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TABLE OF CONTENTS
july PUBLISHER'S WORD................................................................................6 KINDNESS Our greatest adventure yet!..................................................... 8
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FASHION Summer fashions are back! ................................................... 10
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OUT & ABOUT Hot House Brewing at Barone Gardens............................. 12 Crazy Daisies................................................................................. 16 WISE FEATURED ENTREPRENEUR Devan Robinson........................................................................... 14 ON THE COVER Joanna Jewett Music for the Mission................................. 19
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HEALTH Midife: Changing with grace! Part 1.................................. 24 SPECIAL FEATURE A 'milestone' in addiction treatment Crouse opens state-of-the-art addiction treatment center............................................... 26 Adventures in Upstate New York: Katrina Tulloch....................................................................... 32
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WBOC LEADING LADY Mandy Webb...............................................................................28 INSPIRE Amanda Hughes ....................................................................
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UPCOMING EVENTS.............................................................................. 37 MOVERS & SHAKERS.......................................................................... 38
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PUBLISHER'S WORD
Summer has arrived. Enjoy it.
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n mid-June, two weeks after both kids were fully vaccinated, our family ventured down Route 20 to Bouckville for the annual Fiber Arts festival. I’ve covered a lot of ‘events’ over the past 15 months – some virtual, some pared down to a drive through, some with attendance heavily restricted to allow for social distancing. But this was an honest to goodness festival with people milling about enjoying the day. After spending an hour or so petting sheep, chatting with vendors and looking over the craftsmanship of Central New York’s knitters and weavers, we took the short drive to the picturesque village of Hamilton for lunch. It was the first time in well over a year that the four of sat down for a meal at a restaurant. It may be that the food and service were unusually good, but I think the real reason everything seemed so perfect was that it was normal – a family enjoying a day trip on a beautiful late spring day. It’s not that we never left the house during the pandemic, but our destinations were purposefully planned to be away from other people. We went for hikes on many of the plentiful trails near our home or splashed around in streams on hot days. Shopping trips that might have included one child or both in the past became solo ventures during the pandemic. We treated ourselves to plenty of take-out dinners from area restaurants, eating lukewarm food at our kitchen table. Like millions of other families, we made the best of it, walking the fine line of attempting to create some sense of normalcy for the kids while adhering to the necessary guardrails of life during a pandemic. But it wasn’t the same… until now. The July edition of Syracuse Woman Magazine has traditionally been about summer activities, food, events and music. Last year, in the throes of the pandemic, we were forced to switch gears, but this year we’re back on course. With the pandemic winding down and people confidently moving around again, we’ve added a new section to the magazine called "Out & About," where we feature destination establishments. In this edition, we tell the stories of Hot House Brewing at Barone Gardens in Cicero and Crazy Daisies café and garden center in Marietta. We also meet Amanda Hughes, who launched The Ice Cream Stand in downtown Syracuse. As you’re thinking about places to visit with friends or family, put these places on your list. On the cover is Joanna Jewett, a professional vocalist and marketing director at Arc of Onondaga who recently became the executive director of Music for the Mission, which fundraises to fight hunger through live music performances. It’s a great story of woman who is pairing her passion for music with an organization that is doing uplifting things in our community. Summer has arrived and life is once again rich and eventful. Enjoy it!
David Tyler July 2021
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PHOTOGRAPHERS Alice G. Patterson Rick Policastro Sophie Proe David Tyler
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Alyssa Dearborn Chiara Giannuzzi Farah Jadran Jason Klaiber
Heather Shannon Kenneth Sturtz Emma Vallelunga
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KINDNESS
Our greatest adventure yet! Farah Jadran
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Photo by Rick Policastro
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July 2021 2021
yracuse Woman Magazine has become a part of so many milestones in my life and I truly have been glad to share each and every one of them with SWM readers. This fabulous group of readers was with me when we launched this incredible magazine, when I got engaged, left to take another job opportunity and got married. Most recently, all of you were a part of me becoming a cover woman myself and now, I am on the most important journey of my life so far. I'm getting ready to become a mama! To say Niko and I are excited is a HUGE understatement. We are overjoyed and so grateful for this blessing. You can tell from our photos inside Syracuse University's Carrier Dome that we are happy, but you can especially see pure joy in Niko's leap of excitement! We thought it was important to take our announcement photos at a place that was important to us; a place that has been a part of our journey together as a couple. Niko and I are both huge sports fans. He grew up an SU fan and I bleed orange as a Newhouse master's alum. Most of all, the Dome is special to us because we took wedding photos there after our ceremony in
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May of 2015. Two fantastic photographers were a part of those special moments. Rick Needle took our wedding photos and Rick Policastro took our baby announcement photos. We thank them both from the bottom of our hearts for capturing special moments in our lives ones we truly cherish! This has been a special journey so far and the newest part of it will begin in November. (We are waiting until our baby is born to find out if they are a boy or girl, so no, we aren't keeping it a secret. Even we don't know!) One of my favorite parts about getting ready to be a
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mama and Niko getting ready to be a papa is this: Every day, Niko tells me he can't wait to meet our baby. That just means so much to me. It literally makes my heart flutter and I sometimes get a little chill because I can't wait either. We are excited to meet our baby and to help them grow and of course learn so many things. We will teach our baby love, kindness, compassion and respect. We hope to take all the things we've learned in our lives and pass them on to this beautiful blessing. We also know our three pups are going to watch over and love this baby
so much. Bogey, our rescue pug, has been cuddling up to my belly for a while now. (I think she knew before I did!) I think she loves the pregnancy pillows and thinks they are for her, but I do believe Bogey is hearing the baby which means the baby is hearing her snorts and snoring as well! Niko and I know Jack and Bear will also be wonderful guardians of our baby - welcoming them into our family. FAMILY - a term becoming more special to us by the day. Kindness can change someone’s heart. It can help others realize there is a world
around them and more to life than possessions and petty arguments. Kindness can be the message you wear and walk with because you choose to live life with genuine gratitude for each day you are given. Tomorrow is not promised. Why not spend today being kind and being positive? SWM Farah Jadran is the anchor of CBS5 This Morning and CBS5 News at Noon for CNYCentral in Syracuse. Farah also served as editor of SWM for more than four years after she helped launch it in January 2011. If you or someone you know is spreading kindness in our community -- tweet at her -- @ FarahJadran using #BeKindSyracuse.
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FASHION
Summer fashions are back! Chiara Giannuzzi syracuseny.clothesmentor.com
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h sweet summertime is upon us in good old Central New York! Summer is the season we long for after the cold harsh winter. We’re ready for that vitamin D, walks in the park, dining outdoors, traveling to our amazing little beaches, and just spending time with family and friends barbecuing outdoors. It brings a sense of joy, laughter and happiness - and of course light airy clothing. After all, we usually skip spring and go right into the heat of the season! If you are heading to the beach or pool and looking for the perfect swimwear there are so many adorable options! The onepiece suit has taken over and it’s extremely flattering on all body types. They truly are making suits for everyone from size 0 all the way to plus size that surely will make you feel beautiful! If you’re looking for something a little more revealing but yet semi covered the ‘70s inspired two-piece high waist is also a very popular and attractive look and again sells all the way up to the plus sizes! Don’t forget to add a fancy knit cover up, a large sun hat, and those popular skinny sun shades to complete the look If you’re heading to an outdoor barbecue, a look you can never go wrong with is your baggy denim shorts or “mom jeans.”
