FEBRUARY 8, 2016 I SOUTHERN TIER BUSINESS JOURNAL I 1CNYBJ.COM

SOUTHERN TIER COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

Ranked by Full-Time Enrollment, 2015-2016

Rank

NameAddress

Phone/WebsiteFT EnrollmentUndergrad./Grad.

PT EnrollmentUndergrad./Grad.

Faculty:Full-Time

Part-Time2015-2016Budget

In-StateTuition

FTEmployees President or Top Official

YearEstab.

1. Cornell University410 Thurston Ave.Ithaca, NY 14850(607) 255-2000/cornell.edu21,904

14,315/7,589 00/0 1,648

1,55593

$4,021.8 $32,7401 9,076Elizabeth Garrett, President 1865

2. Binghamton UniversityP.O. Box 6000Binghamton, NY 13902(607) 777-2171/binghamton.edu15,114

13,055/2,059 1,806443/1,363

982681

301

$290 $6,470 1,705Harvey G. Stenger, President 1946

3. SUNY Broome Community College907 Upper Front St.Binghamton, NY 13905(607) 778-5001/sunybroome.edu4,279

4,279/0 2,9742,974/0 435

156279

$54.1 $4,212 403Kevin E. Drumm, President 1946

4. SUNY Delhi454 Delhi DriveDelhi, NY 13753(800) 96-DELHI/delhi.edu

2,5482,548/0 976

950/26 23113695

$33.1 $6,470 280Candace S. Vancko, President 1913

5. Tompkins Cortland Community College170 North St.Dryden, NY 13053(607) 844-8211/tc3.edu

2,2172,217/0 799

799/0 28163

218

$39.4 $4,650 215Carl E. Haynes, President 1968

6. Elmira CollegeOne Park PlaceElmira, NY 14901(607) 735-1800/elmira.edu1,128

1,123/5 248165/83 170

67103

$40 $38,300 250Norman R. Smith, President 1855

7. Davis College400 Riverside DriveJohnson City, NY 13790(607) 729-1581/davisny.edu204

204/0 175175/0 48

741

$4.6 $12,390 24Dino Pedrone, President

1900

BRIEFS 2

CROWN CORK STORY 4

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE 7

THE LIST 7

INDEX:

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Moving Forward: Tioga Downs gets formal OK for casino.Page 2.

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THE LISTS:SOUTHERN TIER

COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

7

CROWN CORK SEALS DEALPAGE 4

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Communiqu founder rolls with the punches

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Tioga Downs gets formal OK from Gaming Facility Location Board for casino

NICHOLS The New York Gaming Facility Location Board on Jan. 26 offered its formal approval to Tioga Downs Casino Racing & Entertainment to develop a full-fledged commercial casino.

The board last October issued a 267-page report recommending Tioga Downs for the states fourth and final casino-gaming license.

On Jan. 26, it officially adopted that report, according to a tweet from the New York State Gaming Commission, which regulates all gambling activity in the Empire State.

Tioga Downs Casino Racing & Entertainment, owned by Jeff Gural, proposes a facility to include a nearly 33,000-square-foot casino with 1,000 slot machines and 50 gaming tables, according to the boards report. It will also include 161 hotel rooms, multiple restaurants and lounges, a spa, an outdoor concert venue, and a new Tioga Country Club clubhouse.

Tioga Downs estimates it will create more than 1,100 new jobs.

The next step is for the Gaming Commission to issue a license to Tioga Downs. A decision on that is expected later this year. Licenses have already been issued to the three other casino projects in upstate New York, including Lago Resort & Casino in Seneca County. The other two casinos are in Schenectady and the Catskills, respectively.

WRITERS/EDITORS:

Eric Reinhardtereinhardt@cnybj.com315.579.3915

Norman Poltensonnpoltenson@cnybj.com315.579.3916

Adam RombelEditor-in-Chiefarombel@cnybj.com315.579.3902

Tioga State Bank to open investment-services office in renovated Owego building

OWEGO Tioga State Bank says it plans to move the Owego office of its Tioga State Investment Services unit to a building at 18 Lake St. in Owego, which crews are currently renovating.

The structure was previously home to a branch office of First Niagara Bank, which closed in early 2014.

The Owego office of Tioga State Investment Services is currently located at 923 State Route 17C. It also operates a loca-tion in Ithaca.

The renovation work will provide office space for two of the banks investment-management employees. The structure will also house four apartments and a 24/7 deposit-automated ATM, Tioga State Bank said in a news release.

TSB Services, Inc., the holding company for Tioga State Bank, owns the building at 18 Lake St., the company said in a follow-up email in response to an STBJ in-quiry. It declined to disclose the project cost.

