|
INSIDE
Forty Eighth Edition
April 2006
Phone:
814.677.4800
Fax:
814.677.7663
395 Seneca Street
P.O. Box 1127
Oil City, PA 16301
|
 |
|
Thank you to our Legislators!
The Northwest Commission has begun working more closely with
our legislators to increase awareness about the importance
of sustaining our programs and working with businesses and
organizations in their districts.
If they did not appropriate the state funding for our
organization, we could not do what we do. I thank each of
them for their interest in what we do and their
participation in our accomplishments in their districts.
The following are examples of some of the ways we include
our legislators in what we do and update them on our
programs:
Check Presentations
We have begun doing check presentations for grants and loans
that are part of our programs. This is vital because these
funds are available through state funding. Without the
support of our state legislators funding for such grants and
loans would be minimal. Essentially the funding process
begins with the legislators appropriating the funds for the
grants and loans and ends when a company receives a grant or
loan. Along with our state legislators, this type of event
also includes many local community leaders and increases
awareness about our programs in their district.
Check to see where we’ll be next in the region at
http://www.nwcommission.org/media.html.
(see
photos of check presentations)
Legislative Letter Campaign
We have received positive feedback from legislators
regarding the letters that many of our clients sent to them
in the beginning of the year
on our
behalf upon learning of the threat to our 2006-2007 state
budget. We will continue the letter campaign throughout the
year and appreciate the support of our clients!
LDDs Come Together
Leadership from all seven Local Development Districts have
met with state legislators in Harrisburg to discuss the
importance of sustaining our budget. We met with the House
Appropriations Committee on March 8th and the Senate
Appropriations Committee on April 4th.
 Visits on the Hill
March 12-14, 2006 our program managers and members of our
board traveled to Washington, D.C. where we met with federal
legislators representing Pennsylvania and our region to
communicate our needs and our program strengths.
New to the Northwest News
With many staff changes taking place and new staff coming on
board, we have included a
“Staff Spotlight” section below.
This is where you can learn about staff promotions and
changes in responsibilities. Also, you will get a chance to
get to know one staff person in every issue after this
month’s issue.
We hope you enjoy this section and welcome any feedback you
may have!
Sincerely,
|
“Change
is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or
present are certain
to miss the future.” -John F. Kennedy
|
|
Point of contact: Denise
McCloskey, Executive
Director x123 |
Top |
|
 |
 |
Northwest
Commission staff participated in a roundtable discussion
with Gene DePrez of IBM Global Location Strategies. Mr.
DePrez is a world-renown site selection consultant who
developed the "Global Competitiveness Report" for the PA
Department of Community and Economic Development, along
with the TeamPA Foundation. The roundtable dialogue
took place on April 4th with several economic
development partners from the region in attendance. The
purpose was to further define the targeted industry
sectors and sub-sectors for northwest Pennsylvania and
to identify strengths and weaknesses for each
sub-sector. For many industries like plastics,
alternative energy, medical device manufacturing, etc,
northwest Pennsylvania is the ideal place for low cost
of doing business as well as the perfect location
considering our proximity to major US and Canadian
markets.
Three
Commission staff members, as well as several of our EDC
partners, will be partnering with the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania with the upcoming Corporate Real Estate
Network (CoreNet) Conference. This will give northwest
Pennsylvania face time with top international site
selectors and corporate real estate brokers. The
conference begins April 23rd and is being held in
Philadelphia.
The
Northwest Commission is ramping up our marketing efforts
of the region by developing a regional snapshot to be
distributed at conferences and trade shows. We have
collected data vital to decision makers including
workforce statistics, state incentives, education data,
and infrastructure locations. This snapshot, along with
the continual promotion of our website (www.SelectPAgreatlakes.com)
and other marketing pieces will increase our exposure to
site selectors and CEOs who are learning that northwest
Pennsylvania is the ideal place to do business.
Real estate
brokers and private business owners are continuing to
register on our business attraction website to submit
their sites and buildings information. We currently
have over 290 properties on the website. Commission
staff is working with Erie County to add an additional
100 sites to the database. Since October 2005, there
have been over 19,000 hits to the website from 33
different counties and 46 different states.
|
|
Point of contact:
Lisa Hamrick x103, or
Chris Beichner x101
Top |
|
|
 |
|
4 Loans
Closed in March |
1. A $150,000 ARC/RLF loan
closed for Precision Profiles, Inc. of Crawford County. The
loan was used to purchase business assets. Ten jobs will be
created.
