FARMINGTON, PA (May 16, 2016) – Joseph A. Hardy III, founder of 84 Lumber Company and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, humbly accepted the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters’ Gold Medal Award last night during a banquet at the historic Hotel Hershey in Hershey, PA.
 
        The award is the highest bestowed by the broadcasters. It’s given annually to a person associated with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who has performed outstanding lifetime work in business, civic, sports, entertainment or charitable endeavors. Established in 1966, past award recipients include Jimmy Stewart, Gene Kelly, Arnold Palmer, Shirley Jones, Tom Ridge, Gen. Jessica Wright, Chuck Noll and Art Rooney, Sr.

        PAB president Richard Wyckoff saluted Hardy for his successful business career and numerous charitable activities. “Mr. Hardy’s business legacy encompasses years and years of success made possible because of his pioneering spirit, courage and hard work,” said Wyckoff.
 
        When informed he would receive the award this spring, Hardy was taken aback and instructed his staff to make sure he was indeed the intended recipient.
 
        “I saw the distinguished list of past recipients and said, ‘Are you sure I made that list?’” Hardy said. “What an honor it is to accept the Gold Medal Award that has gone to so many fantastic people in our great state.”
 
        Hardy is a Pennsylvania native who began his career selling vegetables door to door while studying at the University of Pittsburgh. Upon graduation, he became a top-producing salesman for the family’s Hardy & Hayes jewelry company.  A few years later he opened a “cash and carry” lumber company in the rural town of Eighty Four. From that modest beginning sprang 84 Lumber Company, what is today the nation’s largest privately owned building materials supplier to professional contractors.
 
        Along the way, Hardy also established the luxurious Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and served as vice chairman of the board of commissioners of Fayette County, where he lives and where the resort is located.
The Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters is a trade association representing Pennsylvania’s 425 over-the-air radio and 45 television stations. Headquartered in the Hershey area, the PAB is the oldest of the 50 state broadcasting associations. For information, call Richard Wyckoff at 717-482-4820.

About Nemacolin Woodlands Resort:
Nemacolin is one of North America’s premier luxury resort destinations. Situated on nearly 2,000 acres in Farmington, Pennsylvania, Nemacolin features 320 luxurious guestrooms, suites, townhouses and private upscale homes, including Falling Rock, a AAA Five Diamond boutique hotel. In addition to the internationally-acclaimed Woodlands Spa and Holistic Healing Center, the resort features championship golf on the Pete Dye-designed Mystic Rock golf course. For more information, please visit nemacolin.com