A unique event is going to be held in Lycoming County on April 30th at 1:30 PM at the Mary Welch Theater of Lycoming College, 605 Mulberry Street in Williamsport. Six members of Governor Wolf’s cabinet: Jessica Altman, Insurance Commissioner; Dennis Davin, Secretary of Community and Economic Development; Cindy Dunn, Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources; Dr. Rachel Levine, Physician General and Secretary of Health; Russell Redding, Secretary of Agriculture; and Pedro Rivera, Secretary of Education will be in the unique guest panel.

The event is called, “Cabinet in Your Community,” and it will be in the form of a town hall type meeting, giving the public the opportunity to engage these top-level officials from Governor Tom Wolf’s administration. The program will be determined by the questions that get asked. Given that the panel is made up of six different departments, members of the public are given color-coded cards to raise when they have a question. This will allow the moderator to ensure that there is a good mix of questions. [The moderator herself is so special, she is featured in this issue’s “This Week’s LION — Cassandra Coleman: Don’t Let Her Age Fool You].

Though some may see this as a clever campaign ploy for Governor Wolf’s reelection, it actually has been four years in the making. One of his key campaign promises was to “make government work,” and he knew that the best way would be to make it more responsive to the general public. But what is the best way to do that?

It took some time to structure, given the complexity and number of key people involved, but finally, in November of 2017, the “Cabinet in Your Community” concept was launched. Designed to meet in 36 locations throughout the Commonwealth, the event in Williamsport will be the 16th held so far, with the remaining 20 to run on through to October of this year.

What is highly unique about these events is that there are no two the same. There is a different panel for each one, and the panel is tailored to what is perceived the needs of the area. So far, the response has been extremely positive on both sides of the fence. The cabinet officials are sincerely appreciative of hearing concerns directly from constituents. It also appears that in every place the panels have been held, the public is quite impressed that Harrisburg is willing to listen to their problems.

The panel for Lycoming County was especially drawn up for the needs of this area. One other feature of this program is that if there is an issue that would be needed to be addressed by a department that is not represented, the information will be forwarded to this department and an answer will be provided. This certainly sounds like an opportunity that should not be missed. Anyone who has the time on a Monday afternoon on the 30th should make a point of attending. It is preferred to RSVP to cacoleman@pa.gov or call 570-614-2090.