While Plug Power has paused construction of its $290 million green hydrogen plant at WNY STAMP it has continued to make full PILOT payments to local taxing jurisdictions, according to Mark Masse, CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

According to the tax agreement between GCEDC and Plug Power, the payments are $147,599 annually to Genesee County, $308,368 to school districts, and $42,805 to the town of Alabama.

The project has been on pause since January 2024, Masse said, and that pause led GCEDC to take over the construction of a $55 million 450-megawatt substation electrical transmission to STAMP projects, which Plug Power originally agreed to fund. 

Empire State Development agreed to allow GCEDC to tap into a $56 million grant to help pay for the substation.  The grant was intended for other infrastructure at STAMP. Masse said that once completed, the substation will generate fees for electric delivery that will enable GCEDC to recover the funds and return the expenditure to the grant account.

"As companies come online, they will buy into the substation on a per megawatt charge," Masse said. "So, we'll take the total cost of the station divided by 600 megawatts and come up with a per megawatt charge. So, for ballpark, if it's $200,000 a megawatt, somebody wants 200 megawatts, it's a $40 million pay-in to buy into the substation, which will enable us then to basically get that money back for New York State, so we can use that to pay for the substation, and then repurpose the FAST New York funds back for what we originally wanted to use them for on infrastructure."

Masse said he has no insight on what Plug's long-range plans are for the project. 

Each year, projects that receive GCEDC assistance must submit Annual Performace Reports that detail the number of jobs created and the amount of capital investment. 

"We summarize all of those. We share them with the board," Masse said. "The board reviews them every year, and then the board makes a determination, did they meet their job requirements? Do they have the insurance requirements? And where are they in that one plus three."

The "one plus three" means a project has one year to complete construction and three years to complete its job creation promise.

"Then the board would make a determination -- do we want to ask them to come in and explain anything? Do you want to move forward with a termination? Any of those things are always on the table," Masse said. "In Plug's case, they are current with all of their PILOT payments, and the payments they're making to the municipalities are significant, which is the other thing to balance in the whole piece of it as well."

Plug Power seems like a company very much in limbo.  Its stock price has been hovering around a buck fifty for a few weeks and hasn't traded above $2, except briefly, for months. The company continues to get bad press over its inability to turn a profit, with one recent article noting Plug Power has lost $3.12 billion of other people's money since 2010.

An important potential path for Plug Power is producing more of the hydrogen it distributes. If ever completed, the WNY STAMP plant is expected to produce 45 metric tons of green liquid hydrogen daily. It would be fair the most product plant under the company's control so its surprising that there is no clear indication that Plug intends to complete the plant.

Plug Power's representatives have never responded to The Batavian's requests for comment on the future of the plant.

Just before Donald Trump took office in January, the Plug Power secured a $1.7 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. After taking office, Trump froze DOE grants and loans for green energy.

In an interview with a site called Sherwood News, Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh said he's not worried about the stall in funding.

"I see that the DOE loan will be supported," Marsh said. "It’s a contract with the government. I’m not too worried; it’s not out of line with the goals of the Trump administration. So, you know, from a policy environment point of view, it feels hectic at the moment, but I’m really not that concerned that these things will all work themselves out."

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce presented its 2024 honorees with their awards during a ceremony at Batavia Downs on Saturday night.

Profiles of each of this year's winners:

• Chamber Awards: leading with values of being fair and equitable put Marone on the Humphrey block
• Chamber Awards: Charters' passion to 'give back' earns her Geneseean of the Year
• Chamber Awards: making a personal connection while growing in the funeral business earns H.E. Turner Business of the Year
• Chamber Awards: Good food, fair prices, friendly service have made Southside Deli a community staple for 35 years
• Chamber Awards: At Alexander Equipment, it's all in the family
• Chamber Awards: Willson's motto to 'follow your heart' with Meraki makes her a stand-out entrepreneur
• Chamber Awards: Critter Crew combines fun, learning, and service to the community

Oakfield-Alabama beat Arkport-Canaseraga 54-40 in the Class C2 Girls Basketball quarterfinal on Saturday.

Scoring for the Hornets:

• Alea Groff,  17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
• Alexa Clark, 11 points, 8 rebounds
• Piper Hyde, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
• Allie Williams, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks
• Jessica Sosnowski, 7 points
• Allison Harkness, 2 points

"I can't begin to describe the defensive effort our kids came through with today," said O-A Coach Jeff Schlagenhauf. "Our team defense was incredible, and Alexa, Piper and Alea were tasked with some challenging defensive assignments as they are a high-powered offensive team. We showed great discipline and composure. I am incredibly proud of our kids. A total team effort."

The Hornets are the #5 seed in Class C2 and next face #1 seed Keshequa in the semifinal on Wednesday at Avon at 7:45 p.m.

Photos by  Jordyn Tobolski

Mynderse, ranked #6, beat #3 ranked Le Roy in the Boys Basketball Class B1 quarterfinal on Saturday 70-45.

Scoring for Le Roy:

• Jake Higgins, 13 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal
• Brayden Chase, 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist
• Matthew Hockey, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists
• Grady Gilligan, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
• Jean Agosto, 4 points, 6 rebounds

Photos by Kristin Smith.

