A look back…
It has been very exciting for me, as Executive Director, to work with our staff, board of directors, and partners to move forward with our mission and increase the effectiveness of our program services.

We appreciate the efforts of our state legislators in increasing funds for the Local Development Districts in 2006, and we look forward to working with them in 2007!

As 2006 comes to a close, I’d like to thank all of our partners at the local, state, and federal levels for their continued interest and involvement with our organization. We could not do the things that we do without your steady support.

Big Event February 8th!
Who has the Northwest Commission selected to be the recipients of the 2006 Business of the Year, Partner of the Year, Local Government of the Year, and Board Leadership awards?
You’ll have to attend our annual dinner to find out!
Our Annual Dinner will be held on February 8, 2007 at Cross Creek Resort in Titusville, PA. The cost for attending is $35, and we plan on making the evening quite enjoyable for our guests. There will be no guest speaker so we can enjoy each other’s company without interruption and spend more time honoring the 2006 award recipients. Continuing the tradition, complimentary valet parking will be available to our guests.

February Board meeting
Our next board meeting will also be held February 8, 2006 at Cross Creek Resort in Titusville, PA beginning at 3 PM. This meeting will be prior to our annual dinner. If you would like to join us, please RSVP your attendance to Lori Moore at extension 104.

Check Presentation in Warren County
On October 25, 2006 the Northwest Commission presented $10,000 to the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry (WCCBI) for road improvements along Pennsylvania Avenue West. The estimated cost for improvements totaled $58,700, of which the Northwest Commission contributed $10,000 to help complete the project.

Happy Holidays!

In November the Northwest Commission closed five loans:

1.  A $50,000 EDA/RLF loan closed for Spa Dental, P.C. of Crawford County. The loan was used to purchase machinery and equipment. Five full time employees will be retained.

2.  A $160,000 EDA/RLF loan closed for Overtime Tool, Inc. of Erie County. The loan was used to purchase a building. Six jobs will be retained and five additional jobs will be created.

3.  A $20,000 SBA Microloan closed for Xtreme Audio & Accessories, Inc. of Mercer County. The loan was used to purchase inventory.

4.  A $90,000 SBF loan closed for Premier Conduit, Inc. of Erie County. The loan was used to purchase machinery and equipment. Five jobs will be created within three years.

5.  A $200,000 SBF loan closed for Great Lakes Manufacturing, Inc. of Erie County. The loan was used to purchase machinery and equipment. Ten jobs will be created within three years.

In November the Loan Committee approved seven loans for six companies:  Accudyn Products, Inc. of Erie County; Hardinger Transfer Co., Inc.; and Industrial Truck & Crane, Inc. of Venango County; Nye’s Marina Services LLC; and Shorts Tool & Manufacturing, Inc. of Crawford County; Paff Custom Welding, LLC of Lawrence County.

The Northwest Commission is applying to USDA, Rural Development for an Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) loan in the amount of $250,000 to augment our revolving loan funds. The additional funds from this program will enable us to make more loans to eligible small businesses in the region.

Upcoming Events: (Call Ethel to attend at x113)
January 10, 2007, Advanced Quick Books
9:00 am - noon
Gannon University - AJ Palumbo Academic Center, Room 1200
Natalie Herberlein, CPA

January 17, 2007, Entrepreneur Club Networking Event
5:45 pm - 8:00 pm
Franklin Industrial and Commercial Development Authority

Source Selection: The best value process training
December 4 – 8, 2006
Kelly Augustine and Bill Kenyon attended Source Selection training in Chicago, Illinois. This course provided an in-depth look at how the government prepares bids opportunities, makes selection and carries out awards.

Reviewing, interpreting, and assisting you with responding to bid opportunities are just some of the free services that our Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) provides to our clients. This training provides us with the most up-to-date terminology and procedures now required by the federal government.

Upcoming Training
Government 101 training will be held on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 from 9 am to noon at the Northwest Commission. This introductory class, conducted at the Northwest Commission, provided an overview of how to do business with the Federal, State and Local governments. Topics such as set-asides, bid leads, registrations, and how to work through the government opportunities were customized to attending companies for this half day training event.
Point of contact: Lori Moore  x104

We are currently preparing a list of additional 2007 training events. Please stay tuned to our website for more information!

