Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Bradford Area Public Library has hired Heather Carlson of Smethport as Office Manager. The library received 14 letters of interests for the position. The Human Resource committee, along with the guidance of executive director, Lacey Love, narrowed the field to three candidates to interview. “We had a very diverse group of applicants. Those chosen for interviews represented different skill sets that provided Lacey an opportunity to select the most appropriate candidate to assist her in the operations of the library.” stated Chris Minich, Chairwoman of Bradford Area Public Library Board of Trustees. Carlson was most recently employed by Zippo Manufacturing Company, after returning to the Bradford area in 2011. She aspires to serve a non-profit organization as a leader in management. She looks forward to advancing the operations of the library so it continues to be a valuable resource in the Bradford community. She lives in Rew with her husband Terry Carlson. Love commented, ...

Bradford Area Public Library has named Lacey Love as executive director of the library. An ad hoc committee of Lee Doynow, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees, Tina Martin, Chair of Human Resources and Governance, and Kelli Knapp, Seneca District Consultant with the Warren Library Association conducted the search and recommendations for the appointment of Ms. Love, which is effective October 13, 2014. “We are very excited to have Lacey accept our employment offer and serve as a leader for our library,” stated Chris Minich, Chairwoman of Bradford Area Public Library Board of Trustees. Ms. Love was most recently employed as a Library Assistant at Scott Township Public Library, located south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has a broad background in librarianship, having worked or volunteered in both collegiate and public libraries for the past 6 years. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English, while minoring in Psychology and Economics from Allegheny College. Ms. Love then pur...

Guy Bennett has resigned as executive director of the Bradford Area Public Library, effective August 6. Bennett is currently on a leave of absence. The library’s board of trustees accepted his resignation during a special meeting this afternoon. Board chair Chris Minich says the board and staff appreciate the improvements Bennett has provided over the past 10 months, and they wish him success in the future. The search has already started for a new executive director, which requires a master’s degree in library and information science. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The United Way of the Bradford Area, Inc. announced today that the organization has reached 100% of its $330,000 goal. The local staff, campaign volunteers and board of directors are extremely grateful to the Bradford community. “We are so excited to have reached goal right before Christmas. Local community members, businesses, and corporations showed the true meaning of generosity during this campaign, stepping up to increase their pledges. This is a fantastic gift to the Bradford community and its agencies that rely on United Way funding,” says Cara Costik, Community Relations Specialist. Campaign goal was reached by a record date this year, although any donations received by January 5, 2012 will also count towards this year’s campaign. An announcement detailing the total amount raised will be available in early January for both the Bradford and Smethport campaigns. For questions regarding 2012-2013 Campaign: LIVE UNITED or to make a financial donation, please contact the ...

The United Way of the Bradford Area, Inc. has made great gains in recent days, announcing today that the organization has raised 50 percent of its $330,000 goal. “We couldn’t be more excited about this,” says Executive Director Megan Minich. “We are so grateful for the community’s generosity. In the past two weeks, we have received a substantial amount of pledges in response to our appeal. Donations have come in large and small, from individual community members to larger corporate gifts, and they all add up. We still have a lot of work to do with less than a month remaining.” “The support from our community members, professionals, businesses, corporations and their employees is astounding. We have had a great response to our employee presentations,” says United Way Board President Vonda Reese. “People in this community know what we are trying to accomplish and really get behind the mission of the United Way.” “The greatest aspect of a donation to United Way is the efficien...

United Way of the Bradford Area’s 2012 appeal has officially begun, with a theme of “Live United.” Chairing this year’s campaign are Steve Cottillion of Northwest Savings Bank, Christine Minich of Zippo Manufacturing Company, and Karen Costello-Pecht of Control Chief Corporation. “With the community behind the United Way, we believe we can accomplish anything. Karen, Chris and I look forward to working with our wonderful and caring community to help everyone Live United!” said Cottillion. The annual campaign, which runs from August 15 through December 15, has a goal of securing pledges from the community through workplace campaigns and individual contributions that benefit the local United Way’s 18 affiliated agencies and 39 programs in the areas of education, income, health and rebuilding lives. The local staff and volunteers will spend the next four months soliciting the community, especially by the use of the workplace campaign presentations. Speakers from partner agencies are eager...

