Neil Benjamin Jr.
Albany,NY
Summary
Highly driven General Manager successful at implementing strategic approaches to drive profitability and sales. Recognized for performance excellence in operations and customer care. Successful at motivating, training and developing team members to drive profitability in highly competitive environment.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
General Manager
Lark Hall
Albany, NY
03.2022 - Current
- Conducted regular meetings with owners to review progress against established objectives.
- Identified areas of improvement in current business practices and collaborated with other departments to develop action plans for implementation.
- Assisted in the recruitment process by interviewing potential candidates for open positions.
- Prepared detailed reports for senior leadership outlining key performance metrics related to operational success.
- Ensured compliance with applicable laws, regulations and industry standards pertaining to operations management.
- Trained employees on duties, policies and procedures.
- Recruited, interviewed and hired qualified staff for open positions.
- Created schedules and monitored payroll to remain within budget.
- Supervised employees through planning, assignments, and direction.
- Tracked monthly sales to generate reports for business development planning.
- Managed inventory levels and conducted corrective action planning to minimize long-term costs.
- Guided management and supervisory staff to promote smooth operations.
- Conducted employee evaluations to provide adequate feedback and recognize quality performance.
General Manager
CGM Air, INC.
Albany, NY
07.2022 - 12.2023
- Developed and implemented operational strategies to improve efficiency, reduce costs and maximize customer satisfaction.
- Established and maintained effective communication with staff members to ensure efficient operations.
- Managed all aspects of daily business operations including budgeting, scheduling, inventory control, customer service and sales.
- Monitored financial performance and identified areas for improvement in cost savings and revenue generation.
- Maintained relationships with vendors to obtain the best pricing on supplies and materials.
- Oversaw product development initiatives from concept through completion stages.
- Analyzed existing processes for effectiveness and developed new systems as needed to enhance overall productivity levels.
- Resolved customer complaints quickly while maintaining high quality standards of service delivery.
- Conducted regular meetings with ownership team to review progress against established objectives.
- Identified areas of improvement in current business practices and collaborated with other departments to develop action plans for implementation.
Recreational Therapist
Northern Rivers Family Services
Albany, NY
03.2016 - 06.2022
- Developed, implemented and evaluated individualized recreational therapy treatment plans.
- Assessed clients' physical, emotional and cognitive abilities to determine appropriate therapeutic interventions.
- Instructed patients in the use of leisure activities as a means of improving their overall health and wellbeing.
- Organized group activities such as sports, games, music, art, drama and dance for individuals or groups of people with disabilities.
- Maintained accurate records of patient progress during recreational therapy sessions.
- Collaborated with other healthcare professionals to ensure best possible care for patients.
- Encouraged participation in community activities to foster independence and self-esteem.
Sports Editor
Saratoga TODAY
01.2015 - 07.2015
- Company Overview: a newspaper in Saratoga Springs, N.Y
- Forming community relationships by coordinating coverage of local athletics
- Worked with local public relations outlets to develop stories and ideas
- Assigned and edited stories for weekly product as well as special sections
- Guided interns and young reporters into the industry
- Sole creator of 88-page Saratoga Racecourse preview section
Partner
Stewart's Shops
07.2014 - 03.2015
- Organized cash and all bookkeeping at end of day
- Reported directly to store manager on all aspects of the day's business
- Served customers with a smile and compassion
Freelance Writer
Syracuse New Times
11.2011 - 06.2014
- Company Overview: a weekly paper in Syracuse, N.Y
- Wrote sports, news and entertainment stories on an as-needed basis, reporting to the editor-in-chief
Teaching Artist
Dr. Weeks Elementary School
01.2013 - 12.2013
- Taught second and fourth grade musical and English/reading enrichment
