Board & Staff
The Management Structure
Leadership for the Byway activities is guided by the non-profit organization Lakes to Locks Passage, Inc. The Board of Directors is composed of fifteen to twenty members with six officers. Two staff members provide outreach to the communities, public agencies and organizations in the region.
Lakes to Locks Passage, Inc. is committed to local control and management of the Byway's policy, program and product development. The management of Lakes to Locks Passage is through a partnership of four sub-regions - Upper Hudson River/Champlain Canal, Lake George, Lake Champlain in New York, and the Richelieu Valley region of Quebec.
Lakes to Locks Passage, Inc. maintains extensive outreach to elected officials and organizations to network and implement the actions defined in the Byway's Corridor Management Plan. Public agencies serve an advisory role to the organization, ensuring coordination with regional, state and national programs.
Current activities Lakes to Locks Passage Inc. include:
- Planning and implementation of the Byway's Corridor Management Plan
- Establishment of a locally managed heritage tourism corridor from Waterford, NY to Quebec.
- Coordination of tourism initiatives into one package providing a "seamless experience" to the visitor.
- Unified visitor information for signage, mapping & interpretive materials.
- Education and training for resource management.
- Establishment of Waypoint Communities to meet and greet visitors
- Interpretive theme routes for biking, walking & boating through the region.
- National and international branding and marketing strategies as part of the America's Byways collection.
2007 Board of Directors
President: George Hodgson, Saratoga County
Immediate Past President: Howard Lowe, Clinton County
1st Vice-President: Mayor Robert Blais, At-Large
2nd Vice-President: Peter Repas, At-Large
Secretary: Laura Moore, Warren County
Treasurer: Lou Bresee, At-Large
Randy Beach, Clinton County
Robert Blais, Mayor, At-Large
Diane (Dee) Carroll, Essex County
Ric DiDonato, Rensselaer County
Bruce Ferguson, At-Large
Anthony Hall, At-Large
Eileen Hannay, Washington County
William Johnston, Essex County
Albert Juneau, At-Large
Walter Lender, Warren County
David Mathis, Saratoga County
Staff
Janet Kennedy, Executive Director
Andrew Alberti, Program Coordinator
Randy Beach
C. Randall Beach is the Director of the North Country Region of the Empire State Development Corporation. Mr. Beachs directorship encompasses 6 counties, including Clinton, Essex, Franklin, St. Lawrence, Jefferson, and Lewis. His experience includes 26 years in the banking industry, with extensive experience in the commercial lending field, working with various commercial interests throughout Upstate New York.
Mr. Beach also has significant real estate development experience. He has been active in the real estate industry of the North Country since 1968, and has been involved in the purchase and conveyance of several large developments.
Mr. Beach's involvement in the North Country community has been extensive. He served as the Chairman of the PARC Board of Directors from 1996 to 2001; Chairman of the North Country Chamber of Commerce, 2001, and a member of the board of directors of the Chamber from 1996 to 2002; Designee to the Adirondack Park Agency since 2001; Designee to the Lake Champlain Basin Program since 2001; President of the Clinton Community College Board of Trustees and board member for 15 years; Member of the CVPH Medical Center Board; Member of the Vermont Health Foundation Board of Governors; Charter Member of the Adirondack Builders Association, serving as President, Vice-President and Co-President; Past President, Vice-President, and Treasurer of the Clinton County Historical Association and board member for 23 years; Treasurer and Member of the WCFE Public Television Board of Directors; Member of the Clinton Essex Franklin Library Board of Directors; and a member of several service organizations including Plattsburgh Noon and Morning Rotary Clubs, and the Rouses Point/Champlain Kiwanis Club of which he was president in 1983.
Mr. Beach is a graduate of SUNY Plattsburgh and Penn State University.
Mayor Robert Blais
Bob Blais has served the Village of Lake George as its Mayor since 1971. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Lake George Regional Events Committee and has been the owner of Fun World Amusements since 1968. He is the Director of the Fort William Henry Historical Society and serves as Chairman of the Lake George Watershed Conference Publicity Committee, the Lake George-Lake Champlain Transportation Committee and the Lake George Consolidated Board of Health. In addition to all these duties and responsibilities, he finds the time to be a dedicated Red Sox fan.
Lou Bresee
Lou graduated from Duke University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering in 1962 and an MS in 1964. He moved to Vermont in 1968 to work for General Electric as an engineer. He spent 20 years as a Program Manager and retired from General Dynamics in 2002 after 5 years in Finance.
He was an initial member of the South Burlington Recreation Path Committee and has been Chairman for about half of the time since. He also was an initial member of the Lake Champlain Bikeways when it was formed in the early 1990s and became Treasurer in 2001 when it became incorporated.
