The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce held its annual Golf Tournament on Thursday May 26^th at the Rolling Pines Golf Course. Thirty foursomes participated in the event, sponsored by Williams. The comfortable, 70-degree day started with lunch sponsored by Heritage Financial Services. Beverages throughout the day were sponsored by Wagner’s Trophies and Engraveables. Dinner, provided by Craft Catering, was sponsored by First Keystone Community Bank.

The overall winning team was 3B Consultant Services Inc., with a prize of 4-$50 gift cards to the Inn, Farmhouse & Brewery at Turkey Hill. The foursome from Williams finished second in the first flight and received 4-$25 gift cards to the Pine Barn Inn. Both teams shot 59 and the winner determined by a match of cards.

The foursome from Towne Camera was the top team in the second flight and received 4-$25 gift cards to Marley’s Brewery and Grille and Knoebels. The group from Commercial Stainless finished second and was awarded 4-$25 gift cards to Quaker Steak & Lube. Those two teams also shot the same score of 66.

Jonathan Else from the McKonly & Asbury’s foursome hit the longest drive for the men, while Jodi Alley from First Keystone Community Bank was the lady’s big hitter. Both were awarded watches from J. Lylo Jewelers. From the Trivium Packaging foursome, Mike Dixon claimed closest to the pin, winning tickets to any upcoming show at the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble.

In two big raffles at the event,  Mike Upton won the 58” TV, which was donated by Walmart. Commercial Stainless’ Brian Wawroski won the Pit Boss Table Top Griddle, which was provided by Cole’s Hardware.

The Chamber wishes to thank all of the participants, sponsors, volunteers, and staffs of Rolling Pines and Craft Catering for helping to make the 2022 Golf Tournament a success.

Leadership Central Penn (LCP) celebrated the graduation of the class of 2022 last Thursday at the Pine Barn Inn.  This year’s class was the largest in history with 25 graduates and marked the 23^rd cohort. The program included a Keynote address from Holly Morrison, President and CEO of the Community Giving Foundation. Holly shared that she has seen first hand the benefits of LCP on individuals as a donor, employer and mother. She hopes that everyone in the program grew in their capacity as community leaders as she has seen with so many graduates in the past. This program allows you to develop the 76% of leadership that is learned according to statistics Holly has seen. It is up to all of us to work on understanding ourselves, our capacities and our areas for improvement. The class is the start of that journey, and it should continue.

This year’s class presenter was Brian Houser, PPL. The first focus of his speech was about the Leadership component of the program. He shared the program was never just a lecture or death by Power Point but was an engaging experience in a safe and trusted environment. This was created by Jeff Emanuel, Director and Rick Flynn, Leadership Facilitator. Brian shared that the theories taught in the program were immediately useful back in the work setting. The second focus was on the community portion of the program. The class introduced the class to many organizations that help our community move and thrive. Brian shared his appreciation for the challenges facing the people of our communities and all the organizations like nonprofits, the judicial system, education, economic development and more that work together to help. Brian shared this experience made him realize “it turns out there is a lot more to leadership than just commanding a group. It isn’t about forcing others to listen, but about listening to others.” After going through this program, he understands why there are over 60,000 books for sale on leadership and he appreciates having more insight and knowledge thanks to LCP.

Before the certificates were awarded, there was a third component of the celebration. Recognizing the community impact projects of this year’s class. The first was group that assisted AGAPE with their move to their new location. They loaded food, clothing, pet food, household items and more onto pallet, into trucks and relocated and organized it all to help AGAPE continue its mission from their new home. The second group shared with involvement with the Bloomsburg Children’s Museum’s Hak4Kids program. This kid-friendly hacking event is the only one of its kind in PA. The event was free and included 28 workshops and activities for kids ages 7-17. Finally, the third project was in partnership with the United Way of Berwick and their Day of Caring. This project included alumni from previous LCP cohorts who work at First Keystone Community Bank. The team assisted with clean-up of the Berwick YMCA to assist with preparing the facility for construction project improvements in the coming weeks. All of the projects were demanding, but fulfilling to the LCP members, nonprofit partners and community members served by these organizations.

The event concluded with honoring the LCP Graduating Class of 2022:

Kevin Ball – Geisinger
Scott Bellum – SEKISUI KYDEX
Tiffany Bienkowski – First Keystone Community Bank
Lisa Brelsford – Columbia Child Development Head Start
Audra Briggs – Bloomsburg Carpet
LuCinda Craig – Rural Business Innovation Corp.
Taryn Crayton – Press Enterprise
Daniel Diehl – First Columbia Bank & Trust
Benjamin Gonzalez – Geisinger
John Harahus – Geisinger
Brian Houser – PPL Electric
Trygve Jensen – Geisinger
Hamid Khan – Autoneum
Holly Madden – Hope Enterprises, Inc.
Christopher Matthews – First Keystone Community Bank
Alyssa Meyers-Sanonu – Berwick YMCA
Dawn Orzehowski – Maria Joseph CCC
Jessica Pastuszek – Geisinger
James Pensyl – Girton Manufacturing
Angela Prajzner – Autoneum
Kristy Strain – Geisinger
Melisa Thomas – Service 1st FCU
Danielle Velkoff – United Way CMC
Rebecca White – Columbia Child Development Head Start
Phillip Yoder – Columbia County EMA