Annual Dinner 2008
The Northwest Commission held its 2008 Annual Dinner on Thursday April 3, 2008, at Cross Creek Resort in Titusville.  Approximately 200 people attended the event.  The evening began with a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception followed by dinner.  At the dinner guests received a copy of the 2007 Annual Report, “Unlocking New Opportunities.”  It details the local, state, federal, and global entities that make the programs of the commission so successful, as well as the impacts of the Commission’s programs on the region throughout the year.

If you would like to view the 2007 Annual Report or pictures from the Annual Dinner, click here! 

The program began with a recognition and award for the outgoing chairperson, Forest County Commissioner, Basil Huffman.  He was recognized by Clarion County Commissioner, Donna Hartle, the new Board chairperson.  Following his recognition, it was time to recognize the staff for another year of outstanding service to Northwest Pennsylvania.  A PowerPoint presentation highlighted successes the Northwest Commission experienced throughout 2007.  When the PowerPoint concluded, four staff members received "Above and Beyond" awards for their outstanding efforts over the past year.  The awards were given to:

     ·         Daryl Coyne, Manager of the Loan Program
     ·         Lori Kenyon, Administrative Assistant
     ·         Darlene Plyler- Fiscal Manager
     ·         Travis Siegel- Marketing Specialist

Immediately following the staff recognition, it was time to name the award recipients for Board Leadership of the Year, Business of the Year, Local Government of the Year, and Partner of the Year.  The winners of these awards were:

     ·         Dan Glotz, Executive Director of the Warren County Planning and Zoning
             Commission received the Board Leadership of the Year award.
     ·         Regenex Corporation of Mercer County received the Business of the Year
             award.
     ·         The Borough of Foxburg received the Local Government of the Year
             award.
     ·         Clarion County Economic Development Corporation received the Partner
             of the Year award.

Congratulations to all of the award winners on their commitment to the Northwest Pennsylvania Region.

Concluding the evening, four door prizes were drawn and awarded to attendees.  Thank you to the Northwest Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau, Pennsylvania’s Great Lakes Region, Warren County Visitors Bureau, and the Clarion Area Chamber of Business and Industry for their generous contributions.

With Appreciation
Thank you to everyone that helped to make the 2007 Annual Dinner a success.  A special thank you goes out to the following generous sponsors:

PLATINUM
L. Robert Kimball and Associates

GOLD
Central Electric Cooperative; First Energy Corporation; J.L. Nick and Associates; National City Bank; National Fuel; Northwest Savings Bank; Northwest Industrial Resource Center; PNC Bank; Regional Center for Workforce Excellence; and First National Bank.

SILVER
Citizens Bank; Design Nine; Gent, Gent & Snyder; Keller Engineering; Lee Simpson and Associates; May and Company; Mercer County State Bank.

BRONZE
Clarion County Economic Development Corporation; Gannett Fleming; First United National Bank; Meyer Unkovic, & Scott; Northwest Rural Electric Cooperative Association Inc.; Penn-Northwest Development Corporation; Erie Bank.

Attention Board Members and Partners - Save the Date!
The Northwest Commission will hold the 4^th Annual Partner Appreciation Golf Scramble.

Date:  June 19, 2008
Location: Clarion Oaks Golf Club (Clarion, PA)
Registration: 8:00am-9:00am
Tee Time: 9:00am
Price: $10 per person.

Pre-registration is required to organize teams.  Please include handicap for 18 holes when registering.  Food and beverages will be available at the clubhouse all day, and prizes will be given away at the end of the scramble.  For more information about the scramble or to register, please contact Matt Gilara at mattg@nwcommission.org, or by phone at 814.677.4800 x 102.

