Your BottomLine Text Version
SeaComm Business Newsletter
3rd Edition - Fall 2024
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Village Furniture & Design
For five different decades, residents of Malone, NY and the North Country have been trusting Village Furniture and Design with their furnishing needs. Since the 1980s, its business has helped patrons pick the right pieces to fit the ideal picture of what they want their homes to look like. Kathy Genser, Village Furniture and Design’s third owner, continues the tradition that has made this small business such an important fixture within the community.
Getting its start on Main Street in downtown Malone, Village Furniture and Design started to grow and needed a change of scenery. The business moved to a bigger location on Pearl Street, which eventually became too small as well. Kathy believes that their latest location, 3066 State Route 11 in Malone, will be their final spot. It has plenty of room for all of their inventory and a spacious parking lot for their customers. Finding someplace big enough for all of their products was a necessity.
What can you find at Village Furniture and Design? They sell mostly American made products with a large variety of upholsteries and leathers. You can also get window treatments, and they also provide free delivery. Their knowledgeable staff will help you pick out the perfect set of furniture. They will even help you out with the design. If you’re looking for hands on service when in need of furniture or ideas, Village Furniture will take care of you.
Kathy, along with her store manager AnnMarie Trombley, really enjoy the connections they’ve built with their clients. Even when a customer doesn’t know what they want, Kathy enjoys brainstorming with them, “When someone comes in and they’re not 100% sure what they’re looking for, we help feather their nests.” Another thing that they love is helping the community. Each year during the holiday season, Village Furniture and Design works with local organizations, corrections workers, and law enforcement to collect gifts for area children who would otherwise be going without. For years this collection has provided children with toys at a time when giving is even more important.
Both Kathy and AnnMarie have great things to say about their experiences with SeaComm. When asked about the credit union Kathy said, “SeaComm is very personable, as well as professional. They know your name and make you feel a part of the community.” AnnMarie added, “They really are part of the team.” They go on to mention SeaComm’s Malone Branch Manager Christine Marshall and Business Development Representative Jerry Manor as extremely helpful and easy to work with.
If you are looking to change up the look and feel of your home, recently moved, or need to replace some furniture, check out Village Furniture and Design. You can find them at 3066 State Route 11 in Malone, or give them a call at 518-483-7300.
You can follow Village Furniture and Design on Facebook for updates any products, services, or any of special announcements.
"Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it."
-Henry David Thoreau
Manager's Notebook
The Job Interview: Edison's Invention?
Thomas Edison may well be the most famous inventor of all time. Edison invented, or played a role in inventing, many of the technologies that now define human civilization, including light bulbs, batteries, and motion pictures. But did you know that Edison also invented the modern job interview?
Edison wasn't a solitary mad genius who toiled away in some secret laboratory. Indeed, he employed more than 10,000 people spread across dozens of companies. Given the complexity of his work and the nature of his cutting-edge technologies, Edison had to find the right people for rather complex roles. To do that, he put together extensive questionnaires, so-called Edison Tests.
Today, job interviews often involve questions that fall outside the narrow confines of a job position. Edison was one of the first people to integrate more holistic considerations into his interviews. For example, he might serve a candidate soup and see if they salted it before trying it. If the person did so, it suggested that they were quick to jump to conclusions, making them a bad fit for work as researchers.
Back then, many employers paid scant attention to personality fits for given jobs. The written Edison Test contained 140 questions and prospective employees had to score 90 percent or higher to pass. When the test was administered in 1921 to 718 people, only 32 people passed (about 2 percent). Even Albert Einstein failed the test at one point.
These days, tech news websites are often filled with leaks. Interestingly enough, Edison might have accidentally invented news leaks as well. A copy of the Edison Test was leaked to the New York Times, forcing Edison to rewrite the test once it hit print.
Tax on Social Security Benefits Draws Criticism and New Proposals
If you have just begun retirement planning, you might be surprised to find that Social Security payments are taxed, a fact that has drawn criticism and a number of proposed fixes.
About 70 million people receive Social Security payments every month. About 40 percent of those beneficiaries pay taxes on their benefits. The IRS formula for taxing benefits means (roughly) that if your income exceeds $25,000 (filing individually) or $32,000 (filing jointly), you have to pay federal taxes on some portion of your benefits. Generally, if Social Security is the only source of income, it probably will not be taxable, although 12 states collect their own taxes Social Security. About 40 percent of beneficiaries pay federal taxes on benefits.
