The student-centered approach at TCHS offers students a hands-on career exploration using state-of-theart methods and technology guided by industry experience.
Try on a career with TCHS! Call to schedule a tour and explore our facilities!
Technical College High School (484) 593-5100
Technical College High School Pickering Campus Phoenixville, PA (610) 933-8877
Technical College High School Pennock’s Bridge Campus West Grove, PA (610) 345-1800
• Join our Occupational Advisory Committee (OAC) and help ensure our programs
• Partner with TCHS to establish Co-op and internship opportunities.
• Become a partner in our Ascend program, encouraging students to explore Advanced Manufacturing careers.
• Assist TCHS with mock interview days to hone students’ soft skills.
• Participate in industry awareness days that bring you together with students to offer demos, job interviews/interview practice and networking.
• Become a sponsor at one of the many TCHS community events.
Connections and Community
Summer is wrapping up and fall will be here before we know it—what a fun time to get out with the family and see some of our great venues right here in Western Chester County. In September there are two spectacular events on the same day, Saturday September 22nd. Back for its third year is the Coatesville Invitational Vintage Grand Prix. Come see the cars, eat at the food trucks and enjoy the thrill of the race. If cars aren’t your thing, ride your bike in the Brandywine Conservancy’s Bike the Brandywine which starts and ends in Chadds Ford. Also in its third year, this ride (not race) has a 25-, 45-, or 80-mile route, bringing you through the western Chester County region with many stops in our area for you to enjoy.
October will bring the pumpkins and the hayrides! We are very fortunate to have many local farms for you to visit with your children or grandchildren. Visit Hurricane Hill Farm for a challenging corn maze, enjoy fresh eggs from Highspire Hills Farm, fresh produce from Vollmecke Orchards, or stop by Windy Hill Farm for fresh lavender. November will kick off the holidays, starting with our Annual Dinner on November 15th. The Annual Dinner is a time to celebrate those who make a difference in our community. Mark your calendars, plan to attend!
WCCCC is focused on supporting our members, employees, and families of our business community. We are so proud to be a part of this thriving area. As I reflect on what has happened in our area over the last 6 months we have much to celebrate. Our Chamber has grown in both membership and in territory. I‘d like to extend a warm welcome to our newest members and neighbors East and West Natmeal Townships, who are now part of the WCC Chamber. We have more great news—Coatesville received a grant from the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation, a surprising sum of support for the 2nd Century Alliance, in partnership with the Chester County Economic Development Council’s Foundation, the Coatesville Area Partners for Progress, and the Chester County Department of Community Development. The grant will go toward the important work they are all doing to strengthen the City’s residential neighborhoods. You can read more about the grant in the 2nd Century Alliance article in this edition of Western Chester County Life, on page 46.
The Western Chester County Chamber works to recruit, retain and grow our region’s businesses and nonprofit organizations. We are proud to offer a multitude of ways to connect our members and residents through our networking events including educational programs to strengthen business skills, young professionals’ happy hours, and signature events like our Annual Dinner that showcases two awards—the Joseph G. Filoromo Community Service Award and the Elliott R. Jones Award.
We support area wide organizations that help our community grow. Read more about these partners in our “In Each Issue” section of this publication.
WCCCC encourages you to Join In! Discover local events and businesses, “shop and buy local” whenever you can. Working together we can enhance our community so businesses and families continue to prosper.
Please visit us at www.westernchestercounty.com
Like and follow us on Facebook @WCCChamber and Twitter @ChescoWest
Warmest regards, Donna McCorkle/WCCCC Board President CBIZ – HCM Consultant (Payroll / HR )
Donna McCorkle
Western Chester County Chamber Events
September 26
Economic Forecast
with David B. Hanson, Fulton Financial Advisors
11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Downingtown Country Club
October 4
Parkesburg Point
15-Year Anniversary
4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The Parkesburg Point
October 8
SCORE Business Seminar
Employee Benefits by Karl Klingmann II
4 to 5:30 p.m.
Courtyard by Marriott Coatesville
October 11
Making Connections Networking
Happy Hour
4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Location TBA
All events are open to the general public. Visit www.WesternChesterCounty.com for more details and to register. Our Networking Events are free and a great way to discover the benefits of WCCCC membership ... helping to grow your business.
October 24
Agricultural Summit Farm products for sale, speakers, educational displays
The Romano 4H Center of Chester County
4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
November 8
Making Connections Networking Happy Hour
4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Location TBA
November 15
Annual Dinner
Coatesville Country Club
5 to 6:30 p.m. Networking & Cocktails
6:30 p.m. Dinner & Awards
December 13
Making Connections Networking Happy Hour
4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Location TBA
January 17
Extravaganza 4:30 to 7 p.m.
Victory Brewing Parkesburg
February
Legislative Breakfast 8:30 to 10 a.m.
Pope John Paul II Regional Catholic Elementary School
March
Municipal Update Luncheon
11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
G.A. Vietri, Inc. Electrical Construction
Photos by Rachel Cathell Clockwise from top left: The Legislative Roundtable brings together western Chester County’s elected officials. WCCCC hosts 12 business networking mixers annually The 2nd Annual workforce event addressed how businesses are acquiring and recruiting skilled employees. Young Professionals Networking events are held four times a year.
A Taste of Italy in Parkesburg
For 22 years, Rocco & Anna’s
has served authentic Italian food
By Natalie Smith Staff Writer
If you’re driving along Route 322 and you’re hungry, the Pirozzi Family has a suggestion: On Main Street in Parkesburg is a restaurant that serves authentic and delectable Italian food. So make that turn and head to the borough. The Pirozzis can assure you it’ll be worth your trip.
At Rocco & Anna’s Ristorante Italiano, customers have their favorites, including Linguine Alla Pescatore, which is linguini with fresh shrimp, clams, mussels and scallops; creamy Fettuccini Alfredo, with or without chicken or shrimp; and lightly breaded Chicken or Veal Parmesan, covered with mozzarella in a rich, house-made marinara. Among the appetizers that can make a meal special are Broccoli di Rabe with hot or sweet sausage, and stuffed Kennett Square portabella mushrooms.
Photos by Natalie Smith
The Pirozzi Family works together. From left: son Rocco Pirozzi Jr., Rocco Pirozzi, Anna Pirozzi, and daughter Luisa Pirozzi. The restaurant has been serving up Italian dishes for more than 20 years.
And what would an Italian repast be without a glass of vino? They have that, too.
Rocco & Anna’s really couldn’t get any more genuine. Rocco Pirozzi was born in the Abruzzo region of central Italy, but left at 18 to seek his fortune. And travel he did. After spending years in Switzerland and Australia, going back to Italy, then off to Australia again, in 1974 he eventually ended up in Clifton Heights, Delaware County.
In 1975 he married Anna, who was also born in Abruzzo. Her hometown of Perano was 45 minutes from Rocco’s home of Atri. But Anna came to the States when she was 4 and was raised in West Philadelphia. And after they married? “And then we work,” Rocco said with a laugh.
In addition to serving mouthwatering Italian food, the other thing the Pirozzis know well is hard work. Rocco worked in construction and was a welder by trade, “but I had the feeling to own a business,” he said. In 1982, Rocco and a partner had a restaurant/bar in Thorndale, but his partner bought him out three years later.
“We went back to Italy for three months. Longest vacation we ever had. I wanted to stay there, but she didn’t agree,” he said, smiling and nodding toward Anna. “So we came back [to the United States] and started all over again.”
In 1986, they opened Rocco’s Pizza in Phoenixville. It was successful for them, but the property was leased, and Rocco still had a desire to own his own place. They sold the business and purchased what had been
Ye Olde Towne Deli on Main Street in Parkesburg, installed a pizza oven, and opened in 1991, changing the name to Parkesburg Pizza and Beer.
But that wasn’t enough for the ambitious Pirozzis. After three years, they purchased the building next door, a former glass shop.
“We bought it in 1994 and opened it in ’96,” Rocco said. “But it didn’t look like this [when we bought it].” He gestured around the comfortable setting. “It was nothing.”
“It was empty for a while,” Anna said.
But Rocco and Anna aren’t alone in their hard work. Two more Pirozzis -- their daughter Luisa and their son Rocco, Jr. -- are also part of the team, with Luisa working mostly in the restaurant and Rocco, Jr. taking part in just about every segment of the business.
Anna works mostly in the deli, and although she said her usual 13-hour workday just goes with owning your own establishment, she was pleased to note, “We have a really good staff, including an Italian chef.”
Luisa agreed with her mother’s sentiments about the quality of their staff and how they can be counted on.
“It’s hard work, but if we want to go away, we can,” she said.
“It gives you flexibility,” Rocco, Jr. said.
The establishment can seat almost 100 and has a small private room, but is cozy enough for a couple’s dinner. Seats near the fireplace are often requested by customers. Added bonuses are a full bar and private, off-street
A dining area in Rocco & Anna’s. The restaurant seats nearly 100.
Rocco & Anna
Continued from Page 11
parking. For those who are interested in al fresco dining, Rocco & Anna’s has a patio that’s a popular destination for patrons.
The kitchen for both restaurants is in the deli, which conveniently expands the items Rocco & Anna’s can offer for takeout.
When asked if they have favorite dishes, anything with seafood seem to be among their top choices. Rocco & Anna’s menu is chock-full of the ocean’s delights, and anything else a diner would want in an Italian restaurant.
In addition to the linguini and fettucine, house-made pastas such as gnocchi, ravioli and ziti also grace the menu, cooked in a variety of tasty fashions. “All of our pasta dishes are big sellers,” Luisa said.
For the traditionalist, spaghetti is served six different ways, with everything from tomato sauce to garlic and oil. All entrees include a salad and bread.
Feeling undecided? How about Assaggini Di Pasta, a pasta sampler including tortellini in a pink, creamy sauce, penne in a spicy marinara sauce, and fettuccini in Alfredo sauce.
You can get your chicken as cacciatore – peppers, mushrooms in marinara over penne; marsala – sautéed in Marsala
wine and mushrooms; and piccata – white wine sauce with lemons and capers, also served over penne pasta.
But should you have a hankering for something more on the turf side, Rocco & Anna’s can accommodate you, too.
“We also do a really nice hand-cut strip steak,” Rocco, Jr. added. “Everything’s fresh and made to order, and we try to use local ingredients whenever we can.” Ingredients such as tomatoes and eggs are purchased from an Amish farmer, and of course the mushrooms are from southern Chester County. The Pirozzis themselves grow herbs, such as basil and rosemary, to be used to season dishes.
Anna said that people in the small borough seemed to welcome Rocco & Anna’s. “There wasn’t a lot here in Parkesburg when we opened our doors,” she said. “But even now, you talk to some people who are surprised there is an Italian restaurant in Parkesburg.”
Her favorite aspect of running the restaurant is the clientele, especially the regulars. “We have very nice customers,” she said. “Most of the deli customers are walk-up and most of the restaurant customers drive here.”
Rocco & Anna’s has been a member of the Western Chester County Chamber of Commerce for about two years,
and Rocco, Jr. said belonging has been a good way to familiarize others with their restaurant.
“You get exposure to other businesses,” he said. “We’ve had a couple of Chamber events here. Plus, you get to network with other people who offer services you might use, like insurance, for example.”
The siblings both have their own families. Luisa is married to Jesse and has two children, Jack and Lorenzo. Rocco Jr.’s children are Rocco III and Clara, with wife Meggan.
It’s still up in the air if there will be another generation of Pirozzi grandkids joining the restaurant. So far, none have shown any inclination to join the family business, but the oldest of the group is only 9, so there’s time.
Rocco and Anna live in Coatesville, although they previously lived in Parkesburg, over the pizza shop, for 16 years. Luisa and her family also live in Coatesville, and Rocco, Jr.’s family lives in nearby Highland. Rocco said he runs into mostly thirdgeneration Italians in the area, whose grandparents immigrated to the United States. But of course, you don’t have to be Italian to love Italian food.
The family is working on updating the Rocco & Anna’s website (www.roccoandanna.com). Gift certificates are a popular item, and the next step is to make them available for website download. Currently, they can be purchased online, but must be picked up or mailed out by the restaurant. That service is free.
What’s next for this determined family? It’s not surprising to hear that they’ve
Continued on Page 14
Basil growing on the patio of Rocco & Anna’s Ristorante Italiano is used in the restaurant kitchen.
Rocco & Anna
Continued from Page 13
purchased the building on the other side of the restaurant.
“We’re planning on expanding,” Anna said. “That’s in the works. We bought the building a couple years ago, and we own the alley. But we’re not exactly sure if we’re going to expand there or bring something different.”
“Basically, we want to serve more customers, but in what capacity, we’re not sure. We might want to do a banquet hall, but we don’t know if we’ll have enough space. Fortunately, we’re not starting from the ground up,” Rocco, Jr. said.
