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Brigid R. McDougall

Brigid R. McDougall has joined The Foundation for Enhancing Communities in Harrisburg as the asset development and project officer, replacing Deb Fulham-Winston who retired at the end of April. Prior to joining TFEC, she served as community impact director at United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County.

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Scott Stevens

Scott Stevens of Camp Hill has joined 44 Business Capital, a Division of Berkshire Bank as first vice president, SBA Lending for the Central Pennsylvania market. Stevens has over 11 years of commercial and SBA lending experience. Stevens has most recently served as vice president, healthcare practice banking, for Citizens Bank.

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Ashley B. Nichols

Ashley B. Nichols, a lawyer, has joined Saxton and Stump in Lancaster County as an associate attorney, focusing her practice on health care litigation, as well as commercial litigation, representing doctors, hospitals and businesses in litigation matters. She previously served as a law clerk for Judge Sallie Updyke Mundy of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and Judge Richard A. Gray of the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas. She most recently served as an associate at McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC.

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Jennifer Strechay

Jennifer Strechay has joined The Foundation for Enhancing Communities in Harrisburg as program officer for community investment, replacing Jennifer Kuntch who recently moved into a new position. Prior to joining TFEC, she served the state of West Virginia as a grant officer and ADA coordinator.

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Kay E. Tipton

Kay E. Tipton has joined Saxton and Stump in Lancaster County as a patient safety and risk mitigation advisor, working with the firm’s health care clients on matters including risk reduction, prevention and patient safety. She most recently served 10 years as a legal coordinator at Holy Spirit Health System, a Geisinger Affiliate, in the hospital’s Risk Management Department.

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Jennifer Kuntch

Jennifer Kuntch was promoted to communications officer at The Foundation for Enhancing Communities in Harrisburg. Prior to this position, Kuntch managed TFEC’s discretionary grant making program, and previously TFEC’s scholarship program.

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Cassie Witman

Cassie Witman of Red Lion was named branch manager of Members 1st Federal Credit Union’s new branch located at 14601 Mt. Airy Road, Shrewsbury. Witman was previously assistant manager of the Mount Rose Avenue location. She has nine years of banking experience, eight of which have been at Members 1st.

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Allison Moesta Brubaker

Allison Moesta Brubaker was promoted to asset development and scholarship officer at The Foundation for Enhancing Communities in Harrisburg. Prior to this promotion, Brubaker managed the scholarship program for three years, and previously interned for TFEC.

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Dr. Ashraf Youssef

Dr. Ashraf Youssef has joined Holy Spirit Cancer Center as the medical director. Youssef, a board certified radiation oncologist, most recently worked for AtlantiCare in New Jersey. In addition to serving as faculty for several university radiation oncology programs, he served as medical director for the former Fox Chase Cancer Center. He completed both a residency in radiation oncology and a fellowship in brachytherapy at New York Methodist Hospital.

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Faith Elmes

Faith Elmes joined The Foundation for Enhancing Communities in Harrisburg as a scholarship associate. Elmes administers the scholarship program, including community outreach and promotion of scholarship opportunities.

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Dr. Jennifer Weber

Dr. Jennifer Weber has joined Holy Spirit Medical Group–A Geisinger Affiliate. Weber serves as medical director for extended care medicine. Weber most recently served at Messiah Lifeways as a staff physician in geriatrics.

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Cynthia Lewis

Cynthia Lewis, a nurse practitioner, has joined Holy Spirit Medical Group–A Geisinger Affiliate. She most recently served geriatric patients while employed by Senior Life York. She has worked with both Geisinger Health System and Holy Spirit Hospital.

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Heather LaManna

Heather LaManna joined The Foundation for Enhancing Communities in Harrisburg as the executive assistant to the president and CEO. Prior to joining TFEC, she worked as office manager for a dental office in Cumberland County.

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Alyssa R. Lynd

Alyssa R. Lynd has joined Skelly and Loy in Swatara Twp. as an environmental scientist in the firm’s Environmental Services Group. Lynd is assigned to transportation infrastructure improvement projects ranging from bridge rehabilitation to new intersection alignments for PennDOT.

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Kate Hynes

Kate Hynes, a lawyer at Stock and Leader was elected president of the YWCA York Junior Board in June. She initially joined the YWCA’s Junior Board in 2012. In her practice, Hynes counsels clients in the areas of business and commercial transactions, business planning, intellectual property, and commercial real estate and finance.

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Gareth Pahowka

Gareth Pahowka, a lawyer at Stock and Leader was elected board president of the Big Brothers Big Sisters York and Adams Counties chapter. He has spent more than 11 years as a volunteer mentor and was named Pennsylvania’s Big Brother of the Year in 2014. A former public school educator, Pahowka is a member of the firm’s School Law Group counseling school districts.

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File photo/Pennlive

Holy Spirit-A Geisinger Affiliate

Holy Spirit–A Geisinger Affiliate received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Atrial Fibrillation Silver award. The award recognizes Holy Spirit’s commitment and success by ensuring patients with atrial fibrillation receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. Get With The Guidelines-AFIB was developed to assist healthcare professionals to provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for patients with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke and other complications.

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Robert A. Aeppli

Robert A. Aeppli has joined the Environmental Services Group at Skelly and Loy in Swatara Twp. as an environmental compliance scientist. Aeppli has experience in many areas of the environmental and conservation fields such as ornithology, wildlife surveying and wetland identification.

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File photo/Pennlive

Holy Spirit Pulmonary Medicine

Holy Spirit–A Geisinger Affiliate has opened an outpatient pulmonary medicine practice, Holy Spirit Pulmonary Medicine at 897 Poplar Church Road, East Pennsboro Twp. Drs. David Sharashenidze, medical director, Anthony Perella and Nayneshkumar Patel, as well as Julia Deputy, a physician assistant, staff Holy Spirit Pulmonary Medicine. The providers treat patients with chronic airway disease, asthma, interstitial lung diseases, sarcoidosis, pulmonary hypertension, lung cancer, sleep medicine, and respiratory dysfunction in chronic neuromuscular disease. They also provide early identification and follow-up with patients who have pulmonary/lung nodules. Information: 717-857-0010.

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Photo by Sean Simmers.

Trade Talk

Trade Talk showcases the businesses in the midstate and the people who make them work. From companies who make iconic products to the small family businesses and everyone in between, we have a little bit of everything in the midstate. Midstate companies keep the economy moving, people working and communities thriving throughout the midstate.

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A correction officer strike and protests spread rapidly Tuesday to at least 25 prisons across upstate New York as prison guards demanded better work conditions. But the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) accused them of taking “illegal job action,” and Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered the New York Army National Guard to guard the facilities if the strike does not end Wednesday.

Protests formed at facilities from the Hudson Valley to the Western New York, where the actions started Monday with three unsanctioned strikes at Collins Correctional in Erie County, Elmira Correctional in Chemung County and Groveland Correctional Facility in Livingston County, according to the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA). By Tuesday, protests had grown to all seven of the state correctional facilities in Western New York and several more across upstate.

Visitations were cancelled until further notice at the Elmira, Attica, Auburn, Five Points, Upstate, Clinton, Wende and Eastern New York facilities. State Police were assisting DOCCS by providing outer perimeter security at several correctional facilities experiencing job action strikes or increased staff absences, troopers said.

