(Credit: Steve Thurston, 2022)
Michael Bittel at the Sagamore Hotel in Bolton Landing, N.Y. He spoke to FoothillsBusinessDaily.com about retiring and moving to Tennesee, July 7, 2022.
The early summer mixer that brought together the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce and CVB, and the Bolton Chamber of Commerce ran on a beautiful sunny Tuesday afternoon, June 7 at the Sagamore Hotel on Green Island in Lake George.
Held annually, not counting pandemic years, the event this year had special meaning as Michael Bittel, the president and CEO of the ARCC is retiring.
He said to those gathered that it has not been a job, but it has been his passion, or, as he often says, “A blessing.”
[Read our earlier coverage here.]
He sat down for a few minutes and spoke to Steve Thurston of FoothillsBusinessDaily.com.
FBD: So this is your last main event at the chamber?
MB: Well, we have the golf outing on Monday [June 20]. That’s our second largest fundraiser. But as far as kind of putting it all out there, yeah, yeah.
FBD: And you officially retire on June 30, the last day of June?
MB: July 1, that’s the Friday. It’ll be four years, two months. I don’t know if you heard me up there, but this hasn’t been a job — Look at this! [He pointed to another person who swung by to say goodbye. Dozens had caught him in various locations on the grounds]. Just think of our relationship [FBD and he had a rocky conversation over coverage in 2021]. So there’s been 200 others of those, that maybe the first phone call didn’t go so well and then all of sudden there’s people who have backed us up to the hilt because they know our passion.
MB: And it’s not just me. It’s the team—Tricia, Amanda, Karen, Carol Ann. The chamber is healthy, and the chamber will continue to be healthy. I’m excited. Give someone else another chance.
[The team: V.P. Tricia Rogers; Finance Manager Karen Mattison; Marketing Director Amanda Blanton; and Member Services & Events Manager Carol Ann Conover.]
FBD: Can you talk about where you’re heading and what you’re doing?
MB: Sure. Sure. Toward the end of July moving down toward Tennessee. Excited about it. The winters are so beautiful here, but being old and decrepit, the winters get to me, brother.
FBD: You’re 54, shut up!
[Laughter.]
MB: I know. The good old arthritis and the aches and pains add up quite a bit. Look, I love it here. Every time I speak, I speak of the beauty of this area, starting with the people. I’d like a longer summer and fall season. That’s really what it comes down to.
FBD: People are guessing you’re running for office, or campaigning with someone. [Bittel is the former head of the Republican party in Washington County.]
MB: Well, I’m always going to stay close with elected officials on both sides of the aisle, no matter where I live. There are so many who have done great for this area.
FBD: So you’re moving to Tennessee, and are you getting into politics down there?
MB: I am retiring and everything I plan on doing is as a volunteer. My son is going to go to the University of Tennessee, that’s right in Knoxville. I’ve already made some wonderful contacts down there on the political front. I’m not going to sit back.
[He mentioned the “Lunch with Legislators” event in February, an annual event he has moderated. The focus is generally on the legislative agenda for those on the dais that included this year elected state politicians and U.S. Rep Elise Stefanik. Bittel said he liked joking with people and having fun, this year telling Republican State Sen. Dan Stec “enough with the grandpa jokes” and bantering with Assembly member Carrie Woerner, a Democrat.]
MB: I’m really going to miss moderating those. With me, I hope you’ve seen, it doesn’t matter what side of the aisle people are on, we’ve got to work together. I hope there’s one thing that I’ve done is shown you can have conversations. You can reach across both sides of the aisle and you can actually get stuff done.
MB: I think we’ve done a great job communicating with all levels of government, and I think we’ve had a strong voice that’s — we’ve outplayed our coverage, you know? I think we have, but that’s a compliment to elected officials on both side of the aisle.
MB: The team is going to carry on. We have a strong team. They believe in servant leadership. They believe in the commitment and the passion. So you will get the same treatment with without me there. That’s where I’m at, man.
Editor's note: This interview was edited for space and clarity.