Developer pitches apartment plan for former Salvation Army building

March 2, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

The Salvation Army Harrisburg building in Midtown

In 2003, Michael Lam got his first taste of Harrisburg real estate when he bought the building that housed his uncle’s Chinese restaurant.

He still owns the Good Taste building in Midtown, even though his uncle has since retired.

Lam, however, can’t get enough of Pennsylvania’s capital city. Though he lives in Queens, N.Y., he’s acquired more than a dozen other properties, mostly old, small buildings with commercial space on the ground floor and apartments upstairs. In fact, he owns many of the buildings on the 1000-block of N. 3rd Street.

He’s now poised to begin his biggest project yet. He has a contract to buy the former Salvation Army Harrisburg building in the heart of Midtown, hoping to turn it into a 25-unit apartment building.

“The units aren’t huge, but they’ll be very done very nicely,” he said in an interview on Monday. “I’m going to bring a lot of New York style to it. They’ll be very trendy, very nice.”

Lam envisions a series of two-floor, duplex-style units, 24 one-bedroom and one two-bedroom apartments. He expects rents to average around $800 a month, with $1,000 a month for the two-bedroom, parking included for all units.

The Salvation Army Harrisburg parking lot

Several years ago, the Salvation Army Harrisburg put its long-time home at Green and Cumberland streets on the market, after it made a decision to relocate to the 500-block of S. 29^th Street, near the city line. It made that move last year.

The organization has been asking $560,000 for the 18,500-square-foot building, which was constructed in 1954, plus another $330,000 for the 34-space accessory parking lot across the street. A second, smaller lot off of Penn Street has another eight parking spaces.

Before he can complete the purchase, Lam will make his case this month before the city’s Planning Commission and Zoning Hearing Board. He needs a variance and special exception for the project, which exceeds the residential density allowed under the site’s current zoning designation.

His project, he said, makes sense as this area is almost completely residential already. In addition, the sale would put the long-time exempt property onto the tax rolls, produce construction jobs and create a full-time property manager position, he said.

If all goes according to plan, he hopes to start work in May and complete the project by the end of the year.

“It creates jobs, tax revenue,” Lam said. “It just makes sense for everyone.”

In the meantime, he plans to continue work restoring two small buildings he bought recently on the 900-block of N. 3^rd Street and wants to finalize a renovation plan for the former Downtown News building on N. 2^nd Street, which he purchased last year.

“I’ve seen Harrisburg come a long way over the last 20 years,” he said. “I’m very optimistic about it.”

The Harrisburg Planning Commission is slated to hear this proposal on Wednesday, March 4, with the meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the city government center. The case is scheduled for the Zoning Hearing Board on Monday, March 16, starting at 6 p.m. in the city government center.

Timeless, powerful “An Enemy of the People” premiers at Gamut Theatre

March 2, 2020 | by Gina Napoli

For a story set in Norway, written by Henrik Ibsen 130 years ago and adapted to stage by Arthur Miller 70 years ago, “An Enemy of the People” could have been written or set anywhere or at any time.

Echoing the most entangled and corrupt elements of human nature, the actors take the audience on a journey paralleling innumerable uncomfortable moments in this young century and in world history.

The story hammers home the overarching theme, “You can’t fight city hall,” not even from the inside.

Dr. Stockmann and his brother, Mayor Peter Stockmann, sit on the board for Kirsten Springs, the main industry that put their small tourist town on the map internationally. When Dr. Stockmann tries to expose the springs as polluted, he believes the town will erect a statue of him in gratitude. He aims the revelation at his brother as a “gotcha” or “I told you so” moment rather than presenting an opportunity to fix the problem.

Already dinner friends with the town’s newspaper editor, Dr. Stockmann gains immediate backing from the local press. In fact, he has trouble believing anyone—even his brother—would argue with the facts of the study that he secretly commissioned.

Conflicted undercurrents emerge as each player divulges their respective agendas and biases. The editor is eager to wield the issue to overturn the current administration to a liberal one, and “will report on things he agrees with.” A reporter wants to use the exposure to start a revolution against the rich. The press owner will side with the majority and is unwilling to attack the current administration.