Levi has made a comeback, along with a baggy T-shirt tied or tucked in front, and your Converse sneakers. It’s basic but creates a great casual look. If you are trying to spice it up for a date night or night with the girls, look for a crop top with a high waist short and a long blazer that falls below the shorts with a chunky high heal. Don’t forget accessories - the more the better! As far as summertime footwear goes, one major comeback are Crocs. They come in all colors and styles and if you’re feeling fancy, you can buy charms to go on your Crocs. They are comfortable yet a fashionable style for the summer of 2021, truthfully the easiest slip on and go shoe of the summer for all! There is so many styles when it comes to summer fashion - from drastic bright pinks, pastels, puffy sleeves, ruffles, to plain old Jean shorts and a basic T-shirt with or without graphics. Whichever you chose to wear always rock it with confidence! SWM Chiara Giannuzzi is a personal stylist and store manager with Clothes Mentor. Find her on Instagram: @chiaraconcepts.
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OUT & ABOUT
Hot House Brewing at Barone Gardens Emma Vallelunga
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nside Hot House Brewing at Barone Gardens, you can drink a cold beer or savor a freshly pressed panini surrounded by hundreds of flowers in bloom this summer. While the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, the garden center and farm brewery in Cicero is one of many local businesses in Central New York ready to welcome back customers as safely as possible for a hopeful return to normalcy. John Barone opened Barone Gardens in 1989 selling retail, wholesale and young plants out of his greenhouses. It wasn’t until 2019 that Barone and partners Paul Richer and Tim Parkhurst teamed up to launch Hot House Brewing. Barone said the idea was to grow their own traditional wet hops inside his greenhouse, brew them at the garden center and combine the two businesses to create Hot House Brewing at Barone Gardens. Using LED lighting, Barone is able to harvest his hops multiple times a year, as opposed to the crop’s traditional annual harvest in late August. “I was always looking at alternatives and different things to grow, and I had an interest in it, so we decided to grow hops,” Barone said. “Then I had a couple of friends who were interested in brewing, and then it all took off from there.” Today, the brewery sells many different kinds of beer from their own harvests, including pale ales, New England IPAs, regular IPAs, a porter, a spiced harvest ale, a blond ale and an Irish red ale, that customers can buy by the can or taste in a glass in their tasting room. Even the names of some beers carry Cicero or Syracuse themes, like the Golden Eagle Pale Ale, named after the old Cicero mascot where the three partners graduated high school, and the Plank Road Porter, named after the first 16.5-mile plank road in the U.S. between Syracuse and Central Square that’s now Route 11. Aside from the tap room, the tasting room of Hot House Brewing also features a small retail shop for other goods. After the business
acquired its farm brewery license, Barone’s wife, Merry Beth Barone, opened the space after the center was renovated for brewing production. “When we reopened as a brewery, I opened the retail [space] at the same time,” Merry Beth Barone said. “With a farm brewery license, you can only sell alcohol that’s made in New York State. So I took that same concept and sourced out everything else locally.” Every product in the retail shop is local or regional from across Central New York; there are hard ciders from 1911 in Lafayette, wines from Fox Run Vineyards in Penn Yan and Pleasant Valley Wine Company in the Finger Lakes, cheese from 1000 Islands River Rat Cheese in Clayton and home decor artwork from Lighthouse Sea Glass in Ithaca and Wildwoods Wood Working in Edmeston. But something else Merry Beth Barone added to the brewery that August only adds to the experience of it all. The Hot House Brewing Bistro serves paninis, wraps, salads and shareable appetizers to pair and enjoy with the brewery’s craft beers. “[The bistro] wasn’t even in our plan,” Merry Beth Barone said. “We figured having different snack foods from other local suppliers would be sufficient. But we realized quickly that people would come in, have a couple beers, do a tasting and then they would leave and go to dinner.” So, to keep customers at the brewery longer, Merry Beth Barone got her food service license through the health department to operate the kitchen and has enjoyed the experience ever since. “It’s a passion of mine to cook,” she said. “I’ve actually never worked in a restaurant before doing this, but I’ve had some very good friends who own restaurants, and my food supplier has been very supportive, so it’s a combination of those things that let me do what I do.” Both traditional savory and seasonal summer flavors are everywhere on the menu. When the bistro closed temporarily during the
Photo by David Tyler
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pandemic, Merry Beth Barone decided to expand the menu for the spring and summer months when they reopened. The Springberry Salad is made with avocado, candied nuts, cucumbers, chicken, goat cheese and strawberries with a homemade strawberry vinaigrette. “I wanted to have some healthier options and things that were cold that people could enjoy for the summer, so I added some salads and wraps and shareables to it, and it’s been extremely well received,” she said. Last summer, the garden center and brewery maintained New York State mask mandates, social distancing and food purchases with alcohol guidelines, as well as offering to-go orders for the bistro with curbside pickup. This summer, as new guidance comes from the CDC and NYS, Merry Beth Barone said they’ll continue to offer curbside pickup and other distancing protocols but is relaxing its policy on masks. “Anyone that has been vaccinated is welcome to come in without wearing a mask, but we are requiring that people who have not been vaccinated wear a mask,” she said. “We’re very slowly starting to bring things back as we used to do.” Also due to the pandemic, John Barone said the brewery hasn’t grown any hops the past two seasons and outsourced its ingredients from other growers but is hoping to plant his own soon. Plans to continue more canning and labeling their beer in-house are already underway, and Richer, the brewmaster of the trio, is working on launching a peach vanilla wheat beer this summer. Merry Beth Barone said she’s always looking for new and different products to feature in the retail shop. For the bistro, she hopes to continue expanding the menu. Future activities coming back this summer will include trivia, outdoor games like cornhole and giant Jenga and live music. As summer comes around the corner in Syracuse and COVID-19 restrictions are slowly being lifted in some
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areas, many local businesses are hoping customers feel comfortable enough to come back and enjoy their services again. SWM To learn more about Hot House Brewing, visit their website at hothousebrewing.com or follow them on Facebook at Hot House Brewing at Barone Gardens.
