Patch to Speak at Middletown Business Assoc. Meeting

The Middletown Township Business and Professional Association’s (MTBPA) monthly meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 8 will feature guest speaker Lucy Bennett, Patch's regional editor for the Philadelphia area.

The lunch will be held at 11:45 a.m. at the , at 27 N. Pennell Road in Lima. Members and the general public are welcome. The cost for the lunch is $15 for both members and non-members.

Patch is an online community-specific news and information platform, dedicated to providing comprehensive and trusted local coverage for individual towns and communities.

Bennett is responsible for overseeing 12 of the 46 Patch sites in the Philadelphia area, each of which has its own local editor. Her territory includes  three sites in Philadelphia, the Main Line and Haverford-Havertown, Radnor, Media, and Marple Newtown Patch sites in Delaware County.

Not only is Patch a great source for local news, but it can benefit community businesses and organizations with free service. There is a directory, where businesses can claim their listing, add new information and pictures. Patch has a calendar where people can post their events. There is a blogging tool, which can be very helpful for businesses looking for a way to publicly make themselves an expert in their field. Patch also has an announcement area where people can post things such as their employee of the month, a wedding or birth announcement, their child's little league team win and much more.

Bennett was formerly the managing editor for NBC 10's website in Philadelphia, and the website for the NBC affiliate in Lancaster (WGAL). She has worked in online news since 2000, before which, she was a TV news producer in Lancaster and in Roanoke, Virginia.

The Middletown Township Business and Professional Association was founded in 1968 to bring together members of the business community. The association provides members with a forum to deal with issues affecting Middletown Township and enhances the relationship between members and the residents of the township.

For more information on the association and to learn about member benefits, visit: www.mtbpa.org.