The local press corps watches the main conflict between the brothers play out in their office. Dr. Stockmann relies on his one report as proof that the water is poisoned. Mayor Stockmann enlightens his brother of the exposure’s economic realities: a two-year cleanup, pervasive unemployment, and a cost that would require a corporate bailout. Then the mayor asks his brother to sign a cover-up, veiling a blacklisting threat for non-compliance.

As the grapevine winds its tentacles through the town, larger economic concerns develop while opinions wax and wane. Dr. Stockmann’s wife is concerned about their social and financial standing. Several question the source data, citing possible flaws or varied root causes. The captain, who wasn’t concerned about politics until it directly affected him, finds himself as the only townie willing to host the resulting town hall meeting, which escalates a loudest-equals-rightest conflict that no one truly wins. Even doing what each believes is right can result in unintended consequences.

With each cast member playing their role passionately, Director F.L. Henley, Jr., was pleased with the audience’s emotional response. He saw the cast “create this energy where they flow to the stage, creating a feedback loop, bringing the message the audience walks away with.”

Henley said that, in dealing with this heavy play, “the actors showed their abilities in expanding characters’ text to the stage. It’s not about subject matter. It’s about beautiful creating moments for the audience. They create a real character exhibiting fear, love, sadness, hatred, anger.”

Many parallels have already been drawn from this play to the present-day Washington, D.C., Beltway class. However, the toxic group dynamics the actors unfold for the audience wouldn’t necessarily need a world stage to play themselves out. A similar situation could easily transpire at micro-levels: a homeowners association, a party planning committee, a PTA meeting.

“An Enemy of the People” is a “Groundhog Day” of sorts, echoing the most corrupt elements from numerous plots of both fiction and real life. Politics play out onstage as they did in Greek and Roman times, in kangaroo courts, and the Salem witch trials. Brothers feud like Cain and Abel, or Liam and Noah Gallagher. Egos and agendas reign instead of common sense. Divisive opinions are touted as truth. Authority pressures conformity.

Why? Because human nature doesn’t change. Fast-forward to audiences centuries from today, and they will likely wonder if Ibsen/Miller wrote this play for their own time and circumstances.

“An Enemy of the People” runs through March 15 at Gamut Theatre, 15 N. 4^th St., Harrisburg. For more information and tickets, visit www.gamuttheatre.org/enemy.

Big Days for Zeroday: Harrisburg brewer expanding, opening restaurant, event space

February 29, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

Co-owner Theo Armstrong stands in the future space of the new Zeroday Taproom in Midtown Harrisburg.

Five years ago, when Zeroday Brewing Co. opened its Midtown brewery and tasting room, the owners placed a framed picture behind the bar.

It’s an old, black-and-white photo of Fink Brewing Co., located for many years at Forster and James streets in Harrisburg.

Well, sometimes, beer history works in very mysterious ways.

Soon, Zeroday itself will be brewing beer nearly on the exact site where, for decades, Henry Fink and his sons produced more than 20,000 barrels a year, before Prohibition knocked the stuffing out of their business.

In early summer, the Harrisburg-based brewer will open the Zeroday Taproom on the 900-block of N. 3^rd Street, across a narrow alley from the old Fink brewery, which, in the height of alcohol ironies, is now the site of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

Why the new space? According to co-owner Theo Armstrong, the craft brewing industry has changed a lot in recent years. Today, customers don’t just want better, more flavorful and local beer. They want it all: great beer, great food and a great place for a party.

That’s what Armstrong intends to offer as Zeroday opens its full-service brewery/eatery near the state Capitol complex.

“The newer craft breweries are opening as full-service restaurants,” he said. “Now that the industry is more advanced, that’s what people are embracing.”

Armstrong said that he’s seen this trend develop ever since he opened Zeroday’s existing tasting room on Reily Street in back of Midtown Cinema.

At first, Zeroday offered only bar snacks such as big pretzels and meat-and-cheese plates. Pizza came next, and, now, you can get a sandwich and soup there.

However, those were incremental steps that didn’t go far enough, he said. People increasingly wanted a full menu to accompany his award-winning craft beer.

Therefore, he and his business partners were open to new options when they learned that WCI Partners was looking for an anchor retail tenant for an apartment building they purchased last year.

