Who We Support and Why: Charlton Historical Society

We love being an active part of our community and sharing with you the organizations and philanthropies that matter to us.

The Charlton Historical Society is one such organization, and because of the good work they do, as well as the fact that it is home to some of our valued Schrader and Company team members, we count them among our favorite local philanthropies.

The mission of the Charlton Historical Society is to promote and encourage original historical research, disseminate educational material on local history, and cooperate with educational institutions to gather, preserve, display and make available for study materials and records relating to Charlton History.

Learning more about our local history is always a positive thing. It links us to our neighbors and connects us to our roots. 

One of the ways we support the Charlton Historical Society is by sponsoring their Charlton Heritage 5K. We’ve enjoyed being a sponsor since 2013. Proceeds from the race go right back into the Charlton Historical Society to support their continuing good works. 

To learn more about the Charlton History Society, you can visit their website.

Congratulations, Brian Taber!

Project Planner Brian Taber also recently celebrated a seminal anniversary with us, and we couldn’t be more grateful for his presence at Schrader and Company.

Brian joined the business 25 years ago, and went on to define and professionalize a role within the remodeling industry that hadn’t really existed before him. To his role as Project Planner, Brian brings his own many years of carpentry experience, his trademark unrivaled work ethic, and impeccable care for our clients.

To say he has influenced our local industry is not an overstatement. We hear from our professional peers all the time that they seek out potential employees who remind them of Brian Taber, in hopes that they’ll be able to find the kind of polished, detail-oriented talent that we are so lucky to have in him.

In addition to his personal success as a Project Planner, Brian has gone on to mentor and coach our newer planners, and help grow our company and contribute to our culture of unparalleled customer service.

To thank Brian for his many years of passion and dedication, we have gifted him his choice of one of three international trips. We can’t wait to see which excursion he picks, just as long as he promises to come back. We have a hard time imagining going without him for too long.

To Brian, we extend our deepest gratitude and utmost respect. Thank you for all you have given and continue to give to make Schrader and Company great.

 

Congratulations, John Hudson!

We recently celebrated the milestone tenure of an employee who has given 40 years of hard work and dedication to Schrader and Company.

John Hudson joined our company as a Project Manager in the field, overseeing our builds and renovations, leading a team of skilled craftsman, and handling some of our largest projects with his bevy of hands-on skills and expert leadership. For 30 years John excelled in this role, and brought to fruition some of our proudest projects.

Ten years ago, John made the transition to Project Planner, where he has demonstrated a great talent for guiding our clientele to the realization of their dream homes. John’s many years of on-the-job-site experience have only made him a better Project Planner, able to see through whatever complexities and puzzles might arise, and offering solutions and competent advice along the way.

John is a tremendously loyal person, as demonstrated by his 40 year tenure with Schrader and Company. His professionalism, hard work, and care for our clients has made him an invaluable part of our team, and a much sought after in-house expert to his colleagues. 

To show our appreciation to John, and pay homage to his great love of the outdoors, we gifted him a Snow Dog ice-fishing machine, to take on what we hope will be many successful future expeditions.

John, you have our gratitude and utmost respect. Thank for all that you’ve given to Schrader and Company and our clients over the past 40 years. Here’s to many more!

The Difference is in the Details

Difference in the Details Schrader and CompanyAs is true in so many aspects of life, we at Schrader and Company have always found that when it comes to construction and remodeling, the details really matter. Trimwork is the perfect example of how precise and thoughtful finishing elements can come together to elevate an entire aesthetic.

We like to think of detailed trimwork as a level of complexity that betters overall design, and a hallmark that separates good quality from best quality.

Take for example, the intricacies involved in remodeling an older home. Part of a renovation might entail putting in new energy-efficient windows and doors. By replicating historic crown moldings and window casements that exist in other parts of the house, we can create a cohesive design that marries the old with the new, ensuring that the new construction and modern upgrades don’t look out of place.

