The Career Fair at the Columbia-Montour Area Vocational Technical School is scheduled for Friday, March 25. There will be two portions throughout the day. One portion will feature a students-only session, while the second portion will be for the public.

Agenda

• Set up/gym is open at 11:00 a.m.
• Job Fair for CMAVTS Students Only begins at 12:20 p.m. and ends at 2:00 p.m.
• Private interviews may be scheduled beginning at 2:00 p.m. with the last interview scheduled for 2:45 p.m. All students must be back to classroom by 3:00 p.m. (employers will give chosen student a hall pass with interview time)
• Break: 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. / Snacks will be available in the School House Café
• Job Fair for the public: 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Click here to register.

Partnering with Main Street America, American Express is launching a $1.65 million year-round grant program called Inclusive Banking. More than 250 grants of $5,000 each will be awarded in four cycles over 12 months to small business owners in older or historic commercial districts across the country, with priority given to businesses that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.  

Types of personal service-based small businesses that are eligible, but not limited to:

• cleaners, tailors, beauty salons, spas, cobblers, barbers, and nail salons.
• brick-and-mortar location in an older or historic main street, downtown or commercial district —businesses in strip malls, residences, and shopping malls not eligible
• preference to: People of Color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities, veterans, and women
• been in operation since January 1, 2020.

What types of grant expenses are eligible?

• The business must be a business entity in good standing in the state in which it was formed and the state in which it does business.
• The applicant’s business has a “brick-and-mortar” location and operates in an older or historic main street, downtown or commercial district in the United States—businesses in strip malls, residences, and shopping malls are not eligible for this grant program.
• The applicant’s business employs 20 or fewer full-time employees, including the owner.
• The applicant’s business has been in operation since January 1, 2020.
• The applicant is an owner of the business and is 18 years of age or older.  

All applications will be judged based on:

• Feasibility of proposal.
• Extent to which grant will help address an acute business need or help a business owner implement innovative solutions to address COVID-19-related challenges.
• Opportunity for other businesses to learn from work.
• How the Inclusive Backing grant will help improve the viability of business.
• The business’s commitment to giving back to their community.

How to apply:

Click here to apply: It should take about 15-20 minutes to populate this form. As you work through it, the application will auto-save. Please note that the application deadline is March 1, 2022.

Please review the application questions in advance and keep a separate record of your answers, as your work will not be saved on the form prior to submission. They cannot accept changes to your application once it has been submitted, so please review it carefully. All non-public business and financial information provided in the application will be kept confidential.

Finalists considered for an award may be contacted by Main Street America for additional information, including financial statements, before being selected as a recipient.

It’s About 2 Go Down is a mobile DJ service specializing in weddings, birthdays, corporate events and more. Headquartered in Berwick, it was founded with a simple idea in mind, pay it forward. Michael Reigle has created a business that can be accessible to anyone, as no matter what your background or financial situation is, IA2GD has a service option that will work for you.

With several years of experience, DJ Mike knows that performance and reliability are paramount to success. Customer service and flexibility are also built into this business. With the help of his wife, Tori, they take the stress out of booking a DJ and put you in control of your experience.

IA2GD Entertainment strives to offer the best sound, lighting, and overall experience at an affordable price.

You can visit their website at www.itsabout2godown.com to check out pictures and view wedding packages. IA2GD can also be viewed on their Facebook page, It’s About 2 Go Down Entertainment, and their official Instagram page, @ia2gd.

It’s About 2 Go Down joins over 426 members of The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce to receive benefits and support the Chamber’s efforts to enhance the region.

Danville’s 36th Spring Fling to be Held First Saturday in May

As we look ahead to warmer spring weather, what better way to get outside and celebrate the season than at the annual Spring Fling? Held the first Saturday in May, Danville’s 36th Spring Fling is a celebration of the foods, shopping, and sounds that make it a special place. 

