This week's episode features a program in Butler County that has helped over 600 inspiring leaders gain new skill sets to be more successful in their careers & personal lives. We are honored to have Ian Hunter and Jamie Conrad, Co-Chairs of the 2023-24 Leadership Butler County Class, to talk all about the program. This year's class has the honor of having the largest class size in the history of the program! Ian and Jamie talk about how this year's class has kicked off as they already have a few months under their belt (1st class in September, once a month programs). The most recent program, Media in Butler County, seemed to be a class favorite.The class recently selected their legacy project and it was announced to the public right before the start of 2024. This year's class will be partnering with the Prospect Boys and Girls Club to build new fencing, new dug outs, and a new concession stand! Construction has already started and the video can be found on the Leadership Butler County Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LeadershipButlerCountyThis project requires $20,000-25,000 and in order to get the funds needed, the class is kicking off with a Murder Mystery Dinner Fundraiser on February 10th. This year's program is titled "One Love to Lose" and will be held at the Atrium. Tickets are currently on sale and going fast! Prices are $60 a person or $650 for a table of ten. To purchase tickets: https://butlercountychamber.com/event/9th-annual-murder-mystery-soap-opera-one-love-to-lose/?fbclid=IwAR2G-31x6LSQSf_DaYvcC_CtaEK_dm1m7z5azuCMrJJdaaqy54vCgew6axIWe would like to wish Ian, Jamie and the rest of the class the best of luck with their project! We can't wait to see the unveiling later this year. 

Happy New Year! Welcome back to the start of year number 6 of Armstrong In The Loop Podcast! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and are ready for a full slate of new episodes to kick off 2024.This week's episode is our yearly tradition as we brought back Jordan Grady, Butler Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, to talk about 2023 & give us a preview of 2024. This is typically one of our longer episodes of the year but there is a lot of great information of what the chamber is doing for all of Butler County.For More Information about the chamber: https://butlercountychamber.com/Follow the Butler Chamber on Social Media:Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/BCChamber1896Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/lovebutlercountypa/LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/butler-county-chamber-of-commerce-1896/Special thanks to Jordan Grady for joining us! 

This week, we welcome back Rhiannon Schnell from Ellwood City Borough to talk about the ongoing Ellwood City Community Food Drive sponsored by Ellwood City Borough. This wonderful initiative kicked off on October 16th and runs thru November 17th. All donations benefit the Holy Redeemer Food Pantry in Ellwood City.Here are the suggested items of need:StuffingYamsSweet PotatoesTurkey Gravy (Box, Jar or Mix Packet)Canned Vegetables (corn, green beans, carrots, mixed vegetables)Canned PumpkinCranberry SauceInstant PotatoesMacaroni and CheesePie CrustPie FillingCorn Bread MixBanana Bread MixCake Mix IcingPlease check all expiration dates before donating any items! Non-perishable items only!For additional information or to become a drop off point, please email Rhiannon Schnell at [email protected] Special thanks to Rhiannon for joining us! 

As September ends, it is time to start thinking about the holidays as they are fast approaching! This week's episode features the Ellwood City Hometown Holiday Toy Drive and we're honored to have Rhiannon Schnell, Board of Director member of the Ellwood City Chamber of Commerce & representative of the Ellwood City Borough.We start the episode off learning about what this wonderful Hometown Holiday Toy Drive is and why it is so important for the community.  The toy drive is a collective effort between the Ellwood City Chamber of Commerce, the Ellwood City Borough and the Ellwood City Area School District. The school identifies families that may need extra help at Christmas time. The Chamber of Commerce handles the advertising and acts as the main sponsor of the event and the Borough handles toy collection and helps with distribution. What makes this toy drive so special is that it is specific to only the families that live in Ellwood City. Everything collected stays in the Ellwood City community!If you're wanting to donate but are wondering what is being accepted:  New, unwrapped toys for really any age are appropriate. The toy drive helps families with children from kindergarten all the way to 12th grade. Also, if there are any smaller children in the family, we will do our best to help them out as well so really no toy is too young. We do accept monetary donations that would be used to purchase gift cards for some of the older kids if we do not have items suitable for someone in high school. We do encourage people to donate items that would be able to be used for older kids such as make up kits for older girls or hoodies for the boys.  Checks can be made payable to the Ellwood City Chamber of Commerce and mailed to the Ellwood City Borough in care of Rhiannon Schnell at 525 Lawrence Avenue, Ellwood City PA 16117. Current Drop Off Locations for toys:-Busy Beaver Ellwood City -Wesbanco in Franklin Twp. And Ellwood City -Posies by Patti -The Color Cener -Air Physical Therapy-Wendydae Handmade -The Ellwood City Soccer Boosters have also agreed to campaign and collect toys so watch for them in the community  Any business interested in becoming a drop off point can do so by emailing [email protected] thanks to Rhiannon and the Ellwood City Hometown Holiday Toy committee for everything they're doing to make Christmas special for families this year! 

