Kenmore native embraced rural community, running businesses and giving to community causes

Judy Christopher is pictured with her husband Gene and their sons David, left, and Darrick.

ALBION – In 1984, the Christopher family bought a marina at Point Breeze. With her husband often away for a job as an executive for TAD Staffing, Judy Christopher did most of the work at the business, connecting with customers and trouble-shooting when there were problems that needed to be solved.

“There was nothing she wouldn’t do,” said her husband of 47 years, Gene. “She pretty much ran the marina without me.”

Five years after buying Four C’s Marina, the family opened Phoenix Fitness in downtown Albion. Mrs. Christopher started the health club after a cardiac rehab site closed down in Albion. When the center needed a certified trainer, Christopher earned those credentials while she was in her 50s.

When members of the gym needed a fitness goal, she started 5k and 8k races at the Strawberry Festival, wanting to promote wellness in the community.

Christopher organized the races for two decades. One year, the DOT closed the canal bridge on Butts Road, which was part of the race route. Christopher wanted the bridge open for runners. She was told no by the DOT. But she wouldn’t accept that. The bridge was open during the race.

‘She always found time to get things done. I don’t know how she did it.’ – Gene Christopher, speaking about his wife

“She was tenacious, but she was gentle about it. She did it with a smile,” Mr. Christopher said about his wife, who died from cancer at age 70 on Aug. 3.

The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce honored Mrs. Christopher with a Lifetime Achievement Award during a banquet on Sept. 14. Wendy Hinkley, branch manager for Five Star in Albion, told the crowd that Christopher was a community cheerleader with lots of “spunk and passion.”

Judy Christopher

Gene met Judy while they were college students at Canton Ag and Technical College in northern New York. Gene was studying machine and tool design. Judy earned a degree in business. Gene was a country boy from Albion. Judy grew up in Kenmore.

“She lived in the city,” Gene said. “She didn’t know a maple tree from a willow tree or a herd of cattle from a flock of cattle.”

They fell in love, married and raised two sons, Darrick and David. When the husband and wife looked for a home, Gene pushed for Albion. Judy was game for the adventure and soon planted a big garden.

When the couple went out to dinner in the early years of their marriage, Gene noticed that his wife knew more Albionites than he did, despite his roots in the community.

“She loved the village of Albion,” Gene said. “She liked Small Town USA.”

Judy was the first woman elected to serve on the Albion Town Board. She was a long-time member of the Albion Rotary Club and served on the Swan Library Board of Trustees.

The Rotary Club runs a fishing derby for about two weeks every August. Christopher was one of the key leaders of the derby, and sold many of the ads in the derby program. Even when she was very sick from cancer this spring and summer, Judy called local businesses, selling ads for the derby.

“She did all of her derby work while she was as a sick as a dog,” Gene said.

When Gene was away on business trips for TAD, he often returned home to an 1835 farmhouse that was undergoing a remodeling effort begun by his wife. Judy had her own tool box and reglazed windows, tackled woodwork, painted walls and took on other projects. She made the drapes in the house. She hung all of the wallpaper. Gene just marveled at her.

“She always found time to get things done,” he said. “I don’t know how she did it.”

Judy often told her husband and family to not feel overwhelmed with daunting challenges, including her bouts with cancer.

“She had a saying, ‘You eat an elephant one bite at a time,’” Gene said. “That is how she got through things.”

The Christopher family will be participating in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk on Oct. 20 at Watt Farms in Albion. The event has raised $225,000 the past seven years to fund research and provide services for people with cancer.

CRFS leader has built growing company with 650 employees

Jodi Gaines

ALBION – A company that has grown into Orleans County’s largest private employer did not exist until 11 years ago when Jodi Gaines started the business from her kitchen table.

Gaines would start Claims Recovery Financial Services, a company that has become the leader in its industry, helping banks and investors recoup money when a home is foreclosed. Gaines and her 650 employees are committed to knowing the industry regulations in all 50 states and meeting all deadlines for clients.

Her employees work with attorneys, county clerks, utility companies and investors from all over the country. CRFS works to recover past-due interest, unpaid principal, unpaid taxes and unpaid insurance on houses.

The company’s commitment to clients has CRFS in expansion mode, growing from 150 workers in the fall of 2011 to 320 a year ago. In the past year, the company has opened a location in Medina, where it has 230 workers. There are 300 CRFS employees in Albion, and another 80 work in San Antonio.

