Harvest Maple Owner & President Hometown: Mooers, NY Age: 37 Education: BS Mechanical Engineering, MS Engineering Management
The combination of industrious, curious, and committed lays the foundation for Kevin Guay’s success. Add in a passion for the local community and his family and you quickly realize how fortunate this region is to have young professionals find their way back home. Kevin blends engineering, farming and an entrepreneurial spirit to create his sweet amber fluid of life.
How do you contribute to the culture of your company? Harvest Maple was formed with the goal of introducing and supplying maple syrup to people outside our immediate geographic area. My main objective in this business is to supply the best tasting maple syrup and maple products to our customers with a focus on sustainability.
What are you doing to make a difference in your community? Supporting the United Way has been a great way to help community members in need. Supporting local small businesses is key to the success of our communities. We all have choices where we shop and spend resources. Supporting your local community members through patronizing local establishments is one of the most important things we can all do for our communities.
What is the single most important characteristic for success? Hard work. Anything worth doing in life takes a significant amount of work.
What is your biggest professional success? My biggest success so far was during my time as engineering manager at Plattco. I had the opportunity to develop and implement a new vision of how the engineering department operated.
What important lesson have you learned in your career? Dedication and hard work is how to succeed in business and in life.
What is your dream job? Being a Maple farmer and utilizing my engineering skills to advance maple syrup production processes.
What is the biggest risk you have ever taken? It would be following my dream job and becoming a Maple farmer with what was once my side business — Harvest Maple.
What is something that no one would guess about you? I am a drummer. In college, my rock band, Sinister Yu, I recorded an album. We played dozens of shows in Manhattan and toured the Southern Tier of New York.
Write a note to your younger self… You can do anything you put your mind to. Commitment is the key to success. Keep searching for the right answer to any problem. When you find it, you will know it.
What can the North Country do to make this area more appealing to a younger generation? Encourage the next generation of engineers to become more involved in Clinton Community College’s Institute for Advanced Manufacturing. This unique resource can provide a foundation for a four-year engineering degree, leading to an engineering career in one of our local manufacturing companies.
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