Outside some facilities, it was unclear Tuesday if COs were refusing to go to work or only protesting. A union representative said the workers were frustrated by mandated 24-hour work shifts, while being disciplined and even fined if they refuse.

The strikes were not sanctioned by NYSCOPBA, as the state’s “Taylor Law” prohibits public employees from striking. The law states that those who strike will have two days’ worth of pay deducted from their salary for every day they’re out of work.

Correction officers who had refused to enter their workplaces issued demands for staffing and workplace changes, but also rescinding the HALT Act, which DOCCS said could not be changed through unilateral action and “would require changing laws and violating their own collective bargaining agreement.”

The strike comes only two weeks after the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death of Marcy Correctional inmate Robert Brooks a homicide. Body-worn camera footage released by the state attorney general shows multiple correction officers hitting Brooks, 43, while he was restrained at the prison. He died the next day at a hospital in Utica.

Hochul on Tuesday directed DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello and administration officials to meet with NYSCOPBA and end what she said was an “unlawful work stoppage that is causing significant public safety concerns across New York.” But she said she was preparing to send National Guard soldiers to DOCCS facilities Wednesday and directed lawyers to work with the state Office of the Attorney General on legal mechanisms such as the Taylor Law to compel employees to return to work.

“The illegal and unlawful actions being taken by a number of correction officers must end immediately,” Hochul said.

Some protesters, however, said on Tuesday that they weren’t about to quit the picket lines. Spectrum News 1 covered several of the rallies across upstate.

Washington Correctional Facility

Dozens of COs and retired COs rallied outside the Washington Correctional Facility in Comstock as part of the unauthorized – but well-organized – statewide strike. Fearful of retaliation, many people asked not to appear on camera. Retired COs spoke for them, claiming a deterioration in working conditions had been years in the making.

“We’re here to show our support,” said retired CO Mike Rovelli, who joined the picket line. “This is what they need. Change needs to happen.”

Group members said the worsening conditions include violence against prison staff, exposure to drugs and mandatory 24-hour shifts. They said they were also fighting a recent directive from the Martuscello.

“A week ago, he put out a memo to all superintendents, ‘You’re going to run your jail at 70%,’ and he said ‘70% is the new 100%,'” Rovelli said. “The jail couldn’t run properly or safely with 100% of staff. How is it going to run safely with 70% of the staff?”

The governor said Tuesday she has supported correction officers through increased salaries and benefits, contraband crackdowns and expanded recruitment efforts.

Rovelli said it wasn’t about money.

“Where in New York state do you have to work 24 hours without being able to go home?” he said.

Correction officers also called for reversing the HALT Act, which restricts the use of solitary confinement.

“When your kid misbehaves in school, there are repercussions. For the incarcerated population, there are no repercussions. There is no drug testing going on anymore. Drugs are running rampant in these facilities,” Rovelli said.

DOCCS officials pointed out that a lot of the demands would require new legislation. But protesters said it’s a sword they’ll fall on, and unless adequate change is made, they planned on being back out at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

– Spencer Conlin

Auburn Correctional Facility

Hundreds of striking correction officers and their supporters protested outside Auburn’s state prison Tuesday.

Brad Haskins worked as a CO for seven years, most recently at the Auburn prison, but resigned from the position in 2022.

“I resigned because there were a lot of issues going on with the department. It started small and I feel like it snowballed into something bigger,” Haskins said. “We weren’t able to defend ourselves and there were dangerous conditions.”

Contraband, including drugs and weapons, would come into the prison on a daily basis, Haskins said.

“I would have stayed in this job. It has good retirement, good benefits. There’s a lot of good reasons to work here in that aspect, but it got to the point where I felt it was too dangerous,” Haskins said.

While he no longer works in the facility, Haskins said he came out to support his former colleagues.

A current employee of the prison who requested anonymity due to the potential repercussions he could face said officers are being required to work double and occasionally triple shifts.

“We have recruitment and retention problems. People are leaving in droves because they can’t take this anymore. You have guards getting stuck for triple shifts, 24 hours, weekly,” he said.

Being short-staffed creates security issues, the employee said. He feels like those in charge are not listening to their concerns.

“They think we’re full of it and we’re not full of it. We work the jail. We’re boots on the ground; we pull the handles every day. We see it firsthand, and it doesn’t matter. It does not matter (to state leaders),” he said.

He and other employees have been in contact with their colleagues on the inside, and they are not allowed to leave.

“We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure that they’re taken care of. Obviously, they’re our brothers as well in there and unfortunately, because New York state refuses to let people out of work, they’re stuck in there,” he said.

In an internal memorandum from Feb. 10, Martuscello acknowledged the issues with staffing which the employee said increases the danger facing COs and other staff.

“You’re dwindling your security coverage and there’s civilian staff that also work in there. You have civilians running the library, the shops, the industries and now they’re less covered. It’s like everything they’re doing is backwards,” he said.

– Emily Kenny

Attica Correctional Facility

Correction officers Tuesday protested outside Attica Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison and site of the worst prison uprising in American history.

“These men and women are in danger every day, especially in a maximum-security prison, excuse me, in every prison in New York state,” said Kevin Brun.

He worked inside Attica’s walls for more than three decades as a correction officer and sergeant. Now retired, he stood outside with his colleagues and friends calling for change.

“The time has come for these men and women to make a stand and show Governor Hochul that we’re not gonna take it anymore,” he said.

The crowd consisted of current and former correction officers and their supporters from Attica and the nearby Wyoming Correctional Facility.

“They need to get what they deserve and be treated with respect. It’s a poor work environment and nobody cares in government,” said Mark Achatz, a retired CO.

“What are they risking? Their jobs. And a lot of these guys are walking off the job because they’re mandated to work three shifts in a row, 24 hours straight,” said Chuck Johnson, a retired correction sergeant.

He spoke near the deadliest prison uprising in American history took place in 1971. Forty-three people lost their lives, including 11 correction officers.

“It’s unified, we’re together, we’re standing right in front of you, governor. We’re standing in front of the Department of Corrections and we’re not moving. We’re going to hold the line until change and safety has returned to men and women that work these prisons every day,” said Brun.

– Wendy Wright

Riverview Correctional Facility

With Hank Williams Jr. blaring in the background, about 100 correction officers, family members and retired COs rallied outside of the Riverview Correctional Facility in Ogdensburg on Tuesday.

Rallygoers made it very clear: If things don’t change, the state can take and keep the jobs.

“Oh, it’s horrible, it’s horrible. I mean, when you’re getting ready to go in to work the day before, you’re literally feel like you’re ready to throw up because, you know, you’re going to go into work and it’s going to be a battleground,” Riverview correction officer Andrew Lauson said.

Lauson has been here for seven years. He says right now, morale is at an all-time low and he is not sure it can get any lower.

“I mean, they’ve pushed us to the point where we can’t do this anymore,” said Lauson.

He said he realizes he is putting his career in jeopardy by being outspoken, but says he is willing to risk it because he can no longer watch his brothers and sisters be treated in this way.

Attendees said they were not striking, but holding an information rally, a picket to let the state know they are fed up.

“These people have been convicted of breaking a rule of law and society, and then they come in here, and then there’s no rules for them to follow,” Lauson said.

