The Banner Newsletter

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KNIGHT FAMILY,

Thank you for belonging to this most exclusive roundtable!

This online publication presents a golden opportunity to spotlight the many devoted supporters we remain so grateful to have in our midst. Although Dr. Linda Fedrizzi-Williams’ President’s Reception was nearly a full three months ago, we are still riding on an emotional high and a tidal wave of gratitude, fueled by the record-setting fundraising totals we tallied that night. The goal we had set was exceedingly ambitious, and to see that lofty objective surpassed in just a few brief hours—and in such a major way --remains heartwarming beyond words.

With “The Banner,” we hope to express yet another heartfelt “THANK YOU” for opening up your wallets, purses, and hearts to our students. We also pledge to continue to build more bridges to keep that momentum going. Your gifts are already having an immediate impact on our campus and in student lives. As we advance forward, we will show how your generosity is fueling our students’ growth and shaping the future of the local economy and the midstate’s magic.

With more than $421,000 raised through our President’s Reception, our goal of raising $10 million by 2025 is within reach. By enriching our triple-A’s—our Academics, Atmosphere and Athletics –Central Penn College will be an even richer source of opportunity for students who deserve it, and for area employers who are eager to hire skilled graduates!

As it is so often stated, the highest “thank you” is expressed, not in words, but in deeds. The “Banner” is part of our unrelenting mission to showcase good deeds and advance the public good through the lifelong power of education.

You have changed the course of student lives, many of whom are fighting their own private battles. To echo the words of Marcus Aurelius, “What we do now echoes in eternity.”

Like the colorful banners raised in battle, our “Banner” salutes the united force charging forward to give our students the wins they need to succeed in life.

Yours in Knighthood,

Initiatives
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Inspired by the benevolent deeds of our noble Knights family, who have demonstrated themselves to be givers of the highest order.

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Ater an enormously successful career in manufacturing and business turnarounds, Duane still has the energy of the long-distance runner that he is. Technically “retired,” he notes it’s more accurate to say, “‘I don’t work for anybody anymore.’’

Voted “Most Likely to Succeed” in high school, where he was also a tennis player and track stand-out, his classmates clearly had great foresight. Sue said, even in “retirement,” he is often in the home office, answering emails until late at night.

Growing Greenly: Our FIRST Noble Knights

Duane and Sue (Basar) Greenly have the warm familiarity and natural banter that grows out of more than 50 years of marriage. No one would imagine that these down-to-earth, garden-loving grandparents have been breaking new ground across so many industries and charities since they first met at a dance in the early ‘70s at Bloomsburg University.

More than half a century ago, Sue’s dormmate developed an eye for Duane’s friend. That relationship never took root, but it had a happy offshoot: Duane and Sue’s partnership blossomed like the colordrenched gardens they helped plant at the Ames Community Gardens in Shiremanstown and the Penn-Cumberland Garden Club, where they spend quality time.

Together, they explain with humility how they are building their “dash.”

Duane’s “dash“ talk was inspired by a poem by Linda Ellis, sent to him by a friend. Your “dash,” he explained, represents the sum of your time here on earth—that miniature mark of punctuation on your headstone that encapsulates everything from the year of your birth to the time of your death. It has become a common refrain on the Summerdale campus, after Duane issued a call to action at the President’s Reception on June 22. As the first to donate $100,000 to the newly formed Noble Knights Society, they have put many exclamation points on their dash.

He is not one to sleep in, binge-watch Netflix, or boast about this business success. In fact, he said, if he were not at the Silver Spring Diner by WalMart, drinking Diet Coke and having breakfast with Sue, he predicted he would have been mowing the grass on his four properties, which include townhomes and professional office buildings.

He is someone who has the Midas touch, quietly turning every company he worked for into solid gold, growing earnings and market share as vibrantly as his and Sue’s crimson and violet flowers.

A chemistry major and former temporary adjunct professor of chemistry, Duane earned several patents for garden tools and snow shovels, and developed innovative solutions reflected in products that span everything from gardening spades, disposable diapers and doors to shoe liners, boat fabric, and vibration-resistant rubber mounts.

They thought more of others than themselves throughout their journey up the ladder of so many major companies.

“You can give time, talent or treasure,” Greenly said. “I always gave time and talent; now I can add treasure.”

