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Insurance agency recognized by study for best practices

The Hartman Group is participating in the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America “Best Practices” Study Group, according to a news release. Each year since 1993, the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America and Reagan Consulting, an Atlanta-based management consulting firm, join forces to study the country’s leading agencies. “The agencies comprising the study groups are selected every third year through a comprehensive nomination and qualifying process and awarded a ‘Best Practices Agency’ designation,” the news release said. “There are more ...

Swift Kennedy welcomes new administrative assistant

Leah Fiantaca has been hired as an administrative assistant at the Williamsport branch of Swift Kennedy & Associates, an insurance brokerage firm specializing in group employee benefits and Medicare. Prior to joining Swift Kennedy, Fiantaca worked in Education, teaching Home Economics to grades 5 through 12. She also worked as a teller in Banking and has other administrative experience. She is a graduate of Montoursville Area High School and Penn State University Park, where she received her B.S. with a concentration in Home Economic Education.

USDA says more than $200M will help meat processors expand

OMAHA, Neb. — The Agriculture Department announced more than $223 million in grants and loans Wednesday to help small- and mid-sized meat processing plants expand as part of a larger $1 billion effort to boost competition in the highly concentrated industry. The effort is expected to ...

NRF: Holiday sales to slow from last year’s blistering pace

NEW YORK — The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, expects holiday sales growth will slow to a range of 6% to 8%, compared with the blistering 13.5% growth of a year ago. But inflation can pump up sales even if people are buying less, and with prices surging to uncomfortable levels, industry analysts believe that inflation-adjusted sales could be flat, or even negative this year. Holiday sales have risen an average of 4.9% over the past 10 years but Americans ramped up spending during the pandemic, which accounted for some outsized sales ...

Real estate consulting agency sets up downtown

Bringing with him decades of experience in the real-estate business, Lawrence Ross is excited to be back in Pennsylvania with a downtown location specializing in real estate consulting. Ross began working on the downtown location of Ross and Rockwell Real Estate Consulting in early July of ...

Smokey Smoke Smoke Shop opens near Lycoming Creek Road

Smokey Smoke Smoke Shop LLC, located at 1936 Frey Ave. is a newly opened tobacco smoke shop. The store, which held their grand opening on Aug. 2, offers tobacco products, CBD products, Pennsylvania skill games and more. “It’s a great business. A lot of people want to smoke to feel ...