Events Meeting

The NET is what you make it and we are looking for a few people to help us make it great! Our next events meeting will be held on Monday, April 10th at 7pm at Borders in Whitehall. We hope to plan out our events for the spring and start off the summer with a bang. If you have any ideas, we are all ears and can't wait to hear what you think will help make the NET even better.

If you have ideas but can't attend the Events Meeting, please fill out this handy events form and let us know what you think.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

You're dressed in green, had a green bagel for breakfast, and are craving a pint of green beer...all that preparation and no where to go? Here's a quick list of Irish bars in your city.

• Porter's Pub (700 Northampton St, Easton) - Even the bartenders wear kilts on St. Patty's Day
• JP McGrady's ( 117 E Third St, Bethlehem) - With 48 beers on tap there are sure to be some Irish ones!
• Jack Callaghan's ( 2027 Tilghman St, Allentown) - Events all weekend to celebrate your Irish heritage to the fullest

We know there are plenty more, so leave us a comment and let us know where your favorite Irish bar is!

Something About The Valley

Young adults talk about what lured them to the region, and how to keep them here.
By Veronica Torrejon
Of The Morning Call

Lehigh Valley native Amy Pirrotta uprooted herself after college with starry-eyed ambitions of making a name for herself as a fashion photographer in sunny Southern California.

What she couldn't quite shake were the feelings of homesickness and longing that had her scouring butcher's racks for Hatfield country sausage and rooting through her grandmother's cookbook for traditional Pennsylvania Dutch fare. The Penn State grad was overcome with emotion the day she found and emptied the supermarket shelves of TastyKakes.

Almost four years after she arrived, Pirrotta, 30, packed her bags, bid adieu to the fast-paced Los Angeles region and returned to the valley her family has called home since the 1700s. She remains hopeful that revitalization efforts will transform the Lehigh Valley into a place where young graduates can discover themselves without leaving home.

Pirrotta joined a packed crowd of young adults in the Terrace Room of the Hotel Bethlehem on Tuesday night for the first in a series of five community forums to seek input on how to reverse the so-called ''brain drain'' of graduates who flee the state for better-paying jobs in more metropolitan areas.

The group of mainly 20- and 30-somethings included Lehigh Valley natives like Pirrotta and transplants originally from major East and West Coast metropolitan areas and smaller cities in the Midwest. Coming from varied backgrounds and professions, they touched on many common themes including job opportunities, housing, transportation and the local social and cultural scene.

The event was hosted by the Campaign to Renew Lehigh Valley and other groups including the Lehigh Valley Network of Young Professionals.

''Pennsylvania is leading the country in losing its young workers,'' said Emmaus Councilwoman Joyce Marin, who led the fairly informal presentation and discussion that ranged in tone from serious to lighthearted.

''The only state that has more old people than Pennsylvania is Florida, and they have the rich ones,'' said Marin jokingly, eliciting chuckles of laughter from the audience. Marin told attendees she intends to use their discussion to compile a report that would be distributed among state lawmakers.

''What do we need to do differently? That's what we need to get our arms around,'' said Marta Gabriel, senior vice president of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Topping the wish list for young adults in attendance Tuesday was affordable housing, a passenger train to New York and other cities and the preservation of farmland and open space for recreation.

Some of the more novel ideas included a hovercraft public transportation system along the Lehigh River or a light rail connecting Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. More bike paths, walkable communities and a centralized theater, restaurant and nightclub district were also among the ideas.

Pirrotta said she would like to see more of an upscale lounge scene and more emphasis on theater and the arts. Local businesses tend to cater to the college crowd and not people who are 25-to-30 years old, she said.

''I find myself going to New York and Philly for entertainment,'' she said earlier. ''The few nightclubs out here, I feel like an old lady.''

Revitalization efforts are already evident. Bethlehem is going through a renaissance, said a few attendees, with trendy restaurants and storefronts. The nightlife, though geographically widespread, is varied and diverse.

Pirrotta agreed.

