Thirty years ago, Lance Shaner and his brother Fred were looking for a new home for their progressive hospitality business. They explored Atlanta, Durham, Chapel Hill and Austin, but it was Happy Valley that caught their eye. “It was hard to beat the quality of life that we saw here,” Lance said.

Anna from StuckOnTheGo.com recently visited for a #hosted trip to Happy Valley, Pennsylvania. Anna was kind enough to share her first impressions of her trip with Dispatch.HappyValley.com. Read on!

Suppose for a moment a die-hard fly fisherman with a few blank squares to fill on his calendar were to tack a map of Pennsylvania on the wall, and then randomly throw a dart with intentions of fishing the nearest trout stream to the dart’s point of impact. If his aim were as true as a standard dart-board’s bullseye, his dart would land right around the middle of the state – smack dab in the heart of Happy Valley.

State College, PA, Sept. 6, 2022 – The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau (HVAB) is now accepting nominations for the first annual Happy Valley Hospitality Awards.

The awards will recognize excellence in the local food and beverage, and lodging industries, with a special award open to employees working in any hospitality-related establishment,
including performance venues, museums and other attractions. The awards are a component of the HVAB’s Happy Valley Hospitality campaign, launched earlier this summer to recognize and appreciate those working in the industry.

The Centre County Historical Society is hosting a forum for community members to learn about creative approaches to transportation infrastructure that are safe and efficient, protective of the natural environment and historical and cultural resources, and aligned with community values.

Prior to joining the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County (CBICC) as President and CEO in September of 2021, Greg Scott spent 25 years leading large-scale business operations for major universities.

Third-year Penn State student Hunter Porcano is studying Biological Engineering with a focus in Food and Bioprocessing. This year, a love for kombucha, a spontaneous Instagram message and a job as a brewer assistant has changed the course of her career.

Forty years ago, Greg Woodman spent his tuition money to print Penn State T-shirts to sell at tailgates. It was a move that wasn’t very popular with his parents, but it paid off, big time.

For Fritz Smith, president and CEO of The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, the love for hospitality started at a very early age, in a place fueled by tourism.

“I grew up in Washington, D.C., a place where the two major industries were government and tourism,” he said. “You saw thousands of people visiting the Washington Monument and going in and out of the Smithsonian Museum buildings almost year-round. Something inside me said, “I bet those people are spending a whole lot of money while they are here!”