The all-ages outdoor event features downtown and area businesses, food trucks, craft vendors selling their handmade wares, activities for the kids, and bands rocking the Canal Park stage. The event is also a showcase of our nonprofit organizations, who demonstrate the giving spirit of the community by raising awareness and funds for their causes.

The festivities take place on Mill St., Lower Mulberry to Ferry St., a portion of East and West Mahoning Streets, and East Market to Ferry Street. These streets are closed to traffic.

Admission is free. Food, drink, and shopping is pay-as-you-go.

Mark your calendars so you don’t miss the food, drink, music, arts, shopping and fun in downtown Danville! Saturday, May 7, 2022 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Click here for more information.

Free Jazz Performance at Weis Center

Jazz ensemble Reverso will perform on Tuesday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Weis Center’s Atrium. Reverso presents original compositions that bridge the divide between jazz and chamber music. The performance is free and tickets are not required.

There will be a free artist talk at 1 p.m. on the day of the performance in the Weis Center Atrium.

Masks are required.

Reverso traces the intersection of jazz and classical music back to Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy and their contemporaries. The group was described by Jazz Times as blending “pulsating motifs, long painterly lines, open fields and pointillist statements into a fascinating whole.”

This trans-oceanic chamber jazz ensemble is co-led by trombonist Ryan Keberle and pianist Frank West and includes the acclaimed French cellist Vincent Courtois.

Keberle and West prove that jazz and “classical” music have become even more intertwined since they began to intersect and inspire musicians and composers more than 100 years ago, including among Ravel and his contemporaries such as Erik Satie, Igor Stravinsky and Darius Milhaud.

Reverso’s repertoire features original compositions by Keberle and West that draw particular inspiration from Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” a suite for solo piano, and from the music of Les Six, a group of early 20th-century French composers whose members included Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Arthur Honneger and Germaine Tailleferre, the sole female member of the group.

The performance is sponsored, in part, by Jazz at Bucknell.

While on campus, patrons must abide by all Bucknell University health and safety guidelines, including maintaining social distancing and wearing appropriate face coverings. All visitors are required to wear a face-covering when indoors. We reserve the right to request that any visitors who do not follow University protocols leave the premises.

These protocols may be subject to change at any time. Please continue to visit our website for the most up-to-date information at Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter.

For more information about this event, contact Lisa Leighton, marketing and outreach director, at 570-577-3727 or by e-mail at lisa.leighton@bucknell.edu.

For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, go to Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or search for the Weis Center on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

McKonly & Asbury to Host Free Upcoming Webinar: HR Compliance Trends 2022

Attendees of this McKonly & Asbury Webinar will gain insight into the following: – Workplace safety concerns for employers including whether to mandate the vaccine. Due to the recent Supreme Court ruling, OSHA is withdrawing the vaccination and testing ETS as an enforceable emergency temporary standard but it is not withdrawing the ETS as a proposed rule. The agency stated it will prioritize its resources to focus on finalizing a permanent COVID-19 Healthcare Standard. Employers will need to monitor this evolving legal landscape as they balance the needs of the business against the continued safety of their employees.

 – Remote workplace and hiring issues covering non-competes, confidentiality, concern over applicable state laws. The remote environment has created a whole host of issues for employers to consider including confusion over which state laws apply.

 – Practical compliance steps employers can take in this challenging environment as they respond to staffing constraints.

This free, one-hour webinar will take place on Thursday, February 24 at 2:00 p.m. EDT. The level for this CPE is intermediate and there are no prerequisites for attending. This program is a live webinar which offers the opportunity to ask questions and interact with the presenters.

Click here to register.

Commissioners for both Columbia and Montour County and the Board of The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce recently passed resolutions opposing PennDOT’s plan to implement tolling on nine bridges on Pennsylvania interstates beginning in 2023. The Major Bridge Public-Private Partnership (P3) Initiative would include tolling of the Westbound Nescopeck Creek Bridge in lower Luzerne County. The resolutions support legislation in Harrisburg and a lawsuit filed by several municipalities to block the tolling.

