administration.” Other major achievements during Blais’ reign include establishing the Lake George Lakefront Walkway, constructing the village Visitors’ Center, conversion of the former Gaslight Village theme park into an environmental park and festival space, as well as his advocacy of the new $24 million project to develop a Marriott Courtyard conference center and hotel in the village which is expected to substantially boost the local economy and introduce Lake George to tens of thousands more visitors. He’s also been a strong advocate of protecting the lake’s water quality. Salary apparently hasn’t a prime factor in motivating Blais. In 2000, he was earning about $42,000 total annually — of which $12,000 was from his mayoral post. That year, he was offered a sixfigure salary to manage a chain of health facilities, he said. Blais went back to his village board, and told them he needed more than $12,000 to justify his long hours of work for the village, and they changed the position to full-time, boosting his salary to $40,000 annually. Blais’ love of Lake George has kept him in the major post, he said. Over the years, people have urged him to run for county sheriff or for State Assembly— and he’s turned them down. “People think I’m far more important than I do,” Blais chuckled. He’s stuck to his mayoral position, he said, because he’s enjoyed “being the guy in charge” rather than working for anyone else. What keeps Blais going? Undoubtedly, his affection for his resort village. “Lake George changes entirely with the season — its makeup of residents, store owners and visitors, the complexion is always changing and the challenges are so diverse.....You are dealing with visitors from all over the world too, and business owners too from overseas, coming here with great expectations,” he said. “Every day I go to work, there’s a new challenge — I’m never bored.” He said that accomplishing things easily as mayor has been satisfying. “People can come in my office or see me in a diner and propose an idea, and in a matter of weeks or a month, that idea can take place,” he said. “Here, things can get one in a short time — That’s what I love.” Blais said that while several travel writers have described Lake George as a tacky, honky-tonk destination, it ticks him off, but he knows that the village’s character transcends it all. “I’ll show you the smiles of all the people walking down the street with an ice cream cone or a slice of pizza, or enjoying themselves sitting in the park,” he said. “We want to be the place that families go.” The real attraction to Lake George is its diversity of experiences, he continued. “Where can you go pitch a tent, sit by a campfire at night, go across the street, then go to one of state’s most beautiful free swimming beaches, hop on a horse-drawn carriage, tour a historic fort, take a cruise on one of the most beautiful lakes in nation, go parasailing, jump on a carousel, play miniature golf, then shop until you drop — and this is all within one block on Beach Road,” he said. “There’s no other place else in the country you can do this — Case closed!” nclmagazine.com
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