He said the three biggest changes needed are repealing the HALT Act, getting rid of body-worn cameras because, he says, officers are afraid to take any action under such scrutiny, and banning 24-hour shifts.

Picketers were joined by state Sen. Mark Walczyk and state Assemblyman Scott Gray. Both Republican lawmakers said these COs need to be heard.

“The union deserves better working conditions. It’s up to the governor and it’s up to the commissioner to figure that out,” Gray said.

– Brian Dwyer

Eastern New York Correctional Facility

In the Hudson Valley, active and retired correction officers gathered near the Ulster and Eastern New York correctional facilities in Ulster County, calling for a repeal of the HALT Act.

Jason Waugh, a retired sergeant from the Eastern New York Correctional Facility, said COs are overworked and underpaid.

“The staffing crisis that’s going on, it’s mandating people work 24-hour-plus shifts, which is very unsafe, unhealthy,” Waugh said. “It’s causing family strife. It’s causing illnesses.”

He said he hopes to wake up government officials by noting what he said was inhumane working conditions for correction officers across the state.

– Darcie Ortique

The strike comes after an incident at Collins Correctional last week that led to three reported minor injuries to staff members and the prison going into lockdown.

“That was just a tipping point out here,” said Pamela Welch, executive treasurer of NYSCOPBA. “We’ve had, upstate has had, multiple exposures, repeated exposures, all across the state. Midstate’s had them. Marcy’s had them. It’s not isolated out west. This is statewide and the state’s been ignoring it.”

While the union cannot condone the strikes, Welch says they are “understandable.”

“This is a big enough problem as it is,” said Welch. “As far as the members, they’ve had enough. They don’t care if it’s going to cost them their job. They don’t care. They’re tired of going into work every single day, being unsafe and being treated worse than the inmates and they’ve reached their boiling point.”

The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) released a statement Monday, saying:

“Since Commissioner Martuscello took office, the State negotiated a new labor agreement with NYSCOPBA that includes yearly salary increases, increases in location pay, and paid parental leave. We have also instituted new policies and procedures to reduce the amount of contraband entering our facilities to increase the safety of all within our facilities. We value our employees and are dedicated to continuing the recruiting efforts to increase security staffing in all DOCCS correctional facilities to restore the important work life balance for all.

“The job actions initiated by some rogue NYSCOPBA members, at Collins and Elmira Correctional Facilities this morning are illegal and unlawful. We are committed to engaging the union in order to return staff to work and resume normal operations at the two facilities.

“Visitation at both facilities have been cancelled until further notice.”

In Mayor Noel Harty’s decade of attending public meetings in the Southern Indiana city of Loogootee, population 2,600, hardly anyone has ever shown up.

But in early 2020, a discussion of one highway project left standing room only in the Loogootee High School auditorium, which seats 600.

“And that was before the route was chosen,” he said.

The kind of project they came out in droves to hear about is equally rare.

The Mid-States Corridor is a proposed 50-mile highway roughly following U.S. 231 with cost estimates near $1 billion, built for the express purpose of boosting economic activity in Southern Indiana. The only other comparable endeavor in the area in recent living memory is the I-69 project.

It’s also rare because, if approved, it would be the first time Indiana has used a new method of funding major highways, created by a 2017 law.

That law authorizes a Regional Development Authority — a public entity spanning multiple cities or counties whose appointed board helps plan and fund economic development projects — to directly leverage federal funding for regional transportation infrastructure projects, such as the Mid-States Corridor, which affects a 12-county region.

To get this process rolling, the RDA behind the Mid-States — rather than state agencies like INDOT, which typically initiates projects of this scale — raised money to pay for a thick federally required environmental study, which published this spring.

Local entities commonly seek federal grants to fund projects. This legislation grants the power to a collaboration of entities — the multiple local governments that formed the RDA, whose funding may come from a combination of public and private dollars — to seek federal money and partner with the state on regional highway projects, therefore expanding the RDA’s ability to finance large-scale projects and leverage private dollars.

To industry leaders in Southern Indiana, the highway is a crucial means of reducing travel time to business centers and presenting a lifeline to a region that’s losing population and needs better connectivity for jobs. To critics, it’s an example of business leaders pitching their dollars toward a huge project that benefits them, at the expense of more than 1,000 acres of farmland, karst and cave areas and up to 100 homes.

At a Huntingburg city council meeting in February, Mark Schroeder, chair of the Mid-States Corridor RDA, told councilors he believes this partnership could be a model for future infrastructure projects.

Watching on YouTube, Mark Nowotarski, active in the Coalition Against the Mid-States Corridor, thought to himself, “What will be next?”

Origins of the Mid-States Corridor

The U.S. 231 corridor has been studied off and on since the 1990s.

In 1993, the Indiana Department of Transportation commissioned a study to identify ways to improve traffic service and capacity on the road within Dubois County, in the areas of Jasper and Huntingburg. The study came up with some bypass ideas, but none came to fruition.

In 2004, INDOT approved a draft Environmental Impact Statement — a federally required document investigating a project’s costs and impacts to land and resources — for the same 20-mile span of U.S. 231.

Doing nothing on this road would have fewer environmental impacts, the 2004 study noted, but would not be consistent with “the intended function of U.S. 231 as a regional mobility corridor and a commerce corridor.”

A final Environmental Impact Statement was never approved or published. In early 2010, INDOT and the Federal Highway Administration decided to update the 2004 data in a new statement published in 2011.

In 2014, the federal government withdrew both the 2004 and 2011 studies, saying the project is “no longer warranted” after reevaluating the traffic information, according to the Federal Register notice.

But the effort to build a new highway only expanded.

The I-67 Development Corporation, a coalition of business leaders and elected officials, commissioned a feasibility study in 2012 of an interstate project that would connect Nashville to western Michigan, with one section spanning what is roughly now the proposed 50-mile Mid-States: starting at I-64, bypassing Huntingburg and Jasper to the east, and tying into I-69.

Cambridge Systematics, the author, interviewed industrial leaders to determine their transportation connection needs to improve freight movement in the region, arguing that an efficient network is essential to keeping Indiana competitive. The study specifically called out the benefits for companies like Jasper Engines and furniture manufacturers in the area.

In 2014, the I-67 corporation renamed that southern Indiana portion the Mid-States Corridor. Several corporation members — including Hank Menke, CEO of Huntingburg-based furniture manufacturer OFS Brands, and then-Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann — also participated in former Gov. Mike Pence’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Transportation Infrastructure, which named the Mid-States Corridor a second-tier priority for the state.

But projects don’t actually get built without the say-so of the state and federal transportation agencies.

Sen. Mark Messmer, R-Jasper, who is vice president of Jasper-based plumbing company Messmer Mechanics, authored Senate Bill 128, which became the law allowing an RDA to apply for federal money and partner with INDOT on funding regional transportation infrastructure projects.

Through a spokesperson, Messmer declined IndyStar’s request for comment.

Dubois and Spencer counties and the cities of Jasper and Huntingburg formed the Mid-States Corridor RDA in 2017. The RDA struck up an agreement with INDOT in 2018 to embark on the environmental impact study process, a requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act for projects expected to use federal dollars and have significant impacts to land and resources. INDOT contracted civil engineering consultant Lochmeuller Group to put together the draft Environmental Impact Statement, or DEIS, which published in April.

