The 2016-17 Leadership Central Penn class at its graduation last month.
Leadership Central Penn, a program of The Foundation of the Columbia Montour Chamber, is currently seeking applications for spots in its 2017-18 class. LCP seeks to identify and educate citizens from Columbia and Montour counties that exhibit leadership potential. Classes meet on the third Thursday of each month for a full day (approx. 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.) from September through May. Area businesses and organizations are encouraged to nominate and sponsor employees. Individuals may also apply. The application deadline is July 31.
The 2017-18 class will be the 19th since LCP’s inception in 1993. The 18th class held its graduation last month.
Application (.docx)
Program promotional brochure (.pdf)
Chamber members partook in some homemade hors d’oeuvres as well as local wine from fellow members Three Dogs Vino, Pickering Winery and Freas Farm Winery as they put a bow on the month of May at the second of two Business After Hours last month at Members Choice Financial Credit Union in Danville. Attendees were able to enjoy the outstanding food and drink while networking and meeting several members of the MCFCU team and learning about the credit union’s offerings. For more information about MCFCU, visit its website or call 800-834-0082.
Business After Hours provide regular opportunities to build business relationships while learning about the services offered by other Chamber members. Please join us at our next Business After Hours next Wednesday, June 21 at the Pump House Bed & Breakfast just outside Bloomsburg.
More than 100 state and local chamber officials from across the Commonwealth, including Fred Gaffney, Columbia Montour Chamber President and Dan Knorr, Board Member, came together on Tuesday, June 6th to participate in 2017 Chamber Day. The annual event, which is co-hosted by the PA Chamber of Business and Industry and the Pennsylvania Association of Chamber Professionals, allows local chambers to meet with key policymakers and discuss ways to improve Pennsylvania’s business climate and competitive edge.
“While we have a good working relationship with our state delegation, it is beneficial to travel to Harrisburg from time to time to meet with legislators,” said Gaffney. “Chamber Day also provides the opportunity to show a unified voice statewide on issues of importance to employers.”
Participants met with elected officials and cabinet members throughout the day, including Gov. Tom Wolf, who served as the keynote speaker during the Chamber Day luncheon. Senate Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, R-Jefferson, and Speaker of the House Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny both kicked off the event with welcoming remarks at the State Capitol. The day-long event also featured policy discussions on a variety of topics, including: the 2017-18 state budget, pension reform, property taxes, workforce development, as well as the Commonwealth’s transportation and infrastructure needs. The legislature passed the pension reform plan during that week, which was signed by Governor Wolf on Monday, June 12th. As budget discussions continue, there was no clear plan provided for filling the budget gap estimated at nearly $3 billion.
This is the fifth and final post recognizing all of the valuable contributors that helped make this year’s Chamber golf outing a huge success. It is the continued support of these businesses and individuals that helps the Chamber fulfill its mission of offering programs and benefits to its members, giving its members a stronger voice in advocacy and being involved in more activities and initiatives in our communities.
With only three full-time staff members, the Chamber could not successfully put on the golf outing each year while also making sure the office remains staffed during the day of the tournament without the help of several dedicated and willing volunteers that assist the Chamber staff with logistics and day-of-event duties. Thank you to these individuals for donating their time and helping make sure the event ran smoothly.
Jodi Berry, M&T Bank
Heidi Bolus, M&T Bank
Dave Brokus, M&T Bank
Lisa Makara, Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital
Mary Ann Rizzo, Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau
Deb Sokol, Columbia Montour Chamber
Diana Verbeck, Danville Child Development Center
Jon White-Spunner, Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble
Also, thanks to both Kathy Taylor and Amanda Woolsey from the Hampton Inn-Danville, who originally planned to volunteer but were unable to due to the date change of the tournament.
Special thanks to Jodi Berry of M&T Bank, who went above and beyond in both rounding up volunteers, but also in requesting prize donations from area businesses. Her volunteer efforts on behalf of the Chamber and the golf tournament are greatly appreciated, and the tournament would not have run as efficiently, nor would the prizes have been as good without her help. Thank you, Jodi!
Finally, last but not least, thank you to the staff at Knoebels Three Ponds Golf Club, which hosted the Chamber golf outing for the second straight year. Mike Thompson and the pro shop staff had every detail related to the course and players taken care of, and Kathy Baker and her food and beverage staff served some great-tasting food for the tournament’s players and patrons. It’s a first class group and we thank them for all of their efforts for making this a first class tournament.
From PA Chamber of Business & Industry
In a whirlwind of activity last week, the General Assembly passed and sent to Gov. Tom Wolf an important public pension reform bill that will help to rein in the what has been unsustainable growth of the state pension systems, shift a significant portion of the risk from potentially under-performing investments off of state taxpayers and help to secure the future sustainability of state and public school employees’ retirement plans. Governor Tom Wolf signed the legislation into law on Monday.
