“…Today, I stopped in at Mandy Sergent’s yoga studio. It’s located right in the basement of her house and when I arrived she was very cool — she made me feel so welcome. As we walked into the studio, I immediately started to feel healthy! Not only does Mandy teach yoga, but she’s also a Holistic Health Counselor. I have no idea what that means, but I do know it has something to do with teaching others how to make smarter food decisions and control portion size. Mandy told me her counseling has less to do with simply dieting to eliminate carbs and sugar – and more to do with maintaining a lifestyle of patient eating. She even said, ‘I eat french fries and drink beer like everyone else, but I also spend a great deal of time preparing my own meals and living a consistent lifestyle.’ Mandy’s customers will tell you she’s nice and thin; that says something for her health and also for her frequent yoga workouts. The studio has dimmed lighting, creating a relaxing atmosphere to perform yoga and the space provides just enough size to accommodate 9 students at one time. Most of her classes are offered in the evening to accommodate her customers’ schedules. In addition, she also offers individual sessions, by appointment. Overall, a great vibe and an impressive local operation. I highly recommend it.”

You can find out more about Mandy Sergent on Cogster.com at http://cogster.com/business/view/33. We’re a huge fan of Mandy’s and we recommend you check out her “Deals of the Week.” Plus, give her a call or stop by to see her. People like Mandy make our community a special place to live.

I enjoy flipping right to the Publisher’s Letter every time I receive a new issue. It is written by Erica Shames, a rather impressive and energetic force in the Susquehanna Valley. While I’ve not yet met her, I’ve heard great things about Erica from many colleagues who know the area and her work.

A recent issue caught my eye. Erica’s message to business owners: get back out and sell. Erica acknowledges the last year-and-a-half of economic challenges and shares her own story of having to force herself to get away from her passion for writing and focus on the immediately important task of “selling” advertising and reinforcing client relationships. Moreover, Erica goes on to ask, “Who better to be the face of a company than the passionate owner whose entrepreneurial spirit…., and hard work…, propelled the company where it is today.”

Right on. She’s right. Sales and business development cannot be delegated. Not now; not in this economy.

For fun articles and other words of wisdom for small business owners in Central PA, check out Susquehanna Business Life.

I admire that. I was so impressed by it, I spoke with Grant directly about his business and congratulated him on his environment of outstanding service. Turns out, ACE Hardware is a retailer-owned cooperative, meaning that Grant, along with others like him in their respective local areas, own shares of the cooperative. This gives Grant the ability to tailor his store to the local market he serves. This isn’t just fabulous for me and the rest of the folks who live on the South Atherton side of town, this is great for the entire Centre Region. Personal attention. Special treatment. First-class service. Every time you shop. Thanks Grant, and thanks for bringing back good old fashioned customer service to the hardware business.

For more information, keep your eye out for the upcoming Town & Gown, which will profile Grant’s operation and team.

It was an absolutely perfect pit stop and a great way to spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon. I highly recommend the Elk Creek Copper Ale, but if you want to test all the brewed beers, as Tara did, you may easily order a set of glasses and sample the entire line up, one by one. And, of course, if you are in the mood for wine, they have that too. What impressed me most was the naming convention – all the beers are locally named after recognizable landmarks, such as Poe Paddy and Penns Valley, and the wines come from local vineyards. The prices were very reasonable, too!

Shannon served Tara and me our lunch. We sat right at the bar and had an order of homemade chips with the Burger and fries special. As we were eating, we decided to strike up a conversation with the gentlemen sitting right next to us. And, there it hit me: we met Ben Macneal, a local maple syrup and apple farmer; Brian Futhey, a local farmer (Stone Meadow Farms) and supplier of cheese and beef, and another gentlemen who also farms in the area and supplies food to the Cafe. I took a closer look at the dinner menu, and right there in black and white, the names of several local producers are called out by name. Tait’s Farm, Gemelli’s, and all the guys we were seated right next to! It made my food taste that much better knowing it was all local. Plus, we got to sit right next to some of the guys whose farms were listed right on the menu and hear directly about what local farming is really like.

A totally inspiring experience! And, not just because I had a few beers. It made me passionate about how Cogster complements grassroots leadership like the Elk Creek and its suppliers. I drove away wanting to find out more. I am intrigued to learn about missions such as buylocalpa.org and organizations like the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). If nothing else, just to say thank you. Thank you, Tim Bowser. Thanks Brian Futhey and Ben Macneal. Thanks, Ken Hull. And thank you to all those whose mission it is to support PA farmers and merchants.

