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CAN DO hires first director for new CAN BE program

Hazleton, PA — CAN DO Inc., Greater Hazleton's economic development agency, has concluded its national search for the first full-time director of its new business and industry incubator program.

Following the review of more than 50 applications and several formal interviews, a former Hazleton man rose to the top of the list and landed the position.

Joseph D. Barrett, a graduate of Rutgers University with a Masters in Energy Resources from the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering, has begun his duties as director of the newly formed CAN BE, Community Association for New Business Entrepreneurship.

“We're excited that one of our talented residents who went off to college, decided he wanted to return back home to work,” said Robert J. Moisey, CAN DO's chairman. “Joe is highly qualified and will be a great asset to this new, exciting program which promises to create even more quality jobs for the residents of Greater Hazleton.”

Before joining CAN BE, Barrett was the Industrial Technologies Project Manager for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office of the U. S. Department of Energy in Philadelphia. Prior to that position, he worked as a power marketer with the Dayton Power & Light Company (Ohio) and as a gas marketer with Equitable Gas Co. in Hartford, Connecticut.

Barrett has taken courses in project management and business administration at Villanova University and Tulane University. He is a Certified Energy Manager through the Association of Energy Engineers.

CAN BE was founded several months ago by CAN DO in cooperation with Penn State Hazleton to assist and support entrepreneurs in the development of new “home grown” business and industry. The organization will work closely with the 13 regional universities that comprise the Northeast Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities (NEPACU). Other resources include angel investor networks who make investments in new business ventures; governmental agencies, and the Great Valley Technology Institute.

“There is a large network of agencies, colleges and organizations working together to assist entrepreneurs in launching new business and industry in hopes that they flourish here,” said John Madden, Penn State Hazleton Campus Executive Officer. “The universities are a valuable resource to industry and promise to provide whatever technical assistance they can to help these new ventures succeed.”

The innovation center will provide entrepreneurs with the best available advice, assistance and resources in a timely fashion. In its initial phase, the innovation center program may be operated as a combination innovation center and as an incubator without walls. The innovation center program will always maintain the capability to assist entrepreneurs outside the center's facility.

Presently, the innovation center program is designed to assist entrepreneurs and start-up businesses in a very wide range of business categories. However, in the future, the program may become more focused and specialized in technology areas such as information software and technology, healthcare related technologies and communications. New businesses that support local firms will also always be a priority.

“It's exciting to be involved in an initiative that benefits the community. In the near-term, the program will foster technology-based business start-ups. The long-term goal is that those ventures will mature into firms that will have a positive impact on the local economy through job creation and business diversification,” Barrett said.

“Business incubators really give start-up companies an advantage. The National Business Incubation Association says on average, 4 out of 5 new business start-ups fail within their first 5 years. However, 4 out of 5 new businesses that start in an incubator program succeed within 5 years."

Moisey added, “since CAN DO was founded in the mid 1950s, our primary goal has been to attract new industries and support existing ones throughout Greater Hazleton. Of course, CAN DO will continue to seek new industries, but we are going to make an extra effort to assist entrepreneurs with start-up companies that promise to grow right here at home.”