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10/12/2006
Contact: K.E. Schwab -- 724-738-2199;
e-mail: karl.schwab@sru.edu
SRU TEAMS WITH PITTSBURGH BUSINESSTIMES
FOR ‘SUCCESS STARTS HERE’ SERIES
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa.
– Slippery Rock University’s new
“Pittsburgh BusinessTimes Speaker Series -- Success
Starts Here” kicks off Oct. 24 with Pittsburgh business
leaders offering advice designed to encourage and motivate students
and graduates to remain in western Pennsylvania and contribute to
the local economy.
Paul and Lisa
Scarmazzi, developers and managers of lifestyle condominium
communities, south of Pittsburgh, open the public series Oct. 24 in
SRU’s Eisenberg Classroom Building. The second lecture in the
on-going program will feature Ron Muhlenkamp, founder of Muhlenkamp
& Co., a Wexford-based investment management firm, on Nov. 16.
Both lectures will be at 12:30 p.m. in SRU’s Eisenberg
Classroom Building.
“Those
attending will glean information about how others’ have
succeeded locally,” says Dr. Bruce Russell, dean of
SRU’s College of Business, Information and Social Sciences.
“We hope by seeing models of others success, our students and
those who have graduated from SRU, or other regional colleges, as
well as others in the community will make use of the information
– applying it to ideas they may have for opening or operating
a successful business in the regional community – including
Slippery Rock and Butler County.”
The project is
being undertaken by SRU’s School of Business in partnership
with the Pittsburgh BusinessTimes and its “Top 100 Growth
Firms” success story series. “By making use of the
success of local companies, we will show participants the road to
success – including the potholes,” says Russell, adding
his thanks to the regional business publication for spotlighting
the success and growth or regional firms. He explains companies
selected by the newspaper represent a diverse group. The
BusinessTimes reports the combined revenues of this year’s
Pittsburgh 100 is almost $3 billion, and that the firms employ
nearly 12,000 in the region. SRU’s School of Business, as a
sponsor of the project, is working with leaders at the top firms in
the various categories selected by the newspaper.
The
Scarmazzi’s were selected as a leader in the “Real
Estate/Construction/Development” category for their project
which sold out its first condominium complex and is 85 percent sold
on its second. A third is under way.
Hawthorne Partners
is headed by Scarmazzi, who explains his developments are for a
mature, but active, audience. The 1,400- to 2,000-square feet units
in the $170,000 to $200,000 price range, offer opportunities for
social interaction and recreational activities with what is called
“carefree living.”
In a BusinessTimes
story he pointed out, “I saw an unmet need in the market.
Allegheny County has one of the oldest population in the country.
That wasn’t a gut check; it was backed up by facts. There was
a market for the type of home and lifestyle we
offer.”
Muhlenkamp, a
longtime investment and mutual fund manager, told the newspaper he
want to share his formula for getting rich. To that end, he said,
“It’s easy…the first thing you do is to get a
job and only spend half of what you make. Then you save or invest
the rest. The problem is most people can’t resist spending
the other half.”
His lecture will
detail ways of keeping the customer satisfied and how important it
may be for a new company to diverge with public opinion.
He’ll also explain how he uses his stomach to often lead his
head in selecting investment opportunities.
PN, PGN, WPN, PR
Top100Series.doc
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