NTRPDC’s 2012 Annual Meet-ing was held on May 11 at the Wysox Fire Hall, with more than 140 individuals, local businesses, and elected offi-cials attending.

A highlight of the meeting was “success stories”—businesses and organizations that benefitted from funding or technical assistance from NTRPDC programs in 2011. This past year, NTRPDC’s im-plementation of the Disaster Recovery Loan Fund led to several success stories, as businesses were equipped with funding that helped

them reopen following the September 2011 flood. Testi-monials were shared from Lowery’s Life Appreciation Center, Monument Service, and Funeral Home in Athens; Midtown Dry Cleaners in Brad-ford County; and the Holistic Health Center in Wyoming County. Other success stories included NTRPDC’s use of Na-tional Emergency Grant funds to hire flood clean-up crews throughout the Northern Tier.

NTRPDC Regional Planner Matt Williams highlighted the importance of the Pennsyl-vania Community Transporta-

tion Initiative awarding NTRPDC funds to implement traffic signal upgrades and pedestrian facility upgrades. Pedestrian facility upgrades accommodate individuals with disabilities, and general traffic signal upgrades help ensure greater traveling safety throughout the Northern Tier.

In addition to success sto-ries and general program up-dates, we were pleased to welcome keynote speakers Michael Narcavage, Manager of Corporate Development at Chesapeake Energy, and Pennsylvania State Represen-tative Tina Pickett. Narcavage addressed Chesapeake’s de-velopment of compressed natural gas and its uses for transportation. Representa-tive Tina Pickett’s legislative update from Harrisburg pro-vided valuable information on the pieces of legislation she is currently working that will impact the Northern Tier.

Members of NTRPDC’s various committees were also acknowledged, and thanked for their commitment and hard work to enhance the Northern Tier.

Annual Meeting Highlighted Progress and Plans

June 2012

Executive Committee NTRPDC Conference Room 10:30 a.m. July 20, 2012 kulick@northerntier.org Local Loan Review Committee NTRPDC Conference Room 9 a.m. July 13, 2012 August 10, 2012 kulick@northerntier.org RTAC NTRPDC Conference Room 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. July 9, 2012 August 13, 2012 baker@northerntier.org Workforce Investment Board NTRPDC Conference Room 10:30 a.m. July 24, 2012 August 22, 2012 warner@northerntier.org

Public Meeting for TIP 2013-2016 review Towanda Country Club 10:00 a.m. July 9, 2012 baker@northerntier.org

Upcoming Meetings

NTRPDC Executive Director Kevin Barnes introduces keynote speakers Michael Narcavage from Chesapeake Energy and Pennsylvania State Representative Tina Pickett.

Page 2 NTRPDC update

The third annual Marcellus Shale Business-to-Business Expo was held at Alparon Park in Troy on June 23, 2012. Ap-proximately 240 businesses exhibited, connecting local businesses, energy compa-nies, and service providers to share information about the impact of and potential op-portunities created through exploration of the Marcellus Shale. Exhibitors had oppor-tunities to network with other businesses also exhibiting at the Expo as well to inform the general public about their services.

In addition to exhibitors, the Expo welcomed several knowledgeable speakers.

Lindsey Sikorski, Mansfield University Interim Director, addressed attendees on the creation of The Marcellus In-stitute at Mansfield. Mike Nar-cavage, Manager of Corporate Development for Chesapeake Energy, spoke with attendees regarding the development of local compressed natural gas projects. Kent Morton, Vice President of Moxie Energy, spoke about the Liberty

Power Plant. Major sponsors for this

year’s event included: Chesa-peake Energy, Talisman En-ergy, Williams Oil Companies, Heckmann Water Resource, Simmons-Rockwell, Petro-Choice, Cabot Oil & Gas, Wyo-ming Casing Service, Eastern Penn Supply Company (EPSCO), PennPower, Process-Flo, and Inergy. We appreci-ate their continued support.

Once again, the Expo Plan-ning Committee brought to-gether a dedicated and hard working group to coordinate the event. NTRPDC and the Progress Authority partnered with the Alparon Community Park, Penn State Cooperative Extension, and the University of Scranton Small Business Development Center for an-other successful Expo.

B2B Marcellus Shale Expo Attracts 240 Exhibitors

Event connects local businesses and individuals with

opportunities in the natural gas industry.

Loan Closings May and June

Two loans were closed in May and June totaling $30,000. $20,000 Disaster Recovery

Loan to Holdren’s Preci-sion Machine, Inc., in Ul-ster for exterior property improvements made nec-essary by flood damages.