Tioga State Bank is pleased to be involved in the renovation project in one of its core neigh-borhoods, Robert Fisher, presi-dent and CEO of Tioga State Bank, said in the release.

The Lake Street development is a harbinger of good things to come for this area, we think. For people to be able to meet with local investment-ser-vices representatives in a newly renovated space like this, right on Lake Street, is a real plus for our community, said Fisher.

Tioga State Bank was set to host an open tour of the investment-services office at the Lake Street building on Feb. 3.

Tioga State Investment Services should be operating in the Lake Street location by this summer with a formal opening planned, the company added in the email response.

Tioga State Bank provides financial ser-vices to the Southern Tier of New York and Northern Pennsylvania with 11 offices in Broome, Tioga, Chemung, and Tompkins counties, according to its news release.

Maria CarbonaroAssociate Editormcarbonaro@cnybj.com315.579.3910

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An artists rendering of the Tioga Downs Casino Racing & Entertainment complex with its outdoor terraces, once the expansion project is complete.

New York States $3 million clean-energy contest for colleges and universities starts accepting applications

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that his $3 million competition challeng-ing student-led coalitions from colleges and universities in New York state to de-velop plans for campus and community clean-energy projects has started accept-ing applications.

Winners of the Energy to Lead Competition will receive $1 million each for plans to advance clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on campus and in local communities, according to a news release from the governors office.

The contest is open to student-led teams from two- or four-year public or private col-leges or universities in the Empire State.

The Energy to Lead Competition is part of the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) Campus Challenge, which Cuomo announced last October. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) administers the con-test, according to the release.

NYSERDA anticipates selecting three winning teams, awarding $1 million to each. Contest judges are looking for teams to find new uses for established tech-nologies, lower costs, build on a campus project, and find ways to involve students in the proposed project through either coursework or internships. Proposals are encouraged to expand beyond the college or university grounds and into the com-munity if possible.

This competition will engage our

future leaders today in this fight against climate change, Cuomo contended in the news release. I encourage students across the state to get involved and look forward to having their cutting-edge ideas transformed into real projects to reduce emissions, lower energy bills and improve resilience across this state.

Teams must consist of at least one un-dergraduate or graduate student enrolled in a New York state higher-education institution as of April 22, 2016, and may in-clude consultants or a collaboration of in-

stitutions. Applications must be submitted by a faculty or staff member currently employed by the respective institu-tion, according to the

online NYSERDA application. Applications are available on NYSERDAs

website (www.nyserda.ny.gov/energy-to-lead-competition) and proposals are due by 5 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on April 4.

This competition is part of the gover-nors plan to reduce greenhouse-gas emis-sions by 40 percent from 1990 levels, use 50 percent of electricity from renewable resources, and cut energy consumption in buildings by 23 percent by 2030, accord-ing to the release.

Cuomo also announced on Jan. 21 that the New York State Public Service Commission has approved a 10-year, $5 billion Clean Energy Fund to make in-vestments in solar, wind, energy efficiency, and other clean-tech industries and proj-ects.

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scienceeducation

Communiqu founder, Linn, rolls with the punchesBY NORMAN POLTENSONnpoltenson@cnybj.com

ITHACA In the 1930s, the term killer in-stinct was added to the American lexicon, based on the fighting spirit of heavyweight-boxing champion Jack Dempsey. Today, the term describes someone determined to succeed in everything.

Add Laurie Linn to the list, even though her avoirdupois puts her in the bantam-weight category. You can find Linn every morning at 5:15 weightlifting, shvitzing from a cardio-workout, or in the boxing ring sparring with her trainers at Black Irish Athletics in preparation for another day at the agency she owns and manages.

Linn is celebrating the silver anniversary of Communiqu Design and Marketing,

Inc., a firm she founded in Ithaca and serves as president. I took the name from a song released by Dire Straits [in 1979], reflects Linn. The lyrics made me think of the need to communicate clearly to engage a target audience, stakeholder, or bring about change in the community. My goal is to offer integrated marketing that moves the needle for our clients, both for-profits and nonprofits. The key is our ability to innovate and create, inspiring people to ac-tion. We are a core staff of five plus multiple partners, who offer advertising, public rela-tions, web development, and digital media that is always solutions-oriented.

Standing out from the crowdLinn has plenty of competitors trying to

beat her to the punch. What separates us from the competition is that the company started out as an integrated-marketing firm when the concept was still cutting-edge, avers the company president. I was a believer long before the clients un-derstood the power of this new, market-ing tool. Integrated marketing creates a unified message that reinforces each of the communication components. Another key difference from our competitors is our networking strength and the leadership roles we take in the community. I have always seen our role as being immersed in the Tompkins County community, and that means connecting with CEOs. How else would we understand a clients business and strategy, unless we worked with top management. It also means cultivating pro-fessional relationships with the media and other partners in order to target our clients news so they can communicate effectively.