By SANDRA RHODES When Mark Doolittle attends his 30th high school class reunion Saturday night, the 1982 Bradford Area High School graduate, along with two classmates, will have a little something special to brag about - like taking part in a sprint triathlon that morning. Doolittle, joined by Chris Wilson Minich and her twin brother Chuck Wilson, are participating as a team and the seventh annual Willow Creek Triathlon on Saturday. Proceeds from the triathlon benefit the transportation fund for the Disabled American Veterans of McKean and Warren counties. For Doolittle, who is traveling from Indianapolis, Ind., for Saturday's events, the triathlon takes on special meeting. Doolittle himself is 60 percent disabled. A veteran of both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army, Doolittle was injured as a result of an accident involving "friendly fire" when a fellow soldier fell asleep at the wheel and ran him over. This left him a three rods inside his right ankle plus a plate and 14 scre...

These Zippo employees on Barbour Strett show their spirit by joining in the "blackout" to support the Lady Owls and Owls basketball teams as they start their playoff run tonight. Photo provided by Zippo The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The United Way of the Bradford Area, Inc. announced today the final results for its 2011 Campaign: Live United and Lend a Helping Hand. With a campaign goal of $325,000, organization officials announced the final amount raised at $328,730. “We are so proud and appreciative of the Bradford community for stepping in to achieve this goal,” says Executive Director Megan Minich. “We are ecstatic with the total raised during this campaign season. More importantly, we’re grateful for the amount of good these dollars can do and the lives we can change through our partner agencies with the money entrusted to us.” Board President Vonda Reese added that “We could not achieve this kind of success without the hard work and dedication of numerous volunteers. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we would like to thank campaign co-chairs Christine Minich, Karen Costello-Pecht, and Steve Cottillion for their enthusiasm and commitment to United Way and this year’s appeal process. In addition to this yea...

The United Way of the Bradford Area, Inc. announced today that the organization has reached 90% of its $325,000 goal, with roughly $30,000 left to raise. Although the official appeal process ended December 15, the organization will continue to accept donations until January 5, 2012. “If the campaign falls short, the deficit will be equally applied to all funded agencies,” says Megan Minich, Executive Director. “We hope to not have to write that letter notifying our funded agencies of a shortfall in this critical year of need. At this time, we are counting on the generous nature of the Bradford community to step in with a last minute pledge to help us reach goal, hopefully by Christmas.” Campaign Co-Chair Karen Costello-Pecht added that “We are grateful to the loyal contributors that support United Way year after year. Even though the economy has created problems for a lot of us, we still were able to gain 75 new donors this year. I’m proud to say that I’m a part of this amazing communi...

United Way of the Bradford Area’s 2011 appeal has officially begun, with a theme of “LIVE UNITED and Lend a Helping Hand.” Chairing this year’s campaign are Steve Cottillion of Northwest Savings Bank, Chris Minich of Zippo Manufacturing Company, and Karen Costello-Pecht of Control Chief Corporation. “Going with the United Way Worldwide ‘LIVE UNITED’ theme is so timely this year as we work to show that we are all interconnected. What happens to our neighbors matters to us, and we have a stake in their success. That’s what it means to LIVE UNITED and lend a helping hand,” said Costello-Pecht. United Way officials have again set the goal at $325,000, which was not raised from the 2009 and 2010 goals. “With the current economic climate, we did not feel that this was the time to raise our goal. However, with state budget cuts to several of our partner agencies, the need to pull together as a community and surpass this goal is greater than ever” said United Way Executive Director Megan Mi...