Township officials elected to state association posts
The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors has elected two area men to serve as association officers.
Shirl Barnhart, chairman of the Morgan Township supervisors in Greene County, was elected to a one-year term as the association’s second vice president.
Andrew “A.J.” Boni, chairman of the Perry Township supervisors in Fayette County, was elected to serve a second three-year term on the association’s executive committee.
The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors represents Pennsylvania’s 1,455 townships of the second class and for the past 91 years has been committed to preserving and strengthening township government and securing greater visibility and involvement for townships in the state and federal political arenas, according to an association press release. Second-class townships represent more residents — 5.5 million Pennsylvanians — than any other type of political subdivision in the state.
The election took place during the association’s 90th annual Educational Conference and Trade Show, held May 6-9 in Hershey. Close to 4,000 attended the conference, attracting township officials from every county except Philadelphia, which has no townships.
As second vice president, Barnhart is a member of the association’s executive board, with full voting rights. The board, which is responsible for managing the affairs of the state association, is made up of five officers, seven executive committee members and the immediate past president if still in township office. The board meets frequently throughout the year to conduct business and plan projects that will benefit member townships.
Barnhart, who previously served as the association’s secretary-treasurer and assistant secretary-treasurer, was elected to the executive committee in 2002. Before that, he served as a member of the association’s finance and resolutions-legislation committees. He is currently a member of the succession planning committee, salary board and Grassroots Lobbying Network, which addresses legislative issues that affect every Pennsylvanian who lives in a second-class township. Barnhart also is the board liaison to the association’s finance committee.
Barnhart also serves on the Governor’s Local Government Advisory Committee, the state Department of Transportation New Products Committee, the Southwest Regional Planning Commission and the Ohio Valley Water Resource Committee. He is chairman of the Jefferson-Morgan Council of Governments and the Greene County Planning Commission. Additional affiliations include membership in the Izaac Walton League and the Mather Christian Church.
Barnhart previously served as vice chairman of the Greene County Solid Waste Advisory Board and chairman of the Advisory Committee for PennDOT Local Technical Assistance Program. He also has served the Greene County Association of Township Officials as president and vice president and was a member, firefighter and emergency medical technician for the Clarksville Volunteer Fire Company. Barnhart currently serves as a firefighter and emergency medical technician with the Jefferson Volunteer Fire Company.
Prior to his election to the executive committee, Boni served as a member of the association’s publications-public relations committee and received the association’s President’s Leadership Award in 2008. He is currently the board liaison to the association’s secretary-manager committee and committee on townships between 2,000 and 5,000 in population. He is a member of the association’s Grassroots Lobbying Network.
Boni is roadmaster and emergency management coordinator for Perry Township.
He is second vice president and has served as past president and vice president of the Fayette County Association of Township Officials, is a past member of the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission and is the past president and treasurer of the Perryopolis Lions Club.
Boni also serves on the Governor’s Local Government Advisory Committee and the Pennsylvania Sewage Advisory Committee and is assistant chief for the Perry Township Volunteer Fire Department.
He is a member of the Fayette County Firemen’s Association, the Western Pennsylvania Firemen’s Association, and Tri-County Lodge 252. Additional affiliations include the Fayette County Fair, the Star Junction Fish and Game Club and Pheasants Forever. Boni is also a lector for St. John’s Church in Perryopolis.