Warren County, Great Escape celebrate county’s summer workers
WARREN COUNTY, NY – Hundreds of hospitality and retail workers were celebrated Monday, September 12th with a free night at Six Flags Great Escape amusement park that included prizes, free rides and free food!
More than 200 local workers and their supervisors gathered for the inaugural event that was organized to say “thank you” to the employees who helped our businesses get through another busy summer, while also raising money for charity.
The event was put together by Warren County Employment & Training Administration and Six Flags Great Escape to reward the often unsung heroes of our tourism and retail industries.
Thousands of dollars in restaurant and store gift cards and free tickets to local attractions were handed out to attendees as part of the event. Two workers also won overnight stays, compliments of The Queensbury Hotel and Lake George Escape Campground. In addition, workers who were nominated by their supervisors for going above and beyond were honored with certificates for their skills, energy and expertise, ranging from Excellence in Customer Service to Sales Extraordinaire.
Rebecca Wood, Resort President of Six Flags Great Escape, said: “It was our pleasure to host the inaugural seasonal employee appreciation event last night. It was amazing to see the business participation and to support our collective workforce. We look forward to making this an annual celebration. Our teams deserve the best!”
Liza Ochsendorf, Warren County Director of Employment & Training, said: “While the workforce shortage continues across all sectors, it is important that we celebrate and retain our workforce to keep our economy going. This event was a team effort that included the enthusiastic partnership of Six Flags Great Escape, the generous donations of prizes from many local businesses and the time the hospitality businesses took to nominate their employees for the various awards categories. Warren County is now a 365-day tourism economy and we have plenty of work for everyone year-round.”
Those in attendance were also able to learn more about upcoming winter employment opportunities at Gore Mountain and Ice Castles as well as the career service offerings of Warren County Employment & Training Administration.
The event was free for workers, and each could bring a friend for $5, with the proceeds from ticket sales going to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Southern Adirondacks. Nearly $300 was raised during the three-hour event!
In addition, Glens Falls Hospital staff were on hand selling raffle tickets that benefit nursing scholarships and the raffle winner, to be selected in February 2023, will win a Toyota Rav4 Hybrid donated by Romeo Toyota.
As transportation is often a barrier to employment, the chance for tourism workers to win a car was appreciated.
Patrick Welton, the Resort Manager of Lake George Escape Campground, was present at the event and shared the value in having his summer workers return after working a winter job somewhere else.
“We have seen a multitude of benefits when our returning seasonal workers work elsewhere in the winter,” Welton said. “They have additional skills, experience, and they can cross-promote our area’s offerings. I intend on giving two additional paid days off to my returning seasonal workers who obtained a winter job somewhere else.”
Plans are already being made for a bigger summer workers celebration at the end of the summer of 2023! The goal is that this event will become a fixture on the Monday evening following Adirondack Nationals Car Show so hospitality businesses can mark their calendars in advance and come celebrate together.