$10,000 Small Business Loan Program micro loan to Radshark in Thompson for working capital costs associated with the mar-keting for their radiation detection business. For more information,

please contact Paulette Pot-ter, NTRPDC Loan Program Manager, by calling 570-265-9103 or e-mailing pot-ter@northerntier.org

NTRPDC Holds QuickBooks Training Sessions

Program enhances skills of 69 municipal employees.

NTRPDC sponsored five QuickBooks training sessions in May and June. Focused on training municipal officials, these trainings provided valu-able instruction to 69 people

on how to effectively use QuickBooks, an accounting program commonly used by municipalities. The trainings were held at Keystone College in Towanda. For more infor-

mation on future sessions, please contact Jeff Field, NTRPDC Information Technol-ogy Program Manager, at 570-265-1541 or field@northerntier.org.

Municipal employees took advantage of free QuickBooks training.

NTRPDC update Page 3

Through ShaleNET funding, NTRPDC coordinated Roust-about Training in Susque-hanna County. Twelve partici-pants graduated from the class on May 24, equipped with skills necessary to obtain employment in the oil and gas industry. The work readiness component of the training was provided by PA Career-

Link® outreach sites at Trehab in Susquehanna and Wyo-ming counties, while the tech-nical portion was provided by the Susquehanna County Ca-reer and Technology Center. Through this training, partici-pants received a Defensive Driver Certification, oilfield heavy equipment safety train-ing, PEC/Premier Basic Safe-

Land US Orientation, OSHA Rough Terrain Forklift certifi-cation, and First Aid & CPR certification. Participants also received a WorkKeys® Career Readiness Certificate, ob-tained career coaching, and had the opportunity to net-work with area employers following completion of the training program.

Twelve Graduate from Roustabout Training

Susquehanna County program funded by ShaleNET.

Kerry Meehan Retires as Procurement Manager

Laurie Lentz to succeed Meehan.

After 13 years as Procurement Manager, Kerry Meehan re-tired June 30, 2012. All of us at NTRPDC wish him the best in his retirement.

NTRPDC Workforce Devel-opment Assistant Laurie Lentz has been named the new Pro-curement Program Manager. Laurie has been with NTRPDC

for 13 years as an assistant to both the Business Develop-ment and Workforce Develop-ment programs and also as an Executive Secretary to the entire organization. As the Procurement Program Man-ager, Lentz will offer technical assistance to business clients who are pursuing government

contracts. We are looking forward to

having Laurie continue to strengthen the procurement program. Laurie may be reached at lentz@northerntier.org or 570-265-1538.

Laurie Lentz has been named Procurement Program Manager.

Trainers and graduates of the May session of ShaleNET Roustabout Training, which prepares partici-pants for hands-on work in oil and gas fields.

DCED Secretary Walker Tours Northern Tier

NTRPDC coordinated his first visit to the region.

The Northern Tier welcomed Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary C. Alan Walker on May 29-31. This was Secretary Walker’s first visit to the Northern Tier since coming into office in April 2011. The Secretary hopes to visit each region in Pennsyl-vania, meeting with local businesses, area residents,

and municipalities to learn first-hand about the activities in each region.

NTRPDC and the Progress Authority had the pleasure of coordinating Secretary Walker’s visit, which included several meetings, luncheons, and tours. The Secretary spoke at a luncheon at the Towanda County Club, ad-dressing local businesses and

organizations on DCED’s work and mission throughout Pennsylvania.

In addition, he met with the Rebuild Athens Steering Committee to discuss Athens’ response to the 2011 flood; the Betterment Organization of Mansfield (BOOM), discuss-ing the 1-99 Business Park project; took a Main Street walking tour of Tunkhannock;

and toured the Westfield Busi-ness Park to learn more about its proposed redevelopment. Secretary Walker also visited Mansfield University for an overview of the development of the Marcellus Institute, ad-dressed the Wellsboro Cham-ber Luncheon, and met with Tioga County leaders.

312 Main Street Towanda, PA 18848

Phone: 570-265-9103 Fax: 570-265-7585 Toll-Free: 888-868-8800 E-mail: info@northerntier.org

Visit our Web Site!

www.NorthernTier.org

Page 4 NTRPDC update

In June, NTRPDC’s Export Program hosted the Pennsylvania International Hardwood Buyer’s Mission, a delegation of buyers spending a week in the state. Ten people representing nine companies spent two days in our region meeting businesses, being educated about Penn-sylvania hardwoods, and touring facili-ties. In addition, the delegation toured Deer Park Lumber, Cummings Lumber Inc., Barefoot Flooring, and Channel Ve-neers. The countries represented by our guests included India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Taiwan.

NTRPDC Hosts Hardwood Buyer’s Mission

Nine international companies toured Northern Tier businesses.

Buyers from India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Taiwan tour Deer Park Lumber in Tunkhannock.