Negotiations ensued and, recently, Zeroday’s owners—Armstrong, John Tierney and Matt Tunnell—signed a lease for the currently gutted, 5,000-square-foot, first-floor retail space at 925 N. 3^rd St.

The location will give Zeroday more than twice the customer space, with room for a full-sized kitchen, a larger bar, tables, three fireplaces, comfortable seating areas, a cold storage room and a three-barrel pilot system for small-batch brews. The site offers two other key amenities—a separate room that can be closed off for private parties and a courtyard for sitting outside when the weather’s warm.

And expect the food to be good, too. Zeroday is partnering with downtown neighbor Cork & Fork to bring a Mexican and tapas-inspired menu to 3^rd Street.

“We want to be a meeting place for the community,” Armstrong said. “We want to be Midtown’s living room.”

The exterior of the future Zeroday Taproom on the 900-block of N. 3rd Street.

Zeroday will retain its space in back of Midtown Cinema, dedicating the entire 3,000 square feet to beer production. According to Armstrong, the company will need it.

Yes, Zeroday expects to sell a lot more suds at its new, full-service restaurant, but the company also plans to expand retail operations, complete with a new canning line. In addition, the owners have designs to open two other locations.

First off, Midtown Cinema, as part of its major renovation, is converting its front lounge area into a Zeroday Outpost with a 10-seat bar and additional tables. Therefore, the company will retain a central Midtown location for folks who consider the current, Reily Street brewery to be their neighborhood bar, as well as allow movie patrons to stroll into the theater with a pint.

An exterior rendering of the Midtown Cinema renovation, which has started

And Armstrong has something special for you suburbanites, too.

Zeroday is partnering on a restaurant concept with the owners of the former ShakeDown BBQ. It will open in 2021 in Susquehanna Union Green, a mixed-used town center development under construction at Linglestown Road and Progress Avenue in Susquehanna Township, Armstrong said.

Nonetheless, Zeroday’s heart will always be in Midtown Harrisburg. That’s where they got their start and where, soon, they will have three locations: the Zeroday Taproom on 3^rd Street, the Zeroday Outpost at Midtown Cinema and the Zeroday Outpost in the Broad Street Market.

“I’m confident that the 3^rd Street launch will help us be a better part of the community,” Armstrong said. “Speaking as a business owner, we want everyone to be welcome.”

For more information about Zeroday Brewing Co., visit their website.

Disclosure: Alex Hartzler, a principal with WCI Partners, is co-publisher of TheBurg.

The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

February 28, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse held a news conference to announce details of next weekend’s Ice & Fire Festival.

Our coverage this past week had a little of everything—hard news, events, culture, features. In case you missed any of it, we have it all listed and linked below. Happy Leap Day, everyone!

Art Association of Harrisburg held a big opening show during last week’s 3^rd in the Burg, featuring the art of two talented locals, Charlie “Bootleg” Feathers and Reina “R76” Wooden, in addition to another exhibit called, “Hear Me?” Our arts blogger was on hand, and you can read what he had to say.

Civil Rights Movement was one of the most important historical eras in U.S. history. A photographer, Danny Lyon, captured many of the movement’s key events, his images now featured in an exhibit at Lebanon Valley College. Our magazine story gives you the picture.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania plans a new, three-story building on 7^th Street, the former home of D&H Distributing. The builder was in town to give the Uptown community a briefing on the project, and we were there to report what he said.

Gamut Theatre opens its newest production, “Enemy of the People” this weekend. Our preview story explains why the play was selected and what it means for our day and age.

Harrisburg and the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority had some tense moments during last week’s meeting, as the city filed a lawsuit against the state-appointed financial oversight board. Read what’s at issue in our online story.

Harrisburg’s Ice & Fire Festival is next weekend, so the city had a press briefing to let the public know all about it. The daylong event on March 7 will feature ice sculptures, an ice skating rink, fire dancers and much more. Click here for all the details.

Historic Harrisburg Association recently gave a presentation on its “Preservation Priorities” for 2020. In a blog post, our editor took this occasion to offer his kudos to individuals, groups and companies that recently have helped preserve the city’s historic heritage.