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WISE FEATURED ENTREPRENEUR
July 2021
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OUT & ABOUT
Crazy Daisies welcomes hungry homesteaders Jason Klaiber
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hen it came to the ins and outs of the floral industry, Jennifer Cox readily admits to her know-how back in 2006 being minimal, but that didn’t stop her and her husband Glenn from opening up their own garden center. Located on the family’s land off Route 175, Crazy Daisies stemmed simply from a deep appreciation for plants, a desire to start a greenhouse or two, and a name that rolled off the tongue and stuck. Unbeknownst to Jennifer Cox until later, “crazy daisy” happens to be a common nickname applied to frilly Shasta daisies, but that was just another thing to learn on the job. Through the process of trial and error, Cox figured out what worked for the business and deserved to continue, what ideas could plausibly be reworked and what could be phased out entirely. “You learn a lot when you fail,” Cox said. “I’m the queen of ‘let’s try it—what do we have to lose?’” Through the years, her husband has focused mainly on his dairy farming three miles offsite, but he’s on the Kasson Road property often enough, fixing the heating system, the building, and making sure certain other needs are met. The dairy farm uses land behind the greenhouses for crop growing and its heifer barn is across the road, but otherwise the businesses are unconnected. For its café established earlier this past decade, Crazy Daisies works with a smattering of other local farmers and vendors to secure meat and produce and to round off the necessary supply of eggs on top of what can be grown by their own chickens. “We’ve just been really mindful about the ingredients,” Cox said. “Where we can source locally and freshly, we do.” As far as menu items go, Cox personally recommends the charcuterie boards and the house-made, hand-stretched pizzas, all of which are baked in a stone oven. The business’ mimosa flights remain popular too, evidenced alone by the number of times these orders have been photographed and shared on social media outlets. Though Cox said they don’t have a fully trained chef on staff, she added that her daughter did complete a year of culinary school, while the “well-sourced,” unprocessed and preservative-free food speaks for itself. This Marcellus-area greenhouse and café combo actually employs five of Cox’s twentysomething-or-younger kids, not to mention close family friends, resulting in a “close-knit” atmosphere with a youthful energy to it according to Cox. She said the familial factor perhaps plays a part in the love that goes into the whole operation, as her kids had been raised in the vicinity of the business from an early age, not knowing daily life without it.
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At this point, 15 years into its timeline, Crazy Daisies sells up to or over 2,000 hanging baskets in a year and puts out 100,000 plants altogether with the addition of another greenhouse. Even with these quantities, Cox said those who show up might be more surprised by the variety of plant life offered, much of it arranged by color or companionable nature. For example, Dahlias and Salvias are often grouped next to each other. The business has also hosted private garden parties, booked by reservation ahead of time, for about a dozen years. Often held at the end of the business day when not as many people are milling around, these parties involve short gardening tutorials and cocktail sipping. Also finding their way into the schedule are custom potting events, which send participants off with originally designed plant containers. Come fall, Crazy Daisies expects to bring pumpkins and other autumnal décor into the mix as per usual, but as the holiday season draws closer, Cox plans to introduce a larger selection of Christmas trees than ever before in addition to the wreaths they’ve consistently had in stock. If asked for her reasoning behind the coinage of the business’ name, Cox will likely say the word “crazy” relates somewhat to the barely manicured grounds, complete with weeds that need to be whacked, and the not-at-all-uptight feel of the place. Nevertheless, the founder and co-owner said it’s up to the customers—whether they’re regulars or not and no matter where they’re coming from—to see for themselves if the garden center lives up to that descriptor. Either way though, she said that Crazy Daisies more often lives up to its reputation for successfully calming those having a bad day, the countryside and fresh air capable of working the greatest wonders. SWM Crazy Daisies mainly offers outdoor seating, an aspect that owner Jennifer Cox said was helpful to business this past year. Food and drinks from outside the property are not allowed. Crazy Daisies’ greenhouse is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9:30 to 5:30 on Saturdays; and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. The café is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays; 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays; and 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Thursday through Sunday, the business hosts live music, which is announced on their calendar found on the website at: crazydaisiesflowers.com. "Harmonic Dirt" and Tom Barnes are among the acts who have performed in the past. The mimosa flights shown in the photos here are normally garnished with fruit and either edible or non-toxic flowers.
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COVER STORY
JOANNA JEWETT
Fighting poverty through music Emma Vallelunga
"It was really inspiring to read the difference that $1,000 can make in a community or at a local food pantry or a church that provides meals once or twice a week, and for me personally, it reinforced that I was in the right place.
Photo by Alice G. Patterson
—Joanna Jewett
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COVER STORY
Music for the Mission Emma Vallelunga
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ometimes the right opportunities come to you at just the right time. For Joanna Jewett, professional vocalist and the new executive director of Music For the Mission, the opportunity to advocate for a good cause while she continues her day job is exactly why she loves giving back to Syracuse. Growing up in Oswego and receiving an associate’s degree from Onondaga Community College and a bachelor’s from SUNY Oswego, Jewett has always been a part of Central New York. She gained advertising experience for companies like Syracuse New Times, iHeart Media and Clear Channel for about 10 years after graduating from college. “I worked in advertising for a really long time,” Jewett said. “And then I made the move to the nonprofit world. I was looking for a change. I really enjoyed media sales, but it was a grind. I’ve definitely always had a heart for really vulnerable populations. For me, at the end of the day, it’s important for me to know that whatever I spend a lot of time on, there has to be a direct connection to helping people.” Jewett became the marketing director for The Centers at St. Camillus for five years, which eventually led her to become the director of development and marketing for Arc of Onondaga, a non-profit organization that provides services to people with developmental disabilities in Onondaga County, in 2016. “I can’t say enough about the organization. I love my day job,”
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Jewett said. “I didn’t have a lot of experience with people with developmental disabilities before this job and have certainly fallen in love with many of the people who receive support from (Arc), and it’s a very gratifying job. I don’t work in direct care, but I like that I’m helping to tell their stories and recruit great people who have a passion for the work.” But no one is without their hobbies and passions. Jewett sings professionally in the area, performing with local bands Funkadelphia, The Mix Tapes and The CNY Songbirds, and produces live music events that give back to local charities through her production company Black Bag Productions. “Up until COVID-19, that was a pretty large component of my life,” she said. “I like to be busy. The more I have to do, the better.”So when a new position for executive director with Music For the Mission became available, Jewett was recommended by a colleague, and she started in January of this year. For her, one of the silver linings that came along with the pandemic was the lack of performances in her usual schedule, which made getting involved with other organizations more attainable. “In a typical year, it’s not something
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Photo by Alice G. Patterson
I could’ve considered,” she said. “It just would’ve been a no. But in the absence of performing, [the position] was this great opportunity that came up. I thought I had lots of event-planning experience. I know live music from both ends, and since I took over, it’s really been humbling. I didn’t fully know how great the need is in our community.” Music For the Mission is a non-profit organization that raises money for the homeless and hungry populations in Central New York by partnering with local musicians, media and concert venues to sponsor and host live music events. Founded by Joe Stanley of Stanley Law, M4M has continued to raise money, provide meals, host events and give back to the community for more than 12 years.
