The Week: What Caught Our Eye

March 11, 2023

The most recent edition of  On The Rise, a national publication that features inspiring stories of young colon cancer survivors. (Photo: Anna Burns)

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Each year, a nonprofit known as The Colon Club produces a beautiful national magazine to call attention to a very unpretty disease. On The Rise features inspiring stories of young colorectal cancer survivors and their caregivers, and it’s designed by our longtime colleague and friend Troy Burns.

The Colon Club was founded in Glens Falls, N.Y., by Molly (McMaster) Morgoslepov, who is herself an inspiration: A USA Level 4 Hockey coach, carrier of the Olympic torch, marathon runner and mom who beat colon cancer at 23 and, to celebrate, rollerbladed across the U.S. to raise awareness and money for research.

The point, of course, is to encourage people to get screened for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and a disease that is on the increase, especially among younger adults.

Troy began designing the magazine pro bono 20 years ago as a tribute to his father, who died of colon cancer in 2004. His daughter, photographer Anna Burns, joined the team two years ago. They are an awesome creative combination. Every day, Troy does brilliant work for our clients and his own. Over the years, he has undertaken pro bono projects of every kind. But none is closer to his heart — and to Anna’s. We’re proud of both of them.

THE THEATER THAT LIGHTS AND HEATS THE WORLD: Not only does Proctor’s Theater light up Schenectady, N.Y., now it also brings the heat, and the air conditioning, and the electricity. Proctor’s has secured state funding to move forward with long-delayed plans for a microgrid to power the theater and nearby buildings. This builds on a system Proctor’s established in 2005 that provides heating and cooling to more than 25 businesses in the downtown area, a vivid demonstration of the power of arts and cultural organizations to transform communities.

WHO WAS ROCKWELL KENT? When he died in 1971, the Page One obituary in The New York Times struggled to sum up Rockwell Kent: “At various (and frequently simultaneous) periods of his long life the protean Rockwell Kent was an architect, painter, illustrator, lithographer, xylographer, cartoonist, advertising artist, carpenter, dairy farmer, explorer, trade union leader and political controversialist.” Add to that jazz age humorist, patriot, Adirondacker and social conscience. Kent was a world explorer who reserved his final years for a farm in Au Sable Forks, where he painted and raised cattle. He left 5,000 pieces of art, writing and other material to SUNY Plattsburgh, which has opened a major exhibition on his life and work.

ALL IS WELL: What becomes of communities whose economies were so long tied to fossil fuels? Wellsville, N.Y., south of Rochester, is one, an early 20th century oil town where a refinery processed up to 10,000 barrels a day and prosperity flowed in every direction, until it didn’t. Now, Jimmy Vielkind of The Wall Street Journal reports, Wellsville is looking like one of the early winners in the push to develop offshore wind in the Atlantic Ocean, producing steel components in a factory that made parts for coal-fired power plants. 

DELECTABLE DIPLOMACY: Can fine food improve the world? The U.S. State Department thinks so, and it’s asked one of the most distinguished chefs in New York’s Capital Region, Dale Miller, to join a diplomatic chef corps that will use food, hospitality, and the dining experience to engage foreign dignitaries, bridge cultures, and strengthen relationships in civil society. Nicknamed the Kitchen Cabinet, its other members include Jose Andres, restaurateur and founder of World Central Kitchen; Cristeta Comerford, executive chef of the White House since 2005; Culinary Institute of America President Timothy Ryan; and three executive chefs for the State Department.

PARKING AT WALMART: You can find almost anything at Walmart, including, it turns out, a Jurassic Era insect that mysteriously disappeared from eastern North America sometime in the 1950s. A giant lacewing, or Polystoechotes punctata, with a two-inch wingspan, turned up on an exterior wall at a Walmart in Fayetteville, Ark., the first recorded sighting in eastern North America in more than half a century, and the first ever recorded in Arkansas. Speculation is that the insect liked smoke from fires and, as that disappeared, so did it. The arrival of non-native predators in the region did not help, either.

