FEBRUARY 2017
CHAMBER CENTRAL
A PUBLICATION OF THE WESTMORELAND COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
CALENDAR OF EVENTS FEBRUARY 2
7:45 am - MBPA Chapter Networking Breakfast, Dick’s Diner, Murrysville
FEBRUARY 8
12:00 pm - Ribbon Cutting, LabCorp, Greensburg
FEBRUARY 9
8:00 am - Marketing Committee Meeting 11:30 am - Monthly Luncheon, Rizzo’s Malabar Inn, Crabtree
FEBRUARY 10
8:00 am - SabeSoft Manufacturing Session
FEBRUARY 11
12:00 pm - Ribbon Cutting, FLOW Spine & Sport, Greensburg
FEBRUARY 14
8:00 am - Golf Committee Meeting
FEBRUARY 15
8:30 am - Staff Appreciation Luncheon Committee Meeting 5:00 pm - Chamber BASH, American Architectural Salvage, Mount Pleasant
FEBRUARY 21
7:45 am - Networking Breakfast, Courtyard by Marriott, Greensburg
FEBRUARY 22
1:00 pm - WANT Job & Career Expo, Ramada Greensburg
FEBRUARY 23
8:00 am - Government Affairs Committee Meeting
FEBRUARY 24
8:00 am - Ambassador Committee Meeting 11:30 am - SabeSoft Manufacturing Session
FEBRUARY 28
7:45 am - Coffee & Connections, Hayden’s Pharmacy, Mount Pleasant *Events held in Chamber office unless otherwise noted.
State of the County Luncheon Draws Record Crowd On January 12, all three county commissioners presented their vision of the county’s future to a near-capacity crowd of roughly 350 business people at the fifth annual State of the County luncheon at Ferrante’s Lakeview in Greensburg.
Kopas said this year, as in past years, the commissioners had to rely on funds from the county’s “once-robust” reserve fund to balance the spending plan. A decade ago the fund had a balance of approximately $60 million and it has since dwindled to $16 million.
Chamber staff members were thrilled with the attendance at the luncheon, but not surprised During a Q & A session, Kopas and Anderson because they understand the state of the said one way to balance the budget without county plays a sigdipping into renificant role for serves is possibly by every business selling county asperson no matter sets – properties, the industry. buildings and other assets – that are “County governnot being used or ment has a tremenare not needed. In dous impact on our addition, the comdaily lives and in missioners for the your businesses,” first time will meet said Chad Amond, with department President of the heads monthly to Chamber. discuss budget isRecently, the board sues, making the of commissioners budget planning a unanimously apyearlong process. proved a nearly Commissioner Gina $311 million budgCerilli took the opportunity to talk about the et, which funds a variety of services provided by the county, including public safety, human county’s drug overdose epidemic. services, senior services, the county-run nurs- “Every single one of us has been affected by ing facility Westmoreland Manor, parks and this drug epidemic,” said Cerilli, who said inrecreation, economic development, and the creasing awareness and removing the stigma criminal justice system, according to Commis- has become a passion of hers. sioner Ted Kopas, who gave an overview of the county’s budget and financial outlook Continued on page 6 at the event.
THE WESTMORELAND COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RECOGNIZES FOTORECORD PRINT CENTER AS THE “OFFICIAL PRINTER” OF THE CHAMBER CENTRAL NEWSLETTER. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICES.
FOTORECORD
UPCOMING
EVENTS FEBRUARY MEMBER LUNCHEON Thursday, February 9 • 11:30 AM • Rizzo’s Malabar Inn, Crabtree $25 per member | $40 per future member FEBRUARY IS AN ALL-STAR SPORTS MONTH! Paul Alexander of ROOT SPORTS will be with us to talk Pittsburgh sports! How did the Steelers end their season? Are the Pens skating towards the playoffs? The Pirates are swinging into spring training and Pitt is shooting for March Madness.
Paul Alexander
Paul brings over 30 years of experience covering Pittsburgh sports. He joined the network in 2006 having previously worked for KDKA TV / Radio as the morning anchor & in their sports department. In 2003, Paul added KDKA's nightly radio sports call-in show to his TV duties. In 2010, Paul moved over to the new all sports talk radio station in Pittsburgh, 93.7FM The Fan to host the morning drive show. Paul continues to serve as a host of Pirates & Penguins pregame & postgame shows on ROOT SPORTS.
BREAKFASTS
LUNCHEON SPONSORS:
MURRYSVILLE BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION CHAPTER BREAKFAST
Wednesday, Feb. 15 • 5:00-7:00 PM American Architectural Salvage 23 West Main St., Mount Pleasant, PA 15666
Thursday, February 2 • 7:45 - 9:00 AM Dick’s Diner, Murrysville
Please join the Westmoreland County Chamber and American Architectural Salvage for an evening of networking on Wednesday, February 15 from 5-7 PM. Come out and enjoy appetizers, beer & wine, and door prizes!
