For Tobyhanna Army Depot (TYAD) Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) Branch, time is of the essence. A well-organized storage area is paramount to a time-efficient response during an emergency.

TYAD F&ES leadership keenly understands the importance of this and recently invested in it. Assistant Fire Chief Patrick Ward tasked members of F&ES with a Lean/6S project to organize and inventory the firehouse equipment storage area.

Lean is a program of continuous improvement based on eliminating unnecessary steps in a process such as rearranging an area to improve workflow and increase efficiency.

Over the course of the three-month endeavor, a team led by firefighter/emergency medical technician (EMT) Eric Reddinger inventoried, labeled and organized everything in the storage area in a more logical fashion. In addition to that, the team created a rack layout chart so anyone can easily find whatever they are looking for at a glance.

Reddinger said the project addressed the issues of equipment being stored randomly or unnecessarily.

“Essentially, for years (the storage area) has been the catch-all for anything that didn’t have a home. There was no rhyme or reason to how stuff was stored, and we came up with an easy-to-follow layout to label everything and get it organized,” said Reddinger.

“We got rid of a 30-yard dumpster of old supplies, and we had one dumpster of metal products that went to recycling. We made a lot of room.”

Assistant Fire Chief Palmer Johnson said getting the storage area to this point has been an example of continuous growth.

“When the project first got started, we did have things in storage bins. However, we did not have a very good process of knowing what was in each bin and the quantity. So, Eric and his team inventoried every container. They said ‘Okay, so we have four things in one container – they don’t all go together. Let’s put these two things in one, and we’ll put these two in another,’” said Johnson.

That concerted effort to organize things in a logical way means finding equipment is a quicker process and keeping tabs on inventory is much easier. The knowledge of where things are and how much of something is available is critical because, according to Johnson, the team is only going to the storage area during the worst of emergencies.

A hurdle faced by the F&ES team has been keeping the area organized once a system is put in place. This time, Reddinger said, the team is determined to keep it in pristine condition after all the hard work that went into the project.

“It took a whole bunch of people to get it done. We’re all going to be mindful of it and keep after it. It’s a standing rule.”

Johnson recognized Reddinger for his comprehensive vision, dynamic leadership and effective communication throughout the project, adding that the unorthodox schedule of firefighters can make it easy for there to be a breakdown.

“Our schedules are challenging for a project like this. Because when Eric works for two days, this is what he’s focused on for those two days. But when he goes home, he needs to be able to pass on the vision to the rest of the group that’s going to be here moving things around, so when he gets back what he envisioned to be on this wall isn’t somewhere else. And he did that. He came up with a plot and a map and a clear explanation,” said Johnson.

Firefighter Chris Uhrin is new to TYAD, and the organization project was one of the first things he worked on. He said the project was the perfect introduction to F&ES and the heightened organization makes it so everyone can use the building to its greatest potential.

“Now that everything is organized the way it is, it will make a great impact on just knowing that everyone who’s here, no matter what shifts, is able to use the building to the fullest ability to be able to quickly locate supplies,” said Uhrin.

A particular point of pride for this project was the teamwork shown by F&ES. Johnson praised the collaborative effort starting with leadership to the project lead to the entire F&ES team.

“(Pat Ward) started the project and if Eric had changes, he presented me a map, we reviewed the map and made sure his vision matched ours. It really was a team effort; just about everybody was out here at some point participating in some way,” said Johnson.

TYAD F&ES provide invaluable support not only to TYAD but also to our great surrounding community.

The Scranton Area Community Foundation, in partnership with The Luzerne Foundation, Wayne County Community Foundation, Carbon County Community Foundation, Greater Pike Community Foundation, Posture Interactive, and other community sponsors, will host the fourth annual NEPA Gives event on Thursday, June 1, until Friday, June 2, 2023.Promoted as the largest philanthropy event in Northeastern Pennsylvania, NEPA Gives is a 24-hour online giving extravaganza that’s all about giving back to the community.

NEPA Gives aims to raise awareness about the critical work nonprofit organizations carry out across the region and aims to help charitable organizations raise much-needed funds. Over 250 nonprofit organizations from across eight counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania will participate in NEPA Gives. Donations to participating nonprofit organizations are accepted at nepagives.org from 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 1, to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, June 2.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in matching funds, incentives, and prizes have been secured, provided by various community partners, businesses, and sponsors that make donations to participating nonprofits during NEPA Gives stretch even further.

