“Corey and Nate produced a video for our fundraising event that told our story in a really compelling way, helping us to raise more money during our mission appeal. They are professional, yet their heart comes through in everything they do,” Candace Clark - Bucks County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity resource development director.

PBR Productions founders Corey Armideo and Nate Hall created their business out of a love for movie making that stretches back to high school.

Short for “Pioneers Beyond Reality” the pair’s business name is a constant reminder of why they do what they do. “It’s every young filmmaker’s dream of making movies,” Armideo explained.

Friends since their high school days at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington, D.E., they met during television production classes. They were 15 years old.

“We started out doing work in a studio with black curtains, fake ficus trees and a couple of chairs,” Armideo said of those early years of directing, shooting and running audio and producing tv shows for a leased access television channel in Wilmington. “The kind where groups bought air time and came in and made a show,” Armideo said.

Then owned by Suburban cable, a Comcast buy-out produced consolidation and layoffs followed. “We were part of that, and decided we wanted to create our own company rather than work for someone who could [terminate] our jobs,” Armideo said.
Currently based in Quakertown they have worked with a variety of clients - from local non-profits like Habitat for Humanity to mega-news media outlet ABC News.

Honing skills and craft comes with time and experience, one gig at a time.

“Nate and Corey produced a network quality reality show episode for our company TNT Amusements Inc. in Southampton. I was impressed with the care they took with the scripting, music, and editing and ‘keeping me in the loop…,” said Todd N. Tuckey, TNT Amusements president. 

Tuckey said the episode was popular with viewers, created more business awareness and drove sales to the company.

In addition to a planned move late summer from Quakertown to Perkasie to a bigger space, Armideo said offering studio recording time to musicians, as well as other media services, would allow the business to grow and expand organically.

The new, larger location will provide space for clients to create live streaming talk shows and podcasting in a professional TV studio setting.  Think old-school access television station crossed with a YouTube studio, Hall said.

“We will teach people how to create compelling content, coach them on the creative side, while also running the gear and doing the tech side of creating a TV show for the web,” Hall said.

Armideo said a recent collaboration with the Pennridge School District helped bring their television production studio current and on par with Quakertown [Community School District] and Souderton.

Outreach and helping businesses help themselves is the next frontier for PBR, as they roll out education classes, which aim to attract and retain new clients.

“We don’t see this at all as hurting our business, to teach small and mid-sized businesses how to create a quality promo or short video to reach a target audience,” Armideo said.

Two free one-hour sessions will be held July 11 at UBCC’s second floor conference room, at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. The sessions will last about an hour.

“We want to introduce the concepts and help people understand what they can do with their own equipment to reach a broader audience,” Armideo said.

Additional classes on a fee-based model will be offered to delve deeper into a particular topic like how to choose the best camera angle for a shot, how to create good audio, or how to stage optimal lighting.

The goal is to offer a way for clients interested in DIY models to do their own work better. “For those who don’t want to invest in equipment, or have more complicated projects, that’s where our experience comes in,” Armideo said.

Education and its importance brought Armideo full circle.

He and Hall want to become better teachers to offer classes and share their expertise. Armideo said a technical school education was invaluable in pursuing a career.

“You’d be surprised at what you can do working for a good company that lets you have hands-on experience. I wouldn’t be here today without the [technical school] training I received. You have to keep learning,” Armideo said.

If you go:
What: Free introduction to video making workshop BYO technology
When: Two sessions; 12 p.m. and 5 p.m., July 11.
Where: UBCC Conference Room, 2nd floor 21 N. Main St. Quakertown.
How: Reserve a spot by email to [email protected]​

“Investing in Community is one of our company’s five core values.  We are socially responsible, committed to serving our communities through strong leadership, volunteerism and financial support,” said Annette, D. Szygiel, executive vice president and chief experience officer for Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania.
 
Build it and they will come.

From a unique, attention grabbing digital sign at the heavily traveled intersection of Routes 309 and 663 to redevelopment projects and an expanded outdoor summer concert series, Quakertown is upping the revitalization ante.
An expanded outdoor summer concert series beginning today calls attention to fresh shopping, dining and recreation as national acts bring new visitors to the downtown.

Annette, D. Szygiel, executive vice president and chief experience officer for Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania, said bringing tourism to Quakertown through the summer concert series was good for business and the local economy.
 
Competing with major neighboring venues in the Lehigh Valley like SteelStacks and Musikfest, Quakertown needs to differentiate itself.

Parking is easy and it’s free. Restaurants and shopping are a few blocks from the concert venue, hotels and motels are a short drive away and borough officials are hoping Quakertown’s friendly, down-home vibe will mean newcomers will want to return often.

The summer concert series is up to six shows in its second year; four more than last year’s opening, and organizers are not only optimistic, they’re confident the shows will attract locals and tourists alike.

“We want to be promoting the greater Quakertown area. People don’t realize there is a whole lot of the borough off Route 309,” said Ryan Sevenski, Quakertown park development coordinator.

Aligned with bringing heightened awareness to travelers on Route 309 a digital monument sign, located in Quakertown Borough, has created conversations on both sides­ – and love it or loathe it – advertisers are flocking from outside the region for time on the dials.  About 25 percent of advertisers are based in the borough, according to Thaddeus Bartkowski, CEO and founding partner of Catalyst Outdoor Advertising in Newtown Square, Delaware County. Catalyst installed and manages the digital advertising. The eye-catching circles were intended to capture the audience, Bartkowski said. “This was about an 18 month process,” of planning and design time ahead of the sign’s operational go-ahead last fall. He said the elements took into account historic Quakertown’s architecture.

