Second Gentleman Pool Reports of May 5, 2021

SGOTUS PA Pool report #1

Good morning,

I'll be providing pool reports as Second Gentlemen Doug Emhoff visits the Bridgeworks Enterprise Center, a business incubator in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He'll be hearing from local business owners about how the Biden administration's relief packages have affected their businesses and promoting the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan.

It is 11:01 a.m., and there is no word on when the Second Gentlemen will arrive at this time.

At 11:40, Mr. Emhoff is expected to tour two business at the center - LightLab International LLC and Colony Meadery. He'll be joined on the tour by:

- US Rep. Susan Wild, PA - 7
- Natalie Cofield, Assistant Administrator, Office of Women's Business Ownership, Small Business Association
- Scott Unger, Executive Director of the Allentown Economic Development Corporation
- Mike Grather and Tracy Silvert, co-founders of LightLab International LLC
- Greg Heller-LaBelle and Michael Manning, Co-Founders of Colony Meadery

Following the tour, Mr. Emhoff is scheduled to hold an hour-long roundtable discussion with the following people.

- Rep. Wild
- Assistant Administrator Cofield
- Dr. Kyle Flannigan, CEO of US Specialty Formulations, Inc.
- Andrew Laties and Rebecca Migdal, Co-owners of Book and Puppet
- Emilio and Melissa Ornas, Co-Owners of Las Brass's Restaurant
- Emma Ville, of A Storybook Party

SGOTUS PA Pool Report #2

It's noon and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff has begun his tour of the Bridgeworks Enterprise Center. Rep. Susan Wild and Natalie Cofield of the Small Business Administration are joining him as he speaks with local small business owners.

SGOTUS PA Pool Report #3

It's 12:23 p.m., and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff is now speaking with Greg Heller-LaBelle and Mike Manning, co-owners of Colonial Meadery. The local businessmen said they've started afloat thanks to how two rounds of funding from the Payroll Protection Program. The coronavirus shut down their tasting room and closed the bars and restaurants that ordered their product.

They're optimistic they'll rebound once people are comfortable venturing out again. The vaccination rollout has given them hope, Heller-LaBelle said.

"You see the connections between small businesses and vaccinations. It's all interconnected," Emhoff said.

SGOTUS PA Pool Report #4

It's 12:33 p.m. and Second Gentlemen Doug Emhoff has sat down for a roundtable discussion with US Rep Susan Wild, Natalie Cofield of the Small Business Administration, and several small business owners. He's promoting the hard work of the SBA to keep funds and assistance to the small companies that make up the heart of the American economy.

He also calls stresses the need for the American Jobs Plan, the Biden administration's $2 billion plan to fund infrastructure and other needs.

"We have to take the politics out of it and get this passed," he said.

SGOTUS PA Pool Report #4 [correction]

Correction: Business is Colony Meadery.

SGOTUS PA Pool report #5

Second Gentlemen Doug Emhoff has concluded his roundtable discussion at 1:16 p.m.

Rebecca Migdal, co-owner of Book and Puppet in Easton, Pennsylvania, told the group how much more helpful the federal government has been during the pandemic than after the Sept. 11 attacks. Her business dried up following the attacks in 2001, and the economic assistance from the Small Business Administration amounted to cab fare to help clear out her office.

"This are a little different now. This is real assistance," Migdal said. "There's a confidence that's inspiring, a combination of reason and action that is making people feel like things are turning around."

Emhoff assured the business leaders that he'll be speaking with Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration about their discussion and how they're business have adapted throughout the pandemic.

"This isn't just a chit chat. We take these things seriously," he said.