U.S. Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa., visited Grove City College on Monday to meet with College officials and civic and political leaders from Mercer County.
McCormick said he wanted to “talk a little and listen a lot” to learn about the challenges and opportunities that regional leaders see and how his work in Washington, D.C., can advance the interests of western Pennsylvania.
In response, the first-term lawmaker heard from local economic development officials, municipal leaders, state lawmakers, and Brian Powell ’03, senior director of Development for Grove City College, who discussed the College’s lead role in a downtown revitalization effort.
The College received a $179,000 grant in May from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to support work to develop a strategic vision for economic development in downtown Grove City as well as conduct market analysis and develop master building and financial sustainability strategies for the community.
Working with local leaders and citizens, the College has helped to identify the borough’s strengths and develop strategies to increase economic development.
“This past year, we’ve been bringing together a lot of stakeholders in the community, and the college has worked with those folks to understand and really come out of the gate with a clear vision for downtown and the surrounding area,” Powell told McCormick.
McCormick said the approach sounds a lot like one he’s been pursuing since his election, working with everyone who has an interest in finding solutions to the state’s problems and positioning Pennsylvania to be a leader in burgeoning technology, energy development, rebuilding manufacturing, and onshoring jobs.
Recalling his military service, McCormick talked about the concept of unity. “Unity of effort would mean that even if you don’t have the same command structure over everything that for the mission, all the different organizations would be coordinated in a very targeted way to accomplish the mission. And that’s what feels like is going on here,” he said.
“You’ve got this great alignment of Grove City College and the community leadership, state leadership, the business leadership, to make the things that I was trying to describe – at the commonwealth level, the national level – you’re making that happen at the community level. It seems like everybody is on the field in the same mission,” McCormick concluded.
Grove City College President Bradley J. Lingo ’00 thanked McCormick and the others for their contributions to the discussion and said the College was prepared to play a role. “We don’t want to just be a great college, we want to be a great neighbor for our community,” Lingo said.
Among those in attendance at Monday’s meeting were: state Sen. Michelle Brooks, R-50; state Reps. Tim Bonner, R-17, and Parke Wentling, R-7; Mercer County Commissioners Ann Coleman, Bill Finley, and Tim McGonigle; Penn-Northwest Development Corporation Executive Director Rod Wilt; Grove City Mayor Randy Riddle and Borough Manager Vance Oakes; Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Beth Black; Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jim Bombeck; Hermitage City Manager Gary Hinkson and Director of Business & Development Mark Longietti; John Inman, vice president for Institutional Support; and Thiel College Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Shiela Nowinski.
Grove City College students Julia Sikora ’26, SGA executive student body president, and Isaac Good ’26, a former intern in McCormick’s office, also participated.