Byron-Bergen beat Kendall 45-38 on Saturday in the Girls Basketball Class C1 quarterfinal.

Scoring for the Bees:

• Janessa Amesbury, 24 points
• Senfi Olivia, 7 points
• Riley Schallenberger, 6 points
• Natalie Prinzi, 6 points

Bees, the #2 seed, will face #3 seed Bloomfield at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Honeoye Falls/Lima.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro

Notre Dame defeated Andover Whitesville 41-16 in a Class D quarterfinal game in Girls basketball on Saturday.

Sofia Falleti led the Irish with 10 points and eight rebounds. Also scoring was Emma Fitch with six points and four steals, PennyJo Thompson with six points and five rebounds and Gianna Falleti with four points and four steals.

“The whole team played an equal amount today and was able to contribute on both ends of the floor. I was so proud of all our girls' defensive efforts and how hard they played,” said Coach Vinny Falleti.

The win for the Irish sets up a finals match-up in Class D between arch-rivals Notre Dame, the #4 seed, and Elba, the undefeated #1 seed. That game will be at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday at Mount Morris.

Photos by Pete Welker.

Elba beat Avoca-Prattsburgh in the Section V Class D Girls Basketball quarterfinal on Saturday 71-56.

Scoring for Elba:

• Brea Smith, 19 points
• Mariah Ognibene, 14 points
• Sydney Reilly, 13 points
• Lydia Ross, 12 points
• Maddie Hall, 11 points

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Notre Dame prevailed in the Class C2 Boys Basketball quarterfinal on Friday over Oakfield-Alabama 68-64.

Scoring for the Hornets:

• Avery Watterson, 21 points
• Gavin Armbrewster, 17 points
• Jack Cianfrini, 9 points
• Gabe Smith, 8 points

 The Batavian did not receive stats for Notre Dame.

"I’m proud of this group and how hard they played tonight," said Hornets Head Coach Ryan Stehlar. "This group has been one of the most special groups I’ve coached, and it’s tough to say goodbye to them.  These seniors have been amazing to coach and I can’t thank them enough for their dedication over the years. I hope they hold their heads high for the season they had. They fought until the closing seconds, which embodies their identity as a team."

Notre Dame (#3) meets York (#7) at 6:30 p.m. at Letchworth on Monday in the Class C2 semifinal.

Photos by Jordyn Tobolski. 

Alexander beat Byron-Bergen on Friday in the Class C1 quarterfinal 83-50.

Scoring for the Trojans:

• Dylan Pohl, 18 points
• Kingston Woods, 18 points
• Jake Brooks, 13 points
• Austin Wakefield, 12 points

Alexander, the #2 seed in Class C1, plays #3 seed Gananda at 6 p.m. at Cal-Mum on Monday in the semifinal.

Photos by Melissa Brooks.

With 5.6 seconds left and the Blue Devils down by a point, 52-51, Ty Gioia sank a three-pointer to give the #4 seed Batavia a win in a Section V Class A quarterfinals game on Friday.

Batavia beat the #5 seed, Pittsford-Sutherland 54-52.

"I can take no credit for that last shot," said Coach Buddy Brasky. "I mean, Ty just stepped up, got the ball, and he's a kid who hasn't been getting a lot of playing time a sophomore, and Brady (Mazur) fouled out, and he stepped up and did it. So I can't take any credit for that. But you know what I was telling them, basically, is to follow our principles, follow our defensive principles, get stops, and we can win this game. We got some key stops down the stretch."

Scoring: 

• Gavin White, 15 points
• Justin Smith, 13 points
• Carter Mullin, 12 points
• Ty Gioia, 7 points

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Northgate Centered Service:  March 5, 6:00 pm - Northgate Sanctuary — Join us for this slow-paced service of prayer and worship night as we center ourselves on Jesus! https://northgatefmc.com/events 

NOTE: This is the seventh of seven stories The Batavian will publish today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) about this year's Chamber of Commerce award winners. The awards will be presented on Saturday evening at Batavia Downs. Tickets are still available for the event.

Steve Johnson clearly remembered the time he was working with a family whose loved one had died when his professional role as a funeral director became very personal.

His own father died during that time. He continued to carry out that family’s requests. There were two days of calling hours, and another director walked in carrying a card. Johnson wondered why he didn’t just put it into the box with the others, but instead, the card was handed to Johnson.

“He said, ‘you should read it now.’ It was a sympathy card from the other family,” a teary-eyed Johnson said during an interview at H.E. Turner in Batavia. “Every time I see her, I get a huge hug. We really do start to become friends. It’s kind of nice to have a personal relationship with them. I think fundamentally, losing Dad made me a better funeral director.”

It’s stories like that — likely hundreds of them over the years — stories of how something like a funeral business can forge bonds, deeper understandings, insight, and friendships well past when the casket has closed.

Those relationships and related service are what have earned H.E. Turner, the oldest continuously operator-owned business in Genesee County,  the Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award, to be presented Saturday evening at Batavia Downs.

Turner was founded 115 years ago and continues today with owners Johnson, Justin Calarco-Smith and Joshua Smith.