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COVER STORY
Music for the Mission from page 21 Jewett said things have been going well in her new role. Each year, M4M awards mini grants of up to $1,000 to local organizations in need who work with the homeless or hungry populations. In February, M4M awarded grants to 16 organizations that applied, many of them churches and food pantries who needed help restocking their shelves due to the pandemic. “Applying for grants is certainly part of my job at Arc, and oftentimes, we’re applying for tens of thousands of dollars for major projects. It was really inspiring to read the difference that $1,000 can make in a community or at a local food pantry or a church that provides meals once or twice a week, and for me personally, it reinforced that I was in the right place.” Jewett’s position as executive director is part-time while she continues to work for Arc of Onondaga. Ellen Gutmaker, Arc of Onondaga’s executive director, said Jewett is enthusiastic, energetic, and extremely dedicated to her goals. “She’s very positive, she’s willing to do anything to help anyone move forward,” Gutmaker said. “Joanna can accomplish whatever she wants to accomplish. She has certainly demonstrated her ability to manage multiple responsibilities. I’ve never doubted her commitment to the people that we support.” According to M4M, $1 can provide up to three meals to someone in need. While live music may be returning to some parts of Syracuse and CNY, Jewett said the organization does not have any live events scheduled yet but is focusing on its fundraising efforts this summer. One campaign it started last month was the Summer of Change. Local businesses and other M4M partners are invited to collect pocket change from their customers and employees. Dozens of donated cardboard boxes with the Summer of Change logo on them were given out last month and placed in offices to start collecting change. “If $1 buys three meals, I think it could fund more grants later this year if everybody gets involved,” she said. “It’s pretty basic, and it does seem kind of simple, but I always have change in my wallet
or the cup holders of my car, and if people can toss in a few dollars here and there, I think it could really add up.” Summer of Change will run until the end of this month. Jewett said M4M will also be tabling at this year’s New York State Blues Festival in Syracuse with their collection boxes in hopes people will empty their pockets and donate to a good cause. Jewett said volunteers to table at the festival filled up slots quickly, and she and her husband were the ones who put the boxes together. “It’s a very grass-roots kind of organization, but I love that,” she said. “That to me means there are people on the ground who are mobilized, and it’s volunteers who are willing. I think it just speaks to how much people appreciate the need and how much they genuinely want to help out.” On its website and social media, M4M also launched an Artist of the Month series this year. Each month, M4M will partner with local musicians to promote their music, and a portion of the proceeds purchased on their music during that month will go back to the organization. Last month, musicians Bill DiCosimo and Edgar Pagán from the local Latin American band Grupo Pagán donated 100% of their proceeds from purchases of their new jazz album “Con Moto.” This month’s artist is local singer-songwriter Donna Colton, one-third of the CNY Songbirds and close friend of Jewett’s. “Because I know a lot of musicians, it’s come together so easily, and I’ve been so impressed with the generosity of the artists who have already been involved,” she said. With so many passions, Jewett is looking forward to keeping herself busy, especially if it’s for her community. In her music career, Jewett is beginning to perform locally again with The Mix Tapes this summer. For the future of M4M, she hopes she can help broaden its support, and more people will know M4M is there to help in any way they can. “I think a lot of nonprofit organizations out there might be of the mindset that [they’re] too small, or [they] don’t make enough of an impact to ask for more help from something like Music For the Mission, but that’s simply not true,” she said. “So long as the goal is to help others who are hungry or facing homelessness, that’s why we exist.” SWM
“I didn’t have a lot of experience with people with developmental disabilities before this job and have certainly fallen in love with many of the people who receive support from (Arc), and it’s a very gratifying job."— Joanna Jewett
July 2021
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HEALTH
Midlife: Changing with grace! PART 1
Heather Shannon
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hat is midlife? For a woman it is considered a time of transition from perimenopause to post menopause and usually occurs during the ages of 45-55. The average age in the United States is 51 and nearly 6,000 women go into menopause each day. Have you ever wondered what is happening to your body and why you experience certain changes? Here are some answers to your questions. We are born with thousands of eggs in our ovaries. These eggs eventually mature and are released (ovulations) monthly in order to make a baby. If you do not get pregnant, you will have your period. Approximately, 400 eggs are released over a woman’s lifetime and the body absorbs the rest. When there are no more eggs, there are no more periods. Hence, menopause. It sounds so simple, but we know better. Did you know there are three phases of menopause? Perimenopause, menopause and post menopause (PMP). Perimenopause is the first phase and occurs over seven to ten years. This is the time we notice new physical and emotional changes within our body.
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Most of the time we consider these changes unpleasant and at time difficulty to deal with. Menopause is the phase of no menses and lasts for one year. Symptoms continue and they may even intensify. Post menopause is the phase with no menses for one year and thereafter. Know that many of these symptoms may continue into your sixties. During the perimenopause and menopause phases, many changes occur. The most common changes are hot flashes, insomnia, weight gain, emotional changes, period changes, vaginal changes and decreased sexual response. Know that not every woman will go through perimenopause or menopause the same. Some will struggle with symptoms while others will seem to breeze through unscathed. Makes me jealous! Lifestyle and genetics can play a role into this. Here are some interesting facts about hot flashes and night sweats. About 70 percent of women will experience hot flashes, while 75 percent will have night sweats and feel just like they are described hot and sweaty. These symptoms begin one to two years before the end of your period and can last up to 15 years. Ouch! The Summer, Food & Entertainment Edition
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Symptoms are a result of fluctuating estrogen levels. When the estrogen is low, we experience more symptoms. When estrogen is high, we feel normal or better. However, certain activities, foods/ drinks, or situations can trigger a hot flash. Pay attention to certain drinks, especially alcohol, spicy foods or a warm environment that might be your trigger. Dressing in layers is helpful when experiencing a hot flash. What about our sleep? There is nothing worse than interrupted sleep. Insomnia has been reported in 61 percent of women during perimenopause and is the result of low progesterone levels. It is recommended to keep a regular sleep schedule, eat at regular times and exercise regularly. Remember to limit the caffeine as it can remain in your blood stream for up to six hours after your last drink. Try to limit nightcaps. Even though alcohol relaxes us, it will interfere with REM (rapid eye movement) and non REM sleep causing you to wake often. What about weight gain? Many women have struggled with weight throughout life and to think that it is common or to be expected to gain weight during perimenopause is devastating. Unfortunately, up to 20 percent of women will have a 10-pound weight gain because of estrogen deficiency. Estrogen affects our metabolism, which slows as we age and become estrogen deficient. During perimenopause, women will require less calories, become more sedentary and will lose muscle mass. Weight bearing exercises will help keep your metabolism revved up and weight down. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of exercise per week. Time to get out the yoga mats again.
Syracuse Woman Magazine
Emotional changes and mood swings are common between the ages of 45 and 55 and approximately 38 percent will experience this. Besides moods, our memory lapses and we have a harder time concentrating. Hormonal changes along with natural effects of aging are responsible for this. Talking to your health care provider is important to determine what options are available for you if symptoms become concerning. There are treatments available to you. Approximately 40 to 60 percent of women will experience changes in their vaginal tissue that can lead to dyspareunia (painful sex). With the decrease in estrogen, the vaginal tissue becomes thinner and dryer. Water-soluble or silicone-based lubricants are highly recommended to help replace moisture into the tissue. Women can use vaginal estrogen therapy to improve the vaginal elasticity and pain. Unfortunately, sexual response (libido or desire) decreases as we age. Approximately 10 percent of women in midlife experience this. Yes, it is a part of aging. However, certain medications, depression, increased stress, certain health conditions and strained relationships are equally responsible. Regardless, this is still very distressing. Know that there are many other perimenopausal symptoms not discussed in this article. It is best to talk to your health care provider about your concerns and safe options available to help you through this transition, gracefully. In next month’s SWM, will discuss hormonal and non-hormonal options to help you with symptoms. SWM Heather Shannon is a certified nurse midwife and women’s health nurse practitioner at Oswego County Opportunities. She has a master of science and a master of public health degree.