PennDOT’s plan to toll bridges in need of repair or replacement was approved by the Pennsylvania P3 Board in November, 2020. In 2021, the agency held public information sessions to provide details on the nine projects identified. Initially, the plan included tolling in both directions, but was later modified to toll each project area in only one direction. With the anticipation that some volume of traffic will divert around tolled areas, PennDOT identified diversion routes. For the Nescopeck Creek project, the diversion route is Exit 256 onto Route 93 through Nescopeck and Berwick boroughs. Local municipalities have expressed concerns about the impacts of increased vehicle traffic, including safety and wear and tear on local roads.

Businesses are concerned about increased transportation costs. The proposed toll for passenger vehicles is $1 to $2 per vehicle, while commercial vehicles would start at $10. As it would be impractical for many commercial vehicles to take diversion routes, the cost of moving materials across the Interstate would increase daily, particularly for vehicles that would travel through multiple toll areas.

“PennDOT’s bridge tolling plan will create significant disruptions for communities and cost increases for businesses in those project areas,” said Fred Gaffney, Chamber president. “It’s reasonable to expect that, if allowed to move forward, PennDOT will continue the strategy across the state, creating disruptions in other areas. PennDOT and the legislature need to develop a sustainable plan for funding Pennsylvania’s infrastructure that minimizes these disruptions.”

PA Senate Bill 382, co-sponsored by Senator John Gordner, would effectively block PennDOT’s plan by requiring approval for specific tolling by the House and Senate. The legislation passed in the Senate in April and a modified version was approved by the House in November. While the Senate is reviewing the modified version, Governor Wolf is expected to veto it. The Chamber of Commerce supports SB382.

Three municipalities just Southwest of Pittsburgh are pursuing another course of action to stop PennDOT’s plan. South Fayette Township, Bridgeville Borough, and Collier Township in Allegheny County have filed a legal challenge in Commonwealth Court regarding the process defined for implementing tolls. The legislation that allows PennDOT to pursue P3 initiatives requires that specific projects be identified and the impacted municipalities notified prior to approval from the governing body. According to the challenge, that process was not followed. The attorneys representing the municipalities are expecting to present oral arguments in March with the hope of a ruling soon thereafter. As this legal challenge is specific to a bridge in Western PA, the legal team has suggested that other interested groups support this action with the hope that the final ruling will apply to all nine projects. The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce is coordinating with other chambers of commerce across the state and state legislators which led to the resolutions that were passed by the Chamber and County Commissioners.

Increasingly, individuals comprising today’s workforce are straddled with significant levels of student loan debt.  At the same time, these workers are often conflicted as to whether they should focus on paying off their debt or set aside funds to pay for retirement.  As an employer, adding a student loan repayment program to your employee benefit portfolio not only helps them address this dilemma, but also represents a tremendous opportunity to help attract and retain key talent.

In today’s competitive job market, it’s not enough to simply offer the traditional benefit portfolios of the past.  Showing prospective talent and valued current employees that you care about their financial future by providing student loan repayment assistance goes a long way to help you stand out among your industry peers.  And by structuring the program as a part of your voluntary benefits package, you have the ability to customize the program according to your workplace demographics and budgetary capabilities.

With these programs, the employer first decides how much, if any, they are willing to contribute into the program.  Then, based on the vendor chosen, the program options include models focusing on refinancing, consolidation or payroll deductions.

Offering a student loan repayment program not only helps students pay down their loan debt quicker and provides them valuable cost savings, but employers benefit since it also helps to reduce the stress and anxiety levels of these employees, boosting their workplace productivity.

The Columbia-Montour Chamber of Commerce offers its members access to My Benefit Advisor as a solution for employee benefits, including voluntary offerings. For more information about My Benefit Advisor, visit our website at cmcc.mybenefitadvisor.com or contact Glynis Roberts at (800) 377-3539.

