Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
March 2, 2024
Over 46 years, the music has changed and so have the dance moves, but not the generous spirit. The students of South Glens Falls High School continue their nearly half-century mission to dance their way to a more caring community. (Gus Carayiannis)
Dear Colleagues and Friends:
By the time you read this, the students of South Glens Falls High School will have danced the night away with many hours still to go. Their tired feet are filling some big shoes, carrying on a proud and remarkable tradition as one of the most successful and abiding fundraising events in Upstate New York.
Since 1978, students at South Glens Falls — really, the entire school district and community — have planned and conducted a year-long fundraising effort that culminates in a dance that lasts an entire weekend, a feat of both endurance and enduring generosity. Annually, the students raise something on the order of $600,000, which places this event in the top five or so fundraising events in their region of Upstate New York. The others are all managed by professionals.
The first South Glens Falls Marathon Dance was held on March 10 and 11, 1978, with 20 couples dancing for 28 hours in a mostly empty gym. The inaugural effort raised just $3,000 — and almost no one noticed. It did not even merit a mention in the 1978 school yearbook. Over the years, the South High Marathon Dance has raised $10.55 million. This year the money goes to 21 local individuals and families in need and 13 charitable organizations, all chosen by the students. To support the impressive effort of these kids or watch the live feed, please go to www.shmd.org
BUZZER BEATER OF KINDNESS: The fifth-graders of Bolton Central School were playing their peers from Queensbury in a tournament in Glens Falls recently when an extraordinary act of kindness and inclusion unfolded. As the game clock ticked toward zero, a Queensbury player intentionally passed the ball to a 10-year-old Bolton player with Down’s syndrome so he could take the final shot. He made the basket, and the crowd went wild, in the gym and across the United States.
CAMPUS COURSE CORRECTION: Michael J. Hicks writes with insight and authority about economics and current events from his perspective as a Ph.D. economist and college professor at Ball State University, where he directs the Center for Business and Economic Research. He’s also a lifelong conservative who has, over three decades in higher education, watched the campus worldview at public universities tack so far left — including in conservative states like Indiana — that they now “are among the least ideologically diverse institutions in the world,” taught by professors and cultivating campus activities that “are so ideologically conforming that it nurtures an intolerant and illiberal climate.” He cites the example of a Ball State colleague who suggested at a brainstorming session that highlighting the quality of local schools might help attract new faculty to live near the campus. “Most normal folks view this as self-evident,” Hicks writes. “Yet, this professor was scolded by a senior university administrator, who said the university would not discuss that because ‘concern about school quality is white privilege.’ This is an example of how progressive orthodoxy inhibits debate. A campus climate like this should outrage taxpayers, legislators and most especially my fellow professors.”
CASH OR DIPLOMA? Billionaire Peter Thiel’s advice runs counter to traditional wisdom. Instead of encouraging high school graduates to go to college, Thiel offers to pay new graduates to stay away from higher education. Since 2010, Thiel, an early Facebook investor, has offered to pay students $100,000 to drop out of school to start companies or nonprofits. Thiel started his fellowships in 2010, disenchanted with leading colleges and convinced they weren’t best suited for many young people. Since then, public opinion has shifted toward his perspective. More Americans are rethinking the value of a college education. In the past decade, the percentage of Americans who expressed a lot of confidence in higher education fell from 57% to 36%, according to Gallup. A decline in undergraduate enrollment since 2011 has translated into 3 million fewer students on campus.
THE PRIDE OF TROY: Maureen Stapleton made her way up from First Street in South Troy, N.Y., starting her acting career at home at 10, talking to imaginary friends in the living room. She went on to fame on Broadway and in films, appearing in Bye Bye Birdie, Plaza Suite, and The Money Pit. She won an Academy Award for her performance in Reds, a Golden Globe for Airport, and two Tony Awards. Her alma mater, Catholic Central High School in Troy, from which she graduated in 1942, will honor her in March.
