Mr. Fred Lovelace to be honored for community service

Last updated: Friday, January 9, 2009 2:15 PM EST

Mr. Lovelace will be our speaker on Thursday, January 15.

Ever since he was a little boy, Scouting has been a major part of life for Fred Lovelace.

“I’ve been a Boy Scout since I was a Cub Scout,” said the 67-year-old West Shore businessman, who currently serves as council president of the Keystone Area Council, Boy Scouts of America.
Lovelace grew up in the Pittsburgh area during the 1940s.
That’s where he got into Scouts, he explained, eventually earning Eagle Scout, the Boy Scouts’ highest rank.“We didn’t have the after-school activities or computers they have today.
It became a really good activity,” he said, noting that his brothers were also involved and his parents were active Scout volunteers.

“It becomes a way of life.”Upon retiring from the Army after more than 21 years of service, Lovelace worked for contracting firms in Washington, D.C., and Germany before moving to the area in 1994 and founding The VitalLink Consulting Agency, a professional organizational consulting firm in Mechanicsburg.

“I gained a wealth of information over the years and I felt I had a lot to offer,” he said, especially in dealing with people.
He joined the West Shore Chamber of Commerce in 1995, which helped an unknown Lovelace grow his business.“It’s one of the most positive things I have done,” he said, citing a multitude of networking opportunities available through the chamber.

“It gives you the exposure you need as a small and new business.”Lovelace has continuously given back to the community through his business and on a personal level.
Aside from his involvement with the Scouts, he also serves as the commander for the Pennsylvania Department of the Military Order of the World Wars and is their representative to the Mechanicsburg Area Veterans Council.
He is on the board of directors for Pennsylvanians for Right to Work, a member of the American Management Association and is a certified management consultant with the Institute of Management Consultants.
With the chamber, he has served on the board of directors and as past chair of the military liaison committee.

His efforts have earned him the chamber’s Les Ginanni Business & Community Connection Award, which will be presented at its annual meeting and luncheon on Jan. 15 in Camp Hill.