a member of the Manufacturers
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DeWITT — Leadership Greater Syracuse (LGS) has announced three new members of its board of directors: John Daniel of Usherwood Office Technology, Gina Rapasadi of Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, and Pete Wiezalis from Mower.
Daniel is the director of IT services at Usherwood. He has previously served as a member of the Manufacturers Association of Central New York (MACNY) IT Council Executive Committee. Daniel has participated in several IT peer groups and worked in the technology sector in various roles throughout his career.
Rapasadi is the director of philanthropy with the Friends of the Zoo. She is responsible for cultivating and strengthening relationships with key stakeholders to build effective strategies and sustainable revenue for major gifts in support of the zoo’s mission. Before her current position, Rapasadi worked at the Rescue Mission Alliance of Syracuse, where she spent 17 years in the development department as director of special events and volunteer services. She is graduate of the LGS class of 2020.
Wiezalis is VP of growth strategy at Mower Agency and a member of the firm’s core senior leadership team. He has more than 25 years of experience in marketing strategy, planning, execution, and optimization in both the B2B and B2C sectors. Wiezalis is also a graduate of the LGS class of 2023.
These new board members each started a three-year term on Jan. 1.
LGS is a nonprofit that offers a yearlong civic-leadership training program. Its mission is to inspire current and future leaders to make a difference in the community. LGS was founded in 1990 by CenterState CEO, Onondaga County, the City of Syracuse, and Onondaga Community College. It is financially supported by many organizations including United Radio, Community Bank, and Turning Stone Resort Casino.
New startup Arcovo AI seeks to help small and mid-size firms
SKANEATELES — A new Central New York artificial intelligence (AI) startup has a bold goal. “We are on a mission to save businesses 1.5 million hours in productivity and create $100 million in profitability for our partners by 2030,” the website of Arcovo AI proclaims. The business, which is described as an AI-automation agency, has
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SKANEATELES — A new Central New York artificial intelligence (AI) startup has a bold goal.
“We are on a mission to save businesses 1.5 million hours in productivity and create $100 million in profitability for our partners by 2030,” the website of Arcovo AI proclaims.
The business, which is described as an AI-automation agency, has launched operations with the backing of three area entrepreneurs.
Arcovo AI was co-founded by Jeff Knauss and Jake Tanner, the entrepreneurs who previously co-founded Digital Hyve, a Syracuse–based digital-marketing agency and then sold it to Butler/Till of Rochester in 2021. Knauss is Arcovo AI’s CEO while Tanner is the new firm’s COO.
Besides Knauss and Tanner, the Arcovo AI website lists four employees.
Adam Weitsman — a local billionaire, entrepreneur, restaurateur, and philanthropist who is owner/CEO of Upstate Shredding — is also a co-founder and strategic advisor for Arcovo AI.
The new venture says it is “dedicated to leveling the playing field for local and regional businesses by providing advanced workflow AI automation solutions tailored to their unique needs to help them save time and money.”
“We’re incredibly excited to help small and medium-sized businesses unlock the potential of AI,” Knauss said in the firm’s announcement. “Our mission is to empower these businesses with solutions that were once only accessible to larger corporations. Watching businesses thrive by leveraging cutting-edge technology is what drives us every day.”
Arcovo AI specializes in workflow automation designed to streamline repetitive tasks, reduce inefficiencies, and free up teams to focus on “strategic, high-value activities.” The agency focuses on helping businesses thrive in three critical areas: sales and marketing, customer support, and operations.
By automating tasks such as data entry, lead follow-ups, ticket routing, chatbots, and cross-system communication, Arcovo AI contends it ensures that businesses achieve cost savings, improved productivity, and faster results.
“At Arcovo AI, we believe that AI should augment human capabilities, not replace them,” Knauss said. “Our human-in-the-loop approach ensures that AI systems work alongside human teams, enhancing efficiency and freeing up valuable time for employees to focus on the things that matter most. This collaboration leads to improved productivity and job satisfaction, as employees can dedicate more time to strategic and creative tasks.”
Tanner added that the time is now for smaller businesses to embrace AI.
“AI is advancing at an unprecedented pace, and small to medium-sized businesses often feel like they’re being left behind,” he said. “At Arcovo AI, we are here to change that. By providing accessible and tailored automation solutions, we ensure our clients stay competitive and ahead of the curve in today’s AI-driven market.”
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