The New York State Court of Appeals in Albany, where Gov. Kathy Hochul this week called provocatively on the state court system to act as a counterweight to the U.S. Supreme Court, which, in Hochul’s words, is “abandoning its responsibility as the defender of our constitutional rights.” John Bulmer
NOT-SO-PROUD MOMENT: A harsh spotlight turned on the City of Troy this week when the Albany Times Union reported that four city police officers had used theirs to harass two New York State troopers who had come into the city in their marked cruiser. One of the officers also used his car’s PA system to inform the troopers they “don’t belong here.” A trooper recorded the incident. The police chief said the officers would be disciplined, but the Times Union says that’s not enough, writing in an editorial: “This can’t be passed off as a few rogue idiots. This was a group working in concert to harass people — fellow members of law enforcement … It’s time to take away the gun and the badge before something much worse happens.”
GLENN’S CONNECTION: The City of Glens Falls, N.Y., has had many names, official and unofficial, over the years: Wing’s Falls, the Queen City, and Hometown, U.S.A., among others. In February 1962, when Col. John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in space, his bravery and accomplishments caught the world’s attention. Many communities congratulated Glenn, but the Glens Falls Common Council went further, unanimously agreeing to change the name of the city temporarily, to Glenn’s Orbit.
MARTIN WHO? They called him Old Kinderhook — Martin Van Buren, a son of New York’s Hudson Valley, the second shortest American president, the first to be born an American citizen and the only one who spoke Dutch as his first language. The eighth president helped invent the two-party system over the vehement objections of many of the Founding Fathers, figuring one would effectively check the passions of the other. Van Buren was a skilled politician who served as senator, Secretary of State and Vice President to Andrew Jackson. Today, almost nobody remembers him because of the Panic of 1837.
The calendar has turned toward spring, the warming and lengthening days beckoning to their enjoyment. Nancie Battaglia
CLEAN EM UP, SHIP EM OUT: When we dine at a fine dining establishment, our food is presented beautifully. Then we demolish it, and the dishes are whisked away. This remarkable New York Times video shows what happens next. Drevon Alston happily manages the dish pit at Gage & Tollner, the historic fine-dining restaurant in Brooklyn. While cooks furiously arrange oysters and clams on seafood platters and baste steaks with butter, Mr. Alston and his fellow dishwashers happily scrub pots, scrape char off grill grates and run stacks of plates up and down the stairs.
CONNECTIONS THROUGH TIME: Author Sarah Gristwood, long a student of women’s history, spent months reading hundreds of women’s diaries spanning more than four centuries, compiling the most compelling entries in a new anthology that aims “to discover how women’s experience — of men and children, sex and shopping, work and the natural world — has changed down the years. And, of course, how it hasn’t.” Fights for justice, the grief of loss, abusive spouses, and lack of status played out over thousands of pages, but the most common theme, she writes, is frustration. The good news, from Gristwood’s perspective: “These diaries prove there is an army at our backs, reassuring us, nudging us, urging us on every inch of the way.”
DELIGHTFUL? DEBATABLE: It’s always a risk to change a name that is synonymous with a successful event or place, as organizers of the road race that for more than four decades was The Freihofer’s Run for Women are learning. The Freihofer’s, a 5-kilometer road race through Albany, N.Y., got its name when Freihofer’s Baking Company started sponsoring it in 1980. Now the title sponsor is Sara Lee Delightful Bread, and the race is being renamed the Delightful Run for Women. Delightful? Not sure those who are serious about preparing for and running hard in the race would see it as delightful, but here we are. The Albany Times Union is soliciting thoughts.
WILD CENTER IS TOPS: The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, an inspiring celebration of nature, has been voted the “Best Science Museum” in the country according to USA TODAY’s 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards. The museum opened in 1999 to showcase the natural world of the Adirondacks in a comprehensive way through science-based exhibits and experiences.
WENDY’S WHIFFS: Wendy’s trial balloon had barely gotten aloft when it was returned, burned to a crisp, to Earth. CEO Kirk Tanner suggested the company wanted to raise menu prices based on demand, a model used by ride share providers. Hit with backlash, the company backtracked a day later: “Wendy’s will not implement surge pricing, which is the practice of raising prices when demand is highest. We didn’t use that phrase, nor do we plan to implement that practice.”
GREEN COUNTY: Rensselaer County is home to more Irish residents than any other county in the state and has the 10th-highest Irish population by percentage in the U.S. in 2021. For Irish in New York State, Saratoga and Warren County are numbers 2 and 3.