2. A $71,000 ARC/RLF loan closed for R N Goss Gas Products
Company and RenovEx, Inc. of Venango County. The loan was
used to purchase equipment. R N Goss Gas Products Company
will retain 47 jobs and create three more jobs within three
years.
3. A $75,000 ARC/RLF loan closed for Herbancowboy.com, Inc.
of Crawford County. The loan was used to purchase inventory.
Herbancowboy.com, Inc. will retain two jobs and create two
more jobs within three years.
4. A $10,500 Microloan closed for Walker Swabbing of Clarion
County. The loan was used to purchase equipment.Lynn Rough spoke at
Ag/Dairy
Day at Allegheny College co-sponsored by the Penn State
Cooperative Extension and participating local Agri-Businesses.
Her presentation focused on low-interest financing in the
agriculture industry.
Upcoming Training Events:
4/20/2006
Customer Service Seminar Towne Sq Conf Center - Titusville,
PA basics of customer service adaptable to organization who
deals with public
5/6/2006 Getting Started with an Online Store Erie
eBizITPA at Knowlege Park Keys to creating an online store
6/17/2006 Techniques for Serious eBay Seller Corry
Higher Education Council Experienced eBay selling techniques
If you are interested in attending any of the events,
contact
Ethel
Rodebaugh
at 814.677.4800 x113. |
|
Point of contact: Lynn Rough
x109 |
Top |
|
|
 |
|
William Kenyon recently joined
the agency as the new Government Contracting Specialist for the
agency’s Government Contracting program. He retired in 2005 from
the United States Air Force after 21 years of service as a Senior
Master Sergeant. He will work with clients to obtain federal,
state, and local government contracts by utilizing the agency’s bid
lead system, training clients on marketing techniques, and
developing a plan with clients to best utilize our services.Please
feel free to contact him at extension 107 or by email at
billk@nwcommission.org
Government 101 Training
This introductory class gives you a brief overview in how to do
business with the government. Topics such as set-asides, bid leads,
registration, and how to work through the government opportunities
are customized for this half day training event. Please feel free to
join us for our next training on June 14, 2006 here at the Northwest
Commission office from 9a.m until noon. Please register in advance
by contacting
Lori
Moore
at extension 104.
APTAC Spring Conference
Aubri and Bill attended the APTAC organizations spring conference to
gather up to date information and training ideas for our region.
Throughout this three in a half day training event we have been
updated on RFID, UID, Wide Area Workflow, GSA, SBA and some new ways
of helping our clients by updating our client database/bid leads
system. Please be on the lookout for training events and changes as
we work to bring the information we learned to you.
|
|
|
|
Point of contact:
Aubri Minerd x121,
Bill Kenyon x107,
Lori
Moore x104 |
.................Top |
|
|
 |
|
An Intermodal
training course was attended on April 13th. The course was
designed to encourage intermodal thinking when planning
transportation projects.
Staff will be
attending the fifth and final Mobility Plan meeting on May 10th.
This is Penndot's long range transportation plan and covers 25
years. Bob Skarada, Manager of Infrastructure Development has
participated on this steering committee for the past eighteen
months. |
|
Point of contact: Bob
Skarada x111 |
Top |
|
|
 |
|
Northwest Commission staff participated in a exploratory
meeting with interested parties in Mercer County on March
24, 2006. This meeting was designed to discuss broadband
needs in the county, as well as discuss other successful
examples of how to attract affordable telecommunications
infrastructure and services to an underserved area. The
meeting was well attended with individuals representing
county government, K-12 education, workforce, economic
development, public safety, health care, and others.
Ongoing meetings and discussions will be taking place to
determine who should lead such an initiative and who
should be involved.
The
Commission attended an outreach community meeting
organized by the Riverview Intermediate Unit 6 on April
12, 2006. The meeting was centered around a presentation
by the IU 6 consultant explaining the telecommunications
project they are currently working on. While the project
is for school districts in the IU6 territory, there will
be ways to incorporate the needs of business, government,
health care and others in this project. The idea is to
aggregate the collective purchasing power of the school
districts to attract a telecommunications company to the
region. The company will then provide an
affordable backbone system to one location in each school
district. The school district will then develop a network
to distribute to each individual school building.