The Northwest Commission is proud of the hard work and dedication of the Board of Directors, Staff, and Partners throughout 2007.   It is my hope that 2008 proves to be as challenging and successful as the past year.  Collaboration and innovative thinking are the reasons that the Northwest Commission’s programs continue to grow and thrive in assisting local governments and businesses across the region.  I encourage everyone to continue to think outside the box and approach the staff with fresh ideas, so that we can continue to Unlock New Opportunities that will have a positive impact on Northwest Pennsylvania.

Cheers!

Five Loans Closed – One Loan Approved

In March the Northwest Commission closed five loans for four companies:

·      Jason L. & Jessica M. Kennedy of Crawford County closed on a $125,400 EDA/RLF loan to purchase a farm. This is a farm loan; therefore job creation is not required.

·      Lincoln Metal Processing Co., Inc. of Erie County closed on a $200,000 SBF loan to purchase equipment. Eight jobs will be created within three years.

·      Oskie’s Restaurant & Pub of Venango County closed on a $200,000 EDA/RLF loan to purchase the assets of the Celtic Café, Inc. and the Boston Garden. Ten jobs will be created within three years.

·      Regenex Corporation of Mercer County closed on a $150,000 USDA/IRP and a $50,000 EDA/RF loan to purchase the assets of Bama Plastic’s seawall business. Ten jobs will be created within three years

The Loan Committee approved one loan in March. 
       
        ·      Custom Tool & Design, Inc. of Erie County

Entrepreneur Training Series
On March 11 the Northwest Commission and the Clarion University Small Business Development Center sponsored the Entrepreneur Training Series event to discuss Internet Security.  Randy Rice, Manager, Community Development with the Northwest Commission discussed the importance of internet security.  The event was well attended and had good interaction between the participants and speaker.

The next training event will be held on Tuesday, May 13, at Hoss’s Steak House in Cranberry. The topic is to be determined. If you are interested in attending any of the events please email Ethel Rodebaugh at or call 814.788.4800 x113. You can also sign up for the events by calling Clarion SBDC at 814.393.2060 or toll free at 877.292.1843. This is a free event.  

Regional, state, and federal business financing programs
A seminar on regional, state, and federal business financing programs will be held in Strattanville on Tuesday, April 29, at 8 a.m. Presentations will be made on the following programs: the Commission's microloan, revolving loans,Small Business First, First Industries, PIDA, MELF, PEDFA, and SBA 504.  The Clarion Small Business Development Center will present business planning and financial projection services. Please contact Mary Jo Ford by April 21 at (814) 226-9045 or to register. This is a free seminar. 

AgChoice Leadership Advisory Council
Two loan department staff, Daryl Coyne and John Klinger, attended the AgChoice Leadership Advisory Council meeting in Crawford County to promote the First Industries Fund Agriculture loan program.  The training will better enable the Business Financing staff at the Northwest Commission to serve the agriculture industry.

 

APTAC Conference:
Wayne Williamson and Candace Glover recently attended the Spring 2008 Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) Conference in Lexington, KY. The conference provided attendees with training opportunities and updated legislation information to better assist companies in this region. Please watch for future Northwest News editions which will provide updates on information gathered at the conference.

Resource Spotlight:  Office of Small Business Utilization
General Services Administration’s (GSA) Office of Small Business Utilization (OSBU) advocates for small, minority, veteran, HUBZone, and women business owners. Its mission is to promote increased access to GSA’s nationwide procurement opportunities. GSA is the federal government’s procurement expert and assists other federal agencies acquire the space, products, and services they need from federal and commercial sources. For more information on OSBU, please visit www.gsa.gov/sbu.

WAWF Training:
The Commission has received several queries regarding hands-on training for Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF). As previously mentioned, the federal government is no longer funding local area training events for WAWF. However, if you feel your company still requires hands-on training, there are a few trainers located in our region that can provide this training to your company (for a fee). If interested, please contact either Wayne Williamson (814-677-4800, ext 121) or Candace Glover (ext 107) for more information. Please note that these instructors are not affiliated in any way with the Northwest Commission.     

