The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) has announced its 2018 Board of Directors.

The new and returning board members were confirmed during ROOST’s Annual Meeting and Social held January 15 at the Intervale Lodge at the Olympic Jumping Complex, which was attended by ROOST staff, board members, marketing partners and elected officials.

The board of directors, responsible for governing the organization, is comprised of directors from throughout ROOST’s eight Adirondack regions.

For 2018, the board has five new directors: Chandler Ralph, former president/CEO of Adirondack Health; Garrick Smith, owner/operator of Hotel North Woods; Michael Doran, general manager of Holiday Inn Express in Malone; Nick Politi, associate real estate broker at Merrill L. Thomas and Shawn Goodway, general manager of The Whiteface Lodge.

They join sitting directors Ed Finnerty, vice president and counsel, Champlain National Bank and ROOST board chair; Melinda Little, president, Point Positive, Inc., Saranac Lake and first board vice-chair; Jill Cardinale, owner of The Pines Inn and second board vice-chair; Charlie Cowan, financial consultant with Longrun Wealth Advisors LLC and board treasurer; Bob Hockert, owner of Adirondack Sauna in Wilmington and board secretary; Mike Beglin, owner of Beglin’s Lake Placid Jewelry and Gifts; Beth Hill, executive director at Fort Ticonderoga; Sarah Wilson, Sarah Wilson Communications in Keene; Marc Galvin, owner of the Bookstore Plus; James Lemons, executive director of the Lake Placid Center for the Arts; Mark Jessie, owner of Raquette River Brewing in Tupper Lake; Lisa Hess-Marks, owner of Pine Cone Mercantile in Schroon Lake and Andrea Holderied, operations director at Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort in Lake Placid.

Current Board Directors Mark Galvin, James Lemon and Beth Hill were re-elected to an additional three-year term. Director Justin Smith’s term on the board expired.

During the event, ROOST CEO James McKenna spoke briefly about the organization’s progress and growth in 2017, including its momentum on social media and increased website traffic. McKenna said ROOST gained 107,000 new Facebook followers across its eight regional social media platforms and its umbrella site, adirondacks.usa saw a growth of 118 percent. There was also a 5.5 percent increase in website traffic, leading to 3.5 million website sessions.

As an accredited destination marketing organization (DMO), ROOST is responsible for promoting Essex County, Franklin County, Hamilton County, the Town of North Elba, the Town and Village of Tupper Lake, Harrietstown, Lake Placid, Piercefield, and Saranac Lake, New York to the traveling public. In addition to leisure travel promotion, ROOST is responsible for sales and marketing for the Conference Center at Lake Placid and town-wide conventions.

For more information about ROOST, visit their website.