One of the goals of the current leadership at Crary Hose is to build relationships with public and private partners to bring as many resources as possible to the Cowanesque Valley. This strengthens our organization while serving our goal of providing professional-grade fire, rescue, EMS and Wildland fire protection to our community and the surrounding areas. We have been working closely with Develop Tioga, a non-profit economic development organization based in Wellsboro, to obtain land at the reclaimed WesTan site. They have been great partners and were vital in helping us secure 8 acers on this site. Kristin Hamilton, Executive Director of Develop Tioga, has been a great facilitator of this process. Knowing our long-term goals, Mrs. Hamilton encouraged us to send a delegation to their Legislative Breakfast; an event that brings together elected officials, business and non-profit leaders, lending institutions, and other community stakeholders for networking and legislative updates from all levels of government. Crary Hose was able to send 3 officers to this event.
The event started off with a networking session followed by a welcome from Kristin Hamilton, Executive Director of Develop Tioga, and Trish Wilkinson, Chair of Develop Tioga. At this point, legislative updates were given by the following elected officials/staff.
- Tioga County Commissioners Shane Nickerson and Marc Rice shared local updates, with both expressing the great working relationship that the bipartisan group of Commissioners has formed. Commissioner Sam VanLoon could not attend due to military obligations, and we thank him for his service.
- US Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson provided a report on his work in Washington. Congressman Thompson is the Chair of the House Agriculture Committee and serves on the Education and Labor Committee. He spoke of progress being made despite the complications and divisions that exist in the US House.
- PA State Senator Gene Yaw spoke on his work with local businesses and elaborated on energy issues facing our community and state, including an in-depth discussion on the importance of hydrocarbon-based energy sources. He also discussed carbon capture and sequestration as part of hydrogen-based energy systems. Senator Yaw serves as Chairman of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.
- PA Representative Clint Owlett who gave an inspiring, interactive speech on the definition of success as it pertains to 5 local businesses, aided with some help from speakers from the crowd. He talked of the progress being made locally and at the state-level, and his engagement with local businesses. Rep Owlett serves on the Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Appropriations, Ethics and Judiciary Committees.
- Drew Popish from the Office of Governor Josh Shapiro provided information from the Governor on his proposed balanced budget and a number of his initiatives for community development and economic growth. Mr. Popish has a great self-effacing sense of humor and received many laughs during his speech.
The event ended with a Q&A session with questions on Career and Technical Education (CTE,) minimum wage changes, marijuana legalization, and a comment from former Tioga County Commissioner Erik Coolidge pointing out how fortunate and anomalous we are to have such great leadership representing our area.
Crary Hose Vice President Todd Streeter, Secretary Matthew Reed, and Assistant Chief Brent Skelton were in attendance and were able to speak with all elected officials present on our goals and challenges for recruiting and retaining firefighters, expanding facilities and capabilities, and maintaining services with limited human and financial resources. We had a couple opportunities to speak with Congressman GT Thompson, who is himself a former volunteer firefighter with extensive training. GT is well-aware of the challenges facing the volunteer fire service, and we appreciate his advocacy in Washington. Our officers spoke with Commissioners Rice and Nickerson, Representative Owlett who has been a constant source of support and information since gaining office, Senator Yaw who expressed his willingness to support and amplify our efforts, and Drew Popish who offered the support of the Governor’s office. Commissioner Rice has made plans with us to visit the 5 House next month to discuss our current challenges and future plans.
VP Streeter and Sec Reed were able to talk to a number of businesses with vested local interests, including Rob Boulware from Seneca Resources, Ian Vranich from National Fuel, among others, and get insight into opportunities available for collaboration and funding. The economic impact that the gas industry has had and will have on our area is nothing short of amazing, and we thank them for their words of encouragement and offers of support.
Our delegates had the pleasure of having a 10 minute conversation with Bob Morgan and Thomas Wellington of the US Department of Agriculture to discuss our plans and current initiatives related to their department . The USDA plays a vital funding role in so many projects in rural America and their impact on our local municipalities and organizations cannot be overstated. We appreciated their time and we hope to work with them in the near future as we expand and grow.
Crary Hose would like to thank Develop Tioga for hosting this event and for all of the great work they have been doing to expand the economy and foster growth in the communities of Tioga County. Develop Tioga spearheaded the demolition and reclamation of the Westfield Tannery property, for which the entire Westfield community owes a debt of gratitude. We hope that the relationships that we made at this event will bring much-needed resources to emergency services in our community, and we look forward to the future partnerships that may arise from this event. We especially want to thank Executive Director Kristin Hamilton for suggesting that we attend this event, and for her assistance with our purchase of the WesTan property and her mentorship as we move forward with plans for growth and expansion.