HOME ICE: The men’s and women’s hockey teams of Union College will begin playing at a new $50 million arena at Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady, N.Y., in 2025. Mohawk Harbor is the new address of Schenectady’s renaissance, 60 acres of luxury homes, hotels, high-tech offices, restaurants, retail, public recreation and the Rivers Casino and Resort along the Mohawk River.
RETURN OF THE CHAMPION: Whitney Houston, Frank Zappa, Michael Jackson and now…Freddie Mercury. The company which manages the Queen front man’s back catalogue has filed a trademark for his name in 3D and virtual reality. The move means Mercury could be digitally recreated to perform on stage, like the ABBA Voyage residency in East London. Legal papers show the name has been reserved for “immersive 3D virtual, augmented, and mixed reality experiences” and for “virtual environments.”
RICHARD LEWIS earned a place on Comedy Central’s top 50 stand-up comedians of all time and in GQ magazine’s list of the 20th century’s most influential humorists. He delivered his diatribes dressed all in black, earning the nickname “The Prince of Pain.” A familiar face to late-night TV viewers over many decades, he also played opposite Jamie Lee Curtis in the ABC series “Anything But Love,” as Prince John in “Robin Hood: Men In Tights,” and opposite Larry David in “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” He revealed last year that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He died of a heart attack at 76.
CHUCK MAWHINNEY followed his father into the Marines, enlisting at the height of the war in Vietnam. The Marines had decided for the first time since World War II to train and deploy dedicated snipers, and he was among the first trainees, graduating at the top of his class. After he was assigned to regular infantry, he faked a toothache, setting in motion a chain of events that would land him where he wanted to be, as a marksman, where his lethal skills resulted in the deaths of as many as 319 enemy combatants. Renowned for his patient endurance and constant vigilance, he was the deadliest sniper in the history of the Marine Corps. He was 74.
LANDO: Our colleague Leigh Hornbeck and her family said goodbye to their beloved dog, Lando, on Tuesday. Lando began life in Tennessee and lived in an animal shelter before catching a ride to Saratoga Springs in 2018. At 9 months, he met Leigh’s family at an adoption event at the local PetSmart. The bond between the small black and brown mutt and the family was instant. In 2020, Lando, named for Billy Dee Williams’ dashing character in Star Wars, was diagnosed with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), an autoimmune disease found in dogs and people that causes low platelet levels. Most people and animals recover with medication. Lando developed side effects to the treatment. Leigh, her husband Josh and their two sons, along with Dr. Kyra Haring at For Pet’s Sake in Glens Falls, were dedicated to Lando’s care. Lando was Josh’s best friend, often joining him at work where he greeted customers politely before returning to his spot in the sun. He loved the woods, he loved to chase a ball, he loved belly rubs and he was deeply loved by his people. This week, despite the efforts of the staff at the Capital District Veterinary Hospital, Lando could not recover from his latest bout of ITP. He died in the arms of his best friend, surrounded by his family.
“I’ve lived in Florida my whole life. They’re calling these ‘events.’ I’m calling this (expletive) Tuesday afternoon.”
— James Gordon of DeLand, Fla., a contestant in the Florida Man Games, where thousands paid $45 apiece to watch competitors in events that poke fun at the state’s reputation for bizarre behavior, often involving some combination of booze, brawling and gunfire.
HEAVY METAL: A weightlifter in India is recovering from surgery to remove 39 coins and 37 magnets from his intestine, consumed because he believed “zinc helps in bodybuilding.”
Some of the linked material in Facing Out requires a subscription to read.
Principal Authors: Bill Callen and Mark Behan.
Sincere thanks to our contributors: Ryan Moore, John Brodt, Troy Burns, Kristy Miller, Leigh Hornbeck, Tara Hutchins, Claire P. Tuttle, Gordon Woodworth, Michael Burgess, John Bulmer, Nancie Battaglia and Gus Carayiannis.
FACING OUT is what we do. We help companies, organizations and individuals work effectively with their most important external audiences – their customers, their shareholders, their communities, the government and the news media. www.behancommunications.com
Facing Out features news and other nuggets that caught our eye, and that we thought might be of value to you, our friends and business associates. Some items are good news about our clients and friends, others are stories that we hope will leave you a bit more informed or entertained than you were five minutes ago. As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback.