As the Pirozzi Family is silent a moment, perhaps thinking about their next business move, they are reminded gently: But again, that’s going to be a lot of work.
The four laughed. They certainly aren’t afraid of hard work. And it will most assuredly result in something delicious.
Natalie Smith may be contacted at natalie@DoubleSMedia.com
Rocco Pirozzi, his daughter Luisa, and wife Anna in their establishment on Main Street in Parkesburg.
Want to Transform your Life? Try Good Works!
Transformation is a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or character of something or someone, and that is the enduring purpose of Good Works.
For 30 years, Good Works has been transforming lives by repairing homes for low-income families and sharing the hope found in Jesus Christ. Most people who know Good Works appreciate that this faith-based Chester County nonprofit has repaired nearly 1,000 homes – and in the process helped residents experience a richness through being cared for, and knowing that their circumstances matter to their community.
“We believe that everyone benefits when people from different races, cultures and backgrounds join together in a common purpose,” says Bob Beggs, Good Works Executive Director. The majority of the work is accomplished by volunteers who typically contribute one day each month to help transform someone’s home. Beggs, who has been a Good Works volunteer for over 27 years, assumed the leadership role in 2014.
From humble beginnings in 1988, Good Works has grown into a potent force in the battle against poverty, social injustice and apathy. With operations in Coatesville, West Chester, Phoenixville and St. Peters Village, Good Works provides home repair services in 49 municipalities throughout central and northern Chester County, and someday beyond. But Good Works is more than that. “As a ministry, we take
our biblical mandate to love unconditionally, to serve selflessly, and to boldly share the good news of Jesus Christ, more seriously than ever,” says Beggs. “We understand that poverty-breaking changes in individuals, families and communities are only achieved through genuine relationships with each other and with God.”
Transformation doesn’t only occur in the homes and the lives of families served by Good Works, but often to an even greater extent in lives of those who do the serving. Although many studies have shown that volunteerism improves mental and physical health, Beggs relies on the comments he receives from Good Works volunteers on a weekly basis.
Youth Camp workers learn new skills
“Volunteering with Good Works opened my eyes to the plight of my neighbors. I had no idea that people within a few miles of where I live suffer without heat in the winter or a dry roof over their heads. I am so happy I can help in some small way,” wrote Roger, a volunteer from Phoenixville.
“I didn’t know anything about tools or home repair, but now I can replace windows, fix a faucet and use power tools. Volunteering with Good Works has taught me new skills,” wrote Janine, a youth camp volunteer.
“Good Works is unique. Few places these days offer me the opportunity or the encouragement to share my faith while I’m helping others. It is life changing,” wrote Kevin, a corporate workday volunteer.
“The real trick is to serve others selflessly and without expectations,” says Beggs. It is a principle that many longtime volunteers practice at Good Works, and the reason that so many of them faithfully return, month after month and year after year.
“It is very difficult to understand the complexity of living in poverty and how it robs you of your hope, joy and dignity, Beggs adds. “To expect something of someone in that situation in exchange for your help is not a fair or reasonable request. Just serve and you will be blessed.”
Opportunities to serve at Good Works include volunteer Crew Leaders, Technical Advisors and general laborers. “You don’t need to have home repair skills to serve,” says Beggs. “We will teach you. You need only have a willing heart.”
In addition to people making home repairs, Good Works recruits Ambassadors. These are volunteers who don’t drive nails, but instead want to address the relational and spiritual needs in the families and neighborhoods where Good Works serves. There are other roles, such as truck drivers, lunch preparers, photographers, and more. All are welcome -- individuals, families, church groups, and corporate teams. Learn more at www.goodworksinc.org/volunteer.
A growing source of volunteers and financial support for Good Works are local businesses. Good Works conducts over 40 corporate workdays annually. Employee teams from local companies invest one or more work days repairing a home under the leadership of a Good Works repair technician. The leaders of these progressive companies recognize the benefits that come from investing time and money into the communities where their employees live and work. They also recognize that group volunteerism boosts morale, increases team performance and creates more effective leaders. Whether a team of employees participates one work day per year or they sponsor a home, taking it from start to finish, the return on investment is apparent.
Beggs has partnered with the C12 Group (www.c12group. com), a national organization of Christian CEOs whose mission is to build great businesses for a greater purpose. “C12 members are committed to making a positive difference in the lives of their employees, their families and their
communities,” Beggs says. “Corporate stewardship goes beyond integrity in your bookkeeping. It’s about creating a culture that values all stakeholders, including company shareholders, employees, clients, the community and the world.”
Good Works is an organization where companies can live out that stewardship and make a real difference.
For 30 years, Good Works has been transforming lives by repairing homes and restoring hope throughout Chester County. Now the ministry is preparing to take its mission beyond the county borders.
“We are compelled to share our proven methods with champions in other communities of need nationwide,” says Beggs.
The essence of Good Works is how our faith and works are inextricably linked. It is the “Good Works Way,” and the results are life changing for homeowners, their families and the volunteers who serve.
We hope you will join us!
Good Works volunteers pray at the start of each workday
New relationships are the heart of Good Works
Experiencing the joy of helping others
Community Events
Chester County Parks located in Western Chester County
Hibernia
Springton Manor
Wolf’s Hollow Activities, hiking, lectures and more Visit their websites @chesco.org
Local Farmers Markets
Downingtown Farmers Market
Eagleview Farmers Market growingrootspartners.com
Local Farm Products
Remember to buy local from our area farmers!
1,730 operating farms exist in Chester County, most with being family-owned small businesses. Use the Farm Finder to search by product, address or farm name to find the freshest, local farm goods near you. chesco.org/1124/Find-Local-Farm-Products
Libraries located in Western Chester County
Atglen Coatesville Honey Brook
Parkesburg
Libraries host a wide array of programs and events. ccls.org
September 15
Honey Brook Harmony Day
The Honey Brook Community Partnership will sponsor an Old Time Country Fair at the fire company. Flea market & Vendor space available, food trucks, public health and wellness fair, strolling musicians, and much more. Fire Hall Carnival Grounds. 10:00 am - 2:00 pm honeybrookborough.net
September 15
Atglen Community Day
A Covered Bridge Family Fun Walk/Run will kick-off Community Day.
8:30 am walk/run start: Penningtonville Presbyterian Church parking lot, Main Street. Featuring crafters and vendors, a car show, live music, a live auction and raffle, games, an apple festival, entertainment and food. 10:00 am - 4:00 pm. Atglen Community Park, Ridge Avenue, Atglen, PA atglenborough.org
September 16
Honey Brook Borough Summer Series Final Concert
Maine-based Pete Kilpatrick Band which crafts its own blend of folk and rock music, has been compared to Coldplay, Matt Nathanson & Mat Kearney. Pete Kilpatrick, an acoustic guitarist/ singer/songwriter, has been named Maine’s Best Act & Best Vocals four times in the Portland Best Music Awards. 5:00 pm hbpartnership.org
September
22
Third Annual Vintage Invitational Coatesville Grand Prix
8:30 am to 3pm
Featuring racecars from 1900 to 1965 and motorcycles from 1940 to 1965. The race is an individually timed driving event, running over a 2.2 mile course through the city streets of Coatesville. Race is Free to Attend but if you want VIP viewing access visit westernchestercounty.com/grandprix
September
22
Third Annual Bike the Brandywine
Explore the scenery, glimpse the history, and discover the lure of the Brandywine. Ride a 25, 45, or 80 mile loop in the beautiful Brandywine Creek Greenway and surrounding countryside. Proceeds from the ride benefit the Brandywine Conservancy’s clean water programs. brandywine.org/conservancy/events/ bike-brandywine
September 22
Moo & Brew and Grapes Too! 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
The Coatesville Area Senior Center has transformed its annual Beef and Beer into the reimagined Moo & Brew and Grapes Too. Enjoy food and drinks, music, games, and prizes. The event will take place in a private hangar at the Chester County G.O. Carlson Airport. The venue will offer guests an exclusive look into several of the multi-million
dollar jets that call Coatesville their home. facebook.com/moobrewandgrapestoo/
September 29
West Nantmeal Community Day
Featuring 5/10k Run, Food, fun & craft vendors. 9am-3pm
September 29
Dirty Dawg Race Obstacle Course / 5k
Tackle a 3-mile race and 12+ obstacles in the rolling countryside, pastures, and wooded trails. Proceeds are to benefit adoption programs, lifesaving animal rescue work, and care and adoption programs at LaMancha Animal Rescue 855 Doe Run Road, Coatesville, PA Race day registration: 6:30 am to 7:30 am adventuresignup.com/dirty_dawg_race_to_ rescue_obstacle_course_5k
September 29
Movie Night in the Park East Fallowfield Township will share a family-friendly movie on the big screen. Concessions will be sold at the event. Movie starts at 7:30 pm 900 Buck Run Road, East Fallowfield, PA 19320 Facebook.com/eastfallowfieldtownship.com
September 29
Valley Day
Valley Township is hosting a family fun day featuring a health fair, live music, food, entertainment, beer garden, car show, monster truck rides, airplane exhibits, petting zoo, and activities for all ages. 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm Highland Corporate Center valleytownship.org
September 15 to November 4 (Weekends)
Flashlight Fridays, Oct. 12, 19, 26
Fall Fun at the Farm
6pm till 10pm
Hurricane Hill Farm offers fun autumn-time weekends with corn mazes, peddle tractors, bounce houses, hayrides, pumpkins and more!
704 East Reeceville Road, West Brandywine Township, Coatesville, PA Hhfmaze.com
October 4
National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum Lecture
“Trading Away Steel Jobs, and How Consumers Can Stop It” 6:00 pm
Lukens Executive Building, 50 South First Avenue, Coatesville, PA steelmuseum.org
October 6
78th Annual Chester County Day House Tour
The annual Chester County Day House Tour is the oldest house tour in the nation. The tour benefits Chester County Hospital in its ongoing mission to bring world-class care close to home. If you love architecture, artistry and antiques, you won’t want to miss this premier house tour.
10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Located in the Northeast quadrant of Chester County chestercountyhospital.org
October 7
Marshalton Triathlon
Individuals, families and teams gather in the quaint village of Marshallton to start off with a downhill bicycle race to the Brandywine River followed by a canoe paddle to the next point. Athletes continue on with a fast walk through the trail system and return to their bicycles to reach the finish line! Registration closes October 1st!
First heat: 8:00 am Marshaltontriathlon.net
October 7
Designer Bag Bingo
Hosted by the Brandywine YMCA Wagontown Fire Hall. 12:00 pm ymcagbw.org
October 13
5 th Annual Dire Wolf 10-mile Trail Run Registration opens at 7:45 am –Race starts at 9:00 am
The Dire Wolf is a challenging trail run consisting of hills, rocks, roots, a rugged downhill switchback, and more hills. The course this year has been expanded to ten miles and now includes some of the nicest trails in the park. Race will take place at Wolf’s Hollow County Park, 1399 Schoff Rd. Atglen, PA
October 13
East Fallowfield Township Park Day
Come out to enjoy a car show, costume parade, food trucks, craft vendors, hayrides, and more family-friendly demonstrations. 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
900 Buck Run Road, East Fallowfield, PA 19320
Facebook.com/eastfallowfieldtownship.com
October 20
Fall Family Fun Festival | West Bradford Township
Celebrate the changing of the seasons with a bonfire, pumpkin decorating, music, face painting, balloon magician, hayride, ghost walks, blacksmith shop, war reenactors, and complimentary snacks! 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm Village of Marshallton - 1300 W Strasburg Road, West Chester PA 19382 www.westbradford.org
October 20
ChesLen Chase for Open Space 2018
Get ready to run for nature at our 4th annual trail race, featuring 10K, 5K, 2-Mile Fun RunWalk, and lively post-race party! 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
ChesLen Preserve, 1199 Cannery Road, Coatesville, PA natlands.org/events
October 24
Ag Summit
Presented by the Western Chester County Chamber, this event invites everyone to stop
Community Events
Continued from Page 19
by the Romano 4-H Center to shop for local farm products, listen to local farmers talk about the importance of buying local, and discover the many ways we can keep farming in Chester County. 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Romano 4-H Center, Route 322 West Brandywine Township westernchestercounty.com
October 26
Parkesburg Final Friday
Presented by The Parkesburg Action Committee. The event includes food trucks, live music, beer garden, the kids zone, vendors, and community groups. 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Main Street, Parkesburg
November 1
National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum Lecture
The “Iron Valley” 6:00 pm Lukens Executive Building, 50 South First
Avenue, Coatesville, PA steelmuseum.org
November 3
Locust Lane Annual Semi-Formal Fundraiser
Join Locust Lane Riding Center for this elegant and enjoyable evening. Benefits from the event make a difference in the lives of children and families in our community. Locust Lane is a non-profit organization specializing in equine assisted therapies and learning for personal development. 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm Coatesville Country Club locustlaneridingcenter.org
November 3
3rd Annual Coatesville Youth Conference
The CYC is a day of inspirational leadership programming for 250 youth in grades 6th through 12th. In an effort to make the CYC accessible to all who want to attend, the day
is offered completely free-of-charge. Hosted by the Coatesville Youth Initiative coatesvilleyouthinitiative.org
November 3
Pope John Paul II Craft & Vendor Show 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Pope John Paul II Regional Elementary School Gym. 2875 Manor Road, West Brandywine, PA
popejohnpaul2sch.org
November 24 –December 8
Chester County Best Kept Secrets Tour Discover Chester County’s best kept secrets. You will discover unique home & gift stores, historic homes, barns, greenhouses, wineries, boutiques, art and artisan studios, and gourmet food stops. A ticket includes a tour guide booklet and map as well as coupons to the destinations. bestkeptsecretstour.com/chester-county
November 30, December 1 & 2
Hibernia Mansion Candlelight Tours
November 30 & December 1, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
December 2, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm chesco.org
December 1
Coatesville Christmas Parade
Coatesville’s main street is lined with thousands of spectators, watching bands, floats, school groups, cub scouts, brownie troops, antique and customized autos, fire trucks, clowns, and many others welcoming Santa and the official start of the holiday season.
