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Celebrating Young Professionals at FLEX Presents


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Congratulations Stephanie Staub, 2022 Young Professional of the Year

Educators, librarians, business owners, non-profit leaders, county employees, and more were celebrated at FLEX Presents on Friday, April 29. These young professionals were nominated for their contributions to Venango County and received much-deserved recognition at the event at DeBence Antique Music World in Franklin.

Special congratulations to Stephanie Staub, who was named this year’s Young Professional of the Year.

“I’m extremely honored to receive such an important award and grateful for the recognition I have received,” said Stephanie. “While I love to travel the world, it’s always nice to come home to this region, the place I’ve always called home and will continue to call home.”

Stephanie is a K-4 STEM Teacher and Technology Integrator for the Oil City Area School District and has gone above and beyond in her teacher duties. She has applied for and received numerous grants, participated in multiple trainings, been involved with many organizations and associations, and attended and presented at educational conferences.

Stephanie has held many positions in school athletics, is a teacher for a summer program called Kids in College, and is currently working on an event called “Books and Bikes” at Oil Creek State Park, as part of Remake Learning Days.

Besides her involvement in education, Stephanie is a teacher at Trailasana Yoga Studio, runs a small t-shirt and earring business called Steph’s Silhouettes, and also opened Staub & Co. Succulents, a greenhouse business that travels to events and shows.

Although Stephanie was named Young Professional of the Year, FLEX holds this event to celebrate all young professionals who make a difference in our region.

Other nominees included: Becky Deeter, Jessica Hilburn, Kieran Irwin, Will Price, Aaron Ritsig, Andrew Ritsig, Ashley Smith, Megan Weber, and Devin Zagar, and Jennifer Mosher-Johnson.

More photos from the event will be shared on the FLEX Facebook at facebook.com/VenangoFLEX, and all nominee bios can be found at venangochamber.org/flex-presents.

Congratulations to these young professionals and thank you for all you do for our community!

This article was published in the Future Leaders & Entrepreneurs Exchange’s (FLEX) May 2022 edition of the FLEX Your Ideas (FYI) Newsletter.

New Chamber Member WEMANIGIT to Present at FLEX Speaker Series


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FLEX is bringing back their Speaker Series and is excited to welcome Hind Karns, Managing Director of WEMANIGIT, to talk to young professionals on “Foundations for Effective Communication.”

The workshop is on May 24 at 5:30 p.m. at the Venango Chamber office and will be a conversation around how to communicate effectively in any situation and reach goals. Hind will provide tools and strategies on communication and help attendees learn how to develop trust, ask thoughtful questions, engage in active listening, and choose the right medium for messages.

“By the end of this session, you’ll be able to harness the power of hearing others and be heard. You’ll be able to understand what others want and develop the critical communication skills you need to get ahead in business and in life,” Hind said.

This Speaker Series is for any young professionals (suggested age 40 & under) in the Venango area who are in a new leadership role, aspiring to elevate their career, working in sales and marketing, or would just like to brush-up on communication skills.

The event is free and registration is appreciated. Visit venangochamber.org/events to learn more & register. Learn more about WEMANIGIT at wemanigit.com.

This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s May 2022 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.

FLEX Feature: Milliken & Company with Simon Neft


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Our third interview in our “FLEX Feature” series is with Simon Neft, an Advanced Process Improvement Engineer at Milliken & Company, located in Franklin.

Tell us about the Milliken & Company.
Milliken is a privately owned global textile, chemical, flooring, and healthcare company headquartered in Spartanburg, SC. There are a lot of locations spread out globally, although the vast majority are located in South Carolina. It was founded by Seth Milliken in 1865, and is currently in its fourth generation of the Milliken family. The facility I work at, Hawthorn, does batch reactions of over 100 different products. We primarily make catalysts and driers for the paint industry, although our facility, just like Milliken as a whole, has a very diverse product line.

What all do you do in your position?
I use my chemical engineering skills to solve problems, and improve the process anywhere I see fit. I’m currently working on polishing our training program for new associates, and I have a lab project to test out a new catalyst for some of our reactions. One of my goals is to eventually get my Professional Engineering (P.E.) license in chemical engineering.

What is your favorite part about working for Milliken?
I really appreciate Milliken’s ethics and morals. You constantly see in the news how other companies are either breaking the law, lying, or putting themselves first before making the world a better place. Not with Milliken. They’re constantly striving to invest in their people and help the environment. And in the end, it shows with how there are a lot of great people in the company. We currently have a streak of being listed by Ethisphere as one of the world’s most ethical companies.

What would surprise people about the business?
The one thing that surprises everyone is that you touch up to 50 Milliken products a day without even knowing it. Whether it’s upholstery, automotive lining, fire retardant clothing, or chemicals, our products are everywhere. We make over 48,000 products, and the list goes on and on. If you get the chance to visit Milliken’s headquarters in Spartanburg, SC, the Innovation Gallery describes really well all the different products we have.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Very few of our products are direct-to-consumer, but one of them is our napery (a type of linen). I really like the napery we have, it’s made out of polyester and there are multiple patterns available. I’ve been meaning to buy a set for a while now!

Thank you, Simon, for telling us about Milliken & Company! You can learn more about his employer by visiting Milliken.com.

This article was published in the Future Leaders & Entrepreneurs Exchange’s (FLEX) March 2022 edition of the FLEX Your Ideas (FYI) Newsletter.