Linns current leadership roles in-

clude selection to the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce board of direc-tors, including the executive committee; Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD) board; United Way of Tompkins County board and chair of its market-ing committee; president of Friends of Ithaca College; and Tompkins Trust Co. business-development board. Past roles included co-chairing the Tompkins County Chamber, co-chairing the annual United Way campaign, and serving as the president of the Tompkins Cortland Community College Foundation board. Linn has also volunteered to spearhead a female-empowerment program at South Hill Elementary School, coach soccer, serve on the committee to elect Ithacas current mayor, and support Tompkins Connect and Tompkins Countys Young Professional Organization.

Linn returns to the primary trait that sets Communiqu apart. We are innovators with a reservoir of creativity, she intones. The team acts as entrepreneurs, bringing fresh perspectives to a problem. Thats how we generate ideas. The office is laid out as open-architecture just so the staff can easily share ideas. Count on us to develop big-picture, marketing strategies designed to increase the bottom line. We create a marketing culture with a core pulse that beats throughout a clients organization. And when we present a message, its al-ways at the forefront, while good design is invisible. Put it all together; thats how we create a program to reinforce a companys brand, the tool that converts a buyer into a loyal follower.

Linn says some of Communiqus most creative ideas occur on whiskey Friday, a 4 p.m. weekly, informal session when the staff, partners, and clients mingle to spark new ideas. My staff suggested whiskey Fridays, and now my clients and colleagues eagerly anticipate the end of the work week, affirms Communiqus president. Its an amazing time when adult beverages and creativity both flow.

ClientsOver the past 25 years, a number of cli-

ents have subscribed to the Communiqu message, including Borg Warner, Cayuga Medical Center, Cornell University, Eureka Tent Co., Ithaca College, the regional air-ports for Ithaca and Binghamton, Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes, Tompkins Cortland Community College, TCAD, Eastern Managed Print Network, Incodema, Woodhouse (a national timber-frame company), Audrey Edelman/Realty USA, Warren Real Estate, Coltivare Farm-to-Bistro, Wells College, and the Tompkins Trust Company. The firm has garnered a number of accolades along the way for its creativity in package and logo design, video excellence, marketing concept and exe-cution, publication and brochure design, fundraising support, and higher-education marketing.

Personally, Linn has been recognized for her leadership and community involve-ment. The Tompkins County Chamber

of Commerce has twice bestowed on her the title Small Business Person of the Year and crowned Linn thrice as the Key Person of the Year. The chamber board of directors cited her for exceptional service with the Outstanding Leadership award. The National Association of Professional & Executive Women named her the Woman of the Year. The Boy Scouts dubbed her the Distinguished Citizen of Tompkins County, and she was awarded the Patricia E. Stage trophy by the United Way of Tompkins County as the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year.

Tough startLaunching Communiqu was a struggle

recalls Linn. I started the business during the recession of 1991, she acknowledges, probably not the most auspicious time to throw my hat in the ring. While I was a true believer in the concept of integrated market-ing, it took a few years to educate our clients. In the early 1990s, the Internet was starting to come into its own. Clients were frankly confused on how to use it effectively, and so, again, we spent considerable time educating

But in the communiqu you know hes gonna come cleanThink what he saySay what he meansMaybe on Monday he got something to sayCommunication, Communiqu, Communiqu

Lyrics by Dire Straits

Laurie Linn, president of Communiqu Design and Marketing, spars with a partner at the gym, Black Irish Athletic Club. Linn is celebrating the silver anniversary of Communiqu, a firm she founded in Ithaca.

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BY NORMAN POLTENSONnpoltenson@cnybj.com

The skies above are clear againSo lets sing a song of cheer againHappy days are here again!

OWEGO On Jan. 10, Gov. Andrew Cuomos office announced an agreement between Crown Holdings and New York State to site a manufacturing facility in the Tioga County Industrial Park located in the town of Nichols, five miles west of Owego.

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) is the parent company of Crown Cork & Seal USA, Inc., which will operate the facility. The 525,000-square-foot plant, situ-ated on 40.66 acres, will produce metal beverage cans (two lines) for distribution to Northeast customers, according to Thomas T. Fischer, VP for investor relations and corporate affairs at Crown. The company, looking to increase its production capacity, projects investing $132.8 million in the proj-ect, its first new manufacturing facility built in the U.S. in the past 20 years.

