"If Leadership has not come together this place will be a waste today"
-
Denis Yablonsky, President of Alleghany Conference
Pittsburgh: Much More than Just Steel!
Fall 2010
October 31st, 2010 was not only other Halloween day for me; it was much more than that! My
costume was not other fancy dress that I used to wear during this festivity; I dressed up as a real
steel miner and had the opportunity to tour a real steel mine. Why? It was the PLA Fall trip 2010
to Pittsburgh. The trip started with the visit of Mon Valley Works, were we had to dressed up
with special clothes to be safe in the interior of the mill, in which steel is made at a temperature
of approximately 3000 degrees F. It was really hot inside, and we had the opportunity to
actually see how steel was produced and the main safety concerns at the mill. John Surma,
chairman of the board of United States Steel Corporation, arrived at the end of the tour and gave
us a quick view of how the steel mill mainly work and how safety procedures should be held to
assure a healthy working environment for employees. At 4:30 p.m we were leaving the mill and
returning back to the hotel to get prepared for the dinner. But things did not end up there... the
following day was really busy and interesting presentations came up.
On Monday, November 1st, 2010 we walked to the US steel tower, were five different leaders and
some of their assistants and workers gave us different topic presentations, in which leadership
and Pittsburgh economy were the main topics.
-
The first speaker was again John Surma, who main topics were energy, society, sustainability,
and the environment; he also talked of how Pittsburgh and others states developed and how
future actions will lead to the changes in our environment.
-
The second speaker was Jim Broadhurst, chairman of East n'Park Hospitality Group, who came
with four more workers to share with us their experiences working. Eat n'Park started up in a
small family business, which end up owning other companies, as Parkhurst Dining Services,
Cura Hospitality, Six Penn Kitchen, and the ever-so-wonderful Smiley Cookies . I really liked
this presentation because presenters were really enthusiastic and engaged with the public; each
of them share with us their experiences out and in the company and how things were done to get
the company at the spot it is now-a-days
-
Charlotte McLaughlin was the third speaker; she is the CEO of the PNC Capital Market. She
explained us main economics aspects of the city and how it was rebuild after the collapse of the
steel industry.
-
The fourth speaker was the president of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Frank Coonelly. He spoke to us
about how the team works to bring players from others countries and how opportunities have
been growing for the team and players.
-
Dennis Yablonsky, chief executive of the Allegheny Conference, was the fifth speaker of our day.
He spoke us about the different economic patterns in Pittsburgh and how the Marcellus shale,
alternative energy and conservative energy are the basis for the future consumption in the city
and further to the nation.
During the five presentations we won a completely new understanding of Pittsburgh's Economy,
how it is related to different sectors that build up to form a city standing on steel, businesses,
tourism, sports, and entertainment. After the presentations, I learned that Pittsburgh is not only
the hometown for Steelers: it is much more than that!
After visiting the US Steel Tower, we moved to the Heinz Building, located at only few minutes
from the tower. There, we made a tour of the building and then a presentation was given to us.
We learned that Heinz products are really varied and that world supplies are everyday larger,
which has favored the economy of the company. The presenters also explained us the different
restaurants in which Heinz collaborates, and different aspects about Pittsburgh, a place that is
"A big city with a small town feel." Systems, technologies, capabilities, and human capital come
together to form what Heinz industry is today!
Mr. Denis Yablonsky was right when he said that leadership actions together were what made
Pittsburgh what it is today! All the world main actions and mainly all decisions are based on
opinions of good leaders. In this trip we had the opportunity to learn from different perspectives
new ways in which leadership actions can be developed and how should we, as future leaders,
act in order to improve the nation and our world well being.
Sara Odette Battikh