Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017 - 4

letter from the president

Board of Directors
2016-17
CHAIRMAN:
Robert Firely, Herbein + Company, Inc.
VICE CHAIR:
Peter Rye, Brentwood Industries, Inc.
TREASURER:
Steve Horvat, Baker Tilley
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR:
Scott Gruber, Tompkins VIST Bank
LEGAL COUNSEL:
Tim Dietrich, Esq., Barley Snyder
DIRECTORS:
Marilu Rodriguez-Bauer,
Owner, RB Legal Counsel, LLC
Karen Baxter, Manager, External Affairs,
Met-Ed, A FirstEnergy Company
Nicholas Bentley,
President, American Polarizers, Inc.
Gregg Bogia,
President, Bogia Engineering, Inc.
Marianne Brown Egolf,
General Manager, F.M. Brown's Sons, Inc.
Johanny Cepeda,
Owner/Manager, Mi Casa Su Casa
Harry Dietz, Associate Publisher
and Editor, Reading Eagle
Robert Firely, Partner,
Herbein + Company, Inc.
Scott Gruber, President & CEO,
Tompkins VIST Bank
Tracy Hoffmann, President,
Hoffmann Publishing
Steve Horvat, Partner, CPA, Baker Tilley
Lisa Lavender, Chief Operating Officer,
Berks Fire Water Restorations, Inc.
Brian Levan, President, Levan
Machine & Truck Equipment
William Long, Administrative
Vice President, M&T Bank
Carl Marks, Chief Operating Officer,
Distributed Systems Services, Inc. (DSS)
Don Mikes, Senior VP, Penske Truck Leasing
Toni Miller, Senior Executive Vice
President - Chief Administrative Officer
and Chief Financial Officer, Boscov's
Pete Molinaro, President, Adhezion
Biomedical, LLC
Ann Moll, President, Gallen Insurance
Michele Richards, Senior Vice President,
Commercial Banking Group, Fulton Bank
David Roche, President, Dave Roche Electric Inc.
David Roland, Senior Vice President,
Market President, Berks, BB&T
Peter Rye, President, Brentwood Industries, Inc.
Mark Schlott, Executive VP of Operations/Chief
Operating Officer, R. M. Palmer Company
Stayce Schlouch, Project Manager,
Schlouch Incorporated
Nicholas Stoltzfus, President, DESCCO Design
Sara Kuzma-Stump, Director, Sales &
Marketing, Suburban Testing Labs, Inc.
Rich Tinsman, VP, Manufacturing,
Carpenter Technology
Lauren Tobiassen, Area President,
Central PA, Wells Fargo
Scott Vaughn, CEO, The Standard Group

s I think about this spring edition of Commerce Quarterly,
I'm reminded of what the word "spring" represents when
referring to the seasons. We think about renewal, hope,
and the time of year for new beginnings. All of those things hold
true for our organization now, more than ever.

Here at the Chamber we are energized with a new organization, the
Greater Reading Chamber and Economic Development Corporation,
led by our President and CEO, Randy Peers. If you've not met
Randy in person, you will, to be sure! Randy has spent his first
weeks getting to know the community, meeting folks, interfacing
with the staff and doing all of this with speed that would make
the most energetic of us pause to breathe. With an accomplished
record (as you'll read) as a thinker and doer, I can personally affirm
he does so with great passion - the main ingredient of his personal
"secret sauce!"
New beginnings can also be found in northeast Reading, the area
which just a few decades ago was teaming with buses and shoppers vying for the best deals in the
outlet stores that took over that part of town. Now, we are witnessing a new beginning with a
community in transition, reinventing space to become home, work and a place to build community
ties. It's a vibrant, exciting time for the northeast and I would highly recommend you visit and
bring an appetite! I just love it when old space from factories, to outlets, to something totally
unexpected happens right in our backyard.
There is just so much good information packed into this edition of CQ. You will find it both
uplifting and educational. You will read what's new in our community healthcare landscape, with
two first-class hospitals making news and growing, and then you'll page through post-election
thoughts on the economic forecast. We've covered a lot of ground in this issue that you won't
want to miss.
I also appreciate the great article about online reviews! For the record, I read reviews on just about
anything I'm about to purchase, understanding that one bad review does not cloud my good
judgement. However, we all are part of a world with "more information than we sometimes need,"
and this can often impact our decisions. An interesting read on how to handle this as a business!
Finally - how can we not love the article about Letting Your Office go to the Dogs! I vote "yes"
for the dogs (and cats too).
Enjoy the read as you sit back and consider the many new beginnings happening right here in
our community!

Karen Marsdale
Karen Marsdale, President, CEO

Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce & Industry

4 COMMERCE QUARTERLY SPRING 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Spring 2017