The Crown announcement follows other announcements that have buoyed job pros-pects in the area. Tioga County is mov-

ing dirt, says LeeAnn Tinney, director of the countys Economic Development & Planning (ED&P) office. In addition to the jobs Crown will create, the recent FedEx cross-dock and Owego Gardens construction plus the Tioga Downs Casino [Racing & Entertainment] expansion will conservatively total 750 net, new jobs, help-ing to compensate for the jobs weve lost and giving the area a real boost. Also, the 750 jobs have a multiplier effect, because these jobs create additional area jobs to support the new employment. The sign outside my office promotes Tioga County as offering greener pastures for economic development: these projects really support our claim.

Fischer says Crown considered a num-ber of sites and chose Nichols because it had the best location from a logistics and transportation standpoint. (The site is within a mile of the Lounsberry exit, num-ber 63, on Interstate 86.) He declined to identify the other sites considered. Crown reached out to the Tioga ED&P office to begin discussions in June 2015, having al-ready contacted Empire State Development (ESD). The new facility will include 150,000 square feet of warehouse space and an-other 375,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Crown plans to run the plant three

shifts a day, year-round, notes Fischer. Infrastructure improvements are needed

to pave the way for manufacturing.The process for making cans consumes

a lot of energy and water, requiring infra-structure build-out. The [Tioga County] Industrial Development Agency (IDA) has committed $3 million for sewer and water upgrades as well as other infrastructure needs, Tinney says. New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) is bringing in electrical and natural-gas upgrades to meet Crowns energy needs. The project is on a fast track.

Fischer says the plant is scheduled to start up operations in the first quarter of 2017. A visit on Jan. 7 by this reporter to the site confirmed that substantial site preparation and infrastructure build-out are underway.

IncentivesAccording to Gov. Cuomos office,

New York was in competition with other states to attract the plant. As an induce-ment to Crown, the state offered up to $8.1 million in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits and a capital grant of up to $6.9 million. The performance-based incen-tives are dependent on jobs created. The Tioga IDA authorized a sales-tax exemp-tion on construction materials estimated at $1.344 million, of which the state absorbs half of the cost. There is no mortgage recording tax, because Crown doesnt plan to take out a mortgage. The IDA also pro-posed a payment-in-lieu-of taxes (PILOT), based on the estimated real-property as-sessment. The original PILOT called for an annual payment of $300,000 over a 30-year period, at which point the company would pay the full assessment. In later nego-tiations with Crown, it was modified: The company will make an annual payment of $300,000 for the first 10 years with an an-nual increase of 1 percent for the remain-der of the term. According to the estimated financial model, Crown would receive a cumulative property-tax abatement of

$44.7 million. NYSEG is also committed to providing an economic-development Energy Infrastructure Grant. The gover-nors office did not reveal the amount of the grant in its announcement.

The PILOT offered by the Tioga County IDA was not a standard PILOT. Usually, a PILOT has a 10-year life with 10 percent incremental payments each year, explains Tinney. Crowns financial projections in-dicated a longer period was required to warrant building the plant. The IDA, and ultimately, the [county] legislature agreed, unanimously, based on the substantial benefits the project would generate. First, Crown paid $1 million for the property, which had lain unused since 2002 when Best Buy built its distribution center next door. Second, the company is making a private investment of another $42 mil-lion to construct the building and nearly $90 million in capital equipment, a strong sign of its commitment and financial strength. Third, the 166 jobs that will be created plus a multiplier of 1.68 (other county jobs created based on Crown em-ployment) means the project will ultimately create a total of 279 jobs.

The Crown positions pay, on average, $22 to $24 per hour, substantially higher than the average wages paid in the county, plus a comprehensive benefit package, Tinney says. The annual Crown pay-roll is projected in 2018 at approximately $7.7 million plus another $4.5 million from the multiplier effect. That adds up to more than $360 million over the term of the agreement. Add to this the sales-tax rev-enue generated from consumer purchases and the annual PILOT payment (approxi-mately $10 million over the term) from land that had generated no tax revenue. Fourth, the project will create 550 construction jobs in Tioga County plus another 319 jobs in the county. The construction jobs alone will generate an estimated $25 million in payroll. And finally, Crown has a long track

Tioga County seals deal for Crown Cork & Seal plant

LeeAnn Tinney, director of economic development and planning for Tioga County, stands outside her office next to a sign touting the county's benefits for establishing and expanding a business. Tinney is all smiles following the recent announcement that Crown Cork & Seal is building a 525,000-square-foot plant just west of Owego to manufacture metal beverage cans.

