From The Buffalo News (August 15, 2022) — Justin Schultz first opened his CBD manufacturing business, Bison Botanics, in 2018 with the hopes of one day breaking into the recreational cannabis market in New York.
That day came Monday when Schultz learned he was among the first three Western New York businesses to receive a license from the state to process cannabis.
Chocolate Delivery Systems on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo and Empire Hemp Co. on Main Street in Batavia were the two other local businesses awarded licenses. Fifteen companies were given licenses from the state on Monday, according to the state Office of Cannabis Management.
“To be one of the first in the state to be able to do this is just an extraordinary opportunity that we’re so excited about and to be a part of,” Empire Hemp Co. CEO Chris VanDusen said.
This license allows processors to take cannabis grown by New York farmers and turn it into consumer products, such as marijuana edibles, vape cartridges, topicals and smokable joints.
The Buffalo News (Jul 26, 2022) — BestSelf Behavioral Health has landed millions in state funding to develop an intensive crisis stabilization center in Buffalo – part of a comprehensive crisis response system New York is forming.
The center, and others like it around the state, are geared toward helping any person experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, aiming to divert them away from unnecessary emergency room visits. The 24/7 centers will provide evaluation, care and treatment.
“This is a new program type that’s coming to our community,” BestSelf President and CEO Elizabeth Woike-Ganga said. “This is probably the only time that this opportunity will come along. So I think we just felt at BestSelf that we’re really well placed to start up and support a community-based program like this, based on all the other work that we’ve been doing in the community for so long.”
The state called for proposals for the intensive centers in late January and announced the winners July 19. The state did not disclose how many applicants there were in the five-county Western New York region.
The funds
BestSelf will get state funding of $8.7 million over five years. Here’s how that breaks down:
• In the first year, tentatively slated to start in January, BestSelf is in line for $1.67 million in startup funds, along with $1.4 million in operational funding.
• Operational funding also will be $1.4 million annually in years two through five.
On top of that, BestSelf says early estimates indicate Medicaid reimbursements will be about $2.7 million annually.
That will further grow BestSelf’s annual operating budget of around $100 million.
Related to the intensive center award, BestSelf will be eligible to apply for $1 million in capital funding to get its building ready.
The location
BestSelf will develop the intensive crisis stabilization center at an existing location: 430 Niagara St. in Buffalo, across from a Tops store and a couple blocks from the I-190.
The target opening date for the intensive center is January, though it will depend on several factors, such as what renovations are needed for the building.
“We’re looking at, ‘Are we going to add space or, kind of, how are we going to make that work?’ ” Woike-Ganga said. “Space-wise, we started looking at that already. We will have to do some alterations to the space.”
She also anticipates some of that location’s programs may have to be moved around as they prepare for the rollout.
Hiring
BestSelf has grown its organization to more than 1,300 employees, and that will soon increase.
With the state award for the intensive center, Woike-Ganga said BestSelf expects to add 43 new positions, including physicians, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, mental health counselors and substance abuse counselors.
That won’t be easy. The behavioral health sector is facing hiring challenges, but Woike-Ganga anticipates that prospective employees will be interested in the “exciting and really needed project.”
“We do anticipate that there’ll be a lot of interest from the community in the project, and also folks wanting to come on board and do this kind of work,” she said.
“We’ll triage them and assess what’s going on,” Woike-Ganga said. “Is it a situation where someone needs to talk to a counselor or peer? Is it something where someone has maybe run out of medications and needs a refill? Or is it, for example, a substance use disorder issue where they need medication-assisted treatment for an opioid use issue?”
The center will have the capacity to administer medication. Its professionals also will assess whether a patient is an immediate danger to themselves or others, in which case they would be taken to a psychiatric emergency department.
The overall goal is to make sure a patient is treated in the appropriate setting, fitting into a larger health care trend.
An architectural rendering of the exterior of the proposed Thousand Islands Event Center in the town of Watertown.
After championing the project for 15 years, Watertown Town Supervisor Joel R. Bartlett’s effort is paying off with a planned $80 million event center off Route 3.
Mr. Bartlett and the Watertown Local Development Corp. are working with OVG Facilities, a $10 billion developer and operator of sports facilities around the world, a firm headed by Michael F. Sherman, former head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers, and Seahawks Hockey Premier Hockey Club, a hockey club and academy in Cape Cod.