While family clients will always see the directors impeccably dressed and ready to serve the varied requests — which have included wearing a particular jeans-and-shirt outfit and putting certain candy atop the casket —these guys might be hustling around in their socks with no shoes on vacuuming and prepping the West Main Street site for the next set of calling hours.

They don’t want anything to be askew or troubling for the family, even when that might mean nervously waiting for an urn to arrive when it wasn’t delivered as promised or having a company switch the top and bottom of a casket with another on-site so that they match perfectly for the order.

“It has to be perfect, 100% of the time,” Johnson said. “We have high expectations; we cannot overstate our expectations.”

Unlike his two colleagues, Johnson is a first-generation funeral director who has known he wanted to get involved in this industry since he was a teen. He watched how a director handled the death of his grandpa — in a way that was “dignified and healing” — and that clinched the deal.

“I knew this is what I was going to do with my life,” said Johnson, who has been at this for 18 years full-time. “It’s strange to say this career path is rewarding given what we’re doing here, but it is rewarding because our most fundamental job is to facilitate grief. It used to be the reverend or the reverend clergy who facilitated the grief, and now, with the emergence of people falling away from church, we are the keepers of the rituals. So, our most fundamental task when a family comes to us is to facilitate grief.

“The family who, believe it or not, only spent three days with you, maybe they don’t remember any of it,” Johnson said. “But the next time they have a need, they don’t just pick up the phone and call Turner’s; they pick up the phone and call Steve, and that is very rewarding.”

Former owner Jim Smith died in August 2023 and transferred ownership to his two sons, Justin and Josh, along with trusted friend and employee Randy McIntire, who has since transferred his interest to Johnson.

Similar to Johnson’s personal experience with the death of a loved one, Justin said that it altered his perspective of the process.

“I have a better understanding now when they’re sitting over there, across the desk, on the other side of the table, in dealing with other families and going forward,” he said.

When Justin graduated from high school and went to Geneseo State College, he had no intentions to return to the area or get involved in his father’s business. Then, a guy named Bob Bailey asked what his dad did for a living, and he told him.

“He said, ‘Didn't you ever consider doing this?’ I said no. He said, ‘I think you'd be good at it.’ I called my dad from college. I said, ‘I’m thinking about wanting to enter the business. What do you think about that?” he said. “And this was in my spring semester, my freshman year. And so I came home over college break during Christmas, and I worked my first funeral; the rest is kind of history. I worked the winter break of 1991, came home after my freshman year and worked here for him part-time. And then I also worked at Darien Lake that summer. And then, from that point forward, this is the only job I've ever had.”

He didn’t want to get too cliche but he really does feel as though it was a calling — a profession and passion meant for him now for more than 28 years.

“I think this job was chosen for me,” he said. “I generally love what I do. I enjoy getting up and coming to work most mornings … Every day has been unique and different around here. Because the basic principle of what we do is that we help people at their absolute lowest, darkest, worst times and we’re able to kind of allow them to take steps forward in their grief journey.”

Back to the rewards — it’s about allowing families to move through that process and then be able to just breathe and talk after all of those funeral arrangements are done, Josh said. Yes, it’s about forming a connection with a little something extra.

“Whether you see this family member six months or six years after the service, they remember something. They come give you a hug. They come give you a handshake. I like the conversations with families after calling hours or a funeral ends when you can just talk. They talk about the day, they talk about the week,” he said. “You kind of get them away from the business side of it, where we're sitting across making arrangements, and just get to know them, get to know a little bit more about their family. They ask you about yours. It's the relationships that you develop with these people that's very, very rewarding. I keep on saying that it is the handshake or the hugs you get at the end of the day that make it worth it.”

The H.E. Turner story began in January of 1910, when Harry Ernest Turner, a native of Clarendon, and Harry D. Bartlett of Holley bought the Williamson Furniture and Undertaking Store. 

The furniture and funeral combination wasn’t unusual at the time. Historians believe early furniture stores carried coffins and other funeral accessories, which made them a natural link to the funeral business.

Turner, who worked 10 years in a furniture store in Holley before purchasing the Batavia store, published a weekly newspaper, The Holley Standard, as a sideline. Bartlett served as Orleans County Clerk in the early 1900s, and the pair also had a joint interest in stores in Byron and Holley, which they sold a few years after they came to Batavia. 

H.E. Turner & Co. was operated at 111 Main St., the former Newberry Building, until 1921, when it was moved to the Cary Mansion at 211 East Main St. Fourteen years later, the firm moved to the Bean Mansion at 403 East Main St., where it remains today.

In August 2023, Turner’s owners completed a deal with T.J. Woodward to take on Gilmartin Funeral Home & Cremation Company, Inc., leaving Woodward in place as funeral director at Gilmartin and others to retain their roles at Eaton-Watson and Marley funeral homes as part of the deal. Turner also owns Robinson and Hackemer Funeral Home in Warsaw.

Owners of H.E. Turner & Co., Inc. Funeral Home was named as a Selected Independent Funeral Homes member in October 2024, an honor that “lets all prospective customers know who they can trust,” Johnson had said at the time.

It would seem as though the Chamber’s selection committee agrees.

