The Exuberant Accountant - Scott Heintzelman

Deb Pierson: President and CEO of Pierson Computing Connection, Inc. (PCCi)

Deb Pierson, President and CEO of Pierson Computing Connection, Inc. (PCCi), is known throughout the community not only for her years of technical support and project management services to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but also for her accomplishments, service to the community, and her business’ success through nontraditional avenues – a true example of a Servant Leader.

 

PCCi is a certified Women’s Business Enterprise headquartered in Mechanicsburg and positioned in the Harrisburg Regional Technology Corridor Enterprise Zone. The 40-member PCCi team is dedicated to providing computer services with unsurpassed quality, uncommon honesty, and amazing customer satisfaction throughout every aspect of project management, consulting, installation services, and data cabling.

David Geise: CEO of Furmano Foods

Furmano Foods continues to be a company known for its delicious tomatoes and one with exceptional service. The company’s recipe for success includes ingredients like honesty, integrity, and quality, but the secret ingredient in the Furmano formula is its people. Continuing in my series of Servant Leaders, an individual that I am excited to write about is David Geise, President and C.E.O. of Furmano Foods.

Family owned for four generations, Furmano's roots run deep in the heart of Pennsylvania's farmland in which David Geise’s grandfather began canning tomatoes in 1921. As David recalls, “Ever since he took his first tomatoes to market, the Furmano's brand has been synonymous with superior quality, great tasting tomatoes. We've come a long way from the days when he and my grandmother used a family recipe to prepare the tomatoes in a copper kettle on their kitchen stove. But, we've never strayed from the high standards that my grandfather, J.W. Furman set. We're proud of that.” Today, Furmano’s has become the largest family-owned tomato processor in the eastern United States.

Dale High: CEO of High Industries

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with Dale High, chairman of Lancaster County's High Companies and founder of the S. Dale High Center for Family Business at Elizabethtown College. As we talked, I was amazed at what Dale has done within both the business world and the community. I am honored to highlight him as part of my continuing series of Servant Leaders.

The High Companies offer a broad range of exceptional manufacturing, real estate, construction, and business services and products to companies and is widely recognized for its reputation in customer service, quality products and services, personal and corporate integrity, and beauty in projects affecting the environment.

Dr. Domingo Alvear: Physician, Founder, Teacher, Servant Leader

Here in America, healthcare is a topic that is discussed frequently, but our discussions rarely go beyond our borders. While we view healthcare as a right, there are many places around the world where healthcare is not even an option, and if it is, it is either not advanced enough, too costly, or there is no access due to the lack of specialists and healthcare facilities. Dr. Domingo Alvear and his organization, the World Surgical Foundation (WSF), recognize that there are so many people around the world who are in need of help where modern healthcare is not available.

I met Dr. Alvear about 8 years ago when he did some minor surgery on my son. He is a nationally known pediatric surgeon and chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery at PinnacleHealth System in Harrisburg. But beyond that, I had the privilege to get to know more about him and his service with the WSF. His work and efforts with the WSF not only make him a great and successful physician, but demonstrate the true characteristics of a Servant Leader.

Phil Clemens – CEO of Clemens Family Corporation (i.e. Hatfield Quality Meats)

After hearing Phil Clemens speak at The S. Dale High Center for Family Business at Elizabethtown College, the Delaware Valley Family Business Center, Lancaster Bible College, and Evangelical Theological Seminary, I have learned a lot about him and have come to realize how, in his work, family, and contributions to the community, he exemplifies characteristics of a Servant Leader and he absolutely lives and leads his life as a Servant Leader.

Phil Clemens is the Chairman/CEO of the Clemens Family Corporation. The Clemens Family Corporation is an American holding company that owns Hatfield Quality Meats, Country View Family Farms, Clemens Development, CFC Logistics, PV Transport, Creta Farms, Wild Bill’s Foods, and Nick’s Sausage Company. It is privately held by members of the Clemens family and it controls the East Coast's largest pork production company. The Clemens Family Corporation is known for its high ethical standards, fair business practices, and generosity toward its community.

Dr. E. Daniel Martin: Doctor, Preacher, Founder, Servant Leader

Last year, I was thrilled to become a member of the Board of Directors for The Naaman Center, a faith-based drug and alcohol treatment center in Lancaster County. Since then I have been blessed to get to know Dr. E. Daniel Martin, the Medical Director and one of  the Founders of The Naaman Center – a true Servant Leader. Dr. Martin founded the Naaman Center in 1989 as a way to provide a Christian oriented intensive outpatient program for chemical dependency treatment that emphasizes spiritual growth and relapse prevention. He is a caring, compassionate, highly trained and generous person.