Adding to the excitement, to celebrate NEPA Gives, there will be in-person events in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne counties. A NEPA Gives kickoff event, hosted by the Luzerne Foundation, Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, and Scranton Area Community Foundation, will be held on Thursday, June 1, from 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at Rodano’s in Wilkes Barre. There will also be a NEPA Gives kickoff event at the Settlers Inn in Hawley, sponsored by the Settlers Cares Foundation in partnership with Wayne County Community Foundation and Pike County Community Foundation. On Friday, June 2, The Scranton Area Community Foundation is hosting an in-person NEPA Gives ‘Give Gathering’ closing celebration that will be held at the Hilton Scranton Conference Center from 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., to coincide with First Friday Scranton. The Give Gathering will include live entertainment, giveaways, real-time and live-streamed updates on NEPA Gives, and opportunities for the general public to meet many of the participating nonprofits. All of these events are free to attend. More information can be found at nepagives.org/info/kickoffevent.

To celebrate this historical and monumental giving day, both Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown have made official proclamations declaring June 1-2, 2023 as NEPA Gives Day.

“NEPA Gives is all about supporting the charities that are doing important work right here in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Laura Ducceschi, President and CEO of the Scranton Area Community Foundation. “We have teamed up with various community partners and businesses eager to provide support for NEPA Gives and we are thrilled to announce that we have secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in incentives, bonuses, and matching funds available to participating nonprofits which helps make charitable donations go further during NEPA Gives. This year, we are looking forward to gathering in person in Wilkes-Barre, Hawley, and Scranton to celebrate the momentum of NEPA Gives and highlight the generosity of our region, and the good work of the many nonprofits taking part in NEPA Gives.”

Members of the community wishing to make a contribution for NEPA Gives can visit www.nepagives.org anytime between 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 1, and 7:00 p.m. on Friday, June 2, 2023, to make a secure donation to any of the 250+ participating nonprofit organizations.

This is the fourth year for NEPA Gives. In the past three years, NEPA Gives has raised nearly $3 million for hundreds of local nonprofit organizations in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

To learn more about #NEPAGives, visit nepagives.org or contact Brittany Pagnotti, Communications Manager of the Scranton Area Community Foundation at 570-347-6203.

Obesity is the leading cause of chronic ailments such as type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease. Medications only treat the symptoms, not get to the root cause. My approach is natural and eliminates the cause. Call (570) 903-8700 for your free 20-minute conversation today and details on discounted packages and sessions.

On June 17th the Greater Scranton YMCA will host its Inaugural Lap Swim Challenge, with proceeds benefiting the Stingray Swim Team. The challenge will take place at the YMCA’s facility, located at 706 N. Blakely Street, Dunmore, PA 18512.

Participants will get 45 minutes to swim as many laps as they can. A grand prize overall winner will be named, as well as medals for individual age group winters. A personal lap counter is provided and the first 50 participants who register will receive a free T shirt. In honor of Father’s Day on June 18th all dads will eat free at our concession stand.

The challenge costs $30 to participate in and is open to Greater Scranton YMCA members
and non members Registration packets are available at the YMCA’s Welcome Center, as
well as online https://www.greaterscrantonymca.org/programs/40081/lap-swim-challenge/?locations=13.

The Greater Scranton YMCA’s Swim Team is based on the YMCA principles of competitive
swimming and character values. We believe that everybody swims and everybody wins!

For more information about the challenge, visit the Greater Scranton YMCA online at
https://www.greaterscrantonymca.org/programs/40081/lap-swim-challenge/?locations=13.
For questions or help with registration, contact Leslie Kopa, Aquatics Director, Greater
Scranton YMCA at lkopa@gsymca.org o r call ( 828 311 2.

Johnson College is hosting a Closer Look at its new 2-year Aviation Technology program on June 12, 2023, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. inside hangar two at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.

Johnson College’s Aviation Technology program prepares students as entry-level technicians with the latest information on diagnosis, repair procedures, preventive maintenance, and necessary safety applications in aviation technology. The program provides students the knowledge and skills outlined in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Mechanics Airman Certification Standard (ACS). It also prepares students to take the FAA licensure exam for general, airframe, and powerplant knowledge. Students will gain an understanding of aircraft structures, systems, engines, finishes, materials, components, procedures, and operation.

The Johnson College Enrollment team and Aviation Technology faculty will be on hand to answer questions regarding the program, career opportunities, and the enrollment process.

