Paul J. De Longis, is a Sr. VP, of Investments at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc., HQ’d in St. Louis. Paul was born and raised in New Jersey and earned a BA in Journalism from Duquesne Univ., Pittsburgh. He has 40-plus years of experience in the securities brokerage business, all in Altoona and State College. Paul is married and has a son Nick, who is also a part of his 4-person team at Stifel’s Altoona branch office. His passions include stock investing and trading, sports cars, golf, and outdoor cooking.  

Robert F. Pennington, broker/owner of Coldwell Banker Town & Country Real Estate in Altoona, is entering his 52nd year selling real estate in Blair County. Pennington founded his company in 1973, shortly after graduating from Villanova University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.  

“Since opening my company 52 years ago, my agents have sold over 17,500 homes in Blair County and attained 2.2 billion dollars in closed sales volume. I’m grateful to the people of Blair County for their support in helping to make Coldwell Banker Town & Country Real Estate Blair County’s Home-A-Day Realtor,” Pennington said. 

In 1995 and 2008, Coldwell Banker Town & Country Real Estate was the No. 1 Coldwell Banker Affiliate Office in the United States of America. Coldwell Banker Town & Country Real Estate is Blair County’s all-time top selling real estate agency. In 2017, Pennington’s company became the first, and remains the only, real estate agency to ever be inducted into the Blair County Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame.  

Pennington is a fifth-generation native of Altoona. He has supported dozens of charitable groups by volunteering his time as a board member and through the Pennington Foundation, an organization he founded that is committed to philanthropic giving. 

Brittany Funcheon is the Executive Director of Sheetz Family Charities dba Sheetz For the Kidz™. She is responsible for the fundraising, event coordinating, planning and implementing of the charity’s programs and partnerships. She has a passion for engaging our Sheetz employees, customers and business partners with this incredible corporate charity.  

Sheetz For the Kidz is a Sheetz employee-driven, non-profit organization 501(c)(3), independent of Sheetz, Inc. that relies on volunteers to execute its mission: to provide support, hope, joy, and happiness to children in need in the communities where Sheetz operates stores. Funds raised throughout the year benefit the Sheetz For the Kidz Holiday Program, Make-A-Wish® and Feeding America®. 

Prior to serving as Executive Director of Sheetz Family Charities, Brittany worked for the Sheetz Employee Relations department, a position that brought her closer to the people and efforts she would eventually focus on in her current role. Brittany is a proud graduate of West Virginia University, earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. Currently, she is furthering her servant leadership skills through participating in The Blair County Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Blair County program.  

Outside of the office, Brittany enjoys trying new recipes, reading, going thrifting, and traveling. On her bucket list is to visit all 50 states and she just visited Maine (her 22nd state) this summer. 

Mary Ann Miller Amato is a skilled professional in the areas of nonprofit organizations, management, sales, event management, team building, and media relations. MaryAnn received her Bachelor of Science degree focused on business and public administration from Juniata College.  

Mary Ann worked in the automobile industry for over thirty years serving as an owner/operator of an automobile dealership and then as a general manager for two different dealerships. During her tenure as a Ford Lincoln Mercury dealer, she was named to the Board of Directors for the Ford Dealer Advertising Fund in the Pittsburgh District and served for seven years. She also served on two bank boards, the Executive Committee of the State College Chamber of Commerce and several non-profits, the Center County United Way, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and several others. 

Mary Ann embarked on her career in fundraising at Penn State University as an associate director of development for Penn State Outreach for Online and Continuing Education almost seventeen years ago. She then moved to the Penn State University College of Health and Human Development as a director of major gifts where she secured several transformational seven figure gifts, advancing both the For The Future campaign and A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence campaign.   

After achieving tremendous success in the fundraising industry, MaryAnn was named the director of development and alumni relations at Penn State Altoona where she was responsible for raising over $28,000,000 in the last fundraising campaign. She was promoted to senior director of development and alumni relations in March 2024. 

Colleen Devorris is the founder and CEO of BrandDemon Strategy+Design, central Pennsylvania’s premier branding consultancy.  The agency utilizes market research and strategic frameworks to inform brand design and communication. Working with award-winning freelance designers to develop new visual identity systems to launch the creation and reinvention of brands, BrandDemon has a track record of delivering measurable business results.  

