BARNESVILLE - Joseph H. Jones Sr. has served Schuylkill County and its citizens for more than 60 years, and local business officials honored him Wednesday with an award they had given only one other time.
"It's been an honor and a privilege to live and work in Schuylkill County," Jones told about 250 people gathered at Mountain Valley Golf Course as he received the James M. Stine Lifetime of Service Award from the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce during the group's 96th Annual Luncheon.
Gene Barr, president and chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, also praised the group for their work and urge them to get even more involved in promoting their businesses, communities and state.
"You are the people who make Pennsylvania move forward and America move forward," Barr said.
Jones, who led the majority of major fundraising campaigns in Schuylkill County during the second half of the 20th century and beyond, joins Stine as the only recipients of the award, which honored him for his personal commitment, performance and achievements.
"This gentleman truly has had a great lifetime," chamber Executive Director Robert S. Carl Jr. said in announcing Jones as the winner of the award.
Jones did not know he was getting the award, which Stine had received in 1996, and that stirred one regret for him.
"I wish my wife was here," he said.
Schuylkill Economic Development Corp. President Frank J. Zukas, who has worked on many projects with Jones, said those labors have had many positive consequences.
"Things that this gentleman has founded have had ripple effects," he said.
Zukas said those efforts have included assisting in the saving the Cressona Aluminum Co. plant, which is now Sapa; helping find the money for the purchase of what is now the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds in Summit Station; and working through the Schuylkill County Industrial Development Authority to obtain $800 million for 122 projects that Zukas said have had "an incredible impact" on the county.
Jones represents what Barr said should be the image of business people.
"I hear too many people make disparaging remarks about business people," he said. "They're integrally involved with their communities."
Barr said those at the luncheon need to push the state to become friendlier to business, since that is the key to prosperity.
"We've done things that make a key difference," but the corporate net income tax of 9.99 percent is still the nation's highest, he said.
Barr said people who claim Pennsylvania businesses do not pay enough in taxes are completely wrong; the state gets 4.1 percent of its revenue from corporate taxes, while the national average is 3.6 percent.
"I don't know what you're paying, but I want more," is how big-government advocates think, Barr said.
He also criticized proposals to raise the minimum wage to more than $10 an hour, saying that would hurt the job market, especially for young people who already have trouble getting work.
"There's not an unlimited pot of money," Barr said.
Other measures Pennsylvania should consider, according to Barr, include becoming a right-to-work state, meaning union membership no longer can be a requirement for working; reforming pensions; and raising the level for the prevailing wage law, which he said increasing project costs for schools and puts pressure on their budgets.
Pensions and the prevailing wage law both hurt schools by inflating budgets, he said.
"We need to rethink that whole (pension) system because it is unsustainable. We need to fix the system," he said.
Barr said it is untrue that Gov. Tom Corbett has cut education spending; in fact, he is spending more on pre-kindergarten through 12th grade than ever before.
Also during the meeting, chamber Second Vice President Jeanne Porter announced the winners of the organization's other awards for 2014. Those winners, who will receive their awards on June 11 at the chamber Awards Breakfast at the Schuylkill Country Club, Orwigsburg, include:
- Cindy Petchulis, Providence Place Retirement Community, Business Woman of the Year
- Bob Greene, Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc., Business Man of the Year
- Theresa Pothering and Maria Rowlands, Entrepreneurs of the Year
- Sexual Assault Resource & Counseling Center of Schuylkill County, Nonprofit Organization of the Year
- The Cotler Group, For-Profit Organization of the Year
"It's really awesome to be with such people," Porter said.
Karen Kenderdine, the chamber's president elect, said the group's members needs to act together whatever they do.
"My goal ... is to make us realize, united we stand, divided we fall," she said.