Gaines and the company have had a critical impact on Orleans County’s economy, and for hundreds of families. Her drive to build a vibrant company, and her years of community service, have earned her a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m extremely grateful and humbled for my family and employees,” Gaines said during a phone interview while she attended a conference in Dallas earlier this week.

She is often traveling, meeting with clients and speaking at conferences, where she is recognized as an industry expert and leader.

Gaines credits the CRFS management team and her dedicated employees for the company’s success. During different growth opportunities, she has been wooed to move the company out of state. But she said the employees in Orleans County, with their high standards, are irreplaceable.

Gaines witnessed that commitment to the job while she worked at the former Anchor Savings Bank and Dime Bank in Albion. When she started the new company, some of her former co-workers were quick to join her and help the company take off.

“I knew this would work in Albion,” she said about the company’s early days. “It was all about the people. I saw their work ethic and the pride of the people in Orleans County. The people around me are absolutely wonderful. They work incredibly hard. We don’t go home until the job is done.”

Claims Recovery was the Chamber’s Business of the Year in 2012, when the company more than doubled its workforce. Gaines and CRFS pulled that off again this year, again doubling the employees.

Gaines still manages to be involved in community service. She is a member of the board of directors for the Orleans County United Way. She also was involved in the Albion youth soccer program for many years.

With the United Way, Gaines said the organization teams with agencies to provide a lift for residents who may be down on their luck.

Gaines said she is thrilled to be part of the United Way and CRFS, organizations that are providing opportunities for people “to grow and be successful.”

“I have a great management team and an incredibly supportive family,” she said. “Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to do what I do.”

After buying Sigma in Medina, new owner has shown commitment to community

Photo by Tom Rivers – Some of Baxter International’s management team members in Medina include, from left: Russell Fuller, director of operations: John Sprague, controller; and Nelson Patterson, vice president.

MEDINA – In April 2012, Baxter International became the owner of Sigma International, a company started by local resident Roger Hungerford.

Many community members wondered how Baxter, a company based in Deerfield, Ill., would connect with small-town Medina. Baxter, a company with a world-wide presence, has proven itself in the past 18 months, committing to numerous community causes, employing nearly 500 people and working to grow the operations in Medina, likely leading to more job opportunities for local residents.

The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce named Baxter its “Business of the Year.” Several Chamber members nominated Baxter for the award, which will be presented Saturday during a banquet at the White Birch Golf Course in Lyndonville.

Baxter manufactures Sigma Spectrum pumps, which utilize smart infusion technology in the medical field. The Medina site inside the Olde Pickle Factory on Park Avenue has produced 250,000 Sigma Spectrum pumps at hospitals and medical sites throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Baxter is working to take the technology worldwide and may make a push into Latin and Central America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Nelson Patterson, Baxter’s vice president in Medina, holds one of the Sigma Spectrum pumps manufactured in Medina. Baxter has 490 employees at the Olde Pickle Factory, plus another 60 workers on contract. The Medina site produces about 45,000 to 60,000 Sigma Spectrum pumps annually.

“They are all options,” said Nelson Patterson, the company’s vice president at Medina.

Sigma and Baxter in recent years have been producing about 45,000 to 60,000 pumps in Medina. Patterson said that number could jump if the company expands into other countries.

Baxter has about 50 employees with graduate degrees and PhDs. The manufacturing floor depends on employees determined to put tiny pieces in the exact locations in building the smart-infusion pumps, devices that reduce medication errors by delivering the specific amounts of IV medications and fluids to patients.

“We need people who are good at doing precise labor,” Patterson said. “We’ve been successful here because of the dedication of the employees. I’m immensely proud of the employees.”

The pumps are programmed with drug libraries that eliminate the need for clinicians to manually enter commonly used drugs and dosage rates.

The pumps weigh about 2.5 pounds, and measure a tenth the size of many other large volume pumps. The Sigma Spectrum features a wireless connectivity option.

Photo by Tom Rivers – A group of Baxter employees sepnt Wednesday working on projects at Hospice of Orleans in Albion. The group includes, from left: Pat Bennett, Amanda Ledger, Mary Jo Allen, Sue Verheyn and Sherry White.

Baxter employees do rigorous quality control and testing on each device, and a team of technicians is available to assist customers in the field.