An enthusiastic touring bicyclist, he has bicycled in all 48 continental states, including 3 cross country trips, and all 251 Vermont towns and cities.
Lou currently serves on the Lake Champlain Basin Program Cultural Historic & Recreation Advisory Committee, the Scenic Byways Committee and the Vermont AOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning and Policy Review Advisory Committee.
Diane (Dee) Carroll
Before purchasing the Westport Marina with her husband and sons in 1982, Dee worked in Albany, NY, as a Junior High Art Teacher and Art and Activities Therapist at the Capital District Psychiatric Center. She and her family enjoyed boating on Lake Champlain, based at Westport for 13 years, before becoming marina owners. They became permanent North Country residents in 1986.
Overseeing the management of the marina's The Galley Restaurant and Bar, plus doing marina marketing keeps Dee busy. Always involved in the Westport community, Dee served on the Board of Education for seven years at Westport Central School, where her five grandchildren are in attendance.
Current community activities include the Champlain Valley Heritage Network, where is she moderator, the Lake Champlain Regional Marketing Committee, and Westport Chamber of Commerce. She also enjoys painting acrylic lake-and-landscapes and singing with the Champlain Valley Chorus of Sweet Adelines.
Her particular interest in Lake to Locks Passage is to find ways to incorporate LTLP language in boating guides, to encourage the development of waterway interpretation, and to study the vacation availability, preferences, and habits of boaters to enable more successful marketing of the LTLP waterway.
She received a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program for printing "The Narrows: An Interpretive Guide for Boaters," which covers Northwest Bay to Split Rock on the New York shore and down the Vermont shore to Basin Harbor. The text was developed for the historical narration on the marina's two-hour Philomena boat tour. Passengers listen to Champ stories returning from Vermont to Westport.
Ric DiDonato
Ric DiDonato has been a Trustee on the Village Board of Hoosick Falls since 2005. In this position, he has worked closely with the Hoosic River Watershed Association (HooRWA) in its desire to develop a greenway along the Hoosic River. The Village, in collaboration with HooRWA, will purchase approximately 22 acres of riverfront property from the Boston and Maine Railroad in 2008. This purchase will be Phase I of the proposed project. Federal and State grant money has been secured to develop hiking and biking trails along what will be known as the Hoosic River Greenway. Prior to his position as Trustee, he was a member of the Village of Hoosick Falls planning board.
Mr. DiDonato is currently employed as a Sr. Educational Designer with the Professional Development Program of the Research Foundation of SUNY, where he designs and programs online learning projects for a variety of professions. Prior to his current position, he worked for 2 decades as an art director and creative director for advertising agencies in Albany and Manhattan.
Originally from Watervliet, NY, he also holds an Associates Degree in Fine Art from Dean College, and a Bachelors Degree in Advertising Design from Syracuse University.
Ric lives in Hoosick Falls with his wife and three sons where they are restoring the former estate of Dr. Clayton E. Shaw, the personal physician of Grandma Moses. Ric is also a vintage automobile enthusiast, woodworker and outdoor sportsman.
Bruce Ferguson
Bruce Ferguson is a graduate of the Cornell College of Agriculture and served eight terms as Salem Town Supervisor. He has serves on the Warren and Washington County Industrial Development Agency, Salem School Board, Assessors for the Town of Salem, Washington County Representative to the New York State Association of Counties, Board of the Washington County Tourism Association, Intercounty Legislative Committee of the Adirondacks, Washington County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board, Chairman of Washington County Empire Zone Administrative Board and is a Board Member of the Adirondack North Country Association.
Bruce has two grown children and resides on a family farm in Salem, NY that has a part-time beef operation and rented crop land.
Anthony F. Hall
Anthony F. Hall is the editor and publisher of the Lake George Mirror, established in 1880 as a summer resort newspaper. He grew up in Warrensburg, NY, where his father published several Adirondack weeklies (including the Lake George Mirror) and his mother taught elementary school. He attended the Barlow School in Amenia, NY and graduated from St. Anns School in Brooklyn Heights. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1978, he held internships at the United Nations and worked for Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb in New York. From 1982 through 1987 he attended graduate school at Harvard University and the University of Toronto, where he studied government and political philosophy. In 1988, he became a communications aide to the late State Senator Ron Stafford, who was Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
Since acquiring the Lake George Mirror in 1998, Hall has been active in developing events to attract visitors and publicity to the Lake George region, serving on a number of committees and as a director of a not-for-profit organization, Lake George Regional Events & Promotions. He is a director of Old Adirondack, a local manufacturer of furniture, and serves on an advisory board of the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls. He is a past board member of the Hudson Headwaters Health Network, the Glens Falls Home and the Glens Falls Hospital Foundation. Hall writes frequently about Lake George for publications other than the Lake George Mirror, and his articles have appeared in Quest, Adirondack Life and the Adirondack Explorer, among other publications. He and his wife, Lisa Hammerquist Hall, live in Bolton Landing. They were recognized for their contributions to Lake George in 2008 by the Lake George Land Conservancy, which awarded them the annual Henry M. Rowan Conservation Award.