NOTE: This is the sixth of seven stories The Batavian will publish today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) about this year's Chamber of Commerce award winners. The awards will be presented on Saturday evening at Batavia Downs. Tickets are still available for the event.

For the 4-H Critter Crew learning isn't just something that takes place in a book or through a lecture. It's hands-on. It's fun.

That certainly was the case this past week during the crew's monthly meeting at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Batavia where they made coffee cakes.

Why coffee cakes? Because this year's learning theme is rainforests and coffee and cinnamon both come from rainforests.

"It's a lot of fun, a lot more ingredients for us to explore," said Stephanee Surabian, founder and leader of the 4-H Critter Crew. "We'll be doing different projects involving, like, flamingos. We have an exotic pet guy coming in with snakes and reptiles geared more toward an educational rainforest theme. So it's a perfect pairing for what we're doing this year."

The Critter Crew is a service and educational club attached to the Cornell Cooperative Extension for younger age 5 to 18. It's being recognized this year by the Chamber of Commerce with a Special Service Recognition Award.

By the fall of 2022, Surabian and the children of the world had been through a lot. As she was preparing to give birth to her fourth child, she was diagnosed with cancer (she's in good health now), and it was also the final months of the pandemic.  She figured kids needed activities to help them get out of the house and reconnect with people. She also thought 4-H could use a program that went beyond dealing with livestock.

"I was seeing a need for the kids to have just that normalcy again right after the peak of COVID," Surabian said.

The club is more than making things and learning about nature. The crew also focuses on serving the community. 

For example, there is the reverse trick-or-treat in October, which involves visits to the Manor House. The kids dress up in costumes, entertain the residents, and hand out candy and other treats. 

"It makes everyone feel young at heart and fills the hearts of those who are not able to be near their grandchildren," said Joseph Burke, one of the people who nominated Critter Crew for the service award.

They also have the Adopt a Grandparent program for the holidays when they deliver gift bags filled with essential items. They also hand out Christmas cookies and sing Christmas carols.

"It warms the hearts of everyone who is present," said Burke. "They do a great job of bringing smiles to the residents’ faces."

Surabian said they have an outreach program for widows on Valentine's Day. They create and deliver cards, picture frames, and other knick-knacks to nominated widows.  They're planning their first Easter Bunny visit to the Manor House this spring.

Another project involves collecting expired food products and converting them to livestock feed. In the past year, they collected more than 200 pounds of food.

Last year, collectively, they performed more than 300 hours of community service.

"Having the kids make those community ties and hands-on relationships really bridges that gap," Surabian said. "When they get older, they'll already be very much integrated and blended into the community. So I think that's a big, big step in navigating life."

Craft projects include making birds wings (again, related to the rainforest theme), which they will wear in the Memorial Day Parade. There are also guest speakers scheduled.

On the fun side (that also includes learning) in the works for the club is a visit to the Wild Center, in Tupper Lake.

"My goal toward the end of the summer is to take an educational field trip to explore the tree tops to get a forest canopy perspective, maybe do some zip lining through the forest," said Surabian. "Then there are some underwater cavern tours with underground waterfalls, which some people don't know are in a rainforest, so I thought it would be perfect to mix with the crafting and baking and then that hands-on learning, too."

Surabian is originally from Arizona. Her husband is from Batavia. They have four children. She has an associates degree and was working toward her bachelor's when she was diagnosed with cancer. 

"I kind of took a left turn and put all my focus and energy into volunteering," Surabian said. "I absolutely love being busy. I thrive on it. Prior to my volunteer work, I was a compliance officer, so I stayed very busy working and staffing nurses all over the country."

All four of her children, Gavin, 13, Morgan, 11, Kensley, 6, and Lincoln, 3, participate in Critter Crew.

She's clearly energized by working with the kids in the club and she said she loves it.

"I think my favorite is seeing how they engage with the elderly," Surabian said. "That is the most rewarding experience outside of the fun that they have. Actually, I lied. Okay, so the food, I'm sorry. I just reminded myself -- the food, I think, is probably the most fun because, surprisingly, I try to keep it very basic, but there's so many things that we've done that kids have never even tried before, so that is a whole level of fun for me, to be able to broaden their food horizons."

Photos by Howard Owens.

Anneka Pray, the 18-year-old Pembroke graduate who was critically injured a week ago in a motor vehicle accident near Syracuse, is making "amazing progress," according to Tracy Rudolph.

Rudolph is the organizer of a GoFundMe.com page set up to assist Pray and her family following the accident.

Pray, who has been blind since birth, sustained a traumatic brain injury.

Rudolph writes: "She was heavily sedated and minimally responsive last Friday. Today, she has been moved out of the ICU to a bed on the pediatric floor. Anneka is eating, drinking, talking and walking. She will be transferred to neurology rehab next week. This progress is possible because of your prayers. Thank you for praying faithfully for Anneka's brain recovery. Please keep praying for recovery with her brain, fractured skull and carotid artery—blessings to all of you."

Previously: Pembroke graduate critically injured in Thruway accident near Syracuse

Don Santini, a Section V football coaching legend who coached the Le Roy Oatkan Knights early in his career, died Wednesday.

He was 85.

Santini was the head coach in Le Roy from 1966 through 1974 before returning to his alma mater, Fairport High School (1957). 