The developers said they are moving ahead with the 520,000-square-foot multi-use indoor facility.
The Thousand Islands Event Center will provide state-of-the-art space for a complete range of sports, recreation, entertainment and special events serving the north country, the Thousand Islands and southern Ontario, the developers said.
“This might well put us finally on the map,” Mr. Bartlett said.
They are seeking $30 million in financing from the state.
Working with Upstate Strategic Advisors, a governmental affairs consultant, they’ll arrange a meeting in the next couple of weeks with Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul to secure state funding.
They’re confident that the state will come through with financial aid for the project they say will benefit the Thousand Islands tourism industry and the region’s economy.
The group is projecting a Jan. 1, 2024, opening. They’re expecting groundbreaking to be later this summer or early fall.
Located near the Board of Cooperative Educational Services complex, the land is owned by the Watertown Local Development Corp., which will lease it to OVG Facilities and Mike Sherman Sports, or MS2, an athletics organization that he operates in Cape Cod.
Financing for the project also includes $15 million in private equity and $35 million in taxable bonding. Other funding would come from $5 million in naming rights and a capital campaign.
The events center will have two indoor turf fields, eight basketball courts, 16 volleyball courts, a 220-meter banked indoor track, two National Hockey League-quality sheets of ice and facilities for wrestling, gymnastics and pitching/batting cages.
Describing it as “a top-tier destination for year-round events,” the facility will bring people into the area, plus north country families will no longer have to drive a few hours away to sports tournaments for their children, the partners said.
They project that the facility will attract 250 event days and 305,884 patrons of which 93,554 will need to stay in local hotels.
They also project $142.5 million in visitor spending and $20.1 million in incremental lodging revenues over five years, with the need for an additional 327 hotel rooms in the region.
The event center is “ideally located” to serve a primary radius of 60 miles, a secondary market of 90 miles and people as far as 120 miles away, according to the developers.
The group envisions hosting college hockey tournaments with all of the nation’s top teams. The facility also will be used for the adult sports market.
The facility will also feature a 9,000-seat venue for sports, concerts, family shows and other live events. It will accommodate conventions, trade and consumer shows, exhibitions and other events.
The facility will employ 49 positions and 220 construction and short-term jobs.
The three partners are also working with Yaeger Architects, Lenexa, Kansas, on facility design; Arizona Building Systems, St. Louis, Missouri, for engineering; and Upstate Strategic Advisors, Buffalo, on governmental affairs.
PRESERVATION BUFFALO NIAGARA (PBN) identifies, protects, and promotes the unique architecture and historic legacy, and connects people to the places they love in Western New York.
Upstate Strategic Advisors President Sam Hoyt honored with the 2022 George K Arthur Award for Preservation Leadership
As a former New York State Assemblymember and Regional President of Empire State Development Corporation and current President of Upstate Strategic Advisors, Sam Hoyt led the effort to implement and improve the New York State Historic Preservation Tax Credit.
The passage of the historic tax credit bill, led by Mr. Hoyt and former State Senator David Valesky of Oneida, has resulted in one of the most successful economic development programs in New York State history. The tax credit has spurred $12 billion in investment to revitalized more than 1,000 historic properties since 2011, including well over a billion dollars of private investment in Western New York.
Buffalo, NY—Three Western New York-based personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturing companies: NYPPE, LLC, of Tonawanda, Pure Environments by Shatkin First of Amherst, and BMP of Medina, today announced the donation of 15,000 adult and pediatric high filtration, medical-grade masks, and N95s to a host of east side not-for-profit groups. The announcement took place at the Seneca-Babcock Community Association. These companies are part of the New York State PPE Manufacturers Association (NYSPPEMA) representing New York State-based companies manufacturing personal protective equipment and rapid covid test kits.
Connor Knapp, co-chair of the NYSPPEMA and owner of NYPPE, LLC. said, “The NYS PPE Manufacturers Association is pleased to be able to assist our local community-based organizations with their efforts to keep their members healthy and safe. The 15,000 masks that we are donating today are all manufactured right here in Western New York. We believe it is critical that the products that we are using to combat Covid-19 and the Omicron variant are safe and reliable, something that cannot be said of the majority of foreign-made products that have been sold and distributed into the U.S. market. These unsafe products pose a direct threat to Americans effectively protecting themselves and mitigating the spread of the virus. We pride ourselves on providing reliable, American and New York made alternatives to our fellow Americans to ensure their safety and the safety of their loved ones.”
