NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
13 November 2002

VARTAN DONATES DISTINCTIVE CLOCK TO HARRISBURG TRANSPORTATION CENTER

Harrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed today unveiled a magnificent new clock located in the lobby of the Harrisburg Transportation Center at Fifth and Walnut Streets in downtown. The unique timepiece was donated to the historic Transportation Center by noted midstate philanthropist and businessman John O. Vartan under the auspices of the Harrisburg Millennium Commission, as a result of efforts by PAXTON HERALD publisher Annette Antoun, and retired State Police Communications Director Robert I. Kimmel.

“We are delighted to unveil this magnificent new addition to the rail and bus hub of the region,” said Mayor Reed. “We extend our appreciation to all those who have labored for the past two years to make this vision a reality. Our special acknowledgement is extended to the inimitable Annette Antoun and the respected Bob Kimmel, as well as John Vartan, without whom this project would have never moved forward.”

Reed said Antoun first conceived the idea in 2000, when she noted that there were no visible timepieces in the heavily-traveled transportation Center, which serves hundreds of thousands of travelers each year. Antoun, a vice chairperson of the Mayor’s Harrisburg Millennium Commission, under whose auspices the work was commissioned, then contacted Vartan about donating the clock.

Then in the midst of constructing the new Tuesday Club and Parev Restaurant in the 200 block of Pine Street, Vartan agreed to provide the clockworks and cabinetry for the new clock as his workers were currently in the process of building custom cabinetry for the distinctive new eatery. Kimmel then created a design for the clock that tastefully blends in with the historic Center’s Lobby area, as well as performing the final assembly of the clockworks and its oak cabinetry. Workers from the Vartan Supply Company then installed the new clock.

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