Kesher Israel is moving further Uptown, having purchased the former Riverside United Methodist Church. The synagogue plans a move later this year, located closer to where much of its congregation lives. Our online feature has the full story.

L&L Beauty Supply recently opened on Reily Street in Midtown Harrisburg. This business is truly a family affair, as our magazine feature explains.

Penbrook recently elected its first African-American mayor, John McDonald. Our magazine feature story tells of his life of devotion to family and community.

TheBurg came out with our March edition on Friday, with a focus on “Women in Business” around the Harrisburg area. As always, you’ll find a great mix of news, features, columns and events. Click here to read it online.

TheBurg won five awards in the annual PA NewsMedia Foundation’s advertising contest. Find out what our peers judged to be among the best ads in the business and see our first-place award winners.

Sara Bozich issued her weekly, lengthy list of goings on around Harrisburg, complete with music, arts, food and drink events. There’s still plenty of time left in the weekend to go do something fun.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events delivered right to your email inbox? If not subscribe here!

TheBurg captures 5 awards in annual press association advertising contest

February 28, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

There’s an old saying in journalism that there’s an award for everything.

That’s right: it’s not just reporting and writing. There are also awards for editing, for community service and even for newspaper delivering.

Advertising has its own awards, and I’m delighted to report that TheBurg has received five awards in the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Foundation’s annual “Advertising Contest.”

This is actually the first time we’ve entered this peer-reviewed contest, so we were delighted to be honored to win the following awards in our category:

First Place: Best Single Ad (Rubicon ad) (pictured below)
First Place: Real Estate Ad (Olde Uptown Lofts) (pictured below)

Second Place: Special Event/Vendor Support Idea (Harrisburg Mural Festival)

Honorable Mention: Best Single Ad (Sculpt Pilates ad)
Honorable Mention: Self-Promotion Advertising (TheBurg Daily)

I would like to give a special thanks to our team behind the ads: Megan Caruso, TheBurg’s creative director, and our sales team, Lauren Maurer and Kelsey Tatge.

Below, we show our two first-place awards. Great job, Burg staff!

Burg Blog: Historic Credits

February 28, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

The long-shuttered Swallow Mansion in Harrisburg is currently under restoration.

As it does each year, Historic Harrisburg Association this past week presented its “Preservation Priority” list.

This is a summary of some of the Harrisburg area’s most threatened structures, and many of the buildings on the 2020 list should come as no surprise to anyone who cares about historic preservation locally.

On it, you’ll find such notable structures as the J. Donald Cameron Mansion (up for sale), the Riverside Firehouse (slated to be sold), several abandoned churches and a few structures, victims of negligent owners, that may be lost forever if not shored up soon (among them, the pre-Civil War Balsley House downtown and the former Gerber’s Department Store—aka the “Carpets and Draperies” building—in Midtown).

The old Harrisburg Moose Lodge, now the home of StartUp Harrisburg and Union Lofts

Each year, HHA uses this list to make the public aware of the area’s historic heritage crumbling around them—and maybe even hold owners’ collective feet to the fire.

But I’d like to use this blog post to highlight something else. In its presentation, further down, following the bad news, there is this—hope.

HHA lists a section called “prior listings,” which consists mostly of buildings that have been preserved or are otherwise no longer threatened.

The fully restored North Street building, which now houses Elementary Coffee Co. and apartments

I think it’s important to highlight the buildings that have been saved and the people who have done the expensive, hard work, often against the odds and against financial logic, to preserve them. It wasn’t long ago that these buildings were endangered.

So, an enormous thanks to:

Mike and Sally Wilson, who transformed the decrepit Mary Sachs and Hull mansions into the stunning Manor on Front Bed & Breakfast
Chris and Erica Bryce, who restored the General Henry and Elizabeth Gross Mansion next door to Manor on Front
Harristown Development, which saved the old Fox Hotel/Santanna’s Restaurant, turning it into a boutique apartment building
Vice Capital/LeRon and LeSean McCoy, who are finishing up a total restoration of the Swallow Mansion on N. 6^th Street
WCI Partners, which restored the boarded up former Moose Lodge and several commercial buildings on the 900-block of N. 3^rd Street
Matt Krupp and Harrisburg Commercial Interiors for saving and rebuilding two North Street buildings that now house Elementary Coffee Co. with apartments upstairs.