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SPECIAL FEATURE
A ‘milestone’ in addiction treatment CROUSE OPENS STATE-OF-THE-ART ADDICTION TREATMENT CENTER
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At the June 16 ribbon-cutting ceremony for Crouse’s new addiction treatment center, are, from left, patient Doug Collins; ATS Director Monika Taylor; COO/CMO Dr. Seth Kronenberg; Paula Miller, Executive Director, William G. Pomeroy Foundation; Sandra Pomeroy, Vice Chair, Crouse Health Foundation Board of Trustees; CEO Kimberly Boynton; Bill Pomeroy; Crouse Health Board Chair Patrick Mannion; ATS Medical Director Dr. Tolani Ajagbe and patient Mary Miner.
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ince 1963, Crouse Health has been helping individuals and families take back their lives and experience a fresh start, free from drugs and alcohol. Following a year of construction, Crouse is now welcoming patients to the new Bill and Sandra Pomeroy Treatment Center in Syracuse. The two-story, 42,000 square-foot facility, located at 2775 Erie Blvd. East, replaces the 100-year-old former location of Crouse’s outpatient treatment services at 410 South Crouse Avenue, which the program had outgrown. Construction of the facility was funded in part by $17 million from the New York State Department of Health and Empire State Development Corporation. Local individuals and foundations have also made donations to assist Crouse in developing some of the unique offerings and activities that are hallmarks of its addiction treatment programs. The new location will allow Crouse to expand the integration of medical services, including primary care, with a holistic, uplifting healing environment that will lead to improved treatment and recovery outcomes for patients. “One of our main goals with the new location was to expand access to services and increase outpatient capacity in a welcoming, safe and nurturing environment,” said Dr. Tolani Ajagbe, medical director for Crouse’s Addiction Treatment Services, adding that
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the increased square footage will enable Crouse to provide treatment and recovery services for an additional 300-plus patients annually. “The move to this state-of-the art treatment center represents an important milestone in the history of Crouse’s Addiction Treatment Services,” said Monika Taylor, MBA, LCSW, CASAC, director of Addiction Treatment Services. “We are excited to support individuals on their recovery journey in such a healing, uplifting environment.” Crouse has seen a significant increase in overall outpatient admissions over the past five years, driven largely by the increase in opiate use disorders; in 2020, this accounted for 53 percent of all Crouse ATS admissions. “With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the number of overdoses has increased significantly across the U.S. and here in Central New York,” said Ajagbe. Included in the facility design is a recreation therapy courtyard, staff courtyard, expanded and separate men’s and women’s rehabilitation areas, medical suite, meditation room and staff multi-purpose rooms, all interactive and smartboard equipped. The building also includes a Life Skills Lab, which will be used to teach meal preparation, laundry tasks, and employability skills to provide participants with the tools to navigate life in recovery. The main areas of the building are oriented around a plant-filled The Summer, Food & Entertainment Edition
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central courtyard, which provides daylight and a calming environment for patients and staff to reflect on. A number of features in the new location evolved from a series of focus groups held with patients and staff members during the planning process, including design of the courtyard and artwork for the public spaces. Highlighting the importance of the project to the community and region, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation has made a special donation in support of the new addiction treatment services facility. This gift will name the building and create a dedicated endowment within the Crouse Health Foundation to permanently provide support for the unique offerings and activities that are hallmarks of Crouse’s program. “For nearly 60 years, Crouse has worked to remove the stigma of addiction and provide personalized treatment,” said Trustee Bill Pomeroy. “We are proud to support this important program, with the deepest respect for the courage and commitment of all its patients and staff.” Crouse continues to serve as a major academic rotation site in the fields of addiction medicine and addiction psychiatry, providing hands-on experience for medical students, residents and fellows who come through on a monthly rotation from SUNY Upstate Medical University. The program also attracts physician assistant interns from Le Moyne College and Kings College, in Pennsylvania, as well as social work interns from Syracuse University and other local and regional institutions. “We have a highly-regarded training program in addiction treatment services education but have not been able to expand this essential service due to space limitations of the 410 facility,” Ajagbe said. The expanded Pomeroy location will allow Crouse to significantly increase the number of providers trained in the fields of addiction medicine and addiction psychiatry, allowing Crouse to better serve the community and beyond. “We’re looking forward to working with our community partners to expand the training program and generate more interest in these two growing fields,” Ajagbe added. “Crouse ATS proudly serves a diverse population that reflects the entire socio-economic spectrum,” said Crouse CEO Kimberly Boynton. “With the opening of the Bill and Sandra Pomeroy Treatment Center, we remain committed to our mission to expand access to care and ensure delivery of high-quality, holistic addiction and mental health services in our community.” “This truly is a transformative project,” said Crouse Chief Operating Officer/Chief Medical Officer Dr. Seth Kronenberg. “We have never been more determined to dedicate our resources, expertise and leadership to ensure our community overcomes this devastating public health issue, made even more challenging by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.” Syracuse Woman Magazine
Crouse’s outpatient programs serve patients from 23 counties in New York State, with the majority coming from Onondaga, Madison, Oneida, Cayuga, Oswego and Jefferson counties. In 2020, the service logged more than 151,000 patient visits. Crouse targets all segments of the population including adults; adolescents; pregnant and postpartum women; seniors; developmentally delayed/ brain injured patients; patients involved in the criminal justice system; and those with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues. Crouse worked with a number of locally-based companies to design and build the facility, including general contractor The Hayner Hoyt Corporation; King + King Architects; ASM Engineering; and Klepper, Hahn & Hyatt. Pyramid Brokerage worked with the hospital to identify potential site locations for the new facility. SWM
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WBOC LEADING LADY
MANDY WEBB
Making fitness goals effective and achievable Alyssa Dearborn
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s businesses of all kinds begin to fully reopen after the pandemic, Mandy Webb and KW Fitness of Fayetteville are welcoming back clients. For Webb and the other personal trainers, encouraging healthy living has never been better. “We fortunately have a business model where it’s always been private or semi-private, so our personal training sessions are by appointment only.” Mandy replied when asked about how her business had to adapt to the past year. “We didn’t know how people would take to virtual training. We heard a lot of really great feedback from our clients that it gave them some sense of normalcy, that they had an appointment to look forward to, but now everyone’s glad to be back in person. We still have a handful of people who are virtual because one client, for example, has cancer and she can’t really be around people. So that has helped us having virtual training because we never would have been able to accommodate her with her cancer.”
Many clients at KW Fitness are happy to be working with their trainers again in person, though, since Webb’s work fills an overlooked need in the fitness industry. With about 80 percent of her cliental being women over the age of 50, many feel that KW Fitness caters to their unique needs. “I think the biggest thing is KW Fitness is really great for people who are intimidated by going to a gym. They go in and they look at equipment and they don’t know what to do. That’s why people have gym memberships but don’t use them. It’s a comfortable atmosphere. Everyone’s starting the same way. We have some people who come to us because they like to exercise but just want to be challenged and pushed a little, but we have a lot of people who come to us because they don’t know what they’re supposed to do. They need guidance and want to be safe.” Webb wants people to know that the environment provided at KW Fitness is not just for seasoned athletes who are training for a big event. The programs are applicable to anyone of any body type.