$10 for non-MBPA members $20 for non-Chamber/non-MBPA members
NETWORKING BREAKFAST Tuesday, February 21 • 7:45 - 9:00 AM Courtyard by Marriott, Greensburg $10 for Members/$20 for Future Members
COFFEE & CONNECTIONS Tuesday, February 28 • 7:45 - 9:00 AM Hayden’s Pharmacy, Mt. Pleasant $10 for Members/$20 for Future Members
BASH
No cost to members thanks to a Sponsorship by Dollar Bank!
CHAMBER CENTRAL From the Chairman...
bers made a similar commitment with the assistance of leader Tom Trimbur.
Finally, please remember to brave the cold and support your local small businesses during the winter months. Stock up on the Black-n-Gold, enjoy a new place to eat, or find a new experience with our member director and By now, you are probably well on your way to converting your New our member-to-member discounts. Year’s Resolutions into productive, repeatable habits. If not, why not This month, please try at least two (2) give yourself a mulligan? Many successful business leaders have giv- new places and let me know what you en resolutions new meaning by choosing to start measuring goals in tried (let the owner or manager know February – once the holiday distraction and the personal promises of you are a Westmoreland County more gym, better diet, etc. have been addressed. Your goals should Chamber member!). be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-focused, and Time-bound, originally penned by George T. Duran in 1981). There are many fine business books, podcasts, and websites to help you with this necessary approach to your business. I would add that you James W. Creenan Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce Board Chairman should invite a peer to help you refine the goal and to follow up with Attorney, Creenan & Baczkowski, PC you throughout the year. Recently, our Murrysville Chapter memThe Chamber sure kicked off the year in typical grand fashion with the State of the County Luncheon and the Prayer Breakfast. Our tremendous staff and dozens of member volunteers make each event special and meaningful. I wish to thank our Prayer Breakfast Committee.
ALLY KAPUTA, Mount Pleasant Student of the Month for
KELSEY DORMAN, Southmoreland Student of the Month
November, was honored at a luncheon on December 14 at Alexander’s Pizza in Mount Pleasant. Pictured (from left) are Ally Kaputa, Student of the Month; Leyla Pilon-Sinclair, Director of Membership Services for the Westmoreland County Chamber; Terri Remaley, Mount Pleasant Teacher; and David Stairs of Nationwide Stairs Agency, Sponsor.
for November, was honored at a luncheon on December 20 at Leo’s Pub & Grille in Mount Pleasant. Pictured (from left) are Leyla Pilon-Sinclair, Director of Membership Services for the Westmoreland County Chamber; Kelsey Dorman, Student of the Month; Vicki Lawson of Walmart in Mount Pleasant, Sponsor; and Amy Brown, Southmoreland Teacher.
Visit www.hlplanning.com/portals/westmoreland/ to complete a survey, create an sMap, and stay up-to-date on upcoming events. You can also check out the Facebook page Reimagining Our Westmoreland for updates and to see photos and activity from past events.
CHAMBER CENTRAL
Business Program Excites High School Students Throughout PA There is an award-winning summer program that for nearly four decades has been exciting the imaginations of high school students throughout Pennsylvania about the world of business and private enterprise. That program, Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week (PFEW), will be marking its 39th storied year this July and August. PFEW was founded specifically to teach rising high school juniors and seniors about the American private enterprise system and what it means to our country. PFEW now annually holds five sessions in July and August, serving nearly 2,200 students, four on the campus of Lycoming College and a fifth on the campus of Pennsylvania College of Technology, both located in Williamsport, PA. The focus of each session is to group the participants into management teams of junior executives who have inherited imaginary companies. These teams, under the guiding hands of volunteer “executives-on-loan� called Company Advisors, operate their firms for a computer simulated three-year period of time. They work with balance sheets, statements of income, market share surveys, etc., and must react to a variety of external factors as well. Sound familiar? The Chamber is proud to support PFEW and encourages our local companies and civic organizations to provide sponsorship for our students and, if possible, volunteers for the sessions. Every student attends PFEW on a fully tax-deductible $575 scholarship (the actual value of the scholarship is about $1,500) which is provided by a local firm. Each student wears the name of their sponsor throughout the week and writes them after graduation to report on what they have learned. PFEW is also an approved organization through the PA Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program. If you would like to learn more about this award-winning program and how you can help, please call the Chamber directly or contact Scott Lee, vice president of marketing & development for the Foundation for Free Enterprise Education at (814) 833-9576 ext. 101 or e-mail him at scott@pfew.org. PFEW is open to all current sophomores and juniors in Pennsylvania and information on attendance, as well as program applications, can also be found on the website. Questions can be directed to Amber Goss, Schools Assistant for PFEW, by calling her office at (814) 833-9576 ext. 103 or emailing her at amber@pfew.org.
