President’s Message: A Breakout Year? Elementary, My Dear Chamber

One of the things I love about Sherlock Holmes is his uncanny ability to predict the future – not by some supernatural power or mystic charm, but by his acute observation of the reality around him and the deductions that he makes from careful interpretation of that observation.

I’m no Sherlock Holmes. If you need confirmation, all you need to do is ask my darling wife, and she’ll be happy to tell you that I barely notice when the garbage needs to go to the curb. Needless to say, when I manage to make a prediction that comes true, I like revel in it a little. Today is such a day!

In the January edition of Business Matters, your Chamber predicted that 2025 would be a breakout year for workforce development, especially through programs that fall under the purview of the Foundation of the Columbia Montour Chamber. I’m pleased to report that that prediction is coming true, and may be observed by you in the buzz of activity of the last week and a half (which I’ll happily bring to your attention!)

First and most recently, I had the opportunity to attend a press conference in Berwick this morning that discussed the announcement of the use of Main Street Matters (state funding) monies to develop Coblentz Corner. While we were delighted to welcome Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, it was a young high school senior who stole the show and the hearts of the crowd. Ava, a member of For the Cause Teen Center’s Youth Action Board and a graduate of the Academy of Young Entrepreneurs (a program which was created/founded as a community service project by Leadership Central Penn participants), shared about her love for Berwick and the great promise that a teen center in the heart of the downtown poses for the future. She closed with, “While I won’t see this project [Coblentz Corner] completed while I’m away at university, I can’t wait to see it when I come home to Berwick.”

“Come home to Berwick.” That’s the sense of pride we want for our young people, and music to the ears of employers who hate to see our greatest resource leave. Ava, we hope that when you’ve learned all you can, you’ll come back to thriving downtowns and a great place to live, work, play, and do business, in the Columbia Montour region. Hat’s off to For the Cause for being such a great resource.

Secondly, the Foundation hosted its annual STEM program last week, with a new twist. Partnering with the Department of Defense and the Penn State University College of Engineering, the Foundation used a format called the “S.E.A.L. Challenge”. The Foundation purchased materials for the school districts who participated, and they in turn built a drone, which was then part of a challenge course. You would have been as impressed as I was to see the veritable “Breakfast Club” of students – from all backgrounds and walks of life, who put their skills to use to accomplish an incredible feat of engineering. Read more about this incredible program here, and encourage all of the school districts you can to come to the Foundation’s K-12 Summit this summer so that they can sign up. The materials, the scholarships, and the program challenge were completely paid for by investment in the EITC programs of the Foundation of the Chamber.

Tomorrow, 12 local managers and supervisors graduate from the Chamber’s Management & Leadership program, a workforce development partnership with Commonwealth University Bloomsburg and the Foundation of the Chamber. Last week, the Foundation’s Leadership Central Penn class wrapped up healthcare day, with a behind-the-scenes program centered around Geisinger’s local services and programs.

Next month, the Class of 2025 will present their ongoing community service projects and explain all they’ve done for the region. Dare we dream that these projects will have as lasting an impression as I witnessed in Ava’s remarks this morning? I sure hope so!

Regardless, there are plenty more stories to tell, and programs to experience.

With all of this information now before your eyes, I bet your answer to the question, “Was the Chamber right? Will it be a breakout year for workforce and employee development?” will be as simple as Mr. Holmes’ most famous response.

“Elementary, my dear Chamber. Elementary.”

Read more about our recent SEAL challenge here.