Podcasts about new york state canal corporation

Bill Sweitzer from the New York State Canal Corporation stops by the Great Lakes Fishing Podcast for Episode #228. We discuss New York canals, how a lock operates, and the 200th year of canals in New York. This interview was recorded at the 2024 Greater Niagara Fishing Expo. Captain Sergio Ferreira is my cohost for this episode. For more Great Lakes fishing information, visit https://fishhawkelectronics.com/blog/

Marilee Sonneman Kostadimas delivers 20+ years' experience and acumen in corporate events, incentive travel, and destination management. An alumna of San Francisco State University, Marilee pursued graduate and undergraduate studies in Classics and Classical Archaeology. She holds credentials as a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and Destination Management Certified Professional (DMCP). Speaker, author, byline contributor to the hospitality industry bible, the Convention Industry Council Manual 9th Edition: A Working Guide for Effective Meetings and Conventions, industry leader: As President 2016-2017 of Meeting Professionals International Northern California Chapter (MPINCC), the world's largest chapter of the world's largest hospitality-industry association, Marilee led MPINCC to a historic year of records and first, including global achievement as a two-time MPI RISE 2017 Award winner. She also served two terms as President of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence Northern California Chapter (SITENCC) and four years on the Certification and Accreditation Board of Directors of the Association of Destination Management Executives International (ADMEI). On this episode of Destination on the Left, Marilee discusses her expertise in storytelling as a crucial aspect of successfully sharing your destination with others. She chats about her framework for creating an end-to-end storyline, which includes the unique, the exclusive, the wow, the hidden gems, and the quiet in between, and how you can shift your perspective to better understand what your guests are looking for. What You Will Learn in This Episode: Marilee's journey to launching a career in destination management, corporate events, and incentive travel The moment in Lisbon that transformed Marilee and her husband Paul's life The importance of storytelling in sharing your brand successfully How Spotlight Sojourns was born of Marilee and Paul's desire to connect pictures, words, and travels and the challenges, they faced launching during a global pandemic Marilee breaks down how the incentive travel niche works and why it's the perfect way to reward, motivate, and inspire An example of a client storyline that Spotlight Sojourns put together to engage the leisure traveler Marilee's five-piece framework for meaningful travel How to think about your destination or attraction as a place that inspires stories and allows visitors to build meaningful relationships with you Travel Through a Different Lens Perspective changes everything — wise words from my guest on the podcast this week led to a fascinating conversation on how she set up a travel business to showcase real travels and authentic experiences creatively. Marilee Kostadimas of Spotlight Sojourns joined me to share how the COVID-19 pandemic cutting short her world travel plans in 2020 actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The enforced pause gave her and her husband and business partner Paul the opportunity to figure out their fledgling business on the front end instead of the back end. Marilee describes how she built her career on the power of professional storytelling through shared experiences. She also highlights the importance of understanding what travel really means to people and how to take guests on a journey that inspires them holistically. We discuss how Spotlight Sojourns creates an experience that wows travelers and inspires them to explore and engage with a destination fully. Travel is something that many people are eager to make part of their lives again, and you can make your destination stand out with a story that shines. Marilee steps us through her five-pillar framework of the unique, the exclusive, the wow, the hidden gems, and the quiet in between and how they create an inspiring experience that travelers couldn't do alone. Storytelling to Delight and Engage As travel and tourism professionals, we should be creating a cohesive end-to-end storyline. DMOs can use stories to give another perspective on their destination that isn't falling back on the tried, true, proven, and popular. We need to figure out how to stop talking about meeting space capacity, hotel rooms, and facilities and really tell a compelling story that encompasses the five touchstones of a great travel experience. We need to bring it back to engagement, connections, and relationships — Marilee explains how she does that for destinations like the New York State Canal Corporation. As a DMO, we've always got to keep in mind what the client is really looking for when hosting travel experiences so you can put a storyline together that fulfills the need to motivate and inspire. Finding Your Why Marilee gives her actionable tips on how DMOs and others in the travel and tourism industry can apply her framework to their own destination. We discuss how to get people thinking differently so that they begin to see their area through a different lens. Ask yourself why your destination is special, why you'd recommend visiting your beach, your lake, your hotel, as opposed to the beach, the lake, the hotel down the road — because it's that differentiation that is going to help you tell your authentic story. DMOs need to formulate a plan for the future and design ways that they can draw people in to visit their area and attractions. We represent our communities, so it's important to reach new visitors and build relationships so that those visitors return again and again. Think about how you can leverage a connected storyline that ignites emotion in potential visitors — because when people are invested in your story, it becomes part of their legacy. Resources Website: https://spotlightsojourns.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marileesonneman/ Instagram: instagram.com/spotlightsojourns Facebook: facebook.com/spotlightsojourns

The Erie Canal. Shane Mahar with the New York State Canal Corporation shares a bit of history on the famous, man made waterway, as well as some of the ways you can now enjoy the sights, activities, and welcoming small towns between Buffalo to Rochester.