Eileen Hannay
Upon receiving her Bachelor's Degree from Potsdam State University Eileen began work as Production Services Supervisor at Victory Specialty Packaging in Victory Mills, NY. After 12 years in manufacturing she changed careers and became the Education Director for the Old Fort House Museum in Fort Edward.
Eleven years later, in 2001, she was employed by Rogers Island Heritage Development Alliance as the Manager of the new Rogers Island Visitors Center. Eileen has spoken to numerous student and civic groups about Fort Edwards vast history and in 2004 she appeared on the History Channels one hour Investigating History program on the 1777 death of Jane McCrea in Fort Edward.
Eileen is currently secretary of the Washington County Tourism Association and has been actively involved with the Local Action Committees of Lakes to Locks Passage in both Washington and Saratoga counties. She looks forward to continuing her partnerships with other organizations in LTLP to promote tourism, thereby strengthening Washington County's economy.
George M. Hodgson, Jr.
Overview: Environmental planning professional for Saratoga County with 29 years of experience in environmental management and analysis including permit, assessment reviews, grant writing, and all aspects of land use and municipal planning. George resides with wife Rebecca and sons, George (15) and William (11), within the Town of Northumberlands agricultural district. George has been a member of the Town of Northumberland Town Board since 1989.
Experience: Director of the Saratoga County Environmental Services Department and the Saratoga County Environmental Management Council from 1987-2003. Environmental Coordinator for Saratoga County 1974-1987. Over 29 years experience in environmental and municipal planning
Education: Cornell University B S 1970
Ithaca, New York Wildlife Science
Interests: Hunting, Fishing, hiking and birding
William Johnston
Full time County Planner/Planning Director from September 1974 to November 2002; now retired.
County Planner in picturesque, economically challenged Essex County since 1974. Started up planning Office. Responsible for assessing needs for planning programs, and initiating appropriate efforts to address identified needs. Range of activities is extremely broad and has included land use planning, community revitalization, historic preservation, organizational development, housing, infrastructure, environment, public transportation, and economic development.
Education
Union College, Bachelor of Arts, 1965
Pratt Institute, Master of Science in City and Regional Planning, 1971
University of Pennsylvania, Advanced Planning Studies, 1973-74
Other Experience
Teaching, NYC Public Schools, East New York
US Peace Corps Volunteer, Tanzania, East Africa
Albert Juneau
Specific Interests: Mr. Juneau would like to target tangible projects that can bolster the cross-border cooperation (bikeways, walkways, trails, boatways) and the upcoming 400th anniversary of Champlain.
Background: He worked for ten years during the 60's and 70's throughout Quebec as an economic planning director for the Quebec government. From 1978 to 1984, he lived in Austria with his family (his wife is an opera singer) where he made PhD studies and worked as a correspondent for the Montreal newspaper La Presse. Mr. Juneau stayed in the media milieu until 1991, working as an editorial writer for the Montreal newspaper Le Devoir.
He then returned to regional planning as manager of the strategic plan for the greater Montreal area, addressing many issues, including tourism. Since 1997, he has been a consultant in economy, transportation and technology. Four years ago, he convinced the Montreal Chamber of Commerce to take part to the Quebec-NY Corridor project, and conducted studies about the advantages to participate in the CAN-AM Trade Corridor. For the past two years, the project has been with the Quebec Chamber of Commerce (it is, in fact, a project which involves the whole Quebec) where he is in charge of the development of the Q-NY Corridor.
Walt Lender
Walt Lender is the Lake George Association's executive director, hired in March 2005 to head the 121-year old environmental non-profit organization. A resident of Ticonderoga, Lender is only the third executive director for the Association.
Previously, Lender was employed by Fort Ticonderoga as the Director of Development/Government and Corporate Relations Officer. In a 5-year tenure as the non-profit museums fund raiser and grant writer, Lender helped to bring in significant government and corporate grant awards. He currently also serves as President of the Board of PRIDE of Ticonderoga, Inc, a rural preservation company working to preserve and revitalize Ticonderoga, where he once held the post of Executive Director. PRIDE is responsible for bringing several millions of dollars of grants for historic preservation, housing rehabilitation, parks development, and economic revitalization into Ticonderoga and its surrounding communities. In all, he has nearly 20 years experience working in the non-profit sector.