He led the Knights to the program's first-ever undefeated season (8-0) in 1966. The team won four league championships with Santini at the helm.

He was the first coach in Section V history with 200 wins, finishing his career with 2004, which now ranks fourth on the all-time list.

He compiled a 57-15 -2 record at Le Roy.

Santini started his coaching career in 1963 in Morrisville.

After returning to Fairport, Santini became rooted in the community and led the Red Raiders to seven Section V titles. His Fairport teams also won two state titles.

Even though Santini spent only eight years in Le Roy more than five decades ago, he is fondly remembered by Le Roy's football faithful.

Ed Henry wrote on social media, "Don Santini stressed his athletes to stay focused on game day as they were playing for pride and tradition. He was the ultimate motivator who inspired excellence in his teams. He was enthusiastic, excitable, fiery, and had a work ethic with no equal."

Jim Bonaquisti, who started his playing career a year after Santini returned to Fairport, said the former Knight's coach was still a coach he and other Le Roy players wanted to impress.

"We scrimmaged Fairport my junior and senior season," Bonaquisti wrote on social media. "I know I played a little bit harder because even though he wasn't my coach, I didn't want to let him down. Coach always showered you with praise for the great effort."

Santini was inducted into the Section V Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

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NOTE: This is the fifth of seven stories The Batavian will publish today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) about this year's Chamber of Commerce award winners. The awards will be presented on Saturday evening at Batavia Downs. Tickets are still available for the event.

When Mickey Charters was pursuing her bachelor’s at Brockport State College, a professor said something she never forgot: you give back to the community.

“That always stuck with me. As a child or in high school I never volunteered, but in college, yes. Once you give back, it’s so easy, it’s a flow you just go along with it,” she said during an interview with The Batavian. “It started out with that, working with people with dementia.”

Charters, who lived in Brockport before moving to Bergen 24 years ago, has certainly latched onto that ideology. Describing herself as a “late bloomer,” she earned her degree in therapeutic recreation one class at a time after her children were in high school and took her first job in a nursing home working with people with dementia.

She has since devoted her skills of calm restraint — required to do this type of compassionate endeavor — whether it was helping to take care of her uncle, working or volunteering in the field, including at Office for the Aging, Alzheimer’s Association, Crossroads House and a grassroots respite program based at Batavia First Presbyterian Church.

It is that dedicated background and ongoing community service that has earned Charters the county’s Chamber of Commerce Geneseean of the Year Award. While she feels a bit shy and humbled by the attention, Charters is finding that “it actually feels good.”

“You know, all my friends are just really, really happy, and I'm happy to see them happy,” she said. “And I know I do a lot of work for my respite program, but I don't call that work. I just call it the love for people. That's how I enjoy that.”

It may not be a surprise that Charters is an animal lover, citing the beloved creatures — especially dogs and cats — for keeping her grounded. “I love taking care of them,” she said, as one answer to what she likes to do for fun. Dog-sitting happened to include the white Pyrenees in her charge this particular day. Add to that going for drives and weekend jaunts with husband Jamie, who is the other half of what she feels is still a “newlywed” couple.

They met at Crossroads House, where Jamie had been volunteering. Charters was volunteering for Visiting Nurses Association and followed a woman who went to Crossroads as the next chapter of her journey. The nonprofit’s founder, Kathy Panepento, asked Charters if she’d like to be a regular at the house, and she accepted. 

To this day, she and Jamie have a “date night,” volunteering there on Saturdays, visiting with residents, reading to them, combing their hair, polishing their nails, and chatting with family members.

“I would probably say, make them feel special. They're getting ready for their next journey,” she said. “We want them to look nice. We want them to smell nice. We want them to feel comfortable.”

They’ve been having that traditional date for at least 13 years and were married nine years ago.

What keeps you going when encountering people going through challenging times as dementia, Alzheimer’s and facing that next chapter?
“Most definitely my faith. I think you have to have some type of faith, whether it’s God or out in the woods. You have to have something,” she said. “You can’t just go from one person passing away to another person passing away. You have to clear your mind. I think you have to do that. But you can clear it any way that makes you comfortable. Some people like to just walk out in the woods. I like to do that in the spring and summer. I don’t like to do it during the winter … I just, I’ll sit and not really meditate, but I can just think, as in meditation, to clear my mind.”

As for the respite program, the one she operates is one of four in Genesee County, with others at St. James Episcopal Church in Batavia and at sites in Corfu and Le Roy. The program offers caregivers an opportunity to take a break while their loved ones are cared for by trained volunteers from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. once a month.

The routine includes social time with coffee, tea, juice and cookies; a craft; a hot meal for lunch; an exercise session; a game of Bingo; and a music sing-a-long. Charters aims to keep it routine so as not to disrupt the pattern for guest attendees. They need to be mobile and able to use a restroom, and volunteers do not administer medications, she said.

Yes, even while talking about this award, Charters wanted to promote this program. She and others hope to spread the word and help more caregivers to get a break in their own routines to go shopping, run errands, make doctor appointments and take care of things they may not be able to otherwise.

Aside from that positive aspect, Charters is also happy to share that this program “costs nothing” to participants. And she has a whopping 16 volunteers ready and able to be there when needed.

