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Char-Houston grad, SpringHouse satisfy appetite for knowledge

6 min read
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Strimel

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Hosa

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Courtesy of Jean Kummer, American Dairy Association North East

John Hoover from SpringHouse Farm and Market in Eighty Four speaks to members of the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics about the sustainable farming practices used to produce milk and other dairy products.

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Dooley

Greg Strimel, a 2003 Chartiers-Houston graduate, is establishing himself as a first-rate educator.

Strimel, an associate professor of technology leadership and innovation in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, has been presented the Charles B. Murphy Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award. It is the university’s highest undergraduate teaching honor, and a follow-up to the Exceptional Early Career Teaching Award he received a mere two years earlier.

Asked what this latest award means to him, Strimel said: “Everything. This award means everything. It’s really gratifying because students have to advocate for the winner. For me, it’s all about the students – getting to work with them gives us the opportunity to build the next generation of scholars, innovators and educators.”

One of Strimel’s top priorities is preparation of teachers. He is involved with direct professional development programs aimed at ramping up STEM education nationwide.

Purdue Polytechnic is one of 10 academic colleges at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

SpringHouse

Fifty registered dietitians recently toured one of the most visible dairy farms in Southwestern Pennsylvania, where they satisfied their appetites for knowledge.

Members of the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics met at the SpringHouse Country Market and Restaurant on April 20. Foremost among the topics they discussed at the North Strabane Township tract were the sustainable nutrition provided by beef and dairy products, and how farmers care for their cows, the land and the environment.

The event was hosted by the American Dairy Association North East, the Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program and Pennsylvania Beef Council.

Lolly Lesher, chair of the Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program, said in a statement: “Hosting health professionals like those from the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics allows dietitians to see firsthand how dairy farmers sustainably produce milk and, therefore, can confidently recommend dairy as a safe, nutritious product for their own families and their clients.”

Top teachers

Two area educators are finalists for The Education Partnership’s fourth annual Teacher Appreciation Awards.

They are Hilary Brown, Monessen Elementary School, for Elementary School Teacher of the Year, and Brittany Gilpin, Bethlehem-Center School District, for Rookie Teacher of the Year.

The Education Partnership is an organization whose mission, according to its website, “is to provide school supplies to students and teachers in under-resourced schools across Southwestern PA.”

Finalists will be invited to attend the awards reception at Southpointe Golf Club at 6 p.m. June 7.

Steel Nation

Mark Dooley is the new president of Steel Nation, a high-level construction and engineering company that supports the oil and gas industry.

Dooley, who was recently promoted from chief financial officer, has been with the Southpointe-based company since 2016. He has more than a quarter-century of experience in operations.

Mark Caskey, CEO and founder of Steel Nation, said in a statement: “Mark Dooley has been instrumental in taking Steel Nation to the next level. His leadership skills are impeccable. He’s developed a management team that inspires confidence from our clients and makes the organization well-positioned to serve some of the biggest producers in the oil and gas industry.”

WHS

WHS Washington Hospital has come up aces again with The Leapfrog Group.

This was the only Washington County hospital to receive an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from the independent national watchdog organization, a nonprofit. Leapfrog honored the hospital for prioritizing patient safety.

Brook Ward, president and CEO of Washington Health System, said in a statement: “WHS is proud to announce our most recent achievement, an ‘A’ Grade in hospital and patient safety. This is not the first time WHS has received this distinction and, considering this score reflects national performance on patient safety though COVID-19, I feel that this is really something to celebrate.

“I want to thank our medical staff and all WHS team members for their dedication to providing Great Patient Care.”‘

For more information, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org.

Under 40 physicians

Pennsylvania Medical Society has announced its annual list of Top Physicians Under 40. The awards go to early-career physicians who are nominated by their peers, then selected by a committee of PAMED members.

Three of the awardees under age 40 are from the Washington-Greene-Fayette tri-county area. All are doctors of osteopathic medicine who are practicing family medicine: John Allison and Tara Braithwaite of Greene; and Caitlin Matthis, Washington.

“We had a lot of great nominations, but these candidates stood out among the rest,” Kristen Sandel, MD, PAMED president-elect and chair of the awards committee, said in a statement. “With their ambition and innovative ideas, they will shape and shine bright in the future of medicine.”

WCCF/TRPIL

Joann Naser is now manager of Nonprofit Leadership and Engagement at Washington County Community Foundation. She began working at the North Strabane Township-based organization on May 1. Naser had previously been chief development officer of Transitional Paths to Independent Living in Washington.

Her son, Jon Naser, a volunteer with TRPIL, said work on the TRPIL building is mostly finished, except for an HVAC unit that has to be shipped from China. He said it is expected to arrive in June, following several delays.

Registration has opened for the eighth annual Rock, Run Roll 5K, a TRPIL fundraiser to be held May 20 at South Strabane Community Park.

Columbia Gas

Brian McCaul has been named vice president of Gas Operations in Canonsburg for Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania and Maryland, a NiSource Inc. company. He took that position on May 1.

McCaul has worked in the energy industry for more than three decades. Previously, he was Regional Solar general manager for NEER (NextEra Energy Resources), overseeing the firm’s solar fields and battery storage facilities from Arkansas to southern Florida.

Spherion

The “home team” at Canonsburg-based Spherion Staffing and Recruiting is a major award-winner.

Spherion, which has 150 locally owned offices in the United States, announced that the Washington County location recently received three top awards during the firm’s national meeting.

The President’s award honors the local team’s business strategy, which sparked a 25% sales increase. And the office’s on-premise operations nearly doubled in size, leading to the On-Premise of the Year award. These accomplishments also resulted in brothers and co-owners Jay and Don Ruggery Jr. sharing in the Franchise Owner of the Year award.

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