The Bridge, the former Bishop McDevitt High School

And, as they say, the best is yet to come.

This year, The Bridge plans to begin to transform the old Bishop McDevitt High School into co-working space and an “eco village,” Matt Long/Harrisburg Commercial Interiors has received permission to begin work restoring the Jackson Rooming House, and andCulture is completing a restoration of the Old Waterworks on Front Street.

There’s also hope that, this year, the Harrisburg school district may finally sell the William Penn building and property and that the Zembo Shrine building will change hands and find a new use.

Lastly, a million thanks to David Morrison, Jeb Stuart, Calobe Jackson and everyone at HHA for reminding this community of its historic heritage—and how important it is to preserve it.

To learn more about Historic Harrisburg Association, visit their website.

Women in Business: The Twila Glenn Group

February 28, 2020 | by TheBurg Editor

Twila Glenn, SRES®, CNE ®, Realtor/Team Leader
Amy Kieffer, Realtor
Allyson Musili, Realtor/Transaction & Operations Manager

The Twila Glenn Group at Joy Daniels Real Estate Group
Glenngrouprealty.com
717.695.3177

Why did you decide to go into your profession?

I have always been interested in design, decorating, architecture and just homes in general. I loved looking at homes when we were buying our first home and found myself attending my friends’ showings at their request when they were buying their first homes. I didn’t want to be limited by corporate America and wanted a business that could grow based on my personal efforts but would also allow me to be home with my kids when we decided to have them. So, with all of that, real estate seemed like a good fit for my personality. After working a 9-to-5, I took real estate courses from 5 to 9 and loved them. So, I passed my test, put in my two weeks, and the rest is history.

What makes your approach to your job different or unique?

On our team, we have the motto “The Relationship is more important than the Transaction.” So, we are always on the lookout for the next relationship. The majority of our business is referral-based, so we take our relationships very seriously as our goal is to make the people who refer us look good. We are professional realtors and back up our reputations with sound business and marketing systems that are constantly evolving to best serve our clients, as we want to create “raving fans” throughout the marketplace. All of our marketing is geared towards relationship-building events that support local businesses and charities and remind our past clients and supporters that we love and appreciate them years after the sale.

What’s the most fun or gratifying part of what you do?

I love so many aspects of my job, but the most gratifying is reconnecting with my clients after the sale and having them rave about the experience, whether it was helping them find a home or assisting with the sale of their property. When they have a referral for us, it is the biggest compliment we can receive, as it shows that we have their trust and that they are willing to put their name and reputation on the line for us, which we take to heart. It makes the stress and hard work that they often do not see all worth it, as we did everything with a smile and a plan.

Run Hear: From their Carlisle home, couple hosts popular running, marathon podcast

February 28, 2020 | by Karen Hendricks

Angie Spencer

It’s possibly the most-listened-to podcast produced in the Harrisburg area.

The stats are impressive: 8.4 million total downloads, including 100,000 monthly downloads to a worldwide audience, and a banner 10th anniversary this month. In podcast years, that makes Marathon Training Academy the old man on the block.

“When we first started, we didn’t know how it would be received,” said Angie Spencer. “We figured there would be an appetite, but we’ve been blown away.”

Her partner, at Marathon Training Academy and in life, is her husband Trevor. From a home base of Carlisle, the couple records three monthly podcasts, offering marathon training and running advice, plus interviews with health and fitness experts, authors and runners. Guests run the gamut, from elite athletes like Shalane Flanagan, Deena Kastor and Meb Keflezighi to trailblazing novice runners like the Philadelphia area’s Gene Dykes—who recently became the fastest marathoner over the age of 70.

Running advice and stories, it turns out, are perfect for podcasts.

“No matter how famous or accomplished, most runners have gone through struggles that are very relatable,” Trevor said. “They’ve questioned why they’re putting themselves through suffering, they’ve had breakthroughs that are amazing, and it’s all inspiring.”

And they tend to be great podcast guests.

“Most people in the running community are humble and caring, approachable and down to earth,” Trevor said.