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SEE CROWN CORK & SEAL, PAGE 6 4

FEBRUARY 8, 2016 I SOUTHERN TIER BUSINESS JOURNAL I 5CNYBJ.COM

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BY NORMAN POLTENSONnpoltenson@cnybj.com

ITHACA According to Dave Barry in his book, Taming of the Screw, the only really good place to buy lumber is at a store where the lumber has already been cut and attached together in the form of furniture

Robert Angelicola, (pronounced An-gel-i-CO-la), VP at ROI Office Interiors, would pre-fer to insert office before furniture. Then again, he would point out that wood furni-ture only represents a fraction of the nearly $10 billion in USA office-furniture sales in 2014. And thats just furniture sales, he notes.

Business has been good at ROI. We sealed an agreement with Cornell University in July 2015 that designated us as a preferred vendor, says Angelicola. A condition of the agreement is to open an office locally to bet-ter serve the university. Were not new to the Ithaca area, however; for years we have sold and serviced accounts from our Syracuse office. Now its time to hire local residents to staff the Ithaca office, which will be sited on the South Hill Business Campus. The com-pany leased 2,800 square feet for the new of-fice and was set to open the doors on Feb. 1.

ROI also leases space in Syracuse (2,200 feet), Albany (3,700 feet), and at its head-quarters in Rome (8,700 feet). In addition, Angelicola owns five buildings, comprising a total of 19,600 square feet, of which three tenants lease 12,800 feet. All the buildings are located in the Griffiss Business and Technology Park.

According to Angelicola, ROI, which is a d/b/a, was certified as a woman-owned busi-ness enterprise in 2012. The company was incorporated as Roberts Office Interiors, Inc.

ROI currently employs 18 people and is projected to post $9.5 million in sales volume by year-end. The Rome office is located in an economic-development zone. The three corporate stockholders include Angelicolas wife Lynne, who as president is the majority shareholder, and Angelicola and his daugh-ter Marina as minority shareholders.

Our sales are diversified into four differ-ent sectors, states Angelicola. Higher edu-cation represents approximately 40 percent, corporate and government sales another 40 percent, health care is 15 percent, and hospitality is 5 percent. We have a long list of [blue-chip] customers: Oneida Healthcare, Birnie Bus, L-3 Communications, Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC), Upstate Bone and Joint, Colgate University, Syracuse University, Le Moyne College, and the Air Force Research Laboratory, just to name a few. With multiple offices spaced throughout the region, we can service accounts from Poughkeepsie to Vermont, the Canadian border to the [outskirts] of Rochester, and the Greater Binghamton area. With Cornells announcement to set up Cornell Tech in New York City, were now spending a lot of time in the metro area consulting on this new project.

Angelicolas excitement about the project is understandable. Cornell Tech is currently operating in Manhattans Chelsea neighbor-hood, but future plans will site the cam-pus on Roosevelt Island. The first phase of construction ends in 2017, when the new campus opens with 800,000 square feet of space situated on 2.5 acres serving an aca-demic community of nearly 600 people. The full build-out is projected for completion in

2043, when the campus will include 2 million square feet of space sited on 12 acres serving about 2,500 people.

When asked why ROI has been success-ful, the companys VP points to its long-term business strategy. [Except for Manhattan,] our territory is made up of pockets of business. That means we have to drive a lot in order to see our customers face-to-face. Success comes from building relationships that are not just corporate but personal. We

support these relationships by offering a va-riety of benefits. The first is a written, lifetime service guarantee. The terms are simple: If it breaks, we fix it. Even if we didnt sell the product, when a customer calls, we fix it. Maybe it costs us $20,000 or $30,000 a year; we would rather invest the money this way than spend it on advertising. We also guar-antee a maximum 24-hour response time to any [customer] problem. If a customer wants to reconfigure company space, there is no charge for the first 16 man-hours, nor is there ever a charge for space planning.

Process and the employeesAngelicola next talks about the company

policy of being process driven. The rule

ROI Office Interiors set to open Ithaca office

Rob Angelicola, VP and dealer

principal at ROI Offi ce Interiors,

stands behind an adjustable desk

in the Rome showroom.

NORMAN POLTENSON/BUSINESS JOURNAL NEWS NETWORKSEE ROI, PAGE 6

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COMMUNIQU: Personally, Linn has been recognized for her leadership and community involvement. Continued from page 3them. Like all start-ups, it wasnt uncommon to work 80-hour weeks and then search for coins so I could buy milk I grew up in a family where all of my relatives ran busi-nesses, so I wasnt surprised by the obstacles that needed to be overcome to be successful. Or to use my boxing jargon, I knew how to roll with the punches. Besides, I always had plan-B. If the venture didnt work out, I knew I could get a job.

