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Member News- July 21, 2021

BTE Presenting Free Play in Bloomsburg Town Park

School’s out for the summer, and the New Mexico air is hot, even in the darkest part of the night. But 8-year-old Sheila and her scrappy pack of pals aren’t going to let the summer heat get them down. When their fantastical junkyard fort draws the attention of a mysterious furry stranger, this band of misfit kids suddenly find themselves deep in the desert, face to face with the walking, talking critters who live there. It’s a whirlwind adventure about humans’ effect on the environment and the animals with whom we share the planet. And, spoiler alert: somebody swallows a cactus! Presented outdoors at Totsburg in Bloomsburg Town Park, The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus features a cast of BTE members and friends. This unique twist on traditional fable-style storytelling will captivate the imaginations of audiences of all ages.

There are lots of chances to catch this exciting family adventure in Bloomsburg Town Park.
Thursday, July 22nd, 11AM
Friday, July 23rd, 7PM
Saturday, July 24th, 7PM
Tuesday, July 27th, 11AM
Wednesday, July 28th, 11AM
Thursday, July 29th, 11AM
Friday, July 30th, 7PM
Saturday, July 31st, 7PM

Performances of The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus are free of charge to all audiences thanks to underwriting from the Columbia County Commissioners and longtime Summer show sponsor, Renco Ace Hardware.


Attorney Julie Steinbacher Earns LLM Degree in Elder Law and Estate Planning

Attorney Julie Steinbacher, CELA®, the founding shareholder of the elder care and special needs law firm of Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak, recently completed her LLM degree in elder law and estate planning from the Western New England School of Law.

An LLM is a Master of Law degree, and a graduate qualification in the field of law. It was created for attorneys to further expand their knowledge or study a specialized area of law, and is generally a one-year program if studying full-time. The elder law and estate planning LLM from Western New England is the only live, interactive and online program of its kind in the United States. 

Julie becomes the second attorney at the firm to add an LLM degree to her resume. Attorney Amos Goodall also has an LLM in elder law. The LLM is also just the latest item to be added to her resume. Earlier this year, she was named a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a national organization of more than 2,500 attorneys and law professors, becoming one of just 96 ACTEC fellows in Pennsylvania, and two of only five from the northeast and north central portion of the state ranging from the Poconos and west through State College (Amos is one of the others).

Along with Amos and Attorney Brittany Smith, Julie is also one of three Certified Elder Law Attorneys (CELA) at Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak, one of just 67 in Pennsylvania and of just over 500 in the entire country. The CELA is given by the National Elder Law Foundation and is frequently referred to as the “gold standard” for elder law and special needs practitioners. Julie has a “superb” AVVO rating for attorneys and last year was also named a Super Lawyer® for the first time in Thomson Reuters’ annual listing of the same name. Earlier this year, Julie was named to the Pennsylvania Business Central Top 100 People list for the second straight year and the fourth time overall.

Julie has lectured extensively for several organizations including the Elder Law Institute, Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants and many more, and is the president of Estate & Long Term Care Planning, Inc. She has also authored several books in a Protect Your Family series that informs people about planning for the second half of life. In 2020, Julie, along with Attorney Jenna Franks, co-published the 2021 Supplement to the Pennsylvania Trust Guide. A Magna Cum Laude graduate of Widener University School of Law, Julie founded the law firm Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak in 2002. She sits on the board of Hope Enterprises, Inc. and is also a trustee for the YWCA of North Central Pennsylvania.

Steinbacher, Goodall & Yurchak is an elder care and special needs law firm offering quality representation to clients throughout Pennsylvania. Since its beginning in 2002, the firm has dedicated itself to practicing law with extraordinary standards of ethics and values. The vision of the firm has been to provide individuals and their families with a unique plan to protect their assets for their spouses and future generations, while providing for their immediate and long-term needs. More information, including resources and seminar information, can be found at www.paeldercounsel.com. To schedule your appointment, call 1-800-351-8334.


McKonly & Asbury Expands Leadership Team; Hires Director of Client Engagement and Growth, Robert Duffield

 McKonly & Asbury – one of Central Pennsylvania’s premier accounting and business advisory services firms – is pleased to announce the expansion of their leadership team by welcoming Robert Duffield as Director of Client Engagement and Growth. Rob will be joining the firm on July 19, 2021, and brings a tremendous depth of experience in growing client-focused relationships, establishing strong business connections, and directing strategic growth. 

