Search Results for: FLEX

Exploring our Beliefs with Susan Williams, Chamber President


Over the past several years, I’ve spent a great deal of time studying visioning, and how to lead from a vision of a positive future for the Chamber and for the community.

Along with that work, I’ve been learning about the power of beliefs in business and how our beliefs direct our actions. The Chamber staff and board have thoughtfully explored our beliefs around business and over the next few months, I’ll be sharing those we have identified, that direct our actions as an organization.

We believe small actions make a big difference.

There are a number of ways this belief guides our work each day. Paying attention to the small details can leave a lasting impression. This means that we do our best to know names, with accurate spelling and pronunciation, addresses and details of those we serve. As we prepare information to share, we take extra time to have someone else review or proofread, whenever possible, understanding that the small amount of time invested in this extra step can save extraordinary effort needed to make corrections later.

Many of the goals and strategies of the Chamber are lofty and can overwhelm us from the 30,000 foot view. We have learned that doing one small thing to move us in the right direction, followed by another, has a compounding effect. This consistent practice, over days and years has led to our robust membership of FLEX and the, once only visioned, Leadership Venango program.

What small action can you take today that will have immediate and long-lasting impact? I’m interested in learning and sharing (a clue to our next belief!).

This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s January 2023 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.

Leadership Venango – January 11 Session


Click here to take the survey.

Venue:

Venango County Courthouse Annex
1174 Elk Street, Franklin, PA 16323
(814) 432-9577

Lunch was provided by Bella Cucina


Presenters:

Shari Neely– Panelist
School Board Member (Oil City Area School District)
Office Manager at Pathways Adolescent Center

Jason Ruggerio – Panelist
Owner of Plot Twist Farm
Owner of Spark Community Capital
Former Executive Director of the Venango County Regional Planning Commission

Derek Long – Panelist
Fire Chief (Oil City Fire Department)

Tracy Jamieson Panelist
City Manager, City of Franklin


Venango County Commissioners 
Albert “Chip” Abramovic (Chip was not able to join us for the lunch)
cabramovic@co.venango.pa.us
Mike Dulaney
mdulaney@co.venango.pa.us
Sam Breene
sbreene@co.venango.pa.us


Trenton Moulin – Boardsmanship
President/CEO of Bridge Builders Community Foundations
trenton@bbcf.org
Bridge Builders website

Denise Jones – Boardsmanship
Retired Chief Clerk for Venango County

Denise and Trenton’s Presentation


Kat Thompson – FLEX
Membership & Education Manager of the Venango Chamber
kthompson@venangochamber.org

Ashley SmithFLEX
Be Here Program Manager of the Venango Chamber
asmith@venangochamber.org

FLEX website
FLEX Facebook Page


President Judge Marie Veon – Venango County Courthouse Tour
Court Administration website

FYI Newsletter – January 2023


For young professionals, by young professionals. This monthly newsletter is published by Future Leaders & Entrepreneurs Exchange (FLEX), the young professionals group of the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce.

Click here or the image below for a PDF of the FYI.

Find articles from the FLEX FYI on the Chamber’s blog.

FYI Newsletter – December 2022


For young professionals, by young professionals. This monthly newsletter is published by Future Leaders & Entrepreneurs Exchange (FLEX), the young professionals group of the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce.

Click here or the image below for a PDF of the FYI.

Find articles from the FLEX FYI on the Chamber’s blog.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion


Difficult conversations can be uncomfortable, but they are necessary. We were grateful to have a Speaker Series in October with Amariliz Sanchez of PennWest Clarion – Venango and Jeff Polley with Together We Can, on the topic of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) and how we can do better to have these conversations and bridge gaps in our community.

Jeff and Amariliz shared important information and led discussions around racism and how it still permeates our society. They talked about the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone to learn to identify racism, then practice having tough conversations and addressing it. A lot of the evening was spent in a conversation in which attendees shared many eye-opening experiences they’ve had in response to these prompts:

• Share the first time you remember realizing race.
• Share a moment when you had to come out of your comfort zone to get to know someone of a different background, ethnicity or race.
• What are your thoughts on both past and current protests? What is your definition of a “peaceful protest?”
• What is one action you can take to help bridge a racial divide?

This short presentation and discussion was impactful but could have lasted much longer.

There is a lot more work to be done and conversations to be had. If you are interested in getting involved with DEI in our area, contact Jeff at jeffrey.polley@clarionfamilytherapy.org.

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