“We incorporated a compass design and created the circles to represent a deconstruction of it. It is unique, and its resolution is the highest [currently] on the east coast,” Bartkowski said.

Bartkowski said it was the best way to tie into the borough’s other redevelopment efforts.

Millions of redevelopment dollars over the past two years have sparked a chain reaction of growth and vitality in the borough’s two square-mile downtown.

Some notable recent projects include:

• Moose Lodge building renovation offering four consumer services retailers, a $1 million development investment.
• Karlton Theater Building, home of Karlton Café, a long-time borough staple. The building expansion included Love Obsessed ladies boutique clothing, gifts and accessories; six professional offices spaces and six loft apartments with roughly $1 million in developer investment.
• Free Press Building offering 21 offices spaces with shared office amenities like conference rooms and a kitchen; a third floor luxury 3-bedroom apartment has a bird’s eye view of the downtown, representing about $1.2 million in developer investment.
• 138 Front Street a 12 unit, condo-style luxury apartment building inside a renovated brick building supply representing more than $1 million developer investment.

What’s next:

•  A conditional use was granted by Quakertown Borough Council in April for the redevelopment of the former “ribbon factory” last operated by Thermco Products to a proposed mixed-use building with 62 apartments, 8 commercial spaces and an indoor storage unit rental. 
• A proposed public market in the former J & D Whistle Stop hobby store, an adjacent building and trolley barn. The plan calls for an upscale farmer’s market, retail and restaurant space with roof top seating, outdoor beer/wine garden; the concept plan was reviewed earlier this year though no formal land development plans have been submitted to the borough for review.
•  Fries Rebellion is moving!! The popular gastro pub, bar and restaurant has shuttered its West End Blvd. (Route 309) location in Richland Township in preparation of moving to the downtown sometime in 2019. 

​
“The new Univest Performance Center will be the perfect place for all generations of music lovers to experience an intimate, high quality concert while attending any of the Sounds of Summer Concert Series events,” Annette, D. Szygiel, executive vice president and chief experience officer for Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania.
 
Summer music in Quakertown offers a great line-up of national acts June 14 – Aug. 23.

What: Sounds of Summer Concert Series presented by Sands Auto Group
Where: Univest Performance Center at the Park at Fourth, 4th and Mill streets.
When: June 14-Aug. 23, Thursday nights, headline shows start at 8 p.m. gates open at 6 p.m.
Show lineup: Tommy James & The Shondells, June 14: The Marshall Tucker Bank, June 28: The Charlie Daniels Band, July 12: Steve Augeri of Journey, July 26; Herman’s Hermits with Peter Noone, Aug. 16; Little River Band, Aug. 23.
Cost:  General admission (bring your own chair) are $20; reserved seats range from $35 to high of $50.
For information visit www.quakertown.eventbrite.com or call 215.536.5001.

Seems there’s a lot going on in Bucks County and high on the list is infrastructure, recreation and mental health awareness.

Bucks County Commissioners presented the second of three legislative breakfast programs hosted by Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce June 1 at McCoole’s Arts and Events Place in Quakertown.

The annual series provides a platform for local state and national legislators to interact with Upper Bucks County businesses and constituents in a relaxed, informal setting.

In addition to drug overdose deaths the county has taken up suicide prevention according to Wendy Flanigan. She said the Bucks County Suicide Prevention Task Force had a goal “…to eliminate suicide.”

Flanigan is coordinator of service development and Quality management for Bucks County Mental Health Department.
 A representative for the Bucks County Crisis Intervention Team, Flanigan provided information about suicide awareness and prevention, and how businesses can spot and assist struggling employees.

“In 2017, there were 77 suicide deaths reported by the County Coroner’s Office,” Flanigan said.

She added that number was likely higher because some suicide deaths may not have appeared suspicious, and were not reported or investigated. “I think there are folks dying from suicide we are not catching,” She said.

Flanigan introduced a new approach – QPR, which stands for Question, Persuade and Refer, aimed at quickly assessing if more services are appropriate.

QPR aims to train “gatekeepers” to recognize a mental health crisis and learn the warning signs someone may be considering suicide.

Flanigan said her team offers businesses and organizations training to recognize symptoms and provide resources and referrals so employees can get the help they need.

According to the American Psychiatric Association Foundation website, about 7 percent of full-time workers in the U.S. experienced major depression during the past year.

The financial impact is staggering: A whooping $210.5 billion per year is the estimated economic burden shouldered, due to major depressive disorder, or MDD, and a study revealed about 16 million Americans suffer from some form of major depressive disorder.

Flanigan is the contact for business owners and managers to reach to set up in house training or for more information. Contact her at 215.444.2882, or via email at [email protected].

Those eager for the Upper Bucks Rail Trail will need to wait a bit longer. The eagerly anticipated walking and hiking trails, set to connect with the Saucon Valley Rail Trail in Lehigh County would bring Quakertown Borough and Richland Township into the popular walking, biking and hiking trail system.

“We’re waiting for the final easement connection to Veterans Park [in Richland Township],” said Evan Stone, executive director of the Bucks County Planning Commission.

He said request for proposal documents were out to engineering firms and that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) was currently clearing vegetation and removing rail bed remnants.

Business development continues to be brisk throughout Bucks County with nearly 900,000 square feet of non-residential applications currently in review by the planning commission.

Stone said non-residential building applications were up, and of those 45 percent were for industrial uses and 36 percent were for commercial uses.

“There is 2.6 million square foot of previous manufacturing and micro distribution centers in Bucks County, and we are more closing tracking these,” Stone said.

Look for the third and final legislative update, “State of the Nation” to be announced soon!