Pillars' service lauded
CRANBERRY TWP — Business and community leaders gathered Thursday afternoon to embrace the successes of their community based on the "four pillars" that keep it strong: businesses; government/schools; churches; and nonprofit/civic groups.
This is the second year THE CHAMBER hosted the Four Pillars Lunch as a kick off to the three-day Cranberry Township Community Chest Community Days.
The lunch was at Cranberry Highlands Golf Course.
An update was given of the work of the Cranberry Alliance, a group of 14 representatives from the community formed last year to look at long-range community needs.
The alliance is patterned after the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, where a small group of members of the four pillars gather to help guide the Cranberry Plan, the township's 25-year long-range plan.
The Allegheny Conference on Community Development, founded in 1944, works with public and private partners to stimulate economic growth and to enhance the quality of life.
John Trant, Cranberry's chief strategic planning officer, said the Cranberry Alliance is working on cultural diversity, one of its highest priorities.
With the influx of culturally diverse residents to Cranberry, the group is looking to improve communication with those residents.
Some of its efforts include the translation of the township's website into a number of languages and a volunteer network of 82 people to assist those moving from another country to adjust to everyday life.
The township also is working to create culturally diverse welcome packages.
During the luncheon, Bruce Mazzoni, president of the Community Chest, presented Cathy Cortazzo, founder of the Cranberry CUP (Community Uniting People), with the Community Chest and THE CHAMBER Citizen of the Year award.Cortazzo said, "I'm very honored to receive this award. There are so many other deserving people in the township."She said the Cranberry CUP never would have gotten as big as it is without support from the community and help from volunteers.Eleven years ago at a meeting of her Highland Village homeowners association in Cranberry, Cortazzo, who is a real estate agent, suggested they have a co-ed, slow-pitch softball game in the neighborhood.She even offered to coordinate the effort, which she said could become a way to raise money for a worthy cause. As word of the game spread, residents from seven other housing plans asked to participate, and it soon grew into a tournament.That was the genesis of what has since grown into the Cranberry CUP Tournament, now an accredited charitable organization and an event that draws neighborhoods and businesses together from Cranberry and Seven Fields every August.Since its inception in 2000, the CUP has expanded to include a golf outing, and two divisions and three days of softball competition with more than 60 teams.It has raised $675,000 to benefit families in need.
Mine Safety Appliances also was honored as the Corporate Citizen of the Year.Gary Basilone, board member of THE CHAMBER, said MSA has had a tremendous impact on Cranberry with its strong business presence and its vision to develop the Cranberry Woods business park.He presented the award to John Skorupan, chairman of the township supervisors, who accepted it on MSA's behalf."Cranberry Township has become the economic hub of the region," said Skorupan, adding the efforts of MSA's leadership of Bill Lambert and Dennis Zeitler and their vision for Cranberry Woods is one of the reasons that Westinghouse Electric chose to move to Cranberry.MSA was founded in 1914 by mining engineers John T. Ryan and George H. Deike, both of whom had firsthand knowledge of coal mine dangers. That provided a foundation for MSA's singular mission: developing equipment to better protect people in all types of work environments.It has more than 5,000 employees worldwide.MSA bought the 327-acre Cranberry Woods in the early 1980s for its laboratories, and is relocating its corporate headquarters there this year.Cranberry officials lauded Westinghouse Electric's decision to relocate to Cranberry Woods, saying it validated the vision shared by MSA and the township. Its move also enhanced the property values of communities in southern Butler and northern Allegheny counties.MSA also donated land for the Regional Learning Alliance Center, which was created under the leadership of Slippery Rock University and is shared by 14 institutions of higher learning to educate workers and students.That facility opened in 2004.Mazzoni said a special Cranberry Legacy Endowment has been established on behalf of both Cortazzo and MSA.