Dr. Martin trained at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine where he received his medical degree in 1973. He completed a psychiatry residency there in 1976 and was certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 1978. For the next 20 years he worked for Penn State Hershey in the Department of Psychiatry serving at various times as Psychiatry Residency Training Director and Vice Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry. He continues as an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Penn State University College of Medicine.

Messiah College and The Barnabas Servant Leadership Award

 

Recently I attended the Messiah College Honors & Awards Convocation where the college presented various athletic and academic awards.  One of the key awards presented is the Barnabas Servant Leadership Award, which is named for Barnabas. He was a servant leader who sold land in Cyprus to buy food for the post-Pentecost crowned in Jerusalem, recruited Paul for ministry, worked with Paul as a missionary, mentored John Mark, and led a multicultural pastoral team in Antioch. The name Barnabas means “son of encouragement.” The award takes his name as it serves as an effective instrument to the entire educational community by promoting the ideals of service that substantially benefits others.

The award is given to both a student and a faculty.  This year the student award went to an amazing young lady – Jessanna Hall.  Jessie has become a close friend to our family and has spent a good bit of time babysitting our kids.  Jessie worked as a prison ministry coordinator, started a homeless ministry and is completing her degree in Social Work.  She is an amazing young woman and truly a servant leader at a very young age.

Jerry Sandusky: Coach, Community Leader, Founder, Servant Leader

 

Anyone that knows me knows I have a lot of passion for life and no two topics get me more excited than Servant Leadership and Penn State Football. Imagine my thrill, when I was asked to come on the Board of Directors for The Second Mile. I can think of few better examples of Servant Leadership than the work of The Second Mile and its founder – Penn State coaching legend, Jerry Sandusky. 

One-time Joe Paterno sidekick and right-hand man, Jerry Sandusky is still teaching life skills through coaching. As a former

Penn State Defensive Football Coordinator, Jerry has dedicated his life to football and, through his founding of The Second Mile in 1977, to Pennsylvania children at risk. Jerry always dreamed of helping Pennsylvania’s children achieve their potential as individuals and community members by providing them opportunities to develop self-esteem. Through the founding of The Second Mile, that dream was realized.

 

His selfless nature has benefited innumerable children, Penn State Students, and many communities throughout Pennsylvania Jerry's legend still rings loud in University Park. It was under his reign as defensive coordinator that Penn State gained national attention as "Linebacker U" for his development of numerous All-Americans and NFL Hall of Fame inductees. He was also awarded the Alumni Fellow Award, the highest honor given by the Penn State Alumni Association in recognition of his career and community service achievements.

Learning about Servant Leadership from the President of Messiah College – Dr. Kim Phipps

As part of my continuing series of profiling “Servant Leaders” and also as an alumnus of Messiah College, I am proud to continue this series with a profile on Dr. Kim Phipps, President of Messiah College.

Dr. Phipps was named the eighth president of Messiah College in December 2004. Before accepting the position of president, she served as both academic dean and provost of Messiah College.

As President, she is committed to honoring the good work of her predecessors by continuing their legacy. These great individuals believed that Christian higher education was essential and should be transformational. They were willing to make personal sacrifices to ensure that Messiah’s mission was fulfilled. They possessed intellectual, personal, and spiritual maturity as evidenced in their teaching, scholarship, leadership, and personal examples of godly living. They sought to establish a college where intellectual rigor and spiritual understanding were harmoniously integrated, not separated. And this is exactly what Dr. Phipps is doing.

Learning about Servant Leadership from My Boss – Clarence Asbury

I came to McKonly & Asbury as a young staff accountant because one of the co-founders took a flyer on a kid who was a marginal student from a good school, who exhibited the kind of tenacity and work ethic he himself had learned growing up on a farm.  Clarence Asbury taught me a lot about accounting, and was always a tough, but fair task master, making sure we served the firm’s clients well. 

After over thirty four years in public accounting with the firm he co-founded, Clarence officially retired in 2007.  But I think our founding partner is as busy now as he ever was, and he continues to leave his stamp on the culture of McKonly & Asbury the same way he did as its managing partner – by serving others.  He leaves a legacy of community service that will shape the culture of our firm for generations to come.  Clarence has made service to others a central component of his professional life.