Lincoln Highway starting at Strode Avenue and ending at 11th Avenue. 10 AM. coatesvillechristmasparade.com
December 7
Lukens Holiday Open House Stroll through candle lit grounds, enjoy holi-
day refreshments, listen to carolers and the Lukens Band, tour beautifully decorated, historic buildings, shop at the museum store, share your child’s delight at the train display and be sure to slip your wish list to Santa! 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm steelmuseum.org
December 8
Christmas on Main
Join the Parkesburg Main Street businesses to kick off the holiday season! Santa makes a visit, carolers serenade you, and shops have specials and holiday treats to share. 10:00 am to 5:00 pm parkesburg.org
January 3
National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum Rebecca Lukens Birthday Celebration 6:00 pm
Lukens Executive Building, 50 South First Avenue, Coatesville, PA steelmuseum.org
February 7
National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum Lecture
Black History Month 6:00 pm
Lukens Executive Building, 50 South First Avenue, Coatesville, PA steelmuseum.org
March 7
National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum Lecture
Women’s History Month 6:00 pm
Lukens Executive Building, 50 South First Avenue, Coatesville, PA steelmuseum.org
March
Maple Sugaring Wolf’s Hollow Park chesco.org
FOOD SPONSORS: Victory Brewing Company Beaver Creek Tavern
Triple Fresh Catering
Harry's The Neighborhood Place
Harcum College: A Short History
“Find your hope, cherish it, and set about actively realizing it. Grapple early with your fears; face them from the beginning. Try to live a life of usefulness and action. Look about you: see a plan in what seems a chaotic world; find generosity and tolerance where you are led to believe there is selfishness and bigotry; then be generous and tolerant yourself.”
-- Edith Hatcher Harcum, from an early Harcum College Commencement address.
Harcum College, from its inception, has sought to enrich its graduates by broadening their intellectual and cultural horizons with practical, experiential education and exposure to the liberal arts.
The college was founded in Bryn Mawr in 1913 as a music school by Edith Hatcher, a talented concert pianist, and her husband Octavius Marvin Harcum. The couple had two small children and entrepreneurial inclinations.
Today, Harcum is a co-educational, career-focused institution offering an associate degree and certificates, with majors in 24 fields, including business management, dental hygiene, early childhood education, human services, law and justice, nursing, veterinary technology, and new programs in photography and digital design. It offers courses on its main Bryn Mawr Campus and at Partnership Sites around the region, including the Coatesville Site at 53 S. First Ave.
Harcum Veterinary technology students complete their practicums in a partnership with the New Bolton Center of
the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
“The Coatesville Partnership Site began recruiting students in the fall of 2007,” said director Bill Shaw. “Since then, we have seen 80 students graduate. While some are taking their first step after high school graduation, most are nontraditional-age students who may have already started a family or career and are seeking advancement. Nearly all the students at the Coatesville site have roots in the community and remain in the area after graduation, with many going on to continue their education, to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
“With their Harcum degree, many have reported promotions, increased earnings, or have gained employment at places like the Brandywine Hospital, the Coatesville VA Center, Chester County government, the Brandywine YMCA, as well as local nonprofit organizations and businesses,” Shaw said.
Several graduates have started their own companies,
Graduate Group
especially in the area of childcare, due to the strength of Harcum’s nationally accredited Early Childhood Education program. Greater civic involvement has also been a result, as graduates use their skills on local government boards and committees, local church efforts, and community building activities.
“Students are very involved in a wide variety of community service work, including gift wrapping in support of the Coatesville Senior Center, veteran outreach with the Coatesville VA Center and Coatesville VFW, and participating each year with the United Way of Chester County to staff their Poverty Simulation for the Leadership Chester County program,” Shaw said. “Harcum’s dental program students have participated in the Brandywine Center Block party in downtown Coatesville and provided other services in Coatesville.”
On Harcum’s main Bryn Mawr Campus, in the past decade, the Charles Trout Library and the Academic Center underwent a $1.2 million refurbishment, the college’s historic Little Theatre was completely renovated, new programs were added, and with many Partnership Sites opening, Harcum’s overall enrollment increased to 1,600 students. The college also fielded championship teams in men’s and women’s basketball and soccer and women’s volleyball, playing in the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Enrollment for the Spring 2019 semester is underway now. Contact Harcum Admission (see below) or, for the Coatesville Site, contact Bill Shaw at 610-810-1556.
Harcum College
750 Montgomery Avenue
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
610-526-6050
enroll@harcum.edu www.harcum.edu
Acts of Service
Pathway to STEM Careers
Since 1960, the Chester County Economic Development Council (CCEDC) has provided services that improve the business community and enhance the quality of life in Chester County and the region. CCEDC helps existing and new businesses by providing proven financial solutions; cultivating workforce talent; leveraging business partnerships; and fostering entrepreneurial collaboration.
The impact of the CCEDC on the growth and prosperity of companies comprising the high priority industries in Chester County and region has been significant and enduring. Those industrial clusters are: Advanced Manufacturing, Agriculture, Energy, Health Care, and IT/Communications. Coincidentally, several of these fields require a workforce that is trained in one or more of the STEM disciplines – science, technology, engineering, or math.
Now more than ever, preparing students for their future careers is a key priority. Pennsylvania’s Department of Education recently unveiled its Future Ready PA index to measure how schools are performing and making progress on
multiple indicators. A key component of the index are the career readiness standards. To help area school districts meet these requirements, CCEDC has joined with the Chester County Workforce Development Board, Chester County Department of Community and Economic Development, and the Chester County Intermediate Unit to form a partnership between education, workforce and economic development to prepare students for their future careers.
Fortunately, several career exploration opportunities are already in existence and CCEDC has been a key player via its numerous youth programs and initiatives. For example, young women in grades 5 -10 can attend Girls Exploring Tomorrow’s Technology (GETT), a one-day STEM immersion experience featuring and an expo of area companies. Local high schoolers can participate in one of several Techies Days held throughout the year and spend a day on site at area businesses.
Area schools can partner with CCEDC to take students on
Health Care Career Academy students at the white coat ceremony.
Left: Participants at the 17th Annual Girls Exploring Tomorrow’s Technology (GETT) event.
Below: Lionville Middle School partnered with ONExia and took home third place in the statewide ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?’ video contest.
the road to participate in career showcases. Area middle schoolers have the unique opportunity to get involved in the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? Student Video Contest. In this program, a team of students is paired with an area manufacturer to produce a video highlighting why careers in manufacturing are “cool.” Two of the winning team videos from our area contest also have the opportunity to move forward to compete in the State-wide contest.
CCEDC’s newest offerings are career academies in several disciplines. Held either during the summer or as year-long programs, students get up close and in-depth exposure to various careers within a certain field. Additionally, representatives from CCEDC also attend numerous career fairs
around the region to promote STEM careers.
Area educators have participated in several Stem Immersion Excursions that take them on the road to visit pharma, manufacturing, and health care worksites. This allows the educators to make connections and better implement plans for students’ success.
Learn more about the Chester County Economic Development Council at www.ccedcpa.com. To get involved with programs supporting youth programming and career pathways, contact Patti VanCleave, program manager, at 610.321.8212 or pvancleave@ccedcpa.com.
The Coatesville C
The Coatesville Christmas Parade has a long history dating back to the 1950s. The Coatesville Area JAYCEES, a civic organization, sponsored the parade for almost 30 years. Unfortunately, the JAYCEES membership numbers declined and so did the interest in the parade, which resulted in dropping the project in the 1980s.
In 1993, a grass roots effort was formed to resurrect the Coatesville Christmas Parade. With the help of Skip Huston and the Stewart Huston Charitable Trust and the City of
Coatesville, a committee was formed to restore the parade to its former glory. In December of 1993, a 10-person committee presented the community with its first Christmas parade in 10 years.
The current Coatesville Christmas Parade committee consists of approximately two dozen men and women who dedicate countless hours throughout the year to bring the best Christmas parade in Chester County to the citizens of Coatesville and all the surrounding communities.
The arrival of Santa Claus is always a highlight.
The Duffy String Band entertained the crowd.
Christmas Parade
The parade committee is fortunate to have tremendous support from our business community as well as the citizens of Coatesville. Major financial sponsors for the parade in recent years have included Coatesville Savings Bank, PECO, PA American Water, Penn Medicine, James J. Terry Funeral Home, G.A. Vietri Electrical, Edge Wallboard Machinery, Harry’s Neighborhood Place, Breuninger Real Estate, Stewart Huston Charitable Trust, ArcelorMittal, Brandywine Health Foundation, Coatesville Rotary Club, CAPP, and Western Chester County Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, the City of Coatesville, 3CTVLive.com, Wegmans, Herr’s, Krapf’s Coaches, Denise James Insurance Agency, and the Courtyard Marriott all contribute in-kind services that make the parade happen.
It has been estimated that the average crowd of spectators has numbered beyond 8,000 on the day of the
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HONEYBROOK
‘Arthur’ is one of the cartoon characters who has appeared in the Coatesville Christmas Parade.
Christmas Parade
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parade, with thousands more tuning in throughout the months to watch video replays. This year, live video coverage on parade day, in addition to replays of the whole parade thereafter, will be shown on our website to the delight of hundreds of children who get a chance to see themselves on TV.
Our parade consists of approximately 150 different units. A unit can be one antique car or a group of 50 Girl Scouts. Over the years, the float category has grown by leaps and bounds. Schools, churches, youth organizations and sport teams all start working on their ideas months in advance and hence, the day of the parade we see floats that would rival any big city parade! Every year our parade becomes more and more popular due in part to our band participation. We have mummers string bands from Philadelphia,
the Chester County Emerald Society Pipe Band, The Lukens Band and our own Red Raider Marching Band from Coatesville Area High School. Philadelphia sports teams are also represented. In previous years many mascots have attended including the Phillies Phanatic, Eagles cheerleaders, the 76ers BIG SHOT and Bluewinkle from the Wilmington Blue Rocks baseball team.
A few years ago, the committee added cartoon characters, which are sponsored by local merchants and friends. The cartoon characters have been a great treat for young and old alike. From Cat in the Hat to Captain America to the Ninja Turtles, the crowd loves them. We have an average of 15 different characters that walk the route of the parade and interact with the crowd to the delight of the children. No parade is complete without a Grand Marshall. Past Grand Marshalls have
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The Coatesville Area Senior High Marching Red Raiders.
included Tug McGraw, Pat Ciarrochi, Philadelphia Eagle Cecil Martin, Channel 6 weather man David Murphy, and Philadelphia Phillies manager Dallas Green. Each year we honor a local person or group of persons who have been true leaders in our community. Through the cooperation of our local Veterans hospital, we pay a special tribute to our War Veterans with a place of honor in our parade every year.
The last entry in the parade is jolly old Saint Nick himself. Traditionally, Santa Claus arrives atop our biggest fire truck; spectators wave with joy as the official opening of the holiday season rolls down the streets of Coatesville.
When the parade is over, the committee settles in for a long winter’s nap but is awakened in January with the first meeting to organize the next year’s parade. For the next 11 months, this committee works tirelessly to bring an even better parade to our beloved community.
The 2018 Coatesville Christmas Parade will take place on Saturday, December 1 at 10 a.m. along Lincoln Highway from Strode to 11th Avenues. Bundle up and get there early to snag a good seat!
For more information or to register to march visit our website at coatesvillechristmasparade.com. Registration for the 2018 parade opens this October.
First Resource Bank. Fling’s Towing.
Volunteerism creates connections and grows strong communities
Everyone knows what it means to volunteer. To help and give back. Without pay. But talk with any volunteer and he or she is sure to share heartwarming stories and good feelings received because of volunteerism. It seems so very simple, and yet our communities could not provide needed services without volunteers, from volunteer firefighters to the Red Cross, to help in our hospitals, schools, churches, scout troops, and tourism facilities.