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“A lot of people think a personal trainer is for someone who wants to be a bodybuilder or do a physical competition.” Webb said, “But most of the people who come here are people who just want to have a better quality of life. They want to be stronger, have less pain, better mobility, better balance, also to lose weight, and to just have more independence in their later years. We have clients in their eighties that come to us and they are strong and they’re able to be independent.” “One of our clients,” she explained, “she turns 80 in October, and she went to a high school reunion last year or the year before and it scared her because two of her friends were on oxygen and another needed a walker. And she’s like, ‘I don’t want to be that person. I want to be keep doing this as long as I can.’ And she’s not, you know, lifting heavy, crazy weights. She’s just moving. It’s really changing her life.” A major part of KW Fitness’s brand is teaching their clients how to set goals and more importantly, how to re-evaluate those goals. Some of these goals,
she explains, go far beyond the surface goal of weight loss. “We’ll have people who sit down and first come to us and say, ‘I want to lose this much weight.’ But having just that one surface goal isn’t enough to keep people going. So we often dig deeper with them, ask them why it’s important. We ask, you know, ‘Why do you want to lose 20 pounds?’ Is it because your doctor said so? Because you’re not going to be motivated to do that. What is your underlying reason? And when they dig deep and get emotional about it, it’s a lot more exciting to stay on track.” “We have a lot of people who have grandkids and they say, ‘I want to be able to be around when they graduate’ or ‘I want to be able to be on the floor and play with the grandkids and get up without hurting myself.’ Those types of things are more exciting to work toward a goal than just that surface level goal.” When clients discover their underlying goals, they discover to look beyond the numbers on the scale. Webb and the other trainers at the company teach The Summer, Food & Entertainment Edition
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clients to take their goals one week at a time, helping them form heathier habits. “We help them focus on nonscale victories too because the scale will move eventually.” Webb explained, “But if they focus on, ‘oh, I’m sleeping better,’ or ‘my clothes are a little bit looser,’ those are things that keep people motivated long after that initial excitement.” Webb used the example of a particular client to exhibit how effective goal-making can really change someone’s life. “I actually just talked to a client in regard to her initial goal. She thought she wanted to lose weight, but she really was motivated about being pain-free with her golf swing. She was very excited that she’s able to walk even 18 holes of golf without being out of breath and without using a cane. So it’s good to revisit, re-evaluate because things change. It’s never going to be the same goal.” Making goals that better one’s life is not only effective for short-term motivation, it also helps Webb’s clients make better long-term habits. When asked about forming healthy, longterm habits, Webb discussed how KW Fitness helps. “The biggest thing is looking for sensible, long-term habits versus a quick fix.” she replied, “We get a lot of people who come to us who’ve tried everything. They’ve done keto and Weight Watchers and all of those things where you might get immediate results but then you’re back at square one when you stop those things. I always tell our clients that if you’re on a diet that makes you miserable, then you’re doing the wrong thing. You should never feel like you’re depriving yourself or starving yourself, like you can’t eat the things that you like. That’s not sustainable long-term.” Part of that long-term plan for every client—and also one Syracuse Woman Magazine
of KW Fitness’s core values— is accountability. As Webb explains, accountability is a real factor in whether clients achieve their goals or not. It is also one of the main reasons so many stick to the program. “Everyone knows what they need to do when it comes to exercising and dieting, but really, accountability is what
is the difference-maker for a lot of people. Having someone that they can count on that’s waiting for them. They set an appointment, it’s just like when someone makes a hair appointment or a doctor’s appointment. They’re going to show up because it’s in their calendar. So accountability is number one. It helps people
with their goals, even if they fall off track. Our trainers make our clients feel comfortable, they don’t yell at them, they just help them to get back on the right foot. It’s about long-term and realizing it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.” SWM
Photos by Sophie Proe SyracuseWomanMag.com
INSPIRE
AMANDA HUGHES
Photo by Alice G. Patterson
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Ice cream stand owner indulges in her passions Emma Vallelunga
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manda Hughes lives her life indulging in everything Syracuse has to offer. Whether it’s giving business advice, participating in group workouts or selling ice cream, there’s always something she can contribute to her hometown, and there’s no place she’d rather be. Hughes is a Syracuse native who left Central New York during her college years. While playing lacrosse for Duke University, she received her bachelor’s in sociology and later a master’s in business administration and marketing from LIU Brooklyn. During that time, she was an assistant women’s lacrosse coach for nearly two years, which further reinforced important values — hard work, dedication, communication, teamwork and goal-setting — that would serve her well later on. “That really set such a beautiful foundation for the opportunity to start these businesses much later in life that I really never anticipated or thought of beforehand,” Hughes said. “When the opportunities presented themselves, I was able to say yes and do that with confidence, and I know a large part of that was because of the sports background that I had.” When Hughes finally came back to Syracuse in 2015, everything fell into place. “I really enjoyed being close to family, and I loved connecting and reconnecting with my hometown,” she said. “I was a native, but I also felt like an outsider. I had been away for such a long time. It was fun to explore my hometown with these new eyes and fresh experiences.” Since then, Hughes founded The Ice Cream Stand in downtown Syracuse, an ice cream shop selling cones, flurries, milkshakes, coffee and even cookie ice cream “standwiches” in the spring and summer months. Hughes said the inspiration to start the business came from being able to bring a community together through a common good. “I just jumped at the chance,” she said. “I thought it was a perfect fit for my background. My personal brand and overall philosophy is very playful, adventurous and fun-loving, and I get to really live and breathe and develop that with the business. I think it creates this experience that’s really magical for the community as a whole, especially [with] an item like ice cream. Food isn’t good or bad. It exists. It’s ice cream. It’s delicious. It doesn’t have to be anything [other] than a smile or a happy moment, and we don’t have to attach anything else to it.” For Hughes, one word is at the core of everything she does. The definition of indulge, to allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of, is proudly displayed on the wall of the Stand and serves as a valuable reminder. “People often think of indulging as gluttonous, and it doesn’t have the most positive connotations, but it really does,” she said. “It’s the permission you’re giving yourself to enjoy the ice cream, this moment, a walk, whatever it is. I think it’s important for people to constantly be reminded of the power that they possess, and that power is often in just simply allowing and giving ourselves permission to say yes to things, to try things, to say no to things. We’re the only [people] we really have to answer to, acknowledge and honor at the end of the day, and everything else is just an extension of that.” In addition to ice cream, Hughes saw another way to make an impact in Syracuse. In 2018, she became the founder of November Syracuse Woman Magazine
Project Syracuse, a local community organization that hosts free fitness workouts for anyone who shows up. While the November Project is a movement that started in Boston, Hughes attended a workout with November Project Buffalo and eventually found a way to make Syracuse one of more than 50 cities worldwide with a November Project organization. “I really just fell in love with that whole community,” she said. “It was so warm and welcoming. What I loved was someone like myself, who’s very active and has done high-level fitness, and people who have never worked out before, came together and were able to enjoy this one workout. And I thought, ‘Syracuse really needs this, and I could definitely make this happen.’” For three years, she and dozens of others have met at Thornden Park every Wednesday at 6:15 a.m. for a 30 to 45-minute workout that includes anything from running laps to playing outdoor games. Hughes’ experience as a coach, love of sports and passion for team-work made her enjoy every moment of being a part of another community. “It’s sort of how I run my team at The Ice Cream Stand too,” she said. “Everything [I do] is pretty sports-focused, but that’s part of who I am. I want to be that supporter, cheerleader, teacher and coach, and I still get to do that in many different ways.”Even during the pandemic, Hughes found another need she could satisfy in her community. In May of last year, she virtually launched Jayne’s Collective, a collaborative workspace aimed at helping women business owners. It is open to anyone looking for business advice, conversation, motivation and workshops to promote positive thinking and build a stronger sense of community. COVID-19 put Hughes’ plans to open a physical space in downtown Syracuse on hold, and for now, she’s decided to pause the Collective temporarily to regroup and re-evaluate the classes for the needs of the members. “Those needs are definitely going to be different now than they were when we launched in the summer of 2020 and through the winter,” she said. “I’ve always wanted the Collective to be designed and created for the members. I want to make sure I really understand what it is that they want and need so we can creatively deliver on those things, and they can have fun building that with me and with each other.” Every project Hughes puts her mind to focuses on community and human connections, but she also plans to take some time for herself. She recently made the decision to step away from November Project Syracuse to focus on other passions, like the Stand and the Collective. But no matter what she does, Hughes knows she’ll always indulge. “Honestly, I’m excited to have some more down-time and be still and not do much of anything at times,” she said. “A lot of people asked me, ‘What’s next?’ or said, ‘I can’t wait to see what you do next,’ and it wasn’t until several people came at me with that that I thought, ‘Wow, I really don’t have anything yet,’ but I know that I’m creating the space for that next thing to arrive, and in the meantime, I’ll just enjoy a little more R-n-R.” SWM SyracuseWomanMag.com