The study identifies two main purposes for the highway: to improve business and personal connectivity in the region, and to improve highway access to multi-modal business locations such as Indianapolis and Louisville. Relieving congestion in Dubois County, a key purpose of previous U.S. 231 studies, is now a secondary goal for the Mid-States.

The preferred route identified in the study would save an estimated 2-5 minutes in travel time to most destinations, with the greatest savings of 9-15 minutes from the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center to Rockport. Business leaders interviewed for the study identified highway access, unpredictable delivery times and increased freight costs as key inhibitors to business growth and attraction, in a region where population growth has for decades lagged behind the state and nation.

The study projects an annual growth in the region’s gross domestic product by somewhere between $314 million and $451 million and an increase of between 1,700 and 2,500 jobs, at the expense of potentially 600 to 900 acres of forest, 1,400 to 1,800 acres of farmland and 75 to 100 homes.

While acknowledging farmland as an important resource, the study says the economic benefits of the highway would “more than compensate for these impacts,” through better market access and reduced transportation costs for supplies.

The calculation feels different for David Ring, fifth-generation owner of Ring Farms in Dubois County. Based on the map of the preferred route, his 140-acre plot where he grows award-winning bushels of corn would be spliced in half. In a market where not many farmers are looking to sell, he doesn’t see the land as replaceable.

“That’s our livelihood,” he said. “That land is our factory.”

Business involvement in public infrastructure projects

Though the Mid-States is the first example in the state of an RDA undertaking the federal highway study process, it’s certainly not the first example of such stakeholders having heavy involvement.

All projects of this scale involve stakeholder and public engagement. Local public agencies frequently participate financially in projects.

What’s different in the 2017 law is the ability for this regional body to apply directly to the largest source of money available, the federal government, to strengthen their purchasing power on projects impacting multiple counties, rather than relying on state distributions. The law also allows an RDA to seek low-interest loans from the Indiana Finance Authority.

“It’s a leverage point,” said Tom Guevara, director of Indiana University’s Public Policy Institute. “It’s a new financing arrow in their quiver.”

This is especially significant as President Joe Biden’s new infrastructure law is set to significantly increase available federal money over the next five years.

People keep dying in crashes on Indianapolis streets. What can actually be done about it?

“I do think it has the potential to be a vehicle of the future that kind of represents how local dollars may be a part of the mix,” Schroeder, the RDA chairman, told IndyStar. “The involvement of locals allows the state to stretch their dollars farther.”

The RDA mechanism certainly can help raise the profile of a project that wasn’t previously on INDOT’s radar, said Purdue University Professor Emeritus Kumares Sinha. Schroeder acknowledged that was likely the case with this project.

This may make more transparent what is a common stakeholder relationship, Sinha said.

“The idea is nothing new, and it is good the local areas are buying in in a more explicit way, putting their money where their mouth is,” he said.

The project proposal for a U.S. 231 bypass around Jasper and Huntingburg appeared in INDOT’s State Transportation Improvement Program for 2010-13, a four-year planning document outlining projects that the state plans to help fund. Planning documents since then have not programmed dollars to study the corridor.

The RDA raised $6.5 million in public and private dollars, including inputs from Dubois County and the cities of Jasper and Huntingburg, to pay for the draft EIS. Private donors contributed $3.7 million, including nearly half a million from Jasper Engines. The list of private donors, a copy of which was obtained and authenticated by IndyStar, is heavily redacted, as state law allows those who donate to public agencies to request nondisclosure.

This does not guarantee the project’s completion.

“The EIS just signals that somebody is willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars studying it,” said Michael Hicks, economics professor at Ball State University. “Which, for roads, is background noise.”

As mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, the draft EIS undergoes independent review by agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the state historic preservation office, and others. The final decision on whether to proceed with the project comes from state and federal transportation officials.

From Evansville: Person who worked on Mid-States Corridor now opposes road

The fact that an RDA is the genesis of this project does not change that federally mandated process and criteria, Jason DuPont, Lochmeuller’s project manager for the Mid-States Corridor, wrote via email.

Those transportation agencies know their decision must stand up to legal scrutiny, given that public dollars are at stake, said Ken Westlake, deputy director of the EPA’s Office of Multimedia Programs.

“NEPA is intended to be a very transparent process,” he said. “Ultimately INDOT and FHWA will have to stand behind their document.”

Hicks similarly has confidence in the NEPA process, noting that the era of earmarks, which subjected public projects to the whims of powerful politicians, is long gone.

He has sat on independent EIS review teams, and said projects have to prove a broader economic benefit beyond the scope of just a few business interests to pass muster.

“It’s more bureaucratic now, but it introduces a very high level of scrutiny on the project that didn’t exist in the 1950s when many of these highways were built,” he said. “If that road is just a benefit to somebody making wood products or shipping, it won’t get built. Because roads are expensive as all get-out.”

Will the Mid-States get built?

Because of the size of the project, the funders decided to pursue a two-tier study. The first tier, published in April, gives a broad evaluation of the project’s potential impacts. The second tier, yet unfunded, would get into specifics on smaller chunks of the project.

Each of those chunks could take years and cost about what the Tier 1 study cost, Schroeder said. No entity has committed dollars yet to Tier 2.

Generally, a project doesn’t move to the end of the NEPA process unless there’s an expectation it’ll get funded, Westlake said. In the case of the Mid-States corridor, that could be in excess of $1 billion.

Key to the NEPA process is the public input, which independent reviewers are obligated to weigh. That public comment period, which ended June 14, was dissenters’ best opportunity to have an impact.

Dozens of local businesses and environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the Hoosier Environmental Council, penned a letter in 2020 urging INDOT to halt the planning of the project. The Coalition Against the Mid-States Corridor has written letters to INDOT and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, marched around the Dubois County courthouse and hosted several crowded town halls.

They don’t want any more taxpayer dollars allocated toward future studies of a project they view as unnecessary, Nowotarski, a Jasper resident, said.

“We’re trying to plant seeds early,” he said.

From 2020: Businesses, groups call on INDOT to stop planning highway project

Dissenters were dubious of the need for building new highway terrain when Gov. Eric Holcomb announced last year $75 million in improvements on U.S. 231 in the exact stretch of the proposed Mid-States.

“This project represents ridiculous extravagance and fiscal waste on the part of the political leaders supporting this project,” Indiana Forest Alliance Executive Director Jeff Stant said in a statement following the April release of the draft EIS. “There is zero need — unless you own a trucking company — to build a new-terrain road right beside 231 when the state has already committed $75 million to upgrade to 231.”

Those upgrades were considered in the crafting of the DEIS, according to the Mid-States Corridor website.

Schroeder pushes back against the claim that just a few freight companies benefit from the highway, noting the list of donors spans a variety of organizations and people.

“Clearly, there’s a fair amount of industry in Dubois County, and better connectivity would certainly benefit them,” he said. “But I think everyone who donated understands that this is a long-term strategy.”

Given the length of the review process, even a successful project is at minimum a decade away.

“There’s certainly a lot of review that goes on,” said Tim Maloney, senior policy director for the Hoosier Environmental Council. “I guess we’re just more cynical.”

Cynical, he said, of the objectivity of the premise of the project.

There’s no denying the political nature to these major decisions, experts said.