Senate Bill 1, which was passed 40-9 by the Senate last Wednesday and 143-53 by the House on Thursday, offers a choice of three new retirement plan options for new employees hired after 2019 within the State Employees Retirement System and the Public School Employees Retirement System, along with an opt-in provision for current workers. Two of the choices offer hybrid defined benefit, defined contribution plans, while the third option is a defined contribution, 401k-style plan.
Prior to the Senate and House votes on the bill, the PA Chamber sent memos to both chambers urging their support for the measure. The memos noted that while the organization is ready to support additional steps to mitigate rising costs in the near term, it believes that S.B. 1 will put the state pension systems on a better path to stability and sustainability. These beliefs are strengthened through findings by the education advocacy organization PennCAN, which has found that few teachers do better under the existing PSERS pension plan than they would under a plan like S.B. 1; and from the Pew Charitable Trusts, which has noted that the bill would be one of the most – if not the most – comprehensive and impactful reform any state has implemented.
This is the fourth in a series of posts recognizing all of the valuable contributors that helped make this year’s Chamber golf outing a huge success. It is the continued support of these businesses and individuals that helps the Chamber fulfill its mission of offering programs and benefits to its members, giving its members a stronger voice in advocacy and being involved in more activities and initiatives in our communities.
Thanks to all of the individuals and teams that played in the golf outing. They represented the following organizations:
3B Cleaning & Floorcare
Barry Isett & Associates
First Columbia Bank & Trust
Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital
Generations Construction
Hutchison Insurance
M&T Bank
PenTeleData
Pine Barn Inn
Safelite Auto Glass
Service 1st Federal Credit Union
Towne Camera
U.S. Gypsum Company
Wagner’s Trophies & Engraveables
Williams
WorkPlace Health
Zimmer Insurance
This is the third in a series of posts recognizing all of the valuable contributors that helped make this year’s Chamber golf outing a huge success. It is the continued support of these businesses and individuals that helps the Chamber fulfill its mission of offering programs and benefits to its members, giving its members a stronger voice in advocacy and being involved in more activities and initiatives in our communities.
Thanks to all of the businesses that donated prizes for this year’s golf tournament. These businesses provided goods and/or services for the winning teams and individuals and for the door prize raffle. The golf tournament would not be successful without the generous donations from these businesses.
AdOne Advertising & Design
AGAPE Love From Above to Our Community
Alpine Animal Clinic
Applebee’s
Art of Floating
Bason Coffee Roasting
Bloomin’ Bagels
Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble
Cole’s Hardware
Columbia Montour Chamber
Dillon Floral
Fog & Flame Craft Coffee and Espresso Bar
Fuel Fitness
GordnerCoombs Insurance Agency
Incredible Popcorn
Ken Pollock Ford/Lincoln
Knoebels Three Ponds Golf Club
Lisa’s Country Cuts & Spa
M&T Bank
McBride Library
Mill Race Golf & Camping Resort
Old Forge Brewing Company
Olive Garden
Quaker Steak & Lube
Rita’s Ice
Ruby Tuesday
Safelite Auto Glass
Williamsport Crosscutters
This is the second in a series of posts recognizing all of the valuable contributors that helped make this year’s Chamber golf outing a huge success. It is the continued support of these businesses and individuals that helps the Chamber fulfill its mission of offering programs and benefits to its members, giving its members a stronger voice in advocacy and being involved in more activities and initiatives in our communities.
Thanks to the 28 hole sponsors of this year’s golf tournament.
3B Cleaning & Floorcare
Barry Isett & Associates
Bloomsburg Carpet
Bodnar Sales & Service
Central Susquehanna Community Foundation
Century 21 Covered Bridges Realty
ChamberChoice/OnDemand Energy
Danville Child Development Center
First Keystone Community Bank
Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital
Geisinger Health Plan
GordnerCoombs Insurance
Hutchison Insurance Agnecy
Ken Pollock Ford/Lincoln
North Shore Railroad
PenTeleData
Philadelphia Federal Credit Union
Pine Barn Inn
Service Electric Cablevision
Steph’s Subs
The Inn at Turkey Hill
The Farmhouse at Turkey Hill
Turkey Hill Brewing
Wagner’s Trophies & Engraveables
Walker’s Jewelers
Williams
WorkPlace Health
Zimmer Insurance Agency
ChamberChoice will offer a special three-part webinar series titled “Health Insurance Cost Reduction Strategies” on the second Thursday of July-September. This service is available free-of-charge to all Chamber members as a benefit of membership through the Chamber’s affinity programs through ChamberChoice.
The schedule and topics of the webinar series are listed below. For more information or to register for the webinar, visit here.
Thursday, July 13, 10 a.m. – Risk analysis: Understand health conditions and costs within your workforce to reduce future costs.
Thursday, August 10, 10 a.m. – Employee contribution strategies: Reduce employer expense and increase employee take-home pay (PSA, HRA, HSA).
Thursday, September 14, 10 a.m. – Healthcare cost transparency