Zoe McGuire, a 26-year-old artist from Delmar, N.Y., whose work is gaining worldwide acclaim, in her studio in Brooklyn. One of her pieces, titled “March” (inset), is up for auction at Make-A-Wish Northeast New York’s upcoming Hope Begins With Us Gala. (Photos provided).

WISHFUL THINKING: Make-A-Wish Northeast New York will hold its Hope Begins With Us Gala on Saturday, March 25, at the Hall of Springs in Saratoga Springs. Tickets are available at wishgalaneny.org. Gala attendees and the general public can visit that website to bid on silent auction items beginning next week, with items ranging from wish kid art and gift certificates to area restaurants to signed memorabilia and getaway packages. The Gala also will feature a live auction. One of the items up for bid is “March,” a charcoal-on-paper piece by Delmar native and Brooklyn-based artist Zoe McGuire, a 26-year-old who recently was named one of the “new generation of transcendental painters” by the publication Artsy, which lauded her “striking pieces” that “conjure dreamlike landscapes and natural motifs.” A Skidmore College graduate, McGuire has shown her art around the world, with her oil paintings selling for $20,000 or more. 

HELPING EACH OTHER: In Detroit, 20 teens who are part of a city youth organization called Local Circles wanted to know how their peers were coping with mental health struggles, specifically how they practiced self-love and how they found peace in a world of unrelenting judgment. They compiled their findings in essays that shed light on the very real turmoil many today are facing. “The pandemic has done a number on me. I don’t and can’t go anywhere, can’t sleep some nights, always see the negative before the positive, and I doubt almost everything and everyone around me,” one wrote. “There is only so much teens can take before we begin to not care and want to give up. You never know what goes on in our heads. It could be built up stress and anger that will soon be released. Us teens need to come together, build our own safe environment and stop going against one another.” An elementary school in Ohio is taking a similar peer-to-peer approach, creating a team of student mediators whose task is to help classmates constructively and peacefully resolve problems and disagreements. “These are skills that are going to help them throughout their whole lives, even beyond elementary school, and build that foundation for those skills to help them with their peers, or even in their home lives as they move to middle and high school,” the school social worker who started the program told Knox Pages, an online news source.

STOPS AND STARTS: A pair of college coaching legends ended their careers under very different circumstances this week. Jim Boeheim, who coached men’s basketball at Syracuse for 47 seasons and won more games than everyone not named Mike Krzyzewski, was given an unceremonious sendoff that had the appearance of being forced out, leaving many longtime observers with a sour taste. A few days earlier, Tony Rossi stepped down in the middle of his 54^th season as the baseball coach at Siena, the longest tenure of any coach in Division I baseball history. “I'm never ready for when somebody says they're going to retire, but I trust his judgment and he's been doing it a long time and he's done it at a high level,” Siena athletic director John D'Argenio told the Albany Times Union. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Chloe Ricketts, a high school sophomore from Michigan, signed a three-year contract with a fourth year option to play professional soccer for the Washington Spirit of the NWSL. At 15 years, 283 days old the day she signed, Ricketts surpasses Olivia Moultrie of Portland Thorns FC, who signed her first professional contract at 15 years, 286 days old on June 30, 2021, as the youngest player ever in the league.

TURF TROUBLE: There’s been a lot of news in recent years about PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals” that have been used for decades to make materials water- and stain-resistant and to prevent stickiness on cookware and in food packaging. The chemicals, which are said to be omnipresent in the environment, have been linked to certain types of cancers. The Philadelphia Inquirer noticed that an unusually high number of former Philadelphia Phillies players have died of an aggressive form of brain cancer and wondered if it might be connected to the artificial playing surface at Philadelphia’s old Veterans Stadium. So the newspaper purchased several swatches of the turf that was used between 1977 and 1981, and given to fans as keepsakes when the field was replaced. Tests found the turf was loaded with PFAS. Several toxicologists the Inquirer consulted called the results concerning and problematic, though the team said it consulted several brain cancer experts who told the organization that there is no evidence of a link between artificial turf and the disease.

