Armstrong "In The Loop Podcast"

We're super excited this week as we welcome back the creators of Armstrong Street Scene, Rick Gurrera and Greg Rhoton! We had them on last year as they launched their new podcast "Armstrong Street Scene Power Hour".  We kick off the show talking about 2021 as it was the return of car shows and the annual Street Scene Car & Custom Bike Show. Hear all about where the guys went las...

This week's episode features Maizee Zaccone from Victim Outreach Intervention Center (VOICe). Maizee is the Outreach & Volunteer Advocate for VOICe and she educates us on everything the organization does. We start the episode by learning about VOICe being the sole provider of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crime services for Butler County. They provide services to any victim...

Jean Bowen and Tim Kramer from the VITA Program are our guests this week! Jean and Tim teach us all about the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and how people can take advantage of the free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals. We learn about Earned Income Tax Credits, Child Tax Credit, and changes for 2022. Tim shares with us about their volunteers and how you ca...

Butler Buzz Host, Tricia Pritchard, and Armstrong In The Loop Podcast Host, Seth Prentice, collaborate to bring this very important episode to "Be The Match For Jax." Jax is a 6 year old, Zelienople Native who was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder called IPEX in October 2021. Join us as we search for a 'perfect' bone marrow match for Jax to save him from this life threa...

We're honored to have back our two favorite people from the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, Jordan & Caitlin. They're joining us this week to take part in what has become a yearly tradition of recapping the previous year, an overlook of what's to come in 2022, and we discuss a strategic plan of what the future looks like for the county. Jordan starts us off with a nice recap...

Welcome to our 4th Season of Armstrong In The Loop Podcast. After a few weeks off to end 2021, we have a fantastic episode to kick-off 2022. This week's episode features Adventures in Training with a Purpose and we're honored to have Caleb & Sarah Kolb as our guests. We start off in the episode to learn about what is ATP, how ATP was started, the different programs offered, and much...

Suzanne Trew, owner of Sweetwater Farms Pennsylvania in Harmony PA, joins the show this week to talk about Sweetwater Farms Pennsylvania.  Suzzane and her husband, Ben, opened their store location in November 2020 and just celebrated their 1st anniversary! Their goal is to provide fresh produce to their family and the community through responsible, sustainable, and organic-based practices. We lear...

Michelle Johnson, Education Outreach Coordinator in Pennsylvania for Impact Teen Drivers, joins our show to talk about Impact Teen Drivers mission. Impact Teen Drivers has emerged as a leading non-profit organization dedicated to reversing the leading cause of death for teenagers, car crashes. Michelle and her colleagues develop, promote and facilitate evidence-based education and strategies to sa...

George Villegas, Board Member for CVCC, joins the show again to talk about the 75+ years of this amazing organization. The group's fundraising effort for the year is $45,000.00 and they're well on their way to reaching their goal. This year, CVCC has added a Vacation Home Raffle to help raise money towards their annual goal. A one week vacation home rental in Cape Coral, Florida can be w...

This week's episode features Linda Thoma of the Jean B. Purvis Community Health Center. We learn all about this wonderful Community Health Center located in Butler that serves the uninsured and under-insured for the past 13 years. They have provided medical care to over 12,000 individuals, provided $4 million dollars in free medication to patients and served over 2,000 patients in dental. The...

We have a special treat for all of you this week as Tricia Pritchard, Host of the Butler Buzz, joins us to talk about her new role on the Armstrong Neighborhood Channel!  Tricia is a very welcoming and open person. We spend the first part of the show learning who she is and what led her to the path of teaching. She currently teaches multiple courses at Grove City College and Butler County Communit...

Here is our 2nd part of this great 2 part 100th episode celebration with Stefanie and Nick!  We are celebrating our 100th episode with a 2 part episode! We needed to go big to celebrate the achievement and had to bring in someone who impacted most households in the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Our guest for episode 100 is Stefanie Clark Eskander, toy designer who worked for Mattel, Hasbro and Tonka. She ha...

We are celebrating our 100th episode with a 2 part episode! We needed to go big to celebrate the achievement and had to bring in someone who impacted most households in the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Our guest for episode 100 is Stefanie Clark Eskander, toy designer who worked for Mattel, Hasbro and Tonka. She has been illustrating and designing in the toy business for over 40 years with the last few yea...