A new kitchen or bathroom (or any recently renovated room!) should always flow into all of the other spaces in your house. Without the glue of consistent trimwork tying it all together, the remodeled parts of a home can stand out–and not in a good way.

Our award-winning Schrader and Company production team have the skill set and training to properly execute even the most detailed of trimwork. Our craftspeople are always willing to spend the time to get it just right, resulting in a finished project that looks professional, seamless, and thoughtful.

Take a look at these examples of our work, and give us a call if you’re ready to renovate your home with careful and expert precision.

Difference in the Details Schrader and Company

Who We Support and Why: Animal Protective Foundation

It’s time for another installment of our “Who We Support and Why” series, and this time we’re sharing a cause very near and dear to our hearts, the Animal Protective Foundation.

The APF is a humane society providing services to the greater capital region, founded in 1931. Their mission is to provide resources and care for all companion animals and protect the human-animal bond. The APF cares for over 5,000 animals a year, and accepts any and all owner-relinquished pets, providing medical treatment, neutering, vaccinations, and lots of love. The goal of the APF is to find a forever home for every animal they take in.

The staff at Schrader and Company are all tried and true animal lovers. Clients will of course be familiar with our beloved Lonnie, our gentle office dog. We know how much our own pets enrich our lives, and offering support to this wonderful local organization was an easy choice.

The Animal Protective Foundation is a non-profit that relies solely on the generosity of our community. If you’d like to learn more about the good works of the APF, donate, or volunteer, please visit their website.

A Winning Evening for The Boys and Girls Clubs of Schenectady

We recently hosted another of our private chef dinners in our Schrader and Company showroom, and we couldn’t be happier about the organization that benefited from the generosity of the winning bidders, or the lovely people who joined us for the evening.

We donated a private chef dinner for ten to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Schenectady’s Fall Gala. This event is held in support of the local Schenectady chapter of this national organization, which was founded in 1936 and aims to promote the social, educational, health, leadership, and character development of boys and girls during critical periods of their growth.

The lucky winners of our chef dinner package happen to be valued clients of ours, and they along with some of their friends, bid on the prize and won the auction item.

For the dinner which took place on March 14th, we partnered with Rick Sleeper of the Cock N’ Bull restaurant. Rick, along with the restaurant’s pastry chef and creative director Andrea DeCiero, prepared a decadent and delicious meal. Their generosity in participating in this venture went above and beyond.

The food was inspired, and in keeping with Rick’s long-standing ethos of farm to table cuisine. Each course was paired with a delicious libation.

We so enjoyed hosting this wonderful group in our showroom, and lending our support to the Boys and Girls Club of Schenectady. Our heartfelt thanks go to Rick and Andrea, and the generous bidders who shared the night with us.

 

Dealing with Ice Dams

Ice Dams Schrader and Company

Oh, winter in upstate New York!

It’s a treasure trove of weather possibilities. Everything from ice to snow to sleet to rain can and will befall us in the course of the season–sometimes all in one day.

This extreme weather impacts us on many levels, and it impacts our homes.

One of the true scourges of a northeastern winter is the phenomena of the ice dam, which can create expensive and far-reaching water damage to our roofs, ceilings and walls.

An ice dam is an ice build-up on the eaves of sloped roofs of heated buildings that results from melting snow under a snow pack reaching the eave and freezing there. Freezing at the eave impedes the drainage of meltwater, which adds to the ice dam and causes backup of the meltwater in a manner, which may cause water leakage into the roof and consequent damage to the building and its contents if the water leaks through the roof.

But ice dams are preventable, and we wanted to share some helpful tips with you from “This Old House” to help you stop an ice dam that has already formed, or better yet avoid a problem before it starts.

Armed with knowledge and know-how, you can protect your home from ice dams all winter long. And as always, feel free to reach out to us for help and advice anytime!

 

Who We Support and Why: SNACpack

It’s time for another installment of our “Who We Support and Why” series, where we highlight a local philanthropic organization that is close to our hearts and values, and tell you why and how we at Schrader and Company choose to lend them our support.

