Good Fellowship Ambulance & EMS Training Institute

Good Fellowship in West Chester recently received a donation of animal oxygen masks from Invisible Fence’s Project Breathe, a program designed to provide oxygen mask kits to first responders. Each kit includes a small, medium, and large mask, instructional guide, and pet leash.

In the past, Good Fellowship has put these types of masks to use, saving animals at house fires across the area.

Although the U.S. Fire Administration doesn’t keep an official statistic, industry sources estimate that 40,000 to 150,000 pets die each year in fires. Most succumb to smoke inhalation. In most states, emergency responders lack the equipment to resuscitate and save pets.

Boy Scouts of America, Chester County Council

The Chester County Council of the Boy Scouts of America will receive $45,000 in state funding to establish and support new programs at its planned Program, Activity, and Resource Campus (PARC) on Route 30 in West Whiteland.

The Chester County Boy Scouts are currently in the process of raising the final $1.7 million of $5.2 million in funding needed for the development of the PARC, its first new property for programs in nearly 100 years. The plan includes a 22,000-square-foot facility to house state-of-the-art training, meeting, and event spaces.

Charles Rogers, the council’s executive director, highlighted the organization’s work to advance learning and education, particularly in the field of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).

“The Boy Scouts are a leader in nontraditional education,” he said. “We were doing STEM activities long before anybody thought of it as STEM.”

[uam_ad id=”58459″]

Advertisement

Lasko Holdings

West Chester-based Lasko Holdings, parent of Lasko Products and Air King America, has named Terry Carlson CEO. He succeeds Jerry W. Levin, interim CEO since the November acquisition of the company by Comvest Partners and J.W. Levin Management Partners. Levin will remain chairman of the board of directors.

“Terry fully recognizes the importance of our domestic manufacturing facilities in providing service to our retailers,” said Levin. “I am confident he is the right leader for our team and business.”

Carlson has a long history of accomplishment in the consumer durables market, attending housewares and hardware shows since 1984. He has been with market-leading companies his entire career, including Black & Decker/DeWalt, Emerson/Bosch, Raymarine, Jarden and Universal Trailer.

West Chester BID

Executive Director Malcolm Johnstone recently presented the West Chester Business Improvement District’s 2016 Annual Report to Borough Council, and by nearly every measure, 2016 was a remarkable year for downtown.

Highlights include:

• Between 2010 and 2016, West Chester ranked first among 969 Pennsylvania boroughs in population growth (numeric gains) with a 7.9 percent growth rate.
• Increase of $16,038,620 in assessed value within the BID, providing an estimated $111,629 in new taxes annually to the borough.
• West Chester won the Great American Main Street Award presented by the National Main Street Center. It is the first Pennsylvania town in nearly 20 years to receive the honor.
• The Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center opened with venues that provide a performance home to more than 10 companies. West Chester BID positioned the borough to attract a $200,000 Anchor Building grant-to-loan from the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development.
• BID expanded its capacity for social media with the hiring of Elle Steinman as Communications Specialist, increasing outreach by 2.5 million.
• Two new apartment complexes opened at Chestnut Square and 124 Marketplace, bringing the total number of new market-rate apartments in downtown to 353.

[uam_ad id=”58462″]