(http://www.empirestatewintergames.com/)
“We were looking at the loss to the young athletes of New York State and what this event means to them,” Craig Randall, the mayor of Lake Placid, said. “That opportunity for many young people would have been lost.”
Randall joined forces with James McKenna, head of the Lake Placid Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Roby Politi, town supervisor of North Elba, to raise money for the event after the state cut funding in November. As of early February, the three had raised just over $100,000.
That’s well below the $310,000 spent by the state in 2010. But the money they have now, the fundraisers say, is just enough to pay for the games. The group is only looking for $6,000-$10,000 more, convention bureau chief McKenna said.
The games will run from Feb. 25 to Feb. 27 in Lake Placid, the only home the 30-year-old Empire State Winter Games have known every known. It’s an opportunity for young athletes to showcase their talent at Olympic-level venues in Lake Placid, host to the 1980 Winter Games.
To reach the $100,000 goal, donations have come from businesses and government. The village of Lake Placid, the town of North Elba, and the Lake Placid Convention Bureau each donated $5,000 to start the fund. The town of Wilmington chipped in, as well as the village of Saranac Lake. Stewart’s Shops, a chain of convenience stores based in Saratoga Springs, contributed $5,000. C&S Companies, an engineering firm in Syracuse, donated $2,500.
“What we really have here now is a regional group that is directing the Empire States Games,” Randall, who has been mayor of Lake Placid since 2009, said. “It’s a nice public private relationship that’s developed here.”
For Politi, the North Elba town supervisor, keeping the games alive has special meaning. He was a two-time NCAA All-American in Alpine skiing for St. Lawrence University. “It’s important in terms of goals for young people, you set goals,” Politi said. “It’s so essential and so important that this community, Lake Placid, is able to provide this kind of fulfillment to those kids.”
Politi was in Lake Placid when the Winter Olympics came in 1980. It was exciting for him to share his town with the world. It’s the driving force behind his involvement with the games.
“It was such a wonderful experience and just living here in this town is so rewarding,” Politi said. “We just hope that everyone else can come and enjoy it too.”
(Chari Bayanker is a graduate student in magazine, newspaper, and online journalism.)
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