Make a Difference Day
Always held the fourth Saturday of October, Make a Difference Day brings communities across our country together to engage in a day dedicated to community service. Millions of citizens unite with the common mission to improve the lives of others.
Where it started in western Chester County
Adrienne MacKenzie, Past WCCCC President:
As I stepped into the role as the Western Chester County Chamber of Commerce President in 2014, I felt compelled to bring volunteerism into the spotlight. From the time I was very young, my parents encouraged me to live a life of giving, of volunteering. I believe that it is my duty to give back, to be a light for others when sadly so many live in darkness.
I endeavored to encourage the growth of our relationships with our non-profit organizations/members. My very first event as President provided a platform where numerous non-profit representatives had the opportunity to share their missions and volunteer needs with our Chamber body. What an amazing evening it was!
I also introduced our Chamber to Make a Difference Day, which is always held the 4th Saturday of October. Millions of volunteers across the nation unite with one common mission-to improve the lives of others. For over 20 years, USA Weekend Magazine, along with Points of Light, have supported this magical day-the largest national day of community service. I was determined to bring Make a Difference Day to several municipalities in our area. Through the dedicated work of so many, that dream was put into motion. Make a Difference Day projects were introduced in Coatesville, Honey Brook and Parkesburg. I am very proud that these areas continue to take part in Make a Difference Day, growing bigger and better each year. Touching more lives...making a difference in OUR communities.
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Volunteerism
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Coatesville Make a Difference Day
With no surprise, the Coatesville Youth Initiative jumped in as the leading force behind Make a Difference Day in the City of Coatesville. The mission of the Coatesville Youth Initiative (CYI) is to contribute to a vibrant future for Coatesville by engaging youth in experiences that support their success in school and in life, and by uniting a wide range of partners to make the community better for everyone.
You may have seen CYI around the city – volunteers picking up trash, erasing graffiti, planting flowers and working to make Coatesville a better place. If you take a closer look at these groups, you will see a diverse mix that includes city council members, CYI youth, local law enforcement, neighboring families and local businesses. This group recognizes that beautification has a direct correlation to economic growth. The Coatesville Youth Initiative takes great pride in supporting all efforts to make the Coatesville community a cleaner and safer environment.
The organization relies on hundreds of volunteers each year to fulfill its mission and contribute to Make a Difference Day. In 2017, over 140 volunteers gathered for the Coatesville Make a Difference Day and contributed 560 hours of service to beautify our community.
A recent 2018 Back-to-School Event convened 12 community organizations and 141 volunteers donating over 675 combined hours of service. Thanks to these volunteers, 1,437 backpacks were filled with school supplies and distributed to Coatesville youth. For the remainder of 2018, CYI will focus its efforts on partnering with local law enforcement to expand the presence of the Prescription Drop Box Program. The drop boxes keep medications out of our waterways while ensuring that youth do not have access to them.
Parkesburg Make a Difference Day
Parkesburg Area Business Association (PABA) unifies Parkesburg businesses and advocates for the promotion of the community. National Make a Difference Day took shape as a community service event in 2017 hosted by PABA in partnership with the Parkesburg Point and the PTO for Octorara Area High School. This year, PABA is planning to create an event that highlights the efforts of the Keystone Valley Fire Department (KVFD).
KVFD formed in early 2013 through the consolidation of the former Parkesburg, Atglen and Pomeroy fire companies. These three former companies recognized that their individual efforts would be vastly improved through coming together as one entity, thus forming a stronger, more effective
Winter Coat Drive at a Honey Brook Community Partnership Make a Difference Day.
and efficient community service. Through an Intergovernmental Cooperative Agreement, the municipalities served by KVFD have also formed a cooperative effort in order to fund and assist with oversight of this vital service.
With today’s volunteerism being in a state of emergency, PABA decided to partner with KVFD in order to bring this dramatic situation to the public forefront. Volunteerism is at a staggering all-time low and essential emergency services are feeling the effect. While emergency service organizations and municipalities across the state begin to come together to plan how to address the problem, locally we all need to focus on improving the lives of one another – as is the mission of Make a Difference Day. One way to do that is to spend just a little time volunteering. Whatever the individual skill, your talents could be utilized to help in the mission of Keystone Valley Fire Department.
This year’s Make a Difference Day celebration will be held at the newly constructed Central
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Volunteerism
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Station of the Keystone Valley Fire Department. This construction project is the result of what a mission like Make a Difference Day can accomplish. Through a partnership with the Parkesburg VFW, dedication of KVFD members, community members and business financial supporters, the project vision became a reality.
The support KVFD received over the last year is one shining example of what volunteering can accomplish, whether it is through financial support, in kind donations or through physical/business related activity. So if you do not already, Make a Difference and improve the lives of those around you by volunteering.
Honey Brook Make a Difference Day
Make a Difference Day is a great opportunity for the Honey Brook Community partnership to involve our entire community in one big project. The coat, food and toiletry drives we’ve held in previous years have all been huge successes, generating lots of interest and participation.
It’s also created a “trickle-down” effect, as people meet each other through volunteering and witness first-hand the positive impact the projects have. Friendships are formed,
new ideas are entertained, and a spirit of cooperation and desire to work together on future projects often results.
Make a Difference Day generates good feelings for the volunteers doing the work as well as the recipients. We’re delighted to participate. Look to the Partnership’s website, www.hbpartnership.org, for an announcement of the 2018 project in late summer.
Opportunities to give back are everywhere. Find your passion and lend a hand.
Octorara Area Career & Technical Education
Programs: Where careers begin
Transportation talk: Rediscovering the joys of biking
By Tim Phelps TMACC Executive Director
“Bicycle Bicycle bicycle; I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle, bicycle; I want to ride my bicycle; I want to ride my bike; I want to ride my bicycle; I want to ride it where I like.” – Queen, 1978
As a kid growing up in the suburbs, I lived for summer so I could ride my bicycle.
I could ride anywhere -- to my friend’s house, to the Woolworth’s at the local strip shopping center, or to my grandparents’ house to mow their lawn. When we would
head down to the shore for an extended time, Dad would strap the bikes on the back of the yellow and faux wood panel station wagon. We would ride anywhere in the campground. We would race around and slide and skid around the corners of the sand and gravel roads. Whether it was at home or at the shore, we were free for hours on end.
Every guy I have asked can tell you the first bike they owned, the first car they drove and the first car they bought. For me, the first new bike I owned was a candy apple red Kia bike with a black vinyl banana seat and hanger-style handlebars with black handgrips.
Yes, long before today’s auto dealerships, Kia had a bicycle brand. It had four-inch diamond treaded tires in the rear, and traditional coaster brakes. I was too cool, so I removed the fenders.
Vanguard’s Bike Fix It Station on the Chester Valley Trail.
We would decorate our bikes. For parades, we would wrap the frame with crepe paper or weave it through the spokes. We would use electrical tape or zip-tie flags to the body or handlebars. Occasionally we would clothespin a baseball card to the rear frame so that the card would “flip’ across the spokes, making a faux motor sound.
The balance of the bike was awesome. I learned how to pull a wheelie and ride the length of the block; the stronger I got my upper body, the farther I could ride. We would ride as fast as we could, rocking the bike back and forth and then jamming on the coaster brakes and skidding 10 or 15 feet and then pull a “J-turn” at the very end.
We were on the cutting edge of BMX racing on the East Coast as we jumped curbs, rode steps and built ramps over drainage ditches. Mom only knew of our “Evil Knievel” adventures if we arrived home with bloody knees or elbows, or the occasional lump on the head.
on the handlebar stem and top-bar breaking. I never had the same affinity with them. They became just my mode of transportation, filling the need until I could get my driver’s license. For a long time, riding a bicycle became an activity of my youth.
With all of those stunts and rugged adventures, one needed to learn how to repair a bike. I could measure the air pressure and pump up the tires, adjust the handlebars, realign the handle bars, replace the chain, re-rail the chain, adjust the rear wheel tension so the chain did not pop off, and so much more. Unfortunately, one day someone stole the bike from our driveway. A few days later we found it, but it was never the same. It wasn’t my bike. It had lost its magic.
After the Kia, I had several 10-speeds that my father and I rebuilt together. Heavier steel frames with paddle shifters
Today, riding has become fun again for me. Our communities have rediscovered an active lifestyle that has included bicycling. Chester County continues to build out an expansive trail network. PennDOT is enhancing their road network to include bike lanes. Companies are including bicycle amenities within their buildings to encourage people to commute to work via bicycles. There are riding groups like the West Chester Cycling Club and advocacy groups, such as Bike Chester County, helping to promote the safety and community aspect of riding.
Recently, while at the shore, I was introduced to The Duet, a wheelchair bicycle tandem so families that have someone who has a disability can ride together.
I have rediscovered the love of riding again. I feel free again, like that 12- and 13-year-old boy. “I want to ride my bicycle; I want to ride it where I like…”
TMACC is the Transportation Management Association of Chester County, a non-profit, member-based organization focused on improving traffic congestion and air quality for the County of Chester through transportation demand management strategies. If you are interested in being a part of the movement, visit them at tmacc.org.
Riders on the Chester Valley Trail celebrating TMACC’s Bike to Work Day.
John Rock, Inc.
When products have to be moved, pallets are often the most efficient way to pack them. One of the biggest pallet production facilities in the nation is located in Coatesville, and it carries on a long tradition of excellence.
Bill MacCauley is the president of John Rock, Inc., a company that builds, refurbishes and distributes pallets with an eye toward sustainability.
“Our goal has never been to be the biggest, only to be the best,” MacCauley says of his company, which traces its roots to 1973, when John Rock ran a small business out of his mother’s garage, collecting and repairing pallets for local businesses in Honey Brook. Rock’s reputation spread by word of mouth, and he expanded and relocated to accommodate his growing customer base. He finally settled in a large facility in Downingtown in 1976. The company’s production process was so well run that in 1996, when a fire destroyed more than half of the operation, it caused only a few days of disruption.
Bill MacCauley started out at John Rock & Company, Inc., as a subcontractor in 1993, then joined them as a full-time employee in 1994. In 1997, MacCauley purchased the company. Out of respect for his mentor, he retained Rock’s name, and the new company, John Rock, Inc., was formed.
After years of squeezing too much into too little space, it became apparent that the company had outgrown the Downingtown facility. In the fall of 2003, ground was broken for construction of a huge new facility, which opened in November of 2004 at 500 Independence Way in Coatesville. By the end of 2015, John Rock, Inc., was already producing 100,000 pallets a week.
But success has meant another expansion, and the company’s 115,000-square-foot building will soon be joined by an 88,000-square-foot expansion. The company put the new building on the last available open land in the industrial park, next to the current building. Construction began in April and the new facility should be operating by the end of October, according to MacCauley. There will be about 10 new hires for the expanded operation. The company has eight automatic nailing machines now, but MacCauley hopes to expand to several more machines that feed the lumber into the unit for assembly as well as nailing the boards together.
The company, which has been part of the Western Chester County Chamber of Commerce since 2004, has become known as America’s premier pallet manufacturer. Their location in Pennsylvania is ideal for serving the Mid-Atlantic and lower New England regions, the largest industrialized manufacturing corridor in the United States. The region includes a wide range of industries, such as petro/chemical, pharmaceutical, automotive, high-tech, clothing, new construction, as well as food manufacturers – all requiring pallets.
For manufacturers and other large businesses, deciding how to best package, store and ship products can be a difficult task. Challenges in product weight, shape, shipping requirements, racking requirements or customer requirements can complicate the task. John Rock, Inc., can design the safest, most cost-effective solution. The company can custom design and build pallets, skids and crates matched to any requirements. The company can offer solutions including new pallets, heat-treated pallets, GMA pallets, warehouse pallets, custom wooden pallets, recycled pallets, and
The huge manufacturing facility in Coatesville holds thousands of pallets at any one time.
The nail room at the facility.
remanufactured wood pallets.
This layout of the John Rock facility in Coatesville holds the offices, cutting operations, nailing operations, recycling and repairing operations, as well as a cavernous warehouse for pallets, nails and precut component storage. Outside are heat treatment/sterilization chambers; a truck, trailer and forklift maintenance facility; a trailer staging yard; wood waste grinding operations; sawdust and mulch storage; the used pallet sorting and storage yard; and a massive raw material and lumber yard.
Recently, the company invested $2 million in new machinery for its manufacturing plant, which is one of the five largest pallet firms in the nation. In a story in Time magazine, MacCauley said that the U.S. economic expansion, including imports and exports, has driven a rise in demand for pallets. The federal corporate tax cut that took effect this year also spurred him to invest.