This week we're honored to be joined by the 2021-2022 Rich-Mar Rotary Club President, Dan Goss. Dan shares with us his story of how he got involved with Rotary and how it started with his father becoming a Rotarian. We also learn about the rich history of the Rich-Mar Club and how the club was chartered.  Dan talks about what it means to be a President of a Rotary Club. There are a few goals...

The 36th Annual Mars Applefest returns to downtown Mars, PA on October 2nd. Brian Fleeson, Chair of the Mars Applefest Committee, joined us to talk about this wonderful event. The Rich-Mar Rotary Satellite Club has been working diligently to make this the best Applefest yet! Brian starts off the show talking about the Rich-Mar Rotary Satellite Club and providing information if people would like to...

September is Hunger Action Month and we thought it would be a great opportunity to speak with one of the Western PA county food banks. Jennifer Miller, CEO of Westmoreland County Food Bank, joins us this week to talk about WCFB, Hunger Action Month and all the critical information that the public might not be aware of with their local food banks.  Jennifer shares her experience of how quickly she...

This week's episode features Armstrong Breaking Bread's 4th Annual A Walk For Hunger. The walk wouldn't be this successful without the help of each of the SVHS Seniors who have made the event a part of their senior class project. Our last 3 seniors: Julie Kopp, Taylor Kopp, Reaghan Wilkerson combined to raise $14,000 for our local food banks. Our guest this week, Ashley Felitsky, is...

We're honored to be joined again by Shanea Clancy, Suicide Prevention Coordinator of the Butler VA Healthcare System. Shanea wanted us to highlight the month of September being the National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month. We deep dive into heavy topics including the "Golden Hour", Risk and Protective Factors, Myths and Realities, and the most important question you can ask s...

Mars Exploration Celebration for 2021 is finally here. Join us as we speak with Missy Gralish, Mars New Year Board of Director, and hear all about the exciting two-day event that they have planned in Mars, PA!   This will be the fourth Mars Exploration Celebration that the committee has organized and it will be the largest event yet! They are practicing all guidelines to keep everyone safe and are...

Siggy Pehel, President of the Glade Run Lake Conservancy, and Karlee Holmes, GRLC Board Member and Event Coordinator of the 10th Anniversary join the show to talk about the 10th Anniversary of Glade Run Lake Conservancy. We last spoke with Siggy in 2020 to learn about GLRC, their first ever Food Truck Event and how people can get involved. Siggy expands and talks about the first 10 years & whe...

This week's episode features Kelly Carney,  owner of Eva Bryn Shoetique in Zelienople, as she's the New Member Director for the Zelienople Area Business Association.  Kelly starts off the episode by describing what ZABA does and the importance of the organization for the Zelie business community. Kelly owns Eva Bryn Shoetique and talks about how important ZABA was to her business when sh...

This week's episode features Joe Sweeney, CEO & Founder of The Asservo Project. The Asservo Project are dedicated to protecting vulnerable and at-risk individuals from human trafficking and child exploitation.  They work not only to expose predatory networks, but to intervene in coordination with law enforcement to rescue victims and bring meaningful, tangible aid to those whose lives hav...

This week we're honored to be joined by Aaron Borchert, Director of Marketing and Communications for InVision Human Services. Aaron takes time at the start of the episode to describe what InVision Human Services is and inform everyone that they have multiple locations in the state of Pennsylvania with the Wexford site being in our backyard! We discuss the core services and what makes InVision...

This week's episode features the newest employee of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce & CDC as Caitlin Blum is the Marketing and Communications Specialist. We thought it would be a great opportunity to talk about Caitlin's new position and the role she'll play in the community going forward. Caitlin is about ready to launch a Podcast for the Butler Chamber and we're exc...

This week's episode features the return of one of our fantastic non-profits in Butler County, Community Care Connections. Keara Trepanier and Nathan Slupe join the show to talk about what their organization does and their upcoming fundraising event! CCC will be hosting their first-ever Ruckus For All: Include, Empower, Connect! Fundraising event on August 22nd from 12pm-6pm at the 11th Frame...