When it comes to naming centers of cutting-edge Internet technology — like Silicon Valley in California or the Route 128 corridor in Massachusetts — Lancaster County rarely rolls off the tongue.

But for New Jersey native Joe Purisky, the founder and president of the new Web site Voluntary.com, Lancaster County offered something he couldn't find in the fast-paced tech centers of the Northeast or the West Coast: namely, a sense of what he called "settled wholesomeness."

"My wife and I have two daughters, and when I was looking around for a place to set up shop, Lancaster offered a safe place for my girls," Purisky said.

"Lancaster had the types of school systems we wanted and great health-care facilities, but most importantly it also had the kind of wholesome environment I wanted my children to experience," he said. "For us, Lancaster was quite simply the perfect place; it was a place where I knew my family and I could stay long-term"

Originally hailing from Cherry Hill, N.J., Purisky is pioneering something totally unique in the benefits industry: a Web site dedicated to providing a forum and resource for professionals who work in the benefits industry.

"As a self-employed business development consultant, I began to realize that there was a need out there that wasn't being fulfilled: Brokers, human resources professionals and insurance companies didn't have any kind of central place to go to learn about voluntary benefits," Purisky said.

"Our Web site, Voluntary.com, meets that need."

Founded in September and launched May 1 at 2221 Dutch Gold Drive, Purisky has had a successful first two months, earning 4,932 unique visitors to his site and more than 39,000 page views.

He's also been able to partner with two industry leaders in bringing content to his site: New York City-based SourceMedia, a financial services publisher serving more than 70,000 human resource professionals, and Limra International, a 90-year old firm based in Windsor, Ct., that researches sales cycles and trends within the insurance industry.

Traditionally, Purisky said, benefits have come from an employer covering things like dental and disability insurance, as well as 100 percent of health insurance costs.

As costs for health insurance began to skyrocket in the 1990s, Purisky said, employers began to request that employees pay a portion of premiums for health insurance and other benefits.

"Today, many employees are starting to request what are called voluntary benefits, which are entirely employee-paid and chosen by the employee. Mostly they're insurance-related … such as supplemental medical insurance, the kind provided by companies like Aflac," Purisky said. "But there are also other benefits out there for employees to chose from, like relocation programs, pet insurance, mortgage programs and computer discounts."

Purisky site acts as a central resource for voluntary benefits, providing "an information clearinghouse" for those in the voluntary benefits industry.

"We provide information and education, plus put together proprietary articles, databases and research for people who need this kind of industry-wide information to do their jobs," he said.

For Purisky, the most amazing thing about his decision to relocate to Lancaster and start up a Web site is the amount of change he's seen in his professional activities in just under 12 months.

"A year ago this wasn't even a concept, and before we came on the scene, there was no single resource for employers, brokers and insurance professionals to learn about voluntary benefits," he said.

"Now, with very little marketing, in just two months this has evolved into something that serves a very real and unique need in the marketplace," he said.

"And it's located right here in Lancaster County."

For more information on the Web site or to learn about voluntary benefits, visit Voluntary.com.