Why has this population drawn you in?
“They are people too, and a lot of people didn’t know how to communicate with them,” she said. “And you just had to have patience and perseverance with them and shoe that you are the kind person and help them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it didn’t, but it was easy to change their thought process because it goes so fast, and they know that you’re a kind person, inside their heart, they know.”

So does Genesee County.

For more information about the respite program, call 585-343-0505.

NOTE: This is the fourth of seven stories The Batavian will publish today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) about this year's Chamber of Commerce award winners. The awards will be presented on Saturday evening at Batavia Downs. Tickets are still available for the event.

A talk with Peggy Marone, longtime director of Leadership Genesee, first meant a history lesson of her parents’ impressive local civic and professional lives: dad was chief pharmacist, the only one, at the former Genesee Memorial Hospital, and mom was a teacher of grades four and six at St. Anthony’s and became the hospital’s medical librarian.

Her mom, the late Esther Marone, was instrumental in the founding of Literacy Volunteers in Genesee County — by now, one may wonder what any of that has to do with Peggy’s recent accolade from the county’s Chamber of Commerce. While these people certainly served as role models and inspiration for her, they also delayed the inevitable for the modest leader, preferring to give credit to others than to herself.

"I knew that a very important value for me was fair and equitable. I put those two words together because it's really something that, it's been a touchstone of mine for a long, long time,” she said during an interview with The Batavian, sharing that’s in part how her folks influenced her. “When people aren't treated fairly or equitably, it really rubs me wrong. So I knew I wanted to do something along those lines.”

There will be no evading the limelight during the Wolcott “Jay” Humphrey III Excellence in Community Leadership Award presentation on Saturday during this year’s 53rd annual Chamber Awards Ceremony at Batavia Downs.

Named after Humphrey, who was president of the former Wyoming County Bank, this award exemplifies how he was extremely involved in the community as a volunteer who encouraged his employees to develop a commitment to volunteerism and community. He was a visionary who could see the big picture and made real improvements to his passionate beliefs, chamber staff said.

Marone remembers when she met him, albeit for how briefly they knew each other.

“He was pretty instrumental in getting Leadership Genesee going,” she said. “The next day, he died. I served on the Humphrey Symposium Committee for one or two years.”

After high school, Marone went on to St. Bonaventure for psychology (if for no better reason than because a guy she was dating was a psych major, she said), and it would seem as though all of those courses paid off in how she relates to people. 

She got into Human Resources “by accident” and discovered how, in lieu of being the big boss talking to a group from the front of the room, she wanted to “draw out of people” their personalities, thoughts, and gifts.

“I learned how to get the best out of people,” she said.

Marone had a string of jobs, opening up hotels, finessing her organization skills, working in Human Resources for Chapin and at Marriott in Amherst.

“Whatever I was doing, I was learning. It was as if the stars aligned,” she said of the offer to take on Leadership Genesee. “I tell people all the time I've looked at everything I've done, I may not have gone after a job specifically because I thought, Oh, that's it. That's the one I want. Except this one. This was the one that I knew was what my life had been preparing me for.”

Was there a learning curve, or did you take the ball and run with it?
“That's a good question because when I started, my marching orders were to run it like my own business. There was really no template. What I started off doing was spending time with the other leadership programs, leadership Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara, and I would go and spend a day with them on their day session and watch what they did. What did their agenda look like, how did they interface with their participants? How do you keep your alumni involved? I just went and asked tons of questions of everybody,” she said. “And then when the first class graduated, I interviewed every single one of them, and I asked them how the year went for them. What were the hits, what were the misses? How did it affect you personally, and where do you think we should go with this? 

"So I knew I had to develop an organization. So I had committees from the first class and design teams, and we would write learning outcomes and goals and action plans," she said. "And so we kept ourselves really on track to create things for the next year. So we recruited a class. You know, we just did one thing after another, left, right, left, right is what we did.”

She tried to glean the best advice from leadership directors in those neighboring counties, while staying true to what Genesee County needed. Those groups had memberships of up to 90, which Marone deemed too large to be valuable for each participant, so class size was kept to 30.

As she likes to say: “left, right, left, right.” Just put one foot in front of the other and keep going.

Talk about trial by fire — Marone began the day before 9/11. Not only was that a frightening and confusing time for folks, but also a difficult period to begin a fundraising program and rally people’s motivation.

“I had to double my efforts and ask people not to give up on us,” she said at her second-floor office. “I was always recruiting. I've recruited out this window, because we had some guys working out here. One of them had been an alum. His brother was out here with him. I opened the window. I said, 'Who is this?' That's my brother Pork. Pork, when are you gonna do Leadership Genesee, your brother went through Leadership Genesee, when are you? And he did.”

Those dreadful Covid days were the most rough and tumble of them all, she said, but they continued on — left, right, left, right — having Zoom sessions with “wear a funny hat” day and other silly things to keep morale up and for a laugh, she said.

Primary goals are to encourage their leader within and recognize their own value system, she said. Attendance dipped during the pandemic, and it’s already back up to steady numbers of 25 to 30 per class.  