“Everyone has a stake in it, everyone has an important argument to make,” Guevara, of IU, said. “The question comes down to: whose argument do they give the greatest weight to?”

Ring, the farmer, is buoyed by the sea change in resident involvement he’s observed over the last several years. Back then, when he tried to rile up his neighbors, he said he was often met with a jaded, it’ll-happen-regardless attitude. But now, he’s seeing a vocal contingent rising to meet his enthusiastic opposition.

“I think the momentum has shifted. Whether or not it’s enough, that’s the question,” he said. “We’re not just laying down and dying.”

Contact IndyStar transportation reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.

Megan Babp Cook, brand manager at Traditions of America

Rachel Tereska

Kay Pickering, president of Neighborhood Dispute Settlement

Jim Krut

Duane Kanagy

Trade Talk showcases the businesses in the midstate and the people who make them work. From companies who make iconic products to the small family businesses and everyone in between, we have a little bit of everything in the midstate. Midstate companies keep the economy moving, people working and communities thriving throughout the midstate.

For the latest business events in the area, check out PennLive’s Event Calendar and select the business category.

Follow Trade Talk and Business Buzz on Twitter and Facebook.

The over-55 community in Silver Spring Twp., Traditions of America at Silver Spring was recognized for excellence by the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Harrisburg with five Pyramid Awards. The Home Builders Association honored Traditions of America at Silver Spring in five areas: Best Single Family Community over $250,000; Best New Website; Best Community Logo; Best One Page Mailer: Fall 2014 invitation to a “Live Better Now” event; Best Single Family Model/Spec Home 2,001 – 3,000-square-feet, $400,000 to $500,000: the “Betsy Ross” model 203 Turn Out to “Live Local, Live Better.”

York County-based Newell, Tereska & MacKay Engineering principal Rachel Tereska of Hummelstown was named one of the “25 Women of Influence” for 2015 by the Central Penn Business Journal. She has over 15 years of water resources engineering experience. She co-founded the company in 2006.

The Dauphin County Bar Association presented the Liberty Bell Award to Neighborhood Dispute Settlement for its work in the Harrisburg community. The award honors an individual non-lawyer or non-legal organization that has contributed to the legal community through service activities. Since 1978, the organization has provided a neutral, non-violent setting for disputing parties. It provides trained and experienced mediators to facilitate cooperation between the parties, without regard to ability to pay.

A book chronicling the history of Adams Electric Cooperative and authored by two Gettysburg residents has won a gold award from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Council of Rural Electric Communicators. “The Fight for Power: An electric cooperative changes south central Pennsylvania forever” was released in the summer of 2014 at the beginning of the cooperative’s 75th anniversary year. It was selected as part of the Council’s 2015 Spotlight on Excellence awards. Co-authors Jim Krut and Duane Kanagy spent over two and a half years researching and writing the 136-page work.

Phoenix Contact in Lower Paxton Twp. has received a 2015 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence for its combined cooling, heating, and power system. This is the second year in a row that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recognized Phoenix Contact for a project that promotes environmental stewardship and economic development. The combined cooling, heating, and power system went online last spring as part of a major expansion at Phoenix Contact’s U.S. headquarters.

The Susquehanna Chapter of the Association for Bridge Construction and Design has recognized Lancaster County-based Rettew in appreciation of the design of Mill No. 3 Bridge. The structure is located in West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, over Mill Creek and known locally as Eckman Road Bridge.

The American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys has recognized Attorney Kristen Weisenberger as one of the 10 Best Criminal Law Attorneys in 2015 for Client Satisfaction. The American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys is a third-party attorney rating organization that publishes an annual list of the Top 10 Criminal Law attorneys in each state. Weisenberger is an attorney at Perry Shore Weisenberger & Zemlock in Harrisburg.

Several public service professionals received awards during the annual Public Service Recognition Week Dinner of the American Society for Public Administration’s Central Pennsylvania Chapter on May 7. Gene Barr, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, received the Lifetime Achievement Award; Rick Schuettler, executive director of the Pennsylvania Municipal League, received the Excellence in Public Service Award; Jennifer Horn, information specialist at McCormick Taylor received the Outstanding Young Professional in Public Administration Award.

PinnacleHealth System was recognized with an “A” grade in Leapfrog Group’s Spring 2015 Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from accidents, errors, injuries and infections.

Central Penn College’s annual Business Partner of the Year award recipient is Spring Creek Rehabilitation Center which was selected because of its continued support of Central Penn College.

Trade Talk showcases the businesses in the midstate and the people who make them work. From companies who make iconic products to the small family businesses and everyone in between, we have a little bit of everything in the midstate. Midstate companies keep the economy moving, people working and communities thriving throughout the midstate. Businesses can e-mail submissions for business awards to bizawards@pennlive.com.

You can find Trade Talk and other business news at www.pennlive.com/business.

Doug Berman

Doug Berman was recognized as Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by Leadership York. Berman is managing partner of Reinsel Kuntz Lesher’s York office and leads the company’s Not-for-Profit Industry Group. He is a graduate of the Leadership Training Program class of 2002.

Malcolm Halliday (right) receives award from John J. Hudak Jr.

Sysco Central Pennsylvania Corporate Chef Malcolm Halliday received the 2013 President’s Special Recognition Award from the American Culinary Federation’s Northeast chapter.

Phoenix Contact in Middletown received a 2014 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence for the SunPlug project, a solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection selected 19 projects that promote environmental stewardship and economic development.

The Circular at The Hotel Hershey was recognized with the Achievement of Excellence Award at the 2014 American Culinary Federation (ACF) Northeast Regional Conference. The Circular at The Hotel Hershey is one of eight operations to receive the award during ACF’s Northeast Regional Conference. The award recognizes food service establishments that exemplify a commitment to excellence.

Caeser’s Pizza, Wings & Subs was named the April 2014 Mayor’s Merchant of the Month. Caeser’s Pizza, Wings & Subs is located at 1125 Roosevelt Ave., York.

WGAL 8 was the recipient of a Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters “Excellence in Broadcasting” award at the organization’s statewide convention in Hershey. WGAL won a first place award for “Outstanding Television Promotion Announcement/ Campaign.” The award was presented for WGAL 8’s series of promos titled “WGAL News 8 Today.” The spots advertise WGAL News 8’s weekday morning newscasts and feature WGAL News 8 anchors Lori Burkholder and Jere Gish in individual promos. Assistant Promotion Manager Liz Montijo produced the series; The February 2014 ratings book from the Nielsen Survey shows WGAL’s “News 8 Today at 6AM,” “News 8 at Noon,” “News 8 at 6PM” and “News 8 at 11” broadcasts all maintained the distinction of having the largest share of audience for local newscasts in their time period in the Top 50 Markets of the United States; WGAL’s “News 8 Today at 6AM” delivered a 38.7 Household Share in the February 2014 Nielsen Survey and WGAL’s, “News 8 at Noon” had a 30.2 share, “News at 6PM” had a 33 share and the “News at 11” had a 32.9 share. This “share” number represents a percentage of television sets in use which are tuned to a specific station.

Donegal Group Inc. of Marietta was named to a list of “America’s 50 Most Trustworthy Financial Companies,” ranking the company among firms that have consistently demonstrated transparent and conservative accounting practices and solid corporate governance and management as determined by GMI Ratings.

