State Sen. Betty Little speaks at a retirement party for her Jan 23 at the Hotel Saranac in Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

LAKE PLACID — On Thursday the state Senate confirmed Sen. Betty Little as one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s five nominees to sit on the state Olympic Regional Development Agency board.

Little, R-Queensbury, is retiring from the state Senate at the end of this year, but she starts this position immediately. It is an unpaid position.

“I think that ORDA is the economic engine of the Adirondacks,” Little said. “Being the scene of two Olympics in 1932 and 1980, we could become history, but instead of becoming history, with these investments the governor has made we are really relevant in winter sports.”

In her time in the Senate, the state has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on updates and expansions to ORDA’s winter sports facilities.

She said she is looking forward to the 2023 Winter World University Games, which are planned to be held in Lake Placid. She was involved in the International University Sports Federation’s selection of Lake Placid as the site for the 2023 games, traveling to the games in Kazakhstan in 2017 as part of a Lake Placid delegation intent of landing the event here.

“I’ve long advocated for ORDA as a member of the Assembly and Senate,” Little wrote in a press release. “To serve on the board will truly be an honor and a wonderful opportunity to stay involved and to make a positive difference for the North Country Region.”

“Wherever I go, if I say I represent Lake Placid, people know exactly what I am talking about. Our incredible Winter Olympic history is a source of tremendous pride,” Little wrote. “But it’s not enough to be historic, we need to remain relevant. I am very grateful Governor Cuomo has entrusted in me and the others appointed to the board this important mission.”

ORDA runs Olympic venues, like the bobsled track and ski jumps, as well as ski centers at Whiteface, Gore and Belleayre.