- Sourced several musicians from the local community to bring in and work with the children
Reporter
Cortland Standard
08.2012 - 02.2013
- Company Overview: a daily in Cortland, N.Y
- Covered city of Cortland, town of Cortlandville and town of Preble government
- Wrote breaking news as well as feature, enterprise and profile stories
- Reported to group editors on strict deadlines
- Used Twitter to get more daily readership in an area with an aging population
Editor, Reporter
Eagle Newspapers
01.2012 - 05.2012
- Company Overview: a group of weekly papers in Central New York
- Wrote, reported and edited community news stories in a timely manner for both print and web
- Organized and prioritized tasks in a fast paced newsroom where multi-tasking was a must
- Collaborated and worked closely with a team of reporters
- Tracked participation at community-wide activities and developed weekly calendar of events
- Developed compelling story lines covering local governments, municipalities and school boards
- Continued expertise in InDesign and Photoshop
- Developed strong interpersonal skills while working with community leaders on daily basis to remain informed of important news
Sports Editor
North Adams Transcript
01.2010 - 10.2011
- Company Overview: a daily newspaper in North Adams, MA (circulation about 7,000)
- Supervised sports department staff, student interns and planned coverage for section on a daily basis, reporting to the editor-in-chief; required multi-tasking, prioritization and quick decision-making; assisted in news
- Created Facebook and Twitter pages; required in-game updates from reporters
- Assisted in hiring and training Digital News Specialist
- Assisted local area college Journalism Intern students in meeting their coursework objectives
- Worked with community leaders on public relations functions, gaining ideas for stories and other content including issue-based columns
- Responsible for graphic design, pagination duties and staff scheduling
Staff Writer
North Adams Transcript
02.2009 - 05.2010
- Edited all local and national stories for quality, grammar and content under strict deadline
- Maintained website use of Microsoft Office, WordPress, QuarkXpress, NewsEditPro, Photoshop and InDesign
- Gave presentations in October 2009 and 2010 in sports editorial writing to students at Drury High School
- Covered high school and college sports, consisting of enterprise stories, game write-ups, issue-based columns and general features
- Worked the night desk, responsible for section layout and graphics, on a strict deadline
- Contributed many sports and music stories to the Berkshire Eagle on a freelance basis
- Planned and organized a high school baseball All-Star Event for approximately 150 attendees
Freelance Writer
Albany Times Union
09.2008 - 02.2009
- Company Overview: a daily newspaper in Albany, N.Y
- (circulation about 100,000)
- Covered high school sports and wrote feature stories on tight deadlines
- Processed phone calls for game write- ups
- Covered the Saratoga Race Course meet, New York Giants training camp and high school sports
- Had articles published in the daily paper as well as special Saratoga supplement
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Journalism and Mass Communications
SUNY Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh, N.Y.05.2008
Skills
- Project Management
- Quality Management
- P&L Management
- Loss Prevention
- Staff Supervision
- Customer Retention
- Contract Negotiations
- Vendor Sourcing
- Service Quality Improvement
- Business Administration
- Customer Relationship Management
- Branding
- Program Administration
- Financial Administration
- Process Automation
- Advertising and marketing
- Business Development
Accomplishments
Associated Press Sports Editor Award, first place for multi-piece story, 2012
New England Newspaper and Press Association, third prize award for general column writing, 2011
Timeline
General Manager
CGM Air, INC.
07.2022 - 12.2023
General Manager
Lark Hall
03.2022 - Current
Recreational Therapist
Northern Rivers Family Services
03.2016 - 06.2022
Sports Editor
Saratoga TODAY
01.2015 - 07.2015
Partner
Stewart's Shops
07.2014 - 03.2015
Teaching Artist
Dr. Weeks Elementary School
01.2013 - 12.2013
Reporter
Cortland Standard
08.2012 - 02.2013
Editor, Reporter
Eagle Newspapers
01.2012 - 05.2012
Freelance Writer
Syracuse New Times
11.2011 - 06.2014
Sports Editor
North Adams Transcript
01.2010 - 10.2011
Staff Writer
North Adams Transcript
02.2009 - 05.2010
Freelance Writer
Albany Times Union
09.2008 - 02.2009
Bachelor of Arts - Journalism and Mass Communications
SUNY Plattsburgh
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