Middletown Company Partners With Olympian Michael Johnson

If you’ve ever had a sports related injury or completed aquatic physical rehabilitation you very well may have dipped your toes into a therapy pool made by Middletown Pennsylvania based company HydroWorx International. The company’s advanced therapy pools are enormously popular with therapists, hospitals, clinics, and professional sports clubs all over the world. Not only do they feature a host of technological advancements like multiple depth floors, water treadmills, and deep tissue massage hoses; they have the research to back up their products. Elite athletes all over the world have made incredible comebacks from devastating injuries using the HydroWorx aquatic rehabilitation approach. Injured veterans, patients with neurological disorders, folks struggling with obesity, and elderly with balance problems have all used HydroWorx pools to improve their health. The company takes a research first approach which ensures all of their products are overwhelmingly supported with real data that has opened up partnerships for the company with elite organizations and athletes all over the world. 

One such athlete that has partnered with HydroWorx: 4 time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson.

Michael Johnson and Lindsey Anderson, the Director of Performance for Michael Johnson Performance, have teamed up with HydroWorx to offer a free webinar on Linear Speed Mechanics. The webinar is taking place on May 21st at 12:30pm EST, but if you aren’t able to attend HydroWorx does publish all their webinars to HydroWorx.com. For this particular webinar, participants will gain an understanding of linear speed training and also how to use aquatics to improve athletic speed. Coaches, trainers, and therapists will surely benefit from the insight and technique shared by the experts at Michael Johnson Performance.

My understanding is that Michael Johnson knows a thing or two about how to run fast, so make sure to check out this fantastic webinar! HydroWorx frequently offers top notch webinars about various aspects of aquatic training and therapy. Topics range from aquatic therapy for neurological disorders to creative aquatic programming ideas. The folks at HydroWorx truly are the aquatic experts, and they have the clients to prove it! HydroWorx plunge pools can be found in the training rooms of countless professional teams around the world, and a great number of university athletic programs have also added HydroWorx exercise pools to their facilities as well.

If you want to excel as a fitness or therapy professional, or would like to benefit from these amazing pools in your own home I definitely recommend visiting their Middletown, PA facility or visiting the HydroWorx website for more information!

York Manufacturer Is A True Basket Case

York, Pennsylvania is known for being home to countless names in manufacturing; York Barbell, Harley-Davidson, & American Hydro to name just a few. Industry IS the industry of the “White Rose City” just south of the state’s capitol Harrisburg. The history of manufacturing household names and industrial products alike runs deep throughout the city. One such manufacturer, Three M Tool, has become synonymous with wire baskets around the world. In fact, the company has a history of innovative manufacturing that dates back to the 1940s. Their metal baskets have been used for a wide array of industry applications and include a host of elite customers like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Exxon Mobile. 

Whether you need metal baskets for heavy industrial purposes, medical devices, or even food services, Three M Tool has you covered with their user friendly ordering website: AnySizeBasket.com. The site has a number of baskets all shapes and sizes ready for immediate shipment, as well as an easy to use tool that you can use to design your own basket. Hundreds of thousands of baskets have been produced locally in York, Pennsylvania, under the highest quality standards, most innovative techniques, and custom designs.

You may not realize it, but products from York, Pennsylvania are well known around the world for their quality and durability. The city is a powerhouse of metal engineering, fabricating, and innovation. The next time you need a durable basket, think first of Three M Tool & AnySizeBasket.com, think local!

Camp Hill Business Makes Waves In The Desert

Residents across the greater Phoenix area are noticing a lot of product shipped from right here in Camp Hill on shelves of various health food stores. Dr. Frank Jackson, a retired Gastroenterologist and lifelong entrepreneur, has recently found success with his formula for a prebiotic fiber supplement called Prebiotin. Health food stores from New York to California are now selling his family of nutritional supplements.

The locally developed formula is a daily fiber supplement that easily dissolves in water and is supported by as much research as you can handle! Prebiotics feed good bacteria in your colon, improving immunity and regulating overall digestive health. A few proven health benefits of natural prebiotics are stronger bones, bowel regularity, reduced risk of cancerous polyps, better control over appetite, and correction of ‘leaky gut’. These are just a few of the many health benefits that research has linked to adding prebiotics to your daily diet.

Dr. Frank Jackson has recently been featured in a number of publications and media outlets in health crazy Arizona, and his product continues to grow a loyal following here in Pennsylvania as well. For any Harrisburg locals, you can find the product on the shelves of The Healthy Grocer in Camp Hill. Better yet, order directly from Prebiotin.com and you’ll receive free shipping!