We recently attended the 2019 NYS Tourism Conference in Buffalo, New York and interviewed presenters, conference attendees, and Tourism Excellence Award winners. My interviews focused on the conference themes of inclusion, fostering community engagement, and “tourism is everybody’s business”, as well as key takeaways from the conference. This episode focuses on some of the award winners, and I hope you find these conversations informative and inspiring. In this episode, I share my conversations with: Lisa Burns, Executive Director of the Finger Lakes Regional Tourism Council Bill Sweitzer, Marketing Director at New York State Canal Corporation Mary Kay Vrba, President and CEO of Dutchess Tourism Cassie Green, Sales and Social Media Manager at Visit Binghamton What You Will Learn in This Episode: How the Finger Lakes Regional Tourism Council has fostered collaboration between fourteen different New York counties for their “Finger Lakes Region Goes Beyond Wine as a Tourism Hot Spot” program How the New York State Canal Corporation’s partnerships with local businesses and organizations have helped them expand the number of programs and attractions on offer throughout the canal system How Dutchess Tourism is using social media tools such as Facebook Live videos they call “Dutchess Live” to generate interest and showcase destinations and experiences of all kinds that travelers can have in the area How Visit Binghamton is using video interviews as an opportunity to showcase the extensive history of the area and how local entrepreneurs are merging it with new innovations Finger Lakes Regional Tourism Council Executive Director Lisa Burns shares details about the Finger Lakes Regional Tourism Council’s award-winning program, “Finger Lakes Region Goes Beyond Wine as a Tourism Hot Spot”, and she shares the remarkable results the program has produced for the region. She shares how the PR-focused program has found great success in publications and media outlets like Conde Nast, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Today Show and others. She shares how fourteen counties in the area are working together in a collaboration to promote the entire region and benefit everyone, and she talks about how the program has far exceeded their goals and in 2017 alone produced more than 2.1 billion impressions and almost five hundred media placements. Lisa discusses how the collaboration between the fourteen counties can serve as a benchmark for how destination management organizations should work. She shares how honored she is that their program was recognized by peers within the industry, and she discusses the further honor of being asked to chair the 2019 NYSTIA Tourism Excellence Awards. She discusses work that is being done to enhance how the awards are presented and promote the value of the NYSTIA organization. She talks about how NYSTIA is now sourcing the awards locally from the area where the awards ceremony is being held each year, and she discusses the process and deadline for nominating others for the 2019 awards. New York State Canal Corporation Marketing Director Bill Sweitzer shares details of award-winners the Canal Corporation has nominated in the past, and he discusses why those programs were nominated. He shares how he realized that the tourism industry in the area is the sum of its parts, and why business partners are a major contributor to its marketing success. He discusses how many of the small local tourism businesses are unaware of their own huge contributions to the fabric of local tourism. He discusses nominating the team that creates the canal map and annual guide materials that are given out, and he shares why he wanted to recognize the map and guide’s creators for giving spots in the area a true sense of place. He shares why partnerships are vital to the success of the Canal Corporation, and he explains why being involved in NYSTIA is a huge benefit. He shares his plans for nominations for the next awards, specifically for the Corning Museum of Glass’s GlassBarge program that had more than 55,000 visitors last summer. He shares details about another future nominee, the Cycle the Erie Canal Bike Tour, a seven-day bike ride from one end of the Erie Canal to the other. Dutchess Tourism President and CEO Mary Kay Vrba discusses details of their award-winning Facebook Live initiative, “Dutchess Live”, where they create videos showcasing many of the varied experiences available in the area, both large and small. She discusses how the program works and how subjects are targeted and showcased through the video series. She shares pre-promotion efforts to ensure that viewers are aware of the live broadcasts, and she shares how the videos can be repurposed for future productions and promotions. She talks about why it is important to plan your