Chemistry, Community

Angie and Trevor, married for 16 years, are as authentic and real as their guests. In fact, tune into any one of their 300 podcasts, and you’ll quickly realize that, like many couples, they are opposites.

Angie, a certified running coach, is organized and disciplined. Morning runs are her jam, and she offers much of the podcast’s practical training advice. Trevor, a self-proclaimed couch potato, doesn’t always stick to his training plans. He’s the comedian or color commentator playing off Angie’s straight man podcast role.

“A lot of people relate to my story because they aspire to run marathons but don’t necessarily stay on top of their training,” Trevor said. “But Angie is really faithful with her running, and some people relate to her.”

One thing they have in common is that they both discovered long-distance running later in life. Angie, hoping to lose weight after having the couple’s second of three sons, ran her first marathon (26.2 miles) in 2008 but was plagued by injuries.

She was determined to learn how to train properly and succeed. She earned her USA Track and Field Level 1 and Road Runners Club of America Level 2 coaching certifications. And the couple realized there weren’t many resources, especially podcasts, to help the ever-increasing number of everyday runners attempting marathon runs.

So, they started one, launching Marathon Training Academy as a part-time venture.

“I started running about the same time of our early episodes, so I was sharing my evolution as a runner,” said Trevor. “Angie would debrief me, and my lack of training was the topic of a lot of episodes—confessions of a lazy runner training for a marathon.”

The message, and their on-air chemistry, resounded with listeners.

“The podcast is what built the MTA community,” Trevor said.

Change Your Life

During the first four years, sponsors came on board then Angie began accepting coaching clients. MTA grew from the Spencers’ side hustle to their primary, full-time source of income for the past six years. Today, Angie is joined by a team of 10 coaches who provide one-on-one coaching to several hundred runners of all abilities, from first-time marathoners to seasoned runners attempting PRs (personal records).

Their previous careers? Trevor was a pastor, and Angie worked as a registered nurse.

Throughout the podcast’s evolution, Trevor has finished 25 half marathons and 17 marathons—“something I’d never thought I’d say,” he adds. He’s headed to the Jerusalem Marathon this month.

Angie recently completed a longtime bucket-list goal of running a marathon in all 50 states. And when she crossed the finish line at Hawaii’s Revel Kulia Marathon in January, she also finished first in her age group and notched a PR. That brings her total number of marathons completed to 58.

Speaking of states, Trevor is from California while Angie hails from Montana. At the time of their podcast launch, they lived in Missouri.

“We were doing the business full-time and realized we could live anywhere with an internet connection,” said Angie, whose sisters and mother were living in Pennsylvania.

“We did some exploratory visiting, and people kept telling us, if they could live anywhere in Pennsylvania, it would be the Harrisburg area,” Trevor said.

They made the move in 2017 and chose Carlisle for its “great schools, great hills and the Appalachian Trail,” Trevor said.

Since their move, Angie’s mother and one sister relocated to Carlisle, too.

The Spencers record the podcast in their home studio—which can take up to 20 hours per episode—while their sons (ages 15,13 and 9) are in school. They have also taken the show on the road, even podcasting throughout three cross-country family trips. In the summer of 2018, the family logged more than 10,000 miles from Carlisle to Alaska, and back, doing numerous marathons and races along the way.

“The ‘pinch me moment’ is getting to meet listeners everywhere we’ve gone, because you realize you’re making a difference in people’s lives,” Angie said.

During every podcast, the Spencers remind listeners of their tagline, “Run a marathon and change your life.”

Angie admits it may sound corny, but insists the process of running 26.2 miles provides valuable life lessons.

“It spills over into other areas of life,” she said. “People tell us how running a marathon gave them the resilience needed to get through tough times, a job loss, relationships. The mentality of listening to your body, developing a long term love affair with running—I try to model that in my own life, how running helps me be a better person, a better wife and better mother. Running adds to your life.”

Advice, for the long run.

For more information on Marathon Training Academy, visit marathontrainingacademy.com. You can find the MTA podcast on their website and podcast platforms, including iTunes.

Count Us In: It’s go time for the 2020 census.

February 28, 2020 | by M. Diane McCormick

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Census.

