Lancaster New Era, Pa., Business Briefs Column. - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Lancaster New Era, Pa. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Mar. 22--PPL SELLS CHILEAN ELECTRIC COMPANY: PPL Corp. said Friday it had completed the sale of its minority interest in a Chilean electric company for $123 million.

Allentown-based PPL had acquired its 8.7 percent stake in Compania General de Electricidad in October 2000.

The company serves 1.4 million electric customers in Chile and 600,000 in Argentina, while also distributing natural gas and liquefied gas.

MARKETING FIRM WINS AWARDS: North Star Marketing Inc. won three awards in the Service Industry Advertising Awards competition.

North Star won a gold award for creating and maintaining a Web site for The Christian Adoption Resources Inc.

The marketing firm won a silver award for creating collateral materials for the Bradley Academy of the Visual Arts' enrollment campaign.

North Star won a merit award for creating collateral corporate-identification materials for Stoudt Advisors.

SUPERINTENDENT WILL BE SPEAKER: John Bonfield, interim superintendent of the School District of Lancaster, will be the guest speaker at the next 'Wake Up to the Issues' breakfast.

The breakfast, hosted by The Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry, will be held Thursday, April 22, at 7:30 a.m. in the Eden Resort Inn.

Cost is $15 for chamber members, $30 for non-members. For more information, contact the chamber's Maureen Ward at 397-3531, ext. 152.

CHRISTIAN BUSINESSMEN HOST SEMINAR SIMULCAST: The Christian Business Men's Committee will host a nationally simulcast seminar titled 'The Qualities of a Leader' on Friday, April 30.

The 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. event, part of a series produced by Atlanta-based Maximum Impact, will be held at Manor Brethren in Christ Church, 530 Central Manor Road.

Hosted by John C. Maxwell, author of 'The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership' and 'The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork,' the seminar also will feature author Zig Ziglar, basketball coaches Pat Summitt and John Wooden, Pepsico CEO Steven Reinemund and Wal-Mart CEO Michael Duke.

Cost is $40. Tickets are available at Provident Bookstore. For more information, contact Bill Hoke at 291-0104.

MORE GROUPS BACK REGIONAL RAIL PROJECT: A proposed rail transit system in southcentral Pennsylvania has garnered more support.

The Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors, the Lancaster Campaign and the Red Rose Transit Authority have joined the list of organizations that endorse the CORRIDORone regional rail project, according to a Modern Transit Partnership press release.

Among the other 11 supporters are: Health Management Associates Inc., Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Lancaster County commissioners, Lancaster County Association of Township Supervisors, Lancaster Downtown Investment District Authority, and the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau.

CORRIDORone represents the initial leg of a regional rail system in southcentral Pennsylvania, with plans for commuter trains to run from Cumberland County through Harrisburg to Lancaster County.

The system will use existing freight and passenger tracks in the area, and passenger trains similar to those used by Amtrak.

Service between Harrisburg and Lancaster is expected to begin in 2006 with Mechanicsburg-to-Harrisburg service to follow in 2007.

Modern Transit Partnership is a non-profit organization of business, community and government leaders striving to bring regional rail to southcentral Pennsylvania.

To see more of the Lancaster New Era, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lancasteronline.com/newera.

(c) 2004, Lancaster New Era, Pa. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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