News and information about CAN DO for the community, investors, volunteers and board members.
The CAN DO family of volunteers and staff is mourning the loss of one of its longest-serving members, Arthur A. Krause, who died on Monday, March 1.
A lifelong West Hazleton resident, Art was active with CAN DO for decades and served as the agency’s historian.
“Everyone at CAN DO will miss Art. I’ve known and worked with him for more than 30 years. He had a remarkable knowledge of the Hazleton area and a true commitment to improving this region,” said CAN DO President Kevin O’Donnell. “The CAN DO staff joins me in expressing our sincere condolences to his family and friends. Art’s knowledge, guidance and friendship will be missed.”
Greater Hazleton’s growing food service cluster is featured in the current issue of a national magazine.
The area appears in a story entitled “Food Preparation’s Innovations” in the December 2009 edition of Global Corporate Xpansion magazine, a quarterly magazine for executives and site selectors planning to relocate a facility or expand operations.
“A large food processing region located on the Eastern Seaboard of the country, home to manufacturing operations such as The Hershey Company, Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Bimbo Bakeries, is Hazleton, Pa.,” the article states. “[Greater Hazleton] has taken advantage of a food processing initiative created by CAN DO, Inc., a nonprofit economic development corporation in Greater Hazleton that was created to assist companies in all aspects of their operations […] Here, distribution, logistics and low operating costs are just some of the advantages that help companies in Greater Hazleton compete with other markets, says Joseph Lettiere, vice president of sales and marketing, CAN DO. […] The pace of expansion is picking up in Hazleton.”
CAN DO has been targeting the food service industry as an area of future growth, Lettiere explained.
“Companies in the food services and food-processing industry find that the Hazleton area is the perfect location for many reasons, including our strategic location, competitive operating environment, highly rated workforce and the availability of training programs,” Lettiere said.
The cluster in CAN DO’s industrial parks consists of companies such as Fresh Start Bakeries, Tootsie Roll, The Hershey Company, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Cargill Meat Solutions, Bimbo Bakeries, Gonnella Frozen Products, U.S. Cold Storage and Romark Logistics, in addition to other food packaging and food transportation businesses.
Several food-processing partnerships are also in place throughout Greater Hazleton to assist companies with a variety of needs, including workforce development and training programs.
To learn more about how to locate in Greater Hazleton and take advantage of the many benefits for food service industries in Humboldt Industrial Park, contact Lettiere at (570) 455-1508 or visit www.hazletoncando.com.
On May 18, Foundation President Gary F. Lamont and CAN DO President Kevin O’Donnell presented Luzerne County Commissioners Maryanne C. Petrilla, Gregory A. Skrepenak and Stephen A. Urban and Luzerne County Office of Community Development Executive Director Andrew D. Reilly with a resolution recognizing the county for its efforts in restoring the Ferrwood Music Camp.
CAN DO, Inc., Greater Hazleton’s economic development organization, marked another year during its 53rd annual dinner meeting June 16 at Best Western Genetti Inn & Suites, Hazleton.
The CAN DO Community Foundation held its annual meeting and observed a moment of silence in memory of attorney and Board Member Henry Giuliani, who had recently passed away.
Continued expansion of Humboldt Industrial Park’s northern side has caused CAN DO to substantially improve two intersections along Route 924 in Hazle Township.
CAN DO, Inc., and its economic development counterparts in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton are aggressively promoting entrepreneurship throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania through the formation of the NEPA Venture Partnership.