Census who?

It makes “census” to get an accurate head count.

Sorry. Best I could do. It’s just our way of saying the decennial enumeration is hot on our heels. Starting this month, homes across the country will begin receiving invitations to complete the 2020 census, with instructions on how to respond.

But many localities, including in Dauphin County, are making their own special efforts to encourage voluntary response, before an in-person census taker, beginning in May, does the real “knock-knock” on your door.

From city to countryside, partnerships are the key to reaching every resident in Dauphin County, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

What’s at stake if undercounted communities stay undercounted? About $2,000 in federal funds is lost per year for every person overlooked, according to a George Washington University study. Miss, say, 10,000 people, and that’s $20 million diverted from roads, schools, health facilities, housing and food aid in a single year.

There also are fewer heads counted when legislative and congressional lines are drawn, creating a representational imbalance in Harrisburg and Washington.

The Census Bureau has baseline population numbers, but forging those baselines into statistical data demands accurate counts, said Angela Gregg, Census Bureau partnership specialist within Dauphin County.

“For grant funding, you have to prove that you are servicing that population number in order to back up that the funding will be used in that area,” she said.

Trusted Voices

The numbers give communities and businesses demographic insights that inform planning for housing, commerce and other needs, said Harrisburg Planning Bureau Director Geoffrey Knight.

“Are large households growing? Are single households growing?” he said. “What does that mean for the type of housing we provide? What does that mean for economic development and for our transportation system?”

Dauphin County’s officially hard-to-count neighborhoods are in parts of Middletown and Harrisburg—Allison Hill and South Allison Hill, plus the blocks of Uptown just above Maclay Street. (Find them at www.censushardtocountmaps2020.us and the www.census.gov Response Outreach Area Mapper, or ROAM.)

But a closer look shows other slow spots, including the Hershey area (all those transient medical students) and northern Dauphin County, said Steven B. Deck, executive director of the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission.

The Dauphin County commissioners tapped Deck to chair the county’s Complete Count Committee, a voluntary Census Bureau initiative meant to reach every pocket of every community.

Dauphin County fashioned its committee as a “facilitator,” said Deck.

“We’re not trying to do anything on our own,” he said. “The idea was to pull together a good group of organizations and municipalities to get the word out.”

So, there are townships and business groups; Latino organizations and the NAACP; government offices and libraries; faith institutions and colleges.

“The idea was to find groups that people would trust—that if they send out information saying that it’s safe to fill out the census form and why it’s important to fill it out, then they’re more prone to fill it out,” said Deck.

Community partners “are our trusted voices within the community to get the word out,” agrees Gregg. The partners also contribute ideas that help the bureau target its ad buys and media dollars.

Each Complete Count Committee member brings its own network. For instance, Tri County Community Action is partnering with the Capital Area Coalition on Homelessness to reach the homeless population. Residents of every community, undercounted or not, should care, said Jennifer Wintermyer, Tri County Community Action’s executive director.

“It impacts how much federal funding is available for LIHEAP (heating assistance) and weatherization,” she said. “The Community Development Block Grant is an incredible pool of money for community resources and physical improvements. We all like to complain about our roads and congestion and bridges being safe. How the federal government determines where that money goes depends on how many people live here.”

Not to mention the vibrancy of congressional representation.

“If Pennsylvania loses congressional representation, then we have fewer people who know about us and care about us standing up and fighting for us in Washington, D.C.,” Wintermyer said.

Use Their Voice

In northern Dauphin County, a robust count will help fight the “big five” of rural challenges, said Bonnie Kent, Dauphin County operation manager and community liaison— hunger, homelessness, transportation, unemployment and health care. She is educating residents “on the whys and the how and the when and the where” of the census.

“I’m planning to cheerlead in northern Dauphin for everyone to be counted, knowing it’s going to have a great impact on our communities,” she said. “We just need to encourage people to use their voice to be counted.”

So, residents visiting the Northern Dauphin County Human Services Center for access to one of 14 human services are met with bonus census messages. Census information will be “visible in public places with high frequency,” such as the Friday night Gratz Crossroads Auction. Parents are being tapped through early childhood events and a support network. The region’s large Amish community is hearing the message through newsletters.