LATER GATOR: A woman in Texas took an alligator hatchling — it might have even been an egg — home with her from the zoo where she volunteered about 20 years ago, and proceeded to raise it as her pet, complete with an artificial pond in her fenced yard. She named it Tewa, and from all appearances, the two were quite bonded. But the relationship ended abruptly when state wildlife officials, visiting the property for an unrelated matter, spotted Tewa. When it became apparent the woman wouldn’t be able to get the necessary permits to keep Tewa, the alligator was returned to the zoo, where she now lives among other gators.

A PERSONAL TOLL: Todd Shimkus, the longtime president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce in upstate New York, was among the many business and political leaders who worked countless hours trying to figure out how to keep the economy moving and people safe in the midst of a public health emergency and constant uncertainty. He did all of it while carrying an enormous personal burden – separation from his mother, an Alzheimer’s patient whom he visited daily, without fail, until nursing homes were sealed off. “It would be 363 days before my mom and I were reunited, and more than two years until New York’s state of emergency was lifted,” Shimkus writes. “My sister, Tracy, called what I did during this time to care for my mom and to save my community, a crusade. This may be a slight exaggeration, but what I learned about Alzheimer’s, COVID, being a caretaker, a community leader, and resilience needs to be shared.” He has done so in “I’m Not Ready for This,” available at the Northshire Saratoga bookstore.

A STEP BACK: Heidrick & Struggles, a recruiting and leadership consulting firm, found that progress toward greater diversity among the boards of Fortune 500 companies slowed in 2022. The firm’s CEO, Krishnan Rajagopalan, told Fortune’s Alan Murray: “As boards came under increased pressure to navigate the uncertain economic landscape,” they focused more “on CEOs, CFOs and public company executives who have led through similar environments in the past, which, unfortunately, are a less diverse group overall.” He warned that “this could lead to boards that lack fresh and different perspectives that are crucial for long-term, strategic success,” echoing words found in the Heidrick & Struggles report: “Looking forward, however, the highest performing and most effective boards will not lose sight of the need to build diverse boards that address their strategic opportunities and challenges.”

PLAYING WITH FIRE: Deforestation and other habit loss is driving people and disease-bearing wild animals closer together, creating new risks for deadly results. ProPublica examined the circumstances that led to an Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2013, comparing them to current land management practices. “The results were alarming. We found that the same dangerous pattern of deforestation has increased around Meliandou in the past decade, putting its residents at a greater risk of an Ebola spillover than they faced in 2013, when the disease first ravaged their village.”

RESTORING MEMORIES: Floods, fires and other disasters often take the irreplaceable, whether it’s people and pets or priceless heirlooms whose entire value are in their meaning to certain individuals. That’s certainly the case with family photos. Shortly after Hurricane Ian devastated parts of Florida, a local photographer started collecting damaged images and working to preserve and restore them. Her efforts inspired a feature story on ABC News, which in turn inspired a Connecticut high school art teacher to put her photography students to work. As ABC’s David Muir succinctly put it, “What a gift.”

A view of the late afternoon sky reflected in Lake George behind the Fort William Henry Hotel. (Photo: Ashley Orzech, marketing coordinator, Fort William Henry Hotel.)

TALKING BASEBALL: Rick Reilly, one of the funniest, most gifted sportswriters ever to grace a printed page, is positively ecstatic over the new rules to speed up play in major league baseball and eliminate the one-sided defensive overload known as the shift. “Do you know how much of my life has been wasted waiting for some guy while he steps out of the box, re-Velcros his gloves, readjusts his sweat bands, resettles his helmet and kicks imaginary dirt off his cleats after watching a ball go by? I lost a good year and a half to Nomar Garciaparra alone,” he writes. “I never thought I’d say this again, but … Isn’t baseball fun?” Not to Kevin B. Blackistone, who, like Reilly, writes for the Washington Post. When baseball was integrating in the 1940s, Blackistone writes, the Los Angeles Dodgers opened spring training in Havana instead of Florida, and the owner of the Cleveland Indians moved their spring training site to Arizona, judging it would be more hospitable to Black players and rebuking “Florida’s hostile approach to inclusiveness.” He suggests it’s time for other owners to follow suit if Gov. Ron DeSantis continues “an attack on diversity.” Though moving all spring training operations is impractical for now, he writes, the sport’s leaders “could collectively, or through MLB’s front office, let their displeasure with DeSantis’s leadership, with its hints of the troubling days of yesteryear, be known. … The teams could remind DeSantis of the 2018 study that estimated spring training injected $687 million into the state over a little more than six weeks.”