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SPECIAL FEATURE
Adventures in Upstate New York KATRINA TULLOCH Ken Sturtz
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atrina Tulloch doesn’t like heights or uncontrolled speed, but there she was perched on the edge of a zip line platform. A guide cinched her into a harness and attached it to the line. As she neared her turn she felt her GoPro lurch forward and discovered it dangling off her helmet. “Oh God, oh God, oh no,” she thought as she struggled with the camera. Finally, she turned to a woman in line and got help screwing the camera on tightly. Moments later came a scream as she sped downhill. Welcome to Katrina Tulloch’s office. The 32-year-old video journalist for Syracuse.com and NYUP.com is one of Central New York’s most multi-talented women working in media. Bubbly and smart, she balances softer features with more serious accountability journalism and finds time to assume the roles of teacher and advocate. Now she’s embarking on a new project called “Adventures in Upstate NY,” a video series meant to nudge people out of their pandemic stupor. “After a taxing year cooped up indoors due to COVID-19, Upstate New Yorkers really need a good dose of cabin fever relief,” she says. “So, let’s get you outdoors and offer some ideas of where you can travel, where you can do fun activities either with your family or your friends.” In February, Tulloch and her boss, managing director of photo/video Lauren Lon, began discussing a video series talking about things to do outdoors, but quickly decided that if they were doing video, they’d want to bring people along for the adventure, not just tell them
about it. At the time they had no idea what the pandemic would be like in a few months, so they decided that for safety reasons Tulloch would work on the project solo. Long encouraged her to rethink her initial ideas and aim to share interesting ideas people didn’t know they wanted to learn about. To add a touch of excitement, she suggested they play on Tulloch’s fear heights and going on fast rides. Why not face her fears and do some of those things? “And so, I said ‘OK, I’ll try,’” Tulloch says laughing. She penned a new list that included ziplining and riding a roller coaster. She added whitewater rafting, parasailing and hang gliding, anything she would be unlikely to do on her own. After several trips on progressively higher zip lines at Greek Peak’s Adventure Center in Cortland, Tulloch
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rode a roller coaster that weaved through the wooded hillside. “You control the speed of the coaster, which was terrifying because there were people behind me,” she says. “I kept thinking if I slow down they’re going to jam into the back of me.” Although part of the goal is to capture Tulloch’s reactions, not all of the episodes will feature extreme activities; many are meant to be family-friendly ideas. For the first installment she visited The Wild Center in Tupper Lake. The third episode will feature wolves, bears and birds of prey at the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge in Wilmington. Other episodes will include treehouse glamping (staying overnight in a luxury tree fort), goat yoga (it’s actually a thing), and spud chucking (hurling potatoes at a target with a giant slingshot). “This is all stuff that’s super goofy, but it’s just supposed to be fun,” Tulloch says. It would be a mistake, however, to assume someone working on fun features wasn’t serious about journalism. Tulloch is in her second year leading the Syracuse Press Club, which includes all of Central New York. As president she spearheaded an initiative to provide care packages to journalists working through the pandemic and led the club in calling for action after an officer aggressively knocked down a veteran photographer who was covering protests. And last year she was appointed to Advance Media New York's Editorial Board (the company owns Syracuse.com and NYUP.com). As the youngest member, she’s been an influential
voice as the Editorial Board addressed matters of community importance. She also found time to teach multimedia classes at Syracuse University, where she’s an adjunct professor. Growing up in Albany, however, Tulloch couldn’t have imagined filming herself riding zip lines, writing editorials or even shooting video for that matter. She knew she wanted to work in journalism, but didn’t pick up a camera until graduate school at SU. “I didn’t really think I’d go into video journalism,” she says. “I thought for sure I’d go into print or only writing.” After graduate school Tulloch completed an internship that exposed her to working with video. In 2013, she went to work at Syracuse. com as a feature reporter. She occasionally made videos, but her focus was on writing. Then, in 2018, she moved to a position on the video team and began producing longer video projects in addition to her daily video responsibilities.
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She started with a series highlighting slices of life in Central New York. There were projects on the state fair and on food in Upstate New York. Tulloch even filmed a series on wedding planning before getting married last year. When restaurants were shuttered due to the pandemic she and her husband, who also works for Syracuse.com,
produced a series of videos attempting to replicate meals from popular local restaurants in their home kitchen. As much as Tulloch enjoys her job, it’s not easy. Working solo takes considerably more effort and means she is responsible for every aspect of the production. She sets up the interviews, drives to the site, shoots the
footage, writes the scripts and stories, conducts the interviews and edits the video afterward. It means a lot of multitasking. Ideally, Tulloch prefers to break stories down into bite-size pieces. For example, she might shoot the footage she needs and do an interview later, giving her time to set up her equipment and place a microphone on her interview subject. With her
current series that hasn’t always been possible. “We’re hiking to the top of a mountain and I’m also carrying my tripod and it’s very heavy and I’m sweating bullets,” she says. “And I’m trying to also listen to what the person is saying, but also set up my GoPro on my head so I have it.” Continued on page 34
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SPECIAL FEATURE
Adventures from page 33 Working alone also means there’s no one to help load and unload the equipment or lug it to the site. Tulloch chooses to view the glass as half full; the equipment she totes to and from shoots is much smaller and lighter than in decades past. While acknowledging her job can be physically demanding, she says it’s also good motivation to try to stay in shape. And since she doesn’t particularly care for working out, sometimes she counts lugging all that gear as exercise. There’s also an upside to working alone. When Tulloch sits down to edit, she doesn’t have to wonder if the photographer got the right shots or what her producer has cut from the story. If anything goes wrong she says she knows she’s at fault. “I’m pretty used to it. I’ve done the one-woman-band thing long enough to know what my threshold is,” Tulloch says. “It’s kind of a fun challenge. It makes me feel extra proud of the work that I produce at the end of the day because I know it’s all mine.” Despite the physical demands and the challenge of frequently working solo, Tulloch says she’s been fortunate to be surrounded
by many women photographers and visual journalists with significant experience, such as Long. Women and minorities have traditionally been underrepresented in newsrooms, an issue that’s remained mostly unresolved for decades. “This is why representation matters,” Tulloch says. “You want to be able to see other people around you who are like ‘I can do it.’ So that makes me feel like I can also do that.” Tulloch plans to spend most of the rest of the summer working on the “Adventures in Upstate NY” project in-between her day-today responsibilities. She hasn’t decided how to end the series yet, but would like to save the most terrifying activity for last. Tulloch has no plans to slow down anytime soon. She recognizes that there’s an expiration date on her fast-paced lifestyle, but to her that’s all the more reason to keep moving. “We are nimble and young and mobile right now,” she says. "We might as well get out and do as many cool adventurous things now while we’re young and able to do that before we get old and are creaky.” SWM
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UPCOMING EVENTS Saturday, July 3
Thursday, July 22, 6 to 8 p.m.
