STATE COLLEGE

CBICC presents awards

Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County recently presented its 2024 Centre County Business Awards.

The six award recipients include:

— State College Food Bank – Nonprofit of the Year

— Elizabeth Hay, Jack White Family Director of Happy Valley LaunchBox powered by PNC Bank – ATHENA Champion Leadership Award

— Antifragile Brewing – Emerging Business of the Year

— Centre County Gazette – Small Business of the Year

— Liz Piazza, Broker of Record of Kissinger Bigatel & Brower Realtors – Business Leader of the Year

— Scholar Hotels – Business of the Year

JOHNSTOWN

Penn Highlands gets grant

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College has been awarded a $49,500 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to support the acquisition of equipment and supplies for its new location in Centre County.

This grant offers financial support for Centre County, helping cover the $99,000 cost of supplies and equipment for the new facility.

Penn Highlands previously received support from the ARC in Washington, D.C., notably in the acquisition of classroom and lab equipment for the College’s Blair Center in 2018.

STATE COLLEGE

Program targets rural areas

Bridgeway Capital has expanded its Alliance for Creative Rural Economies program into State College. This marks the next chapter in Bridgeway’s mission to empower creative entrepreneurs in rural communities through financial resilience, creative fulfillment and social impact.

The ACRE program is designed to foster creative businesses in disinvested areas across a multistate region of Appalachia. This program, piloted in Johnstown in 2022, has grown to serve creative entrepreneurs in various regions, including Greensburg, New Kensington and Morgantown, W.Va. State College will join this network of ACRE communities as one of three locations added in 2024, serving 45 new creative entrepreneurs.

The ACRE journey follows a proprietary “Learn, Plan, Thrive” model that guides participants through business training, financial planning and personalized coaching. The approach equips creative entrepreneurs with the tools and strategies they need to build sustainable businesses that contribute to the revitalization of their communities.