On Wednesday, February 9^th, organizations and individuals from the area were highlighted during The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce’s 81^st Annual Meeting. Five awards were presented, recognizing outstanding achievement. The highly-anticipated event was sponsored by PPL Electric Utilities.

The Outstanding Citizen award dates back over 50 years, with the first award being presented in 1970. The Small and Large Business of the Year awards and the Community Progress Award were first established in 2011. The Nonprofit of the Year Award was first presented in 2020.

This year’s award winners are as follows:

Small Business of the Year | Sponsored by First Columbia Bank & Trust: Martz Technologies

This award is presented to a member business or organization of 30 employees or fewer than has done one or more of the following: demonstrated business or community leadership evidenced by diversification and creativity in the development of new products, services and/or markets; demonstrated staying power and positive response to adversity; or demonstrated community involvement.

Martz Technologies has focused on creating value for its clients by optimizing processes, infrastructure, and general resources by integrating the latest technology and automation into business operations since it was founded in 2003. Proudly located in Berwick, Martz Technologies promotes and sponsors community programs in alliance with other institutions that benefit children, students and schools locally and around the world. Starting in 2017, the company began sponsoring the Bloomsburg Fair’s STEM Magnet Competition by donating $10,000 to a local school’s STEM program. They also saw a need in early 2020-2021 when COVID-19 began and began producing cloth masks for the public to help slow the pandemic.

“It’s meaningful to be recognized, we have an amazing group of people that work here,” said Greg Martz, President of Martz Technologies. “The company was founded in 2001 in a basement and now we are one of the leading automation engineering groups in the northern half of Pennsylvania.” “We are dedicated to bringing living-wage jobs and quality of life to our young people in the community.”

Large Business of the Year | Sponsored by DRIVE: Crispin Multiplex

Presented to a business with 31 or more employees and the same criteria as the Small Business of the Year Award, the Large Business of the Year Award was presented to Crispin Multiplex, entering its 117^th year in business. No other company in the world has manufactured air valves longer than Crispin Multiplex. A family-owned business, they hold the first U.S. design patent for the product. Their customers include some of the world’s top corporations – from Philips Petroleum, Walt Disney Co., and Anheuser-Busch to Bechtel, International Paper, Black & Veatch, and more. The fourth-generation of Crispins are proud to remain a part of the Berwick community.

“For the past 117 years, we’ve always strived to be the best employer and community member that we can be,” said Darren Crispin, President/CEO of Crispin Multiplex. “We also know that our company is only as good as the people we have around us. We’ve been blessed with many great team members throughout the area.”

Community Progress | Sponsored by World Kinect Energy Services: Northeast Training Institute

The Community Progress Award recognizes a member business or organization that showed improvement in the internal or external appearance of a commercial property through either new construction, renovation, restoration or remodeling, and completed that construction within the last three calendar years.

The Northeast Training Institute (NETI) is an 11,000 square foot training facility located in the Columbia County Business Park in Lightstreet. NETI offers classroom, online and hands-on courses for home inspectors, ICC and UCC residential and commercial code inspectors. NETI is an ICC-certified testing facility. At the heart of the training center is the House of Horrors. The two-story building was built within the training center. The house includes a basement and attic, miswired electrical outlets, incorrectly installed furnaces and badly-joined sewage pipes designed to test the skill set of new home inspectors, affording them 1,000 examples of how things look when they go wrong.

They are also partnering with local schools and universities, along with organizations in need of a state-of-art classroom environment, to teach courses.

“We’re very proud of what we do in the community. We’re very involved in bringing the community together and we do really believe in giving back,” Justin Weber, Chief Operating Officer at NETI, said. “One of our big projects is giving coats to kids in need. Cozy Coats for Kids is the charity that we use. We also are very involved with allowing students from the community to come in and use our facility for training purposes, and that’s all free.”