After graduating from Syracuse University Newhouse School of Communications, Colleen began her career as an advertising copywriter, working on leading national brands at agencies including Hill Holliday (Boston) and Leo Burnett (Chicago). She earned an MBA from Cornell University and spent the next decade as a Brand Manager in Beauty Care at Procter & Gamble (Cincinnati) and the Director of Cosmetics Marketing at Revlon (New York City).  

In the early 2000s, Colleen joined the Sheetz organization (Altoona, PA), leading the convenience store chain’s brand reinvention and managing all aspects of marketing across 500+ locations. 

With over 40 years of branding experience, Colleen is frequently a guest speaker at universities and industry events and often serves as a judge in business start-up competitions. 

Superman Berrow is the founder and CEO of B4 Club Therapy a human performance and wellness clinic in Altoona, PA 

After getting his undergraduate degree in Kinesiology at University of Kentucky Superman attended Shenandoah University to obtain his master’s degree in athletic training. During this time Superman had the privilege of working with Rutgers and University of Florida’s football teams. Upon graduation he moved to Chicago to work for Athletico and work with the Chicago Bears from 2010-2015 as well as serving as the medical liaison for the Chicago Bulls.  

An opportunity to become Assistant Athletic Trainer for Penn State Football is what finally brought him to this area and after working with the team for 3 seasons and being voted Support Staff of the Year in 2017, decided to open his own clinic. Superman knew that athletes were not the only ones who could benefit from individualized customized therapy. 

Along with being on the Sheetz Fellows Advisory Board Superman is co-chairman of the Blair County Chamber of Commerce Operations Advisory Board and active in the Rotary Club of Hollidaysburg. He is also actively pursuing his Doctorate in Athletic Training as well as his MBA while staying active in the profession of athletic training by serving as the Blair County representative for the Pennsylvania Athletic Training Society.   

Pat Irwin was born and raised in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Starting in grade school, Pat was heavily involved in volunteering at projects like: Partnering for Health Services, a free health clinic near the Altoona hospital for people without health insurance; Gloria Gates Memorial Foundation, an afterschool program for children and youth living in subsidized housing; and Miracle League of Blair County, a baseball program for people living with disabilities. Experiences like these exposed Pat to many people whose quality of life and opportunities were drastically different than those he had been born into. This instilled in him an intense drive to make the world a better place for those with less privileges. This drive eventually led him to create Selfless Solutions, a nonprofit organization based in Arusha, Tanzania that designs, develops, and implements programs that create life opportunities for disadvantaged populations there, so that they have a legitimate chance of escaping poverty and reaching their full potential. In addition to serving as the organization’s Executive Director, Pat is also an active member of Rotary International and assists with the organization’s projects in Tanzania. He also owns and operates businesses there in the tourism and coffee industries, both of which have a primary purpose of raising awareness for Selfless Solutions work there and attracting people and resources to its projects. When he is in Altoona, Pat serves as a Senior Advisor to Gloria Gates CARE, a healthcare company dedicated to making quality healthcare services affordable and accessible for all. 

Haley Marie McClain Hill was born in Newport News, VA and raised in Stroudsburg, PA. She received a full ride scholarship to Penn State through the Air Force ROTC program and majored in Math and Economics. Her passion for dance, travel, and empowering women and teams has allowed her to travel and experience the world, including cheering in front of 107K fans at Penn State University, professionally dancing in the drop-top stadium for the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers! She has appeared on ESPN, Fox!, Air Force Magazine Publications, and even international TV channels in Hong Kong, China. 

Haley has taken on the adventure of becoming an entrepreneur and is the CEO/Founder of TORCH Warriorwear, the award winning first ever military women’s clothing brand specializing in base layer bodysuits women can wear in and out of uniform. She holds the title for the 2022 Veteran Shark Tank Competition and 2023 Founders Live Minnesota Pitch Competition and also appeared getting a deal on ABCs Season 15 Shark Tank! Her book Light The TORCH is available on Amazon for anyone interested in her journey! She continues to leave a path of more confident and successful women. Her favorite quote is “Be fearless in the pursuit of sets your soul on fire” and promises to live everyday by it. 

