All members of the Board of the County of Otsego Industrial Development Agency are also members of the Board of the Otsego County Capital Resource Corporation and the Board of the Oneonta Rail Yards Local Development Corporation
Cheryl Robinson, COIDA/OCCRC/ORYLDC Chair
◊ Appointed by the Otsego County Board of Representatives: December, 2016
◊ Appointed as Chair of the IDA/CRC/LDC Boards: February 22, 2024
◊ Term Expires: February 25, 2025
Cheryl is currently President/CEO at NYCM Insurance, a property and casualty insurance company serving New York State residents since 1899 with its home office located in Edmeston, NY. Cheryl was born in Cooperstown, NY and grew up in Edmeston. She graduated with a BA from St. Bonaventure University. Cheryl currently resides in Otego, NY with her husband, Jim Wolf.
David Rowley, COIDA/OCCRC/ORYLDC Vice Chair
◊ Appointed by the Otsego County Board of Representatives: February, 2019
◊ Appointed as Vice Chair of the IDA/CRC/LDC Boards: February 22, 2024
◊ Term Expires: February 25, 2025
David was born and raised in Oneonta, NY, but his career in education took him out of the Central New York area from 1983-2003. His post-secondary education includes a B.A. from Hartwick College, an M.P.A. from Pennsylvania State University, and a C.A.S. in Educational Administration from the State University College at New Paltz.
David was a high school social studies teacher for fourteen years and served as an Adjunct Instructor for the Syracuse University Project Advance Program, while teaching at Monticello High School. His career in Educational Administration spanned eighteen years and included serving as a Secondary Principal in two school districts, Assistant Superintendent of Schools of the Sullivan West School District and Superintendent of Schools for the Edmeston Central School District, the Oneonta City School District, and the Stamford Central School District. In 2016, David began working as a Labor Relations Negotiator and Educational Hearing Officer for the ONC BOCES Labor Relations Service.
Since 2008, David has resided in the Town of Oneonta with his wife, Gail, who serves as the Assistant Director of Operations for LEAF, Inc. David is also the President of the Oneonta Rotary Fund, Inc., and serves on the A.O. Fox Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees.
Jeffrey C. Lord, COIDA/OCCRC/ORYLDC Treasurer
◊ Appointed by the Otsego County Board of Representatives: January, 1999
◊ Appointed as Treasurer of the IDA/CRC/LDC Boards: February 22, 2024
◊ Term Expires: February 25, 2025
Jeff Lord is a Vice President/Commercial Team Leader with Community Bank (and formerly Wilber National Bank) in Oneonta, his employer for 20 years. As a Team Leader, Jeff manages a 5-member Commercial Banking team responsible for all Commercial Loan and Banking activity for the Central Region of Community Bank. Prior to joining Community Bank, Jeff was a banker for 12 years in New Mexico with Sunwest Bank and Bank of the Southwest. Jeff has served on the board of the IDA since 1998, and as treasurer for several years. Jeff is a graduate of SUNY Alfred and lives in Oneonta with his family.
Tom Armao, COIDA/OCCRC/ORYLDC Secretary
◊ Appointed by the Otsego County Board of Representatives: September, 2017
◊ Appointed as Secretary of the IDA/CRC/LDC Boards: February 22, 2024
◊ Term Expires: February 25, 2025.
Tom Armao is the President of the Country Club Auto Group in Oneonta. He has worked there since October of 1978, when he started as a salesperson. Over time, he moved up through all the departments, until becoming the co-owner with his nephew Peter Armao. Tom spent almost 20 years on the board of the Otsego County Chamber and has long been an advocate of job creation and economic development to improve the opportunities for the next generation. Newly appointed to the board, he is eager to put his can do attitude to work with fellow board members at Otsego Now.
Craig Gelbsman
◊ Appointed by the Otsego County Board of Representatives: July, 2014
Craig Gelbsman brings a vast knowledge of Otsego County and the region. Coming from a family of small business owners, Craig owns numerous businesses in the region. He owns a real estate company that includes numerous residential and commercial properties. His entertainment company deals with many of the biggest music and TV personalities in the world. He also owns a cleaning business, that occupies an 8000sqft building and has four stores throughout the region. With all of these endeavors he employees on average 40 people. He has been advocating for this region his whole life.