The next
Technology Advisory Group meeting is scheduled for Friday,
May 19th beginning at Noon.
|
|
Point of contact:
Robert Nurss x122 |
Top |
|
|
|
|
 Breakfast for
Champions! April 28, 2006
7:30
a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
William J. Douglas Corporate Conference Center
Economic
Progress Alliance of Crawford County
764 Bessemer Street
Meadville, PA 16335 We
encourage you to attend an informal and relaxed breakfast roundtable
to learn about our services and how companies can benefit from
working with us. This new, quarterly event is in support of the
international marketing program of the Northwest Commission and the
services we provide throughout the region. Please join us to listen
to our client’s comments and market insights as they share their
experiences in working with the State’s foreign offices and our
international marketing program. Please RSVP with Lori Moore at
814.677.4800 ext. 104.
The
Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED)
will lead a business development mission to Singapore, Thailand
and Vietnam in June 7 – 17, 2006. Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam are among the fastest growing economies in the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. U.S. exports to ASEAN
last year were $ 47 billion, making the region the 5th largest
export market behind only Canada, the EU, Mexico and Japan. The
registration fee for the Trade Mission to Southeast Asia is $
950.00. Airfare, hotel costs and other expenses are the
responsibility of each participant. Reduced rates at selected hotels
are available. For additional information, please contact: Debra
Lenker, Office of International Business Development, (717)
720.7365.
Join the Commonwealth of PA trade mission to Israel and Turkey! June
12-16, 2006
The US is Israel’s
single most important trading partner. The commercial relationship
has expanded because of the Free Trade Agreement of 1985 and the
almost complete elimination of tariffs since 1995. The Republic of
Turkey has a strong and rapidly growing private sector. A new
economic liberalization plan has revitalized the economy, decreased
corruption, and bolstered transparency. All scheduling of business
appointments during the week are individualized so that you have the
opportunity to meet those potential partners who are best suited to
your company. Fee to participate is $ 450.00 to cover ground
expenses and business receptions. Airfare, hotel costs and other
expenses are the responsibility of each participant. Deadline to
register is April 21, 2006. For additional information please
contact Joe Burke, Office of International Business Development,
(717) 720 7366. |
|
Point of contact: Dorte
Heffernan x110
or
Claudia Garcia |
Top |
|
|
 |
|
LTAP
offers safety and maintenance courses (transportation
related) to local governments across the state at little
or no cost. The courses make the work that municipalities
do more efficient, which saves money and makes the
transportation network safer.
Upcoming
LTAP courses:
-
Asphalt
Roads: Common Maintenance Problems (half day):
May
2, 2006 (Vernon Township Building, 16678 McMath Ave.,
Meadville, PA)
-
Unpaved
& Gravel Road Maintenance (half day):
May 3,
2006 (Corry Higher Education Council, 221 N. Center St.,
Corry, PA)
-
New
Signage and Work Zone Rules for Local Government (half
day):
May 17, 2006 (Vernon Township Building, 16678 McMath Ave.,
Meadville, PA)
These
classes are FREE for local municipal officials to
attend. Please contact Matt Gilara, LTAP Coordinator, to
register. |
|
Point of contact:
Matt
Gilara x102 |
Top |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Northwest
Commission staff created the following mapping products:
The Northwest
Pennsylvania GIS User Group meeting was held on March 3, 2006 at the
Franklin Industrial and Commercial Development Authority from Noon –
2 p.m. Twenty seven (27) people attended the meeting. There was a
Geodatabase presentation from Dr. Yasser Ayad (Clarion University),
a presentation on the benefits of having a digital parcel coverage
from Steve Benner (Timmons Group) and an update on the PAMAP project
from Chris Markel (ATS/PAMAP Program Manager). There were also a
Northwest Commission update and member updates from attendees.