Lender lives on the northern end of Lake George with his wife, Jane, and three young children. He has a Bachelor's Degree in English and History, and a Master's Degree in Administration and Management.
Howard Lowe
Howard Lowe is the Director of Economic Development at Plattsburgh State University, Plattsburgh, New York, where he heads the Technical Assistance Center (TAC). He has held this position since June 2002. He is a Boston native, and of course, a lifelong Red Sox fan.
The TAC office provides a variety of special services throughout its 16 county region, for example data research and GIS, and assistance to the tourism and hospitality industry. One of TACs major projects is the planning and development of the Adirondack-Champlain Community Fiber Network, which will serve the northeast region of upstate New York. TAC is one of New York State's two University Centers, a program of the Federal Economic Development Administration.
Economic development is Mr. Lowe's second career. He spent 30 years in the broadcasting industry, starting with production and operations positions with the CBS and PBS affiliates in Boston, and later served as a senior manager with public television and radio stations in Sacramento, Long Island, Omaha, and finally Plattsburgh, New York, where he was president of the PBS station. He is the director, producer, and executive producer of nationally distributed public television and radio programs.
Mr. Lowe has also had successful experience in commercial media production and the Internet. His development of a Sacramento video production business was the subject of a case study on entrepreneurism at a Wharton School of Business management seminar. He started one of the Internet's first community web portals in Omaha in 1994, which received a national award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Mr. Lowe holds a BA from Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, IL, an MS from Syracuse University in Television-Radio-Film, and an Executive MBA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in International Marketing.
David Mathis
David Mathis holds a Master of Science degree in Industrial Safety from Central Missouri State University, a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Empire State College and a certificate in Community Crime Prevention Planning from the National Crime Prevention Institute at the University of Louisville.
He has served as a Lieutenant in the US Air Force, a Police Officer and Investigator for the City of Saratoga Springs Police Department and an Investigator for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Police dealing primarily with criminal activity involving hazardous materials.
Throughout his career he has developed and instructed numerous courses on law enforcement, government, and hazardous materials among others, and was an OSHA First Responder Instructor for emergency services personnel before retirement.
He has been a member of the NYS Canal Recreationway Commission since 1997 setting policy for the management of the 537 miles of the New York State Canal System. Currently he serves the Town of Saratoga as a Town Justice; develops course content and instructs criminal justice at Empire State College, and substitute teaches science, at area schools. He also teaches law courses for the New York State Office of Court Administration.
Laura Moore
Laura is employed with the Warren County Planning and Community Development Office as an Associate Planner. She is a graduate of Paul Smith's in Ecology and Environmental Technology and a graduate of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry-Environmental Studies-Land Use Planning.
As an Associate Planner she finds her job very fulfilling. The office is known for being multi-functioning and requires an assortment of skills. It provides assistance to residents, businesses and local communities with a variety of needs including housing repair, businesses loans and operations, community infrastructure implementation and development. The Planning and Community Development Office utilizes different state, federal and local funding opportunities to assist Warren County retain residents, stabilize the workforce, and make Warren County a place that people like to visit and live.
Currently, she is on the Board of Directors of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County, a committee member of the 4-H Therapeutic equestrian program, a committee member of the Warren County Water Quality Strategy Committee, and the Vice-Chairperson of the Warrensburg Planning Board. Laura enjoys a variety of outdoor activities. One of the family favorites is taking a long walk with son Thomas, and black lab Czarni.
Peter G. Repas
Since January, 2003, Mr. Repas has served as the Executive Director of the Association of Public Broadcasting Stations of New York (APBS of NY). APBS of NY is a trade association headquartered in Albany whose membership includes New York States nine public broadcasting stations.
Located in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, New York City, Plattsburgh, Rochester, Syracuse, Watertown and on Long Island, APBS of NY's member stations are New York States only locally owned broadcast stations serving their communities. In recent months, the stations launched a statewide fiber optic network that allows all stations to share broadcast content and services.
Prior to his employment with APBS of NY, Mr. Repas was a member of New York State Senator Ronald B. Stafford's (Senate District 45) staff for thirty-one years. Senate District 45, New York's largest Senate district geographically, includes all of the following counties: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Warren and Washington. From 1995 through 2002, Mr. Repas served as the Legislative Director of the New York State Senate Finance Committee.
Born and raised in Plattsburgh, New York, Mr. Repas currently resides with his family in Castleton, New York.
