Welcome New Member – VirtuStudio 360
The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce is pleased to welcome its newest member, VirtuStudio 360, and owner David Fetterman.
VirtuStudio 360 has been in business since 2019 specializing in Drone Services. Founder/Owner Dave Fetterman saw an opportunity to take his love of photography and film making, combining it with a drone to give the viewer a new perspective. Dave is an FAA, fully licensed sUAV(Drone) Remote Pilot with over 1800 flight hours, that enables him to pursue commercial related work.
Services provided by VirtuStudio 360 are photography, videography, virtual tours for commercial & residential real estate, media and marketing content. In 2022, VirtuStudio 360 expanded drone services to include roof/home inspections, public safety engagements, energy and utility inspections. These services require drones that have high resolution cameras as well as Infrared capabilities. Dave was born and raised in Bloomsburg, however he spent 26 years living in Pittsburgh. He moved back in 2012 to be closer to family and to get back to the town he loves.
You've got to see some of Dave's incredible work, featured below. To connect with Dave, visit https://www.virstudio360.com/
Welcome to the Chamber, Dave!
Welcome New Member – Compassus
The Columbia Montour Chamber is pleased to welcome as its newest member Compassus, whose Circle of Care now brings to Columbia, Montour & Northumberland counties comfort, safety and quality of life during the transition of life’s journey. Compassus focuses on the person – who they are, how they feel and what they need through their Care for Who I Am approach. This approach, along with their comprehensive care strives to meet physical, psychological, social, cultural & spiritual needs. Ultimately hospice is not about dying - rather, for Compassus, it's about helping people live and be as comfortable as they can, wherever they call home, when life expectancy is limited.
Compassus is about providing individualized care, easing the burden on caregivers and surrounding the patient’s family with care and support following the transition of their loved one's life to help them through their healing journey. Compassus is Care for who YOU are, where YOU are! With nearly 6,000 colleagues in 200 locations and in 30 states the team at Compassus shared that they feel honored and privileged to provide the gift of hospice to Columbia, Montour & Northumberland county communities. Compassus has various insurance contracts and can host any question and answers when needed to help navigate each patient care plan.
Welcome Compassus, to the Chamber! For more information, visit: https://www.compassus.com/
Welcome New Member – Blossoms in Bloom by Megan
The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce is pleased to welcome Blossoms in Bloom by Megan, LLC as its newest member. Located at 417 Central Road in Bloomsburg, Blossoms in Bloom is a full service flower store that offers everyday arrangements for every occasion including wedding & sympathy flowers. You can also find plants, gift items and pre-made bouquets at their store. To celebrate their new location, Blossoms in Bloom will celebrate a Grand Opening on November 5, 2022, and you're invited to attend! To formally cut the ribbon on their new space, you're also invited to join the Chamber for a joint ribbon cutting at the space on November 30. Also cutting the ribbon (in the same building, on the same day!) will be Something Borrowed by T + M, and the PA CareerLink.
Welcome to the Chamber!
Welcome New Member – Troop 47 Trading Company
An artisan boutique specializing in hand-poured, clean-burning candles, specialty gifts, and everyday essentials, Troop 47 Trading Company is named in honor of the Scouting and leadership legacy of owner Annie McCarty's dad, Jim. Products with the Troop 47 Trading Co. brand are handmade with the highest quality ingredients by Annie herself, and the store also features products sourced hyper-locally from crafters, artisans and makers. Welcome to the Chamber, Annie!
To learn more about Troop 47 Trading Company, visit their website, https://troop47.co.
For more, check out Adobe's member listing, here.
Welcome New Member – Glen Brook Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center
The Chamber is pleased to welcome its newest member, Glen Brook Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center.
Glen Brook is a 240-bed facility located in Berwick, PA. A nursing facility providing long term, post-acute, skilled and respite stays, Glen Brook offer Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy, with a wide arrange of activities as well. Glen Brook proudly offers Resident Centered Care as part of its Rapid Recovery Program. Since November, the facility has undergone several renovations, and is expecting to offer the newest, finest accommodations in the area. For more, visit their website!
Welcome Glen Brook!
Welcome New Member – Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society
The Chamber is pleased to welcome The Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society (CCHGS) as one of its newest members.
The CCHGS is committed to the collection, preservation, and publication of the history of Columbia County and to develop resources to aid individuals to discover their family history. It is a charitable and educational organization run entirely by loyal volunteers who collect and index important documents such as church records, cemetery listings, genealogies, manuscripts, photos, pamphlets, clippings, and many others, along with maintaining the Society’s museum and library. Located on the second floor of the Bloomsburg Public Library, it has a library and limited museum collection that is open to the public.
Annually, the Society sponsors public programs, genealogy workshops, and tours to places of historical interest. It also publishes a Newsletter four times a year consisting of multiple pages. Members are entitled to discounts for trips, purchases, and special programs that have a fee. For more about the CCGHS, visit https://colcohist-gensoc.org/
Welcome New Member: American Red Cross, Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter
The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce is delighted to welcome its newest member, The Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter of the American Red Cross.
The Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter is part of the 61-county Greater Pennsylvania Region, and serves Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, Schuylkill, Northumberland, Columbia, Montour, Union, and Snyder Counties. The chapter provides food and shelter in emergencies, assists members of our armed forces and their families, teaches lifesaving skills, collects lifesaving blood, and so much more.
Each year, the organization aids more than 2,200 area disasters, most of which are home fires. All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people.
Our local Red Cross Chapter offers a variety of services and programs.
- Need information about giving blood or setting up a blood drive: Visit the Red Cross Blood Website
- Are you a member of the military and need assistance? Call this 24-hour phone number for help: 1-877-272-7337.
- Would you like to learn lifesaving skills, become a lifeguard or learn to swim? Did you know the Red Cross has training classes for businesses and organizations? Explore training classes and workplace safety courses here
- Haven't met the team yet? Connect with Peter Brown and the American Red Cross PA Rivers Chapter staff at the Chamber's Third Annual Mixer with Nonprofits.
The American Red Cross, Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter is headquartered in Allentown, with a local office in Lewisburg, PA. Click here to view more information on our newest member.
The American Red Cross joins over 400 members of The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce to receive benefits and support the Chamber’s efforts to enhance the region.
Chamber Welcomes New Vice President
The Columbia Montour Chamber is pleased to welcome Chris Berleth, an accomplished chamber executive and sales professional with thirteen years of business and nonprofit experience, as its new Vice President. Chris, who started on August 8, will provide leadership in delivering a high return on investment to members and supporting economic stability and growth in the region through the development and coordination of communications, programs, and events of the Chamber and its Foundation.
“We are thrilled to have Chris join our team,” said Fred Gaffney, Chamber President. “His talent, professionalism, and sincerity will help us provide additional value to our members and better support our area.”
Prior to joining The Columbia Montour Chamber team, Chris was most recently with the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber in Shamokin Dam as Executive Director of Membership and Leadership. He is an Eagle Scout and a 2015 graduate of Leadership Susquehanna Valley, and holds a B.A. in Political Science and French from Gettysburg College. Chris and his wife Kali have called Columbia County home since 2012, and together they are raising two boys, Remington and Rutledge.
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 23rd 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