project and do a test run to ensure that the technical side of things is working. She explains why it is important to stay aware of social media and marketing trends, and she shares the steps they have taken to stay current on those trends including sending staff to conferences and participating in webinars as well as doing extensive research. She talks about creating “lunch and learn” programs for partners and vendors so that they can benefit from the research and learning that is being done. She shares why winning an Excellence Award is reassuring and tells her that Dutchess Tourism is on the right track. Visit Binghamton Sales and Social Media Manager Cassie Green shares details of their “Be Part of Our Story” campaign, an initiative to tell the past of the community of Binghamton and the unique stories of young entrepreneurs and innovators who are building upon the past to create something new. She shares how the organization brought together the nine stories that Binghamton is showcasing in the campaign, and she shares how the campaign is still growing. She talks about being surprised at the number of great opportunities to promote the area when she first moved into her role. She shares her community pride at being an award winner and recognizes the community collaborations that have made it possible. Overview These Excellence Award winners each demonstrate how innovation, technology, history, and collaboration come together to create compelling programs and campaigns that truly showcase the remarkable experiences these communities have to offer. The New York State Canal Corporation’s partnerships with local businesses and the Finger Lakes Regional Tourism Council’s collaboration between their fourteen area counties show us that working together truly benefits everyone involved. Dutchess Tourism’s Facebook Live videos and Visit Binghamton’s “Be Part of Our Story” videos demonstrate the power that technology and social media have to reach new audiences in innovative and compelling ways. These four organizations truly deserve to be honored as Excellence Award winners. Resources: Finger Lakes Regional Tourism Council website: www.fingerlakestravelny.com New York State Canal Corporation website: www.canals.ny.gov Dutchess Tourism website: https://dutchesstourism.com Visit Binghamton website: https://visitbinghamton.org 2019 NYSTIA Excellence Award nomination website: https://www.nystia.org/news/excellence-in-tourism-call-for-nominations We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

We recently attended the 2019 NYS Tourism Conference in Buffalo, New York and interviewed presenters, conference attendees, and Tourism Excellence Award winners. My interviews focused on the conference themes of inclusion, fostering community engagement, and “tourism is everybody’s business”, as well as key takeaways from the conference. I hope you find these conversations informative and inspiring. In this episode, I share my conversations with: Brian Stratton, Director of the New York State Canal Corporation Danny Liedka, President and CEO of Visit Syracuse Jessica Bacher, President and CEO of the Yates County Chamber of Commerce Karen Kuhl, Executive Director of the Cayuga County Office of Tourism Ross Levi, Executive Director of Tourism at Empire State Development and the “I LOVE NY” tourism program Steve Williams, Chief Experience Champion at Experience Champions Dionne Williamson, National Sales Director of Visit Buffalo Niagara Valerie Knoblauch, President of Finger Lakes Visitors Connection What You Will Learn in This Episode: How the New York canal system is bringing a tremendous economic impact to the entire state as well as to New York, and how the New York State Canal Corporation is working to improve accessibility to the canal trails Why messaging is important for Visit Syracuse, and how they are working to engage the community and demonstrate that tourism is a significant economic driver for the area How a recent $10 million downtown revitalization grant from the state has helped the Yates County Chamber of Commerce promote significant community engagement and feedback How the Cayuga County Office of Tourism is developing critical strategic partnerships with other organizations throughout the region to share a single, unified message about tourism How the iconic I LOVE NY tourism program is working to promote inclusivity through programs like their LGBT initiative to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall and World Pride How working in a diverse and welcoming tourism destination shaped the views of Steve Williams at Experience Champions and opened his eyes to the opportunities the tourism industry has to become more inclusive Why Visit Buffalo Niagara believes that the key to successfully promoting inclusivity lies in ensuring that