Baxter first teamed as a part owner of Sigma in April 2009. At that time there were 235 employees at the site in Medina. Baxter has helped the company grow since then to a current workforce of 490 employees, plus another 60 workers on contract. The company makes hiring military veterans a priority and has 85 on staff in Medina.

Baxter has 110 high-skilled employees in engineering, marketing and with technical skills. The company sponsors some employees to pursue advanced degrees, and also offers up to $5,000 a year for other employees to complete continuing education classes at Genesee Community College.

“Baxter is very focused on developing people and helping them develop their skills,” said Patterson, who has been with the company since 2007.

Patterson has an office on the main floor in one of the many cubicles. His workspace isn’t any different from the others. When he walks the floor, he greets many workers by name. He has lunch with the employees and attends some of their softball games and other community events.

He serves on the board for the Orleans County United Way. The company matches employee contributions to the United Way. Last year the total contribution from Baxter and the company workers totaled $54,000.

On Wednesday 60 Baxter employees were given a paid day off from the company to do service projects in the community as part of United Way’s “Day of Caring.”

“This isn’t just a facility that manufacturers infusion pumps,” Patterson said. “This is a facility where people sustain families and build futures.”

YMCA director has organization on new path

Photos by Tom Rivers – Jeff Winters, executive director of the Orleans County YMCA in Medina, has led the organization to profitability, a big increase in membership, and the start of a $400,000 capital campaign.

MEDINA – It was 2010 and Jeff Winters had a law degree and a good job. He was only 27 with a bright future ahead of him.

But Winters dreaded his new career, the long hours of paperwork and what felt like detachment from regular folks.

So three years ago, Winters walked away from that life and took a job as executive director of the Orleans County YMCA in Medina. The organization ran at an $80,000 annual deficit, operated out of a historic building in need of significant repairs, and had a modest membership base.

Winters, now 30, has led a transformation of the local Y, with membership doubling to 2,400. The Y has made a concerted effort to expand outside of Medina, by running youth programs in Albion and Lyndonville, which has resulted in a big boost of program participants.

“We got back to the basics, focusing on good customer service and programs,” Winters said.

The organization is now profitable. The Y put a new roof on its historic site in Medina, the former Armory on Pearl Street. It has new cardio equipment, treadmills and other exercise equipment.

It has raised $275,000 towards a $400,000 capital campaign, which will increase handicapped accessibility of the facility and add a vestibule and two unisex bathrooms and shower areas inside. The lobby will be expanded for social areas for coffee and conversation. A “Child Watch” room and group exercise room will be added.

Jeff Winters is pictured with some of the new exercise equipment recently added to the Orleans County YMCA.

The transformation of the Y earned Winters the Chamber of Commerce’s “Community Service Award.” Winters, a Medina native, said the honor should be a group award because many community members have diligently worked to keep the Y in the county.

The Orleans County Y used to be known as the Lake Plains YMCA before the organization joined the GLOW Y, which has sites in Batavia and Warsaw. The decision to join the multi-county Y likely saved the Y in Orleans County, giving the Medina-based program access to more resources, Winters said.

Scott Taylor is the leader of the GLOW Y. He said Winters has done a remarkable job in three years.

“He has a passion to help others in the community,” Taylor said. “He has grown the programs, done fund-raising and worked on the capitol project.”

Winters took a significant pay cut to join the Y, but he said he doesn’t have any regrets. He is happy to be working in his hometown of Medina, connecting with people of all ages.

“When I was hired at 27, it was a leap of faith on my part and also on their part,” he said.

The YMCA has been running programs out of the former Medina Armory for about 30 years. The site was built in 1901 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Winters, a 2000 Medina grad, was an offensive lineman for Medina’s varsity football team and played catcher on the baseball team. He played baseball for four years at Ithaca College before earning his law degree at the University at Buffalo. He was working as a lawyer, but found he didn’t enjoy writing legalese.

“I consider myself a people person and I missed the people,” he said. “This job has definitely aligned all of my passions.”

Winters like sports and business. With the Y position, he has been able to combine many of those interests in leading the organization.

He praised a team of employees that has grown from 13 three years ago to 47 now. The Y has been reinvigorated by many new volunteers who are looking for ways for the Y to engage the community.

One new program starts on Sept. 28. The Y wants to tap a growing movement for 5K races through obstacles and mud. Many of these races draw hundreds of participants. The Y is planning its debut “Mud Run” on Sept. 28 beginning at the Sacred Heart Club with the first waves of runners at 11 a.m. The course includes three farms and the Erie Canal.