Our 150th episode of Armstrong In The Loop Podcast is finally here! We're honored to have members of the Mars Robotics Association join us this week to talk all about their organization.The students talk about how others can get involved, the difference between First Lego League and First Tech Challenge, and everything the students do in the community.They have a very robust website: https://www.marsroboticsassociation.org/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarsRoboticsAssociation/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mars_robotics_association/?igshid=1qoixrvngh1hlYouTube: https://youtube.com/@marsroboticsassociation4537For more information on joining, becoming a sponsor or wanting to be involved, please email: [email protected] thanks to the Mars Robotics Association for joining us! 

After a long hiatus due to summer events, we are back with brand new episodes! Just in time to celebrate our anniversary of the podcast as we started this show August 7th, 2019.We needed a great guest to celebrate our achievement and we're happy to have Ian Hunter, Director of Development & Community Outreach, from Community Care Connections join us this week! We kickoff the show by learning what is Community Care Connections. Since 1972, Community Care Connections, Inc. has provided programs and services for infants, children and adults who have developmental delays or disabilities. The Mission of Community Care Connections, Inc. is to provide programs and services that empower children and adults with disabilities to live more safely and independently in their homes, schools, neighborhoods and communities. The Vision of Community Care Connections, Inc. is to strive to provide the most innovative support services, personalized advocacy and dynamic leadership that enable persons with disabilities and their families to navigate an ever-changing service delivery system and build support systems that meet their diverse needs.We then turn our attention to their wonderful annual event, Ruckus For All. This year's event will be held Sunday, August 20th, from Noon to 4pm at the 11th Frame Bar and Grille! There are so many different fun activities for this event planned that you'll need to listen to hear everything Ian & the team at Community Care Connections has planned. This is a FREE event for EVERYONE! The main tagline for this fundraiser is: All! Include! Empower! Connect!Community Care Connections is still looking for sponsors, donations and volunteers. If you're interested, please contact Ian Hunter: [email protected] more information or to learn about Community Care Connections: https://communitycareconnect.org/Special Thanks to Ian Hunter for joining us! 

This week's episode highlights an upcoming event in Butler County that has helped hundreds of thousands of people all across the United States. Lynn McKinnis, Concordia Visiting Nurses, joins the podcast to talk about the upcoming Remote Area Medical Pop-Up Clinic that will be held November 11th & 12th at the Butler Intermediate High School.Concordia Lutheran Ministries has invited Remote Area Medical (RAM) to provide a dental, vision, and medical clinic in Butler PA on November 11-12, 2023. This will serve people in the Butler area who are uninsured, underinsured, or have insurance but cannot meet their deductibles or co-pays. All ages are welcome and no personal information is obtained from the patient unless they wish to give it. All services are completely free. As the community host, Concordia Lutheran Ministries has committed to securing the venue, recruiting all volunteers, providing food, lodging, supplies, insurance, paying for lab tests and coordinating follow-up care. In turn, RAM provides all the medical equipment, digital infrastructure, and a core staff to supervise the volunteers and manage patient flow.The key part in making an event like this happen is the medical volunteers (doctors, nurses, dentists, etc.) that participate and take time out of their lives to assist those in need. Lynn stresses the importance of getting medical volunteers as the more they have, the more people they can treat over the two-day event.If you would like to volunteer for the RAM Pop-Up Clinic: https://www.ramusa.org/clinic-schedule/Special thanks to Concordia Lutheran Ministries and Lynn McKinnis for making this event possible for those in need!

This week's episode is a celebration as CURIO in Zelienople, PA is celebrating its 6th Anniversary! We're honored to have Co-Owner, Jason Shorr, join us to talk about the evolution of CURIO over the last 6 years and all of the new & exciting changes that they've made to the art studio. If that isn't enough, CURIO and BURGH'ERS Brewing have collaborated to brew a brand new beer "Creative Juices" to celebrate CURIO's 6th anniversary.In addition to all of these exciting announcements, Jason is excited to share that they will be starting a brand new Artist Reception series with the first one being held on Saturday, May 20th. Kyle Houser, artist and Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media, will kick off the new Artist Reception series. Kyle joins us at the midway point of the show to talk about his style of art and what his work means to him. He's been showcasing his artwork at CURIO since the start in 2017 so it is a great way to help celebrate CURIO's 6 years as well as how Kyle's current art "The Time Between" has changed from where he was as an artist. For more information on CURIO and their Artist Reception Series:https://curiocool.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/curiocoolInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/curio_cool/For more information about Kyle Houser and the Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khouser922/Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media Website:https://pghartsmedia.org/Special Thanks to Jason and Kyle for joining us! 

