This week we caught up with Mike Gerarde! He shares his version of a perfect fall day in Glens Falls (complete with his go-to golf course), how our area compares to the many places he’s visited around the world, and a bit of business advice that has helped him as he’s launched his own business, PSG Golf…
Tell us about yourself!
Hey, I’m Mike Gerarde! I operate a golf lessons business (PSG Golf), work with a great friend at The Luxury Box, just accepted the Head Coach of Golf position at SUNY Adirondack and am involved with our family HR/Payroll business, KEENA. I have two beautiful daughters that are just like their mother (in a great way…usually), Josephine and Genevieve. It all keeps me pretty busy but it’s a “happy busy” and a great life.
On Life in Glens Falls
I was born in Glens Falls and raised in Queensbury. I was blessed to be able to travel a lot while I was younger. My mom was always finding new places to go, and my grandparents took us grandkids around the whole country during the summer when we were young. From Samoa and France to the Grand Canyon and bright lights of Hong Kong, nothing compared to home. Maybe I’m just a homebody, but it always seemed like none of these places compared to Lake George, Glens Falls, and Queensbury. We’ve got everything anyone could want up here. Beautiful seasons, great food, all kinds of recreation (particularly some of the state’s best golf courses!), and most importantly, the people. There was no doubt that my girls would grow up here. I’d put Glens Falls up against any other town in America when it comes to raising a family, you just can’t beat it.
We own a home right near downtown Glens Falls. It’s an older home (1920’s) but it’s been kept in great condition and the location makes it so special. We’re walking distance to school, restaurants, bike trail, work, parks, and our favorite gas station (Stewart’s!). Our neighbors are the definition of “neighborly” — we always have each other’s back and look for ways to help each other out.
A Perfect Glens Falls Day
My ideal Glens Falls day would be waking up slow in late fall and packing the girls up in the car to get a smoothie from their mom’s smoothie truck, Jenny Jo’s, outside Crandall Library. I’d chase the girls around City Park for an hour or so, then I’d steal Haley from the smoothie truck for a dance to “In Your Atmosphere” by John Mayer on the gazebo to remind her that she’s too good for me and how lucky I am to call her mine.
Then I’d head over to The Luxury Box for two lessons. The first would be with a youngster who gets to experience the joy of watching the ball fly after making solid contact for the first time, and the next would be with an older student who didn’t know he or she still had it in them to hit bombs down the middle of the fairway.
After that, we’d all meet up at my mom’s house in Queensbury to catch noon kickoff of a Syracuse football game. We’d eat my mom’s famous buffalo chicken dip while Syracuse beats up on Clemson for four quarters. My sister would be there and we’d laugh about silly stuff going on in the world and there’d be no business talk.
After the game I’d play a quick 9 holes at Hiland Country Club with my favorite foursome: Dave Mucha, Jeff Boss, and Sam Gleason. We’d go to Mullen’s Pub after to watch the Syracuse basketball game in the back room. Local legend JG3 would drop 40 points on Gonzaga and we’d see Jim Boeheim smile.
After that, I’d head back to the Luxury Box to watch the UFC fights on the big screens with my brother and his friends. In between fights, we would play golf mini-games on the simulator and no matter how hard my brother tries I would beat him every time. Golf is the only thing that I can beat him in so I don’t go easy. Sorry Joe.
On the Past
My favorite memories of Glens Falls and Queensbury are Friday night and Saturday football games. The whole community coming together for some healthy competition was probably what lead to my love for all sports. Yeah, the sports were fun and the games were good, but there was nothing like seeing your friends, family, classmates, and rivals all together, rooting each other on and working towards a common goal.
On the Future
I can’t think of anything that I’d change about our city as far as things to do. There’s something for everyone!
From a business standpoint, I think our small businesses would be so strong if they all joined the Adirondack Chamber of Commerce. I don’t really like the word “requirement” but if there was some way to have every new business join the Chamber, I think we’d see more places staying in business and there would be incredible connection in the business community. The cost of membership is peanuts compared to all the benefits that membership can bring to a small business. It would just be so cool to see how much more successful our new businesses could be if they immersed themselves into the business community by joining the Chamber. I should note that I don’t work for them! But I do attribute a lot of the early success of my businesses to them, from the connections I’ve made to the advertising and marketing they do for each of their members — so I probably am biased!