What: The village of Manlius will host its annual celebration beginning with a parade that will step off at 5 p.m. followed by a variety of food and entertainment events. Miss New York will make an appearance and fireworks will begin at approximately 9:30 p.m. Cost: Free Where: Village of Manlius Info: manliusvillage.org
What: Letizia and the Z Band will provide hours of entertainment at the Park. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Fun for the whole family. The food truck venue will be Razzle Dazzle providing concert goers with Italian Ice and Vegan Tacos. Current COVID-19 guidelines will be followed. Cost: Free Where: Joseph F. William Park, 7033 Lakeshore Road, Cicero 13039 Info: cicero.recdesk.com
Manlius Independence Day Celebration
Thursday, July 8, 7 p.m.
Luke Bryan at The Amp
What: Country music star Luke Bryan performs as part of his Proud To Be Right Here tour. Cost: Varies based on seating Where: The St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater, 490 Restoration Way, Syracuse, NY 13209 Info: lukebryan.com/tour Monday, July 12, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Induce pregnancy naturally
What: Are you considering natural induction techniques and tricks to help kickstart your labor? Wondering what works or if it’s just a hoax? Join us to learn more about some of the most talked about ways to naturally induce your labor. Cost: Free Where: This is a virtual event Info: cnydoulaconnection.com Saturday, July 17 & Sunday, July 18
Annual Driving Competition at Lorenzo What: The annual dressage and horsemanship extravaganza returns to Cazenovia hosted by the Lorenzo State Historic Site Cost: Free Where: Lorenzo State Historic Site, Route 20, Cazenovia Info: lorenzodriving.org
Syracuse Woman Magazine
Letizia and the Z Band
Saturday, July 31, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Annual Open Farm Day 2021
What: 19 farms will participate in the annual Open Farm Day, hosted by Cornell Cooperative Extension-Madison County. Visitors can interact with farmers at this family-friendly event and learn more about how their food is grown and produced. Cost: Free Where: Throughout Madison County Info: OpenFarmDayMadisonCounty.com Monday, August 16
Crouse Spirit of Women Golf Outing
What: A 9-hole golf outing and reception exclusively for women to support the Baker Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Non-golfing guests are invited to attend the reception, which will feature hearty hors d’oeuvres, sweet treats, drinks and musical entertainment. Cost: $125 for single, $500 for foursome Where: Lakeshore Country Club 6777 Lakeshore Rd, Cicero, NY 13039 Info: crouse.org/spiritgolf2021
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MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Named development director at Helio Health
Susan LaPlaca was recently named the development director for Helio Health and the Helio Health Foundation which supports the work of Helio Health. Her focus is on fundraising, event planning, and relationship building, with the goal of using compelling stories to communicate the agency’s mission. LaPlaca’s philosophy of service to others has led her to pursue employment in human services throughout her career. Previously she was the marketing and outreach director for Central New York Services and the executive director of The Drug Quiz Show. Her interests include yoga and traveling to the beach. In her spare time, Susan enjoys hiking with her husband, Steve, and their dog, Brody.
Joins OB-GYN team at St. Joseph’s
Dr. Jodi Wallis, OB-GYN, has joined the team at St. Joseph’s Health. Wallis is a boardcertified physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. Prior to joining St. Joseph’s Health, Wallis held clinical, teaching and administrative positions at Upstate University Medical Hospital. In addition to providing general pregnancy care and OB-GYN services, Wallis supervised educational programs for medical students and assisted with the resident training program. Before moving to Central New York, Wallis worked as a physician faculty member at Hackensack University Medical Center, a research and teaching hospital in Hackensack, NJ. While there, Wallis provided clinical patient services such as prenatal care and gynecology while also assisted with the resident training program. Wallis earned her doctor of osteopathy from Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Fla. and her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. Wallis completed her residency at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. Wallis assumed her role in March 2021 and is seeing patients at St. Joseph’s Health Primary Care Center.
July 2021
Liverpool Girl Scout honored for lifesaving act
Isabel (Izzy) Fingerman, 13, of Liverpool, a Cadette-level Girl Scout, recently received Girl Scouts of the USA’s National Medal of Honor for valiant efforts. Fingerman is a member of Troop 10520 and Service Unit 101. She is the daughter of Jason and Lisa Fingerman of Liverpool. The Medal of Honor is one of the highest national honors Girl Scouts can bestow. It is given to a girl who displays a heroic act beyond her degree of maturity and training for saving life or attempting to save life without risk to the Girl Scout’s own. The Medal of Honor pin was presented to Fingerman during her troop’s Bridging Ceremony (moving from one Girl Scout grade level to another). In May 2020, then 12-year-old Izzy showed her commitment to being resourceful, skilled and competent in saving a life. Her quick thinking saved her four-year-old cousin from a potential drowning in the Seneca River. Izzy, her brother, cousin and aunt were accessing the river via a boat launch. Her aunt and cousin held hands and attempted to dip their feet in the river when both slipped on wet concrete and fell, her aunt cutting her foot on rocks and leaving her unable to attend to the children and scene. Knowing her cousin could not swim, Izzy instinctively jumped into the river, submerging herself up to her ribs to keep her cousin’s head above water and ensuring she was not swept away by the current. Izzy kept her cousin calm and helped her out of the water safely, enduring scraped knees and elbows along the way. “Izzy showed presence of mind and true Girl Scout spirit in an emergency. I’m proud of the courage, confidence and character she displayed,” says Julie Dale, GSNYPENN CEO. “Her heroism and sound judgment exemplify all we hope to instill in our Girl Scouts. Izzy is a living testament to the highest principles of our Promise and Law.” In a letter to Izzy, GSUSA Interim Chief Executive Officer Judith Batty wrote: “As our founder, Juliette Gordon Low once said: ‘Scouting rises within you and inspires you to put forth your best.’ You are proof of the virtue and truth of Juliette’s words, and I know that she would be as proud of and inspired by you as I am.”
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