NATRONA HEIGHTS — #1 Cochran Western Pennsylvania automotive retailer has bought Charapp Automotive, adding five brands to the #1 Cochran line up — Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram.

The 15-acre campus will be called the #1 Cochran Allegheny Valley MegaCenter with all of Charapp’s 100 employees staying on.

Ron Charapp, president of Charapp Automotive, said in a news release, “I am honored to pass the Charapp torch to a dealer with the reputation and integrity of #1 Cochran. The Cochran organization brings a track record of success and a tradition of service to all of the customers and communities they serve.”

#1 Cochran has 19 dealerships and more than 700 employees.

Farmers National hires senior VPEMLENTON — Farmers National Bank of Emlenton has hired Robert Vernick as senior vice president —chief lending and business development officer.He recently was vice president of sales and treasury manager with Dollar Bank in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. He has almost 25 years of banking experience,Vernick lives in Butler, with his wife and their two sons.

Chamber dinner to move to SRUSLIPPERY ROCK — The Celebrate Business Chamber Dinner is moving this year from the Butler Country Club in Penn Township to the new Robert M. Smith Student Center at Slippery Rock University.New SRU President Cheryl Norton invited the chamber to use the new facility for the annual event.The dinner will be at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 3 and will feature the presentation of the William A. Morgan Jr., Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Chamber Business Champion Awards.Tickets are $50 per person and tables of eight are available for reservation.For information or for reservations, call the Butler County Chamber of Commerce at 724-283-2222.

Butler software firm receives honorsFuture POS of Center Township, a software developer, was the recipient of the Gold Vendor Award of Excellence for being an outstanding provider of software at a ceremony hosted by the Retail Solution Providers Association.The annual conference was July 31 in Las Vegas.This is the seventh award in eight years that Future POS software has received from the association.Future POS also was named as the 2012 Top Partner for New Processing Merchants, Hospitality Developer, by Mercury Payment Systems, payment processing company.

Leadership group seeks membersGROVE CITY — The Grove City Chamber of Commerce is looking for community leaders to sign up for the Grove City Leadership Class of 2012.Applications are available from the chamber and must be returned by Aug. 15.For information, call the chamber at 724-458-6410, or go to www.gcchamber@shopgrovecity.com.

Financial firm picks ex-city manCOLUMBIA, Md. — A former Butler man has been named a prinicpal of Financial Advantage, a financial management and advisory company.Curtis Gross joined Financial Advantage in 2009 as its director of investment research. He has more than 23 years of experience in securities research and portfolio management.He was senior vice president of Federated Investors, a Pittsburgh-based financial services firm.