What has been key to the success of the program?
“All the alumni,” she said. “So we pretty much get new alumni that join committees or stay on or participate. It’s a core group that enjoys what they’re doing.”

As for her values, those terms “fair and equitable” have been a touchstone to guide her path. That’s what instantly drew her to become a “Star Trek” fan in college, watching episodes in the skeller with a beer after dinner.

“Because of the diversity and inclusiveness,” she said, her back to her computer’s Trekkie screen saver. “They were so brave to do that in (the 1970s). It was awesome. I really like people. I really do, and I care very much about them. I care very much about, you know, how people view themselves. I always want them to feel good about themselves.”

Leadership is a year-long class that provides people with opportunities to network, volunteer, and learn about the county and its offerings while encouraging each individual’s leader within.

“And the biggest thing is … what is your value system and how do you live the values that you have?” she said. “I don't think people think about their value system either, but that's my organizational development kind of mind and HR mind that I encourage people to do that.”

There are 627 graduates so far, and each class is framed and hung on Marone’s office wall, and hand-decorated beads, strung together and sitting in a bowl on her desk, represent each of those class members that represent a success story.

What do you get out of this?
“Oh my gosh. A real sense of accomplishment. I mean, if I can affect one person's outlook on themselves to be more positive, to help them, you know, help connect dots for them, I mean, that's awesome. It’s really about them,” she said. “And for the community, I want to see Genesee County be in a better place as much as possible, so it keeps going for the generations to come.”

She lives with her daughter Nikole Marone in Batavia and also works part-time as a business manager at St. Joseph’s Regional School.

NOTE: This is the third of seven stories The Batavian will publish today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) about this year's Chamber of Commerce award winners. The awards will be presented on Saturday evening at Batavia Downs. Tickets are still available for the event.

The secret to success isn't complicated, the way Jeff Heubusch explains it: Offer people a good product at a fair price with a friendly smile, and they will keep coming back.

That's what he and his crew at Southside Deli have done for more than 35 years.

His assistant manager, Denny Schultz, who has worked at Southside for 24 years, explained it best.

"He's consistent," Schultz said. "He's here all the time. He lives at the store. If anyone comes in from the community, they know how hard he works. He's compassionate for his customers. He's instilled it in me, as well. You want every customer to feel welcome and special. You learn their names. You get a good rapport with returning customers."

It's that commitment and that success that led to Southside Deli being named Genesee County's Small Business of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce.

Heubusch said the award is a big honor that recognizes the reputation Southside has gained in the community.

"This side of town has always had a bad rap kind of reputation in the community, and I don't see that. I see compassion. I see humble people who just need to be accepted," Heubusch said. "It's definitely changed over the years, but for the better."

The store, as any regular knows, represents Batavia's diversity. Every segment of Batavia's community visits the store daily, either for a sub, snacks, drinks, or some essential grocery item.

That wasn't an aspect of the business Heubusch necessarily anticipated when he bought the location more than three decades ago but it's a big part of what he enjoys about the business.

"I think over the years, it has become a passion. It's something you have to grow into," Heubusch said. "When I came into this business, I didn't know much. Everything was trial and error. You listen to your customers and get their needs, get them in here, and give them a fair price. It's and they come back. People don't want just a deli; it's a place you can go to, and everybody's happy. It's just a great atmosphere. And we developed that over the years, and I got great help here. They're compassionate, they care."

As a young man, Heubusch spent 12 years working in a salt mine. He only quit when a mining accident nearly took his life.

His year-long recuperation gave him time to reflect and reassess what he wanted to do with his life.

Heubusch, the son of a miner, purchased Southside Deli two years before the accident. He kept his mining job even as he tried to build the deli business. Digging out the salt of the earth so motorists could drive on de-iced asphalt offered Heubusch a sense of security not available to entrepreneurs. He didn't want to give up that steady paycheck and good benefits while trying to build his own business.

While convalescing, Heubusch said to himself, "Am I going to lay on this couch the rest of my life and live on comp or Social Security disability?"

"Once I was able to get around and be productive, that's when I said, really, 'it's all or nothing.' "

Born in Wyoming County, Heubusch graduated from Warsaw High School in 1977. He was 17 and couldn't get a job, so he went to work in his mother's upholstery business.

When he turned 18, he got his first job in a salt mine.

He was laid off, rehired, laid off and rehired again a couple of times over the next few years. During that time, he also worked for U.S. Gypsum and Le Roy Machine.

He bought a house in Batavia, and when he started working in the mine again, his daily commute took him down Ellicott Street.

Every day, he would drive past Southside Deli (Heubusch kept the name from the previous owner; In the 19th Century, it was Ebling Meat Market and the location has always been some sort of market). 

On the second floor of the building is a balcony. As he drove by each day, Heubusch would see a for sale sign hanging from the balcony rail.

That got his mind working.

"I'd see it and think to myself, 'Man, I'd love to work for myself.' I kept seeing that, fueling my idea of what I would do if I owned that."

There's a reason working in a salt mine is a metaphor in our culture's lexicon for arduous work. It's hard labor.

In flush times, Heubusch worked 10 to 12-hour days, seven days a week.

"There were days I never saw daylight."

One day, finally, he called a realtor and got the ball rolling.

