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Spotlight PA To Highlight Local Changemakers Through New “Good News” Newsletter; Seeking Partnerships Ahead of Launch

Posted on by Jules Slater

STATE COLLEGE, PA — Spotlight PA, Pennsylvania’s largest statewide newsroom dedicated to nonpartisan public-service journalism, will soon be offering a new way for local organizations, nonprofits, and businesses to amplify the good work happening in our community through a new “Good News” newsletter.

The newsletter will offer a dedicated space to highlight local changemakers, community initiatives, and the people making a difference across the Centre County region. It will reach thousands of local, highly-engaged subscribers.

Sponsors can showcase a person, project, cause, event, or success they want to celebrate through 250-300 word feature stories, complete with photos and links to their organization. Sponsors will have full control of drafting the story, with assistance from Spotlight PA’s business team and consistent with Spotlight PA’s sponsored content policies.

Sponsors also have the option of purchasing one or more sponsored stories and giving them to a partner organization, nonprofit, or small business of their choice — extending the community impact and directly helping to spread the word about the good things happening here.

All sponsored stories will be featured in Spotlight PA’s upcoming “Good News” newsletter. Spotlight PA is seeking founding sponsors ahead of the newsletter launch — a great opportunity to be a leader in promoting the positive things happening in State College and beyond.

The “Good News” newsletter joins Spotlight PA’s existing local offerings, including the growing “Talk of the Town” newsletter, fall fundraiser “Clink & Think” Quiz Bash, along with Spotlight PA’s award-winning local reporting.

Organizations interested in partnership opportunities can contact State College bureau General Manager David Abruzzese at dabruzzese@spotlightpa.org for more information.

Keller Engineers hires new employees

Posted on by Jules Slater

Keller Engineers Hires Two New Employees

June 25, 2025, Hollidaysburg, PA – Keller Engineers, Inc., with locations in Hollidaysburg, State College, and Gettysburg, PA and Haddonfield, NJ is a full-service engineering firm providing client-focused civil and structural engineering, and surveying services.

Keller Engineers, Inc. is excited to welcome Abbey Lansberry and Claudia Barnes to our growing team!

Abbey will be working in the Transportation Division as a Highway Designer. She is a graduate of West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. While attending college, Abbey worked as a Transportation Intern where she had the opportunity to inspect paved parking lots at The Pennsylvania State University campuses, as well as conduct corrections to signing and pavement marking plans, traffic control plans, and roadway plan sets for state routes. She also worked as a Construction Intern for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in Patton.

Claudia has joined the Land Development Division as an Environmental Scientist. She is a recent graduate of Duquesne University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies with a Concentration in Conservation. In addition to her education, Claudia has experience conducting wetland delineations in Pennsylvania and Ohio, using flow meters, collecting water samples, and overseeing stream mitigation efforts. She is also a member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and participated in the Evergreen Club and Girl Gains as a student at Duquesne.

Keller Engineers Hires Three Employees in Transportation and Survey

June 25, 2025, Hollidaysburg, PA – Keller Engineers, Inc., with locations in Hollidaysburg, State College, and Gettysburg, PA and Haddonfield, NJ is a full-service engineering firm providing client-focused civil and structural engineering, and surveying services.

Keller Engineers, Inc. is pleased to announce Rob Butler and Marc Kifer have joined the team!

John a.k.a. “Rob” Butler is one of the newest Construction Inspectors in Transportation. He has over 18 years of experience working in the construction industry. Most recently, he performed inspection work for the Maryland Department of Transportation. Rob completed the 12 TA-TCI Training Modules and is a certified ACI Concrete Field-Testing Technician – Grade I.