*The upcoming EIR session will be conducted virtually via Zoom. Students are expected to report to SCEE 107 as usual for this session.

Don was President and CEO of New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Inc. from 1990 till 2013. He is now Chairman Emeritus and serves as a consulting professional. NESL is a five generation privately held corporation with its main office in New Enterprise, PA. The firm is primarily an aggregate materials, blacktop, and concrete producer, as well as a heavy/highway contractor. They have 49 quarries, 28 blacktop plants, and 19 ready mix concrete plants in Pa and western NY. The heavy/highway construction division builds and reconstructs highways and bridges in PA, MD, and WV for highway departments, toll roads, municipalities, contractors and private individuals. The firm has sales of $1.2 billion, 1800 employees and produces 17 million tons of aggregate, 3.5 million tons of blacktop, and 600,000 cubic yards of concrete annually. 

Don has been president of the American Concrete Association, president of the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors Association and served on many other industry related boards and associations. His ongoing philosophy has always been to provide top quality products competitively priced and to outperform the competition through innovation and optimization of resources. 

Reliance Bank President and CEO Phil Freeman has spent the last 37 years building a distinguished career and a deep connection to his community. 

After graduating from St. Vincent College in 1985, Phil honed his skills at Coopers and Lybrand in Pittsburgh before embarking on a 20-year journey with Sheetz Inc., rising to senior executive positions in finance and human resources. In 2009, Phil became Chief Financial Officer of Link Computer Corporation. In 2011, he was named Chief Operating Officer of The Home Nursing Agency and later became President in 2015. Phil joined Reliance Bank in 2018. 

Phil serves on numerous boards, including Mount Aloysius College, the Altoona-Blair County Development Corporation, UPMC Altoona/Bedford, and the Rotary Club of Altoona-Sunrise. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Bankers Association Government Relations Policy Committee.  

Phil lives in Cresson with his wife, Shealia, and is the proud father of Taylor, Erin and Christopher. 

Tim Graupensperger holds a BS in Accounting with highest distinction and an MBA in Finance from The Pennsylvania State University.  He is a licensed CPA in Pennsylvania, a CMA from the Institute of Management Accountants, and a CFE from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. 

He has over 36 years of professional accounting and finance experience.  Currently, he has been the CFO at ARC Federal Credit Union for 6 years and was CFO at Garvey Manor for over 2 decades. 

He is an adjunct faculty member at The Pennsylvania State University and has taught courses in accounting, finance, and health policy and administration at both the Altoona and University Park Campuses. 

He has shared his financial acumen and volunteered his time with several local organizations and charities as a Board Member. 

George Ferris has followed in the steps of his family’s legacy to take a company that has existed for more than 97 years and lead Carnegie Equipment to the ever-growing business it is today.  As President of Carnegie Equipment, George has never lost site of the values his grandfather and father instilled in the company and its core missions: Always place the customer and their needs first and offer the most recognized and trusted brands in restaurant equipment and supply industries.   

Learning from his grandfather George “Carnegie” Ferris who founded the business in 1928, and working alongside his father for more than 20 years, Carnegie Equipment continues to grow and is number #1 in serving its customers throughout the Northeast and beyond.  

Carnegie Equipment’s Philanthropy Efforts  

Giving back to the community has been a priority for George and Carnegie Equipment.  As a small business owner, George believes giving back to the community is critical and when companies demonstrate strong stewardship in their philanthropic programs, society and area businesses both stand to benefit. For decades, Carnegie Equipment has and continues to support charities such as: St. Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen, March of Dimes, Sheetz Family Charities , Altoona Area School District Foundation, Penn State Future Fund, Launchbox Altoona and many more.  Carnegie Equipment is also a proud supporter of The Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence, and a scholarship named “The George C. Ferris Excellence Award” given to a student each year focused on Entrepreneurship in the Sheetz Center program. 

George attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and he resides in Hollidaysburg, PA.  George has four children, Nathan a graduate from Penn State, Smeal College of Business, Mitchell a Sophomore at Shenandoah University pursuing music education, Megan a freshman at Lock Haven University and my favorite daughter!  Jacob is in 9th grade at Hollidaysburg.