Search Results for: FLEX

Northern PA Regional College Expands to Franklin

September 21, 2022 in category Chamber Blog tags academics, dual enrollment, franklin, franklin pa, Galena Building, location, new location, Northern pa, northern PA regional college, northern pennsylvania, NPRC, venango county and 0 comments.

Northern Pennsylvania Regional College (NPRC) is excited to announce the opening of a new instructional location in Franklin, on August 17 for the beginning of the 2022-2023 academic year.

This instructional location is The Galena Building at 1140 Liberty Street, Suite 100 in Franklin. The Galena Building features several classrooms in addition to faculty and staff office space. This expansion in Venango County will bring a new academics location for students, while the Venango Technology Center focuses on delivery of NPRC workforce development offerings in this part NPRC’s service region.

The Franklin location benefits students particularly from the Venango and Crawford County areas, with dual-enrollment students from the Crawford Central School District now having an additional classroom option closer to them. Dual Enrollment is an early entry program at NPRC for students who are concurrently enrolled and pursuing coursework at both NPRC and their local public school district, homeschool, or other online secondary education entity.

This new location services all class offerings, including the morning options for students, as NPRC continues to provide additional flexibility to students.

For more information about NPRC and their growing presence in Venango County, visit regionalcollegepa.org.

About NPRC: Northern Pennsylvania Regional College is authorized by the PA Department of Education to award Associate degrees and certificates in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

NPRC is an open-admission, two-year institution of higher education. The College’s mission is to provide affordable and accessible post-secondary education to the residents of northern Pennsylvania.

NPRC brings affordable education to a nine-county region (Cameron, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, McKean, Potter, Venango, and Warren). With flexible scheduling options at numerous instructional locations, attending NPRC is an excellent option for individuals interested in furthering their education close to home.

With a growing team of high-quality industry-leading instructors directing their classrooms, students are empowered by a welcoming community to change their lives and brighten their futures. NPRC is actively pursuing accreditation.

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

What is Leadership?

September 9, 2022 in category Chamber Blog tags committee member, FLEX, flex fyi, flex young professionals, leader, leadership, Leadership Venango, officer, venango chamber and 0 comments.

The term “leadership” is often thrown around in the professional world. A stereotypical leader may be described as someone in a company who is higher up, manages big groups of people, and exemplifies traits such as confidence, assertiveness, and influence.

While it’s important to have great leaders in these positions– leadership is all around us in many different ways. You may not consider yourself a leader, but think about your everyday interactions with people.

Leadership does not have to be from a boss to an employee. You could be a leader in your friend group, helping plan get-togethers and supporting others. You could be a leader in your office, assisting coworkers and providing encouragement. You could be a leader in your family, whether you are raising children or helping elderly parents/grandparents.

Leaders are also found in volunteer groups, committees, boards of directors, classrooms, and so many other places in the community. A good leader is able to bring out the best in people and motivate them to achieve a goal.

So, how are you a leader, and how can you continue to grow? One opportunity through FLEX is by becoming a committee member or officer. As we approach the end of the year, we will be seeking people to take leadership positions within the group. FLEX provides a low-stakes environment to practice leadership skills and learn new things, like how to lead a meeting, plan an event, or put together a newsletter. Interested in exploring leadership in FLEX? Reach out to us at flex@venangochamber.org.

Another way to grow in your leadership journey is Leadership Venango, run by the Venango Chamber. This program is held one day a month for nine months and each month is focused on a different topic to help educate and motivate individuals (of any age) to be more effective leaders.

Topics range from agriculture and tourism, to communications and education, and the class meets at various locations throughout Venango County, like the courthouse, hospital, a school, a manufacturing plant, and a farm.

The next class of Leadership Venango begins meeting this month, but it’s not too late to sign up! Learn more at leadershipvenango.org and contact the Chamber at (814) 676- 8521 with any questions.

Everyone is a leader, and we hope to help you as you continue in your leadership journey.

Pictured: Leadership Venango Class of 2022 at Komatsu Mining Corp.

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

Kat Celebrates 1 Year With the Chamber

September 7, 2022 in category Chamber Blog tags education, FLEX, kat thompson, Leadership Venango, Membership, Membership and education Manager, one year, venango chamber, VenangoREADY and 0 comments.

Kat Thompson, Membership & Education Manager at the Chamber, joined our team one year ago! She first became familiar with our organization through FLEX and Leadership Venango, and we have enjoyed having her as a staff member.

“The past year has been a great opportunity to build relationships with schools, businesses, and the community. It’s more than just a job–it has allowed me to be ingrained in the community, as well as becoming part of a great work environment,” said Kat. “I’ve loved working with the team and appreciate the importance placed on professional development and on learning, growing, and being the best versions of ourselves.”

Kat focuses on our VenangoREADY program and membership engagement, and also assists with many other Chamber functions, like events, marketing, meetings, and more.

Please join us in congratulating Kat on her one year anniversary!

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

FYI Newsletter – September 2022

September 1, 2022 in category Chamber Blog, FYI Newsletter Page tags FLEX, flex fyi, flex young professionals, future leaders and entrepreneurs exchange, fyi newsletter, young professionals, young professionals group and 0 comments.

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.

The Many Ways to Network

August 3, 2022 in category Chamber Blog tags bike 'n brew, Coffee Chat, FLEX, FLEX Socials, flex young professionals, ice cream social, Morgan Pifer, network, Networking, Social, Social Networking, volunteering, Zach Miller and 0 comments.

When you hear the word “networking,” you may immediately picture a professional event where you make awkward small talk and hand out business cards. Networking, however, can be done in so many different ways.

One of our goals with FLEX is to help young professionals meet one another in a comfortable environment. While we do have some fancier events, like FLEX Presents, and we encourage FLEX members to attend Chamber mixers, there are plenty of opportunities for less formal networking.

FLEX socials are a great example. At our Summer Kick-Off in June, we sat around a campfire, played yard games, kayaked, and camped. On August 12 at our Coffee Chat, we’ll just be hanging out at Iron Furnace Coffee before work drinking coffee and eating pastries.

“I’m from this area, but recently moved home from college and appreciated the opportunity to connect with people this summer,” said Morgan Pifer, Venango Chamber Intern. “By attending Be Here and FLEX events, I was able to network with so many people while having fun and not feeling pressured to act a certain way.”

Volunteering is another way to network without attending an actual “networking event.” Many connections were made in July while young professionals handed out treats at the Oil Heritage Ice Cream Social and filled beer packages at Bike ‘n Brew.

“At a normal social networking event you have to make a conversation from scratch with people that you don’t know, which can be difficult for an introvert,” said FLEX Member Zach Miller. “Volunteering is a better way for someone like myself because it gives a common activity to work on or talk about rather than having to generate a conversation from scratch. It’s been nice meeting people in the area that I otherwise wouldn’t have.”

Networking doesn’t have to be intimidating. We encourage you to join us at an upcoming event or social, whether it’s more formal or casual. Here are some opportunities:
• FLEX Coffee Chat: Friday, August 12, 7-8AM, Iron Furnace Coffee
• Lee James Mixer: Thursday, August 4, 5-7PM, Office of State Rep. R. Lee James
• Foxburg Mixer: Wednesday, August 10, 5-7PM, Foxburg Businesses
• Venango Chamber Steak Fry: Thursday, August 18, 4PM, Oil City Boat Club
• Cranberry Festival: Saturday, September 17, Cranberry Mall
• FLEX Speaker Series: Tentatively planned for October

Have questions or want to learn more about these events? Contact us at flex@venangochamber.org or visit venangochamber.org/events.

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