One of the most effective ways to reduce the transmission of Covid is through high filtration masks which are currently in short supply and often too costly for many residents to purchase.
Additionally, the increased demand for masks has resulted in millions of fraudulent, counterfeit, and even reused masks being sold on the market, mostly from foreign countries. These unsafe products not only severely hamper efforts to mitigate the spread of Covid and the recent Omicron variant but jeopardize the safety of the users who think they are protected by using them.
These New York State manufactured masks are safe, locally available, and the companies that make them employ hundreds of New Yorkers.
The Buffalo City Council recently passed a resolution encouraging Buffalo public schools, city agencies, and businesses to utilize locally produced personal protective equipment.
Councilmember Nowakowski, who introduced the resolution, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has made very clear what we Council Members already knew to be true: neighborhood-based community groups are the frontline for families, our elders, and children in the community. They help form the social safety net for our residents. On behalf of the Buffalo Common Council, I would like to thank NYPPE, Pure Environments by Shatkin First, and BMP America for their generous donation of 15,000 high-filtration masks today to the Seneca-Babcock Community Association. In a time of crisis, these companies were able to respond to the demand for PPE products by manufacturing them here in Western New York, supporting local families with local jobs. Buffalo is all about buying and supporting local, and this should be true for PPE as well. I hope those in a position to make purchasing decisions strongly consider purchasing locally manufactured products whenever possible.”
All donated masks will be donated to both locations of the Seneca-Babcock Community Association and then further distributed to 10-15 additional community groups, block clubs, and tenant/neighborhood associations.
“The partnership shown by the NYS PPE Manufacturers Association is a shining example of businesses coming together for a common cause in the fight against Covid-19,” said Lovejoy Council Member Bryan Bollman. “Their leadership will allow us to provide critical resources to our residents across the Lovejoy District, starting with our senior living facilities and community centers. And, even better news, all of the PPE was made here in Western New York by western New Yorkers.”
Brian Pilarski, president of the Seneca Babcock Community Center and Town of Cheektowaga Councilmember said, “The people who use this facility and our others are from underserved communities. These families live in poverty and/or are the working poor. They do not have the financial wherewithal to incur all the extra expenses associated with the pandemic. On their behalf, I thank these companies for this generous donation and assure you that these masks will be distributed to families who are in real need of this type of support. Also, in my capacity as a member of the Cheektowaga Town Council, I am pleased to announce that I will soon be introducing a resolution, similar to the one passed by the Buffalo Council, encouraging everyone to buy from local manufacturers when it comes to PPE purchasing.”
Dr. Todd Shatkin stated, “We are happy to support the community by providing these N95 masks. When NY State called for community innovation to combat the Covid crisis, we rose to the challenge, quickly ramping up to provide the very best quality filtration masks available! We have recently received NIOSH approval and are currently in full force making N95 respirators. It’s been a privilege to be able to donate hundreds of thousands of masks to local area hospitals, nursing homes, and the community at large. We know that the new variant has increased demand and that is why we are excited to provide safe, reliable, New York state-made products to our community.”
Alan Lebold, President of BMP America stated, “As the Covid pandemic reached the United States in 2020, our employees recognized that BMP America has all the right tools to design, manufacture, and sell superior cloth face masks. A majority of the products that BMP America produces are highly technical filters. The BMP company designs technical textiles, manufactures industrial products from these technical textiles in Medina, New York, and sells to major industrial manufactures around the world including Xerox, Kodak, Hewlett-Packard, Whirlpool, Electrolux, and Dyson. With BMP America’s technical textile knowledge and state-of-the-art processing equipment, we have designed the world’s lowest-cost highest filtration efficiency washable face mask on the market today. Our masks are available in both adult and child sizes and in an array of beautiful colors. Beyond our mask’s outstanding filtration efficiency, the BMP mask has incredible comfort due to the use of polyester/nylon microfibers which are 7 times finer than natural silk fibers.