For anyone suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohns Disease, Diverticulosis, or any other digestive issues, definitely give this product a try and support a local entrepreneur!

The Easiest $8,000 I’ve Ever Made

About a month after purchasing my new condo in the quiet neighborhood around Messiah College I received a rather nice surprise in the mail – one of those colorful treasury checks from uncle sam in the amount of $8,000. Well in all honesty it wasn’t really a surprise, the credit was the main reason I decided to buy the place to begin with, but holding that check in my hands I was indeed surprised at how easily the money came to me.

Most people have heard details about this popular program available to first time home buyers making that big decision at some point in 2009. That being said, I’m not so sure that people are really aware that this program is about to expire on December 1st, 2009. That doesn’t leave much time for interested home buyers to participate, as the closing process on a house can take well over a month from start to finish. What I’m really trying to say is; if you want to receive an $8,000 check from the government simply for buying your first house time is running out!

Sure there is strong emphasis on the free housing credit, (and for good reason) but how about historic low interest rates? I locked in my 30 year mortgage at 5%!

Just think about the numbers:

$100,000 home with 30 year 5% mortgage = about $500 monthly payment!

That should sound pretty affordable to most people, but add a roommate to that spare bedroom for $500 a month and buying a home never looked so enticing. It’s hard NOT to purchase a home right now.

Personally I was able to close on my condo with about $5,000 up front which was returned to me not a month after I closed and applied for the credit. And thanks to my realtor, the process was a breeze. Seriously, I know realtors depend on referrals and I’m happy to recommend mine, even if you’re just looking for some great resources and help getting started you can find a lot of fantastic tools on Keith Reilly’s homepage: KeithReillyRealEstate.com, check it out yourself sometime.

And for anyone even THINKING about buying their first place, don’t delay, this incentive is about to run out!

Harrisburg Makes Forbes.com List of Most Livable Cities in America

At first glance, ‘most livable’ could mean a lot of things, but I wanted to make sure this article gets a little more attention because Forbes.com actually uses a very legitimate set of statistics to grade their picks for ‘Most Livable Cities in America-

“Results were the result of comparing five-year income growth per household and cost of living from Moody’s Economy.com, crime data and leisure index from Sperling’s Best Places, and annual unemployment statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

Harrisburg ranked 12th on the list. Personally I think making the list at all is really quite commendable, what do you think?

Check out the full article as well as Forbes ‘Most Miserable Cities’ list.

Buying Local. Target: Harrisburg

If you haven’t already noticed, I’m taking on a new page to my blog that is currently entitled ‘local specialty shops.’ I haven’t found any other list of independent specialty stores around the Harrisburg region so I decided to build one myself.

It’s still very early stage but please feel free to leave your favorite shop in the comment section, I’ll be happy to add them.  I just wanted to build a place where people could learn about all the fantastic little niche shops we have in the greater Harrisburg region; from food and drink to home decor and clothing retailers. There’s just no reason to shop national stores with all that’s available to us here!

Where’s Your Favorite Caffeine Destination Around Harrisburg?

I’ve noticed lately that there are more coffee shops around Harrisburg than I have time to visit, especially around Camp Hill. I thought I’d create a poll to get an idea of which places are the most popular, please add a destination if I’ve missed it!

Local Stores Offer Creative Gift Ideas

Whether you’re looking for last minute holiday gifts, stockpiling future birthday presents or just want to reward yourself for all that hard work you’ve put in lately (of course we believe you), you don’t have to settle with a boring best buy gift card. You honestly don’t have to try too hard or look too far for some creative gifts that are sure to please. I’m personally a huge proponent of the whole buy local movement, it’s just a smart way to support your local economy and get more for your money, gifts are no different. More likely than not, wherever you live there is a unique little gift shop or food store, a local winery, a mom and pop shop that makes something you’ve never seen at Walmart.

