Anticipation was high as I arrived to moderate at the third annual Absolutely Business Forum at the Riveredge Hotel on Wednesday, January 20, 2010. Having read the articles on previous forums, I knew that I was going to have an opportunity to meet many of our local business leaders at this event and discuss the past, present and future of business in the North Country. As the snow began to fall on the St. Lawrence River, Table 1 took their seats and began to get acquainted. Joining me at the table were Daren L. Morgan. P.L.S., President, of LaFave, White & McGivern, L.S., P.C.; Vanessa Webb, Account Manager, Community Broadcasters, LLC; James P. Forcier, CEO, Westelcom; Nancy D. (Storino) Farney, Owner, Nancy D. Storino Real Estate; Matthew Turcotte, Owner/Operator, Northshore Web Development; and Mike Hunter, Agriculture & Natural Resources Program Leader/Field Crops, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, Jefferson County.

The participants for our round table discussion came from quite diverse backgrounds and circumstances.Our discussion began with each participant sharing a little bit about their organization and their business career.

Daren Morgan is the President of LaFave, White & McGivern, L.S., P.C. His company provides land surveying and photogrammetry services out of their Theresa, Boonville and Rome offices. The firm began back in 1946 with their first office in Theresa and since then they have provided professional services throughout New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and the New England states for public agencies and the private sector. Morgan joined the business in 1972 and has been a partner for twenty years.

Vanessa Webb is an Account Manager at Community Broadcasters, LLC., a local radio conglomerate with five stations in Watertown and three in the Ogdensburg/Massena area. Previously working out of the Austin, Texas market, Webb came to the North Country in March 2009.

For Jim Forcier, telecommunications is in the blood. Being the third generation in his family to enter the field; his grandfather was employed with AT&T and his father by NY Telephone. Later on in life, his father purchased Westport/Chazy Telephone and after graduating college in Troy, New York, Jim jumped right in to the family business. In 1981, Forcier began Westelcom and as CEO has grown his company into what it is today. On a side note, it seems that the apple does not fall far from the tree in this family. Currently, his son is working with a California telecommunication company.

Everyone in the area has heard the “think pink” mantra of Nancy (Storino) Farney. Nancy has been selling local real estate for thirty-one years. She began with Watertown Realty, which later became Century 21. Then, she worked briefly with Coldwell Banker. Finally, in 1987, Storino created her own operation. Interesting to note, she made this bold move by herself in the middle of the Fort Drum boom. She has been “thinking pink” every since—even hosting her own real estate television show.

Our region can without a doubt tout that we have entrepreneurs of all ages. Recently the topic of an Absolutely Business article, Mathew Turcotte is the seventeen-year-old owner/operator of Northshore Web Development, a web design and development operation he runs out of his parents home in Clayton, New York. Matt began his business in 2005 as a hobby and quickly began drawing interest through word of mouth. In November 2008, he formed his company and since has developed countless websites, online stores…and even a book which is about to be published in February 2010.

Mike Hunter is the Agriculture & Natural Resources Program Leader/Field Crops Extension Agent with Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County—the second largest Cooperative Extension office in the state. This may seem like an exhaustive title for just one person—and it is. But, born and raised on a dairy farm in Northern New York, Mike knows what he is doing. As the business representative of agricultural businesses and farmers, Hunter feels that he is doing what he is meant to do. “Agriculture seems to be my passion and my life.”

After getting to know each other and discussing each participant’s niche in the North Country, it was time to get down to business—no pun intended.

Without a doubt, 2009 was a tough year. Although many forecasters pronounced that the recession was over, and the stimulus plans were abound, we all felt the financial hangover on some level, whether professionally or personally. Associate Professor of Business at SUNY Postdam and writer of the Minding Our Own Business column in the Watertown Daily Times, Greg Gardner’s January 10, 2010 article titled “Shake Off 2009, but Don’t Expect Much to Change Economically in 2010,” pretty much says it all. In this article Greg contends that 2009 was an economic disaster. “We lost jobs, businesses, stock values, home values, credit access, retirement funds, college funds, and many mortgages…We gained national debt and a weakened dollar.” This was the case across the nation, although it did not affect each business or industry the same. More specifically, the forum wondered how our participants, with North Country businesses, fared.