“With the Covid pandemic continuing, the BMP America company has donated masks to local schools, businesses, and now to local community centers, continued Lebold. “Lebold BMP America has a long history of donating to important causes throughout the New York State area and this is just another one of these important causes!”
About the NY State PPE Manufacturers Association:
The NYSPPEMA is an association of 20 companies from across New York State manufacturing personal protective equipment. The association represents those companies that responded to the dire need for these products at the outset of the pandemic and ramped up their manufacturing of safe, reliable, and effective PPE. NYSPPEMA intends to continue this mission to aid in safeguarding the American people against the current pandemic, and to ensure that a sustainable domestic PPE supply chain is created to ensure New York and the United States is never caught unprepared again.
We sat down with three professional athletes, Connor Knapp and Morris Titanic (Buffalo Sabres), and Maddie Elia (Buffalo Beauts) who hung up their skates, and transitioned from their successful professional hockey careers into regular working life in Buffalo. And the trio have certainly made the most of their new direction!
Any pro-athlete will tell you, it’s impossible to know when retirement will rear its head. It comes at a different time and in different avenues for everybody.
Connor Knapp grew up in York, N.Y., a small town south of Rochester. He and his three siblings grew up loving hockey, but the Knapp family had even more in common – they all played goaltender.
“We had this big van, and sometimes we fit four sets of [goalie] equipment in there,” Knapp said of his early hockey days. “My oldest brother got into it, and there was just this follow-on effect … We had a madhouse sometimes growing up.”
Knapp’s skill at the goaltender position took him to Boston to play for the Jr. Bruins when he was 17 before heading to the college level where he played at Miami University (Ohio) for four years, going 46-22-11 in his career with the RedHawks.
In 2009, after his freshman year at Miami, a dream came true. He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres 164th overall in the sixth round of that year’s NHL Entry Draft, and would then sign a two-year entry level contract with the Sabres in 2012.
The threats of the current Niagara Falls wastewater treatment plant floated to the surface (quite literally) during the infamous 2017 ‘black water’ case that left a discharge from the sewer tunnel engulfing the plant’s outfall adjacent to Niagara Falls. Sadly enough, this is only a foreshadowing of catastrophic events that are bound to happen with the plant’s outdated and inefficient current treatment system.
In response to this cataclysm, the Niagara Falls Water Board (a public benefit corporation created in 2002 by a special act of the New York State Legislature in order to provide safe and reliable water and wastewater management services to our community in an economical and efficient manner) has been actively searching for ways- and the means- to improve the efficiency of the sewer plant.
The Water Board’s Executive Director, Abderrahman Zehraoui, Ph.D stated, “the engineering facts are undeniable, the current treatment system is outdated, inefficient and far too costly to operate, it must be converted to a biological treatment process. Band aids have been applied to keep the facility running these last 4 or 5 years, but time is running out. Change must come.”
The Niagara Falls Water Board plan to convert the Niagara Falls Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) to a biological treatment system has an estimated cost in the $200 to $250 million range. In opposition to the current chemical system, this conversion plan is universally recognized as the only viable way to provide safe treatment of waste water for the city.
Following President Biden’s recent signing of the historic bi-partisan $1T American Infrastructure and Jobs Act, the Mayor of Niagara Falls, Ontario, delivered a formal resolution to the Mayor of Niagara Falls, New York, during a ceremonial, bi-national meeting on the Rainbow Bridge, demonstrating unified support of an “Infrastructure Initiative” of the Niagara Falls Water Board (NY). The initiative requests funding for this conversion of the plant’s treatment system in order to not only protect water quality, but also preserve these critical bodies of water like the historic Lower Niagara River and Lake Ontario watershed.
“Water quality is critical to the well-being of our community and the requested funding is essential to bring the WWTP to acceptable treatment conditions. The landmark infrastructure bill recognizes how critically important water infrastructure is to securing a viable future, and I join Mayor Restaino and Mayor Diodati in calling upon our leaders in Washington, D.C. and Albany to provide funding for this necessary project,” said Nicholas Forster, Chairman of Niagara Falls Water Board.