Over the past few years, erratic energy costs have complicated the market. Transportation of products has become a major hurdle. To handle transportation, Rock Technologies was formed as the transportation arm of John Rock, Inc. The company maintains control of their own fleet of tractors and trailers, ensuring that every delivery or pickup is on time, every time.
Whether delivering their own pallets, picking up raw material or delivering their customer’s products, John Rock continues developing “loop systems,” giving each participating partner a bigger share of the business compared to doing it alone.
John Rock Inc. has worked with businesses of all sizes, including many of Fortune’s Top 500 in America, for almost 40 years. They’re recognized for achievements in production, cost-competitive solutions, high quality, and prompt, reliable delivery.
“The quest to be the best is a never-ending journey of making the most out of every challenging opportunity, and is what drives us for the rest of our life,” MacCauley said.
Western Chester County Life|—————————
‘It’s All a Labor of Love’ Vollmecke Orchards & CSA
Interview by: Hillary Krummrich, Chester County Ag Council
In 1984, Karen Vollmecke and her family bought their 37-acre farm in West Brandywine Township with the dream of growing stock, particularly water lilies, for local plant nurseries. “We had no barn, no greenhouse or tractor. It’s good you don’t know all of what’s to come or you might not have the nerve to start,” she says smiling. Vollmecke and her brother had horticultural know-how, but were less familiar with agricultural crops, yet they grew asparagus, pumpkins and greens as well, with what she calls, “Quite a learning curve.”
the operation’s future. Around the same time, Karen’s father passed away, leaving her to decide if she even wanted to continue farming.
They added to the existing orchards and continued the prior owner’s pick-your-own strawberry operation but soon realized that the once popular home-jamming trend of the 1970’s was declining. “We loved having people at the farm, but we knew we needed to make some changes because pick-your-owns became more of an activity then a way of life.” Families coming to the farm were buying significantly less berries, and the Vollmeckes were facing decisions about
Her brother decided to pursue his own horticulture business, but having already been bitten with the farming bug, Vollmecke and her mother Jan, quickly decided that they wanted to continue the operation. They decided, however, to move away from direct sales to a wholesale model by marketing and selling produce to other roadside stands, grocery stores, restaurants, producer-only markets, and from their “sales porch.” Vollmecke recounts: “It was a time of transition. My mom loved talking with people and she became the marketing and sales person. I concentrated on the growing, which made us a great team.”
The next few years allowed Vollmecke to pursue a new avenue, researching and experimenting with compost and organic growing practices. She acknowledges that the process of switching from traditional production was slow as she experimented with different crops on a small scale. But within a few years, Vollmecke had healthier soil and was getting the produce results she sought.
avenue, researching and experimenting with compost and organic growing practices. She acknowledges that the process of switching from traditional production was slow as she experimented with different crops on a small scale. But within a few years, Vollmecke had healthier soil and was getting the produce results she sought.
As her mother moved into full-time retirement, Vollmecke was eager for a new business model, one that would pair her newfound growing practices with people who were interested in the way their food was grown. So in 1998, a decade after ending pick-your-own strawberries, Vollmecke invited people back to the farm, this time as members of her Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). The decision not to seek organic certification was a conscious one, “For us it’s all about trust. I appreciate the
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Vollmecke Orchards & CSA
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certification process, but my members know that I am committed to holistic growing practices regardless of a third-party certification. They trust that I care deeply about how I grow their food.”
Celebrating 20 years of the CSA, Vollmecke reflects on the changes, challenges and opportunities that have occurred, and the outlook for the next decade or so. She identifies her CSA as a real community, “Several of my members have been with me since the beginning; I have seen their families grow up.” Another testament to that fact is that other local farmers also have shares. In terms of retaining members, she says, “The first year is the most difficult. People are not totally sure what to expect and how they will use the produce, by the next season it’s more familiar, and by the third year they are hooked.”
One of the biggest challenges is what Vollmecke enjoys the most, growing the diversity of crops. She says that fruit is a big driver and that, in fact, “Peaches and melons are among some of my favorite things to grow. People love the peaches, and the memory of how good they are seems to stay with them. I have had people stop by the farm and tell me that they had some of my peaches 15 years ago and they’re still the best ones they’ve ever had.” A 22-week season requires a constant flow of product, so in addition to produce her CSA shares include fruit and cut flowers.
As people have become more accustomed to supporting local agriculture, there have been opportunities to personalize their experience. Vollmecke offers three share sizes to fit any customer. There is a swap box on pick-up day so if you are not a fan of zucchini you can switch it out for more tomatoes. There is also a few workshares available each season for those that have the time and skill set (with some
instruction from Vollmecke) to help out in the fields. She acknowledges that the work-share members are important because finding labor is a constant issue, it is challenging work in the heat and humidity and running this type of operation means there are always a lot of balls in the air. It is constant, seven days a week. Vollmecke chuckles, “On Fridays, one of our pick-up days, members say, ‘Have a great weekend,’ and I say it back to them, but it doesn’t really apply to farmers, I don’t know what that means.”
Vollmecke reflects on the seasonality of farming and life, recognizing that operational changes have occurred as some of her biggest personal challenges have happened. She is very in tune with the rhythm of the farm, but keeps on innovating, looking for opportunities to engage new customers. She has new plantings, put in a new orchard and opened a retail farm store last season, shortly before her mother’s death this past winter. It allows nonmembers to come to the farm twice a week and purchase tasty treats such as raspberries, Napa cabbage, kale, strawberries, rhubarb, bock choy and those legendary peaches.
She is most grateful for the fact that there is a strong local food movement and that people care about how food is produced. She appreciates how people choose to spend their money and how community agriculture helps maintain a strong local economy. She says it is what makes all the challenges worth it. Unlike when she first started farming, she goes into each season with her eyes wide open.
When asked if she could ever see herself doing something different, she replies, “Not right now, I’m not ready. Someday I may have to, but the thought of not farming is really hard. Farming is what I want to do. It’s all a labor of love.”
Traction: A progress report on the revitalization of Coatesville
By Sonia Huntzinger Coatesville 2nd Century Alliance Executive Director
Community and economic development go hand-inhand. Economic development refers to improving the economic conditions of a community and its residents. Community development focuses on bettering social conditions and quality of life.
The two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are interdependent, and efforts to improve one will reinforce results in the other. In a small community like Coatesville, both must be addressed with equal measure to ensure a sustainable economic recovery for all city residents and businesses.
This past summer, Coatesville scored a big win in the area of community development when the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation presented a $500,000 grant to implement a neighborhood revitalization plan that had been developed with -- and by -- city residents a year prior.
Branded Coatesville Growing Greater , the initiative was a partnership between the Chester County Economic
Development Council’s Foundation, Coatesville Area Partners for Progress, the Coatesville 2nd Century Alliance, and the Chester County Department of Community Development.
The project began with an in-depth planning process, also underwritten by the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation, during which property condition assessments, public meetings, stakeholder interviews, and more than 300 one-to-one resident surveys were conducted throughout 2016 and 2017.
The information and data collected unearthed four key priorities for Coatesville residents: Jobs & Economic Opportunity; Public Safety; Youth Empowerment; and Resident Engagement. Upon identifying these four key issues, task teams comprised of city residents and topic professionals came together to develop strategies to address and improve conditions in these four areas.
Then, with strategies and an implementation plan in place, a new application was made to the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation. The grant, $500,000 over five years, will support a community coordinator to work with city residents to facilitate the plan’s implementation. Additionally,
more than 20 community and county organizations and entities have committed to partnering in the endeavor. The full plan can be found at www. CoatesvilleGrowingGreater.org.
Coatesville Area Partners for Progress is a private, non-profit entity comprised of vested community leaders providing more than 20 years of community and economic development support to the City of Coatesville.
In 2015 it established the Coatesville 2nd Century Alliance, to ensure that Coatesville’s second century as a Pennsylvania city of the third class be economically prosperous for its residents and businesses. Regular updates on these and other projects can be found at www.Coatesville. org, or www.2ndCenturyAlliance. org. For more information on the Coatesville 2nd Century Alliance, visit www.2ndcenturyalliance.org or call our office at 484-786-8896.
Maximizing Brand Exposure
Downingtown’s Image Ink creates customized promotional marketing for local businesses
By Natalie Smith Staff Writer
When you think about promotional products, you might just think pens, mugs or T-shirts, but while that is true, the world of promotional marketing has expanded to include so much more, according to the owners of Image Ink.
Partners Judy MacNeal and Janet Petsko are marking a decade of owning the Downingtown firm, and they say that in the arena of promotional items, technology is among the hottest categories. Computer flash drives, cell phone speakers and wireless chargers are popular among some of their clients, who want their logo or message imprinted on something used by many today.
“Another thing people are asking about now are those metal drinking straws,” MacNeal said. “There’s been a lot in the news about plastic straw pollution, so that’s something that’s been getting more attention.”
But whether it’s something contemporary or traditional, Image Ink strives to connect its clients with the best item. “We’re a full-service promotional marketing company,” Petsko said. “We pride ourselves on helping our customers find creative ideas to promote their company and their brand.”
The women made the decision to purchase the business 10 years ago from its owner, who wanted to retire. Petsko and MacNeal both worked at the former National Penn Bank
(now BB&T), but first met as members of a community organization. What made them take the leap from the corporate world and go into small business together?
“There were a lot of changes going on at the bank,” MacNeal recalled. “I had personally always wanted to own a business. The previous owner, Donna Wilson, was a friend of mine, and she came to me and said she was looking to sell this business, and was I interested? I said yes, but only if Janet was. But [Petsko] said yes immediately.”
In her position at the savings institution, MacNeal got to know Wilson initially in a professional capacity, “trying to find unique items to give away when promoting the bank.”
Petsko said her reasons for wanting to own her own business were like MacNeal’s. “I always thought it would be exciting to be an entrepreneur.”
After the purchase, the women benefited from Wilson staying on for three months, introducing them to existing customers and providing advice.
Not only has Image Ink maintained nearly 100 percent of the customer base since it was purchased, the list has grown. And that list is an impressive one, with clients including Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), Main Line Health and Drexel University.
Besides mastering the verbiage and learning the ordering systems, there was an adjustment in the beginning, making that switch from the corporate world to being a small business owner. The women laugh about that now.
For instance, it dawned on them that if they were having
Janet Petsko of Image Ink.
Judy MacNeal of Image Ink.
computer problems, it was now up to them to figure it out. “There was no ‘help desk,’ although now we have an IT support group,” Petsko said. Also, she added, “if we needed paper or printer ink, there’s not some big supply closet that someone else is making sure is full.”
After an often-onerous daily commute to its original Narberth location – one terrible winter day it took Petsko five hours to get home from work to her Sadsbury home. -- in 2011, they moved Image Ink to its current building on Lancaster Avenue in Downingtown. MacNeal, who lives in West Goshen, explained, “It was always our intention to move the business to this area.”
The partners said the promotional items that clients are looking for might be for a singular event or something ongoing. Often, they’ll have an item in mind or may be seeking the partners’ guidance. The women will also make suggestions based on their experience.
“You can pretty much put your logo on anything,” MacNeal said. “But people will come in and say, ‘Hey, I want sunglasses.’ We’ll say, ‘Here’s sunglasses, but here are some other options, too.’”
“Sometimes our clients will come in not with a specific item, but an event,” Petsko said. “We do brainstorming between the two of us to come up with ideas – what would be best suited for this event, then provide the client with a detailed presentation of suggested items that fit within their budget.
“They’re expecting a quality product on time. We’re always checking to make sure everything’s on track. If it’s not, we need to fix it. If they place an order today and they need it in [two weeks], we want to guarantee that they have what they ordered in time for their event.”
The women of Image Ink strongly believe in the benefits of promotional marketing items, and distribute products bearing their own logo to clients and prospects. Petsko said, “One year it had some surprising benefit. We had given little battery-operated lanterns to a client as a holiday gift. Later that week, we received an email with a picture from them showing them sitting around in the office with their little lanterns on because the electric had gone out.”
The women are active and enthusiastic members of Chambers of Commerce. The benefits are many, they say.
“There are networking opportunities and educational opportunities. Every time you go to an event, you learn about the community and something to enrich your business,” Petsko said. Friendships can also be forged, as theirs was while serving in a volunteer organization.
“Plus, you’re on committees,” MacNeal added. “You’re involved in trying to get things accomplished for the chamber. It’s always been important to us; not to just join something, but to be involved. And when you live in a community, you want to make sure you give back.”
Contact Natalie Smith at natalie@DoubleSMedia.com
For those who are always looking for one, a handy pizza cutter is offered. This one is sporting the Image Ink logo.
The partners at Image Ink said this tote bag has proven very popular, and it’s frequently mentioned to them.
All photos by Natalie Smith
The Sa-Fari lion pin was conceived by Image Ink as part of a peanut allergy awareness campaign.
Computer flash drives come in a wide range of designs. This one was done for a music therapy group.