Escrow closed Aug. 10, 1989. Heubusch opened Southside Deli for the first time under his ownership four days later.

Besides figuring out the deli business and making a great meal, Heubusch learned how to hire the right help, people who naturally walk in with good attitudes and friendly smiles.

"I've got my hardcore of people, but people graduate from high school, they go to college, they move out of the area, they get married, but for the most part, I've got a very good core of employees that actually help the newbies," Heubusch said. "All my employees who have ever left said this was like their favorite job. They were young, and they would learn. They would become more social. They would learn the aspects of how business works and be able to talk to people, and it was a very, very great learning experience for them, and they moved on. I've got people who worked here who are now doctors and lawyers."

Schultz said he and the rest of the Southside crew are proud to see the deli get recognition from the Chamber.

"It's huge, especially for him, you know, but for us too, especially a lot of us long-standing people," Schultz said. "It's almost like validation of just how hard he's worked, and we've worked to be a successful business. We're Team Deli."

NOTE: This is the second of seven stories The Batavian will publish today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) about this year's Chamber of Commerce award winners. The awards will be presented on Saturday evening at Batavia Downs. There are tickets still available to the event.

In every sense of the term, Alexander Equipment, 3266 Buffalo St., Alexander, is a family business.

"The only problem with our industry is that it's gotten where all these big companies have gotten bigger, and people are just numbers," said Tom Gadd, second-generation co-owner. "They've lost their touch. I mean, it's really just like texting. I don't get into texting. I'd rather talk to somebody. You know, it's just because it's my age, but people like to deal with people, and people don't realize it anymore. Everybody's not just a number. I mean, I know some of these bigger companies employees that are there, they're like, 'We're just numbers there. We're a spot to fill it.’ I mean, it's just they lose that closeness, I guess. So, maybe you've seen it in your business, I don't know, but it's just nice when it's smaller and people know everybody a little bit better."

Gadd's parents, with the support of their parents, purchased Alexander Garage in 1972.  Gadd and his brothers grew up in the business. Today, the business is run by Tom, his wife Tracy, and sons Spencer and Michael (Tom and Tracy also have two adult daughters, Taylor and Emily).

Spencer and Michael also grew up in the business and came back to it after graduating from college. Michael has a degree in engineering, and Spencer has an MBA.

“The boys are coming in. They've got different ideas and are much better with technology," Tracy said. "Their whole generation is good with advertising on Instagram and all of those things, and they're much better with new ideas of how to do things. But I feel like we have a pretty good mix as far as hanging on to our core values and what grandma and grandpa instilled in mom and dad and instilled in their boys, and still being able to move forward."

That attention to core values and changing with the times is among the reasons Alexander Equipment will be honored by the Chamber of Commerce on Saturday as the Agricultural Business of the Year.

Coming out of high school, Tom Gadd wasn't focused on joining the family business. He became a paramedic, a career path he enjoyed (and continued as a volunteer with the Alexander Fire Department), but 10 years into his career, his mother was diagnosed with cancer. That drew both Tom and Tracy into the business as Tom's parents stepped back.

That was in 1995. They've been running the business since.

"This wasn't the route that I was anticipating, but when mom got sick and they needed somebody, we would kind of come in and help out," Tracy said. "I did it after hours for a while, and then she decided that she probably wasn't going to come back, so I started working full time."

Tracy said Tom's grandparents always had a farm in Pembroke, and his mom grew up on the farm. 

"I think they wanted to try something business-wise, a little different than farming," Tracy said. "Grandma and Grandpa, I don't think, were real involved in the day-to-day stuff. They were kind of like a silent partner. I would say Mom and Dad kind of took it and flew with it."

In the early days, Alexander Equipment was a Chalmers dealer with a focus on agriculture.  Parts and repairs have always been part of the business, as well.  While farmers still remain an important customer base, the residential side of the business has grown over the years, especially with Alexander Equipment carrying Kubota products.

At Alexander Equipment, employees are also part of the family. 

There's Kenny, for example, in the parts department. "He's been here forever, so he's like a brother," Tom said. "A couple of his kids are Goddaughters."

For years, Alexander Equipment has had a good relationship with the high school, and some students have come to work for the shop, including one kid, now 16, who has been working there for two years.

"He's a really good kid," Tracy said. 

"We have another woman who, as a young lady, helped here. She's my age, but she was in our wedding," Tracy said. "She worked here when we got married then left for a while, was raising her family, and has since come back. She works just part-time, but she knows everyone. She knows the business. She does real estate on the side. Two of their girls are our Godchildren. So it really is very family-oriented."

Tracy noted that the family feeling creates a better atmosphere for customers. 

"We've got a lot of customers who have been here for a long time, and that's what we try to get when people come in. We want them to feel like they're walking into some place they know and can be comfortable at. And obviously, that's family."

The Chamber Award caught the Gadds by surprise, Tracy said.

"It was completely unexpected. We didn't know that we'd been nominated or anything else," Tracy said. "It's heartwarming. It's a little bit humbling just to know that people think of us that way and think that we're an example, I would say, or that we're good people -- it's hard to put in words. It's overwhelming, a little bit, you know. It makes you feel like you have a responsibility to do better."