We asked our participants “How did your business/industry fare in 2009 locally, regionally and nationally?”

“We’ve been in business since 1946 and we have not been this slow since 1978-1979.” It should probably be added that the 1970s were considered the worst decade economically since the Great Depression and that 1979 experienced the second oil crisis of that decade in the United States. “Land surveying and mapping are strongly tied to real estate and development,” explained Morgan. He described how the deep dip in income across the nation in the past year had left a definite mark on his business. Also working against Morgan’s industry is the fact that aerial mapping is a tricky business to begin with. The mapping can only be done when there is no snow or leaves—leaving about a month and a half in the Spring and maybe two weeks in the Fall, if luck will have it. Even more, this type of mapping is usually only in demand when new development is occurring, i.e.: new water or sewer lines are being installed or highway projects are being constructed. These types of projects have not been in great demand with the slimming incomes and virtually nonexistent bank loans of the past year. In fact, his company has had to lay off employees for the first time in decades.

“Our industry did not fare too badly in 2009; it saw a small percentage decrease, but we managed locally because we have a small market…we lost on a national level,” expressed Webb. She contends that Fort Drum was a big part of the company being successful in the face of the economic woes of the country. “Retailers need ads,” she contended “the biggest difference is that many are just surviving month to month now instead of planning for the future.” Webb felt that there were positive aspects of this shift. “It made the industry much more honest and creative…they had to show return.” In essence, this may be a paradigm for other industries. Because the advertising industry was forced to be more “honest and creative” the small markets were given a bit of room to grow. As Webb elucidated, “it allowed the smaller markets not to be consumed by the larger ones.” This is even more imperative as Gardner’s article warns that small businesses will likely soon be feeling the angst of inflation—making it even more difficult to stay afloat against the larger chain stores.

Forcier advises that landline phone companies are struggling. Although Chazy-Westport Telephone lost some business to cable competitors, he claims that “although it ate away at some of our profits, we fared better than some of our brethren.” Altogether, there are thirty-eight telephone companies in New York State. With the constant onslaught of newer and better technology, this is already undoubtedly stiff competition without the worries placed by an economic crisis of the sort experienced in 2009. Forcier’s other company, Westelcom, had a very strong year in Watertown—especially with Fort Drum—but the Plattsburgh office did not progress as well. Here, Forcier explains, the recession hit like most other places in the nation. Where activity was up, Jim explained that it had more to do with “need” over ‘want”. “People need broadband…where they held up was with discrete services such as new phone systems, servers, group servers and the like.”

For Nancy (Storino) Farney, 2009 did not meet expectations. As Nancy shared, “2008 was the best year in my entire life…even though I sold twenty less houses than in 2004, I made more money in 2008.” This past year, Nancy’s sales were down but she was still able to pay the bills. As Morgan and Forcier had both agreed, Storino felt that 2010 was going to be a conservative year while business owners wonder if it will only get worse.

Under somewhat different circumstances, Turcotte’s first year of business was quite profitable. “With no overhead and by using sub-contractors for employees, I was able to run my business at very little expense. With the publication of his article in Absolutely Business and his first place award in the Jefferson Community College High School Business Competition, Matt says that business is booming. And, as far as he is concerned, it will continue to grow with the growth of his generation. “We have gone tech-crazy in the last ten years and the internet is a big part of it…people my age go online for everything,” he shared. With the expansion of technology and the growth of a generation that relies on it, web design and development is certain to be a viable industry for decades to come.

“Agriculture has its ups and downs,” explained Hunter. In Jefferson County, dairy farming is the number one industry. 2009 was not a great year for dairy farmers as prices dropped below the cost of production in early February and came up just over the break-even price in December. But, Hunter feels that things are looking up in 2010. “In February and March milk prices will probably drop again, but the second half of 2010 looks better and it should give these farmers a break,” he said. On another note, Hunter contends that locally grown produce is on the rise. “Small agricultural enterprises are more Fort Drum driven—soldiers are returning and staying here after they retire and they are buying small farms and starting businesses.” At the same time, there is a great push for locally grown foods in our region—making this a great fit. Even more, the Wine Trails are budding as vineyards are seeing growing volume. And, businesses such as North Country Farms, offering locally-grown products such as grain, wheat and flour are flourishing. Overall, forty percent of the land in Jefferson County is used for agricultural production—meaning that the ebbs and flows of the economy have a significant impact on the region as a whole.

