People news: Adirondack North Country Association names new board members

SARANAC LAKE — The Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) recently announced the addition of two new members to its board of directors.

The nonprofit, regional economic-development organization added Steven Cacchio, president and CEO of Champlain National Bank, and Jennifer Potter Hayes, former executive director of View, an arts center in Old Forge.

“ANCA has long partnered with Champlain National Bank and View on projects that advance economic opportunity in the region,” Kate Fish, ANCA’s executive director, said in a news release. “We are excited to have the benefit of Steven and Jennifer’s experience as we develop new initiatives to help entrepreneurs and business owners expand and reach new markets.”

Cacchio has focused much of his extensive banking career on community banking in upstate New York. His experience before Champlain National Bank, includes working for six years as a bank examiner in the Syracuse office of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He then joined Alliance Bank in the Syracuse area, and later became senior VP in charge of all of the bank’s retail operations. In 2013, Cacchio become the chief operating officer of the Savings Bank of Danbury in Connecticut. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Hartford and obtained his master’s degree in accounting from Syracuse University.

Champlain National Bank is headquartered in Willsboro and has nine branch offices. The bank had $306 million in total assets at the end of 2016.

“There has been wonderful momentum building among entrepreneurs and small businesses in northern New York over the last decade,” Cacchio said in the release. “There are tangible ways to support this kind of local and regional economic growth, and ANCA has a great sense of what is needed to promote it.”

Potter Hayes joins the ANCA board shortly after her retirement at the end of 2016. During her tenure as director, she helped transform View from a small-town arts center into a nationally recognized cultural institution, per the release. She has extensive experience with project management, development, and special events. Before the View, Potter Hayes served as special assistant to the dean and director of career and alumni services at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. At Hamilton College, Potter Hayes served as director of alumni affairs, registrar and assistant to the president. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Kirkland College in Clinton, and a master’s in public administration from Syracuse University.

Potter Hayes said she sees ANCA as an advocate for the cultural heritage of the region, as well as a supporter of smart, sustainable economic growth. “I’m excited to join this group of forward-looking thinkers who value the history, culture and unique character of the Adirondacks and of northern New York,” she said.

The two new board members join ANCA as the organization said it focuses on program implementation for 2017 and the goals outlined in its five-year strategic plan. The nonprofit said it would continue its work toward improving local economic growth through its support of local food systems and agriculture across the region, the forestry industry, small artisan businesses, clean-energy advancement, and advocacy for investment in the region.

ANCA was founded in 1955.

 

Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com

PHOTOS CREDIT:  ANCA