Empire State Development (ESD)announced that technology and logistics firm, Founders Holding Co., and its subsidiaries are planning to expand their current facility on East Amherst Street in the City of Buffalo and would create up to 148 new jobs over the next ten years. The project would receive up to $1.5 million from ESD based on actual job creation through the Excelsior Tax Credit Program in exchange for continued job creation commitments over the next decade.
Kevin Younis, ESD Chief Operating Officer and Executive Deputy Commissioner said, “Founders Holding Co.’s expansion reflects its commitment to Buffalo’s East Side and supports New York State’s strategic plan to encourage business growth in the area. The tech and logistic company’s investment is a win, both for Western New York job seekers in search of better opportunities and for the Erie County economy.”
Founders Holding Co. — ranked on Inc. Magazine’s list of America’s 5000 fastest growing private companies in 2020 and 2021 — is a holding company that acquires, partners, and works with companies in the transportation, logistics, e-commerce, and technology sectors. The company has four operating divisions: Founders Logistics, the firm’s newest venture that was launched to take advantage of the unprecedented growth of e-commerce distribution services; Founders Mobility, one of the largest health and human service transportation providers in New York State; Founders Software, a leading developer of innovative SaaS technologies in the US; and Founders Gateway, a provider of leading-edge back office shared services, including accounting, HR, IT, and operations.
Paul Snyder IV, President of Founders Holding Co. said, “For over 10 years, the City of Buffalo has proven to be an ideal home for Founders Holding Co., and we are very proud to be a part of the area’s legacy of growth and transformation. It is wonderful that New York State and Governor Hochul share our commitment to creating economic opportunities in this often underserved and overlooked neighborhood, and we are incredibly grateful for their support and enthusiasm as we expand.”
Founders Logistics anticipates investing more than $28 million over the next five years to acquire and expand its holdings as an e-commerce Independent Service Provider (IPS). Funds would be used to grow market share, acquire vehicles, make capital improvements to its headquarters located at 401 E. Amherst Street in Buffalo, and develop logistics software for the industry.
The acquisitions by Founders Logistics are part of a larger strategic plan to expand across North America while centralizing the firm’s operations in Buffalo. These operations, including the servicing, fueling, recruitment, training, and back-office functions are operated from Founder’s distribution and servicing center located on the East Side of Buffalo.
Founders Holding Co. has spent the last decade working to provide meaningful employment opportunities and job training for communities that are often described as underemployed, underrepresented, and impoverished. Founders works closely with local public and private sector stakeholders to recruit employees from programs such as PIVOT, which match temporary assistance clients seeking employment to companies looking to fill full-time positions.
In addition to employment opportunities, Founders Holding Co. has a history of promoting within, providing opportunities for employees to move from living-wage jobs to supervisory and managerial jobs. These efforts are supported by management training, and business fundamentals training to provide a skill set that is transferable beyond the work being done for Founders Logistics.
Senator Tim Kennedy said, “As we Build Back Better in New York, Founders Holding Co. is demonstrating a strong commitment to growth and job creation here in Buffalo, and that investment will continue to fuel our local economy and workforce. I’m excited to see this strategic expansion unfold in the heart of Buffalo with support from New York State.”
Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said, “New York State is committed to strategically investing in companies like Founders Holding Co., that can spur job creation and economic opportunities on Buffalo’s East Side and in Greater Western New York. I applaud Governor Hochul’s leadership and investment in WNY economy through the Excelsior Tax Credit Program.”
Mayor Byron Brown said, “The increased commitment by Buffalo-based Founders Holding Co. complements my administration’s efforts to attract additional investment and add jobs to Buffalo’s east side neighborhoods. Founders pledge to invest $28 million to grow its E. Amherst Street headquarters, add 148 new jobs and continue its growth in the transportation, logistics, and technology sectors, is a win for Buffalo’s east side. I thank Governor Kathy Hochul and Empire State Development for their continued assistance to companies looking to grow and thrive in the City of Buffalo.”
County Executive Mark Poloncarz said, “Founders Holding Co. is showing its commitment to Erie County with this expansion and announcement that they anticipate creating 148 jobs over the next ten years, building our workforce and showing once again why our community is a great place to do business. We welcome this news and look forward to the next ten years of growth.”
