Employment & Business History: 

I am not more than or less than anyone else. God created us with equal but different talents. We must all use those talents to the best of our ability.

When someone asked me about attending Chamber and CLA Events, which as the commissioner liaison I do on a regular basis, I explained that my duties include ground breakings, grand openings, expansions, and other ribbon cutting ceremonies. I thoroughly enjoy keeping in touch with my business roots. 

It was the Chamber of Commerce that first recognized my business talent by awarding me the 4th Athena Award in 1993, right after Nancy Gettle, Carole Howard and Ruth Dietz at a time when few women owned and operated businesses. I had a grocery store and did notary and tax work as well as pump gas, check oil, add antifreeze…while my husband did state inspections. Randy Ebersole joined with Harriet Farren at the Chamber to sponsor my award. Later, I visited Martha Mertz, founder of the Award with Oldsmobile, at her home.

 

Before insurance companies started using computerized estimates, I used skills learned at Lebanon Valley College to program a form using Lotus (now Excel or Access). The insurance companies loved my estimates. They were neat, readable, and always accurate whether multiplying labor hours by the current rate or paint materials by 1/2 of the paint time, or adding each column for labor, parts, and materials, adding sales tax and ending with bolding and enlarging the total.

 

So in some form, I’ve been a member of the Chamber of Commerce for 43 years,

1) Around 1983, renting from John Weirach at 7th Avenue and East Lehman Street in Lebanon City;

2) Then purchasing Johnnie’s Esso at Lincoln Avenue (Hanover Street) and Maple Street in the City;

3) Followed by the purchase of Lebanon Body Shop, 25th & Cumberland Street until I lost the business to fire in 2011;

4) Currently as a county commissioner, helping to run the County’s Business at 400 S. 8th Street in the City of Lebanon;

5) And, I believe, all of this time holding a Chamber Membership.

I’ve also been a CLA member as long as I can remember, but can’t recall when that started.

Thanks for letting me take a trip down memory lane.

To fill in a few details: Running a small business, I employed seven men and paid for their medical and life insurance. In addition to doing the accounting and payroll, I assigned jobs and inspected the final work. Further, I wrote motor vehicle physical damage appraisals that were presented to insurance companies for claim payments…. To obtain my State license to write appraisals, I received a 98% on my exam at Wilson College.