Nonprofit of the Year | Sponsored by PNC Bank: The Hand in Hand Family Resource Center

Nonprofit of the Year is presented to a nonprofit organization with 100 or fewer employees that has provided diversified and creative aid to the Columbia Montour region utilizing business, personal, and community resources.

The Hand in Hand Family Resource Center helps improve accessibility and acceptance to individuals with special needs. The organization has provided educational programs through schools, the community, and homes to educators, businesses, and caregivers, and programs and opportunities directly for individuals for five years. Programs include a Sensory Tent at large events, a Sensory Santa throughout Columbia and Montour Counties in December, a Construction, Art, Music, Play, Sensory, or CAMPS day, Let’s Get A Job (training for individuals to enter the workforce, and more. The organization has also raised travel and stay funds for local families needing to leave the area for medical care as well as provided a ramp for handicap accessibility to a home.

“We are deeply honored to win this award. We love every moment of every program we do,” said Hand in Hand President, Jennifer Billig. “We started a career exploration program for local businesses to come in and teach the skills necessary to have those jobs. We are also working on a peer partnership program with some of the schools in the area. “

Outstanding Citizen | Sponsored by B.I.D.A.: Lissa Bryan-Smith

The Outstanding Citizen AwardW is presented to an individual that is an employee or volunteer of a member organization who is involved in civic activities beneficial to the Columbia Montour region and who projects a positive community image.

Lissa Bryan-Smith is a nurse by trade and the administrator of Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital and Geisinger Woodbine. She is a strong advocate for education and mentoring young professional and nursing students. She speaks at all of the STEAM tours hosted at Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital for local high school students to educate them on the career options in a hospital setting. She has been a champion for projects for Head Start, Bloomsburg University, and the Bloomsburg YMCA. Lissa leads by example and has served a number of organizations in Columbia and Montour counties, including Columbia Child Development Board of Directors and the Executive Board, The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce Board, Bloomsburg YMCA, and Bloomsburg University – White Coat Ceremony and Husky Research Board.

“I’ve been with Geisinger for 40 years, 23 of them being at the Geisinger Medical Center. I’ve been so blessed to spend the last 10 years of my career at the Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital. I share the nomination with so many wonderful people who have done such amazing things in the Columbia and Montour Counties.” said Vice President of Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital, Lissa Bryan-Smith.

In addition to the presentation of the Annual Awards, the Chamber also announced a new app for smartphones, allowing members to access Chamber information and resources from mobile devices. Users can access the full membership directly from their mobile device, including the ability to email or call a member. The app can send text messages to alert users of a new event or important news item.

The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization that represents nearly 430 businesses and organizations from the Columbia and Montour County region.

Chamber’s Board of Directors Approved at Organization’s 81^st Annual Meeting

BLOOMSBURG – Members of The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce approved incoming board members and officers for its 2022-23 fiscal year at the organization’s annual meeting held virtually on Wednesday, February 9^th.  

Elected to a 3-year term on the Board:

• Jeff Cerminaro, Walker’s Jewelers
• Holly Morrison, Community Giving Foundation
• Chris Stamatedes, PPL Electric Utilities
• Bob Stoudt, Montour Area Recreation Commission

Elected to a 1-year term on the Board:

• Megan Kiliti, Berwick Brewing
• Denise Stone, eXp Realty
• Karen Wood, Service 1^st Federal Credit Union

Elected to fill an unexpired, 3-year term on the Board:

• Sharon Wilkin, Design Group

Appointed to 1-year terms by the incoming Board Chair:

• Dan Good, Marr Development
• Adrienne Mael, United Way of Columbia and Montour Counties
• Bruce Schlichter, Kawneer

Elected to a 2-year term as Chair:

• Chris Stamatedes, PPL Electric Utilities

Elected to 1-year terms:

• Vice-Chair – Bob Stoudt, Montour Area Recreation Commission
• Treasurer – Denise Stone, eXp Realty
• President – Fred Gaffney
• Immediate Past Chair – Dan Knorr, Bloomsburg University

Dan Knorr, outgoing Board Chair, also recognized outgoing Board member Christian Force with PB&J Bar and ALTERA Life for his service.