Just a few of the thousands of items Image Ink has branded for its customers: luggage tags, some with mini sewing kits; school-colored candies; doggy bag holders; compact lighted mirrors; guitar-shaped flash drives; fun-shaped keyrings; business card magnets.
Wireless cell phone speakers are one of the newer branding items available.
Feeding a Community
By Jenny Alexander of the Parkesburg Action Committee
The Parkesburg Action Committee works within the Parkesburg area to grow and support all of the wonderful things happening in town and in the surrounding areas. We are pleased to feature one of the great groups working in our community to support and help families in need, the Octorara Area Food Cupboard.
Established in December of 2012, the Food Cupboard currently serves families in the Octorara area, including Atglen, Christiana, Cochranville, Compass, Parkesburg, Pomery, Sadsbury and Wagontown. Families or individuals in need can show a photo ID, a piece of mail to show their residency, make a statement of income, and they’ll be entered into the system to receive food from the Food Cupboard. Once a month, they’ll be given a box of food, and there are emergency boxes for extra needs. Food Cupboard director Judy Dougherty says that the average family receives 125 pounds of food, but there are extra bags/boxes for larger families. Families and individuals have the opportunity to choose what they take home, which helps to reduce waste and make sure that the family receives food that they like and will eat.
Dedicated to children in our community, the Food Cupboard also gives extra every month to families with school-aged children. The summer months can be exceptionally hard for some families that normally rely on school breakfast and lunch programs, so the Food Cupboard steps in to provide food that kids will need over the summer (and year-long, if the families choose to send lunches to school rather than participate in the reduced or free lunch programs). The Food Cupboard focuses on milk, eggs, protein and fresh produce to make sure that kids grow strong and healthy.
The Food Cupboard works on state and federal funding through the Chester County Food Bank, and they also have a grant that helps them keep their doors open.
The food that is given at the Food Cupboard comes from a variety of sources. They work closely with our local Walmart, the Acme in Thorndale, Giant and Weis. Senator Andy Dinniman worked with the Food Cupboard to connect them to these local stores. Local produce is donated from a variety of sources, including King’s Farm in Parkesburg and through local fields that the Chester County Food Bank uses to grow food to share with the Food Cupboard.
A trip to the Octorara Area Food Cupboard is a great lesson in giving and receiving. The shelves are stocked with delicious food choices, and recipes are even available to help folks put together healthy and tasty meals using the ingredients they see on the shelves. The produce section is a colorful collection of in-season fruits and vegetables. And there are many staff members available with a friendly smile to help. The Food Cupboard is 100 percent volunteer staffed. They have about 30 volunteers who work to keep everything running smoothly.
Judy Dougherty says that it’s mostly retired community members who volunteer, because they have the most time to give. She jokes that when she sees a young man come in to volunteer she gets excited because they can really put his muscles to use lifting heavy things which the staff normally struggles with.
Speaking with community members who use the Food Cupboard’s services gives a great insight on just how much it means to our community. A retired resident said that the Food Cupboard helps her because her Social Security money doesn’t always last until the end of the month. What she receives from Food Cupboard helps her stretch things financially. She loves the fruits and veggies and always takes the fresh venison that is offered in the meat section. She said that she makes bacon
and cheese venison burgers that are delicious! She is thankful for everyone on the staff and likes that they are all helpful and never make her feel like they are doing her a favor.
Judy Dougherty emphasizes that the Food Cupboard is always anonymous and private. The information on file is never shared with anyone or any local agency. Judy wants everyone to feel safe and secure when accepting food from them. She never wants pride to hold anyone back from asking for assistance. “I just want them to get the food they need,” she says.
Judy’s kindness and dedication to the Food Cupboard is an inspiring vision of commitment to our community. She and her staff work hard to keep this important place open in Parkesburg.
What can you do to help?
The Food Cupboard relies heavily on local food drives through businesses, churches, schools and the Scouts to keep their shelves stocked. Please participate in food drives when you see them, or help to organize one locally. They also always accept donations of food or produce to their Parkesburg location, so if you have extra produce that you can’t use, it can go to good use at the Food Cupboard! Cash donations are always useful so that they can fill in the gaps on the shelves, and volunteers are always needed. Students needing community service hours or organizations looking for ways to team build and give back are always welcome. Please contact Judy Dougherty to organize how you can help, volunteer or donate! Call 610-857-4000.
The Octorara Area Food Cupboard will be hosting an open house on Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The community is invited to come out and see how the Food Cupboard works, and enjoy games, prizes, food and craft vendors, in addition to the tours of the Food Cupboard.
Meet Our Member:
More than Physical Therapy at Coatesville Workshop
By Natalie Smith Staff Writer
If you’re from Coatesville and in need of physical therapy, chances are pretty good that you could be treated at Physical Therapy Workshop on East Chestnut Street. Owner John Spangenberg has had a business presence in the city for two decades.
“I always thought this would be a great place for a clinic, right in the city,” Spangenberg said, explaining how he opted for this Coatesville location. “I figured it was a walking community; a lot of people don’t have transportation. [I thought] if I build it here, the walkers will come. That’s kind of proven true.”
Physical Therapy Workshop has certainly grown over the past 20 years, starting with “a little shop” of 400 square feet on 3rd Avenue, and then to the former Baxter Building on Main Street. The business has been at its current location, which is the site of a former printing shop, for 13 years.
The 2,500-square-foot property is large enough to be enhanced by many of Spangenberg’s favorite things, including artwork, family ephemera and his eclectic collection of antique medical equipment.
As a physical therapist, Spangenberg and his staff of four part-time PTs and one physical therapist assistant, Joanne Burke, aid patients in all sorts of rehabilitation after injury. “Much of what we do is orthopedic,” he said. “We do see some patients after strokes, but the majority would be after motor vehicle accidents and joint replacements.”
A native of Litchfield, Conn., Spangenberg’s stint as a member of a volunteer ambulance crew there eventually led him to the field of physical therapy. But it wasn’t a direct route.
“It took me a little while to get my degree,” he said. “I was a forest ranger, I worked in my parents’ flower shop. But I really enjoyed working the ambulance -- the medical side and working with people. So I looked at the medical field. I went back to school to get my physical therapy degree from the University of Connecticut and graduated in 1985.”
Spangenberg’s own experience as a diabetic made him eager to help others with the condition, so after graduation, he worked at Boston’s world-renowned Joslin Diabetes Clinic (now the Joslin Diabetes Center). But his wife Johanna, whom he met in PT school, was the reason they ended up in Chester County.
“She’s from West Chester,” Spangenberg said. “She said we worked up in my neck of the woods, now it’s time to work in her neck of the woods.” Although Spangenberg said Johanna helps at the workshop, her primary work is as a school-based therapist aiding autistic children. “She’s more on the neuro-brain injury, school setting. I’m more of the orthopedic side, so I guess we have all our bases covered,” he said.
Lee Javens, John Spangenberg’s mother-in-law, works the front desk at Physical Therapy Workshop.
Spangenberg says surrounding himself with family and friends helps his practice thrive. “You could call it a family business,” he said. Mother-in-law Lee Javens is at the front desk, and sister Nancy Beveridge is the office manager. “It’s really Nancy and I who started the business,” Spangenberg said. “She was able to set up systems to make the business side so much easier.”
All photos by Natalie Smith Physical therapist John Spangenberg with “Bill,” a skeleton from the late 1700’s donated to Spangenberg to add to his collection of antique medical equipment.
These crutches from different eras hang on the wall of Physical Therapy Workshop.
John Spangenberg’s antique medical equipment collection includes these bottles of castor oil and Doc Sheffey’s “Sweet-smelling stump salve.” Spangenberg said the castor oil brings back childhood memories for some of his patients.
In addition to family, he has long connections to his employees. “We all worked at the same place for Pat Croce,” Spangenberg said, referring to the former Philadelphia 76ers president who at one time owned a chain of sports physical therapy centers. “I worked for Pat for seven years and ended up managing his Exton clinic.”
A convivial atmosphere is also one that carries over to his patients, Spangenberg said. His treatment tables are lined up in a row, open to one another -- at the preference of his clients. “I used to have curtains around tables at my old shop. But people don’t want curtains around the tables. They want to talk. It’s a real community,” he said. With a smile, he compared PTW to “a barber shop. If people want the scoop, they come in here.
“I do have one private treatment room. Otherwise, people want to be out here,” he said. “Everybody knows everybody, for the most part.”
Spangenberg’s 20 years in the area – including a few years operating a clinic in the steel mill -- has made him a recognizable face for many of the city’s residents and others who live around the Coatesville area.
“I’ve seen thousands and thousands of people,” Spangenberg said. “It’s getting to be four generations.” He laughed. “Every time I go into the Giant, it takes me forever to shop. I think it’s probably pretty accurate to say everybody [in Coatesville] has had a family member who’s come here, or they’ve come here themselves.”
Spangenberg said he gets a great deal of satisfaction from his life’s work. “It’s very gratifying. You get to see the healing process,” he said. “Although not everyone gets better, most people do.”
And if it’s not through physical therapy, the Chester County community at large may know Spangenberg as the frontman for the Blue Sky Band, singing and playing lead guitar with a group of performers that raises money for good causes.
“One of my other passions is music,” he said. “We fundraise, and last year we passed the million-dollar mark fundraising. I’ve been playing music in this band for 15 years.”
Reflecting on Physical Therapy Workshop, Spangenberg said his goal was to pay the college tuition for his two sons, Dylan and Adam, which he has. “Our two boys are out in the workforce,” Spangenberg said. He and Johanna are also the proud grandparents to their first grandchild, a baby girl named Riley Jane.
“I’ve always thought, ‘I’ve achieved the American dream in Coatesville.’” he said. “There are probably not a lot of people who can actually say that, but it’s worked out well for me.”
Contact Natalie Smith at natalie@DoubleSMedia.com
Frances Ford-Alston of Coatesville sits in a chair at the Physical Therapy Workshop as John Spangenberg treats her neck injury.
Spangenberg stands in his Physical Therapy Workshop on East Chestnut Street in Coatesville. His clinic has been at this location for 13 years.
John Spangenberg displays his set of Graston tools, instruments for treating ailments such as tendonitis and plantar fasciitis using a technique called scraping.
Treatment tables at Physical Therapy Workshop are not behind curtains, as patients have expressed the desire to chat with one another.
Western Chester County Life|————————
Local Libraries Committed to Strengthening our Community
LBy Rachel Cathell
ibraries are community and cultural centers devoted to building education, inspiration, and community engagement in our area. Western Chester County has four different libraries, each unique in its own way.
The Atglen Library, Coatesville Area Library, Honey Brook Community Library, and the Parkesburg Library are pillars in this region, always working to bridge the community to the resources it needs.
Coatesville Area Library Board received a grant from the Brandywine Health FoundationPresident Nakea Morris, Treasurer Pat Bush, Vice President Carolyn Johnson, Secretary Regina Hove, and Penny Williams, Director of Youth and Services Librarian.
Each library customizes their services and programs by what interests and resources fit best for the community they are serving. “The library reflects the fabric of our community,” said Atglen Library Director, Robbyn Kehoe “(our library) is truly a family place.”
Youth
Western Chester County’s network of libraries are building blocks for youth, providing invaluable free services to youngsters. Each library provides free-ofcharge story time, and reading sessions and preschool programs to cultivate early childhood development. At both the Coatesville and Parkesburg Libraries, children in grades kindergarten through 4th can build confidence in reading through a program called PAWS for Reading. Kids can bring a book or choose one from the library and read to their four-legged friends.
Read 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is a program at Parkesburg meant to provide children with a strong start to school years. This fall, the Environmental Kids Club takes off at the Honey Brook Library, exploring the topics of endangered animals and protecting our planet.
Health
Libraries strive to enhance the well being of our residents, not only mentally but physically as well. Atglen Library integrates health into their services with their Easy Evening Bike Rides and the Bike Safety Rodeo in partnership with Bike Chester County. Library director Robbyn Kehoe explained the initiative is a forward thinking move, “The bike programs were inspired from Chester County Planning Commission’s new trail developments. We’d like to foster a bike culture in Atglen to promote growth and cultivate awareness of our borough.” When you think of the library, you don’t necessarily think of economic development. However, Atglen Library prides itself in taking strides to service the community- now and for the future. Robbyn added, “The initiative is one piece of the Library’s virtuous cycle of strengthening Atglen.”
Another library focusing on wellness is the Coatesville Area Library, which offers yoga every Monday and Thursday evenings. They also are a host site for
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Atglen Library looks to move into this new space, the location of the Di-Atglen Wizard Faire, for a larger and more accessible Library Location.
Local Libraries
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the Chester County Food Bank’s Fresh2You produce truck. Coatesville does not have a grocery store within city limits; the truck brings fresh and healthy food choices to residents, resounding the theme of building a culture of health.
Honey Brook uses their green thumb to grow food for the Chester County Food Bank in their library garden. The Honey Brook Girl Scout Troop, along with other volunteers, help to maintain the veggies, plants and flowers!
