May 11, 2008 5 min read

Hopwood Arts, crafts store opens

St. Vincent de Paul Society has opened Vincent’s Gallery at 1176 National Pike in Hopwood.

Roy Sarver, St. Vincent de Paul spokesman, said the store is a different concept for St. Vincent de Paul. The gallery will sell artwork and handcrafted items made exclusively by local and Appalachian artists.

More than a dozen varied artists will be represented, including Robert Fleszor, metal items, pewter; Beth Vilsack, quilts and country craft; Ray Polaski, Amish furniture, stain glass and metal craft; Sisters of St. Basil, hand crafted gift items; Uniontown Art Club, paintings, crafted gift items, pottery; Mary Kay Karolewics and Rose Blout, watercolors, paintings, prints, drawings; Joni Anthony, country primitive crafts and candles; Lisa Quarrick, country items/crafted furniture; Dottie Pederson, sterling silver jewelry, beaded items and Kelly John, country and seasonal crafts.

Door prizes and refreshments will be featured at the gallery’s grand opening. The gallery will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Telephone is 724-439-9400.

Uniontown

Real estate agent honored

Shelley Sharp of the Uniontown office of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has been recognized as the office’s “Top Producer” for 2007. The honor was bestowed on Sharp at the company’s annual awards event at the Pittsburgh Hilton Hotel. More than 1,000 Howard Hanna real estate agents gathered for the program. The company’s theme was “Mission Possible: 08”.

In addition to being honored as the office’s top agent for 2007, Sharp’s other accomplishments for the year included earning her RRS designation as well as being awarded the Multi-Million Dollar Producer award.

Sharp resides at Deer Lake with her husband Sean, and daughters Shannon, Emily and Kate.

Uniontown

Salary workshop planned

Tri-State Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), in responding to members questions about benefits and salary survey data, has invited representatives from SMC Business Councils (www.smc.org) to speak at its luncheon workshop from noon to 2 p.m. May 20 at the Fayette Chamber of Commerce office, 65 W. Main St., Uniontown.

The lunch starts at noon and the program begins at 12:30 p.m.

Having access to job-specific data on what competing employers pay is essential to the relevance of any pay plan, a spokesman for SHRM said. The discussion will cover market data research used in the process of evaluating and classifying jobs; how to develop competitive variable pay plans and equity-based compensation strategies. SMC provides employers an analysis of the current labor market price for jobs/positions. In this program, Eileen Petrone and Rosann Linsa will discuss SMC’s most recent annual benefits and compensation surveys and the trends they show for Fayette County employers.

Registration must be made by noon May 16 by e-mailing Melissa Basden, Tri-State SHRM secretary, at mbasden@pacetec.org.

Uniontown

Chamber hosts financial seminar

United First Financial in Uniontown will present a Money Merge Account seminar from 9:30 a.m. to noon Wednesday in the conference room of the Fayette Chamber of Commerce, 65 W. Main St., Uniontown.

The event is open to chamber members and non-members.

Presented by Arun Potdar, chamber member, the seminar will present information on how to become debt free. Tony Mosack, United First Financial branch manager, will provide information about the Money Merge Account program and how it can cut mortgage interest, increase cash flow, get tax benefits and deductions, handle financial budgeting and create a financial plan.

Those attending should call the chamber office at 724-437-4571 to make a reservation.

Washington

Food safety class planned

Penn State Cooperative Extension is offering a food safety training class from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and May 19 at Gander Mountain in Washington.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, licensed food establishments must have one supervisory employee that has successfully completed a food safety training class. Completing the training and passing the associated examination brings licensed food establishments into compliance with the agriculture department’s Food Employee Certification Act.

The examination will be held at 4 p.m. May 27. Participants must attend all dates and times. There is a fee that covers the cost of all materials. To register or get more information, call the extension office at 724-837-1402.

Greensburg

Group to discuss oil, gas leases

The Westmoreland Woodlands Improvement Association will hold a seminar on the pros and cons of leases for oil and gas drilling from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Westmoreland Conservation District headquarters, behind the Donohoe Center on Donohoe Road, Greensburg.

Refreshments will be offered at 6:30 p.m. The talk is free for WWIA members and there is a fee for nonmembers.

The speaker will be attorney George Conti of Greensburg, who has 35 years of experience negotiating such leasing and advising landowners of their rights. “Never sign a printed lease,” Conti said. He will tell listeners what clauses to insist on and what types of royalties to expect, as well as what kind of damage to be prepared for.

Check the WWIA Web site, www.swpawoods.org, or call Tony Quadro at 724-837-5271 for directions or for more information.

Greensburg

Kovacs joins BPU

BPU Investment Management Inc. announced Mark A. Kovacs, CRPS, has joined the firm as a senior vice president. He provides financial planning and wealth management services to individuals in the Uniontown and surrounding areas.

Kovacs worked as a financial consultant for the private client groups at National City and Integra in Uniontown for 15 years.

“Mark’s depth of experience in private-asset management enables us to immediate serve more clients in the Uniontown area with expert investment guidance,” said Robert Unkovic, president of BPU Investment Management Inc.

Kovacs resides in Uniontown with his wife Julie and four children.

BPU Investment Management Inc. is a Pittsburgh-based full-service investment firm providing comprehensive financial planning and wealth management products and services to individuals; defined benefit and defined contribution plans to businesses; and endowment services and products to nonprofit organizations. BPU Investment Management Inc. is a member of NASD & SIPC and is a registered investment advisor.