{"id":17842,"date":"2025-10-28T16:56:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T16:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/17842\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T16:56:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T16:56:12","slug":"newsmakers-for-october-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/17842\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsmakers for October 26"},"content":{"rendered":"

MCCARTHY ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES INC.<\/p>\n

McCarthy Engineering Associates Inc. has announced the promotion of Mehdi Mehrabi, Ph.D., P.E. to Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) division manager. Mehrabi, who has served as senior mechanical engineer with the firm, brings extensive experience, leadership, and technical expertise to this role.<\/p>\n

\"MehdiMehdi Mehrabi (Courtesy McCarthy Engineering Associates Inc.)<\/p>\n

Under Mehrabi\u2019s direction, McCarthy Engineering Associates MEP Division has advanced significantly \u2014 most notably through full integration of Autodesk Revit, an industry-leading design and coordination platform.<\/p>\n

With Autodesk Revit now fully implemented, McCarthy Engineering Associates is positioned to deliver seamless coordination with architectural teams.<\/p>\n

With Mehrabi\u2019s leadership and the firm\u2019s enhanced technical capabilities, McCarthy\u2019s MEP Division is ready to support innovative, coordinated projects from concept to completion.<\/p>\n

PENN STATE BERKS<\/p>\n

Michael Fidanza, professor of plant and soil science at\u00a0Penn State\u00a0Berks, has been named president of the\u00a0Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture.\u00a0 Fidanza will serve as PSPA\u2019s 239th president for a one-year term.<\/p>\n

PSPA was formed in 1785 for the purpose of exploring and promoting best practices in agriculture. Early members were some of the most notable figures of the young United\u00a0States \u2014 Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington among them.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Fidanza (Courtesy Penn State Berks)<\/p>\n

PSPA holds monthly meetings that focus on topics of interest to members which encourage learning about existing and emerging technology and how it impacts agriculture, our natural resources, and sustainability. PSPA also supports the next generation of agriculture professionals by offering scholarships that support their educational goals and opportunities that lead to pursuing careers in agriculture and the food industry.<\/p>\n

Fidanza traces his own interest in agriculture back to childhood, where he worked on his father\u2019s mushroom farm in Chester County. His research interests focus on turfgrass ecology, the evaluation of plant health products (i.e., fungicides, herbicides, plant growth regulators), soil surfactants, seed technology, and cultural practices (fertilizers, biostimulants) in turfgrass ecosystems, and the biology and ecology of fairy ring disease in turfgrass. He also investigates the benefits and uses of mushroom compost for the lawn and landscape, crop production, and the environment.<\/p>\n

SAXTON & STUMP<\/p>\n

Saxton & Stump\u00a0senior counsel\u00a0Ryan C. Givens\u00a0has been named to the Central Penn Business Journal\u2019s annual \u201cForty Under 40\u201d list. Givens is an attorney in the firm\u2019s\u00a0Business and Corporate,\u00a0Mergers and Acquisitions,\u00a0Banking and Financial Services, and\u00a0Information Privacy and Cybersecurity\u00a0groups.<\/p>\n

\"RyanRyan C. Givens (Courtesy Saxton and Stump)<\/p>\n

Givens joined Saxton & Stump\u2019s Lancaster office in early 2025. He advises businesses through every stage of their lifecycle, from formation to acquisition and sale, and assists with corporate governance, contracts, joint ventures, debt financing, business succession, and daily operations. He also maintains a cybersecurity practice, helping companies address evolving cyber risks in collaboration with\u00a0Granite GRC Consulting, a Saxton & Stump affiliate.<\/p>\n

Beyond his legal practice, Givens serves on the board of directors of the Demuth Foundation, which promotes visual arts in the city and operates the Demuth Museum and Lancaster Museum of Art. He was an inaugural board member of the Lancaster Catholic High School Alumni Council and volunteers at the school, participating in career day and judging class projects to help guide the next generation of the region\u2019s professionals.<\/p>\n

BARLEY SNYDER<\/p>\n

Barley Snyder has been named one of HRM Outlook\u2019s \u201cTop ERISA Service Providers 2025\u201d in the publication\u2019s annual ERISA edition. This recognition highlights Barley Snyder\u2019s depth of experience and dedication in delivering strategic, practical counsel on employee benefits and retirement plan matters.<\/p>\n

HRM Outlook\u2019s selection is based on nominations from its extensive subscriber base of more than 199,000 professionals across print and digital platforms.<\/p>\n

\"MarkMark Smith (Courtesy Barley Snyder)<\/p>\n

As part of this recognition, Mark Smith \u2014 partner and chair of Barley Snyder\u2019s Employee Benefits Practice Team \u2014 was featured in the ERISA Service Providers 2025 edition. In his profile, Smith discusses the firm\u2019s comprehensive approach to employee benefits law, emphasizing Barley Snyder\u2019s commitment to guiding employers through complex compliance, fiduciary, and plan administration challenges.<\/p>\n

With a multidisciplinary team serving employers, plan sponsors and fiduciaries, Barley Snyder\u2019s Employee Benefits Practice provides counsel on all aspects of benefit plan design, administration, and compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).<\/p>\n

Smith brings more than 35 years of experience in employee benefits law. His practice encompasses all aspects of employee benefits and ERISA, including the design, implementation, and administration of health and welfare benefit plans and the fiduciary law aspects of ERISA. Smith regularly designs and drafts non-retirement benefit plan documents. The have included insured and self-funded health care plans, welfare benefit plan wrap documents, and Section 125 cafeteria and flexible benefit plan documents.<\/p>\n

Email your news to money@readingeagle.com and attach a recent (high-resolution) photo. Include a contact name and phone number with your submission. Deadline is the Tuesday prior to publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MCCARTHY ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES INC. McCarthy Engineering Associates Inc. has announced the promotion of Mehdi Mehrabi, Ph.D., P.E. to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,60,182,28,128,130,129],"class_list":{"0":"post-17842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reading","8":"tag-berks-county","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-pennsylvania","12":"tag-reading-city","13":"tag-reading-city-headlines","14":"tag-reading-city-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}