marketing and partnerships reflect diverse types of people How Valerie Knoblauch at Finger Lakes Visitors Connection found energy and timeliness in the topics that were discussed at the conference that she plans on taking home with her and integrating into her own work New York State Canal Corporation Brian Stratton from New York State Canal Corporation describes the 524 mile-long New York State Canal System that touches seven of the state’s ten economic regions. He shares the importance of creating accessibility to promote inclusion throughout the canal trail. He shares why physical access isn’t the only concern and that he has learned the importance of creating accessibility on the organization’s website as well. He describes upcoming events his organization will be participating in to promote accessibility. He discusses the state of New York’s commitment to promoting the tourism industry and the many organizations and businesses across the state that work within the industry. He describes the remarkable economic impact the canal system brings to the state. He shares the international tourism opportunities that the canal system is bringing to the state and even to Canada. Visit Syracuse Danny Liedka of Visit Syracuse discusses why tourism is a major economic engine for the community, keeping property taxes stable, creates jobs, and helps the community grow. He discusses why it is important to share the message that the tourism industry is an integral part of the community. He discusses his hopes to learn new strategies and ideas at the conference that he can bring back to his own work. Yates County Chamber of Commerce Jessica Bacher of the Yates County Chamber of Commerce shares how Yates County recently received a $10 million downtown revitalization grant from the state of New York, and she discusses the impact that grant has made for the small community and how it has helped dramatically promote community engagement. She shares how this is her first time attending the conference, and how she has learned a great deal about ADA compliance and inclusion initiatives from the conference and its panels and discussions. Cayuga County Office of Tourism Karen Kuhl from the Cayuga County Office of Tourism discusses the many aspects of inclusivity and shares why addressing the issue of inclusivity from the strategic planning front is vital. She shares why reaching out and establishing strategic alliances with region-wide partners for a unified message is the key to fostering stronger community engagement. She talks about the important conference takeaway of promoting ADA compliance in the physical tourism structure and on organization websites. She also shares why marketing materials need to be fully inclusive of many different communities. Empire State Development & I LOVE NY Ross Levi from Empire State Development discusses why it is important to be sensitive to the wants and needs of all kinds of travelers. He shares inclusivity initiatives at I LOVE NY, including their LGBT initiative which is helping to promote the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. He shares excitement over World Pride being hosted in New York for the first time in its history. He discusses new initiatives around senior tours and accessibility tours, as well as collaborative cultural sensitivity workshops. He shares why frequent, open, collaborative communication between partners is important, and he provides examples of partnerships his organization has made and work they are doing with local-level partners. He shares hopes that attendees will get a sense of how well I LOVE NY’s partnerships are working to promote the industry. He shares the significant figure that the travel industry in New York is responsible for one in ten jobs in the state. Experience Champions Steve Williams from Experience Champions shares how his company works with and provides workshops and trainings for small and medium-sized tourism businesses to improve their success. He shares why the people-focused tourism industry has a wonderful opportunity to promote welcoming and inclusive travel as well as to be inclusive employers. He shares his own experiences as a gay man and how working at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia in a welcoming, inclusive and accepting environment was a transformative experience for him. He shares how the zoo participated in the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and how the zoo promoted legalizing same-sex marriage in Australia. He discusses how tourism leaders have the opportunity to embrace and promote diversity, and he provides an example from the Taronga Zoo and creating a partnership with Autism Australia to help staff better understand the needs of people on the autism spectrum. He shares his hopes that attendees will leave