He and Sue started the Greenly Foundation in 20042005, prioritizing local causes and higher education, including Central Penn College.

His involvement with Central Penn began about 15 years ago, when then-President Todd Milano asked him to attend an event and later to serve on the President’s Council.

As someone who religiously wore a suit and tie to work, Greenly embraced the college’s then buttoneddown dress code, and the type of students Central Penn was cultivating. Continued

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GREENLYS: Greenly Fitness Center Creation (2015) and expansion (2022) Health Sciences Classroom Scholarship Fund Cross Country/Track Sponsor Athletic Transportation Program Sponsor Noble Knights Lifetime Circle and Planned Gifts
Duane & Sue Greenly

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His quiet leadership, inventive brain, and troubleshooting abilities led to growing market share for companies that became household names, such as Rubbermaid, Ames True Temper, and Kimberly Clark.

In one of his greatest and most recent turnaround triumphs, he helped Ames and True Temper play nice after Ames bought its longtime rival in 1999. Greenly became chief operating officer and then in 2008, president and CEO. His Ames True Temper Academy taught business principles that he still preaches today –and may someday include in a book.

When employees at the company would ask how they could get selected for the prestigious Academy, he would simply reply, “Just do your job.”

A venture capital firm bought the company for $160 million and sold it to another firm at more than twice the original price. And in September 2010, the company was sold once again, this time to another manufacturing conglomerate, for a whopping $542 million.

At that time, Greenly encouraged the private equity firm to donate $100,000 for a community garden he created on a field adjacent to the Camp Hill headquarters—a project that won “PA Horticultural Project of the Year.” The Greenlys’ involvement and generosity have also contributed to a downtown renaissance in Mechanicsburg.

Sue describes her husband as focused and goaloriented. Proof-positive lies in his lifetime mission to run 25,000 miles – equivalent to the circumference of the earth, which amounts to about three miles a day, for 25 years. Sue noted they both came from blue-collar families and were always laser-focused on an honest day’s work.

As a local boy made good, Bloomsburg University also receives much of the Greenly largesse. When the five-story Greenly Center at BU was dedicated in 2015, each floor was full of students, alumni, and other Greenly Family fans. Duane spoke to the crowds, joking that he always wanted his name in marble. He then added that he was thrilled it was not on his tombstone. The building echoed with laughter.

As the signature poem says, “It matters not how much we own, The cars…the house…the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.”

Duane Greenly’s 12 Commandments of Business

1. A team of motivated players is better than a collection of superstars. Challenge each other. But don’t get into turf battles and be mindful of unchecked egos.

2. Positive attitudes equal positive results.

3. Negative attitudes equal negative results. Act quickly to stop negative attitudes, which can spread quickly if unchecked.

4. Credibility is the most important individual attribute.

5. You improve what you measure. Pick key indicators to measure and follow so there are no surprises.

6. Preparation and perspiration beats inspiration every time.

7. You need to be able to laugh—at yourself and others.

8. You get what you expect. Make expectations clear and expect a lot.

9. Mistakes of inactivity are much worse than mistakes of activity. To be a leader, you need to make things happen.

10. Two heads are better than one, three are better than two, but 10 are not better than nine. Go to the right people to figure out problems.

11. I was always nervous when people would not write things down and make lists to get things done because people forget if they don’t write things down. Hence bring your brains and your tablet but if you are going to forget one bring the tablet, so you can write it down.

12. Yes-men are not men. Argue your point, but support the decision.

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UPMC: Med Assisting. Phlebotomy & Surg tech Scholars program

Mens & Womens Soccer Training Equipment programs (5 year commitment)

Donated mobile AED machines

Donated lightly used medical equipment for use in learning laboratories

Provide grant funds to support scrubs for the CPC career closets

Golf open sponsor providing scholarship support via the CPC Education Foundation

1881 Society $75,000 - Plus

UPMC has been a trusted fixture in the midstate marketplace, as its team of professionals upholds their shared mission to provide life changing medicine. The sevenhospital system serves patients throughout central Pa., providing personalized primary care as well as stateof-the-art cardiology, kidney transplantation, pediatrics, labor and delivery, and other specialties.