“We are thrilled to have Rob join our team to spearhead our business development efforts across the region,” said Michael Hoffner, Managing Partner of McKonly & Asbury. “Rob is joining McKonly & Asbury at an exciting time in our history, and the focus and understanding he brings to growing a professional services firm, coupled with the development of people and enhancement of culture will contribute significantly to our clients, our people, and our firm’s goals in the coming years. McKonly & Asbury has always had a value-based approach to the accounting, tax, and advisory services we offer, and Rob is uniquely positioned to help us bring these services to our clients as they seek to become increasingly competitive in an expanding marketplace.”

Rob joins McKonly & Asbury with more than 20 years of experience as a performance-driven sales and marketing professional, most recently with a large professional services firm. Earlier in his career, he was a Senior Account Executive with a professional staffing firm focused on placing finance and accounting, human resources, IT, engineering, and administrative services professionals. 

“I am honored to be joining the team at McKonly &Asbury,” said Duffield. “For nearly five decades, the firm has enjoyed a stellar reputation for excellence, providing profound business insights to our clients and being actively involved in the communities we serve. The leadership team continues to expand in new and exciting directions, while always maintaining our core commitment to excellent responsiveness to our clients. This is an incredible opportunity for me to leverage the professional skills learned over a lifetime of teaching, coaching, sales, marketing, team building, and more, to bring incredible value to our clients, our employees, and our firm.”


BIDA Holds its 59th Annual Meeting

Berwick Industrial Development Association, a leader in economic development focusing on industrial development and manufacturing, is excited to have held its annual meeting in person at the Forge Pub & Eatery.
This was the 58th meeting in 59 years, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced B.I.D.A. to cancel the meeting in 2020.
Board President, Dan McGann, presented to the audience the work that B.I.D.A. was able to accomplish despite the pandemic. Those accomplishments were assisting business and industry during the pandemic with navigating the changing guidelines and restrictions as well as the financial assistance that was offered through state and federal agencies.

B.I.D.A. closed on two properties within the Complex perimeter that had previously been sold to others. One of which was the former Ingredion manufacturing facility, which is now the satellite facility for Dyco, Inc.

Berwick is experiencing growth and development with our existing business and industry, not to mention the numerous inquiries that are coming in every month looking at our region and as much as we want to recruit new business, right now that would adversely affect our existing employers. The central northeast region of Pennsylvania needs “skilled labor”; which means, those trained in the vocational/industrial arts: welders, pipe fitters, building and trades, HVAC, plumbers and machinists.

B.I.D.A. Board President McGann told the B.I.D.A. board of directors, members and guests, “You all have homework, we need everyone to encourage our youth to seek education and training in vocational studies…to also encourage adults to gain the necessary training for the jobs we have now and going into the future…”.

Mr. McGann, also asked for people to encourage family and friends that may have moved out of our region to “come home”. Berwick alone has lost 10% of its population over the last ten (10) years.

Kelly O’Brien, Executive Director for B.I.D.A., wanted the audience to know that B.I.D.A. does so much more than manage a physical industrial complex. B.I.D.A. provides services to entrepreneurs, small and mid-size companies and large corporations with access to resources, facilitating project development, strategic planning, as well as working with colleges and universities locally to formulate research and development projects that include product development.

Congressman Meuser presented at the event, he reiterated McGann’s call for increasing interest in the vocational trades. The Congressman also stated his commitment to the region as a whole and will be working with B.I.D.A. as we continue to move into the future. “Workforce development is a challenge”, Congressman Meuser stated and explained that he put forth a bill for a new jobs tax credit, which is up for approval this budget cycle.

State Representative Dave Millard, a long-standing supporter of B.I.D.A., stated that the work that B.I.D.A. does for business and industry is invaluable. The Representative discussed the strength and resilience of the businesses in the region and how that resiliency shows in the strength of our economy. “Communicating with leaders like Kelly [O’Brien, Executive Director] … [W]orking hand in hand to overcome any challenges is what builds that resiliency. I pledge to continue to work with B.I.D.A. and our community leaders to make our region better and stronger.”, stated Millard.
Commissioner Dave Kovach also attended and represents Columbia County at B.I.D.A. board meetings monthly.

Commission Kovach gave recognition to the administrative staff of B.I.D.A. for the work that they do on a regular basis, ensuring that the work of the organization is done effectively and efficiently and that the businesses in our region are taken care of. “There are opportunities coming to our region and Kelly [O’Brien] is taking advantage of those opportunities. B.I.D.A. is an economic driver for our region.”, Kovach stated. B.I.D.A.’s Stacy Whitmire, Controller, received her notary public during the pandemic and B.I.D.A. now offers notary services.

The overarching message of the annual meeting and the distinguished guests is the need for and the support for vocational training and education and the demand for employment in industry. Our region is hiring in every industry sector and those jobs must be filled before we can set our sights on the new business and growth that is knocking on the door of the Central Northeast region of Pennsylvania.

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