Coming Home
Alumni Who Have Returned to Canton to Live and Work
From time to time, St. Lawrence presents stories of alumni who establish homes and businesses in the North Country. 

As natives, Tracy Sanderson LaFlair ’92 and Christopher LaFlair ’92 always wanted to live in the North Country, especially on the St. Lawrence River. They got their wish; Tracy, a family-practice doctor, and Chris, a dentist, have a home on the river and share office space in their own building in Ogdensburg.
Chris admits to some nervousness about setting up his own dental practice in the region. “I talked to some of the dentists in the area, who said there was a need,” he says.

“Most new doctors don't expect to have a full patient load for at least five years,” Tracy notes. “After two years, I had a full load.”

The LaFlairs both say that living in the area has lots of advantages, including the fact that since they share a building, they can often schedule their time to have lunch together. Their daughter, Lexi, 6, and son, Luke, 4, are involved in figure-skating and hockey, respectively, which means that Chris and Tracy are out and about a lot, especially during winters that can be cold and long.

Asked if setting up practices in the area has posed any challenges, Chris says that for them, the challenges would be found elsewhere. “With our families here, it’s been easy,” he notes. Tracy says that for her, the only challenge has been keeping up with the workload. “But other than that, it's a great place to live, work and raise a family. We have a very well-equipped hospital here, better than some people might expect.”

“We try not to overschedule, so we can take our time with our patients,” Chris adds. “That's important to us. We don't want anybody to feel rushed. Personal attention makes all the difference. That was true for us when we were students at St. Lawrence, although we didn't realize it at the time.”           --Macreena Doyle