In partnering with Central Penn College, UPMC has extended its mission to also help provide life changing education, and our students are finding immediate success in the exciting world of health care as a result.

Under the leadership of former UPMC in Central Pa. president Lou Baverso and, more recently, David Gibbons, regional president and senior vice president of the UPMC Health Services Division, UPMC has been at the front lines in tackling national workforce shortages and developing the caregivers of today and tomorrow.

“Our collaborative efforts with Central Penn College support specialized health care education and new opportunities for job-related training and career placement after graduation,” said Christina Persson, vice president, Office of the President, UPMC in Central Pa. “Expanding the curricula helps maintain and build a skilled health care workforce that will provide quality care to area residents for years to come. We value key relationships like the one we’ve created with Central Penn College and look forward to our continued innovation and cooperation to support education, better health, and career opportunities in our region.”

This strong partnership allows Central Penn College students interested in several in-demand fields — such as medical assisting, phlebotomy, and surgical technology — to land jobs immediately upon graduation, with the potential to have their tuition reimbursed after several years of successful employment through the UPMC Scholars Program. It is a true win-win-win for students, the patients they

will care for, and the UPMC hospitals in need of their expertise.

“The UPMC Pinnacle Foundation is proud to support students at Central Penn College through the UPMC Scholars Program,” said Jessica Ritchie, president, UPMC Pinnacle Foundation. “When we can reduce financial barriers for students pursuing careers in health care, we help create access to education. The skills and knowledge students develop during their classes and training have lifelong value as they graduate and grow in their chosen fields.”

In building this talent pipeline, the health care system can hire highly trained staff to help them render effective and empathetic care to patients in hospitals, physician offices, clinics, urgent care centers, outpatient surgery centers, and more.

“In health care, we talk a lot about building the pipeline so that we can serve our patients and communities now and in the future. Increasing diversity in that pipeline is a key factor in improving health care access for everyone,” said Tina Nixon, vice president, Mission Effectiveness and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, UPMC in Central Pa. “A partnership like the one between UPMC and Central Penn College not only makes high quality education more accessible for students who might not have considered health care careers, but its promotion serves to increase awareness that these opportunities exist. We want you to learn, we want you to become part of this team that provides life changing medicine for our communities, and we want to help you get there.”

UPMC’s presence is also highly visible in the classroom. They provide scrubs to Central Penn students so they instantly can “feel” like a health care worker and gain the respect that accompanies that identity. UPMC has also donated AED machines and lightly used medical equipment to the college’s learning laboratories, so students are job-ready on Day One.

UPMC has even gone beyond the Summerdale campus in its support for Central Penn College. They are sponsoring the Knights’ men’s and women’s soccer teams at Skyline Sports Complex, on picturesque City Island. Their signs around the field are just another visible reminder of their commitment to good health through exercise and teamwork.

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JESSICA RITCHIE President, UPMC Pinnacle Foundation Jessica Ritchie

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Fighting Tooth and Nail for Access to Dental Care

Dr. Michael Verber recounts the story of a high school friend who was distraught over a six-month wait for her five-year-old to receive urgent, pain-relieving dental care. After a change in the family’s insurance, that six-month wait morphed into an interminable 12-month lag.

“The system is broken,” Verber stated emphatically. Seeing that scenario repeated time and time again in both children and adults, the fixer in him dug in for a systemic repair.

Hoping to make a difference, Verber has partnered with Dr. Linda Fedrizzi-Williams and Central Penn College to educate and train a new generation of Pennsylvanians to enter the dental workforce. Central Penn’s newly unveiled programs include dental assisting, dental treatment coordination, expanded function dental assisting, and, ultimately, dental hygienist.

Dr. Verber has appeared on WHTM-TV’s GOOD DAY PA with Michael Fedor and state Sen. Greg Rothman to raise awareness and recruit the next generation of dental professionals.

As the CEO and Chairman of Verber Dental Group, he has now expanded his practice to include an oral surgeon, a pediatric dentist, an endodontist, cosmetic dentists, a dental lab, a training institute, a marketing firm, a property management firm, and more. But he is not all business.