A 2016 student company takes a much needed break from preparing their advertising and stockholders presentations.
CHAMBER CENTRAL
MEMBER
SPOTLIGHT: JAMIE DUNLAP COATES, UPMC CENTERS FOR REHAB SERVICES
Meet our Member Spotlight for February: Jamie Dunlap Coates, Physical Therapist and Facility Director for UPMC Centers for Rehab Services, Greensburg Eastgate location. UPMC Centers for Rehab Services is a multi-disciplinary clinic providing outpatient services in the areas of Orthopedic, Sports, and Neurovestibular Physical Therapy along with Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy. As Facility Director, Jamie is responsible for the overall clinic management including staffing, schedules, and assuring the clinic is in compliance with all company, state, and federal regulations. In addition to her management responsibilities, she is a full-time clinician, evaluating, developing treatment plans and treating patients with orthopedic diagnoses such as neck and back pain, post joint replacement, rotator cuff or other surgeries, fractures, and work-related or overuse injuries. She also serves as a clinical instructor for Physical Therapist and Physical Therapist Assistant students and mentors high school and college students who are interested in Physical Therapy as a profession. Jamie finds it extremely rewarding to watch a patient's progress from their initial session to discharge. “I love helping patients to achieve their goals, following an injury or surgery, in order to get back to the activities that are important to them such as a job, sport, hobby, or improved independence and mobility,” she explains. What does Jamie enjoy most about her Chamber membership? “I enjoy meeting and networking with other Chamber members and learning about their businesses,” she says. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, traveling, taking in museums, the symphony and other cultural events, and outdoor activities. Find out more about UPMC Centers for Rehab Services at www.upmc.com/4crs.
Continued from Page 1
One of the misconceptions, Cerilli said, is what the face of an addict looks like. It’s not a homeless person who lives under a bridge. It is someone who had a knee replacement or wisdom tooth removed and was prescribed legal pain medication and became addicted without even knowing it. Once their prescription runs out and they can’t “doctor-shop” anymore, they turn to the streets. But pain pills are expensive - $30 to $40 a pill - so they try heroin, which is just $5 on the street. “These are good people who had no intention of getting addicted to heroin,” she explained. In 2016, county officials expect overdose deaths to be 169 deaths – up from 126 in 2015. Of those, there were only four between the ages of 16-20 – an indication, Cerilli believes, that our schools are doing a good job with our youth. However, 62 of the people who die of a drug overdose were between 31 and 60 years old. Locally, Cerilli said there isn’t much that can be done unless funding comes from the state or federal level. Although last year the county did acquire a grant, which allowed for the creation of a substance abuse hotline and the hiring of Tim Phillips, the county’s Drug Overdose Task Force. Commissioner Chuck Anderson talked about some of the positive things happening, including the Laurel Valley Improvement Project, a three-phase project which has recently begun with the reconstruction of Route 981 near Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, which will include a roundabout near the airport’s entrance. The second phase is the widening and redesign of 981 from Mount Pleasant to Norvelt, which may also include a roundabout. The third phase has four possible designs and has yet to be decided. In addition, Anderson gave an update on the reassessment plans in the county, which hasn’t had a reassessment in 45 years. Of the 200,000 properties in the county, only 800 people in 2015 filed appeals and last year that number dropped to 700, which constitutes one-half of one percent. A reassessment would cost between $12-$15 million and Anderson and the board feel that would be a waste of funds considering the number of appeals each year. “We’re not doing one until we’re told to do one,” said Anderson. Each year, the Chamber’s custom is to end the luncheon with predictions for the year ahead. Cerilli predicted a Super Bowl win for the Pittsburgh Steelers, while Kopas, who has been burned on sports team predictions in the past, stuck with something more attainable. “I predict next year we will need a bigger room,” he said. Anderson took the opportunity to predict that the 2017 Westmoreland County Air Show on June 24 and 25 will be the biggest and most successful yet. Dedicated to the late Arnold Palmer, the air show will feature a tribute to Latrobe’s native son, the return of the Blue Angels and some U.S. Navy activities made possible by the fact that the air show will be held during Navy Week in Pittsburgh. Contributing Writer: Amy Fauth
CHAMBER CENTRAL The Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the following businesses as NEW MEMBERS of our organization: Adams Strategy Group, Inc. Dan Niemiec 235 West Main Street, No. 104 Ligonier, PA 15658 724-441-4105 www.AdamsStrategy.com Business Coaches, Consultants, Speakers, Authors
Alle Kiski Strong Chamber Lynda Pozzuto 308 Pittsburgh Mills Circle Tarentum, PA 15084 724-224-3400 www.allekiskistrong.com Chambers of Commerce
Anatolia Fine Turkish Cuisine
Turgut Alikaya 406 East Pittsburgh Street Greensburg, PA 15601 724-691-0670 www.anatoliaturkish.com Fine Dining
Blue Otter Inc.