Like others, the city of Harrisburg is employing a “trust the messenger” strategy. Working with places of worship and other groups sends the message to the places where people congregate, instead of expecting them to show up for special events.

“It helps bring it back home a little bit more to the public when you’re hearing it in places and from people that you see on a daily or weekly basis,” said Knight.

Undercounts can result from language barriers, transience or even misunderstandings. Some people mistakenly believe that children and senior citizens aren’t counted.

“Everybody counts, so let’s count everybody,” said Wintermyer.

Safe Place

New this time is an online filing option, created to encourage “self-response,” the term for filing before the Census Bureau needs to send out enumerators. But community groups see a “significant barrier” among those who only access the internet by phone or lack broadband access or lack computer literacy, said Wintermyer.

“There’s a strong feeling that, with the modernization of the census, we’re going to have a strong undercount,” she said.

To avert that possibility, Tri County Community Action, the Northern Dauphin County Human Services Center and county libraries are among those groups offering free computer access in their offices.

“We are a safe place for folks to come and use internet access,” said Wintermyer. “If you’re here, we want you counted.”

As for concerns that the now-scuttled citizenship question could dampen turnout, Deck said, “I don’t doubt that that’s part of the heavy sales pitch.”

Wintermyer agrees the question remains a specter in fears of an undercount, along with concerns over confidentiality.

“That’s part of the message we’re trying to get to the community and community partners—that filling out the form is safe and confidential,” she said.

Gregg said that citizenship-question controversy has not been a hurdle.

“Everyone’s been great about that and realizing how important it is to respond,” she said. “We focus our goal around how safe it is and how important it is.”

City officials urge everyone in the Harrisburg region to “stand up and be counted,” especially because electoral district lines are drawn after the census is final, said Knight.

“The closer we get to a full and complete count of our communities, the better off we will all be,” he said.

For more information on the U.S. Census, visit www.2020census.gov, www.pa.gov/census or the groups mentioned in this story.

Women in Business: Nell McCormack Abom

February 28, 2020 | by TheBurg Editor

Nell McCormack Abom, Owner
Nell McCormack Abom Communications
Nellmccormackabom.com
717.514.6301

Why did you decide to go into your profession?

Curiosity is an integral part of my nature. I am fascinated by people, places and things, and that innate curiosity about the world led me to my first passion, journalism. I devoted nearly 20 years of my professional life to reporting, anchoring and producing award-winning television news programs around the country. Amid that path, I took a 10-year detour and drove the news as a senior communications advisor to Governors Bob Casey and Tom Ridge. That bipartisan and proactive communications experience deepened my understanding of effective messaging and potent storytelling to bring about behavioral and policy changes. My career has come full circle now as an accomplished, award-winning public relations entrepreneur. Through my PR firm, and in collaboration with skilled partners, we help clients promote their products and services, and better the world through their philanthropy.

What makes your approach to your job different or unique?

We’re small but mighty! When you hire a PR professional, you want to build a trustworthy relationship and see a strong return on investment. We are highly responsive and strive to deliver excellence every day with attention to detail, creativity, enthusiasm and teamwork. Clients benefit from our active listening to their concerns and expectations, and they appreciate our customized, multi-faceted, strategic messaging plans. We keep them apprised and engaged every step of the way. I love the Farmers Insurance tagline, “We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two.” As seasoned media training and PR professionals, our team thrives on calming tense situations; making complex subjects relatable to people; and producing visual events that motivate audiences to act. We’ve even overcome international custom and language barriers to deliver world-class results while managing media on government trade missions. Here in Central PA, our talented and experienced team represents a diverse portfolio of nonprofit and commercial clients who trust our character, connections, expertise, judgment, and passion to achieve success.

What’s the most fun or gratifying part of what you do?

Work is a four-letter word, but we make it F U N! I’m most gratified advocating to the media on a client’s behalf; crafting stories and videos; and training individuals how to find and use their voice to bring their vision to life. Whether promoting the protection of children from abuse or flipping the switch on the first local hotel to go 100-percent solar-powered, our joy comes in helping clients make our communities a better place to live, play and work. Together, let’s Be Brilliant in all we do!

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