Upstate Strategic Advisors is pleased that our client, BusPatrol America, has signed an agreement with the City of Niagara Falls and the Niagara Falls School District to provide state-of-the-art stop-arm camera technology on every school bus in the city to protect children who are being picked up or dropped off for school.
Far too often reckless drivers ignore the flashing lights on school buses and illegally pass them putting children’s lives at risk. This program will use sophisticated video technology which the police will use to issue citations to the violators. Niagara Falls will be the first city in Upstate New York using this technology to protect their students.
Niagara Falls School Superintendent Mark Laurrie, Raeann Argy Tyler, from Niagara Falls Coach Lines, and Mayor Robert Restaino sign a contract with BusPatrol America to provide school bus cameras to detect drivers who pass stopped school buses on Thursday.
From Niagara-Gazette.com — The city of Niagara Falls, the Falls School District, and Niagara Falls Coach Lines have inked a pact with a company that will bring safety camera technology to the district’s fleet of buses.
Mayor Robert Restaino announced the partnership with BusPatrol during a Thursday afternoon news conference. The contract was signed earlier in the day at city hall.
BusPatrol specializes in what is described as school bus safety technology. The company says its technology focuses on increasing bus safety through the use of data collection and video monitoring.
In practice, BusPatrol installs video cameras on the outside of school buses, typically on the bus’ stop-arm. The camera is activated each time a bus stops and the stop-arm is extended.
As Connor Knapp’s career as a professional goaltender was winding down, he was frustrated by the lack of control he had over his own pathway.
Knapp is a Geneseo native who was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres and played in two games in the 2013-14 season. That was before he was stuck in a journeyman’s role that saw him bumped around to different leagues, teams and cities.
From this experience, the mindset of an entrepreneur was created. For better or worse, Knapp plans to make his own decisions.
“The biggest thing for me is that you control your own destiny,” Knapp said. “You make the ultimate decision on things, and if you are successful it’s great and you can take pride in it. If you screw up or things don’t go according to plan, you try and make up for it.”
Knapp spent the last couple summers of his hockey career working with childhood teammate-turned-successful businessman Pete Bruckel.
By late 2016, Knapp was mulling continuing his career in Europe or possibly entering the field of medical device sales. Bruckel suggested doing his own thing.
The two friends co-founded Sterling Heart Care in 2017, working with local cardiologists to build specialized cardiovascular treatment centers. The company – built in the model of a scalable startup business – was starting to grow last year. The early months of 2020 saw Sterling turn the corner on profitability, but the Covid-19 pandemic had an enormous impact on its progress.
For Knapp, the issue of personal protective equipment became paramount to in-person interactions with heart disease patients. He scoured the world for reputable makers of masks and shields, a frustrating process that mostly involved middlemen hocking shoddy products for outrageous prices.
“It was super frustrating, and it really framed in my mind how bad our PPE issue is here in the United States,” he said. “It was causing a real problem.”
An idea was born. Knapp and Bruckel are the co-founders of a new company, NYPPE Inc., which aims to make affordable N95 surgical masks for health-care customers in the U.S. The company recently received a $1 million grant from New York state to assist with startup costs, which it is matching with its own funding, adding up to a roughly $2 million project.
NYPPE soon plans to install newly acquired equipment at a 4,250-square-foot facility in Kenmore, where it will begin by hiring about 16 people to run its first production shift.
First it will build prototypes that are certified by agencies such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and then enter relationships with high-value customers who are desperate for reputable PPE distributors.
Knapp believes the demand is only going to accelerate. The company is in conversations with National Grid, the New York Power Authority, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and the Northland Workforce Training Center on various potential partnerships.
“We’re most likely going to be dealing with (the public health crisis) well into 2021,” he said. “We have a huge list of potential customers, and though we span the entire country, our ideal situation is that we’re selling most of our products locally in Western New York.”
In the meantime, Knapp’s enthusiasm for Sterling has not dampened. The business has eight full-time employees, two cardiologist-partners and a dedicated investor in Bruckel. He said the goal is to prove out the model on a first site, which will open up potential partnerships going forward.
It’s a lot to consider – kind of like a goalie trying to hold a lead while getting peppered in the third period. Knapp is undeterred.
“I have a lot of late nights, but I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else,” he said. “It’s extremely rewarding and everything I’m doing, I’m constantly learning and try to adapt.”
