Q&A

Outgoing OOC Director Reflects on His Tenure

Talks about losing companies — Nestle, Miller Brewing — retainting others

L. Michael Treadwell is stepping down at the end of the year from his position as executive director of Operation Oswego County after nearly four decades of service. He joined Operation Oswego County in 1983 and has served as executive director throughout his tenure.

to being able to slow down after you retire?

A: I have plenty to keep me busy. I have a couple little 4-year-old grandkids. Both of my daughters, one lives in Manhattan and one lives in New Jersey — I’ll be around them a lot and doing things. I’ll have an opportunity to, you know, run around a little bit.

Q: It’s early December and you are still very

busy tying up lose ends here at Operation Oswego County. Are you looking forward

Q: So, you are planning to do some trav-

eling, too?

A: We’ll visit some friends I’ve worked with back in South Carolina and Georgia. Scoot around a little bit. Probably grab a suitcase every once in a while and take a little trip. I’ve got a lot of things that I’d like to be doing but haven’t due to work commitments. My wife retired from teaching about five or six years ago. She’s been waiting for me to get free time so we can take some extended trips. We’ll be going back down south, South Carolina and Georgia, where I’m from. We have some friends in Florida, too. So probably some trips down there.

Q: So, you are going to stay warm. A: Yes. I don’t want to travel to colder weather so we will be headed to warmer climates. I’m probably going to have to develop some new hobbies and stuff —my current hobby has been work.

Q: How would you describe your time in

Oswego County?

A: I’ve had a lot of fun. I’ve had a lot of challenges, also. I kind of got separated from the family the last few years. Now I can get back into the family mode.

My wife was down in New Jersey most of the time; we have a house down there and she wanted to be closer to the grandkids. And I was up here most of the time.

Q:What are you most proud of? A: I was in economic development in South Carolina, working for the state in South Carolina for about 11 years before I moved up here. I was working at the state level. Came up here and faced a different challenge because I was at the local level. They (OOC) had a lot of good programs that had been successful. Probably what I am most proud of is, over time, coming here and turning the organization in to a — it was more of a one project by one project type of structure — we turned it into a more comprehensive and diversified economic development agency. They were just starting to build the industrial park and that has turned out to be very, very successful.

Q: Anything else? A: The Broadwell hotel that was a major project. The Captain’s Quarters Best Western. That entire strip, right up to now with the water park — a massive project that’s close to my heart. The other thing is how we all worked together to

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Dan Fisher with his wife, Lori Ruhlman, at their home.

save the FitzPatrick power plant and make it a sellable facility. That was basically a two-year project.

Q: Your improvements in southern Oswego

County have been rather fortuitous given the Micron announcement, haven’t they?

A: We have grown and expanded it [the industrial park] just in the nick of time, right before Micron got started. I don’t know how that area could be more strategic than it is right now. There will be an extensive amount of demand placed on properties in that area. Not only for business related things, but development for housing and other types of commercial activity, too. That one project [Micron] will translate into hundreds of other projects.

Q: So, big projects are what you hope for? A: Things don’t have to be huge to be very satisfying in terms of getting accomplished. One thing that I really am most proud of is back in 1995 was the potential of losing Sealright Packaging. It was between staying in Fulton or moving to Kansas. Working with the city, Mayor [Don] Bullard at that time, the state, the Pataki administration, and the state economic development office and a bunch of other players we were able to save that plant, which is today thriving as Huhtamaki.

Q:How did you do that? A: Working with the state, we got some money to basically “create land” so they could expand their campus. Tore down a huge old building that was non-functional and we worked with the city to turn over a street that went right between the Sealright properties. There was a junk yard sitting in the back of Sealright. The IDA and the city worked together to acquire that junk yard and had it cleaned up — they created a site that became their major distribution hub. None of that could have worked without everybody working together.

Q: So, there has been a lot of success? A: For the most part, yes, the fun has outweighed the tough parts. You do lose in economic development, no question about that. It’s like baseball. Sometimes you hit a homerun with a great project like EJ USA — big expansions at Novelis and other companies like HealthWay. But you also lose projects.

Q:What losses stick out in your mind? A: Miller for example; that was just a matter of over-production. They realized they had too many plants in the ‘That [Nestle] project died for one reason and one reason only — you had some corrupt individuals that were stealing money that was supposed to be going into developing the facility. It failed because of corruption. If not for that, that facility would have gotten back into the production of chocolate.

northeast and guess what the Volney plant happened to be the oldest one and that was the one that got shut down.

And the Nestle project is another. It was probably one of the most frustrating failures. They had the expertise; they knew what they were doing. We should have had that plant operational again after Nestle.

That project died for one reason and one reason only — you had some corrupt individuals that were stealing money that was supposed to be going into developing the facility. It failed because of corruption. If not for that, that facility would have gotten back into the production of chocolate.

Q:You’ve been here since 1983. Have you

ever thought about moving on? What’s the secret to your longevity?

A: When I came here back in ’83 my intention was to work here maybe two or three years and then move on, kind of like a stepping stone. I interviewed for this job and met some super great people. I had a number of opportunities to leave and take other positions. But I liked the folks we were working with and enjoyed what we were doing and the progress we were making. I guess it was like starting a painting, you want to finish it; you don’t want to walk away from it. So I hung around. I enjoyed it. I still enjoy it and the people that I deal with.

Q: Looking ahead, what is your prediction

for Oswego County’s future?