Northwest Commission Upcoming Events:

Government 201: GSA Schedule training, May 22
Becoming a GSA Schedule Contractor can provide an advantage when pursing federal contracts. The Northwest Commission will be hosting GSA Schedule training seminar at its Oil City location. Helena Koch, Office of Small Business Utilization will be conducting the seminar and will provide an in-depth overview of the GSA Schedule process. For more information and to reserve your spot today, please contact Lori Kenyon at lorik@nwcommission.org or at 814-677-4800 x104. 

Please see our Calendar of Events for additional upcoming trainings!
 

The Commission completed a successful ‘Breakfast with the Pros’ on April 1 at Knowledge Park in Erie. With an attendance of 37 participants, the international team inaugurated this newly developed quarterly breakfast meeting. A special thank you goes to the five roundtable hosts: Jon Woodard with MacDonald, Illig, Jones and Britton; Gary Carver with Carver International, Scott Conrad and Ed Arnold with M&T Bank, Herman Yermilov Authorized Trade Representative with the Commonwealth, and Larry Nelson with the Center for Trade Development / DCED.

Please mark your calendars for the next quarterly breakfast meeting, scheduled for July 8, 2008 at the offices of MacDonald, Illig, Jones and Britton in Erie. We hope to see you there!

                                             
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Resource Spotlight: VTA
Introducing the Virtual Trade Advisor, the new, cutting edge tool for businesses looking to export overseas. Fast. Easy. Free. Reliable.

The Virtual Trade Advisor (VTA) is an online tool that consolidates several sources of market research and trade data into an easy-to-understand report format. It provides customized information at your fingertips. Start by visiting www.newPA.com/trade

Exporting: First Steps to Success - Tuesday, April 29, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
William J. Douglass Corporate Training Center, 764 Bessemer St., Meadville.

The U.S. Commercial Service, Gannon's SBDC and the Northwest Commission are offering an export basics seminar. The seminar will discuss how to identify potential export markets and discuss logistics of exporting your product from the U.S. For additional information click here.

Gaining Access to Europe / Meet the Authorized Trade Representatives for the European Markets - Tuesday, May 13 / Ambassador Banquet & Conf. Ctr., 7794 Peach Street, Erie

The program will start with a one-hour presentation by the CITRA Center (Center for International Trade Regulatory Assistance, Duquesne University) on the required European CE Marking standard, and other international standards. The morning presentation will follow with pre-scheduled one-on-one meeting appointments in between regional companies and four of the European trade representatives for Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria; France Belgium; Spain; and the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia.

For additional information, please contact Claudia Garcia.

Mark your calendars:

International Hardwood Buyers’ Inbound Mission
May 16, 2008   Cross Creek Resort, Titusville.

Building a CHINA Strategy – Series
June 10^th, 17^th and 24^th, 2008   Bayfront Convention Center, Erie

Annual Pennsylvania International Week 
September 10, 2008   Radisson Hotel, West Middlesex.
 

Northwest Commission staff is continuing to work with the Corry Area School District.  The Commission created a small pilot Neighborhood GIS site for the district.  The interactive mapping site shows the district boundary, roads, a bus route/with stops, building addresses, and aerial photography.  The Corry Area School District realized the potential benefits that the Neighborhood GIS program could provide and wants the Commission to put all their bus routes/stops on the Corry Area School District Neighborhood GIS site.  

Northwest Commission staff was contacted by the Oil Regional Alliance to complete two mapping projects.  The first was to update their existing Visitor’s Guide map and the second was to create a map for the Perry Street Station location in Titusville.

The Northwest Commission’s Board of Director’s approved the recommendation from the Parcel Committee to hire WorldView Solutions Inc. to complete the four-county parcel conversion project. 

The Neighborhood GIS web site (www.nwneighborhoodgis.com) currently has three pilot interactive mapping sites.  Please use the sites to see what sort of GIS applications can be offered through the Neighborhood GIS program.