SUNY Canton Management Courses Bolster Area Businesses

SUNY Canton’s Management program is helping four area businesses identify ways to become more profitable.

"Students are able to apply what they learned in class to real world business problems," said Professor Charles R. Fenner, who teaches business classes in the Management program.  "It's this application of theory to practice that is at the heart of SUNY technology sector education while preparing the students to follow their entrepreneurial dreams."

Three students currently enrolled in the program have direct ties to area businesses and are using the course’s objectives to grow their enterprises.

Kevin B. Kingsbury of the Gouverneur-based Marble City Heating and Plumbing, who is working on his second major at SUNY Canton, is using his coursework to determine his operational capacity and create a plan for future growth.

“I’m trying to gear the whole project to grow our business into a medium-sized operation with 15-20 employees,” Kingsbury said.

Kevin B. Kingsbury a Management student and owner of the Gouverneur-based Marble City Heating and Plumbing recently met with SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran to discuss his company’s growth. Pictured are (l to r) Professor Charles R. Fenner, Kingsbury and Szafran.

Kingsbury hires graduates of SUNY Canton’s Heating and Plumbing program to work at his company.

Maria L. Vecchio of Sergi’s Italian Restaurant in Canton, used her senior project to create a survey to help her learn more about their loyal customer base. As part of the survey, she had SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran hold a drawing for pizza rolls, one of the local restaurant’s signature servings.

Pictured are (l to R) Professor Charles R. Fenner, Ph.D., SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Douglas M. Scheidt and Maria L. Vecchio, a Management student from Canton. Vecchio created a survey to poll customers at Sergi’s Italian Restaurant and asked Szafran to aid in a drawing for pizza rolls.

Other students are using the class as means of tracking revenues and expenditures for a family business. Ashley A. Martin and Logan W. Jones used their senior-level assignment to track expenditures related to sales at Martin’s Marina in Cape Vincent.

Rick Gilchrist, owner of Perry’s Market in Norwood, met with Management Professor Charles R. Fenner’s Strategic Policies and Issues class to develop a new business plan.

Additionally, students in Fenner’s Strategic Policies and Issues class helped Rick Gilchrist IV develop a plan to build upon his successful business, Perry’s Market in Norwood.

“It started as a brainstorming session about ways I could expand into other areas,” Gilchrist said about his time with the class. “The students created the beginnings of a solid plan, and I was able to finish it.”