October 3, 2008

                                               Selinsgrove Area Rotary Club

                                   Make Dreams Real

Vol. 82, No. 13               President – Michael P. Hayes     Editor – Dottie Anderson  

****************************************************************

This Week: October 9, 2008 – Club Assembly. Web Management on the agenda, presented by Shawn Felty.  John Stokinger will edit the newsletter. SVCC, 11:45 a.m.

Oct. 2, 2008 – Twenty-five Rotarians and guests were present for the vocational tour and lunch at the Sunbury Generation LP in Shamokin Dam. Guests included Toby Skinner’s guest Lynn Askew and program presenters.  Following lunch, Ed Griegal, VP for Operations did a power point presentation on the past, present and future of the plant.  Built in the late 1940’s by Penna. Power and Light, following deregulation in 1999, it was sold to Wisconsin Public Service. In the early 50’s, the plant went from using anthracite coal only, to burning bituminous coal.  This brought the necessity of adding “bag houses” for emission control of fly ash.  While owned by WPS, 80% of the existing workforce was moved to other locations, and the company faced multible challenges.  In 2006 the company was purchased by Scott Kroh, Neil Hedrick, and AMCI Capital and became Sunbury Generation LB.  There are four associated companies.  Production has increased since then with money being spent on maintenance for plant and fuel systems, technology and pollution control.  Currently a 300 million dollar Pollution Control Project has been put on hold given emission rule changes and uncertainties as well as concerns about the unfavorable/unstable credit markets at a time when power pricing is down 40% and coal pricing is the highest ever.  Jeff  Specht, Controller, and Jim Specht, Operations Coordinator and 30+ year employee took about 12 of the Rotarians on a tour of the plant.  Tom Gates and Joyce Anderson are thanked for all of their efforts in setting up this very interesting vocational program.

Announcements:  President Hayes has appointed the following members to serve on the Nominations Committee: Fred Johnson,

Chair; Earl Ferster, and Mike Flock. *Despite bad weather, $376.71 was raised through the Purple Pinkie program at the

Market Street

Festival. This program will be held again at the 10/4 Homecoming Football game at Susquehanna.**The Club has received a certificate of appreciation from the Foundation for Free Enterprise Education acknowledging our generous support of a scholarship for a student to attend the program.***Thanks are extended to all who volunteered time for the Market St. Festival.****If you plan to attend and haven’t signed up for the 10/16 Coach’s night, please call Joyce Anderson at 743-5745 by Oct. 7. 

Future Programs:                              

Oct. 16 – Coaches Night with the Sunbury Rotary, Dinner at 6:00 p.m., Edison Hotel, Sunbury. Call Joyce Anderson by 10/8 if you plan to attend and haven’t signed up. Mike Hayes will edit the Newsletter.

Oct. 23 – Michael Piecuch, Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the House Representative Dennis O’Brien, will be the featured speaker. John Stokinger will edit the newsletter. SVCC, 11:45 a.m.

Oct. 30 – Joseph McGranaghan, member of the Government Affairs Committee of the GSV Chamber of Commerce, will address the Club on the Susquehanna Valley Thruway Project. SVCC, 11:45 a.m.

Nov. 6 – Hospice Care / SUN Home Health CEO.  Steve Richard will speak.  Jan Wilson hosts. SVCC, 11:45 a.m.

Nov. 13 – Veteran’s Day presentation by Robert Rachau, Post Commander of the VFW Post 6631.  SVCC, 11:45 a.m.

Nov. 20 – Presentation on energy conservation by Megan Epler and Jess Scott from SEDA-COG.  SVCC, 11:45 a.m.

Nov. 27 – Happy Thanksgiving.  No meeting.

Birthdays:  Oct. 11 – Cathy Kline; 12 – Steva Stowell-Hardcastle; 22 – John Reed;  Nov. 2 – Chris Kenawell;

6 – Donna Schuck; 8 – Jerry Rhoades; 15 –Art Bowen; 29 – Paul Spiegel.

Quotation:  “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”                                  Benjamin Franklin