Economic Insider — February 13, 2009

Director's Focus
A few quick updates this week…

Of course, with all the doom and glum and legitimate concern for economic recession and the resulting potential job loss in our state and region, we continue to monitor local economic conditions. While sometimes difficult to see through the rhetoric, it is apparent that Crawford County businesses and citizens are beginning to feel the effects of recent national and global economic trends. I suppose we should feel some consolation in the fact that our community seems now to be following, rather than leading the economic decline. While only a recent student of the region’s economy, by-and-large, area businesses appear reasonably well positioned to weather the current storm and some are now able to take advantage of a growing pool of labor. Remember, it was just a few months back that the majority of concerns we heard from area businesses were related to difficulties in hiring qualified people.

However, I do expect that local employment news will continue be somewhat negative for at least the next few months. In the mean time…

  • the vast majority of firms with which we do business regularly (over 30 direct tenants) report business as usual with little apparent concern for immediate decline
  • work continues with the development of our strategic plan which will be reviewed by the Board of Director on February 19th for possible adoption, as does our effort to acquire and market the former Tel-O-Post facility in Linesville
  • as for the federal economic stimulus plan, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. We will be aggressively looking at potential ways to access and productively utilize resources if appropriate. While we may have our personal misgivings regarding the details of the stimulus bill, we are obliged to aggressively seek the return of our fair share of our tax dollars (or debt liability) authorized for spending

Until next time...

Mark Turner

Coldwell Banker Acquires Existing Offices

Coldwell Banker Bainbridge Kaufman Real Estate recently purchased Colonial Penn Real Estate, a company with three offices, one each in Hermitage, New Castle and Chippewa Township (Beaver Falls), Pennsylvania. With offices already in Meadville and Conneaut Lake, this acquisition not only increases Coldwell Banker's office locations, it brings their current number of employees to 45 and expands their service area from Crawford County to all of western Pennsylvania through joining the West Penn MLS, an internal multi-list system to market homes. Funding assistance for the project was received from the USDA Intermediary Re-lending Program (IRP) for working capital to enable them to retain and add jobs. The company plans are to add ten more within the year.

Coldwell Banker has a long history in Crawford County. Founded in 1952 as the Arthur Gardner Agency, it soon after changed ownership and was renamed the Bainbridge Agency. The agency continued to grow and was purchased in 1961 by Ed Kaufman, becoming the Bainbridge Kaufman Agency. Terry Wygle purchased the firm in 1987 and franchised with Coldwell Banker, giving the company national and international exposure. By 1995, Ms. Wygle incorporated and took on partners. Today, the partners of Wygle, David Schepner and Pamela Willis, continue the company's history of growth and expansion, providing a comprehensive range of real estate services.

The USDA IRP is a low-interest loan program available to private for-profit companies. Eligible uses of funds include land and building acquisition, building construction, machinery and equipment, and working capital. It is just one of numerous resources available to businesses for assistance with their projects.

For assistance, detailed information and guidelines on the IRP and other programs available to help complete your projects, contact Larry Morgan at the Economic Progress Alliance, 814-333-2299 ext. 227.

Fixing America's Economy Presentation

Allegheny College will host a presentation by representatives of the Coalition for a Prosperous America on Thursday, February 26th, at 2:00 p.m. and Ford Chapel. The "Fixing America's Economy" strategy focuses on the economic policies and trade reforms that are most critical to improve the global competitiveness of domestic producers and reverse the erosion of manufacturing in the U.S.

Steve Onyeiwu, associate professor of economics at Allegheny and co-director of the college's managerial economics program, will open the presentation with a brief analysis of the state of manufacturing in the United States and in northwestern Pennsylvania. Following this introduction, presenters Charles Blum and Dave Frengel will connect the dots between failed U.S. trade policies, the sub-prime collapse and the current economic crisis as well as explain bailouts and stimulus packages.

Blum, a founding member of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, has been involved in American trade issues for more than 35 years, serving as a diplomat, trade negotiator and consultant based in Washington D.C. In a 17-year government career, he served as a diplomat in the State Department and as a trade negotiator who rose to the rank of assistant U.S. trade representative for industrial trade policy for multilateral negotiations.

Frengel, from Penn United Technologies, a precision manufacturer near Pittsburgh, serves on government and policy committees of the National Association of Manufacturers, National Tooling and Machining Association, Precision Manufacturing Association and the Butler County Chamber of Commerce.

The Coalition for a Prosperous America is a nonpartisan network of domestic manufacturers, farmers, labor, and community and religious organizations committed to supporting actions that will strengthen America's economic position in world markets.

The presentation is made possible through a collaboration of the National Tooling and Machining Association of Northwestern Pennsylvania, Precision Manufacturing Institute, the Meadville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED), the Northwestern Pennsylvania Keystone Innovation Zone, and the Managerial Economics program at Allegheny College.

While admission is free, a $10 donation per participant at the door is requested with all the proceeds to go to the Coalition for a Prosperous America. Allegheny students providing a student ID will be admitted at no cost. Doors will open at 1:30 p.m. Parking is available in lots east of Pelletier Library, north of the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts and west of the Odd Fellows Building.

For further information about this event, contact Etienne Ozorak, CEED coordinator, at 814-332-2713.

Robert F Kennedy Jr. to Speak at Allegheny College

Environmentalist, activist and attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will speak on "Our Environmental Destiny" at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15th in Ford Chapel at Allegheny College in the final event of the public programming of Allegheny's Year of Health.

Kennedy will discuss the role that our natural surroundings play in our work, our health and our identity as Americans. Using examples gathered from relevant art, history, litigation and literature, he will remind listeners of their responsibility to protect and preserve the environment for future generations.

Kennedy is chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeepers, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council and president of the Waterkeeper Alliance. A high-profile political speaker and activist, he has used numerous media outlets, including his 2004 book "Crimes Against Nature," to call into question the environmental policies of the United States.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Professor Caryl Waggett at caryl.waggett@allegheny.edu.

Shafer Award Nominations

Nominations for the 2009 Governor Raymond P. Shafer Award for Distinguished Community Service are currently being accepted. This award recognizes a person who has made a singular contribution to the quality of life in western Crawford County. The Shafer Award is co-sponsored by Allegheny College, the Shafer Law Firm and the Meadville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Nomination forms may be obtained at the Meadville Chamber of Commerce, 211 Chestnut Street. All nominations are due to the Chamber by Saturday, March 14, 2009.