The Radio and Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) has announced its 2014 Edward R. Murrow Award recipients. Abc27 News Senior Photojournalist Eric Heisler was a 2014 Edward R. Murrow Award recipient and won in the “Use of Sound/Video” category in The Radio and Television Digital News Association’s Region 11. Heisler’s winning entry included several stories he shot and edited in 2013 including a profile of a Harrisburg city police officer handing out flowers on Valentine’s Day; an emotional reunion between a father and his baby twins after his 9 month deployment overseas; a blood drive held by a high school assistant principal in the name of his seven-year-old daughter who suffers from a mysterious blood disorder and a profile of the fight to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania told through the eyes of a local family that is on the front line of the issue.

Siegrist’s Mill Covered Bridge

The Association for Bridge Construction and Design’s Susquehanna Chapter chose Rettew’s Siegrist’s Mill Covered Bridge restoration project for its Outstanding Context Sensitive Solution Bridge Design Award. Siegrist’s Mill Covered Bridge is among the oldest of 20 Lancaster County-owned covered wooden bridges and was originally built in 1885. In September of 2011 floodwaters from Tropical Storm Lee ripped the historic treasure from its foundation and into Chiques Creek, causing extensive damage to the original structure. The team, which also included Bulldog Construction Co. Inc. and Lancaster County Timber Frames Inc. completed the rebuild in less than two years.

Lee Sholly

Lee W. Sholly of Jonestown Bank & Trust was inducted into the 50-Year Club of the Pennsylvania Bankers Association. Sholly, retired from the bank’s board of directors. Sholly began his career in 1964 as an auditor at the Lebanon County Trust Company.

Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc. in Harrisburg was named one of the top 500 design firms in the United States by Engineering News-Record magazine. The firm has held this distinction for over a decade.

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine announced the following: The Penn State Hershey Cystic Fibrosis Center was presented with the Outstanding Partner Award by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; Penn State Hershey was named one of the 30 Most Nurse-Friendly Hospitals in the United States by TopRNtoBSN.com; Jamie Ober, a nurse and research study coordinator in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, was named Nurse of the Year in Central Penn Parent’s Healthcare Heroes Awards; Greg Baiocchi, a Four Diamonds social worker at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital was named Social Worker of the Year by Make-A-Wish Philadelphia and Susquehanna Valley; Mary Lou Osevala, a nurse practitioner in the heart failure program of Penn State Hershey Heart and Vascular Institute, received the Heart Failure Award from the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association and Rachel Yadrnak, a pediatric hematology/oncology nurse at Penn State Hershey, was recognized by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority.

KBW, a Stifel company and an investment bank and broker-dealer that specializes in the financial services sector, named ACNB Corporation to its 2013 KBW Bank Honor Roll. This Bank Honor Roll features the top 31 U.S. banking institutions based upon superior performance.

Presbyterian Senior Living in Dillsburg was recognized with three Distinguished Service Awards from LeadingAge PA. The senior care organization was recognized for innovation and outstanding volunteer service, and Presbyterian Senior Living’s chief operating officer was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Presbyterian Senior Living Chief Operating Officer Jim Bernardo received the Paul Haas Lifetime Achievement Award. Bernardo has been at the center of quality improvement at Presbyterian Senior Living since he began his tenure in 1985. A partnership between Presbyterian Senior Living’s Presbyterian Apartments and PinnacleHealth was recognized as a model of innovation and excellence and for its contributions to the quality of life for the individuals served. The Care Navigation Program has been in operation since 2012 and is a collaboration between a housing provider and the health system.

The Pennsylvania Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession honored law offices that have programs or initiatives that are helping women lawyers continue and advance in their professions. Twelve law firms were named to the 2014 Honor Roll of Legal Organizations Welcoming Women Professionals including: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of General Counsel, Harrisburg; Cozen O’Connor, Harrisburg; Daley Zucker Meilton & Miner LLC, Harrisburg; Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC, Harrisburg; Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin PC, Harrisburg; Pepper Hamilton LLP, Harrisburg and Willig Williams & Davidson, Harrisburg. Sarah C. Yerger of Harrisburg was honored with the Lynnette Norton Award. The Norton Award is presented annually to a female attorney who excels in litigation skills and who is devoted to mentoring female lawyers.

Jonestown Bank & Trust Co. earned the 94th spot in the 2014 list of Top 200 Community Banks and Thrifts, as ranked nationally by American Banker magazine. This is JBT’s fifth consecutive year of ranking in the top 100, and sixth year in the top 200. JBT is also ranked 18 among the top 20 Pennsylvania community banks listed, and is the only community bank in Lebanon, Lancaster and Dauphin Counties to be within that group.

Harrisburg design professional Barbara Tabak was named Second Runner-up Decorator of the Year by Decorating Den Interiors, a interior design and home furnishings franchise company. Tabak’s design and furnishings of a newly built veranda won first place in the outdoor category of the company’s 30th annual international Dream Room Competition and was selected as the third best room overall. Tabak launched Decorating Den Interiors in the Greater Harrisburg area in 1998.

Handyman Services of New Cumberland was selected as a winner of the 2014 Best of HomeAdvisor Award. The Best of HomeAdvisor Award recognizes top industry professionals based on exceptional quality, service and value. The program awards top rated service professionals in the HomeAdvisor network.

Jack Gaughen Realtor ERA was ranked as a top company in both sales volume and transaction sides among Harrisburg/York/Lancaster residential real estate companies in 2013 By RealTrends500 Report. NRT LLC, the parent company of Jack Gaughen Realtor ERA, was ranked as the number one residential real estate brokerage firm in the United States based on sales volume and transaction sides for the 17th consecutive year.

Michael De Stefano

Michael F. De Stefano of Elizabethtown received the Volunteer Service Award from the South Central Chapter of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. De Stefano is the chief financial officer specializing in corporate accounting for Petroleum Products Corp. in Middletown.

Brett Wesson

Brett Wesson of Wohlsen Construction Company in Lancaster won the Gold Medal at the National Associated Builders and Contractors Craft Championship. Wesson took the top honor in the Carpentry division. In order to qualify for the National competition Wesson had to place first at the local level through the Keystone Chapter of ABC. Wohlsen’s craft professionals have won the National Gold Medal three times in the last four years. Wesson also received the new National Craft Competition Safety Award at the competition. This award is given to one competitor in the Carpentry Division.

Holy Spirit Hospital was honored with an “A” grade in the latest update to the Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from accidents, errors, injuries and infections. The Hospital Safety Score is administered by The Leapfrog Group (Leapfrog), an independent industry watchdog.

Left to right are Dale Coleianne, Konica Minolta; Bill Fix, Konica Minolta; Ken Weigle, vice president of Service, Quality Digital Office Technology; Roger Smith, Konica Minolta.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. announced that Quality Digital Office Technology of York and Camp Hill was honored with a 2014 Pro-Tech Service Award, which recognizes those Konica Minolta dealerships that demonstrate the highest commitment to customer support and satisfaction.

Gareth Pahowka

School Law Attorney Gareth D. Pahowka of Mechanicsburg and an attorney at Stock and Leader LLP in York was named the 2014 Big Brother of the Year of Pennsylvania by the Big Brothers Big Sisters State Association. Recognized for his constant presence at match activities and fundraising events, Pahowka has served as a volunteer mentor for the past six years. Pahowka is a former teacher and is a member of Stock and Leader’s School Law Group.