''There is a sort of coolness factor to Bethlehem now that wasn't there when I left,'' Pirrotta said. ''Allentown doesn't quite have that pull yet Â… Easton is on it's way.''

Pirrotta's odyssey is an all-too familiar tale for experts who have been tracking the migration of young professionals from the area. A Brookings Institute report found Pennsylvania is No. 1 in exporting college graduates. A more informal survey by the local Network of Young Professionals found that although only a minority of its members say they agree the Lehigh Valley has an active nightlife, an overwhelming majority say it is a great place to raise a family, said organization President Abraham Nemitz.

''When you are young and looking for adventure, you are looking elsewhere,'' said Nemitz. ''When you start thinking about raising a family, you come back.''

Formed in 2001, the Network of Young Professionals is a resource for young adults concerned about job opportunities and also a social organization networking hundreds of people in the area.

Nemitz, 29, also hopes the organization can be a tool for people whose jobs bring them to the Lehigh Valley, so they can make friends and rapidly put down roots in the area. Nemitz is a senior product manager at PPL's Telecom division and a transplant from Minneapolis.

Although their paths to the Lehigh Valley differed, both Nemitz and Pirrotta agreed it has great potential.

Pirrotta eventually found a job that allows her to work from her home in Allentown's West End. She now handles marketing for Sideshow Collectibles, a California company. Her husband, Christopher, 31, is a Web site designer for the company. The couple return to California four times a year on business.

''I was like most young people in the area with ideas about moving to a big city somewhere and doing something important with my life,'' she said. ''In the end what mattered to me was that I was somewhere that made me happy.''

Article can be found here on mcall.com

Group's mission: Renew Valley

Wednesday, March 08, 2006
By MEGHAN SMITH The Express-Times

ALLENTOWN - What the Lehigh Valley is -- and what it has the potential to become -- are two very different things, according to a fledgling group aiming to revitalize the region.

Members of Renew LV, a Campaign to Renew the Lehigh Valley, announced its formation Tuesday at a news conference in the Pennsylvania CareerLink offices on Union Boulevard.

The group's mission, according to Co-chairwoman and Emmaus Councilwoman Joyce Marin, is to "transform the Lehigh Valley into a vibrant community" by sprucing up cities, cutting back on suburban sprawl, retaining young college graduates and improving local government.

Through various initiatives, she said, Renew LV will seek to reverse "troubling trends" detailed in the Brookings Institution's 2005 study of the Lehigh Valley that put the region behind state or national averages in key categories such as farmland preservation, college-educated residents, income level increases and job growth.

The group, which includes community leaders, businesspeople and government officials, has zeroed in on two objectives this year -- to study municipal consolidation options for water and sewer, and to devise a strategy to keep young adults living and working in the Lehigh Valley.

Renew LV Co-chairman Andy Daub of Brown-Daub dealerships said the group plans to embark on a $150,000 grant-funded water and sewer consolidation study as the first of many potential services that could be regionalized to the benefit of local communities.

"It's worth investigating," he said of the consolidation, citing regional police forces and county-wide school districts as other opportunities for mergers.

Spearheading the effort to attract and retain young professionals, first-year Emmaus Councilman Wes Barrett, a member of the target age group, said an interactive "Live LV" Web site is in the making.

The site, he said, would serve as a virtual gathering place for the Valley's professionals in their 20s and 30s, where visitors could view community information and post announcements on an online bulletin board.

Live LV is coordinating efforts with College Valley, an online forum and information hub for the region's college students, and the Network of Young Professionals, a society for the area's young, working adults.

The first in a series of five Live LV-sponsored community forums is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, at the Hotel Bethlehem. The group hopes to get feedback from young professionals about the benefits or drawbacks of living and working the Lehigh Valley.

At the news conference, Northampton and Lehigh County executives voiced support for the new organization, currently based out of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley's Bethlehem office.

For Northampton County, Executive John Stoffa spoke of the importance of long-range community planning and the continuous improvement of resources in the Valley.

"We could probably do better than what we're doing," he said of the Valley's current state.

Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham said achieving the group's high goals will take work.

"No one holds a magic wand to decree all this to occur," he said. "It takes everyone This effort -- Renew LV -- will lead the charge."

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How Can We Make Our Region Better?

Renew Lehigh Valley is a grassroots initiative spawned from the issues introduced by the Brookings Institute Report, Back to Proseperity: A Competitive Agenda for Renewing Pennsylvania. Our campaign is supported by a strong Leadership Council consisting of Community Leaders, Community Members and Community Organizations and steered by our Organizing Committee.

Renew Lehigh Valley, College Valley and The Network of Young Professionals are sponsoring a community forum titled "How Can We Make Out Region Better?" on Tuesday, March 14th at the Hotel Bethlehem. This community forum is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.

We want to know what you have to say. Young Professionals, like you, are the future of the Lehigh Valley.

Date: Tuesday, March 14th
Time: 6:00pm
Place: The Terrace Room - Hotel Bethlehem (437 Main St, Bethlehem)
Cost: Free

5 Things: St. Patrick's Day

Are you green with envy because it seems like everyone is going to be away on St. Patty's Day and you can't wait until fall for the next Celtic Classic for your fix of all things Irish. Well fear not laddie, we have plenty of stuff to do right here in the Lehigh Valley!

1. Jack Callaghan's - (2027 Tilghman Street, Allentown)
   March 16th - Ancient Order of Hibernians Night & O'Grady Dancers, March 17th - A St. Patrick's Day Celebration like no other.
2. St. Patrick's Day Parade in Allentown, March 12th at 2pm - Parade route starts at the Fairgrouds
3. Donegal Square - (534 Main St, Bethlehem) - The perfect store for all your Irish shopping needs.
4. Celtic Cooking Classes At Granny McCarthy’s Tea Room (534 Main St. Bethlehem) Tuesday March 21st POTATO PANCAKES Cost: $20/person Classes will be held from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Call 610-868-9599 to register.
5. Participate in Dress Down Day at work with your "Pink is the new Green" T-shirt to benefit St. Luke's Cancer Center. More details can be found here.

10 Questions with Tara

Networking and meeting new people is what we are all about, so what better way to meet a few NET members than to have a member spotlight. We hope to make this a regular feature here on the blog, so if you know someone that you consider interesting, recommend them to us and we can keep this going!

These 10 questions originally came from a French series "Bouillon de Culture" hosted by Bernard Pivot. It is probably more familiar to many of you as the questions James Lipton asks at the end of "Inside the Actor's Studio". We have, however, taken creative liberty and changed a few to better apply to the NET.

Without further ado, meet Tara...

01. What is your favorite word?
Olgemulde

02. What is your least favorite word?
Slacks

03. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Early Jazz Music

04. What turns you off?
Clutter

05. What sound or noise do you love?
Thunder

06. What sound or noise do you hate?
Smoke alarm when I've burned dinner.

07. What professional other that your own would you like to attempt?
Theater/Broadway

08. What profession would you not like to do?
Public bathroom cleaner

09. What have you gotten from the NET?
Networking skills and confidence

10. What do you think is the best part (for you personally) about the Valley?
Great culture (arts/restaurants) while still close to mountains and hiking.

Anything else you'd like to add about yourself?
I highly encourage those uncertain (or new) with the NET to get involved in event planning. Once I did, I met many people and tried many things I had never done before.

Single in the Valley 2006

While the NET isn't a singles meat-market we still want to provide you with events that are happening in our area and relevant to our members.

What: Join Lehigh Valley Magazine's "Single in the Valley 2006" event, for a night of live music by the Blues Brotherhood, great food, and drink specials. Proceeds benefit St. Luke's Pediatric Unit.

When: Sunday, March 19th
**NOTE: This event was postponed from February 12th due to the weather.

Time: 5-9pm

Place: Looper's Grille and Bar (313 East 3rd Street, Bethlehem, PA)

Cost: $15 in advance, $20 at the door

For Tickets or More Information, Please call 610-691-8833