After the participants discussed how their own businesses and industries fared in the previous year, the forum asked them to consider “What are the most important issues facing the North Country business community.”

Both Morgan and Webb agreed that these issues have not diverged in the last one hundred years. Morgan referred to the concept of “brain drain” or the significant loss of young people to our area. In his business, he feels that there is a lack in our region of good technicians, with the right training, to bring into the business and that is difficult to convince those who are qualified to move to Northern New York. “So, we train our own,” says Morgan. Webb added that the repercussions of what happened financially in 2009 have practically eliminated the opportunity to receive a loan for a creative business in this area. Forcier blames overregulation and unreasonable taxation for driving out and keeping out these young entrepreneurs. He maintains, “the cost of doing business in New York State is too high.” Storino further discussed the tax implications of living in our region. Labor was the biggest issue for Turcotte and Hunter. Turcotte claims that the lack of things to do year-round and the lack of the necessary technological infrastructure to run businesses in our area are a challenge as they hinder people from and businesses from moving and/or staying here. Hunter weighed in, insisting that keeping people working is imperative. “In agriculture,” said Hunter, “there is a stigma that farmers make low wages and work long hours, etc. and these misconceptions really have an impact on the work force.” In addition, the environment is another concern. Agriculture is heavily regulated and those regulations are always changing. At the end of the day, whether it is concerns about an adequate and qualified workforce, financial burdens of running a business, the lack of infrastructure or government overregulation, North Country businesses faces many challenges. Lucky for us, as Morgan pointed out, the North Country has been facing these same issues for a century.

With that in mind, we moved into the final question of the evening, “What is your view of the future for your organization and business in general in the North Country?”

With optimism Morgan professes, “We’ve ridden the hump before; hopefully we come out on top.” He plans on ensuring that his firm stays current on technology in an effort to thrive. For Webb, she feels confident in her industry. “We’re fortunate that our industry is a necessary evil…but advertisers need to morph to fit in,” she claims. And, we still need radio despite all of the advances that we have made in technology. Even if the cable news is out, the radio ban is sure to be operating. Further, she shared her belief that the success of her industry in the future will be based on good management and good people. “A good employee is worth their weight in gold,” says Webb. “Our industry is right where it needs to be right now,” shared Forcier. Telecommunication is at the height of demand in our society. “Our business is poised to continue to thrive.” Both Webb and Forcier agree that the North Country is fortunate to have great “livability”. Forcier expressed his feeling that “geographically I am very optimistic…people are beginning to understand the quality of life here and are coming back.” Webb added that she enjoys the face-time that she gets with her clients, as opposed to how the industry works in larger geographical areas. Stornio also acknowledged that she is seeing more and more people return to the North Country. Turcotte seemed quite confident that his industry is here to stay. “In the future it is going to grow as it is becoming the norm…paper is going away,” he shared. Hunter was also very optimistic about the future of agriculture and business in general in the North Country. The truth is, “As long as we continue to eat, there will be agriculture,” says Hunter. This region is a great place to farm with its abundance of resources including fertile lands and plenty of water, as well as the low values of agricultural land. Hunter shared that several out of state outfits were cropping corn and soybeans in the North Country because the land was so affordable. He also believed that biofuels will be a booming business in the near future. Overall, Hunter felt that our diversification, from flour mills, to dairy farms, to vineyards will be the key to our future success as a region. Add that to the fact that more and more people are searching for fresh, healthy, organic and locally-grown foods, and it is almost certain that there will be a rise in the number of agribusinesses in the next few years.

By and large, the participants at Table One of this third annual Absolutely Business Forum were optimistic about the North Country’s future. As they all recognized that we have experienced rough times recently, it was also acknowledged that many of these difficulties are persistent for our region. As Morgan shared at the beginning of our discussion, “we just have to tighten up and hold on.” We’re certain to come out on top.

Article written by Alicia M. Dewey