He proudly displays his custom-made Central Penn Knights sneakers like most kids display their backto-school kicks. The sneaks were hand-painted by his talented wife Kelly, who he met at a concert in Dewey Beach. The growing Verber Dental empire started when his dad Stephen opened a small dental office on Main Street in Mechanicsburg, which was crowned by their family apartment on the second

floor. Michael was in diapers in those early days, but became his dad’s business partner years later.

The elder Dr. Verber–also an active community servant—then opened his Camp Hill office in 1994, which still operates, and was artfully renovated in 2007. Today, Verber Dental Group has 25-26 dentists, and 13 practices.

The second floor of the group’s contemporary Enola office, on Millennium Way, by the Weis Market off Valley Road, is now an active construction zone, as he converts the second floor to add five more treatment rooms, bringing the total in the structure to 18. A Knights’-orange classroom rests right off the elevator, where he offers continuing education to dental professionals.

Now, the bustling Enola office features a sign for Verber Advanced Dental Institute, with the Central Penn College logo.

Less than two miles from Central Penn’s campus, two students from Central Penn have already donned scrubs and are working in his office, receiving handson instruction. Through the “Learn and Earn” program, students can earn $350 a week while going to school.

When he attended his first graduation ceremony for Central Penn students in May, as a newly appointed board member, he marveled at the jubilation and pride on display. He readily admits he had many advantages in life that many young people don’t, including a strong family support network and financial security.

At his college graduation at Dickinson, the graduates’ parents expected them to graduate college; at Central Penn, that may not have been the case. Watching parents and spouses–even small children— rejoicing in their graduate’s accomplishment was a genuine feel-good memory, he said.

“Their family is one who had beaten the odds. They appreciate the education they are getting.”

“We are facing an access to care crisis in dentistry, but the silver lining is the opportunity it is creating for students to make a very good living with very little student debt,” Verber said. “I believe Central Penn is the pathway to connect students looking for opportunity to meet the community’s needs.”

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Bridge Society $25,000
$74,999
over five years
DR.
MICHAEL VERBER: Verber Dental Group pledged $100,000
Dr. Michael Verber

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Speaking Up for Others

Even though she has proven herself to be a master communicator with more than three decades of strategic leadership, Virginia (“Ginny”) A. Roth admits that she was surprisingly shy as a child. That reticence prevented her from speaking up in class, or even from telling her elementary school teacher that she preferred to be called “Ginny,” not “Virginia.” So when her teacher started calling her “Ginny,” she asked her mom if she had something to do with the teacher’s change.

Her mom just replied, “I knew you would get there, but I was glad to help.”

That simple act of caring had a lasting impact on Roth, and lies at the heart of her decision to help Central Penn students find their voice. She knows they have the power within them, but she is glad to help.

Since those formative years, Roth has lent her powerful voice to many worthwhile causes, with remarkable diplomacy, thoughtful analysis and persuasive power.

Presidents Society

$5,000 - $24,999

Now the Chief Brand and Strategy Officer at Color and Culture, the successor firm to the renowned strategic communications firm, PPO&S (once Packer, Oesterling & Smith), Roth served on the Central Penn Education Foundation, and formerly served as a member of the 1881 Society, at the invitation of President Linda Fedrizzi-Williams, who she finds to be a singularly “magnetic” leader.

She is a graduate of Cedar Cliff High School and Lock Haven University, where she also provided trusted

counsel and support as a trustee. She has spent large chunks of her life living first in Cumberland County, then Dauphin County and Perry County, and now, back in Cumberland County.

In each place she resides, she has given back, because she lives out the mantra, “It takes a village.” At Lock Haven in the mid-‘70s, her career goal was to be a trainer for the New York Jets football team. With that backdrop, a lifetime living in sweatpants seemed like a good plan—until she took courses like anatomy and sports medicine, and decided sweatpants are overrated; she’d rather wear business attire and start her own business.

One of her first jobs was at PPO&S, inspired by her mentor, the late Carolyne L. Smith, the PPO&S founder. Roth has spent more than four decades at PPO&S, becoming CEO in 2010, recently merging her business and rebranding it as “Color and Culture. ” Professional accolades followed. She was chosen as the 2020 Chamber Business Woman of the Year, and 2019 Legacy Award Recipient at the YWCA Woman of Excellence’s annual banquet.