One of the latest bills to address this issue was proposed in January 2024 with the "You Earned It, You Keep It Act," introduced by Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN). This bill would eliminate federal taxes on benefits, which would increase income for some retirees, but would apply Social Security tax to more of the income earned by higher income working individuals, according to Money.com.
At least one analysis projects that the bill would keep Social Security solvent through 2054, decades longer than the projected collapse in 2031. However, as with other bills proposed by members of either party, passage of the bill is uncertain or downright unlikely, according to US News.
Quick Tip:
Working in retirement might sound great, but maybe you’ll want to wait a bit and relax for a year. You’re going to need the finances to do so. Open and begin regular contributions to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).
Find more helpful tips and articles at seacommblog.com
How One Man Invented the Road Trip
Wally Byam was a country boy from Oregon, but by the 1920s, the Stanford grad was living and working in the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. He yearned to spend the weekend camping rough in the great outdoors. His wife did not.
Eager for a compromise, Byam built an elevated platform on the chassis of a Ford Model T. Then he put tent on it and hooked it to their car. The curious contraption was an arrangement that his wife could accept.
And it got Byam thinking about how to make an even better camping experience. For the next iteration, Byam built a trailer out of plywood. Shaped like a teardrop, it was much more comfortable than a tent and even had a cookstove. When they hooked it to their Dodge, they attracted a lot of attention, according to Smithsonian magazine.
He didn't know it then, but he had basically invented the road trip.
By 1931, Byam had founded a company that would build his "Airstream" trailers, so named because they rode as smoothly as a stream of air...a marketing tactic that capitalized on America's burgeoning love for cars.
In 1936, Airstream had switched from plywood to aluminum, which is lightweight, resistant to corrosion, and offered a trademark sleek look. Airplanes then flew at the bleeding edge of technology, and the Airstream was billed as a sort of plane without wings. More features, including working toilets, were added over the years. By the 1950s, Airstream had developed a following of enthusiastic “caravaners” who shipped their Airstreams across oceans to travel to the Pyramids of Giza and all over Europe.
Along the way, the company also launched some duds, like the Airstream funeral coach, which was intended to replace the hearse and to allow families to ride with the deceased to their final resting place. Mourners balked and the funeral coach went to an early grave. Still, Airstream ranks the most iconic brands and their trailers these days can easily cost six figures. Today the Airstream RVs are made in Ohio and are a division of Thor Industries.
Jerry Manor
Business Development Representative
jmanor@seacomm.org
800-764-0566 ext. 546
Christina Smutz
Member Business Loan Officer
csmutz@seacomm.org
800-764-0566 ext. 510
Locations
Main Office
30 Stearns Street
Massena, NY 13662
Malone Branch
3349 Route 11
Malone, NY 12953
Potsdam Branch
6 Sisson Street
Potsdam, NY 13676
Canton Branch
101 East Main Street
Canton, NY 13617
Ogdensburg Branch
3001 Ford Street Extension
Ogdensburg, NY 13669
Plattsburgh Branch
139 Smithfield Blvd
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
South Burlington Branch
1680 Shelburne Rd
So. Burlington, VT 05401
Essex Branch
125 Carmichael Street
Essex, VT 05452
Watertown Branch
20565 State Route 3
Watertown, NY 13601
Branch Managers
Joanne Langdon
30 Stearns St. Branch Manager
Christine Marshall
Malone Branch Manager
Elizabeth Holliday
Canton Branch Manager
Emily Clark
Ogdensburg Branch Manager
Ashley Allen
Potsdam Branch Manager
Morgan Smart
Plattsburgh Branch Manager
Jess Roach
Watertown Branch Manager
Joseph Feltz
Essex Branch Manager
Nicole Sumner
Burlington Branch Asst. Manager
Business Development
Jerry Manor
Business Development Manager
Christina Smutz
Member Business Loan Officer
315-764-0566 / 800-764-0566
www.seacomm.org
Let us Spotlight your business!
We are proud of our business members and want to share your story! Contact Jerry Manor for more information. Call (315) 764-0566 or toll-free (800) 764-0566 or email jmanor@seacomm.org
SeaComm
30 Stearns St
Massena, NY 13662
*This publication does not constitute legal, accounting or other profesional advice. Although it is intended to be accurate, neither the publisher nor any other party assumes liability for loss or damage due to reliance on this material.