the conference with a better sense of the diversity within their communities and ideas of how to capture diverse markets. Visit Buffalo Niagara Dionne Williamson from Visit Buffalo Niagara discusses how tourism leaders can make an impact in diversity and inclusion within the industry both through inclusive marketing efforts as well as in diverse hiring practices. She shares how she was the Multicultural Sales Manager at Visit Buffalo Niagara before becoming the National Sales Director at the organization, and she shares her personal experiences with diverse clients. She discusses the importance of engaging with clients and with the larger community. She shares why she believes community engagement, in particular, is important, and she shares why diversity and inclusion training within the hospitality and tourism community should be ongoing. She shares why she hopes attendees of the convention will see the importance of diverse marketing and partnerships as an opportunity to expand their reach. Finger Lakes Visitors Connection Valerie Knoblauch from Finger Lakes Visitors Connection shares why there has been powerful energy at the conference that can be applied to industry leaders’ workplaces. She shares why community leaders need to get involved in the community to create connectivity and better foster community engagement. She shares how the tourism industry is interconnected with many other industries to the mutual benefit of everyone involved. She explains how the topics covered at the conference are timely and helpful, and she discusses examples displayed at the conference that she can take home with her. Overview Each of the industry leaders I spoke with represents different aspects of the travel and tourism industry from all across New York, but they all share the same belief that inclusivity is the key to welcoming new audiences and bringing in new visitors from all over the world and that the travel industry should reflect the diversity of the communities it serves. As these organizations show us, inclusivity involves developing partnerships, ongoing training, and sensitivity to and understanding of all kinds of people from every background. I hope you have enjoyed hearing these leaders speak on inclusivity and engagement and that you have a better understanding of why tourism truly is everybody’s business. Resources: New York State Canal Corporation website: www.canals.ny.gov Visit Syracuse website: www.visitsyracuse.com Yates County Chamber of Commerce website: www.yatesny.com Cayuga County Office of Tourism website: www.fingerlakes.org/services/cayuga-county-office-tourism Empire State Development website: https://esd.ny.gov/ Experience Champions website: www.experiencechampions.com Visit Buffalo Niagara website: www.visitbuffaloniagara.com Finger Lakes Visitors Connection website: www.visitfingerlakes.com We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

In this episode, you will learn about how to best implement boots on the ground, grassroots marketing efforts from Bill Sweitzer. Bill Sweitzer joined the Canal Corporations Public Affairs Office in February of 2012, serving as Deputy Director. For the past three years, he has led the Canal Corporations marketing and education programs and spearheaded community outreach efforts across the states Canal corridor. Bill has an extensive background in hospitality, sales, and customer service and has enjoyed success through connecting with people and building relationships. Bill is from the Capital Region, he enjoys hiking and camping with his family and is an avid fisherman. The New York State Canal Corporation, now a subsidiary of the New York Power Authority, owns and operates New York’s Canal system. The system includes four historic canals: the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca. Spanning 524 miles, the waterway links the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes and Lake Erie via the Niagara River. Dubbed the Barge Canal in 1918, today’s Canal system turns 100 years old and is now listed as a National Historic Landmark. With more than 200 communities along its shores rich in history and culture, the Canal system forms the backbone of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. The Erie Canalway Trail is a multi-use trail accommodating more than 1.5 million pedestrians, bicyclists, and cross-country skiers on an annual basis. Three-quarters of the 365-mile Erie Canalway Trail from Albany to Buffalo is a dedicated off-road trail, much of it along the canals former towpath. Other off-road sections will be completed as part of Governor Cuomo’s Empire State Trail initiative, which will include the Erie Canalway Trail and portions of the Champlain Canalway Trail, and at 750 miles will be the longest multi-use recreational trail network in the Nation upon its completion in 2020. A transcript of this episode is available here: http://destinationontheleft.com/bill-sweitzer/

