Leaders meet at CDC event
PENN TWP — The Community Development Corporation of Butler County on Friday celebrated its 50th anniversary breakfast with a video show and a congresswoman.
More than 150 business leaders, elected officials and development specialists gathered at the Butler Country Club for the CDC's annual event.
Newly elected U.S. Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, D-3rd, discussed the past three months in Washington, D.C., her first in Congress.
She address the economic concerns facing the nation.
"We need two things: Confidence in the economy and credit," she said.
She supported the federal recovery act that was enacted about six weeks ago and said those programs are just the beginning of efforts to help bring the economy out of the recession.
"We must work all together, for as the nation goes so goes the rest of us; as the county goes so goes the rest of us," Dahlkemper said.
Diane Sheets, CDC's executive director, introduced a three-part video that was prepared with the help of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau that documents the organization's 50-year history.
While the CDC looked at its past, it also looked to the future.
As part of that, Sheets announced the formation of a nonprofit foundation in the CDC called "Butler County Promise."
It will be funded by pledges and donations to be used for the development of new jobs, technologies and businesses in the county. She said details of the program will be announced later.
As for CDC business, these board of directors were named board officers: Dennis Zeitler, president; William Darney, vice president; Jeff Elser, vice president; Norbert Dietrich, treasurer; William McCarrier, secretary; and Sheets, assistant secretary.
These people were elected or re-elected to the board: J. Bianchin of Wells Fargo Bank; Jerry Daltorio, retired; Jeffrey Elser, First Energy; Ed Fink, Butler School District superintendent; James Lokhaiser, county commissioner; Nicholas Neupauer, president of Butler County Community College;
Christopher Panian, Central Electric Cooperative; Dale Pinkerton, county commissioner; Dennis Zeitler, MSA; and Robert Thomas, Butler Labor Council.
Janice Pakozdi-Luffy was elected to serve on the CDC as a representative of Leadership Butler County. She is with Bear Metallurgical.