A Phillies fan and a World Cup watcher, she believes in the power of sports and embraces the opportunities afforded by Central Penn’s sport teams. Yes, most collegiate student-athletes may never play professionally, but that’s not the goal, she notes. Team collegiality, resilience and a sense of self are byproducts you won’t get anywhere else, she said. She also cited the remarkable 90.5 percent of Central Penn College graduates who are either working in their field or continuing their education. (2022-23 Graduate Survey.)

“They’re getting results. They’re getting the jobs,” she said.

“For someone with kids, working three jobs, Central Penn meets them where they are.”

And in embracing a diverse community, “Central Penn is where we need to be in the future.”

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A.
Virginia “Ginny” A. Roth
VIRGINIA
“GINNY”
ROTH

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his beloved teacher’s final trip to the heavens, Shatzer worked with his wife Karen and Director of the Education Foundation Sandy Box to launch a scholarship in his name. He also helped to launch two other scholarships at Central Penn for family members and mentors.

Central Penn honored Shatzer for his generosity with a 2017 Philanthropic Trailblazer Award.

Gochenauer was Shatzer’s high school accounting teacher and also a private pilot. Frank had just purchased a Cessna 172 Skyhawk --an American fourseat, single-engine, high-wing, fixed-wing aircraft. Fascinated by aircraft, Shatzer flew many hours in the right seat of the C-172. Frank helped him find the aviation program at CPC.

Shatzer served close to 20 years as Vice President of Sales at Flexjet LLC. He is now Vice President of Aircraft Management at the Jet Agency and also a private consultant for GSS Consulting in Naples, Florida.

Helping Students Take Flight

Karen Gochenauer lost her husband Frank in 2017, but like an airplane’s cottony trail across a cloudless blue sky, Frank left much behind -- such as students who followed in his footsteps in aviation, and a scholarship that bears his name.

$1,000 - $4,999

Frank taught accounting, bookkeeping and law at Chambersburg High School and was a popular football coach who inspired his students through his love of the skies. One of his most promising students was G. Scott Shatzer, who graduated from Central Penn in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in aviation administration. After

Shatzer said he literally started from the ground up, “marshaling aircraft for American Airlines at MDT (Middletown, PA) as well as vacuuming peanuts off the floor and emptying the lavatories on turns back to O’Hare.” He took an unpaid internship with USAir Express during his last term at Central Penn, which paved the way for the heights he has achieved in the industry.

One of Shatzer’s favorite memories of Frank involved a trip on board Air Force One, at the Hagerstown, Maryland airport. They were invited to come aboard the aircraft, which was serving President Ronald Reagan at the time, traveling to Camp David.

Gochenauer’s widow Karen now resides in Chambersburg and has donated faithfully to the scholarship in her husband’s honor for six consecutive years. Their son lives in Blue Bell, Pa. Karen, who taught kindergarten for 36 years, still gets emotional when asked what her husband’s scholarship means to her.

Noting that they marked their 56th wedding anniversary in August, she said, “It’s a tribute to his life that something is going to carry on his life’s work and help students. That’s who he devoted his life to,” she said. “If he knew, it would mean a lot to him.”

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Knights Society KAREN GOCHENAUER Frank & Karen Gochenauer Scott Shatzer

Members of the Knights’ Quest join an elite circle of partners who are united in their support of preserving and strengthening the College’s legacy of career-focused academic excellence. Initiatives our members have funded include student scholarships, recruiting star faculty, and upgrading and expanding some of the region’s most useful and accessible education facilities, expanding athletics, and more.

Knights’ Quest is comprised of four giving societies based on annual giving, and one circle based on total lifetime giving. Annual gifts to the Central Penn College Education Foundation, Central Penn College, or the Central Penn College Alumni Association all count cumulatively towards annual society membership.

Memorials and Tributes Planned Giving

Gifts from your IRA

To raise your donation level, or to share these opportunities with others who may wish to join, please contact Billy Morrison at (717) 728-2275 or BillyMorrison@centralpenn.edu Or visit centralpenn.edu/giving

Join a Higher Society!
giving level works best for you? Noble Knights Lifetime
1881 Society $75,000-plus Bridge Society $25,000
$74,999 President’s Society $5,000-$24,999 Knights Society $1,000
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What
Circle and Planned Gifts
-
- $4,999 annually
Knights’ Quest
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