Marc Kifer has been hired as a Field Surveyor. He has over 30 years of surveying experience and is skilled in calculating land boundaries, setting controls and monuments, utilizing fundamental surveying equipment, and preparing plots, maps, grade sheets and reports. Marc holds an Associate Degree in Land Surveying from the Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Geisinger awarded funding to implement improved symptom monitoring for patients undergoing cancer treatment

Posted on by Jules Slater

DANVILLE, Pa. – Geisinger has been approved for funding by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to implement electronic monitoring of patients’ self-reported symptoms during cancer treatment. Patients being treated for cancer often have symptoms such as fatigue, pain and nausea. Managing these symptoms, which can stem from both the disease and its treatment, is a key component of high-quality cancer care and can enhance patients’ well-being, decrease visits to the hospital and improve treatment adherence.

Led by H. Lester Kirchner, Ph.D. and Christian Adonizio, M.D., this project will implement Epic’s Electronic Symptom Management (eSyM) module for Geisinger patients receiving systemic chemotherapy, oral chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The work is based on findings from a PCORI-funded patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness (CCE) study demonstrating improved symptom control, physical function, health-related quality of life and overall survival among patients who completed electronic patient-reported outcome surveys, as compared with those who received usual care.

Dr. Kirchner is professor and chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences in Geisinger’s Research Institute. He and Keith Boell, D.O., Geisinger’s chief quality officer, are project leads for Geisinger’s Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII) participation. Dr. Adonizio is a medical oncologist/hematologist, professor of medicine Geisinger College of Health Sciences, and the associate fellowship director for Geisinger’s Cancer Institute.

Geisinger was selected to participate in the HSII through a PCORI opportunity recruiting healthcare institutions to promote evidence-based practice based on findings generated from PCORI-funded patient-centered CCE. HSII aims to reduce the estimated 17-year gap between evidence publication and clinical application. This initiative recognizes that health systems’ practical experience and real-world insights are crucial for sustainable, large-scale implementation of practice-changing findings in clinical care.

The funding award has been approved pending completion of PCORI’s business and programmatic review and issuance of a formal award contract.

About Geisinger

Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across central and northeastern Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the nonprofit system generates more than $8 billion in annual revenues across 163 care sites — including 10 hospital campuses — and Geisinger Health Plan, with more than half a million members in commercial and government plans. Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and is conducting more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With more than 27,000 employees, including 1,800 employed physicians and 5,200 registered nurses, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers, having an estimated economic impact of $16.8 billion on the state’s economy. In 2024, Geisinger joined Risant Health, a nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Think Bigger: How Systems Thinking Gives Small Business Owners a Smarter Edge

Posted on by Jules Slater
  • If you’re constantly putting out fires in your business, you might be treating symptoms instead of fixing systems.
  • Systems thinking helps you connect the dots across hiring, sales, customer service, and operations.
  • It’s not theory. It’s a practical mindset that builds efficiency, resilience, and smarter decision-making.
  • Small business owners who think in systems avoid waste, anticipate problems, and lead with greater clarity.

604 Words ~ 3 min. read

Ever fix a leaky pipe only to find another bursts a few days later? Running a business without systems thinking is like that. Every fix creates new problems because nothing in your business operates in isolation. Everything is connected.

That is why systems thinking matters. Once used primarily by scientists and large corporations, it is now a strategic advantage for small business owners who want to stop reacting and start leading with clarity and purpose.

What Is Systems Thinking?

Systems thinking is a problem-solving approach that looks at the full picture, not just individual components. It focuses on how different functions, teams, and processes interact, and how those relationships create patterns over time.

For example, if sales are falling, it is easy to blame the sales team. But a systems thinker goes deeper. Is marketing reaching the right audience? Are order delays impacting customer experience? Are internal goals misaligned?

This mindset addresses root causes rather than surface issues. It gives leaders insight that leads to sustainable improvements.

A Real-World Win

Consider a local bakery that saw repeat business begin to dip. The owner initially considered staff retraining but instead decided to map the entire customer journey. She discovered supply chain delays were increasing wait times during peak hours, which frustrated customers. By adjusting vendor relationships and revising inventory practices, she sped up service and brought customers back.

This is systems thinking in action.

Why Small Businesses Need It

Smaller businesses operate with tighter resources and greater exposure to risk. One decision can impact multiple areas at once. That is why systems thinking helps owners lead more effectively. It provides structure for understanding cause and effect throughout the business.