Participants will slip and slide down a muddy hill, climb hay bales and carry wood, as well as maneuver through other challenges.

“We’re always trying new things and taking some risks,” Winters said.

Winters and the other Chamber winners will be honored Saturday during a banquet at the White Birch Golf Course in Lyndonville. The event is open to the public. Tickets are available by calling the Chamber at 589-7727.

Photo courtesy of Eileen Banker

Photo by Tom Rivers – Allen Sanford is pictured with his friends and Scouts in this photo from June when they were working to build a mobile stage.

Mayor Dean Theodorakos congratulates Allen Sanford for making a mobile performing arts stage for his Eagle Scout project. Sanford gave the stage to the village, which will use it community concerts and community events. (Village Trustee Kevin Sheehan is pictured in back.)

Theodorakos presented Sanford with a certificate of appreciation during Wednesday’s Village Board meeting.

Sanford turned an old hay wagon into a stage with wheels.  The stage is 28 feet long. Sanford, an engineering student at the Rochester Institute of Technology, used a CAD program to design the stage.

“It’s to advance music in the community,” Sanford said during a June interview.

He has played in local bands and often had to perform on lawns or pavement because there wasn’t a stage.

He worked with local Scouts and businesses to make the project a reality.

Photos courtesy of Thom Jennings – Trevor Jennings, center, plays the drums with Rusted Root after the Pittsburgh band played an encore last night in North Tonawanda.

NORTH TONAWANDA – After Rusted Root played a concert before 10,000 fans at Gratwick Park in North Tonawanda last night, the band agreed to an encore.

But before the band would return to stage, they made Trevor Jennings come out and perform with them. Trevor, 19, was backstage with his father Thom Jennings, who helped promote the concert.

Thom and his son have known Rusted Root’s drummer Preach Freedom for a few years. He has encouraged Trevor, a former member of the Albion marching band, to keep drumming. Trevor is a student at Buffalo State College and he plays with the African Drum Ensemble at the college.

Last night he joined the band for the encore, and then was invited to take a final bow with the group.

ALBION – Two photographs by Bruce Landis have been accepted into the General Collection of Professional Photographers of America’s 2013 International Photographic Competition, with one additionally accepted into the Loan Collection.

Landis, an Albion photographer since 1974, took a photo of a Mandarin duck while on a nature walk in California.

“This male duck happened to be at the right place at the right time and I had my camera ready to go,” Landis said. “With wildlife photography, there is always a degree of planning, and a degree of luck. It is so exciting when everything goes together perfectly, especially when the window of opportunity is so short.”

The duck photo is now part of the Professional Photographers of America, international permanent loan collection.

The PPA also picked a photo that Landis took of an airplane for the PPA’s general collection. The airplane is a Fairchild PT – 26, owned by The Vintage Aircraft Group, a volunteer, not-for-profit organization that specializes in the restoration of World War II liaison and trainer aircraft. The group is based out of Pine Hill Airport in Barre.

This type of aircraft was used as a flight trainer during World War II, in the United States, Canada, Norway and other countries. Built in 1943, there are approximately 100 still able to fly. Tony Rubiano, a flight instructor, is in the front pilot seat and instructor pilot Gene Haines is in the back seat.

“We have been talking for years about doing an air-to-air photo session, and timing just never worked out until now,” Landis said.

The two photos – “Drake on the Rocks” and “The Old PT” – will be on display at the Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona from Jan. 12-14, 2014. This International Photographic Exhibition is held in conjunction with Imaging USA, an annual convention and expo for professional photographers and several photographic associations.

A panel of 43 eminent jurors from across the United States selected the top photographs from nearly 5,000 total submitted entries at Gwinnett Technical College in Georgia.

Judged against a standard of excellence, just over 1,800 images were selected for the General Collection and just 682 (about 7 percent) were selected for the esteemed Loan Collectionthe best of the best.

The Loan Collection images will all be published in the much-anticipated “Loan Collection” book, and more than 200 selected General Collection images will be published in the “Showcase” book by Marathon Press.

Landis started his photography career in 1974 and has been working out of a studio since 1978 at 13382 Ridge Rd.

Landis is currently taking many senior portraits and he said he took the photos of many of the seniors’ parents at their weddings and also for their senior portraits a generation ago.

