More than 30 alumni attended "Penn State A.M.," the free breakfast social held Nov. 17 at McCutcheon Enterprises Inc. in Apollo, Pa.
Co-hosted by Penn State alumnus Calvin McCutcheon, the company's president and member of the New Kensington campus Advisory Board, the breakfast offered Penn Staters a chance to get together and hear about the complementary activities in the Marcellus shale and waste management industries. Guest speakers were Jack Crook, compliance chief for oil and gas at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and McCutcheon.
Crook, a 1981 Penn State graduate with a bachelor's degree in earth science and geology, talked about the increase in Marcellus Shale drilling permits over the past five years, and the concerns of both proponents and opponents of energy initiatives. McCutcheon, also a Penn State alumnus, gave a brief history of the company that his father founded in 1947 and talked about the environmental services his company provides, including the transportation and disposal of “fracking” fluid from the shale wells. Used by the natural gas companies, hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, is a process of breaking up the underground rock formations with pressurized fluid. The “fractured” rock releases the natural gas, which is recovered by the driller.
The semi-annual breakfast socials have been a staple of the Alle-Kiski Society's alumni outreach program. Since its inception in 2003 at Kennametal Inc. in Latrobe, Pa., breakfasts have been held at various businesses in the greater Pittsburgh region. Kennametal hosted its second breakfast in 2007. Previous venues included Medrad in Indianola twice; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in Pittsburgh; Tribune-Review printing facility in Warrendale; Allegheny Ludlum in Brackenridge; Leed's in the Westmoreland County Business and Research Park in Upper Burrell/Washington Township; Alcoa Technical Center in Upper Burrell; Site Signatures in Tarentum; Destination Wellness at the Pittsburgh Mills in Fraser; Respironics in Murrysville and Phillips Respironics in Westmoreland County Business and Research Park; Electro-Optics Center in Sarver, Westinghouse Electric Co. in Cranberry, Century 21 American Heritage Realty in Allegheny Township, and McCutcheon Enterprises.
Planning is under way for the 2012 breakfast socials. Alumni and friends who are interested in hosting an event can contact Bill Woodard, alumni and public relations specialist, at 724-334-6049 or uxw1@psu.edu.
For photos of the event and more about McCutcheon, visit http://www.nk.psu.edu/Information/News/44139.htm#NEWS44139 online.