PRESERVING TRADITION: The emerald ash borer is a nasty beetle that has had a devastating impact on ash trees throughout the eastern U.S. The risk is so great that, for years, New York State has prohibited the transport of untreated firewood grown more than 50 miles from its source. It’s an even bigger challenge for the Akwesasne Mohawk, whose lands straddle the New York-Canada border and who use the ash for the raw material for the basket-making tradition that’s at the heart of Mohawk culture. The Tribe is using a federal grant to figure out ways to stop the insects, including the introduction of wasps to prey on them.

LIVES

JOHN DILLON led the largest pulp and paper company in the world but never truly left his Adirondack roots. The Schroon Lake, N.Y., native graduated from the College of the Adirondacks, Paul Smiths, with a degree in forestry and then went on to the University of Hartford and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He started as sales trainee at International Paper in 1965 and 30 years later became its chairman and CEO, overseeing the acquisition of Union Camp Corp. and later Champion International Paper. He is remembered for his generosity to Paul Smiths and for John Dillon Park near Long Lake, a college-operated trail system and campground accessible to people with disabilities. He was 84.

JUDY HEUMANN has been called the “mother of the disability rights movement,” a longtime and fierce advocate for disabled people through protests and legal action whose lobbying efforts resulted in the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act, among other victories. She lost her ability to walk at age 2 and was determined from a very young age to have the same rights and access as everyone else. She won a lawsuit against the New York Board of Education in the 1970s and became the first teacher in the state who was able to work while using a wheelchair, which the board had tried to claim was a fire hazard. She later served as the assistant secretary of the U.S. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services in the Clinton administration. The experience of her parents fleeing Nazi Germany left the family with a mission, her brother, Rick Heumann, told The Associated Press: “We truly believe that discrimination is wrong in any way, shape or form.” She was 75.

ROBERT BLAKE was once one of the most acclaimed TV actors of his generation, a former child star who parlayed a role in the Oscar-nominated “In Cold Blood” into a four-season run as New York City detective Tony Baretta on the series “Baretta,” for which he won one Emmy and was nominated for another. He would go on two receive two additional Emmy nominations. His legacy was marred by the 2001 shooting death of his wife, a crime for which Blake was charged but later acquitted. He died of heart disease at 89.

ALMOST FINAL WORDS

“The world calls me disabled because my abilities are different than yours. But what it doesn't see is my special ability to see the light, joy, and happiness in the world. The world tells me to stop trying, that I'd never win, and that my dreams are impossible, but when has the impossible ever stopped me? Look out Miss America, here I come. My name is Mickey, and I am exactly who I'm meant to be!”
—    Mickey Deputy, a 25-year-old Indiana resident with Down syndrome who competed in more than 50 pageants, pursuing her dream of becoming Miss America.

THE SIGNOFF

FOOLS AND THEIR MONEY: WWE, the organization that sponsors professional wrestling, wants state gambling regulators to allow betting on their matches, which have scripted outcomes. Their argument is that people can bet on things like the Oscars, whose winners are known to a select few before they are announced.

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Principal Author: Bill Callen. Sincere thanks to Our Contributors: Ryan Moore, John Brodt, Troy Burns, Anna Burns, Leigh Hornbeck, Lisa Fenwick, Mark McGuire, Ashley Orzech, Claire P. Tuttle and Tara Hutchins.

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