Communiqu picked up two big clients in 1993. These clients gave the firm finan-cial stability, which allowed us to begin growing, recalls Linn. At one point, the company had 15 employees. I found myself spending too much time as the human-re-sources director and not enough face time with the clients. We were adding national accounts, which meant I would have to do more travelling. At the time, my daughter was young, so I decided not to travel more than 150 miles from Ithaca. I also decided to take off every Friday afternoon to be

with her. Thats when I downsized the or-ganization and created a group of partners with whom I could work to supplement the agencys business. I consider our partners an extension of the Communiqu team.

In 2013, Linn began the process of cer-tifying Communiqu as a woman-owned business enterprise (WBE). The certifi-cation has opened doors to us that were [long] shut, asserts Linn. New York State mandates that all state entities reserve a percentage of their purchases for women- and minority-owned businesses. Recently, Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo raised the level to more than 30 percent. This has been a game-changer by bringing us more op-portunities. We have secured several New York State contracts, and now we are build-ing relationships with those institutions and agencies.

Career beginningsLinn began her career in the 1980s

working for Tom Yaegel Associates (TYA), a marketing-services firm located near Philadelphia and an early adopter of in-tegrated marketing. TYA was an interna-tional marketing company, which included global-financial institutions. I spent 80 per-cent of my time travelling to clients, she avers, and a lot of my trips were on red-eyes. I convinced the vice president to whom I reported that I should be closer to her; thats when I moved to Ithaca. This also put me close to my hometown Syracuse to help my ailing mother, who had cancer, and to support my family. At that point, most of my time was spent with Citibank in New York City. Tom Yaegel was very supportive in helping me start my own company.

At age 54, Linn makes the Energizer bunny look sluggish, which is to say she has no plans to slow down. My daughter is getting ready to go off to college, so I feel more comfortable accepting national ac-

counts again, she announces, even know-ing it means more travel. I also want to empower women to seize the opportunities out there. When I started in business, it was totally a male-dominated environment. I wanted to be at the table, which meant I couldnt be mute. As a woman, I needed to shine through innovation, ideas, and execution. Today, I want to be an inspira-tion to women; we can change the world. I havent thought a lot about succession at Communiqu: some day I could merge or sell the business or groom an employee. Right now, Im having too much fun. I just love business.

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, Creativity is intelligence having fun. He must have been thinking of Laurie Linn, who keeps on wanting to move the commu-nication needle. If Jack Dempsey, the man with the killer instinct, were watching Linn in action, he would say, Shes definitely not ready to throw in the towel. n

here is first come, first served, he explains. If a customer contacts us to fix the casters on a chair and the next call is for a [six-figure] sale, the casters come first. Period! There is no differentiation The longevity of our staff is another reason we compete so well and are successful. A number of our employees have been with us more than 15 years, and that helps us work well as a team. And finally, ROI is design-heavy. Of 18 employees, six are designers, and were looking for two more. The designers bring a strong level of creativity to our customers. They also are assigned to a project from the beginning and follow it right through the punch list. This prevents a lot of mistakes from happening when the project is handed off to someone new You [just] cant buy relationships; you have to build them.

Angelicola attributes ROIs success largely to the firms employees. We have a great se-nior-management team, asserts Angelicola,

starting with Lynne as the president. I serve as the dealer principal, Jennifer Christmas is the director of sales, Kristen Merrill is our lead designer, and Joe Geffert is the installa-tion manager. All of our designers are hired with the requisite certification, but each is still required to spend the first eight weeks training here at headquarters. New installers are also required to spend considerable time learning how to install properly, and each is under the tutelage of an experienced installer. In addition to touting the employees for ROIs success, Angelicola cites several professional advisers who have helped the business grow: NBT Bank, which provides financial services; the law firm of McMahon & Grow located in Rome; and Fitzgerald, DePietro & Wojnas of Utica, which handles the accounting.

Lynne and Rob Angelicola are the co-founders of the company. The second gen-eration is already involved in the business. Daughter Marina focuses on marketing for

ROI. Son Nicolas, who just graduated from Niagara University with a bachelors degree in business administration and logistics, has also joined the firm, starting his career in installation and sales.

Rob Angelicola, 54, is a first-generation American citizen, whose parents immigrated from Italy. He attended Rome Free Academy and MVCC, earning a degree in retail-busi-ness management. He also earned a degree in business and public management from SUNYIT (now SUNY Polytechnic Institute). He started in business with L&L Surplus of Utica, a used-furniture outlet, and became the general manager.

