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Chamber News |
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Welcome New Members and Those Who Recently Renewed! |
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Youth Leadership Program Day at CTDI |
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The CCCBI Foundation's Youth Leadership Program spent the day at CTDI HQ in West Chester on Tuesday. Students heard from some of the wonderful CTDI staff, took an in-depth tour of the facilities, and gained an inside look at the communication technology field.
Thank you to Courtney Lofgren, Matt Parsons, CCCBI Board member, Keith Montone, and the entire CTDI team for hosting such a fantastic day for our program participants! |
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Small Business Awards Breakfast- February 23, 2023 |
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Join us on Thursday, February 23, 2023 8:00AM-10:00AM at Penn Oaks Golf Club to honor AEONRG, Home of the Sparrow, and SCORE- Chester and Delaware Counties. Each honoree is a pillar of the community, through their commitment and dedication to the Chester County.
Small Business of the Year AEONRG LLC is an Award-Winning Facility Renovation organization providing MEP and MRO Services to support the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers and the National Cemetery Administration with effective and efficient facility solutions. AEONRG defines success through their value added, high quality, on time work delivered for customers and by giving back to veterans and the community.
Nonprofit of the Year Home of the Sparrow partners with women facing homelessness to secure housing, achieve long-term stability, and chart new paths for their futures. As a trusted service provider, they provide a safety net for single women, mothers, and their children in Chester County. Home of the Sparrow brings organizations and people together to solve the problem of homelessness and to create better futures for women and children.
Community Partner of the Year SCORE Chester and Delaware Counties is dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and encouraging the formation, growth and success of small businesses in our community through FREE counseling and no-cost or low-cost educational workshops and webinars.
CCCBI is proud to partner with Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania! Girl Scouts will be selling cookies at the event.
Click here to view the sponsorship opportunities available. This event is a great opportunity to showcase your business while also supporting other local businesses in our community! Email Julie, at Julie@chescochamber.org for more information on sponsorships and questions about the event. |
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Calling All Middle School Students for the Civics Bee! |
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Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry is partnering with the Pennsylvania Chamber and Chester County Intermediate Unit to host a regional Civics Bee, as part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s National Civics Bee competition.
Students are to submit a 500-word essay to demonstrate their best understanding of civics. The essay topic is: Identify a problem, challenge, or opportunity in your local community. What can you do to contribute to its improvement based on Founding principles and civic virtues? Deadline for essay submissions is February 24, 2023. Click here to view the online submission form.
Thank you to our Technology Sponsor, Benchmark Federal Credit Union, for providing brand-new tablets to each of the 20 finalists in the local Bee!
If you would like to support your students, click here for resources including contest details, a flyer, a student and parent guide, and more. |
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Submit Your Nomination for the J. Larry Boling Excellence in Local Government Award |
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Please consider nominating a Local Government official at the municipal, county or school district level for the 2023 J. Larry Boling Excellence in Local Government Award. The J. Larry Boling Award is for a professional local government person who shows outstanding effective performance and an interest in economic efficiency.
Please email Marguerite at marguerite@chescochamber.org with the name of the individual, the government for which they work, and your nomination for the criteria stated in the nomination form.
The award will be presented at the State of the County on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 8:00AM-10:00AM at Desmond Hotel Malvern.
Please submit your nomination by February 20, 2023. |
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Legislative Update |
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Tuesday’s Special Elections to Fill Vacancies Lead to Democrat Majority in PA House |
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On election day in November, the House Democrats surprised most observers and won enough seats to take over the majority for the first time in a dozen years. However, three of those seats were won by incumbent legislators who will not be serving in the new session. Two resigned in December to take higher offices, and one, long-time Allegheny County Rep. Anthony DeLuca, passed away. This left the Dems back on the short end of the majority, though they did not concede that in the weeks that followed, and confusion ensued. In the absence of an elected Speaker, both Democrat Leader Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia) and Republican Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) claimed the majority leading up to the three special elections which were eventually held on February 7th. As expected the Democrat candidates swept all three seats in these heavily Democrat districts all within Allegheny County.