A: My prediction is that with the appropriate planning and development that Oswego County and all of Central New York is going to have a tremendous economic boost because of the Micron project.

Thank God we already bought that property in Schroeppel. If we hadn’t been aggressive in trying to piece something together to have a significant contiguous industrial site with four-lane highway access and rail, things would be different.

We still have to make some improvements in infrastructure down there to make everything fly, but that’s being worked on. We felt when we bought that property that we significantly overpaid for it. But, we bit the bullet and got control of the property. If we had to do that again today, I guarantee you we’d pay five to 10 times as much. I don’t know if we could afford it. We’ve got a lot of things going for us down there.

The outlook is super, super positive. There is a lot of potential all over.

Micron will have decade of impact on the region.

PRIOR TO JOINING OOC, L. Michael Treadwell worked for the South Carolina State Development Board from 1973-83.

From 1973-79, he served as a research and marketing analyst in the Planning and Research Division.

From 1979-81, he served as the administrator of economic development research for the planning and research division.

From 1981-83, he served as an industrial representative in the economic development division.

Treadwell graduated from the University of Georgia in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in geography; the University of South Carolina in 1973 with a master’s in geography; and the University of South Carolina in 1981 with a Master in Business Administration. He also graduated from the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute in 1977.

LOCAL LEADERS REACT TO MIKE TREADWELL’S RETIREMENT

Treadwell is retiring after nearly 40 years leading economic development in Oswego County

By Stefan Yablonski

After nearly 40 years of leading Operation Oswego County, L. Michael Treadwell plans to retire as of Dec. 31.

Treadwell joined Operation Oswego County in 1983 and has served as executive director throughout his tenure. The local, nonprofit economic development corporation has helped to stimulate more than $5 billion in investment and helped create and retain more than 29,000 jobs in Oswego County.

The Operation Oswego County board of trustees named Austin Wheelock the new executive director of Operation Oswego County, effective Jan. 1. Wheelock was chosen after a comprehensive national search was conducted.

Here is what are saying about his retirement

“We always enjoyed working with Mike. Over the years he has been an avid supporter of community development and our businesses. He facilitated many opportunities that have helped make us successful. He will be greatly missed. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors. He is a wonderful human being!”

Terry LeRoi President of LeRoi Inc.

Mike’s dedication to the business community of Oswego County has opened countless doors for businesses that otherwise would not have had the opportunity to thrive and flourish. He has left a lifetime of impact on the Oswego County landscape.

Bill Carhart CEO of Oswego County Federal Credit Union.

“During the past 25 years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Mike on a number of projects for Operation Oswego County. Whether it was the annual report, a series of trade ads or video, he was always a pleasure to collaborate with. Mike has been a wonderful asset to Oswego County and to our community.”

Stephen Chirello Owner of Steve Chirello Advertising.

“As executive director of Operation Oswego County since 1983, Mike has worked diligently to promote economic development in our county. It is no coincidence, that during his tenure, we have seen amazing growth and expansion. We were truly fortunate to have had such a driven and passionate person advocating for our county for almost four decades. Congratulations and enjoy a long and happy retirement.

Robert A. Corradino Oswego Common Council president.

“It was always good to know that Operation Oswego County was in our markets and helping the communities to look toward the future. Your leadership has resulted in many positive aspects of the great Oswego County we have today. It’s amazing to see the change and growth in the county over the past 25 years I have been here.”

Buddy Stemple Former plant manager at Novelis.

“Mike Treadwell has done an outstanding job as executive director of Operation Oswego County Inc. Mike has always been courteous, conscientious and dedicated in assisting businesses in the county for several decades.

Anthony Leotta Former Oswego City Engineer.

“Mike Treadwell was a good man who loved the city of Oswego. He and I didn’t always agree on what was best for the city, but I respected him and appreciated his love of our city. The city of Oswego is evolving into a city of growth and positivity. He was part of that growth! And though we disagreed on politics, we worked together to make Oswego the city that it has grown into.

Tom Gillen Former mayor of the city of Oswego.

“We celebrate Mike Treadwell’s amazing career and accomplishments while serving Oswego County and Central New York region. Mike is an exceptional person and a visionary leader. His efforts and the great team of people that have worked with him through the years have made Oswego County a better place. Under his leadership we’ve seen many economic development projects advanced, with lasting results. Mike has faithfully served our community and will truly be missed. We wish Mike the best in his well-earned retirement.”

Tim McKernan Facility manager, EJ USA.

“Mike Treadwell has always cared deeply about the health of the Oswego County economy. He has worked tirelessly to establish many valuable partnerships with local economic development stakeholders to attract and support businesses in the area.”

KAREN KNAPIK-SCALZO Associate economist, New York State Department of Labor, Syracuse.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve alongside Michael Treadwell on the County of Oswego IDA and Operation Oswego County boards. Michael has admirably served Oswego County, our business community and the region’s economic development organizations for nearly four decades and his knowledge and experience will be profoundly missed.”

Gary Toth Chairman of the County of Oswego IDA and former member of the OOC board of directors.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Mike for more than 20 years. Not only is he a Yankee fan, but he has a home in New Jersey. He has done a lot for the county and he will be missed. Austin [Wheelock] was a good choice to succeed him and will continue the positive work done by Operation Oswego County.

John Halleron Advanced certified senior business advisor, Small Business Development Center, Oswego.

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