The following profile was prepared by The FUND for Lake George prior to its 2021 merger with the LGA.
July 2020
Paul and Jane Ingrey and Andy and Marjorie Gorelik know how much their neighbors in the close-knit Arcady Bay Homeowners Association in the Town of Hague care about Lake George. They also know how effectively The FUND for Lake George is working to protect the Lake they all love. Last August 27 they brought everyone together in a show of support for the Lake and The FUND that they hope serves as a model for homeowners associations up and down the Lake.
“We have to protect what we have here before it is overwhelmed by invasive species or road salt or other threats. We have to fight to keep what we have for future generations.”
-JANE INGREY
The couples invited FUND Chairman Jeff Killeen and Executive Director Eric Siy to speak to the Association about how The FUND’s science-based protection programs are making significant progress in combating the Lake’s greatest threats — excess nutrients from aging and failing septic systems, excessive road salt use, and invasive species.
The message they hoped to deliver was clear: The time is now to protect Lake George forever.
The response from their neighbors was deeply gratifying. By the end of the year, the members of the Arcady Bay Homeowners Association had made an extraordinary contribution of $200,000 to The FUND’s Forever FUND capital campaign. In so doing, they became the first homeowners association on the Lake to join The FUND’s LG30 Group of legacy supporters, leading the way for others to follow.
“It was nice to see so many of our neighbors standing up and caring about the Lake,” says Paul, who first suggested the event idea to the others. “People certainly were energized by the presentation. It resonated extremely well with everyone who was there.”
“I don’t think there is another lake in North America that has an organization like The FUND that is doing so many different things to protect it.”
—PAUL INGREY
Andy, who has served as president of the Association for the past seven years, says, “I am so proud to be part of this amazing team that’s made such a significant contribution. I think it’s a great model for other communities. I hope our success motivates those reading this to say, ‘I’m going to step up and try to help, too.’”
Andy says he and his fellow Association members were so impressed and generous because, “The FUND distinguishes itself by taking a proactive, meaningful, relevant and, most importantly, scientific approach to protecting the Lake.”
Paul agrees wholeheartedly. “I don’t think there is another lake in North America that has an organization like The FUND that is doing so many different things to protect it,” he says. “They have the science, they have the Lake George Waterkeeper, and The FUND is a fund. They make direct investments to keep the Lake clean, and that’s very important. You have to be serious about this. If you take it lightly, it’s not going happen.”
Like many of The FUND’s partners in protection, the Ingreys and Goreliks share longtime — and even lifelong — relationships with Lake George.
Paul, a retired reinsurance company executive, grew up visiting Lake George every summer. In 1974, he and Jane, a stay-at-home mom and part-time real estate investor, purchased half-interest in a home on the Lake. In 1990, they moved into their own Arcady Bay home, where they now enjoy the warm weather months before heading to Florida for the winter.
For the Goreliks, Marjorie has the lifelong connection, with frequent childhood vacations at the Lake. Sharing a common passion for boating, when they married, she says, “There was no question where we’d be.” For many years, the couple, both now retired from executive careers with IBM and other technology companies, made the drive to the Lake every summer weekend. They purchased their home in 2007 and now split their time between the Lake and a home in Clifton Park.
“We are so fortunate, in so many ways, to be able to spend time in what we refer to as ‘our little piece of paradise,’” Marjorie says. “The cleanliness of the Lake, the beauty of the mountains, the sense of community and friendship that are built here. Everyone feels so fortunate to have such a wonderful environment and we want to keep it that way.”
“I hope our success motivates those reading this to say, ‘I’m going to step up and try to help, too.’”
—ANDY GORELIK
Jane speaks lovingly of the frequent summer visits by the Ingreys’ children and grandchildren to Arcady Bay and says, “We have to protect what we have here before it is overwhelmed by invasive species or road salt or other threats. We have to fight to keep what we have for future generations.”