Chancellor Malatras and NYS SBDC Interim Director Tammy Morrow Joint Statement on Ward Lumber Transitioning Ownership to Employees with Help of SUNY Canton

“Ward Lumber has been a North Country community staple for more than a century. We are immensely proud that our SUNY Canton Small Business Development Center pinpointed a problem and then worked closely with Ward Lumber to secure down payment capital to transition ownership to employees, save more than 50 jobs, and ensure that a 130-year-old business would remain intact. We are grateful for the Cooperative Development Institute (CDI) and the Adirondack North Country Association, which both partnered with the SUNY Canton SBDC to execute this historic transition—the first employee-ownership transition of its kind ever in the North Country region. SUNY operates 22 Small Business Development Centers across New York State that have helped thousands of small businesses secure funding to stay afloat and reinvent themselves during an incredibly tumultuous year. This is yet another example of the concrete impact they have on communities every day.”