While the United States has a State of the Union, Centre County has the “State of the County.”

It is an annual event where the county commissioners have an open discussion with the Centre Region.

Every Tuesday Centre County commissioners meet to discuss plans and strategies for the region.

But not everyone can make the weekly meeting, so the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County (CBICC) created the “State of the County Luncheon.”

Vern Squier, CEO of CBICC, said it’s intended to help the community understand how the local government functions within the county.

Commissioner Michael Pipe said it’s an opportunity to discuss progress in the area.

“What we’ve done, what we are doing, and what we hope to do,” Pipe said.

But more importantly, a time to recognize people behind the scenes.

“We often get the credit for some of the things that occur but in reality their work enables us to do the good things for the citizens,” Pipe.

Pipe said it’s important to highlight the departments that handle community needs, like grant money, support in a crisis, or other assistance.

Natalie Corman, Deputy Administrator for Centre County, said “I don’t think people understand the far reaching depths that our county government really has to support this community.”

Corman focuses on a variety of offices including helping veterans, children’s services, and seniors that may need additional resources.

“Our employees are out in our community in all facets of it every single day,” Corman said.

During the luncheon Pipe discussed the efforts to generate funding for the expansion of Centre Crest, a senior living center.

And the new $5 registration fee to boost infrastructure funding.

Corman said there’s a balance of teamwork to finalize these projects.

“We are glad that our commissioners support our employees and that they get to see that, when they see them on the news and they talk about one our departments,” Corman said. “They’re directly saying thank you to our employees and that’s great for our employees to hear.”

About 150 people attended Thursday’s event, including local businesses and other representatives from local government.