In the greater Harrisburg area there exists a number of unique shops that are sure to be enjoyed, remembered, and most importantly used. The National Retail Association estimates that nearly 20% of gift cards are never even used- pity. Instead try the Virginia Nut Shop, a family owned nut and candy specialty store since 1959 offering the absolute tastiest varieties of snacks, along with their famous ‘blisters.’ How about some incredible sauces? Torchbearer Sauces have a number of unique flavors for any type of cooking or food that requires something sticky. Harry’s House of Heat is another local sauce shop that offers some intense hot sauces for that extra tough guy uncle of yours (he will cry, trust me).  You can even find international gifts right here in Central PA, Oxford Hall Celtic Shop and Josie’s German Food Market and Delicatessen both offer authentic ethnic groceries, baked goods, sweets, and much more. Sinful baked goods are never hard to find around Harrisburg, my personal favorite is Ciao! Bakery, bring some peanut-butter truffles from this shop and you’re guaranteed to make friends at that holiday party. Of course, you can never go wrong with the gift of award winning wine, West Hanover Winery is a local business that is worthy of sharing (responsibly of course).

The list can really go on and on, please feel free to add your own favorite specialty shop if I’ve missed it. The idea here is simple: give something that actually has some thought or meaning behind it, give something that represents your locale, give anything besides that boring best buy gift card.

Ethnic Grocery Stores Around Harrisburg

It has recently occurred to me after randomly stumbling upon a few wonderful ethnic grocery stores that Harrisburg has quite a few shops unfortunately existing under the radar for most people. As such, I’m starting a list of the shops that I’ve visited personally or am aware of around Harrisburg, please feel free to leave a comment with any additions you might have as I know I have probably missed a few. These places are truly unique and well worth trying for something new or unusual.

Choe’s Oriental Food Market, 829 State Street, Lemoyne. (Asian)

Dong My Asian Special Foods, Westshore Farmer’s Market, 900 Market Street, Lemoyne.

European Restaurant and Food Market, 5202 Simpson Ferry Road, Camp Hill. (Eastern Europe)

Fraulie’s German Delicatessen and Import Shop, 224 S 3rd Sreet, Lemoyne.

Fuji Do Japanese Market, 1701 Paxton Street, Harrisburg.

Goldy Market, 110 Old York Road, New Cumberland. (Eastern European)

Hampden Grocer – Asian Indian Grocery, 4704 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg.

India Groceries and Fashion, 2650 Walnut Street, Harrisburg.

Josie’s German Food & Deli, 5238 East Trindle Road, Mechanicsburg.

Kim’s Oriental Food, 2501 Paxton Street, Harrisburg. (Asian)

La Kasbah Deli, 913 North 2nd Street, Harrisburg. (Moroccan)

Landau Jewelers & Antiques, Asian American Market, 3507 Simpson Ferry Road, Camp Hill. (Vietnamese/Asian)

Little Saigon Food Market, 2800 Paxton Street, Harrisburg. (Vietnamese/Asian)

Madina Halal Meat and Grocery, 407 North Front Street, Harrisburg. (Middle Eastern/North African)

Mid East Market, 829 State Street, Lemoyne. 

Oxford Hall Celtic Shop, 315 Bridge Street, New Cumberland. (Brittish Isles)

Saint Thomas Village Store and Oriental Market, 5978 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg. (Filipino/Asian)

Shab’s Pita Stroller, 2269 Paxton Church Road, Harrisburg. (Mediterranean)

Tu Do Food and Gift, 2223 Derry Street, Harrisburg. (Vietnamese/Asian)

Tres Hermanos Taqueria, 216 N Front Street, Steelton. (Mexican/Latino)

Troegs to Host Harrisburg Young Professionals Networking Event

Troegs Brewing Company, the Harrisburg based and family owned microbrewery will be packed with current and prospective members of the Harrisburg Young Professionals on December 10th, 2008 for a networking event facilitated monthly by HYP referred to as the 2nd Wednesday Social. This inclusive monthly gathering is an opportunity for current HYP members to network and allows those curious about joining the organization a chance to meet members and test the waters before putting up the $30 to join.

For anyone interested in expanding their personal network, there’s not a more active young professionals organization than HYP, now in its 10th year of existence. With multiple monthly social events, year round sports leagues, special events, dinner and book clubs, various committees, a home tour, and much more, HYP is a great way to meet new people and expand your network all while supporting local businesses.  The Harrisburg Young Professionals have been a key component of the redevelopment and growth of the city of Harrisburg, a city once recognized as the 2nd most depressed city in the nation during the early 1980s, but has since received almost 3 billion dollars of investment and was just last year named in the top 100 Best Places to Live list by Recolate-America.

You can learn more about the Harrisburg Young Professionals, including information about the 2nd Wednesday Social to be held at Troegs Brewery on HYP.org.