Bloomsburg Children’s Museum and CSIU Partner on After School Maker Camp at Milton Maker Space

The Bloomsburg’s Children’s Museum, in collaboration with the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (CSIU), is bringing their popular After School Maker Camp to the Milton Maker Space, located at 139 S Front St, Milton. This program is geared towards children 6-12.

Programs will run from February 18, 2022 until January 20, 2023.

Maker Camp is free thanks to the PA Smart Grant from the CSIU.

“We are funded through a PA Smart Grant written by CSIU. This is a collaborative project, and the money is designed to reward computer science and STEM programs for students K-12 in the Northumberland County Region,” said Colleen Epler-Ruths from CSIU.

Events will be on the third Friday of the month, 6-7 p.m. The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum started an After School Maker Camp in 2020. This program combines fun, creative tactics with educational science experiments. The after-school camp is a spin-off of the Museum’s wildly popular Summer Maker Camp. 

Kicking off the After School Maker Camp is “Intro to Soldering” on February 18. Additional events include: “Art Meets Science- Light up Canvases” on March 18, “Lego WeDo Robotics and Programming” on April 15 and “Kitchen Chemistry: Experimenting with Cupcake Recipes” on May 20.  “Create a Motorized Boat” will be kick off the summer on June 17,  “Forensic Science- Solve a Mystery” on July 15, “Engineering Challenge” on August 19, “Build a Walking Robot” will take place on September 16 and  “Light up Ghosts” is a Halloween themed event taking place October 21.   November 18 children will enjoy “Codes and Ciphers” and on December 16 there will be a kitchen-themed event called “Kitchen Chemistry: Boba Tea.”  The program ends with a “Sumo Bot Challenge” on January 20, 2023.

Registration is online at https://bit.ly/bcm-at-miltonmakerspace or call the Bloomsburg Children’s Museum at (570) 389-9206.

Siren Test Scheduled for This Friday

This Friday, Bloomsburg University will be testing its emergency siren system at 9:50 a.m. 

Thanks to the ongoing support of members and a retention rate of over 92%, The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce remains strong entering its 82^nd year. Dan Knorr, outgoing Board Chair, highlighted some of the Chamber’s activities over the past year at the organization’s Annual Meeting held February 9^th. A full summary is available in the Chamber’s 2021-22 Annual Report 21-22

From PA Chamber of Business & Industry

The PA Department of Labor & Industry has launched the Worker Protection and Labor Law Non-Compliance List, a list of organizations which they contend are either violating Pennsylvania labor laws or owe unemployment compensation taxes, the latter of which  includes about 11,800 businesses or 4 percent of all Pennsylvania businesses.

Last October, the Department announced its plan to compile these lists and the PA Chamber responded in a press release, acknowledging that employers who intentionally skirt the law should be held accountable, but also recognizing that violations are often unintentional and recommending that any public list only include companies who willfully fail to comply after exhausting any administrative resolution process.

Employers are already reporting being on the list mistakenly. Businesses are encouraged to check the list and if they are on it, mistakenly or not, to take steps for removal:

Unemployment Compensation: Contact Collections Support at 412-565-5121 if you are on the list mistakenly to make payments or set up a payment plan. Employers can also make payments electronically at www.uctax.pa.gov. This is the largest list which includes 49 employers from Columbia County and 10 from Montour.

Labor Laws: Email the Bureau of Labor Law Compliance, at ra-li-slmr-llc@pa.gov to make a payment or set up a payment plan.

Workers’ Compensation: Organizations can make payments and set up payment plans by contacting the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation at ra-li-bwc-helpline@pa.gov or by calling 717-772-3702.

If you have further issues, please reach out to PA Chamber Director of Government Affairs Alex Halper at ahalper@pachamber.org.