Let’s make it a conversation: mark.behan@behancom.com
Recent Posts
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
November 9, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
November 2, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
October 26, 2024
Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week
October 19, 2024
Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week
October 12, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
October 5, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
September 28, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
September 21, 2024
Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week
September 14, 2024
Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week
September 7, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
August 24, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
August 17, 2024
Drew FitzGerald Joins Behan as Sustainability Advisor
August 14, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
August 10, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
August 3, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
July 27, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
July 27, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
July 20, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
July 13, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
June 29, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
June 22, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
June 15, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
June 8, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
June 1, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
May 25, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
May 18, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
May 11, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
May 4, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
April 27, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
April 20, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
April 13, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
April 6, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
March 30, 2024
Facing Out: The Most Interesting News of the Week
March 23, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
March 16, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
March 9, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
March 2, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
February 24, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
February 17, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
February 10, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
February 3, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
January 27, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
January 20, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
January 13, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
January 6, 2024
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
December 16, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
December 9, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
December 2, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
November 18, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
November 11, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
November 4, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
October 28, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
October 21, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
October 14, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
October 7, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
September 30, 2023
The Week’s Most Interesting News
September 23, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
September 16, 2023
Facing Out: The week’s most interesting news
September 9, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
September 2, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
August 26, 2023
Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News
August 19, 2023
August 12, 2023
August 5, 2023
July 29, 2023
July 22, 2023
July 15, 2023
July 8, 2023
July 1, 2023
June 24, 2023
June 17, 2023
June 10, 2023
June 3, 2023
May 27, 2023
May 20, 2023
May 13, 2023
May 6, 2023
April 29, 2023
April 22, 2023
April 15, 2023
April 8, 2023
April 1, 2023
March 25, 2023
March 18, 2023
March 11, 2023
March 4, 2023
February 25, 2023
February 18, 2023
February 11, 2023
February 4, 2023
January 28, 2023
January 21, 2023
January 14, 2023
January 7, 2023
December 17, 2022
December 10, 2022
December 3, 2022
November 19, 2022
November 12, 2022
November 5, 2022
October 29, 2022
October 22, 2022
October 15, 2022
October 8, 2022
October 1, 2022
“The Week What Caught Our Eye”
September 24, 2022
September 17, 2022
September 10, 2022
September 3, 2022
August 27, 2022
August 23, 2022
August 20, 2022
August 13, 2022
August 6, 2022
July 30, 2022