After 10 years at L&L, my wife, whose background is in accounting, convinced me we should go into business for ourselves, reflects Angelicola. We borrowed some money, rented space, and launched the busi-ness in 1995. Our expansion to Syracuse didnt come until 2008, Albany was in 2012,

and now Ithaca Angelicola doesnt spend much time remi-

niscing; he prefers to look to the future. Im optimistic about our growth, both in

good times and in bad, he says. Our first ex-pansion out of the Rome area occurred right in the depths of the recent recession (2008), yet the Syracuse office is very successful. Despite having strong competitors in Syracuse, includ-ing Sedgwick [Business Interiors] and SOE (Syracuse Office Environments), we grew the business there. The same happened in Albany, where we compete with companies such as Accent. Our customers recognize and appreciate the relationships we build over time and our long-term commitment. This is how we differentiate ourselves from the competition. Im optimistic that we will see the same pattern of growth in Ithaca. And now with the next generation in the business, there are plenty of opportunities for continued growth. n

ROI: Lynne and Rob Angelicola are co-founders of the company. The second generation is already involved in the business. Continued from page 5

record of supporting communities in which it operates. Thats why the state and county were eager to work with Crown in bringing high-tech manufacturing jobs here.

Crown Holdings is one of the largest packaging companies in the world with 150 manufacturing plants in 40 countries. The companys 23,000-plus employees pro-duce food cans, metal vacuum closures, aerosol cans, and beverage cans. Corporate

and divisional headquarters are located in Philadelphia. The $9.1 billion in net sales (2014) is generated from the Americas ($3.4 billion), Europe ($4.5 million), and the Asia/Pacific region ($1.2 billion). The beverage products represent 58 percent of sales; food products 27 percent; and specialty packag-ing, aerosols, and other products 15 percent.

The Crown customer list includes S.C. Johnson, Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group,

Bristol-Myers Squibb, Coca-Cola, Cott, ABInBev, Heineken, Heinz, and Carlsberg. The company serves a stable, mature mar-ket combined with growth in developing markets. The company was founded in 1892 by William Painter. Crowns stock closed at $45 a share on Jan. 25, giving the company a $6.27 billion market capitalization.

No wonder Tinney is all smiles. Growth brings growth, she intones. Projects such

as Crown are putting Tioga County on [site-selectors] radar screens. ED&P, the IDA, and ESD worked well together to respond quickly and affirmatively to the opportu-nity. The Crown project is confirmation that we can compete effectively for private investment when it comes to economic de-velopment. When it comes to agriculture, tourism, and technology, just think of Tioga County as greener pastures. n

CROWN CORK & SEAL: Crown Holdings is one of the largest packaging companies in the world Continued from page 4

Tully Rinckey hires Levine for Binghamton officeBY JOURNAL STAFFnews@cnybj.com

BINGHAMTON Tully Rinckey PLLC announced it has hired Theresa Levine for its Binghamton office. She is an attorney with extensive experience as an employ-ment-law specialist and expertise in human resources in the private sector.

At Tully Rinckey, she will represent private-sector employees across New York state and federal employees across the nation facing a range of employment-related legal issues.

Prior to joining Tully Rinckey, Levine was owner and CEO of an independent consulting firm that provided a variety of human-resources services to corporate clients. While attending law school, she

worked full time as a senior employment law and equal-employment-opportunity specialist in the legal department of a tech-nology company.

Levine joins Tully Rinckeys employment and federal sector law team.

Levine received her law degree from the Widener University School of Law, evening law program and is currently finalizing her

masters degree thesis in organizational psychol-ogy from Saint Josephs University.

In addition to Binghamton, Tully Rinckey has offices in Albany (its headquarters), Syracuse, Binghamton, Rochester, Buffalo, as well as San Diego, California and Washington, DC.

Levine

FEBRUARY 8, 2016 I SOUTHERN TIER BUSINESS JOURNAL I 7 CNYBJ.COM

THE LISTResearch by Vance Marrinervmarriner@cnybj.com(315) 579-3911Twitter: @cnybjresearch

NOTES

1. Resident tuition for colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Human Ecology, and Indus-trial and Labor Relations

ABOUT THE LIST

Information was provided by representatives of listed organizations and their websites. Other groups may have been eligible but did not respond to our requests for information. Organizations had to complete the survey by the deadline to be included on the list. While The Business Journal strives to print accurate information, it is not possible to independently verify all data submitted. We reserve the right to edit entries or delete categories for space considerations.

The geographic scope of this list encompasses Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Tioga, and Tompkins counties.

NEED A COPY OF A LIST?

Electronic versions of all of our lists, with additional fields of information and survey contacts, are available for purchase at our website: cnybj.com/ListResearch.aspx

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If your company would like to be considered for next years list, or another list, please email: vmarriner@cnybj.com

ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS

HUNT Engineers, Architects, Land Surveyors, PC has promoted RYAN GARRISON and GARY HENRY to associ-ate level. Henry joined HUNT in 2011 as an architectural project manager. He is a Kent State graduate with more than 20 years of architectural design and manage-ment experience. Henry has professional engineering licenses in Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania. Garrison joined HUNT in 2010 as an IT designer. He is a gradu-ate of Le Moyne College with a degree in information science. Garrison became the IT group leader for HUNT in 2012 and now manages internal IT for the firm.

