Youth Leadership Program Celebrates Graduation Dinner
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The Chester County Chamber Foundation celebrated over fifty high school students at their Youth Leadership Program Graduation Dinner at Penn Oaks Golf Club.
The Youth Leadership Program (YLP), sponsored by PA American Water, helps 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students create professional networks with industry and community leaders as well as form lasting friendships with other Chester County students. In addition to forming these worthwhile networks, the participants learn valuable skills for future careers and leadership positions. As our objective is career readiness, we not only concentrate on necessary skills such as resume/cover letter writing and communication, we also address the vital “soft skills” needed for future success. This program is actively preparing students for future careers and to fostering our next generation of community and business leaders.
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Throughout the 2024-2025 program year, the cohort visited a variety of local businesses and organizations with the hope of making connections, learning soft skills and seeing the range of opportunities that are available right here in Chester County.
Our hosts and speakers for the year, who make this program possible, included the City of Coatesville, CTDI, DFT Inc., Penn Oaks Golf Club, The Desmond Hotel, nth Solutions, Wawa Inc., Ann’s Heart, the Chester County Food Bank, the Fighting Back Scholarship Program Holiday Hope Chest, Breakthrough T1D, Michelle Leonard and many more.
Several of these generous hosts attended the graduation dinner with the students and their families to celebrate a successful year with Keynote Speaker, Ana Welsh of Ana Welsh Leadership. Fitting to YLP, Ana discussed how to Drive Success with the Right Vision.
Success is a squiggly line, not a straight one.
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Having the right mindset means managing your inner voice. Ana shared her strategy on how to replace judgmental thoughts with empathy and by kicking off the talk with a Saquon Barkley analogy of keeping your eye on the what matters.
The Chester County Chamber Foundation supports Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry (CCCBI) by preserving and promoting healthy and sustainable commerce in Chester County for the benefit of all members of the community through programs and grant-making to provide youth leadership training, education, career paths and workforce development. At the cornerstone of the Foundation's work is the Youth Leadership Program. With the generous support of PA American Water, who sponsored YLP for the second year, this program was able to positively affect over fifty students for yet another year.
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An Excellent Afternoon at CCCBI's First Business Excellence Awards Luncheon
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Yesterday, the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry held the inaugural Business Excellence Awards luncheon at the Desmond Hotel, honoring six influential businesses and business leaders from within our membership.
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Over two hundred members, friends of the Chamber and community leaders gathered to celebrate our honorees:
🏆Female Business Leader of the Year: Meridith Coyle
🏆Community Partner of the Year: PA American Water
🏆Minority-Owned Business of the Year: OYL Consulting
🏆Nonprofit of the Year: Handi-Crafters Opportunity Center
🏆Rising Star of the Year: Katie LaDow
🏆Small Business of the Year: Valley Creek Productions
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This event combined two previous signature events, the Small Business Awards Breakfast and the Women Influencing Business Awards Dinner in the hopes of creating a bigger, bolder, more unified event that reflects the full strength, diversity, and spirit of our business community.
Stay tuned next week for more photos, a full recap of our Keynote Speaker: Christopher Everett of Truist, special guest speaker Justin Ladner of PA American Water, our beautiful honoree impact videos from Small Business of the Year: Valley Creek Productions and finally a special event recap video from Kamelot Productions!
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We're proud to introduce our intern, Ella Chiarello, who has been thriving at CCCBI throughout her spring semester! Ella's hands-on experience in social media strategy and event support has made her a valuable member of our team.
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Ella is currently a senior at West Chester University majoring in Marketing. She is set to graduate this Saturday, May 10.
Outside of school, she serves as the Marketing intern at the CCCBI. Ella has a strong passion for social media, digital design, storytelling, and building authentic connections with others. She loves bringing creative ideas to life and finding new and unique ways to connect with an audience.
Beyond her work, Ella enjoys volunteering, spending time with family and friends, exploring her love of music through learning guitar, and chasing a sunset whenever she can.
After graduating, Ella looks forward to pursuing a career in social media marketing, where she can continue blending creativity, strategy, and collaboration to help brands tell their stories.
Please join us in congratulating Ella on her accomplishments with the Chamber and the completion of her education with CCCBI Member, WCU!
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Small Business Briefing on Tariffs
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently sent out a coalition letter urging Congress to prevent a backdoor tax increase on American businesses by preserving the B-SALT deduction as an essential feature of the federal tax system.
We hope that our members will join the U.S. Chamber this Friday for a special tariff update focused on their ongoing advocacy and our work to support small businesses.
May 9, 2025
11:30 a.m. ET
Virtual
Tariffs are having a real and devastating impact on thousands of small businesses across the nation as uncertainty, rising costs, and cancellations are hitting home.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is working vigorously to address these challenges. Learn about the latest updates to tariff policy and our recent advocacy efforts — including last week’s letter to the administration asking for an exemption from tariffs for small businesses — at a special briefing this Friday.
Confirmed Speakers:
- Neil Bradley, Executive Vice President, Chief Policy Officer, and Head of Strategic Advocacy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- John Murphy, Senior Vice President, Head of International, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
We welcome you to share the registration link below with your colleagues and fellow small businesses.
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Based in Downingtown, Lady Raven Productions, LLC (LRP) is a truly a one-of-a-kind business that raises funds for nonprofits by combining classic trivia nights with horror.
After years of volunteering and serving on the board of the Phoenixville White Horse Rugby Club as the fundraising chair, owner Laura Berry realized that many nonprofits face a recurring issue.
The same volunteers and donors are asked to shoulder a disproportionate amount of responsibility, resulting in volunteer burnout and a struggle to secure adequate funding.
Laura wanted to help nonprofits facing this challenge, so she combined her love of acting, horror, and networking into a business that would not only support nonprofits but would allow the local business community to come together as well.
As the character Lady Raven, Laura hosts horror themed trivia nights — all with the purpose of securing funds for nonprofits. Laura works with local businesses to secure advertising for the events, provide food, and prizes for trivia participants all while raising money for important causes.
She is excited to serve the many nonprofits in Chester County and is thrilled to be a member of CCCBI. By engaging in chamber events, she has met staff from many wonderful organizations like Chester County United Way, the Chester County Food Bank, and more.
If your nonprofit needs some scary good fundraising, LRP has you covered. http://ladyravenproductions.com/
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We’d love to hear from and highlight your business! We are seeking member spotlight stories to include in our weekly newsletter!
Email your news to abby@chescochamber.org
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