Craig served on the county board representatives for four years. During his tenure, he was the head of the Intergovernmental Affairs committee, Administration committee, and the Telecommunications committee. He also served four years on the Public Safety committee and three years on the Budget committee, including one year as chair. Under his leadership, he helped put Otsego County in its best financial position in 10 years. He proudly serves on many boards throughout Otsego County.
Craig is an avid sports fan, especially Syracuse Basketball, and enjoys coaching local youth. He says his greatest accomplishment is his family. His wife Melinda is a science teacher in the Oneonta School system and they have four children.
Patricia Kennedy
◊ Appointed by the Otsego County Board of Representatives: September, 2017
Patricia Kennedy serves as chief executive officer at Springbrook, a not-for-profit, state-licensed organization servicing over 850 people with developmental disabilities from across New York State and beyond. The Otsego based facility employs more than 1,200 individuals and is a recognized leader in its filed.
Ms. Kennedy has received many accolades for her work including being named by the New York State Senate in 2015 as a “Woman of Distinction” and in 2005 New York State Developmental Disabilities Council Administrator of the Year. Under her leadership, Springbrook has expanded services greatly to include residential, educational, therapeutic, and community support options that span a person’s lifetime.
Andrew Marietta
◊ Appointed by the Otsego County Board of Representatives: February, 2018
Andrew manages the CNY Regional Office and has worked at NYCON since 2004. He serves as a resource for nonprofits across NYS and provides direct assistance in the areas of management, governance, strategic planning, marketing, fund development, insurance and risk management. He facilitates two Nonprofit Capacity Building Programs, and manages NYCON’s statewide partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).
His expertise is in the cultural sector with a focus on marketing and fund development, and he possesses a master’s in museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program. He is also a licensed insurance broker with Council Services Plus and has extensive knowledge in the areas of general liability and employee benefits. He is on the Board of the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce, Mothers and Babies Perinatal Network, and Cornell Cooperative Extension Schoharie and Otsego Counties. He also serves on the Otsego County Board of Representatives. In addition, Andrew has a Cooperstown housing business, which offers year-round housing to community residents.
James L. Seward
◊ Appointed by the Otsego County Board of Representatives: February, 2022
State Senator James L. Seward’s three decades plus of service as a state senator cap a lifelong interest in politics, public affairs, and government. A native of Otsego County, Senator Seward attended Oneonta public schools and graduated from Hartwick College with a B.A. degree in political science. He also studied at the Nelson Rockefeller Institute of SUNY Albany. In 1999, Hartwick College honored Senator Seward with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
First elected to the state senate in 1986, Senator Seward retired at the end of 2020 after 17 terms.
During his initial term, Senator Seward was appointed chair of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee. He won enactment of the “Power for Jobs” program, helping retain and create thousands of New York jobs.
In 1999, Seward assumed chairmanship of the Senate Insurance Committee and immediately set out to develop state policy to help consumers and strengthen New York’s leadership in this vital segment of the state’s financial services industry. He fought to broaden health insurance coverage, lower costs for workers and small business owners, and enact key reforms.
Seward won statewide recognition for his “Freedom Plan” to match simpler, lower cost health insurance policies with federally authorized health savings accounts. The legislation is an innovative approach to addressing the rising cost of health insurance for employers and their employees. Seward led the fight against auto insurance fraud, a significant factor in rising auto insurance premiums. He is past president of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL).
In 2019, Senator Seward was appointed ranking member of the influential Senate Finance Committee. Senator Seward’s veteran leadership and upstate viewpoint were indispensable to the committee – tasked with conducting public hearings on the governor’s budget proposal and guiding development of the final plan.
Senator Seward consistently advocated for education, securing state aid for local districts to offset rising taxes and expand technology and special education initiatives. He strongly supported enactment of the STAR school tax relief program and championed numerous property tax relief proposals.
A longtime member of the Senate Higher Education Committee, Senator Seward worked closely with the many colleges and universities in his district securing state grants to help area colleges develop new programs of study and make crucial campus improvements.
In his district, Senator Seward was a strong partner in local economic development, encouraging job creation and business growth. To that end, Senator Seward hosted a pair of economic development summits in 2012 and 2014. The summits served as a springboard, transforming Otsego County’s economic vision and leading to the birth of Otsego Now.
Senator Seward and his wife Cynthia (née Milavec) reside in Milford. They have two grown children and two grandchildren.