BANKING & FINANCE

NBT Bank announced that AMY WILES has joined as senior VP and chief credit officer, based at NBTs corporate HQ in Norwich. She has more than 34 years experience in com-mercial lending. Before joining NBT, Wiles was executive VP and group credit executive for KeyBanks Community Bank Division, based in Cleveland, Ohio. Wiles has a bachelors degree from Colgate University and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School of

Business. NBT Bank re-cently announced that JOHN H. WATT, JR. has been promoted to execu-tive VP. Watt joined NBT Bank in early 2014 to lead the banks expansion into Maine and establish a regional headquarters in Portland. He has also provided executive leadership for NBTs Credit Administration and Consumer Lending Divisions since join-ing the bank. Prior to joining NBT Bank, he was executive VP of commercial bank-ing, investment management and bank operations at Alliance Bank. CATHERINE SCARLETT has been named chief ethics of-ficer at NBT. She joined NBT in 2006 to lead the companys human resources division and will continue her role as chief human resources officer. Scarlett has a bachelors degree in human resources administra-tion from Cornell Universitys School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Binghamton University Dining Services by Sodexo has added two new chefs. KARA PEREZ comes to Binghamton University from Texas Tech University. She trained at Le Cordon Bleu

College of Culinary Arts in Dallas, Texas. JAMES PAUL has more than 14 years in the culinary field, most recently serving as executive chef for formal catering at Corning Inc. He trained at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago.

ENVIRONMENTAL

JENIFER REISTETTER recently joined Jennings Environmental Manage-ment, Inc. in Binghamton as an office assistant. She provides administra-tive support to the office administrator.

INSURANCE

Valicenti Insurance Services, Inc. (VISI), an Elmirabased affiliate of Valicenti Advisory Services, Inc., announced the hiring of FRANCES M. ALLIS. She is a licensed proper-ty/casualty insurance agent. Allis is a graduate of SUNY Regents College with a bachelors degree in accounting and has completed a number of graduate level business courses. Allis most recently was the controller/treasur-er for another independent insurance agency.

People on the Move NEWS

Wiles

Watt Paul

Perez

Reistetter

NOMINATE TODAY!

Nomination Deadline: February 8, 2016

To nominate or register to attend, visit

bizeventz.com

SOUTHERN TIER COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIESRanked by Full-Time Enrollment, 2015-2016

Rank

NameAddressPhone/Website

FT EnrollmentUndergrad./Grad.

PT EnrollmentUndergrad./Grad.

Faculty:Full-TimePart-Time

2015-2016Budget

In-StateTuition

FTEmployees President or Top Official

YearEstab.

1. Cornell University410 Thurston Ave.Ithaca, NY 14850(607) 255-2000/cornell.edu

21,90414,315/7,589

00/0

1,6481,555

93

$4,021.8 $32,7401 9,076 Elizabeth Garrett, President 1865

2. Binghamton UniversityP.O. Box 6000Binghamton, NY 13902(607) 777-2171/binghamton.edu

15,11413,055/2,059

1,806443/1,363

982681301

$290 $6,470 1,705 Harvey G. Stenger, President 1946

3. SUNY Broome Community College907 Upper Front St.Binghamton, NY 13905(607) 778-5001/sunybroome.edu

4,2794,279/0

2,9742,974/0

435156279

$54.1 $4,212 403 Kevin E. Drumm, President 1946

4. SUNY Delhi454 Delhi DriveDelhi, NY 13753(800) 96-DELHI/delhi.edu

2,5482,548/0

976950/26

23113695

$33.1 $6,470 280 Candace S. Vancko, President 1913

5. Tompkins Cortland Community College170 North St.Dryden, NY 13053(607) 844-8211/tc3.edu

2,2172,217/0

799799/0

28163218

$39.4 $4,650 215 Carl E. Haynes, President 1968

6. Elmira CollegeOne Park PlaceElmira, NY 14901(607) 735-1800/elmira.edu

1,1281,123/5

248165/83

17067103

$40 $38,300 250 Norman R. Smith, President 1855

7. Davis College400 Riverside DriveJohnson City, NY 13790(607) 729-1581/davisny.edu

204204/0

175175/0

48741

$4.6 $12,390 24 Dino Pedrone, President 1900

8 I SOUTHERN TIER BUSINESS JOURNAL I FEBRUARY 8, 2016CNYBJ.COM

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