July 23, 2022
Ryan Moore Named CEO of Behan Communications
July 20, 2022
July 16, 2022
July 9, 2022
July 2, 2022
June 25, 2022
June 18, 2022
June 11, 2022
June 4, 2022
May 28, 2022
May 21, 2022
May 13, 2022
May 7, 2022
April 30, 2022
April 23, 2022
April 16, 2022
April 8, 2022
April 2, 2022
March 26, 2022
March 19, 2022
March 12, 2022
March 5, 2022
The Week: What Caught Our Eye 2
February 26, 2022
February 26, 2022
February 19, 2022
February 12, 2022
February 5, 2022
January 29, 2022
January 22, 2022
January 15, 2022
January 8, 2022
December 18, 2021
December 11, 2021
December 4, 2021
November 19, 2021
November 13, 2021
November 6, 2021
October 30, 2021
October 23, 2021
October 16, 2021
October 9, 2021
October 2, 2021
September 25, 2021
September 18, 2021
September 11, 2021
September 4, 2021
August 28, 2021
August 21, 2021
August 14, 2021
“The Week What Caught Our Eye”
August 7, 2021
July 31, 2021
July 24, 2021
July 17, 2021
July 10, 2021
July 3, 2021
June 26, 2021
June 19, 2021
June 12, 2021
June 5, 2021
May 29, 2021
May 22, 2021
May 15, 2021
May 8, 2021
May 1, 2021
April 24, 2021
April 17, 2021
April 17, 2021
April 10, 2021
April 3, 2021
March 27, 2021
March 20, 2021
March 13, 2021
March 6, 2021
February 27, 2021
February 20, 2021
February 13, 2021
February 6, 2021
January 30, 2021
January 23, 2021
The Week: What Caught Our Eye 1/16/21
January 16, 2021
January 9, 2021
December 19, 2020
December 12, 2020
December 5, 2020
November 21, 2020
November 14, 2020
November 7, 2020
October 31, 2020
October 24, 2020
October 17, 2020
October 10, 2020
October 3, 2020
September 26, 2020
September 19, 2020
September 12, 2020
September 5, 2020
August 29, 2020
August 22, 2020
August 15, 2020
August 8, 2020
August 1, 2020
July 25, 2020
Saving the Day: Ed Bartholomew’s Game
July 24, 2020
July 18, 2020
July 11, 2020
July 4, 2020
June 27, 2020
June 20, 2020
June 13, 2020
The Week: What Caught Our Eye 6/6/20
June 6, 2020
June 6, 2020
May 30, 2020
Coronavirus: Talking To Employees About Risk
May 26, 2020
May 23, 2020
Lake George History of Resilience
May 21, 2020
May 16, 2020
May 9, 2020
The Year The Kennedys Came to North Creek
May 8, 2020
April 25, 2020
April 18, 2020
April 11, 2020
April 4, 2020
March 28, 2020
March 21, 2020
March 14, 2020
March 7, 2020
February 29, 2020
February 22, 2020
February 15, 2020
February 8, 2020
February 1, 2020
January 25, 2020
January 18, 2020
January 4, 2020
December 28, 2019
December 21, 2019
December 14, 2019
December 7, 2019
November 30, 2019
November 23, 2019
November 16, 2019
November 9, 2019
November 2, 2019
October 26, 2019
October 19, 2019
October 12, 2019
September 28, 2019
September 21, 2019
September 14, 2019
September 7, 2019
August 31, 2019
August 24, 2019
August 17, 2019
Different Name, Same Great Experience
August 15, 2019
August 10, 2019
Noah John Rondeau: The Famous Hermit of the Adirondacks
August 9, 2019
August 3, 2019
Johnny Podres: Witherbee’s Hometown Hero
August 1, 2019
July 27, 2019
July 20, 2019
July 19, 2019
July 13, 2019
July 6, 2019
June 29, 2019
Portrait of an Adirondack Poet
June 28, 2019
June 22, 2019
June 21, 2019
June 15, 2019
Thomas Edison and The Prospect House
June 14, 2019
June 8, 2019
June 1, 2019
May 25, 2019
May 18, 2019
May 11, 2019
May 4, 2019
April 27, 2019
April 20, 2019
April 13, 2019
April 6, 2019
A Century Ago: A City on the Rise
April 4, 2019
March 30, 2019
March 23, 2019
What caught our eye - Mar 16, 2019
March 16, 2019
What caught our eye - Mar 9, 2019
March 9, 2019
What caught our eye - Mar 2, 2019
March 2, 2019
What Killed the Amazon Deal ... and What Can Be Learned
March 1, 2019
What caught our eye - Feb. 23, 2019
February 23, 2019
What caught our eye - Feb. 16, 2019
February 16, 2019
What caught our eye - Feb. 9, 2019
February 9, 2019
What caught our eye - Feb. 2, 2019
February 2, 2019
Things that caught our eye - Jan. 26, 2019
January 26, 2019
Things that caught our eye - Jan. 19, 2019
January 18, 2019
November 20, 2018
Winning the war for talent: Helping you catch rising stars
November 19, 2018
Who’s to Blame for Political Attack Ads?
November 1, 2018
October 9, 2018
Is that my pizza in a pothole?
June 14, 2018
Preparing for the Unthinkable: Schools Now Lead in Crisis Management and Communications
April 2, 2018
Great Obituaries Will Save Newspapers
March 8, 2018
New Website for Albany Diocese Created by Behan
February 7, 2018
Behan Team Helps Propel Second Statewide Referendum Victory
November 8, 2017
A Graduation Letter to My Kids
May 9, 2017
Donald Trump Is the Media’s Best Friend
May 5, 2017
United Airlines Does Not Have a PR Problem
April 13, 2017
What Do I Need in My Next Communications Chief?
April 6, 2017
Mark Behan joins board of directors of financial holding company
December 5, 2016
Your Firm Will Get Hacked — How Do You Respond?
September 9, 2016
10 Questions Every CEO Should Ask About Crisis Management
October 25, 2014
15 Tips for Effective Employee Communications
March 15, 2012