Matt Smith is a new reporter for the Butler Eagle.

He will work out of the newspaper's bureau in Cranberry Township and will cover events in the southwest area of Butler County.

Smith, 22, is a 2005 graduate of Duquesne University with a degree in journalism.

He was a news intern for the Goshen (Ind.) News in 2003 and 2004.

He replaces Karen Baier, who left the paper in August.

CRANBERRY TWP - Butler County Community College and U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart, R-4th, will host a manufacturing forum on Oct. 17 at BC3's Cranberry Campus.The forum is planned to foster cooperation between government, industry and academia.These speakers are scheduled:Tom Cummings, director of the Export-Import Bank of the United StatesJoseph Hanley, director of the Mid-Atlantic U.S. Export Assistance CenterPaul Raetsch, regional director of the U.S. Economic Development AdministrationWilliam Bujalos, director Mid-Atlantic Trade Adjustment Assistance CenterPetra Mitchell, president Catalyst ConnectionJohn Cupps, director of Business and Industry Training at BC3.Registration is at 7:30 a.m., with the forum starting at 8 a.m. For information, call Kevin McGavick at 412-492-0161.

GERMANTOWN, Tenn. - Former Butler resident and Butler Eagle columnist Marsha Mack Goberish received the Southeastern Tourism Travel Writer of the Year award Sept. 7 at the Charleston Place Hotel in Charleston, S.C.The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the advancement of tourism in 11 southeastern states.Goberish was awarded the STS Shining Star Award for her work in Mississippi for extensive coverage in Bank Travel Magazine, a trade magazine for upscale travel via thousands of bank groups throughout the United States.

BEAVER, Beaver County - Karen Sue Owens, Lifesteps president and chief executive officer, recently named Eileen Zaluski, assistant group supervisor, as the recipient of Lifesteps' 2005 Staff Step Above Award.The award is presented annually to recognize one person from the Butler Township-based agency's 450 staff who consistently exhibits extra effort and a positive attitude.Zaluski, with 20 years of employment at Lifesteps, is an assistant group supervisor for Lifesteps Developmental Preschool in Beaver County.The program is an integrated classroom for children, ages 3 through 5, of all ability levels. The curriculum is individualized and based on each child's needs. Zaluski helps promote the physical and intellectual development of children, while supporting their social and emotional needs.Zaluski lives in Beaver County with her husband, Richard.

EAST BRADY - Howard Christie, president of FMT Foods Inc., owner of East Brady Riverside Market, has announced that Tracy Snow has been promoted to store manager of the market.In her new position, Snow is responsible for operation of the market in the Allegheny River Plaza.Snow is a longtime East Brady resident and has been affiliated with the store for more than 22 years, including when the store was named Taylor's Riverside. The store re-opened in August 2003 as FMT's East Brady Riverside.Snow, her husband, Kevin, and their two children have lived in East Brady for 19 years.

BATON ROUGE, La. - The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi recently hired Slippery Rock native Molly Stauffer as its second chapter relations director, a position created to support the society's nearly 300 chapters.Stauffer's efforts will focus on the Northeast and South Central regions in addition to chapters in the upper portion of its Western region of the United States.She is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. After graduating, she joined Teach for America. Stauffer taught high school special education and biology for four years, recruited for three years with Teach for America and worked with Monster's Making High School Count program.Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's largest all-discipline honor society. It inducts annually more than 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni.

PITTSBURGH - IKM Inc. has announced the appointment of John C. Schrott III as the company president.Schrott, a Butler native, will assume control of business operations. He has worked for IKM for 25 years.He has lived and worked in the Pittsburgh region since graduating with honors from Carnegie Mellon University in architecture.Schrott is a registered architect and a member of the American College of Health Care Architects.

GROVE CITY - Five Filer Brothers, which produces canvas, other sewn products and wooden tool chests, has received a $200,000 Small Business First loan through the Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, as well as a $150,000 loan from the Mercer County Industrial Growth Fund.The company plans to use the money for a 10,000-square-foot expansion of its facility and to buy new equipment. This expansion will allow Five Filer Brothers to manufacture footlockers for a government contract.The company has 24 employees and expects to add eight more in the next three years.

<b>FirstEnergy Corp.'s</b> board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of 43 cents per share of outstanding common stock, 4.2 percent higher than the previous quarterly rate of 41.25 cents per share. A dividend of $1.72 per share is payable Dec. 1 for shareholders of record Nov. 7.