Member News- February 17, 2021

McKonly & Asbury Wins ClearlyRated’s 2021 Best of Accounting Award for Service Excellence

For the third consecutive year, McKonly & Asbury has won the Best of Accounting Award for providing superior service to our clients! ClearlyRated’s Best of Accounting® Award winners have proven to be industry leaders in service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients. We received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 88% of our clients, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 43% in 2020.

“We’re thrilled to be recognized again by our clients as a Best of Accounting Award winner.” McKonly & Asbury’s Managing Partner, Michael Hoffner said. “The events of the past year have been challenging, to say the least, for our clients and the business communities in which we work. We’re grateful to have been in a position to help numerous extraordinary organizations navigate through these times, and we recognize that this award is a reflection of our team and their commitment to our clients.”

ClearlyRated’s Best of Accounting® Award program is the nation’s only service excellence award for the accounting industry that leverages third party validated survey responses from accounting firm clients. The award program provides statistically valid and objective service quality benchmarks for the accounting industry, revealing which accounting firms deliver the highest service quality to their clients. Winners are featured on ClearlyRated.com – an online business directory that helps buyers of professional services find service leaders and vet prospective firms – based exclusively on validated client ratings and testimonials.

“After one of the most turbulent years in modern history, winners of the 2021 Best of Accounting Award have proven their commitment to go above and beyond in support of their clients,” said ClearlyRated’s CEO and Founder, Eric Gregg. “These service leaders have demonstrated their capacity to be agile, to be precise, and to prioritize the client experience above all else. It is my honor to celebrate and showcase the 2021 Best of Accounting winners alongside feedback from their actual clients on ClearlyRated.com!”

Since inception, McKonly & Asbury’s focus has been on providing superior client service and that precept remains the cornerstone of our firm’s philosophy, impressed upon each of our professionals from the day they join the firm. 

Weis Center to Offer Free Virtual Performance that Honors Front Line Workers

The Weis Center for the Performing Arts at Bucknell University will offer a virtual performance of This is Me: Letters From the Front Lines created by DIAVOLO dance company from February 24-March 2. The contemporary dance film performance is 35 minutes and will be available on an unlimited basis throughout the viewing period.

The engagement is sponsored, in part, by Evangelical Community Hospital and Geisinger.

The virtual performance is free thanks to the generosity of sponsors, but registration is required by calling the Campus Box Office at 570-577-1000 or online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.

The performance is dedicated to all of the veterans for their service, commitment and sacrifice and to all of our COVID-19 first responders for their dedication, selflessness, resilience and heroism.

PRE-PERFORMANCE PANEL DISCUSSION
Patrons are encouraged to view a 30 minute pre-taped pre-performance panel discussion with the following distinguished guests:

• Jacques Heim, Founder & Artistic Director, DIAVOLO | Architecture in Motion ®
• France Nguyen Vincent, Writer and dramaturg of This Is Me
• David Rovnyak, Bucknell University Professor of Chemistry and Bucknell/Geisinger liaison
• Marie C. Pizzorno, Bucknell University Associate Professor of Biology and Cell Biology/Biochemistry
• Frederick Weiss, MD, DPT, RMSK, Geisinger
• Kendra Aucker, President & CEO, Evangelical Community Hospital
• B. James Connolly, MD, Medical Director of Emergency Services, Evangelical Community Hospital

The panelists discuss the origins and process of filming This is Me, the mental, physical and emotional impacts of COVID-19 on front line workers in Central PA, and the history of the development of the COVID-19 vaccines, among other riveting topics.

Jacques Heim says of the pandemic, “As artists, we had to do something. For me, it’s not about creating another dance piece, but rather celebrating the amazing men and women who sacrifice themselves for us.”

France Nguyen Vincent says, “Each person in the film was asked to write about themselves and their experience. Ninety-eight percent of what you hear in the performance was written [by first responders and front line workers] and was untouched…it became a catharsis for them.”

Kendra Aucker says, “The volumes of people we’re caring for compared to normal is significant. This is something no one can imagine and no one can prepare for. The mental health challenges are showing up in the workforce, and COVID has revealed the tremendous problems that we have with access to behavioral health services for all people…especially in healthcare. We ask ourselves daily how are our people doing [and how can we support them].”  

Dr. Fred Weiss says, “[COVID has hit every aspect of health and wellness]…physical, emotional, mental, moral, spiritual, social. The toll that it’s taken on a lot of friends and family…I’ve had friends who have died. A lot of the people who have contracted the disease are the front line people; the front line are dying. They are literally putting their lives at risk on a minute to minute basis…”

Dr. James Connolly says, “This is not the same as combat, but it has a similar feel. This has probably been the hardest thing I can imagine doing as a physician. There have been a lot of people in the community who have been tremendously supportive, but there have been a lot of people who haven’t and that has been so hard to deal with…Trying to convince people that this is real and we need to take it serious.”

Professor Marie C. Pizzorno says, “This is the third novel coronavirus to have jumped from animal species to humans in the last twenty years. This new virus is much more contagious. Bats maintain a population of their own coronaviruses and some have the capacity to jump to humans.” Pizzorno notes that the COVID-19 vaccines in development build on decades of coronavirus research by scientists across the globe.

PERFORMANCE
This is Me: Letters From the Front Lines is a dance film exploring how the current climate of isolation has encouraged us to look within ourselves. We follow the paths of military veterans and first responders as they share what it means to be a true warrior – to be on the front lines – and fight the invisible enemy that all humanity is currently battling. At a time when most have been asked to halt and withdraw, others, like soldiers, are charging forward.

This is Me: Letters From the Front Lines captures the resilience, determination and hope of the human spirit.

DIAVOLO is a creative movement production company that pushes the envelope of innovation by creating unique live & cinematic experiences. Using custom-made architectural structures, DIAVOLO intersects storytelling, movement and architecture with an inventive and visceral approach.

The virtual performance is free thanks to the generosity of sponsors, but registration is required by calling the Campus Box Office at 570-577-1000 or online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.

Bloomsburg Children’s Museum Receives $1,000 to Support New “Farm to Table” Exhibit, Part of Larger Health Exhibit

(left to right): Charlie Porter, Farm Bureau Board Member, Ginny Weibel, Children’s Museum Director, Karen Chapin, Farm Bureau Secretary/Treasurer, James Levan, Columbia County Farm Bureau President. James Levan hands Ginny Weibel the donation in support
of the “Farm to Table” exhibit interactive at the Bloomsburg Children’s Museum

The Columbia County Farm Bureau in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau has donated $1,000 to support the Bloomsburg Children’s Museum’s “Farm to Table” exhibit interactive. The interactive is part of the Museum’s new health exhibit, titled “The Superpower of You,” which is slated to open in the Spring of 2021. The Farm to Table interactive takes visitors on a journey to learn where their food comes from, why fresh food is an important part of your diet, and why sustainable agriculture is vital to our community.

“There will be a lot of content within the exhibit to help all our visitors make the connection between the food we eat and how food can affect positive health outcomes,” Dr. Ginny Weibel, Museum Director said. “Understanding and appreciating where your food comes from is the first step in creating a healthy diet.” 

James Levan, President of the Columbia County Farm Bureau commented on the need for educational opportunities that promote an understanding of the importance of agriculture. “Kids today are so far away from agriculture,” Levan said. “They don’t have an understanding of what farming is. Some kids have never been on a farm at all.” 

The new interactive at the Museum features a farm tractor photo op, a farmers market where kids can shop for items to make a healthy meal, and a kitchen table where visitors can play a game about nutrition.