As the north country welcomes the summer season, there seems to be a renewed sense of hope for both our families and businesses. The warm weather brings an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and reconnect with family, friends, and co-workers. The longer days also seem to make the morning and evening commutes more enjoyable. The warm weather, decline in COVID-19 cases, and relaxed pandemic guidelines are making way for a sense of a more familiar way of doing things. This return to normalcy is being felt in our office with a slight increase in visitor traffic and activity with potential tenants in our business parks.

The north country at large, however, is still feeling a large void from our Canadian ally visitors and business partners. It is with great anticipation that we await the opening of the northern land border. It feels like forever since we lost our freedom to travel between our two great countries. The closing of the border was a necessary step to stop the spread of COVID-19 and a controlled reopening is necessary for our two economies to reengage. TDC staff and board members understand the value of these relationships and are joining the many voices asking for a plan to allow for increased access between US and Canada. We believe there can and should be a controlled opening of the border for the betterment of all.

Our staff and board have been busy planning for the rest of this year – working on a plan to hold an event this fall in celebration of our organization’s 60-year legacy and developing a long-range strategic plan to help set our organization up for success for decades to come. It certainly has been a busy start to this year, and we welcome continued conversations with potential businesses who are looking to expand their business in Northern NY.

On behalf of everyone at TDC, I wish you a great summer season! We look forward to welcoming international travel across the border soon, and the continued prosperity for business in the north country.