Latest news with #CambriaRegionalChamber
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Napoleon Street in downtown Johnstown will close for Showcase for Commerce
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) — Drivers in downtown Johnstown should prepare for detours this week as Napoleon Street, also known as Route 403, closes for the annual Showcase for Commerce. The closure will begin at 6 a.m. Wednesday, May 28, and remain in effect until 4 p.m. Friday, May 30. The impacted area stretches between Market Street and Walnut Street. According to organizers, the closure allows for outdoor displays between the 1ST SUMMIT ARENA @ the Cambria County War Memorial and the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center, where much of the event takes place. A marked detour will be in place for vehicle traffic, and an emergency lane will remain open. Pedestrians will still be able to access the street. The Showcase for Commerce is a regional business and industry event that brings together government and private-sector representatives for networking and exhibitions. For more details, contact the Cambria Regional Chamber at 814-536-5107. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Two U.S. reps to headline speaker slate at Johnstown's Showcase for Commerce defense, business expo
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Two congressmen will headline the list of participants in the 34th annual Showcase for Commerce business and defense contracting exposition this upcoming week in Johnstown. Chief Deputy Whip U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Washington, whose 14th Congressional District includes Somerset County, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address during the John P. Murtha Breakfast Friday. House Committee on Agriculture Chairman U.S. Rep. Glenn 'G.T.' Thompson, R-Centre, will address the Government Acquisition Leaders Briefings Thursday. Both events are set to take place inside the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center in downtown Johnstown. 'We have a couple really good keynote addresses planned,' said Linda Thomson, president and CEO of Johnstown Area Regional Industries, which co-hosts Showcase for Commerce with the Cambria Regional Chamber. The U.S. Department of Defense's usual presence will be missing from Showcase. 'We have really relied on industry speakers this year because a lot of the government personnel that we would normally invite are not able to travel,' Showcase for Commerce Chairman Ed Sheehan Jr. said. 'They have travel restrictions in place right now that preclude them from attending these kinds of events, and so we've relied heavily on industry. 'It should be very interesting and more of an industry perspective on things like advanced manufacturing and machine learning and artificial intelligence, an industry perspective on cybersecurity and then also workforce development.' This will be the first Showcase without former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. since he started serving as the event's congressional sponsor in 2013. The Democrat is no longer in the Senate, having lost last year to then-challenger and now-U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa. Neither McCormick nor U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is expected to attend Showcase this year, but both have offered 'a lot of support,' according to Thomson. A highlight of the event will once again be the opening reception from 4 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday inside 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial downtown. 'The thing we're really excited about this year is that we are sold out as far as the booths (for the opening reception) and we have 13 new participants this year that are having booths, so we feel really good about that,' Cambria Regional Chamber President and CEO Amy Bradley said. 'I think the Showcase continues to evolve, and it's just nice to see new booths wanting to participate and to have such good turnout.' Showcase will begin Wednesday with networking activities, including a golf outing and receptions. Supplier briefings and the government contracting series are scheduled for Thursday. The expo will conclude Friday with a press conference and public exhibition.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chamber dinner honors business builders, community leaders, innovators
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Two Pittsburgh sports legends took the stage Thursday in downtown Johnstown. But the stars of the night also included seven businesses and two individuals who were honored by the Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce. The 2025 Chamber dinner and awards presentation at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center was attended by 360 people, representing more than 70 business organizations in Cambria County and the region. PHOTO GALLERY | Cambria Regional Chamber dinner The keynote speakers were University of Pittsburgh football coach Pat Narduzzi and Bill Hillgrove, the voice of Pittsburgh sports for more than five decades, who tackled the keynote address together in a question-and-answer format. Hillgrove asked Narduzzi questions collected from the audience. 'I love the challenge of building something great in Pittsburgh,' Narduzzi said to the crowd of businesspeople who are likewise working to build 'something great' in Johnstown. 'Opportunity to get better': Historic start, disappointing finish in 2024 motivate Pitt's Narduzzi Most University of Pittsburgh football fans viewed the 2024 schedule as a tale of two seasons. Cambria Regional Chamber President Amy Bradley described the 2025 Chamber award-winners as people with 'intelligence, compassion and drive to make things happen.' Tom Caulfield, founder and president of Veteran Community Initiatives, received a standing ovation when it was announced that he had won the chamber's Volunteer of the Year award. His organization has served more than 15,000 veterans and their families since 1993. Amy Bradley, Tom Caulfield He is also the Cambria County veterans' court peer mentor coordinator and serves on the 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial Veterans Committee. 'What an honor and privilege it has been to work for veterans for many years, especially in this area,' he said after the dinner. 'The leadership of this community has been so supportive of everything we've done for veterans ... getting jobs for veterans, making it a better city and community.' Vacuum truck manufacturer GapVax, based in the city's Moxham section, received the Chamber's Innovation Award as the company continues to engineer new vacuum technology used in industrial and environmental cleanups. Amy Bradley, Gary and Rose Poborsky The company was started in the wake of the 1977 Johnstown flood, when Rose and Gary Poborsky went to work cleaning up the mess with a used septic truck. The family-owned company later began to develop and manufacture its own equipment tailored to customers' needs and sold worldwide. The award surprised Gary Poborsky, who made an impromptu speech. 'This award doesn't belong to me – it belongs to my family and employees,' he said. 'It isn't mine. It's my family, my country, my God that lets me be here.' With a growing workforce currently at 100 employees and expansion into five counties, SERVPRO, based in Ebensburg, won the Excellence in Business Award. SERVPRO Director of Business Development Steve Gironda said receiving the honor surrounded by the business community in Johnstown was exciting. 'It's great to be here and see Johnstown hopping,' he said. Bill Hillgrove, Pat Narduzzi Veteran sports broadcaster and radio personality Bill Hillgrove (left) reads questions from the audience to Pitt football head coach Pat Narduzzi during the annual Cambria Regional Chamber Dinner at the Pasquerilla Center in Johnstown, PA., Thursday, Mar.6, 2025. The awardees also received citations from state Sen. Wayne Langerholc, R-Richland Township. 'It's great to see so many business representatives here tonight and it's good for the community how the chamber has grown,' Langerholc said. The Chamber has welcomed more than 60 new members in the past year and hosted ribbon-cuttings for 30 new businesses in the area, Bradley said. With donations of 30 sleep sets for distribution by Greater Johnstown School District and the Johnstown Housing Authority, Park Home furniture store in Richland Township won the Community Service Award. 'It means a lot to be able to give back to the community,' Park Home owner Travis Muccitelli said. The Community Leadership Award went to Tina Honkus. The Entrepreneurial Excellence Award went to the 814 Lanes & Games bowling alley in Richland Township. Two Community Impact awardees were named – Pennsylvania Highlands Community College and Kastle Boxing. The Cultural Affairs Award went to Gallery on Gazebo downtown.
