Laurel Highlands Today

County of Fayette issued the following announcement on Mar. 24.

The Good Government Show Podcast will feature Fayette County in an upcoming season two episode.

The Fayette County Recycling Program was recently selected for an episode of the Good Government Show Podcast. 

Broadcast nationally on such streaming platforms as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible and more, the Good Government Show aims to combat the stream of negative news coverage with positive stories about local government projects.  

Hosted by journalists David Martin and Carol D’Auria, the podcast covers a new project in each episode. According to the show’s website, local government employees, legislators, citizens and more share their “personal and amazing stories of good government doing good work for good people.”  

“Basically, this all started because one of my partners ran into a friend of his who is a county commissioner and asked, ‘What is it that you guys do?’ His answer was, ‘That’s the first question everyone asks me.’ That’s where the idea of trying to explain county government and how government works came about,” Martin said. “We sort of played with that idea until we came around to - let’s highlight the ways that good government does work and how it helps people.”  

The podcast marks the latest in a string of accolades for Fayette County Recycling Coordinator/Stormwater Manager Sheila Shea and her program, which has been repeatedly showcased locally and at the state level, thus far.  

“I was in shock when I heard the show picked us. It’s very exciting to be sharing our program on a national level. I’m amazed and just blown away that our program could get this much recognition,” Shea said. “It’s wonderful when you have a vision, and it comes to life and grows so quickly. We’re just very honored to be chosen for this opportunity.”  

Fayette County Commissioner Scott Dunn first met the podcast hosts during the 2021 National Association of Counties (NACo) Conference in Washington, D.C. He brought their brochure back to Fayette County, where Community Relations Coordinator Kaylie Moore began pitching local story ideas to Martin, in the hopes of attracting him to the area. Six months later, Martin unexpectedly reached out to say, “OK, let’s talk recycling…,” and the rest is history. 

Martin visited the Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center in North Union Township earlier this month, after selecting the recycling program from a countless number of story ideas nationwide. He and D’Auria are currently producing the podcast’s 10-episode second season, which will feature projects from all over the country.  

“The purpose of the show is to highlight good stories and good government projects that work, and this absolutely seems like one of those projects that works,” Martin said. “I think that one of the things we really want to do on the show is share best practices, and you’ve shown that you don’t have to live in a big, rich city - like New York or D.C. - to do this. What really impressed me is that you have buy-in at every level; the county commissioners are on board; you have the state working with you; and from what everyone tells me, it all wouldn’t have happened had it not been for your awesome recycling coordinator who’s actually able to bring everyone together and inspire them to do good things.”  

Martin spent the day conducting interviews both at the recycling center and abroad, with a full roster of Fayette County representatives and program supporters participating. In addition to Shea and Dunn, Commissioner Vince Vicites, who founded the county recycling program more than 30 years ago, and Commissioner Chairman Dave Lohr were featured. 

Other participants included state Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Bullskin Township; state Department of Environmental Protection representatives Sharon Svitec, Lauren Fraley and Michael Celaschi; Uniontown Area School District teacher Christa Sabatula; Jerome Venick of Rizz’s restaurant of Uniontown; and environmental activist and outdoors writer Ben Moyer.  

Shea said she’s excited to listen to the episode upon its release, but she’s “nervous to hear how she sounded, because it’s always hard to hear yourself talk.” 

“It was great to spend the day with Dave. It was so nice of him to come all the way from Brooklyn to our little corner of the world and see not only our recycling center but our parks, local businesses, schools and so many other great things Fayette County has to offer,” Shea said. “It felt amazing to have support from the county, the state, our legislators and even our citizens. This whole experience showed me how much people really do care about recycling.”  

Martin said season two of the Good Government Show will be in production for several more weeks, with its release set for late spring 2022.  

“What we’ve discovered along the way is that every day, somebody who works in government says, ‘There must be a better way,’ and so they take that idea and they run with it to create education programs, clean water programs, a fantastic recycling program and all those little projects that people may not necessarily think of when you think of local government,” Martin said. “It’s easy to think of big, massive projects or what the federal government is doing in Washington, but the fact of the matter is - on a very local level, there are good people who get up every day, go to work and really do improve the lives of their fellow citizens.”  

To learn more about the Good Government Show Podcast and listen to season one in its entirety, visit www.goodgovernmentshow.com.  

To learn more about Fayette County, visit www.FayetteCountyPA.org.  

Editor's Note: Photos attached 

(Sheila Shea) Good Government Show Producer Dave Martin interviews Fayette County Recycling Coordinator Sheila Shea at the Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center. 

(Jerome Venick) Good Government Show Producer Dave Martin interviews Jerome Venick at his son’s restaurant, Rizz’s of Uniontown.

(Ohiopyle State Park) Good Government Show Producer Dave Martin interviews Fayette County Recycling Coordinator Sheila Shea while overlooking the waterfalls at Ohiopyle State Park.

(Ben Moyer) Good Government Show Producer Dave Martin interviews Fayette County citizen and environmental activist Ben Moyer at Ohiopyle State Park.

(PDE) Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection representatives Sharon Svitec, Lauren Fraley and Michael Celaschi meet with Good Government Show Producer Dave Martin at the Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center.

(Fayette County Commissioner Dave Lohr) Good Government Show Producer David Martin interviews Fayette County Commissioner Dave Lohr.

(Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites) Good Government Show Producer David Martin interviews Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites, who founded the recycling program in 1989.

(Fayette County Commissioner Scott Dunn) Good Government Show Producer David Martin interviews Fayette County Commissioner Scott Dunn.

(Christa Sabatula) Good Government Show Producer David Martin interviews Uniontown Area School District Librarian Christa Sabatula at Wharton Elementary School in Farmington.

(Senator Pat Stefano) Good Government Show Producer David Martin interviews state Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Bullskin Township, at the Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center. 

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This communication, among other initiatives, is funded through the 2016 Fayette County Local Share Account (LSA) in cooperation with the Fayette County Board of Commissioners, Fayette Chamber of Commerce, The Redevelopment Authority of the County of Fayette, The Redstone Foundation and other partners. This funding has been designated for the continued promotion and marketing of Fayette County, PA.

 For more information, contact Kristi Rooker Kassimer, Public Relations Specialist, at 412-691-0262, kkassimer@fayettecountypa.info or Kaylie Moore, Community Relations Coordinator, at 724-430-1200 Ext. 1611, kmoore@fayettepa.org.

Original source can be found here.