For more information or to register, visit Johnson.edu, or contact the College’s Enrollment department at (570) 702-8856 or enroll@johnson.edu.

To learn more about Johnson College’s 2-year Aviation Technology program, visit https://johnson.edu/aviation/.

Helen Lavelle’s “Humanity & Divinity” art exhibition is back by popular demand and now showing at The Gallery of Scranton following its successful debut at La MaMa Galleria in New York City. See the exhibit for the first time in Scranton during a First Friday opening reception on Friday, June 2, from 5-9 p.m.

The Scranton exhibition gives those who were unable to attend the show in New York in January and February the chance to experience this powerful display.

A nationally recognized leader in the advertising industry, Ms. Lavelle’s drawings and paintings explore the artist’s personal journey through pain and vulnerability to resilience and grace.

Acknowledging that loss of life, the pandemic, political climate, racial hatred, war and economic uncertainty have given rise to unprecedented and unbearable pain, Ms. Lavelle’s work puts it center stage. But she does not stop there.

The exhibit, which includes both figurative and landscape pieces, is designed to remind viewers that the path from humanity to divinity lies in a personal connection to nature. “Nature is our greatest teacher,” Lavelle states. “Life and death, love and loss, pain and promise…the opportunity to transform in the face of tragedy, to recover (as does nature) is cellular.”

For Lavelle, painting is a spiritual process. Landscapes created in Ireland while experiencing extreme grief and sorrow express both heaviness and connection to universal energy.

As to her figurative work, Lavelle explains, “Connecting on a deeper level with nature and God
allowed me to portray moments of human vulnerability that are real, raw and honest. I can barely look at them myself.”

Lavelle has had more than her fair share of grief, having lost multiple friends and members of her own
family to addiction, to AIDs, and to the inability for many to move forward in life. She knows that art
heals, brings forth light, even in the deepest darkness.

An advocate for the arts in every genre, she understands that the arts help move people through life’s
circumstances. Her hope is that through this exhibition, people will see something in themselves that is about transformation.

In May 2023 the Greater Scranton YMCA was awarded a $62,500 grant from the City of Scranton’s American Rescue Plan Act Funds. Funding will support the expansion of the Y’s Early Learning Center.

Since the onset of the COVID 19 public health emergency, the need for child care services in our community has grown substantially. Enrollment in the Greater Scranton YMCA’s early childhood education programs has grown by more than 50 percent from 2022 to 2023 with 60 children currently on a waitlist.

The Greater Scranton YMCA is limited in space and at maximum capacity. In order to open an additional 30 child care spots each year, the Greater Scranton YMCA will renovate its second floor, which is currently being used for storage and the location of H VAC. Through renovating the space, the Greater Scranton YMCA will create three new classrooms, each licensed to serve up to 10 children. The classrooms will specifically serve children ages zero to two, as the need for infant care is great.

“We are so grateful to the City of Scranton for their support of our Greater Scranton YMCA and this project,” said Trish Fisher, President & CEO, Greater Scranton YMCA. “We are excited to get this project underway and cannot wait to welcome more children and families through our doors.”

Annually, the Greater Scranton YMCA is proud to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial assistance to children, adults and families from across our region, allowing them to benefit from all the YMCA has to offer. During our most recently completed fiscal year, the Greater Scranton YMCA awarded $4 91,646 to community members in need.

For more information about the Greater Scranton YMCA, call (570) 342 8115 or visit the Y online at www.greaterscrantonymca.org

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center’s (NEPIRC) Manufacturing Ambassador Dream Team Program is making an impact on high school students throughout northeastern, northern and north central Pennsylvania, just weeks after the program was officially introduced.

Since the program’s launch earlier this spring, the Dream Team Ambassadors have spoken to 4,935 students at 18 different school career events and classroom presentations throughout many of the counties NEPIRC serves, including Bradford, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wayne and Wyoming.

Kate Logan, quality systems manager for Noble Biomaterials in Scranton, has been an active ambassador, speaking at several high schools this year. Logan has been impressed with her interaction with many of the students she encounters.

“Some students know exactly what they want to be in the future while others did not have a set goal or career in mind just yet. For the students that had some idea, they were pleasantly surprised that their career interests could easily serve the needs of the manufacturing world. The students were surprised to learn about the diverse manufacturing companies locally,” said Logan.

