Inside this Issue ©
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Penn State 20
Laureate a
Anthony Leach
Vol. 11, Issue 2. Penn State Brandywine Media, Pennsylvania February 19, 2010
Lisa Yerges named MTBPA
Member of the Year
(Above) 2010 MTBPA Board of Directors, (Below) Lisa Yerges receives her Member of the
Year Award. Photo courtesy of http://www. mtbpa. org/index.php Pmenu=boardmen u&rn um=
: i 32062&submenu=display_ board | pp xs
By Christina Felizzi - Editor-in-Chief - C1F5050@psu. edu
Director of Business Lisa Yerges
was recently nominated Member of the
Year for her continued dedication and
involvement as vice president in the
Middletown Township Business and
Professional Association (MTBPA).
Yerges was elected vice president of the
MTBPA in January 2009 and she is also.
a part of the Project Review Committee
as chair person, in which she decides
what projects are either accepted or
rejected to the Board of Directors.
MTBPA President Helene
Weathers remembers a project in par-
ticular in which Yerges’ persistence
and commitment really shone. “Many
years ago we started a project of six
“Welcome to Middletown’ signs,” said
Weathers. “Each year it seemed to get
lost in everyone’s busy lives. In Janu-
ary of this year I asked the board if we
should drop the project or move for-
ward. Everyone felt it was a worthwhile
project and Lisa stepped up and got the
ball rolling. It looks like it will be a real-
ity in 2010 thanks to Lisa’s persistence
in working with Middletown Township
and PennDOT. I look forward to work-
ing with Lisa as vice president next
year.”
Founded in 1968, the Middletown
Township Business and Professional As-
sociation strives to unite those involved
in business under one community. The
members within the Association are
able to evaluate problems affecting -
Middletown Township and its inhabit-
ants to ultimately improve every aspect
of the community. Thus, MTBPA work
towards developing a strong relationship
between the members and the Middle-
town locals, so that the desired goals
and aspirations are met by all.
As MTBPA President Helene
C. Weather’s states, “Our mission is to
work jointly with Middletown residents,
civic and governmental leaders for the
common betterment of your community
and to make Middletown a desirable
place to live, work and raise a family.”
In addition to devoting herself to
Middletown, Yerges exerts true dedica-
tion and effort to Penn State Brandy-
wine, especially as the overseer of the
Main Building renovation project. She
also manages all of the campus facili-
ties, Brandywine Human Resources,
Office of Safety and Security, and fair
and equal treatment of faculty and staff.
SOCA and SGA Join
Forces to Raise Funds
for Haiti
By Jennifer Santangelo - Lion's Eye Staff Writer
jms1084@psu.edu
Only cave
dwellers would not
know that on Tuesday
January 12, Haiti was
rocked by a 7.0 mag-
nitude earthquake. By
now, we are all famil-
iar with the tragic sta-
tistics: 212,000 dead,
300,000 injured, 1.2
million left homeless.
Unfortunately, these
estimates will prob-
ably climb as the dust
settles. There is never a
good place for an earth-
quake to strike, but in a
country where 4 out of -
5 people live in poverty,
the quake brought even
more despair.
Humanitarian efforts have been in place for the past
month, although fear of more tremors has slowed the relief
work. Fifty- four aftershocks have toppled already-damaged
buildings. People are afraid to set foot inside any concrete
structure. This has lead to hundreds of thousands of Haitians
sleeping in tents and make shift camps. However, people will
need shelter soon, for fast approaching is the rainy season of
May and the hurricane season in June.
The pain and hardship of the Haitian people) is felt by
all, but here at Penn State Brandywine, there is a contingent of
Caribbean Americans who want to help alleviate some of the
suffering of the Haitian community. The Society of Caribbean
Americans, or SOCA, is a new club on campus. Launched last
semester, SOCA has nine committed members. SOCA, in con-
junction with the Student Government Association, or SGA, is
seeking donations for Haiti. |
Money, clothing and nonperishable food items are
desperately needed. Those wishing to contribute may do so by
dropping items off at the Student Life Office in the Commons
Building. Students and staff can donate from now until the
end of March. When the fundraiser ends, all donations will be
forwarded to UNICEF, and those donations will then be taken
to Haiti for distribution. According to SOCA president Kelly
Ann Woods, SOCA and SGA are “working together to get the
campus involved.” Woods adds “the purpose of this mission is
not only to get the campus to donate, but also to bring aware-
ness of the Caribbean culture.” Brittney Walker, President of
SGA, is also of Caribbean descent. She and Woods decided to
enlist the help of their clubs to aid Haiti. “Community service
DID You KNOW ...
fla SVE
is a big part of who I am. I was always taught to help in any
way possible. Even though I am not from Haiti, I empathized
with the people there, and the day after the quake hit, I de-
cided to make an effort to help them the best way I could.
We’ve been getting both monetary donations and donated
items from the not only the campus community but from the
outside community as well.” Walker notes. “It’s great to know
that this small campus is doing something great for the people
of Haiti.”