Mountain Community Visions

Hohmeyer's Lake Clear Lodge - one of the last original Adirondack Destination Resorts open to the public. This 1886 destination Lodge on 25 acres has now been operated by three generations of the Hohmeyer Family under Ernest and Cathy Hohmeyer's ownership. The Lodge has been expanded to include a 25-acre facility with an internationally recognized fine dining restaurant, with B&B rooms, family handcrafted chalets and vacation rentals. 2007 Accolades include a feature article/ cover travel story of the July NY Daily News; January 07 Hotel Interactive; January 07 Five Forks review, Watertown Daily Times; February 07 Concord Monitor

Ernest Hohmeyer - 22-year President and founding director of the Adirondack Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) and its various non-profit and for profit subsidiaries including the Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Tourism (CAST) and Adirondack Tourism Fund LLC. AEDC is a 14 county not-for-profit economic development organization that provides a wide range of financing, technical services, facilitation and planning services to communities and entrepreneurs alike. The AEDC currently serves as an U.S. and state certified Community Development Financial Institution, a SBA and U.S. Rural Development Administration lender, a NYS Entrepreneurial Assistance Center, and provides a variety of community economic development services focusing on sustainable development. Mr. Hohmeyer is a certified National Development Council Finance Professional accredited as a Community Economic Planning specialist and is a certified SBA business counselor. In his 22 years of developing AEDC, Mr. Hohmeyer's accomplishments include:

• Authored and developed the Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Tourism (CAST), one of the first efforts of its kind in sustainable development that delivers an integrated approach to tourism including a community tourism appraisal process, specialized technical services and financing initiatives including the creation of a unique $20M private and public loan fund. The Center also established the 4 state Northern Forest region's first international conference on sustainable tourism entitled Mountain Resorts of the Future: An International Conference on the Integration of Planning, Marketing, Development and Environmental Leadership for Four Season Resorts. CAST has also been an innovator in developing workforce housing models in resort communities including working with employers in the Olympic region that resulted in an employee workforce survey that generated over 1000 responses.
• Expansion of a local organization which began with no staff support or active economic development programs on an $18,000 budget, to a 14 county program emphasizing the Adirondack Park region with specialized staff managing a multi-million dollar portfolio in loan and capital assets.
• An innovator in the development of sustainable development initiatives, which achieved international, federal and state recognition in the areas of finance, technical services, planning and facilitation.
• The creation of a unique small business loan fund, which resulted in AEDC being selected as one of 35 organizations nation-wide to participate in a U.S. Small Business Administration demonstration program.
• Certification as a Federal and State Community Development Financial Institution.
• Originated an Adirondack Initiative program targeted to overcoming historical divisions related to the development of the Adirondack Park economy through the creation of a Roundtable of stakeholders including businesses, government and environmental organizations which produced numerous successful initiatives.
• Selected to be a lead participant to three Eastern European missions on building sustainable development organizational models.

President Clinton recognized Mr. Hohmeyer in 1994 as the SBA's Financial Advocate of the Year -the first such national SBA award for New York State. The AEDC received the 1998 Small Business Not-for-Profit Organization of the Year Award from NYS Governor George E. Pataki, as well as the 1998 Adirondack Local Government Review Board Community Services award. AEDC was the recipient of the Adirondack Council's Community Conservation Award - the first time this environmental advocacy group selected an economic development organization.

Mr. Hohmeyer's understanding of sustainable tourism issues also stems from the fact that he grew up in a family operated resort business, which he and his wife and three children now own and operate. Hohmeyer's Lake Clear Lodge and Adirondack Alps brand (www.lodgeonlakeclear.com) have developed into an internationally acclaimed four season resort recognized in such publications as National Geographic Traveler, Ski and Skiing magazines, and Birnbaum's International Travel Guide.

Mr. Hohmeyer earned a Master's degree in Public Policy and was selected as part of a ten member U.S. economic delegation to Eastern Europe in 1984 and was involved with continued work in that region in 1996 and 2000. Mr. Hohmeyer is a certified pilot and enjoys creative writing.