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
31 March 2003

WALNUT STREET STEAM HEAT PLANT RENAMED IN HONOR OF LATE FOUNDER BRUCE MANGIONE

Mayor Stephen R. Reed today conducted dedication services for the newly renamed Bruce Mangione Steam Plant at the Harrisburg Energy Center at 10th and Walnut Streets in the city’s Paxton Commons area. Mangione was the founder and first President of the former Harrisburg Steam Works, which began operating the Century-old city heating system in 1985, and continues operating today under new owners NRG Energy Inc.

Reed said Mangione is deserving of the permanent tribute for many reasons. “Bruce turned Harrisburg Steamworks into a major contributor to the business and civic life of this community. He was as committed to Harrisburg’s renaissance as anyone could be, and even put his own and his companies’ fiscal resources into the building of the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers.

“Bruce Mangione epitomized the contemporary business leader,” the Mayor noted. “He was a terrific chief executive officer who helped grow his company into new and evolving technologies, and he understood the need to nurture both his employees and the communities in which they lived.”

The Mayor said Mangione took over Steam Works in 1985 and oversaw the complete rehabilitation of the Central Business District’s heating delivery system, providing cheap, reliable steamheating to hundreds of downtown customers. He also formed a second company, Paxton Creek Cogeneration Associates, to build and operate a 12,000 kw electric plant at the site, which today feeds into the local power grid.

Active in community and civic affairs, Mangione regularly dispatched his employees to help clean up the downtown area, serving as a precursor to today’s Downtown Improvement District clean-up efforts. He provided exemplary service as a Board Director with the Harristown Development Corporation and the Harrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, as well as such important community organizations as the Kiwanis Club and many others. Though a resident of Reading, he commuted several hours day to remain in Harrisburg. Mangione was honored for his many contributions in 1994 when the local Chamber selected Harrisburg Steam Works as the midstate’s top Small Business of the Year. A fervent supporter of Harrisburg’s resurgence, Mangione spent many hours working with the Mayor and other civic and business leaders to help turn the city around.

The Mayor said the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers will also honor the late civic and business leader with the formal establishment of a scholarship fund and dedication of a hotel suite in his name. Mangione worked closely with the hotel’s designers during the construction of the facility, and helped in its early management. A special benefit reception and winemaker dinner is being held at the Hilton this evening to raise the initial contributions for the Mangione Scholarship Fund.

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