If there is anyone
interested in Introduction or Intermediate ArcView 9.x training
please contact the Northwest Commission. |
|
Point of contact: Matt
Gilara x102
|
Top |
|
|
Regional Greenways Plan |
|
The
Northwest Commission is looking into coordinating the development of
a regional Greenways Plan. A few meetings have been held over the
last year (with county elected officials and planning
representatives) to discuss this endeavor. Currently we are looking
at having a regional Greenways Plan (along with individual county
plans) developed for Crawford, Erie, Forest, Venango, and Warren
Counties. Mercer County had a Greenways Plan created as part of
their Comprehensive Plan and Lawrence County is currently working on
their Greenways Plan. Lawrence County and Mercer County are
interested in having their Greenways Plan incorporated into the
“Regional Greenways Plan”. There is also the possibility of Clarion
County being part of this planning process.
The
Commission will put the DCNR application together for this
initiative after receiving commitments from all interested parties.
The application is due by April 14, 2006.
Basically a greenway is a corridor of open space. Greenways
differ in their location and function, but overall, a greenway will
protect natural, cultural and scenic resources, provide recreational
benefits, enhance the natural beauty and quality of life in
neighborhoods and communities, and stimulate economic development
opportunities. Visit
www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/greenways
for
more details.
|
|
Point of contact: Matt
Gilara x102
|
Top |
|
|
Spotlight on Staff |
|
As the newly appointed Executive
Director, I have made a few staff changes to better fit my vision for
the Northwest Commission. I believe the Commission has been
structured correctly with three divisions:
-
Organizational
Development
-
Business & Economic
Development
-
Community
Development and Planning
Those three divisions will stay in
tact, with most of the Commission staff having the same position
profiles as in the past. For the most part, the significant changes
have been made in the upper management level and took effect on
Monday, April 3, 2006.
Changes in staffing are as follows:
Ned Goucher, Senior Director for Organizational Development
Ned will have responsibility for internal operations at the Commission
including fiscal, as well as public relations and marketing and other
programs/initiatives related to growing the organization. He will
serve as the contract administrator for the Commission, which gives me
the comfort of knowing we're meeting our contract requirements. He
will also continue to administer the ARC and EDA grant programs, since
he has the contacts and knows the process for doing so. We will have
Christopher Beichner learning the process, so that at some point in
time, he will take the ARC/EDA programs over. Ned will also be my
support for communications and relations with the Board of Directors.
Daryl Coyne, Director of Business & Economic Development
I have chosen Daryl to take my prior
position at the Commission. Daryl has over 13 years experience
working in the Business Financing program and has great working
relationships with businesses within the region, as well as our county
partners and state funding sources. Daryl will continue to be
involved with the Business Financing program, but will slowly be
handing responsibilities over to Lynn Rough. Daryl will also
oversee the Government Contracting, International Marketing and
Business Attraction programs.
Christopher
Beichner,
Director of Community Development and Planning
I believe the Commission has the potential and the
opportunities exist for increasing our community development and
planning activities. Therefore, it made sense to have somebody
overseeing only these programs. Chris has been with the Commission
for just about six years and has proven himself as the manager of the
technology programs. He will be handing the day-to-day technology
activities over to Robert Nurss, but will still oversee those
programs, along with the Transportation, LTAP and GIS/GPS programs.
Those are the three main changes at the Commission.
Additional changes are as follows:
Darlene Plyler,
Fiscal Manager, will continue her fiscal responsibilities,
but is also going to assume the human resource responsibilities that
are currently being contracted out to J.L. Nick Associates. Darlene
will be working with Leonard McKeirnan over the next six months to begin learning
the responsibilities. Darlene will report directly to the
Executive Director concerning human resources.
Matt Gilara
will become Manager, GIS/Community Development as the
Commission’s
GIS/GPS program is poised for growth. We have a couple of
exciting initiatives planned for
the GIS department, so stay tuned!
Dianne Chelton will be joining the organizational development team as the
Senior Administrative Assistant. Dianne will support the entire organizational development division,
which includes Ned and me, as well as handle all meeting
arrangements and correspondence with the Commission’s Board of Directors.
Teamwork - success follows when individual
talents and abilities are blended
Even though these staff members have changed positions and
accepted new responsibilities, each and every staff person at the
Northwest Commission is to be commended for all their hard work in
helping the Commission succeed!
Please join me in
congratulating them and offering them your support,
|
|
Top |
All
publication links have been created as PDF files.
If you do not have the most current version, you may
access your free version at:
www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
|
|