History
Western Chester County is deeply rooted with historical significance and heritage. Parkesburg Library embraces the preservation of history by offering presentations such as Lincoln and the Northern Central Railway, presented by historian John Brown on October 17. The library also schedules trips like the October visit to Mount Vernon. “Our event coordinator, Kathleen Hood, is creative with arranging an extensive variety of programs- cultural, educational, and entertaining” shares Executive Director of the Parkesburg Library, Tom Knecht.
Unique to the Parkesburg Library is their collection of historical texts, stop in and take a look at the collection. Each library location in the Chester County Library System has access to reference databases that can further enrich individual’s
research on historical components.
Penny Williams, Director & Youth Services Librarian comments, “The Coatesville library is over 100 years old and is still going strong. Some say libraries are insignificant in this digital age, but we find that libraries are even more significant as we bridge digital, cultural, and literacy gaps – and we’re proud to say that the Coatesville library is not only surviving, but thriving!”
Searching for a Job?
Find the tools for starting a business at the library! Each library location provides computers that have access to databases beneficial to business development. Such databases include information on industries, demographics, market research and investment information. Every Thursday, the Coatesville Area Library partners with Pennsylvania CareerLink for one on one sessions with job seekers looking to create a resume or find a new career.
Hobbies
Adding to education, health, and history our local libraries also host many hobby workshops. The Honey Brook Community Library has a unique program called Sewing with Ms. Nancy. The program is in its 4th year for individuals ages 12 through adult. Nancy teaches attendees how to use their
own sewing machine or one of the six that the library has available for use. Skills taught include choosing patterns and materials, how to iron material, and how to make a wide variety of items. Other hobby workshops include the Parkesburg knitting group and Atglen’s Crocheting with Maria.
Special Events
Creativity thrives in a library with art programs and specialty events. The Di-Atglen Wizard Faire exceeded expectations for Atglen Library this year with projections to continue growing the event’s reception in upcoming years. The Faire transformed Atglen into the wizarding world of Harry Potter, complete with Harry’s Platform-Nine train station entry and a real-life owl!
“The library is a vital meeting place. Our community doesn’t have many spaces to meet, the library fills that need” says Robbyn Kehoe, Atglen’s Library Director. A local library is a valuable institution that serves as a gathering place for work, family, or friends. They are not just shelves of books, but more so- community hubs that allow everyone to feel safe and have equal access to opportunity.
To view the event calendars for Atglen Library, Coatesville Area Library, Honey Brook Community Library and the Parkesburg Library visit www.ccls.org.
The Di-Atglen Wizard Faire transformed the streets of Atglen into the wizarding world of Harry Potter.
First Resource Bank: A Neighbor in the Community
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
Listed on the First Resource Bank’s website are ten reasons for prospective clients to choose the bank as their financial home, and a quick perusal reveals why the bank has long been regarded as one of the top financial centers in Chester County.
Yet, while exceptional service, convenient locations, financial products, technology and insightful financial solutions are chief on the list, listed last is a component of the bank’s mission that may not have anything to do with modernday banking, but has everything to do with what the people of the communities they serve have come to mean for those at First Resource Bank.
It’s community service, and the bank’s commitment to the people it serves can clearly be seen in photographs the on its social media pages: Contributing to One House at a Time’s Beds for Kids program; the Downingtown Area Senior Center; and Music Works, Delaware Valley’s premiere music therapy provider; and sharing smiles with representatives from Pals for Life, which connects pets to those who need them throughout the Delaware Valley.
“We feel that banks in general and particularly ours have a responsibility to the communities we serve,” John A. Durso, Jr., First Resource Bank’s Senior Vice President and Chief Retail Banking Officer. “We’ve been lucky to have assembled a really good group of smart people who agree with that sentiment. Any time an employee of First Resource Bank tells us that there’s an organization that they wish to help, 99 times out of 100, we will give back to that organization in some way.”
In April, the bank partnered with its Millennial Professional Board to raise funds and create grants for charities serving Chester County and surrounding counties.
The all-volunteer board, made up of young entrepreneurs and business leaders in the community, was formed to provide the bank with insight and suggestions regarding Millennial buying and banking habits; to network with other business leaders; and provide opportunities to work together on charitable initiatives.
The work has already begun. In April, First Resource Bank made a $15,000 contribution to the Chester County Community Foundation, which acts as the gift giving component of the Millennial Professional Board, and assisted in the board’s Hog N’ Lager charity event on July 21, the funding of which targeted organizations dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence.
“I get articles sent to me all the time about how banks can attract Millennials, and of course we want to look toward the future and make sure we’re listening to all audiences and potential clients,” Durso said. “The bank specializes in helping small business owners with anywhere from one to 200 employees, and these are the up and coming rock stars of those companies. It makes sense from a banking standpoint to align ourselves with these future business leaders.”
First Resource Bank is also committed to enhancing the education of young people in the community, especially in the area of banking. In March, it assisted students from Immaculata University in the 2018 Conference of State Banking Supervisors Community Bank Case Study Competition, a nationwide academic competition for undergraduate students. Members of the bank helped give these
participating students access to and knowledge of the banking industry, as well tell its story through the competition’s platform.
“The Chair of business at Immaculata University reached out to us to partner with them for the competition,” said First Resource Bank president and CEO Glenn Marshall. “We are eager to help these students learn and understand more about community banking and its long-term value.”
While First Resource Bank continues to specialize in working with small businesses throughout Chester County – to date, it has made over $581 million in loans to community businesses – providing these opportunities dovetails generously with its commitment to the local community. Over the past several years, First Resource Bank has:
* Made $850,000 in contributions to Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC), which provides tax credits to eligible businesses who contribute to a scholarship organization, an educational
improvement organization, and/or a pre-kindergarten scholarship organization;
* Made multi-year contributions to The Travis Manion Foundation, which provides assistance to veterans;
* Made multi-year contributions in Team CMMD, an Exton-based organization that raises funds for cancer research;
* Contributed to the Youth Entrepreneurial Academy, a non profit organization that teaches entrepreneurial and business skills to students;
* Contributed to the Main Line Chamber Foundation, which gives scholarships to volunteer firefighters and first responders; and
* Strengthened its membership in five chambers of commerce -- including the Western Chester County Chamber of Commerce – which continually provides networking opportunities for First Resource Bank throughout Chester County.
While First Resource Bank’s community focus continues to filter through its’ partnerships with local and national organizations, its’ philanthropic reach often begins quietly, away from the fanfare of photographs that appear on its social media pages.
“We have clients who walk into our branches and tell us that they volunteer for an event or a group, and that it would mean a lot to them if we were to support them,” Durso said. “The answer for us is always to figure out ways to do it. If we can help bond with our customers in the community, there is no better way to gain a client’s loyalty than to show that we have embraced the causes they are passionate about.”
To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email rgaw@chestercounty.com.
Charities supported by First Resource Bank
Archbishop Shanahan School
Chester County’s Children
David’s Drive 831The Village
Downingtown Senior Center
Habitat for Humanity
Homers for Hope
Junior Achievement
Main Line Chamber Foundation
Music Works
Pals for Life
Pope John Paul II School
St. Peter and Paul School
Team CMME
Travis Manion Foundation
West Chester Education Foundation
YEA!
YMCA
All photos courtesy of First National Bank Throughout the year, First Resource Bank serves as a mainstay of support and contributions at events in Western Chester County.
Chester Valley Trail West Project Continues to Move Forward
By Brian O’Leary Executive Director Chester County Planning Commission
What do long-distance, multi-use trails have to do with economic development? The two may be more connected than you think.
As our planning work to extend the popular Chester Valley Trail (CVT) westward across Chester County progresses, it has become apparent that the communities through which the trail will pass are incredibly wellsuited for “trail-oriented development,” or the investment in development, amenities, infrastructure, and businesses that are supported by bicyclists and pedestrians using the trail. The Trail Town Program, with its principles for creating quality trail-oriented development, could be applied here to the benefit of current residents and future trail users.
between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Md., is one of the best examples in the nation for a trail that has breathed new life and vitality into former industrial towns.
The GAP trail’s success as a driver for economic development is well-documented. About 1 million people use the trail every year, according to a March 2015 Trail Town Program study. As a result, the GAP trail has had a net gain of 65 new businesses since 2007, which created over 270 new jobs. In addition, businesses estimated that over 40 percent of their 2014 sales were driven by trail traffic, according to the study.
People enjoy walking, running and bicycling along the Chester Valley Trail in West Whiteland. The Chester Valley Trail West project will extend the popular trail westward across Chester County.
The primary goal of the CVT West study is to identify a route to extend the trail to Atglen, where it will connect with the future 29-mile, multi-use Enola Low Grade Trail in Lancaster County. This 15-mile corridor spans eight municipalities in western Chester County: Downingtown, Caln, Coatesville, Valley, Parkesburg, Sadsbury, West Sadsbury and Atglen. When built, the “CVT West” will serve as a link in a proposed continuous multi-use trail network between Harrisburg and Philadelphia.
Over the course of the CVT West study, the project team heard significant enthusiasm for the small towns in western Chester County becoming hubs of trail-related activity. Accordingly, a second goal emerged from the planning process: to identify ways municipalities along the CVT West route could encourage trail-oriented development through supporting outdoor tourism and small businesses.
One does not have to look far for great precedents that show how trail-oriented development can spark small-town revitalization. The 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage (GAP)
David Kahley is president and CEO of The Progress Fund, a nonprofit economic development corporation serving western and northern Pennsylvania that created The Trail Town Program to support the development of small businesses serving the growing number of riders on the GAP trail. “The success of Trail Town redevelopment stems first from innovative entrepreneurs responding to a viable and expanding market of trail users,” Kahley said.
“Equally important to the redevelopment effort is the broadbased involvement by local and regional government and organizations that support trail development, constant maintenance and improvements, and support and financing of the small business owners serving the riders.”
Kahley stressed the need to identify and serve the demands of riders which in his experience want to visit authentic small local restaurants and taverns with outdoor seating, bike shops for repairs and new gear, and overnight accommodations if a trail is long enough for multi-day adventures. The Progress Fund’s guide to trail-based redevelopment is available at www.trailtowns.org.
Atglen is one of the municipalities along the CVT West corridor that aspires to become a trail town as it works to update its comprehensive plan, which is slated for adoption in late 2018. As a starting point for this initiative, the Atglen Public Library has plans to serve as an incubator for small-scale startups like cafes. There are many other great initiatives in the
municipalities located along the CVT West corridor, including:
• The Coatesville 2nd Century Alliance has been assisting the city with attracting new businesses and jobs, revitalizing the downtown district, promoting the city to potential investors and developers, and advocating for progress that will benefit the community.
• Parkesburg will begin working on its new comprehensive plan later this year. In addition, the newly-formed Parkesburg Action Committee seeks to create a sense of community and to promote growth and improvement in downtown Parkesburg.
• The Mill Trail project feasibility study is complete and will advance bike lanes, on-street facilities, sidewalks, and multi-use paths in South Coatesville, Coatesville, Modena, and Valley.
• East Fallowfield is anticipated to adopt its “Official Map” in the early fall, which will identify areas for potential public use, including parks and trail corridors.
To learn more about the CVT West project and share your thoughts, check out the project website (http://chescoplanning. org/transportation/cvtw.cfm), where we’ll post details about a public meeting tentatively scheduled for this fall.
There will also be a public meeting about Landscapes3, Chester County’s next comprehensive plan, this fall (http:// chescoplanning.org/CompPlan.cfm). The Landscapes3 draft recognizes the importance of trails and seeks to develop and implement a countywide trail network that includes
expansion of The Circuit, Greater Philadelphia’s regional multi-use trail network. Landscapes3 also seeks to enhance revitalization efforts in the county’s Urban Centers by promoting and supporting existing main streets and strategic infrastructure improvements.
The Chester County Planning Commission can be reached by phone at 610-344-6285, by email at ccplanning@chesco. org, or by mail at 601 Westtown Road, West Chester, PA 19380.
Over 100 western Chester County residents and trail enthusiasts attended the Chester Valley Trail West study public meeting on March 1, 2018 at the Parkesburg Point Youth Center to learn more about the project and offer input.
The Romano 4H Center of Chester County
An interview with Don Cairns of Cairns Family Farm
By Natalie Smith Staff Writer
IWhat is 4-H? The four H’s in the 4-H four-leaf clover stand for Head, Heart, Hands and Health. Head: clear thinking and decision making, understanding, growing. Heart: loyalty, concern, responsibility, cooperation. Hand: skills, service, usefulness. Health: better living.
4-H clubs hold official sanctioned events and have to travel around to various places to hold their shows.