Randy Roadman 135 West Pittsburgh Street Greensburg, PA 15601 724-244-4387 www.blueottermobile.com Software & Programming
Commonwealth Alternative Medicinal Options Matthew Mallory 363 Vanadium Road, Suite 106 Pittsburgh, PA 15243 412-559-9640 www.camomedical.com Medical Devices & Supplies
DeCesare Corporation
Theodore DeCesare 4241 William Penn Highway Murrysville, PA 15668 724-575-6500 Building Contractors, Site Development
FLOW Spine & Sport Nicholas Neratka 123 Donohoe Road Greensburg, PA 15601 724-610-6599 www.flowspine.com Chiropractic
Greater Latrobe - Laurel Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce Marie Bowers 3960 State Route 30, Suite 101 PO Box 463 Latrobe, PA 15650 724-537-2671 www.gllv.org Chambers of Commerce
Hands-On Concepts Signs & Designs Marilyn Komarinski 1400 Broad Street Greensburg, PA 15601 724-837-4200 Signs & Banners
Huntley and Huntley Energy Exploration Benny Komlos 2660 Monroeville Boulevard Monroeville, PA 15146 412-380-2355 Drilling & Mining
Judge Anthony Bompiani Anthony Bompiani 327 Armbrust Road Youngwood, PA 15697 724-925-3888 Elected Officials
Just Simply Clean Galadriel Strauser 107 West Fayette Street Uniontown, PA 15401 724-963-1463 www.justsimplyclean.com Cleaning Services & Concierge
Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce Susan Grunstra 120 East Main Street, Suite 4 Ligonier, PA 15658 724-238-4200 www.ligonier.com Chambers of Commerce
Mountain Laurel Chamber of Commerce Kris Enberg 3682 State Route 31 PO Box 154 Donegal, PA 15628 724-593-8900 www.mountainlaurelchamber.com Chambers of Commerce
Nelson Tree Company Randall Nelson 7902 Route 30 North Huntingdon, PA 15642 724-863-7682 Landscaping, Exterior & Interior Services
Norwin Chamber of Commerce Rosanne Barry Novotnak 321 Main Street Irwin, PA 15642 724-863-0888 www.norwinchamber.com Chambers of Commerce
Parker Surveying Engineering, LLC
Jennifer Sheesley 730 Church Street Indiana, PA 15701 724-349-2544 www.parkersurveying.com Engineering/Environmental Consulting, Surveyors
Raney Day Design Jen Sakowski 6906 Mellon Road Export, PA 15632 724-392-4272 www.raneydaydesign.com Website Design
Yellow Bridge Brewing
Ian Staab 2266 Route 66 Delmont, PA 15626 724-300-3922 www.yellowbridgebrewing.com Suppliers & Services (Restaurants, Food & Beverages)
CHAMBER CENTRAL 2017 Board of Directors
Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce
James Creenan - Creenan & Baczkowski, PC (Chairman) Michael Storms - Elliott Group (Vice Chair) Michelle Ivill - Vale Vista Associates (Treasurer) Janet Corrinne-Harvey - Trib Total Media (Secretary)
241 Tollgate Hill Road | Greensburg, PA 15601 Phone: 724-834-2900 / Fax: 724-837-7635
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID GREENSBURG, PA PERMIT NO. 123
Linda Dickson - Redstone Presbyterian SeniorCare Walt Henry - THE pt GROUP Physical Therapy Christina Jansure - Jeannette Specialty Glass John Kline - S&T Bank Terri Knupp - West Penn Power/First Energy George O’Brien - YMCA of Greensburg Ron Ott - Excela Health Dr. Gennaro “Jamie” Piraino Jr. - Franklin Regional School District Steve Rennekamp - Energy Swing Windows Jason Rigone - Westmoreland County Industrial Development Company Bradley Roth - Kattan Ferretti Financial James Smith - Economic Growth Connection Dr. Tuesday Stanley - Westmoreland College Paul Ward - Kennametal *Ann Nemanic - Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau *Bill Ferri - Ferri Pharmacy *Michael Egan - CBL Associates/Westmoreland Mall *Tony Vecchio - Northwood Realty * Ex-officio member
Chamber Staff Chad Amond - President Joanne Pearson - Director of Operations Leyla Pilon-Sinclair - Director of Membership Services Tricia Thomas - Director of Communications & Event Planning Grace Markum - Leadership Westmoreland Facilitator
Building Business. Connecting Communities. Empowering Everyone.