Downtown Sunbury Team Celebrates Milestone!
On November 19, 2025, the Downtown Sunbury Team graduated from the initial phase of Blueprint Communities®, a program of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLBank). The graduation is a major milestone marking the completion of intensive planning and leadership development training during the first 18 months of a 10-year initiative designed to activate local leaders, deploy a community-developed strategic plan, and revitalize communities.
Blueprint Communities is an FHLBank place-based revitalization initiative, which was administered this round by the Pennsylvania Downtown Center (PDC). The program aims to build strong local leadership, develop sound regional planning skills, and encourage coordinated investments in targeted communities by public and private funders.
These 18 months have been busy, challenging, and most of all, rewarding. Our team is coming away with a detailed plan for downtown revitalization and the confidence to believe WE CAN DO THIS! We listened to community businesses, residents, officials, and others to develop goals and objectives that address their priorities. We built public, private, and philanthropic partnerships to work together to see the plan through. And we are all very motivated to continue the hard work it takes to make lasting, positive change in Sunbury.
We are very grateful to FHLBank Pittsburgh, the PDC Team, and our Penn State Extension Coach, Neal Fogle, for the opportunity, training, and support!
About The Downtown Sunbury Team
When Sunbury’s Revitalization, Inc. applied for the Blueprint Communities(c) program, the team was intentionally assembled to bring needed experience, expertise, and connections to the table with public, private, and philanthropic organizations represented. Team members are:
Jody Ocker (Team Leader) – Sunbury’s Revitalization, Inc.
Christi Hill – Fulton Bank (FHLBank Member Institution)
Derrick Backer – City of Sunbury official
Aimee Buehner – Bowen Agency Realtors
Betsy Kramer – SEDA-COG
Brianna Apfelbaum Kula – The Degenstein Foundations
Kevin Moll – BD Rentals and Investment Properties
Melissa Rowse – Degenstein Community Library
Ted Strosser – Marotta/Main Architects
Between monthly team meetings and sometimes weekly work sessions, the team met more than 30 times over the course of 18 months. The team also attended 7 full-day workshops, and 13 webinars. Some members also attended additional conferences and seminars. The result is a team that is prepared with knowledge, skills, and resources to do the work of downtown revitalization laid out in a 5-year strategic plan. The team will continue to operate under the umbrella of Sunbury’s Revitalization, Inc. as the nonprofit entity.
“Blueprint Communities” is a registered service mark of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.
Graduation photo attached. Left to right: Fred Banuelos, Community Investment Business Development Manager FHLBank Pittsburgh; Brianna Apfelbaum Kula, Derrick Backer, Christi Hill, Aimee Buehner, Melissa Rowse, Jody Ocker, Ted Strosser, Betsy Kramer, John Bendel, Senior Director, Community Investment FHLBank Pittsburgh, Neal Fogle, Penn State Extension, Julie Fitzpatrick, Executive Director Pennsylvania Downtown Center.
