The Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce will honor Bradford City
Beers Inc., Bradford Regional Airport and Martin “Mike” Glesk
during its 2006 annual meeting next month.
The honorees will receive their awards April 6 at the Chamber’s
annual meeting and dinner at the Pennhills Club.
Glesk, named 2006 Business Person of the Year, is the executive
director of the Bradford Area Alliance, a group of 12 major
employers in the Tuna Valley with a shared commitment to improving
the quality of life in the Bradford area.
Glesk, a native of Port Allegany, has degrees from Duke
University and Harvard Business School. His U.S. Navy service
included a Vietnam tour and he received the Navy Commendation medal
for heroism.
As a planning consultant at Arthur D. Little in Boston, he
directed projects with government agencies and corporations’ world
wide. Upon returning to northwestern Pennsylvania, Glesk taught
international studies and business management at the University of
Pittsburgh at Bradford.
In addition, Glesk serves on the executive committee of
Continental 1, which lobbies to complete a four-lane highway from
Toronto to Miami following 219 through Bradford. He was a founding
member and the first president of the Tuna Valley Trail
Association, chairs the Bradford Airport Advisory Committee, and is
one of the project coordinators to develop a Master Plan for the
Tuna Valley.
Under his leadership, the Bradford Area Alliance has been
instrumental in initiating the Main Street program and in creating
the Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau.
Glesk is the president of Leadership McKean County, a
county-wide leadership development program. In addition he has been
a strategic planning consultant to a number of organizations in the
region.
This award is based on community service, professional
integrity, entrepreneurial spirit, business acumen, and positive
attitude/motivation.
The Bradford Regional Airport, getting this year’s Large
Business Award of the Year, was conceptualized in 1936 when the
Bradford City Council initially sought federal aid to fund for
funding.
In 1940, Mount Alton was selected as the proposed airport site;
the property was acquired a year later. In 1942 federal aid was
granted and the initial phases of construction began.
Today, the airport is under the ownership of the Bradford
Regional Airport Authority and currently employees 11 full-time and
part-time employees. US Airways Express/Colgan Air currently
provides commercial air service and offers three daily flights to
and from Pittsburgh International Airport.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation
announced RegionsAir of Tennessee will service the airport under
Continental Airlines. Also, the hub city will change from
Pittsburgh at Cleveland.
The airport will soon be home to the Pennsylvania Army National
Guard 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team. An agreement of sale for 23
acres to the Department of General Services was signed for the
future development of a 5.7 million dollar Armory Project. A design
and build firm will be selected by the fall of 2006 and
construction is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2007.
Recent achievements include a $280,000 Department of
Transportation – Small Community Air Service Grant, state
recognition of Bradford Regional Airport as the “highest priority
for continued commercial air service”; awarded a 4250,000
Appalachian Regional Commission Grant in support of the $1.7
million public water and sewer extension project; national
publicity of the airport in the New York Times and Wall Street
Journal; and named one of The Bradford Era’s “Top Ten Stories of
2004” for positive changes.
The Large Business Award of the Year is also based on community
service, investment/expansion, product and service development,
economic stability and job creation.
Bradford City Beers will receive the 2006 Small Business of the
Year award, which is based on community service,
investment/expansion, product and service development, economic
stability and job creation.
In June of 1956, Michael J. Langianese Jr. purchased Bradford
City Beers Inc. from his father-in-law, King Douthit.
At that time, City Beers was located at the current Best Western
site, Davis Street. City Beers relocated to 19 E. Washington St.
where it stayed until 1977 when it moved to the current location,
240 W. Washington St.
Since that time to meet the demands of a growing business, City
Beers has had two major expansions creating the site as it stands
today.
In 2002, Mike Langianese Jr. suffered a stroke and his son, Mike
“Pink” Langianese III stepped into his father’s position to manage
the business with commitment and assistance from his sister, Toni.
Together, they are a successful team.
In the last few years, City Beers had a major set-back with the
loss of their major franchise agreement with Anheuser-Busch,
representing 80 percent of their business.
Celebrating 50 years as a family-owned business, City Beers
continues to move forward. The purchase of Gleason Distributing
gave them brands such as Old Milwaukee, Genesee and Iron City. This
expansion combined two superior, focused beverage businesses. City
Beers and its dedicated staff continue to be one of Bradford’s best
and oldest businesses by providing quality, friendly service, our
“supermarket for beverage needs.”
City Beers has a strong connection to the community through its
support and participation in a multitude of community activities
such as American Cancer Society Relay for Life, Ski for Cancer and
Daffodil Days, Boy Scouts of America, 4-H, Big 30, United Way and
Friendship Table.