Here’s how it supports growth:

  • Efficiency: Uncover root issues in operations rather than solving isolated problems.
  • Smarter decisions: Detect recurring patterns and fix their source, not just the outcome.
  • Foresight: Recognize how changes in one area will impact the entire organization.

How to Get Started

You do not need a formal system or software to begin. Use these simple steps:

  1. Sketch your system. Create a visual map of how departments, people, tools, and customers interact.
  2. Identify feedback loops. Look for areas where problems tend to repeat or compound.
  3. Ask deeper questions. Move from “What went wrong?” to “What in our structure caused this result?”
  4. Review regularly. Set time aside monthly to assess how recent changes are impacting other parts of the business.

Free tools like Lucidchart or Miro can help you visualize your system. For more advanced insights, explore Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review.

The Bottom Line

Systems thinking gives small business leaders the perspective needed to lead with confidence, not just react to chaos. It connects the dots between actions and outcomes, so you can fix what really matters. The most effective business owners think in systems. They see how each decision shapes the whole. That is what helps them grow stronger, faster, and more sustainably.

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The Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County is a private non-profit organization that aims to support the growth and development of local businesses and our regional economy. We strive to create content that not only educates but also fosters a sense of connection and collaboration among our readers. Join us as we explore topics such as economic development, networking opportunities, upcoming events, and success stories from our vibrant community. Our resources provide insights, advice, and news that are relevant to business owners, entrepreneurs, and community members alike. The Chamber has been granted license to publish this content provided by Chamber Today, a service of ChamberThink Strategies LLC. 

 

Gum Appointed to Two Statewide Banking Policy Committees

Posted on by Jules Slater

REEDSVILLE, PA – June 16, 2025 – Kish Bank has announced that Jeffrey Gum, Vice President and Managing Director of Kish Benefits Consulting, a division of Kish Bank, has been appointed to the Pennsylvania Bankers Association’s (PA Bankers’) Government Relations Policy Committee. The committee is responsible for PA Bankers’ overall state public policy advocacy program and determines the association’s policy positions and priorities on pending or proposed state legislation and regulations.

Gum has also been appointed to Chair the PA Bankers’ Insurance Services Advisory Committee. As part of the government relations advocacy function of the association, the advisory committee reviews and recommends policy positions on state legislation and regulations on behalf of member banks to the Government Relations Policy Committee.

Gum will serve in the above capacities until December 1, 2026, coinciding with the legislative session.

Gum has over 45 years of experience in the insurance and financial services industry. He joined Kish Bank in 2017 with its acquisition of Benefit Management Group, Inc., founded by Gum in 1991. As head of Kish Benefits Consulting, Kish’s employee benefits consulting division, Gum works closely with business clients to provide benefit advisory and brokerage services, including healthcare and benefits plan design, regulatory compliance, cost containment solutions, employee communication and education, and wellness planning.

Gum is a member of SHRM, NABIP, PA-NABIP, and PBA, and holds active Insurance Licenses to practice in the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio.

About Kish Bank

Kish Bank is a $1.8 billion regional community bank that operates 20 offices and financial centers serving Centre, Mifflin, Huntingdon, Blair, and Juniata counties, and northeastern Ohio. Other business units of Kish Bank include Kish Insurance, Kish Financial Solutions, Kish Benefits Consulting, and Kish Travel.Kish Bank is a subsidiary of Kish Bancorp, Inc., trading under the OTCQX stock ticker symbol of KISB. Kish Bank is an Equal Opportunity Lender and Member FDIC. For more information, please visit MyKish.com.

About PA Bankers Association

PA Bankers has been bringing banks and bankers together for more than 125 years to learn, grow, serve and engage with their peers, communities and lawmakers. The association has built a strong reputation as a leading advocate for pro-banking policies at the state and federal levels, as well as the delivery of quality education, products and services for banks of all sizes and their employees. Follow the Pennsylvania Bankers Association on Facebook and LinkedIn.