WTC's 18th Annual Holiday Luncheon and Reception

Posted by Hannah Copenheaver

This year, we celebrated our 18th Holiday Luncheon and Reception at the Out Door Country Club in York, PA. Every year, we choose a different global location to learn more about how their culture celebrates holidays and exchanges gifts during these times. This year, we decided to choose Africa (specifically East Africa) because their holidays really showcase the diversity of the continent and of each country. Special thank you to Dr. Eucabeth Odhiambo from Shippensburg University for sharing such an enjoyable presentation!


We also decided to collect donations for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. Together, we donated over 160 pounds of food and also several monetary donations! Thank you to all who donated to this wonderful cause, especially with the holidays upon us. 


Congratulations to our food drive raffle basket winner! (Jeanmarie Nobile, Turkey Hill - a WTC Member)

Thank you to all who attended and celebrated with us! Event pictures can be viewed on our Facebook page by clicking here.

Special thank you to our sponsors of this year's luncheon: Fulton Bank, MANTEC, McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC, Met-Ed, Sub-Saharan Africa Chamber of Commerce, UPS, Zeigler Brothers, Inc.

Happy Holidays! 

- Jan, Tina, and Hannah

Doing Business In Mexico Roundtable

Posted by Alicia Roberto, Intern

On November 17^th, the World Trade Center Harrisburg hosted a ‘Doing Business in Mexico’ roundtable with the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC.  Attendees were able to share their experiences, as well as gain insight from others during an open discussion regarding the challenges and opportunities of business in Mexico.  WTC members Howard Minnick, Automation Systems Interconnect, Pete O’Neill, Pennsylvania’s Office of International Business Development, and Frank Swit, Gannett Fleming, led the discussion and offered informative information and first-hand experiences. 

     The following topics were covered: 

• Language Barriers
• How To Find a Trusted Partner
• Corruption
• Working Conditions
• Safe Traveling Practices
• Cultural Differences

The Port of Philadelphia also provided an overview of their proposed new service.  United States exporters are demanding a better way to get their cargo to Mexico as overland trucking has proved to be costly and untimely.  For this reason, the Port of Philadelphia is developing a better option with an ocean container service.  Sean Mahoney’s presentation made it apparent that a new export steamship service from the Port of Philadelphia to Port Veracruz, Mexico could be very advantageous for this region.  It offers faster transit times, greater transportation schedule dependability, and a reduced carbon footprint.  The service is also cost efficient and provides greater cargo visibility, integrity, and security.  Thus far the port has taken numerous crucial steps to ensure this projects success.

To learn more about the planned shipping connection to Port Veracruz, contact Sean Mahoney, Director of Marketing or Dominic O’Brien, Senior Marketing Representative, by e-mail at marketing@philaport.com.

If you wish to view the presentation, click here. 

All who participated in the discussion learned something new and developed a clearer understanding of the opportunities and challenges of doing business in Mexico.

World Trade Center Harrisburg sends a special thank you to our sponsor, the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, and to the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC for partnering with us on this program!