The Manufacturing Ambassador Dream Team Program’s 31 ambassadors represent 25 companies. The program introduces high school students, faculty, administrators and parents to younger manufacturing professionals to gain a unique understanding of the vibrant manufacturing sector and the variety of jobs available in our region.

Logan, just like many of her fellow ambassadors, is benefitting as much from talking with the students as she hopes the students benefit from talking with her.

“As a Dream Team Ambassador, I was delighted to be in a classroom setting again. I felt like a student myself learning more about what students hope their futures will be. It was truly a privilege to be given the chance to inspire students on manufacturing industry opportunities and reinforced my own career passions. I am also grateful to have met some new friends among my fellow Dream Team Ambassadors! This was an exceptional experience and impactful to future potential colleagues,” she said.

Max McCabe, project manager for Cheetah Chassis in Berwick, knows that the future of manufacturing in the region rests on the interest of today’s high school students pursuing careers with manufacturing companies.

“I think it’s important to recognize that if I am going to have a future in manufacturing that I will need the generations following me to be interested as well. That means getting out there and showing people what really goes on in the factories and what type of great opportunities are available to them. I take pride in being at least a small voice in advocating for manufacturing careers and this is a great way to do it,” said McCabe.

Dream Team Ambassadors and representatives from NEPIRC participated in the following classroom presentations and high school career fair events this year:

• Scranton High School, multiple classroom presentations – Jeff Tague and Kim Smalley, CANPACK and Matt Wheeler, business advisor, NEPIRC
• Towanda High School Career Day — Jim Winterringer and Nate Halverson, Towanda Metadyne
• JA Inspire Career Fair — Tiffany Weeks, Hydro; Julia Miller, Mitsubishi Chemical Group; Calvin O’Boyle, SIMONA; Jeff Tague, CANPACK; Max McCabe, Cheetah Chassis; Sam Anderline, Greiner; Kate Logan, Noble Biomaterials
• 2023 Career Pathways Fair, Tunkhannock High School — Alec Ciaglia, JAM Works; Sam Anderline, Greiner Packaging and Jeff Tague, CANPACK
• Tioga First Annual High School Job Fair — Matt Wheeler, business advisor, NEPIRC and Mitch Amoriello, production manager, Truck-Lite
• Forest City Regional High School classroom presentation — Jeff Tague, CANPACK and Matt Wheeler, NEPIRC
• Career Technology Center of Lackawanna Countyclassroom presentation – Zach Mulhern, Ashley Machine & Tool
• How It’s Made Career Day at Blossburg Elementary School– Mitch Amoriello and Luke Mann, Truck-Lite
• Valley View High School,multiple classroom presentations — Julia Miller, Mitsubishi Chemical Group and Kate Logan, Noble Biomaterials
• Career Exploration Day at Pittston Area High School— Kim Smalley, CANPACK; Jarad Sarna, EAM Mosca; Kate Logan, Noble Biomaterials and Ian Vestrand, Cornell Cookson
• West Scranton High School classroom presentation — Matt Wheeler, NEPIRC
• Girl Power in STEM Event at Penn State Hazleton — Chelsey Coslett and Courtney Deignan, NEPIRC
• Carbondale Area High School classroom presentation — Kim Smalley, CANPACK

The Manufacturing Ambassador Dream Team Program has seen a steady increase in the requests for ambassadors to participate in high school career fairs as well as speaking to classrooms of high school students.

“We are very pleased that we exceeded our expectations in terms of the number of manufacturing ambassadors, the number of companies embracing the program and the geography of where they are located. The diversity of the participants in this program with respect to their backgrounds, employers and hometowns is what’s enabling us to participate in career programs at so many different schools,” said Eric Joseph Esoda, president and CEO, NEPIRC.

“As our manufacturing community continues to see the value in this program, we hope they will volunteer some of their team members if they are not already engaged in the effort, and as the schools see the program taking off we are hopeful that more and more schools will invite us in for presentations.” he said.

NEPIRC’s school outreach efforts are made possible by the Pennsylvania Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Grant approved by the Department of Community & Economic Development in 2022.

Information about NEPIRC Manufacturing Ambassador Dream Team Program can be found on the program’s new website, nepirc.com/dreamteam.

School faculty and administrators interested in having a Dream Team Ambassador speak at a career fair, to a specific classroom, or other school event should contact Jenelle Osborne, Dream Team project coordinator via email, jenelle@nepirc.com.