The SNACpack Program is an amazing local organization that is addressing the too prevalent issue of childhood hunger in our community. The Saratoga Nutritional Assistance for Children (SNACpack) was founded in 2014, when a Saratoga County student who was struggling in school and thought to be learning disabled was instead revealed to be profoundly hungry, and struggling in the classroom as a result.

While schools can provide on site breakfast and lunch to students in need, SNACpack is filling the void of weekend and school vacation nutritional needs by providing children with backpacks stocked with multiple breakfast and entree options, a loaf of bread, a milk card for a gallon of milk, snack options, fresh fruits and canned vegetables. These backpacks assure that the student will receive the foods they need to grow and thrive, and also eliminates the obstacle of requiring a family to travel to a food pantry or other food assistance center to fulfill their grocery needs. Over 8% of the students in the Saratoga County district are living in poverty, and in true need of this kind of service.

The kids take their backpacks home on Friday, feeling both secure that their food needs will be met, and a sense of empowerment that they can contribute to their families.

SNACpack runs on volunteer support. Food donations are always needed and welcomed, and  volunteer man hours are necessary as well, to stuff the bags and backpacks. Schrader and Company employees have been both donating and volunteering with SNACpack for awhile now, and we are thrilled to be able to involve even our own young children in lending a hand. It’s been a wonderful experience for our kids, and an excellent introduction to community service as assembling the bags is a simple and fun task that even the youngest volunteer can master and enjoy. 

Last year, our client appreciation dinner at Caffe Lena also served as a fundraiser for SNACpack, and we are so grateful to our clients who heeded the call and came ready with generous food donations which we turned over to the organization.

There is no better investment in our community’s future, and no more vulnerable population that our own Saratoga County youth. We love being part of SNACpack’s efforts to make sure these deserving children’s most basic needs are met.

If you’d like to learn more about SNACpack and ways to donate and become involved, please visit their website.

Brooke Stollery Honored at the NKBA Design Competition

Brooke Stollery Bath Design

In December we took to Facebook to share the great news that our own interior designer Brooke Stollery had been honored at the National Kitchen and Bath Association New York Tri State Chapter’s 7th Annual Design Competition. We wanted to tell you a little more about the accolade, and why we’re so proud of Brooke and the whole Schrader and Company team’s achievement.

The NKBA Design Competition is known for its rigorous standards and competitive judging process. The organization collects detailed project submissions, and only the top 30% of projects then move on to be critiqued by a panel of judges on a number of criteria. From that point, accolades are awarded to the winners.

Brooke took home Runner Up for the Best Master Bathroom Renovation, representing the efforts of the whole Schrader team of project planners and craftsman, particularly cabinet designer Robert Page and project manager Jeremiah Mills.

Brooke was up against many career veterans in the interior designer trade, and to be recognized and thusly distinguished in these early years of her career speaks to her talents and work ethic.

Congratulations to Brooke and the whole team! You can take an in-depth look at the winning project here.

Schrader and Co. Honored at CRBRA 2018 “Best in Building” Awards

In November, Schrader and Company Construction Services was honored at the Capital Region Builders and Remodelers Association annual “Best in Building” awards. We were thrilled to take home three awards for our work. Ben, Lynn and Brooke were in attendance to represent Schrader and Company.

We were honored in the Remodeler category and won awards for our work in the categories of smaller-scale bathroom remodel, larger-scale bathroom remodel, and larger-scale kitchen remodel.

You can read the Project Spotlight articles pertaining to each of the winning projects (linked above) to go behind the scenes of how and why we achieved the results that we did for our clients.

To be recognized for the quality of our work is wonderful. Every member of our team from our project planners to our talented craftsmen have ownership in these accolades, as everyone’s contribution leads to the final product.

While our client’s happiness is always our number one goal, to be honored by our distinguished peers in our field is immensely gratifying. Thank you to the CRBRA for these honors, and congratulations to all of the other award winners!