Here are the stories for this week's Pennsylvania Member Exchange package. If you have stories to submit, please email them to Matt Moore at mmoore(at)ap.org. If you have any questions contact the Philadelphia bureau at (215) 561-1133.
For use anytime:
EXCHANGE-EDITORIAL RDP
Editorials from around Pennsylvania.
For Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, and thereafter:
MEMBER EXCHANGE-KEYSTONE EXTRA
YORK — Shawn Wiley didn't apply to be a CEO. It just happened one day. In 1999, his father, Robert, died of a heart attack, leaving behind the company he created in 1973 and its 13 lunch trucks serving the hungry workers of factory-rich south-central Pennsylvania. At first, business blossomed for Continental Food Service's 30-year-old executive — trained by the man before him to do the books, make the sandwiches and keep the employees happy. Two years later, the Sept. 11 attacks rattled the nation's economy, and recession followed. "Shops of 60 employees may now employ 30," he said. "You're not going to do the same business." And the shy CEO, born and raised in York County, found himself with fewer mouths to feed in an era of globalization, layoffs and competition no one warned him about. "I certainly don't feel I was prepared for this," he said. Leadership succession has been, and always will be, crucial to the survival of the family business, especially as more and more baby boomers begin to retire. But this latest generation of executives faces unique hurdles, marked by the changing economic climate and struggles over progress that can pit the blood line against the bottom line. By Lauren Boyer, York Daily Record/Sunday News. 2,073 words.
MEMBER EXCHANGE-PEOPLE
ALLENTOWN — It's one thing to imagine meeting a 79-year-old exotic dancer, but quite another to actually meet one. You anticipate brass, glitter and feathers, maybe a cigarette in an ebony holder. But you get a smiley, chatty suburbanite who drives a Honda and would look perfectly at home answering the phone at a dentist's office. "Watch the dogs," Penny Starr said, opening the front door of her west Allentown home and gamely trying to admit a visitor while holding back her whirling, barking springer spaniels, Georgia, Savannah and Jessie. By Daniel Patrick Sheehan, The (Allentown) Morning Call. 1,174 words.
MEMBER EXCHANGE-BUSINESS
PHILADELPHIA — You might think that, waiting in a hallway for a family member to get out of surgery, or staring at the walls from your hospital bed, you'd welcome some interesting, engagingly diversionary artwork. Daniel Day, director of Health Environment Art Services, is here to tell you that you would not. Day, who has spent the better part of two years selecting art for the new Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, which opened Saturday in East Norriton, says research, like his instincts, is clear. "Views of nature are much more preferred than abstract and contemporary art," he says. "When you're in a high- stress situation, you want something familiar, not challenging, not agitating." By Amy S. Rosenberg, The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1,184 words.
MEMBER EXCHANGE-LIVING
INDIANA — Whatever your fancy in beer, it can be homebrewed. So, if the mass-produced six- and 24-packs of the popular brands aren't your style, you no longer have to settle for 'em. All it takes is a little know-how and proper technique, and you can be brewing your favorite exotic flavors in no time. Homebrewing is becoming more popular in America, as are microbreweries and pub breweries. People have been brewing beer for 12,000 years, according to the Homebrewers Association. The pilgrims brewed. Even George Washington and Thomas Jefferson did it. As of 2011, there were an estimated 1 million homebrewers in the United States Indiana may not have a microbrewery situated on Philadelphia Street (yet), but it does have the Indiana Homebrewers Club, which meets the second Tuesday of each month at The Coney. They get together to socialize, talk about brewing and different techniques, discuss a different topic each month and, if they wish, bring their homemade concoctions to share with the rest of the group as they pass the bottles around, pouring samples into little tasting glasses. By Heather Blake, Indiana Gazette. 1,756 words.
MEMBER EXCHANGE-EDUCATION
PITTSBURGH — School started in the region this fall without the threat of teachers strikes, despite the fact that contracts have expired in a number of districts. That reflects the situation statewide as well, and some experts think the economy may be a factor. "The unions have recognized that the public is financially in a difficult position and now is not necessarily a good time to go on strike and look for sympathy from the voter/taxpayer. The economy is bad. It's tough everywhere right now," said David Davare, director of research for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. Davare said this is the second year that school opened across the state without talk of teacher walkouts. By Mary Niederberger, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1,020 words.