The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) has presented awards to members for outstanding leadership in the legal profession and extraordinary service and longstanding membership in the association including: Magisterial District Judge Kathryn H. Silcox, Mechanicsburg: PBA President’s Award – for outstanding commitment and leadership to the PBA Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee; Bridget E. Montgomery, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC, Harrisburg: Special Achievement Award – for her dedicated service as co-chair of the PBA Task Force on the Code of Judicial Conduct; Jane E. Meyer, Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas, Harrisburg: Special Achievement Award – for writing and editing the annual PBA High School Mock Trial Competition case; Samuel W. Milkes, Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Harrisburg: Special Achievement Award – for dedicated service as co-chair of the Pennsylvania Access to Justice Coalition to ensure improved access to civil legal representation; James H. Rowland Jr., Law Offices of James J. Rowland Jr., Harrisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award; William R. Davis Jr., Glen & Glen, Chambersburg: Fifty-Year Member Award; R. Hart Beaver, Richland: Fifty-Year Member Award; Philip H. Feather, Feather & Feather PC, Annville: Fifty-Year Member Award; C. Walter Whitmoyer Jr., C. Walter Whitmoyer Jr. Law Offices, Lebanon: Fifty-Year Member Award; William F. Hoffmeyer, Hoffmeyer & Semmelman LLP, York: PBA President’s Award – for outstanding commitment and leadership to the PBA Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee; Louis F. Del Duca of Carlisle, professor emeritus at the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, was awarded the Bar Medal, the highest honor conferred by the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He is the tenth person to receive the award in the 119-year history of the association.

Coldwell Banker Select Professionals announced that its Camp Hill sales office was recognized as the number one affiliate office in Pennsylvania for the full year of 2013. The office, which houses approximately sixty real estate agents, was named the Number One Office in Closed Adjusted Gross Commission Income in Pennsylvania for independently owned and operated affiliated companies in the Coldwell Banker system in 2013. In addition, the Camp Hill office achieved “Premier Office” status within the Coldwell Banker Network for the second consecutive year, based on average agent sales performance.

Mid Penn Bancorp Inc., parent company of Mid Penn Bank in Millersburg was featured on American Banker magazine’s “Top 200 Community Bank” list for 2013.

Coldwell Banker Real Estate recently honored a number of Realtors within its international sales network of approximately 85,000 agents for their outstanding sales performances. Matthew Greene joined the International President’s Premier, representing the top one percent of all sales associates worldwide. Eric Hoffer joined the International President’s Elite, representing the top three of all sales associates worldwide. Steve Bickford joined the International President’s Circle, representing the top six percent of all sales associates worldwide. Kimberly Leggett, Carie Senic and Lee Smith of the Smith Top Team, and Nancy Schappell joined the International Diamond Society, representing the top 11 percent of all sales associates worldwide. Christine Book-Storm and John Taylor joined the International Sterling Society, representing the top 16 percent of all sales associates worldwide. The Jennifer Hollister Group was recognized as an International President’s Elite Team, representing the top eight percent of all sales teams in North America. The team consists of Jennifer Hollister, Jennifer Kuntz, Russell Dugan and Allison Rapsey. The Elizabeth Knouse Team was recognized as an International President’s Circle Team, representing the top 18 percent of all sales teams in North America. The team consists of Elizabeth Knouse-Foote and Jim Priar Jr. The Neil Barr Team, The Campbell Burke Team, The Chriss Team and The Freundel Team were recognized as International Sterling Society Teams, representing the top 38 percent of all sales teams in North America. The Neil Barr Team consists of Neil Barr and Terry Barr. The Campbell Burke Team consists of Loretta Campbell and Lisa Burke. The Chriss Team consists of Clarence Chriss and Peggy Chris. The Freundel Team consists of Bill Freundel and Louise Freundel. Melissa Anderson of the Harrisburg sales office joined the International President’s Circle, representing the top six percent of all sales associates worldwide. Andrea Keiper of the Hershey sales office and Audrey Wentling of the Lebanon sales office joined the International Diamond Society, representing the top 11 percent of all sales associates worldwide. Team Jernigan of the Lebanon sales office was recognized as an International President’s Elite Team, representing the top eight percent of all sales teams in North America. The team consists of John Jernigan, Carol Jernigan, Jocelyn Petrozziello and Samuel Breidenstine. The Bedorf-Prince Team of the Harrisburg sales office was recognized as an International President’s Circle Team, representing the top 18 percent of all sales teams in North America. The team consists of Jim Bedorf, Justin Prince, Alex Prince and Dylan Gallucci. Team Shope of the Lebanon sales office and The Tricia Como Team of the Hershey sales office were recognized as International Diamond Society Teams, representing the top 27 percent of all sales teams in North America. Josh Shope is the team leader of Team Shope and Tricia Como leads the Tricia Como Team.

Gannett Fleming in Cumberland County earned a spot on Electrical Construction & Maintenance magazine’s 2014 Top 40 Electrical Design Firms list. The magazine ranked Gannett Fleming number 13, a jump of seven spots compared to the firm’s rank of number 20 in 2013. The list compares firms based on revenue specifically related to electrical design work in 2013.

Gavin Advertising in York has won the Gold 2014 Summit Creative Award in the category of Consumer Direct Marketing for its Mini Envy campaign on behalf of Mini of Baltimore. The awards recognize prestigious work from small and medium-sized creative firms throughout the world. Gavin designed the campaign for Mini of Baltimore to increase test drives and sales through social media and word-of-mouth marketing. The campaign, executed in September 2013, centered on Mini of Baltimore surprising four contest winners at their homes or offices with a VIP test drive. Gavin selected winners from those who entered on Mini of Baltimore’s Facebook app or website.

David Downey

Allstate agency owner David Downey has worked with New Hope Ministries on several occasions including helping to clean their various facilities, including the grocery area and commercial kitchen. For his ongoing commitment, Downey received the Allstate Agency Hands in the Community Award, which awarded him a $1000 grant from The Allstate Foundation for New Hope Ministries of Pennsylvania.

Bob Marquette

Bob Marquette, president/CEO of Members 1st Federal Credit Union in Mechanicsburg was chosen as CEO of the Year by the National Association of Federal Credit Unions. Marquette has been involved with the credit unions since 1973, spanning a 41-year career with 28 of those years with Members 1st Federal Credit Union.

Ben Warntz

WGAL 8 awarded Senior Account Executive Ben Warntz of York with the 2014 Eagle Award. The station’s Eagle Award is designed to recognize outstanding performance by a salesperson during the past year. Warntz was named senior account executive in January, 2013. Warntz returned to WGAL in May 2012 as an account executive. He had previously worked at WGAL from 2000-2008 in sales and as an account executive at WPMT in York from 2008-2012. Warntz started his advertising sales career working for Comcast. He works in WGAL’s Harrisburg office.