I’m thrilled about Cogster.com and the potential we have to complement this “sustainable” movement. Very soon, we will be unveiling some of our newest features, and when we do, I think you’ll find we provide a “win-win” for both consumers and merchants. It is the new way to Go Local – in a very economically sustainable way. In the meantime, we’ll do all we can to spread the word to our growing user base and encourage them to stop by the Elk Creek Cafe and learn about several of its local suppliers.

Link to Elk Creek Video Blog

Starting today, every time you use Cogster to support your town, you get points!

Buying local is cool. Saving money is even better. But, having Cogster keep track as you rack up more and more points the more you help your Main Street — well, that’s really something.

Cogster users can utilize their points to increase their loyalty ranking in town, brag to their peers, and qualify for special drawings and promotions! But, perhaps the best part of the cool, new points accumulation roll-out is that everyday consumers now have a way to prove their loyalty to locally-owned businesses. Moreover, local merchants now have a readily verifiable feature to distinguish loyal regulars from others who may not be as locally committed. Why does that matter? Local merchants want their best customers to feel special. Merchants want to gear certain promotions to be available to their most loyal customers. Now, with Cogster, everybody wins.

Have you ever walked into a local store you’ve been frequenting for years and felt mistreated by a brand new salesperson who didn’t know who you were? I have, and it didn’t make me feel very special. Your loyalty matters. With Cogster, we can all keep track of the cumulative loyalty we possess.

Save Money. Sustain Main Street. AND, earn points for doing so!

Click here to find out how you can start earning points today!

(If this is your first visit to our Cogster Blog, I encourage you to scroll back through some of our earlier posts. Read about 30 excellent local businesses and get to know them a bit better. Also, take a moment to click on the “Businesses” tab within the Cogster community nearest you and find out more about what your Main Street has to offer, how you can save money while gearing-up your town.)

Located about 5 feet away from my apartment, G-MAN has become one of the places I frequent the most. The restaurant/bar always has some kind of awesome special going on, one of my favorites being wing night on Sundays. They host live music and great DJ’s all the time, and they have a giant projector screen and tons of flat screen TV’s tuned in to every sport imaginable. G-MAN is also the second company ever to join Cogster, so their early belief in us really scores massive points with us. Their website is simple, but also slick; they have built-in calendars, they update their specials daily, and link to their facebook fan page. All good stuff in our book.

Click here to view G-MAN’s official website.

End Note: Thanks to everybody that tuned into the Cogster Community Champion blog series! It was a daunting task for a busy college student like myself, but I’m glad I was given the opportunity to experience all of these great local places. I hope some of these posts have turned you on to some new places that you may not have heard of, or had the chance to try out yet. Supporting local businesses directly supports your local community. So get out there and go local!

This company is about as local as local can get. And we love it. Colonial Furniture has been around for a whopping 42 years, located in Freeburg, PA and serving the greater Susquehanna area with top-quality homemade wood furniture. The company is family-owned, financially secure, and specializes in solid Cherry and solid Oak furnishings.

One of the main reasons I really like this company is because they are totally tuned in to social media. Their website is extremely informative, yet simple, and they have Facebook badges, share buttons, embedded videos, and photo galleries garnishing many of the pages. They are also a proud member on Cogster, which we appreciate, too.

Click here to view Colonial Furniture’s official website.

The deep-rooted traditions and tavern-style atmosphere of this local bar are overwhelmingly awesome, to say the least. The Phyrst has been one of my favorite places to frequent in downtown State College, and never gets old. If you’re looking for some fun competition on a Saturday night, then definitely check out “Table Wars.” Their beer and food is very reasonably priced, and if you are a Mug Club member you get special discounts! Some of the best local cover bands play regularly here as well, so head on over for some excellent live music.

Click here to view The Phyrst’s official website.

I think this program is great because it supports and promotes artwork created by people with developmental/intellectual disabilities. This program gives its members the opportunity to create valuable artwork while developing their skills, achieving self-expression, and becoming a step closer to economic independence. The program helps its members sell their artwork, and gives them the earnings from the sale, which I think is great. If you go to their website and view the slideshow, there are some really impressive pieces of art to be seen and purchased!

Click here to view heART of Friendship Art Gallery’s official website.