Beaver County Chamber of Commerce President Jack Manning’s June 2019 Message

Beaver County Chamber Message: Leadership Beaver County!

At the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce, we like to think of ourselves as the leading business development organization in the Beaver Valley. You all are the ultimate judge of that assertion but we do represent the largest and most diverse collection of business and community leadership you will find in Beaver County. Our outstanding Chamber Board of Directors, combined with our partner organization, The Beaver County Partnership for Community and Economic Development, are all an ingrained part of the fabric of Beaver County life.

To help ensure we are continuing to nurture and mentor future leaders for our region, the Chamber initiated our “Leadership Beaver County” program. Leadership Beaver County is designed for existing and emerging leaders within Beaver County. Our goal is to educate them on the most important opportunities, challenges, and issues within the county in order to cultivate diverse and well-rounded leaders to carry our community forward. 

 Our program is designed to help those accepted into the cohort to understand themselves better and ultimately how to become better leaders in their community and place of work.  The nine-month program started in September of 2018 and we are pleased to recognize the first graduates of Leadership Beaver County on May 30, 2019.

 The Class of 2018-2019 includes: Ann Andrews (B.F. Jones Library); Matthew Barrage (NOVA Chemicals); Kirsten Bestor (WesBanco); Dr. Peter Birchler (Chiropractic Health Center); Kolton Codner (CCBC); Christine Cosky (B-Well Nation); Nick DiPietro (Peoples Gas); Lisa Lathom (eXp Realty); Glenn Natali (CCBC); Shon Owens (Franklin Center); Bethany Williams (City of Beaver Falls); Eric Woelfel (PA Cyber).

 Leadership is not easily defined nor always adequately acknowledged. Google “leadership” (we did) and 5,080,000,000,000 results show up in less than a second. It is among the most written about and misunderstood subjects in the American lexicon. What we do know is that leaders come in all shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds. There are business leaders, community leaders, environmental leaders, political leaders, faith leaders, education leaders, and every other aspect of life.

Leaders are not necessarily born, unless you are part of the royal family, or a result of being given a title. More often than not leaders emerge in organizations and communities from an event, sense of duty, or being thrust into a new situation that requires someone to step up and make a difference. The spark of inspiration that motivates someone can come from almost anywhere. We know that tragedy and failure are often excellent learning experiences for a leader. An error in judgment and making a mistake in life doesn’t have to end in failure if you learn from it and take steps to make amends.

Leadership is granted to people who have earned the respect of their peers and followers by learning about themselves first, being selfless in their pursuit of something better and caring about others. Empathy and compassion are often mentioned among the positive traits of good leaders. They are also risk takers who are not afraid to fail and will always try. We are reminded of the quote from Edward Everett Hale who said, “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”

Our graduates are now better prepared to understand this and accept the challenges that are ahead of them. We congratulate them on their outstanding achievement and wish them the best of luck in all their endeavors. The Chamber also congratulates another outstanding leader in her own field, our Director of Event Planning and Programs, Emily Konecheck.

Emily designed, facilitated and lead the cohort through every phase of the nine-month program. Her acceptance of the challenge and performance throughout the process was truly exemplary. She is another emerging leader in Beaver County that we are very proud to have on our Chamber Team.

This important community update is brought to you by Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, 1st Consultants, Strassburger, McKenna, Gutnick & Gefsky, Ambridge Regional Chamber of Commerce, Skerlec Contracting, and NovaCare! 

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is warning that President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs on Mexican imports would be “punishing” for both countries. Pelosi says the 5% tariff that Trump is threatening on the longtime U.S. ally is “not a way to treat a friend.” The California Democrat also says it’s not a way to deal with immigration. Trump wants to impose tariffs on all imported Mexican goods starting Monday to push the Mexican government to do more to halt illegal immigration.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is ending medical research using human fetal tissue by government scientists, a victory for abortion foes. Officials say government-sponsored research by universities will be allowed to continue, subject to additional scrutiny. The policy change will not affect privately funded research that used human fetal tissue.

WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) — A Washington County man has been sentenced to 35½ to 90 years in a kidnapping and shooting that authorities called a botched execution attempt. Twenty-eight-year-old Keith Rosario was sentenced Monday in Washington County on February convictions of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, kidnapping and criminal conspiracy. Rosario read a statement saying he was a good person with a “kind heart” and accusing prosecutors of having “fabricated other charges” to enhance his sentence.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is making a claim that is drawing outrage from a human rights group. Duterte claimes he used to be gay but “cured” himself by marrying beautiful women. Duterte was speaking to members of Tokyo’s Filipino community last week when he said he – quote “became a man again” when he married his ex-wife, Elizabeth Zimmerman, a flight attendent. Duterte claims from that point on he hated handsome men and now prefers beautiful women. He’s also begun using homophobic slurs to insult his political foes. Duterte’s comments drew the ire of the Human Rights Campaign director Jean Freedberg, who called on Duterte to put an end to making insulting and often nonsensical remarks about LGBTQ people.

A bill to chemically castrate sex offenders is just one signature away from being legal in Alabama. The legislation is known as HB 379. The bill would make sex offenders have to undergo chemical castration before they leave prision. The permanent and physical punishment would be required for people convicted of certain sex offenses against children. Republican State Representative Steve Hurst introduced the legislation saying, “They have marked this child for life and the punishment should fit the crime.” Hurst hopes that the legislation would make a sex offender think twice before acting. The bill passed through the house and was delivered on the desk of Alabama’s Governor, Kay Ivey.

Legislators and activists are calling for the passage of bills that would make voting easier for Pennsylvanians. Don Rooney has more. Click on ‘play’ to hear Don’s report…

Vice President Mike Pence is planning to be in attendance for the Republican Party of Pennsylvania’s State Dinner tomorrow. The dinner is taking place at the Radisson Hotel Harrisburg in East Pennsboro Township Thursday evening. Earlier in the day, Pence will tour J-L-S Automation in York County. He will reportedly talk to employees about the U-S – Mexico – Canada Agreement and its impact on Pennsylvania.

Higher salaries are being promised to employees of Idlewild Park and SoakZone. The owner of the Ligonier theme parks says they’re boosting pay rates for ride operators and lifeguards to ten-dollars an hour. Employees who work in other areas of park operations will also see raises this summer. More information on jobs is online at idlewild.com.