LeRoy J. Jones Jr. (Lee Jones), a financial advisor in Waddell & Reed’s Mechanicsburg office was named to Waddell & Reed’s 2014 President’s Council, one of its highest honors for the firm’s financial advisors. Comprising only 12 of the approximately 1,800 Waddell & Reed financial advisors nationwide, the President’s Council is named annually based on an analysis of investment, insurance, and financial planning sales generated by the advisor. This is the 10th time that Jones has earned this honor. As a member of the council, Jones will meet periodically with firm management and other advisors, discussing ongoing goals, management issues, products, and client service issues. He joined Waddell & Reed in 1987.

For the second consecutive year, Dawood Engineering Inc. in Enola achieved the ranking on the Engineering News Record Top 500 Design Firm list. Dawood ranked 456th on the list, which is up 39 spots from the previous year.

WHTM abc27 News received eleven awards for excellence by The Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcasters for best newscast, continuing coverage, spot news, news documentary, public affairs, weathercast, enterprise reporting, news photography, best sportscast and sports play-by-play. In the “Best Regularly Scheduled Newscast” category abc27 News Live at 5 was recognized. The winning entry included the 5pm newscast from September 12, 2013. WHTM will be recognized for the “Spot News” category for coverage October’s record flooding. Extensive reporting on the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg was recognized in the “Continuing Coverage” category. Dave Marcheskie’s reporting on overtime issues in the Harrisburg Fire Department won for “Enterprise/Individual Reporting”, while photojournalist Deryk Thompson was recognized for “News Photography”. The abc27 weather team received four wins for best weathercast, documentary and public affairs programming. An episode of “Beyond the Forecast” on severe weather awareness won in the “News Documentary” category and an episode on Tropical Cyclones won in the “Public Affairs” category. Meteorologists Eric Finkenbinder and Brett Thackara each won for best Weathercast. WHTM also received recognition for its local sports coverage. Gregg Mace was nominated for “Best Sportscast”, and Friday Night Football was up for “Best Sports Play-by-Play”.

Kevin J. McKeon was recognized by The Pennsylvania Bar Association Administrative Law Section with the James S. Bowman Award. McKeon is a partner in the law firm of Hawke McKeon & Sniscak LLP in Harrisburg. The James S. Bowman Award honors a lawyer who is making a significant impact on the practice of administrative law and who is demonstrating leadership in mentoring administrative law practitioners. Herbert R. Nurick was recognized by The Pennsylvania Bar Association Public Utility Law Section with its Christianson Award. The award recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the development, improvement and advancement of the profession of public utility law. Nurick became the first mediation coordinator for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission in 1996. From 1967 to 1996, Nurick was an associate and then partner in the Harrisburg law firm of McNees, Wallace & Nurick.

Conrad “Connie” Siegel founder of Conrad Siegel Actuaries was honored by The Foundation for Enhancing Communities as the recipient of the Champion of Philanthropy Award. Coldwell Banker Select Professionals was included for the third consecutive year to the RISMedia 2014 Power Broker Report, a list of influential Real Estate brokerages throughout the United States. RISMedia’s Annual Power Broker Report ranks firms by closed transactions and sales volume for 2013. The Top 500 rankings appeared in the April 2014 issue of Real Estate magazine.

Ken Stecher

The Pennsylvania Credit Union Association announced the following: Kipp Stecher, retired president/CEO of AmeriChoice Federal Credit Union of Enola, received the William W. Pratt Award for Outstanding Professional of the Year; The 2014 Credit Union Youth Ambassador of Pennsylvania

Pictured left to right are Steven Dill; PCUA Board Chair Maria LaVelle; Lauren Hoffman; PCUA President and CEO Patrick Conway and Devan DeShong.

was won by Lauren Hoffman of Mechanicsburg who is a marketing specialist at AmeriChoice Federal Credit Union in Mechanicsburg. The Second Alternate for the 2014 Credit Union Youth Ambassador of Pennsylvania was won by Devan DeShong of Dallastown. DeShong is a Network Administrator at Frist Capital Federal Credit Union, York; Belco Community Credit Union, Harrisburg was recognized with honorable mention for the Dora Maxwell Awards for Social Responsibility Award which signifies a commitment to volunteering time, energy, and resources to boost the living standards of others. In the Credit Union Annual Report Contest, awards were given in three asset groups: Heritage Valley Federal Credit Union, York received a first place award; In the Credit Union Website Contest, ClearChoice Federal Credit Union, Wyomissing received a first place award and Heritage Valley Federal Credit Union, York received an honorable mention award.

Jennifer Craighead

Michael Davis

The Law Office of Barley Snyder in Lancaster had nine attorneys named to the lists of Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Pennsylvania Rising Stars for 2014. Super Lawyers recognizes attorneys who have distinguished themselves in their legal practices. Barley Snyder’s Pennsylvania Super Lawyers include Jennifer Craighead, Michael Davis, Christopher Mattson, Jill Welch, George Werner and Salvatore Anastasi. Barley Snyder’s Pennsylvania Rising Stars include Jeremy Frey, Joseph Falcon and Alex Snyder.

Christopher Mattson

Jill Welch

Red Lion Controls was honored for its consistent commitment to the sustainable development of China’s automation industry by Automation Panorama magazine. Red Lion was recently named a Top Ten New Outstanding Enterprise within China¹s Automation Industry for 2013. Red Lion was also selected as a Top New Cutting-Edge Company by China¹s leading automation portal gongkong.com for its technology leadership and innovative contributions. Red Lion’s N-Tron series NT24k managed Gigabit Ethernet switches received a Golden Mousetrap award in the U.S. for Industrial Networking Technologies in the Automation and Control category.

Paul Barr of Barley Snyder

Salvatore Anastasi

Barley Snyder in York was recognized by Leadership York for its ongoing commitment to the community by presenting them with the 2014 Outstanding Business of the Year award. Barley Snyder has been serving the York community for over 50 years.

Jeremy Frey

Joseph Falcon

JPL in Swatara Twp. was named to an exclusive group of global training leaders on the TrainingIndustry.com Content Development Companies Watch List for the third consecutive year.

The Courtyard by Marriott Harrisburg West/Mechanicsburg in Mechanicsburg was honored by TripAdvisor who presented the 2014 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence to the Courtyard Mechanicsburg for maintaining an average rating of four or higher out of a possible five, based on TripAdvisor traveler reviews.

Alex Snyder

Bravo Group in Harrisburg received a coveted 2014 Bronze Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America for superior performance in the design and execution of an individual tactic within a broader public relations program.

The Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law, Children’s Advocacy Clinic, Carlisle, were recognized by Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters which has announced the recipients of the 2013 Super Lawyers Pro Bono Awards. The awards recognize legal professionals, students, firms and organizations that exemplify excellence in the practice of law by offering volunteer legal services to the poor, disadvantaged or the exploited.

Governor Tom Corbett recognized 50 outstanding Pennsylvania companies and entrepreneurs for creating jobs, developing ideas, reaching new markets and making positive contributions in local communities at the 2014 Governor’s ImPAct Awards. Those that were recognized include: Community Impact Award – Pierson Computing Connection Inc., Mechanicsburg; Entrepreneur Impact Award – Hauk Designs LLC, Chambersburg; Export Impact Award – Klinge Corporation York; Jobs First Award – Volvo Construction Equipment, Shippensburg and Small Business Impact Award – Legacy, Hanover.

Deb Cohen

Capital BlueCross Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Deb Cohen received the first-ever Community Contact Award given to an individual who works to build a better world.