This week's episode is one we've been very excited about because we're announcing the grand return of Pizza with a Purpose! We're doing this a bit differently for this episode as Greg Rhoton, Co-host of Armstrong Street Scene, is hosting and the normal host, Seth Prentice, is being interviewed about Pizza with a Purpose. We also are thankful to be joined by Mindy Schnitgen, Founder and Executive Director of Inspired Hearts & Hands (IH2).We kick off the episode by learning about Pizza with a Purpose. This event was created in 2018 thru Armstrong's Breaking Bread initiative to help raise money and awareness for a local non-profit. We also wanted to create a competition of all the locally owned and operated pizza restaurants to showcase the best of the area! On Thursday, June 1st, we will be hosting Pizza with a Purpose at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, Township from 6pm-8pm. The public is invited to attend and fill up an empty pizza box with the best slices of pizza in the North Hills of Pittsburgh. Pizza boxes are $25.00 and they include 10 slice tickets to try various slices of amazing pizza. Each box sold will purchase a brand new pair of shoes for the Inspired Hearts and Hands Kidz Equipped Program.We will also have an exciting announcement as we are celebrating 25 years of Zoom Internet by hosting a FREE Skate Night from 7pm-8pm. Tickets to the skate night also include skate rental. We are asking anyone wishing to skate to bring an unopened box of cereal as we're hosting a cereal drive for Inspired Hearts and Hands.If that wasn't enough, we will have former Pittsburgh Penguin and current radio personality, Phil Bourque, to do a Meet & Greet with the public starting at 6pm.Inspired Hearts and Hands will have raffle baskets, tickets, 50/50 and more as well! Stop by their table to learn more about this wonderful organization as well as consider making a donation!To learn more about Inspired Hearts and Hands: https://inspiredheartsandhands.com/To learn more about Pizza with a Purpose, 25 years of Zoom Internet Skate Night, or to purchase tickets: https://www.ticketsignup.io/TicketEvent/PizzawithaPurposeSpecial thanks to Greg & Mindy for joining us! We hope to see all of you on June 1st!

This week's episode is historic! For the first time ever we have 3 professional sports legends joining us to talk about the wonderful organization Christian Sports International and the upcoming "For The Kids" Celebrity Golf Classic.Our guests for this episode are: former Pittsburgh Pirate and Atlanta Brave Sid Bream, Four time Super Bowl Winner with the Pittsburgh Steelers Jon Kolb and former Pittsburgh Steeler Offensive Lineman Craig Wolfley. Sid and Jon have spent many years helping CSI with their Celebrity Golf Classic. We hear from both on CSI and what the organization means to them!We turn our attention to the "For The Kids" Celebrity Golf Classic on May 15th at the Treesdale Country Club in Gibsonia, PA. Former Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves player Sid Bream and four time Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl Champion Jon Kolb, cordially invite you to play in Christian Sports International's 22nd Annual "for the kids" Celebrity Golf Classic on Monday, May 15, 2023. Come join them and many of their friends for a great day of playing golf at the famous Treesdale Golf & Country Club in Gibsonia, PA.Christian Sports International (CSI) is very pleased to announce that the guest speaker for its upcoming 22nd annual celebrity golf outing will be former Pittsburgh offensive lineman and current Steeler radio analyst, Craig Wolfley.Wolfley, a 12-year NFL veteran, played his first ten seasons in a Steeler uniform before finishing his career with Minnesota in 1991. For his success in the trenches, he was selected in 2000 as a member of the Steelers All-Century Team. Off the field, "Wolf" is recognized for his generous and spirited volunteer work with local non-profit organizations like CSI. As a public speaker, he delivers the positive messages of hope and faith to his audiences.Craig shares with us his excitement and part of his message for those attending on May 15th.We end the episode hearing from Sid, Jon and Craig about the other missions important to their lives as they're involved in many organizations. To register to golf, become a sponsor, or to learn more about the event: https://christian-sports-golf.perfectgolfevent.com/Follow CSI on Social Media:Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/teamcsi2Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/christiansportsintl/YouTube-https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsjqPQE_ez5G99GStUiEONwSpecial thanks to Sid, Jon and Craig for giving up their time to join us!