Joe McAndrew is replacing Tony DeLuca in 32nd House District. Rep DeLuca passed away in October. While the special elections give the Democrats a 102 seat majority out of the 203 seats in PA House, next steps are still unclear due to the surprise of Mark Rozzi (D-Berks) becoming Speaker on January 3, when the new General Assembly was sworn in. The House Republicans, who had 101 seats to the Democrats’ 99 at the time, ultimately, but not unanimously, chose Rep. Carl Metzgar (R-Somerset) to be their Speaker candidate during a closed door Caucus meeting. However, both Republican and Democrat caucuses were trying to work deals with potential “compromise” candidates from across the aisle, since it was unclear if Metzgar would have 101 votes to be elected Speaker – or perhaps it was clear that he didn’t. Metzgar reportedly had agreed to demands by the right wing “Freedom Caucus” to take certain actions.
Eventually a motion was made, to the surprise of many, by Republican Rep. Jim Gregory, that Berks County Democrat Rep. Mark Rozzi be elected Speaker. Also, probably to the surprise of many, Democrat Leader Joanna McClinton stood up and seconded the nomination. At least some of the Republicans, likely including the Freedom caucus members, were caught off guard, and attempted to still offer Metzgar. Rep. McClinton, who stated her goal to be speaker when the open seats are filled, did not offer herself of any other Dems. So, the votes were taken and Rozzi defeated Metzgar by a 115-85 vote.
Rozzi took the gavel and announced that he would serve as an “independent” Speaker and would not sit in either caucus. He also said his staff would come from both parties. Rozzi then cancelled the remaining scheduled session days in January. In the interim, Rozzi has appointed a six-member, bipartisan task force to develop a set of rules for conducting business in the House, a task normally performed by the majority party, with limited input from the minority. None of the members of the task force came from either party’s chosen leadership teams, apparently by design. Then, Rozzi and the task force announced a “listening tour”, traveling around the state to meet with the public to take “advice” on how to break the partisan logjams and get the people’s business done.
The three Allegheny County Special elections will likely be sworn in on likely on February 21st during recently announced session schedule (below). This will return the House to a Democrat majority, at 102-100, with an open REPUBLICAN seat, vacated by Rep. Lynda Culver, who won a special election on January 31 to succeed Sen. John Gordner who resigned to become Chief Council to the Senate Republicans. That will necessitate another special election in Northumberland County, to replace her, to be called by the Speaker of the House, at least 60 days after the vacancy is created.
February 21, 22, 23, 27, 28 March 1, 6, 7, 8 April 24, 25, 26 May 1, 2, 3, 22, 23, 24 June 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
This Legislative Update was prepared by Alex Rahn, Vice President of Wanner Associates for CCCBI. |
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Member Spotlight |
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Corporate Valuation Advisors, Inc. |
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Corporate Valuation Advisors, Inc. is a premier provider of financial valuation and asset appraisal services. CVA has been providing valuations of business enterprises, tangible assets, and intangible assets and advising clients on various tax and financial reporting issues for over 30 years. CVA provides its services to small businesses and Fortune 500 companies, lending institutions and private equity firms.
On average, the professional staff members of CVA have twenty years of experience in the valuation profession. Most staff members hold numerous professional designations in the valuation profession and possess advanced degrees. The professionals at CVA have the experience to provide a wide range of valuation and financial services while also providing an impeccable level of client service and responsiveness.
These services include, but are not limited to, the following: · Financial Reporting · Stock and Option Valuations · Fairness Opinions/Solvency Opinions · Purchase Price Allocations · Tangible Property Valuations · Intangible Asset and Goodwill Impairment · Venture Capital Valuations · Intellectual Property Valuations · Real Estate Valuation and Consulting · Property Tax Appeal |
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Upcoming Events |
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SEPTA Bus Revolution: Chester County Edition Tuesday, February 14, 2023 at 12:00PM |
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Join CCCBI and Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC) to learn more about SEPTA’s proposed Bus Revolution changes in Chester County's service network.
Through a guided online presentation, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) planners will share insight and facilitate a conversation with riders and employers on the proposed design.
Riders, Human Resource managers and transportation coordinators are encouraged to attend. |
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Email your news to marguerite@chescochamber.org |
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