In this episode, you will learn about ways to grow economic development and give a destination a sense of place that thrills residents and visitors alike. Kal Wysokowski is president of the Canal Society of New York State, Commissioner for the New York State Canal Corporation, and Commissioner for the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. With all of those volunteer roles, Kal still has time for her day job as Director of Grants Development at the Finger Lakes Community College. Kal was previously the Executive Director of the Fairport IDA and Office of Community and Economic Development, and prior to that, she was the director of the Fairport Village Partnership and Economic Development Program she helped to launch, which is modeled after the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s highly successful Main Street Program. Before moving to the Rochester area, Kal was Vice President for Marketing and Development for Tompkins County Area Development in the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency in Ithaca, New York. She also worked as director of community relations and development for Family and Children’s Service of Ithaca and the Ithaca College Office of Admissions. Kal graduated from Ithaca College’s School of Communication with a Bachelor’s Degree in Corporate Communication and earned a Master’s Degree from Binghamton University. She has been a guest lecturer at the Roy Park School of Communications at Ithaca College and a guest speaker and facilitator for the Excellence, a nonprofit leadership and management series for the Learning Institute for Nonprofit Organizations and PBS. In addition, she has been a presenter at the World Canals Conference, the New York State Canal Conference, the Western New York Landmarks Societies, Preservation Workshop, Design Matters, strengthening city and village centers for the Reshaping Rochester series, served as the chairman for the New York State Canal Conference in addition to numerous business and community lectures on downtown revitalization and business development. A transcript of this episode is available here: http://destinationontheleft.com/kal-wysokowski/

This week, Travel Today with Peter Greenberg comes from Oneida County in central New York and the legendary F.X. Matt Brewery in Utica. Ed Brophy, Executive Director of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, talks about the history of boxing in Central New York and how that history is celebrated at the Boxing Hall of Fame, with a few surprises, including “the ring.” Cooperstown is only 45 minutes away from Utica, and Craig Muder from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum stops by to reveal some of the hidden gems at the hall of fame, not to mention what will now be on display from the Chicago Cubs’ historic victory in game 7 of the world series. Bethan Maher from the Adirondack Scenic Railroad talks about this historic train and Bill Switzer from the New York State Canal Corporation discusses the history of the Erie canal. And finally, Nick Matt Sr., a legacy brewer and owner of the F.X. Matt Brewing Company, talks about some of the little-known lagers—not to mention Peter’s favorite—Root Beer. There’s all that and more when Travel Today with Peter Greenberg coms from Oneida County, New York.

This week, Travel Today with Peter Greenberg comes from Oneida County in central New York and the legendary F.X. Matt Brewery in Utica. Ed Brophy, Executive Director of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, talks about the history of boxing in Central New York and how that history is celebrated at the Boxing Hall of Fame, with a few surprises, including “the ring.” Cooperstown is only 45 minutes away from Utica, and Craig Muder from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum stops by to reveal some of the hidden gems at the hall of fame, not to mention what will now be on display from the Chicago Cubs’ historic victory in game 7 of the world series. Bethan Maher from the Adirondack Scenic Railroad talks about this historic train and Bill Switzer from the New York State Canal Corporation discusses the history of the Erie canal. And finally, Nick Matt Sr., a legacy brewer and owner of the F.X. Matt Brewing Company, talks about some of the little-known lagers—not to mention Peter’s favorite—Root Beer. There’s all that and more when Travel Today with Peter Greenberg coms from Oneida County, New York.

John Callahan, Deputy Director of the New York State Canal Corporation will be talking about the status of the Erie Canal. Be sure to listen in to this informative show, especially if you are currently Looping and headed for the Erie Canal.