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The president of Penn State University brought a business message during Thursday's Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. Eric Barron said he had never been to a chamber of commerce meeting as unusual as the local chamber's event, held at Sands Bethlehem Event Center. But he added how organizers' creativity and "enthusiasm" mirrors what the university is doing when it comes to transforming the commonwealth's business climate Barron updated the audience on the progress of the school's Invent Penn State, which he introduced last year as a statewide initiative that encourages entrepreneurship among students, faculty and communities. The school last year launched Lehigh Valley LaunchBox to foster new business development. He said the Valley's "unity and collaborative spirit" make it an ideal spot for improving the region's economic well-being. The event, essentially a celebration long on pride and short on news, drew a record audience of 1,300, opened with its President and CEO Tony Iannelli being lifted from a coffin by a gang of "zombies" to the strains of Michael Jackson's "Thriller." "You know you haven't lived until you have been in a coffin," Iannelli quipped. Iannelli also said the chamber has grown to become the seventh largest in the United States. Since last year, it s footprint has grown to include chambers in Warren County, N.J., Carbon County and — most recently — Whitehall Township. "We couldn't be happier to be a member of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce," Whitehall Mayor Ed Hozza said. Chris Mead, senior vice president of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives in Alexandria, Va., confirmed this week that the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber has achieved No. 7 ranking among some 7,500 local and regional business-boosting groups. He said the ranking doesn't include state chambers. It has about 5,000 members representing more than 200,000 people in four counties and two states. Charles Everett, Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority executive director, which operates Lehigh Valley International Airport, said officials will make a "major announcement" next week about air service. "We are working very hard to improve customer experience," said Everett about LVIA, which is the fourth largest airport in the state and, business leaders say, an important cog in the Valley's economic development. The chamber honored Coordinated Health as Business of the Year and Gregg Feinberg as Volunteer of the Year. The group also recognized three businesses with anniversary milestone awards: • Milestone Years: Gross McGinley (40 Years in Downtown Allentown) • Bennett Automotive Group (65 Years) • Lehigh Carbon Community College (50 Years Read the original article here.