“Preserving memories is our main mission and it is so rewarding to have clients remembering and sharing those with me after so many years,” Landis said.

Vietnam vet honored for heroism with rescue in enemy zone

Photo by Tom Rivers

BATAVIA – On Nov. 14, 1968, Charlie Nesbitt and his crew members were told an American soldier was stranded in enemy territory in the jungles of Laos, across the border from Vietnam.

Another helicopter had been hit with a rocket and crashed. The crew needed to be rescued. Nesbitt flew a helicopter in and got out everyone, except one gunman, John Grimaldi, who was separated from his crew.

Nesbitt was a pilot in the Vietnam War and an aircraft commander of a helicopter.  On Nov. 14, he took the recovered crew members back to safety, and then returned to enemy territory to find Grimaldi.

“Charlie took it upon himself to say, ‘We’re gonna go back and get him,’” said Jim McKenzie, Nesbitt’s copilot.

The crew spent 9.2 hours in the air, including 3.5 hours exposed to enemy fire.

“He was in the jungle and we could see him, but we couldn’t get down to get him,” Nesbitt said Saturday night.

An onslaught of enemy fire and tiny landing areas made the task difficult. Nesbitt and his crew refueled twice, and the group finally was able to rescue Grimaldi.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Bob Williams, left, pins the “Distinguished Flying Cross” on Charles Nesbitt during a ceremony Saturday night in Batavia, when Nesbitt received the award during a reunion of the 57th Assault Helicopter Company, a group of Vietnam veterans from throughout the country.

McKenzie nominated Nesbitt for the Silver Star. McKenzie obtained the witness statements from the crew and submitted all the paperwork. But Nesbitt never got the medal.

Nesbitt served in Vietnam from May 1968 to May 1969. He flew helicopters that teamed with special forces soldiers. The pilots flew in those teams, often dropping them in the enemy zones where the helicopters were vulnerable. The special forces typically worked for about a week on secret missions to study the enemy. Then the helicopters would swoop in and pull the teams out of dangerous zones.

In 1999, McKenzie, who now lives in Texas near Dallas, was in Albany and met with Nesbitt for lunch. Nesbitt was a state assemblyman at the time.

McKenzie discovered then that Nesbitt never received his medal for rescuing Grimaldi. McKenzie made it a mission to get Nesbitt the long overdue award.

It wasn’t easy. McKenzie had to resubmit the nomination package, obtaining witness reports from the crew. He met with three congressmen and numerous congressional staffers. The process seemed stuck until 18 months ago.

McKenzie taught at West Point, and one of his former students was a district director for Congressman Randy Forbes of Virginia. Forbes took up the issue. On Aug. 9, Nesbitt was notified by mail that he would be receiving the “Distinguished Flying Cross” medal. On Saturday, his commander Bob Williams pinned the medal on Nesbitt’s chest. Richard Kleint, the crew chief on the helicopter, attended the ceremony, flying in from Salem, Oregon.

The medal citation notes that Nesbitt “flew aircraft in hostile enemy territory on three separate occasions while drawing enemy fire to accomplish the rescue of soldiers and crew members downed by enemy fire. His valorous actions were an inspiration to the officers and men of his unit.”

Nesbitt received the award in front of about 160 people at the Clarion in Batavia. It was part of a four-day reunion for the 57^th Assault Helicopter Company, a group of pilots, crew chiefs, mechanics, gunners, cooks and other soldiers, including generals.

After the war, Grimaldi returned to Maine, where he has lived for 45 years.

“There is no greater reward than to find out two years ago that John Grimaldi is still alive in Maine,” Nesbitt told the group at the Clarion. “There is no greater reward for us. He’s had 45 years of life he wouldn’t have had.”

Nesbitt was chairman of the reunion for the 57^th Assault Helicopter Company from Aug. 22-25. The group meets every two years for a gathering.

“Everyone of you could be up here,” Nesbitt told them. “I know all about you. Each and every one of you could be up here. I thank you for being my friends.”

Nesbitt thanked McKenzie for his “dogged determination” in securing the “Distinguished Flying Cross.” Nesbitt received the honor in front of his six grown children.

McKenzie said Nesbitt deserved the recognition.

“I was shocked he never got the medal,” McKenzie said. “He was the pilot and he said we had one of our men down and we had to go get him.”