Degliomini and Hilgersom, members of the panel
BETHEL – All six panelists at the Sullivan Renaissance annual conference
on Saturday agreed that the county’s people are its primary asset
when dealing with the hospitality industry.
From the early days when the county was in the heart of the Borscht Belt
hotel circuit to the present, when a Las Vegas-style gaming casino and
resort will be built at Kiamesha Lake, they all said the people who work
in the field make the difference with their dedication and welcoming personalities.
Alan Gerry, who founded Bethel Woods Center for the Arts 10 years ago,
said the casino-resort project is “a real game changer. We can’t
screw this thing up,” he told the conference.
“We need a trained workforce,” said Charles Degliomini, the
executive vice president of Empire Resorts, which will be building the
casino-resort project. It will employ 2,400 people and “we need
a trained workforce.” The company is working in tandem with SUNY
Sullivan to make that happen. College President Dr. Karin Hilgersom said
the school will be working with Disney trainers to teach future employees
for the county’s renaissance.
Dr. Gerard Galarneau, president and chief of the medical staff at Catskill
Regional Medical Center, said it is the facility’s employees, their
dedication and will to serve the community, that has helped it grow.
Dr. Patrick Dollard, president of The Center for Discovery, said he said
county residents are dedicated at what they do.
Ramsay Adams, the Catskill Mountainkeeper, said Sullivan is “the
gateway to the Catskills.”