Government Contracting Web Address of the Month:
http://www.ccr.gov Are you registered as a contractor with the federal government? If not, you are required to be registered with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR.) If you are registered, you should still check this website to make sure that all of your information is current.
Point of Contact: Kelly Augustine 814-677-6800 x121

Gannett Fleming has been selected to revise the Northwest RPO's Long Range Transportation Plan. Additional safety funds will be used on Route 322 in Crawford County and to signalize Route 417 and Front Street intersection in Sugarcreek Borough.

Three regional companies completed a successful EuroMold2006 trade show in Frankfurt, Germany
X-Cell Tool and Mold, Erie, Joint Venture Tool and Mold LLC, Meadville and Greenleaf Corporation, Saegertown (all pictured below) exhibited at this trade show in Germany focusing on the tool and die, molding industry sector. The trade show provided excellent exposure to European buyers from the automotive, electronics, and medical industries. We would like to share some pictures of the event. The trade show booth was organized and subsidized through the Northwest Commission and companies were able to exhibit at low cost at the world class event!

The Northwest Commission, other PennDOT Planning Partners, and PennDOT met in State College on November 1, 2006 to discuss upcoming LTAP courses and LTAP funding for Planning Partners. PennDOT is currently trying to coordinate all the LTAP training around the State. The Northwest Commission’s top three requested LTAP courses were provide to PennDOT so they could get those selected courses schedule in the near future.

The 2006 MTAP computer trainings have concluded. It was a successful program year having trained 63 different local government employees from around the northwest region.

Once the MTAP survey is returned a new class schedule will be developed for 2007 based on the information and comments gathered. The Commission has awarded six MTAP “Internet Access and Website Development Grants.” The grant is for a total of $1,000 that must be used for attaining broadband internet services (DSL, Cable modem, Satellite or wireless connectivity) for a municipal office and or to develop a municipal web site to post community information (ordinances and regulations). The six recipients are:

1. Girard Twp, Erie County – Web site development
2. Monroe Township, Clarion County – Web site development and Internet connectivity
3. Clarion County Association of Twp Officials (instrumentality of the Commonwealth) - web site development
4. Barkeyville Borough, Venango County – Internet Connectivity
5. Summit Twp, Crawford County – Internet Connectivity
6. New Vernon Twp, Mercer County - Web site development and Internet connectivity

A lot of excitement was generated at the very successful regional “Community Broadband Planning” workshop held on November 2nd 2006. There have been many requests for some sort of follow up regarding the ‘open network’ strategy discussed at the workshop.

Commission staff is currently reviewing a final draft of a ‘complete’ presentation on Community Broadband Planning being furnished by Dr. Andrew Cohill. The final version of this document and PowerPoint will eventually be available for general consumption through our web site under the technology link. The document and PowerPoint is essentially the same presentation Dr. Cohill gave on November 2nd with a few alterations that take into consideration questions and comments he gathered during his Pennsylvania LDD tour and also to better define in greater detail some areas of the presentation that either caused some concern or were glossed over and generated a lot of lose-end questions.

Commission staff and regional County Commissioners traveled to Harrisburg December 12th for an open network strategy meeting. It was hosted by the Law firm of Stevens and Lee and Abe Hobson. Hobson is an active participant in the Venango County Broadband Fiber project representing Level3 Communications. He introduced his concept of an open network using a ‘dark fiber’ deployment model.

The Next TAG meeting is scheduled for January 19th at 12 noon. The tentative meeting location is Clarion University of PA and the agenda anticipates a video conference, internet2 and reverse auction demonstration.

GIS Conference Review
The Northwest Commission partnered with Clarion University of Pennsylvania to organize a one day GIS Conference at the university on November 17, 2006. The conference was made up of break out sessions, hands on GIS experience, poster displays, vendor exhibits, etc. Over ninety (90) people registered for the event.

Northwest Commission staff attended an ArcGIS 9.2 rollout seminar in Erie. The purpose of the seminar was to introduce the latest software update.

The Commission created a variety of maps for the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau motorcycle tour publication that they are putting together.