The dream goes back to the 1970s, when the Chester County 4-H clubs wanted to make their own home for 4-H activities, to own their own property in Chester County. In the mid 1980s, a group from the 4-H clubs got together to get serious about looking for a home. Don Cairns joined this group in 1989. They formed a non-profit group, The Chester County 4-H Center, Inc. Its mission was to build and maintain a Chester County 4-H Center for 4-H clubs in the county and to continue that support into the future.
They spent several years looking for a property, and in 1991, they bumped into a family who owned the perfect property, located on Route 322 in West Brandywine Township. This family was the Romano family, big supporters of 4-H clubs. The Romano family donated 15 acres of their farm to the Chester County 4-H Center, and the non-profit group then
spent one year fundraising to buy an additional five acres, starting the foundation for the dream.
The Chester County 4-H Center used this 20-acre lot to build their dream, naming the center after the family who donated the land, and The Romano 4-H Center was born. The Romano 4-H Center includes two buildings plus an expansive outdoor exhibition area, including a big horse ring. The first building, built in 1996, was their 16,000-square-foot exhibition building for hosting their livestock shows and sales. Their second building, completed in 2010, is a multipurpose facility with meeting rooms, office space, and more exhibit space.
The Romano Center is a large, collaborative effort. It has no employees, and is run by volunteers. Volunteers often maintain general upkeep, stage and prepare for shows, and keep the facility in top shape. A dog training business rents the Romano 4-H center, providing rental income for the non-profit.
When it is not busy hosting 4-H meetings, the Romano 4-H Center is available for rent to outside groups. Some 4-H members are so grateful for the facility that they donate their project animals to be sold in support of the center.
If you’ve heard that 4-H is for farm families only, think again. The organization reaches youngsters in cities, suburbs and rural areas. In fact, 4-H is the largest youth organization in the world! 4-H is a community of young people across America learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. 4-H enables kids to have fun, meet new people, learn new life
The annual 4-H Fair is a chance for participants to show off what they’ve learned.
skills, build self-confidence, learn responsibility, and set and achieve goals! Kids learn by doing cool things. Anyone, ages 5-18, can participate in the 4-H youth development programs in Pennsylvania.
Visit Extension.psu.edu/4-H for more information on the types of programs available for youngsters to get involved!
Don Cairns has been involved with 4-H from age 11 and has continued giving back to the organization by volunteering countless hours in the formation of the Romano Center and the continued upkeep of the facilities. Don’s family continues to stay involved, and his 20-year-old daughter Lauren commented, “I’ve been involved with 4-H with raising pigs and sheep since I was 8 years old. It was a lot of hard work, but it taught me a lot. Not just how to care for animals and how to be responsible, but also how to do business with others. I learned how to buy the animals, buy the feed, how to care for the animals, how to show them, judge them and how to sell the animals.”
Don farms 1700 acres in Chester County, owning 230 acres near Parkesburg. He farms with conservation-oriented practices such as no-till farming, cover crops, and uses the latest technology and equipment. Wheat, corn and soybeans are his main crops. These products stay local in our communities, with the wheat sold to local bakeries, and corn and soybeans sold to local livestock farmers for feed.
So how can WCCCC members and residents support 4-H and the Romano Center?
Don replied, “Sign your kids up, it is life changing! Come to the events, the 4H fair and the Romano 4-H benefit auction. Volunteer and get involved with the 4-H clubs. Donate, teach a special interest program, or become a guest judge at events.”
This year, the 4-H fair was held Aug. 6 to 11. The fair included showings of beef, sheep, swine, goats, dairy and horses. A host of other educational exhibits included photography, vegetables, artworks, textiles and even a public speaking contest. Sept. 22 is the Romano 4-H Benefit Auction, with a silent auction at 4:30 p.m., and a live auction at 6 p.m. Other events held at the 4-H center include car shows, dog shows and a mud sale each May held by the Honey Brook Fire Company.
WCCCC will be holding our agricultural summit at the Romano 4-H Center on Oct. 24 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The general public is invited to attend and purchase products from local farmers, listen to guest speakers, and support our Chester County farms! Buy local!
Participants in 4-H learn how to care for livestock.
Pigs are shown by a 4-H member.
The Romano 4-H Center in West Brandywine Township.
Bill Mullen Electric
Design studio in Downingtown takes an innovative approach to electrical contracting
By Natalie Smith Staff Writer
Opening a storefront location might not be common for most electrical contractors, but Bill Mullen Electric has done just that. “We wanted to become part of the community and this is an excellent start,” said Bill Mullen, Jr., when asked about the West Lancaster Avenue location (directly across from SEPTA’s Downingtown station). “Our goal is to have our neighbors feel this is a great group, not just a great group of electrical contractors, but a great group of people.”
Bill Mullen Electric, a second-generation company with over 35 years of electrical experience, is led by Master Electrician, Bill Mullen Sr., Bill Mullen Jr., and supported by Client & Marketing Manager Donna Pelzar, who has over 40 years of experience in customer service and marketing.
“Our goal is to have a fresh and ever-evolving approach to providing not only the basic electrical services, but also innovative product applications that will actually add value to our client’s homes and businesses,” said Donna Pelzar. “We are in the process of designing our office to function as a lighting showcase, allowing our clients to see the possibilities and envision how it would fit in their homes. There are new lighting products entering the market every day, ranging from new wafer-thin recessed lights that can be placed virtually anywhere, to under-counter lighting with haze effects and color changing options, and all the new smart home products. We love to delight the client with the finished results.”
them it’s going to look fabulous, it’s going to look great. And it does. We deliver the product.”
An equally important specialty the company has mastered is dealing with replacement of knob-and-tube electrical wiring and older cloth covered wire. Both types of these ungrounded wires are typically found in homes constructed before 1950. These systems can be identified by insulating tubes and supporting knobs made of porcelain. Owning a home using this outdated method makes it difficult to obtain insurance. In addition, because it is an ungrounded system, it can pose a safety hazard when adding the load of today’s modern appliances.
Bill Mullen Electric has managed to master its remediation efficiently, protecting floors and furniture with drop cloths and plastic sheeting. “We have a niche market of managing knob-and-tube wiring,” Mullen, Sr., said. “It’s a labor-intensive project. We are able to send in a team to manage re-wiring in a way that is the least intrusive possible, as far as dirt and dust management and patching.”
Bill Mullen, Jr., has worked hand-in-hand with interior designers and architects, and his experience allows the business to recommend layered lighting that creates incredible results! Bill Mullen, Sr., concurs, saying, “We have some winning formulas -- we go to someone’s house and we tell
The company takes the extra step of what they refer to as “White Glove Re-Wiring,” which means drilling minimal holes, then restoring the walls by professionally sanding and spackling, leaving the homeowner with the small job of touch-up repainting. This method is pretty much unheard of in re-wiring jobs and Mullen Electric is proud of offering their restoration work. The scope of this kind of wiring replacement might be beyond many companies. Bill Mullen Electric employs a team of experienced electricians including a project manager. What sets them apart from a much smaller operation is, “they just can’t take on a job that size,” Mullen, Sr., said. “It’s too large, it’s five to 14 days worth of work. You have to have somebody managing dust and dirt that whole time, you have to have a competent project manager who’s able to communicate to the customer exactly where they’re at with
Photos by Natalie Smith
From left: Bill Mullen, Jr., Donna Pelzar and Bill Mullen, Sr., are taking Bill Mullen Electric in its new direction of being ‘self-sufficient electrical contractors.’
the project, and to be able to tell them, ‘I think we’ll be done on this date,’ or to tell them there were some setbacks.”
“I also step in to support the on-site team.” Pelzar said. “With a longer duration project, I’ll check in with the homeowner and ask, how is the project going from their viewpoint? Anything they would like us to do differently? Anything we did that they especially liked? Feedback is critical to the company’s success. We want to know what our client is thinking about our work and should there be an issue, move immediately to correct it.”
Pelzar can personally vouch for the company’s knob-andtube removal competence. She was a customer. Impressed by their expertise and responsiveness, she was having a conversation with Mullen, Jr., who admitted business was good, but he needed some more help, and offered her a job. “One of the best choices I have ever made,” Pelzar said.
Bill Mullen Electric is an active member in the Western Chester County Chamber of Commerce. Since joining, the company has participated in the Student Career and Learning Fair, which resulted in filling employment positions.
Not a company to stand still, Bill Mullen Electric is continually launching new services to fill customers’ needs:
• An Electrical Systems Wellness Check – A systems check to let the customer know if there are any electrical safety issues that could potentially crop up. “These are very popular and helpful for people who are going to be selling a home and know that electrical infractions are there before the inspector comes,” Pelzar said.
• Free phone consultations – “Let’s say the customer says they need a new electric panel,” Mullen, Jr., said. “Normally I’d go out to the house, take a look and give them a quote. But this way, I have them take a photo and send it to me. I can give them a pretty good ballpark quote over the phone.” He also wants to increase consultations using the FaceTime app.
• Beefing up their online presence – “We’re working to put more content on the Facebook page and our website, information that our clients can use,” Pelzar said. “Informational blogs, tutorials and videos that inform and educate. We’re building a library of actual lighting projects, too.”
• Menu-style pricing – Letting the customer know all options that are available for a particular job, and what they cost. The business is growing and looking to hire, Mullen, Jr., said. However, they’re not just seeking people with electrical skills. “We’re looking for technicians, but we’re also looking for good people you can trust, and clients enjoy having in their home.”
Natalie Smith can be reached at: natalie@DoubleSMedia. com
Pamphlets explaining what Bill Mullen Electric can do.
Activities slated by Honey Brook Community Partnership
By Reuben Schonebaum
As the leaves begin to change there is always a lot going on in the Honey Brook community! Visitors and residents alike will find a wide array entertaining activities, including concerts, movies and a good-old fashioned carnival.
As every year for the past 10 years, the Honey Brook Community Partnership will be holding Harmony Day on Sept. 15, with yard sales around town, as well as food and fun in the Borough Park. In addition to Harmony Day, the Partnership will be presenting the “Tons of Fun” carnival, with a wide variety of children’s and adult rides, a good selection of games, and foods like funnel cakes and cotton candy to enjoy. The rides and food booths will be located on the carnival grounds next to the Honey Brook Fire Department and will be held every afternoon/evening from Sept. 12 to 15. Come one and all, and enjoy the atmosphere!
The Honey Brook Township Park & Recreation Board is hosting the first-of-itskind outdoor movie in conjunction with Honey Brook Harmony Day on the evening of Sept. 15 (rain date Sept. 22). The movie will be shown at the James A. Umble Memorial Park (173 Suplee Rd.).
On Sept. 16 at 5 p.m., the Maine-based Pete Kilpatrick Band will play at the Honey Brook Borough Park.
The final concert of the Honey Brook Borough summer series will be held on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 5 p.m., when the Mainebased Pete Kilpatrick Band travels all the way to Honey Brook to perform. The band, which crafts its own blend of folk and rock music, has been compared to Coldplay, Matt Nathanson and Mat Kearney. Pete Kilpatrick, an acoustic guitarist/singer/songwriter, has been named Maine’s Best Act and Best Vocals four times in the Portland Best Music Awards. The band has performed with many notable artists, including Jason Mraz, David Gray and the Dave Matthews Band. Pete’s music has also been featured on NBC’s “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation,” as well as “New Girl” on Fox.
Harmony Day on
15
beverages for sale. Contributions of nonperishable food items for the Honey Brook Food Pantry will be collected.
Tel Hai Retirement Community is planning an all-day, campus-wide Festival of Music featuring various professional groups and genres, from a Caribbean-inspired steel drum band to a toe-tapping big-band concert. The festival will be held on Saturday, Sept. 29 at various locations throughout the Tel Hai campus, which is off of Beaver Dam Road, between Cambridge Road and Route 10 in Honey Brook Township. Concluding this special day will be a free reception and evening concert by the Wheatland Chorale in the StoneCroft Center for Worship & Performing Arts. The reception will begin at 6 p.m., and the concert will begin promptly at 7 p.m. The Wheatland Chorale is widely regarded as one of the leading choral ensembles in Pennsylvania and has been recognized by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for artistic excellence. The reception and evening concert will be a ticketed event. Tickets will be available beginning on Sept. 4 by contacting Ginny at 610-273-9333, ext. 2144.
The Honey Brook Community Partnership coordinates the local project for Make a Difference Day. National Make a Difference Day is held each October on the fourth Saturday of the month. Past projects have included a coat drive and toiletries collections to benefit the Honey Brook Food Pantry. Visit the Partnership’s website (www. hbpartnership.org) for an announcement of the 2018 project in late summer.
Founded in 2008, the Community Partnership’s mission is to bring together borough and township partners to facilitate communication, share resources, and work together to enhance their community. The partnership includes an energetic mix of former and current public officials, representatives of retirement communities, members of service organizations and local churches, and resident volunteers.
The Honey Brook Lions Club will be providing food and
Sept.
features the ‘Tons of Fun’ carnival, with a wide variety of children’s and adult rides.
