Johnson College to Host 29th Annual Golf Tournament The 29th Annual Johnson College Open will be held on Friday, May 20, 2022, at Pine Hills Country Club in Taylor, PA (rain or shine). Proceeds from this annual golf tournament support the Johnson College Presidential Scholarship Fund. Each academic year, Presidential Scholarships are awarded to four qualified and deserving full-time students. To register to golf, visit Johnson.edu/golf.
AllOne Foundation Awards Grant to CAC/NEPA The Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania (CAC/NEPA) announces the award of a $65,000 grant from AllOne Foundation. “The Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania is grateful to AllOne Foundation for their generous grant to our Center. This grant supported expanding our trauma-informed behavioral and mental health services for child victims of abuse, neglect, and trauma in Northeastern Pennsylvania by hiring another full-time therapist for our Mulberry Center. On behalf of the Board of Directors, the CAC Team, and the child victims of abuse and neglect we serve, we are sincerely grateful for AllOne Foundation’s support.” said Marsha Pigga, Executive Director. For more information about the CAC/NEPA, please call the Center at 570-969-7313 or visit the CAC/NEPA’s website: www.cacnepa.org.
The Wright Center Prioritizes Diversity, Equity and Inclusion The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education has named Dr. Alexies Samonte as its vice president of Sponsoring Institution Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Faculty and Curriculum Development, and Graduate Medical Education Funding Stewardship. In this newly created role, Samonte will work with executives and others throughout the organization to ensure ongoing and innovative faculty development, substantial accreditation compliance, community benefit tracking, and continuous resident wellness and resiliency, among other objectives. One major focus will be to create a robust strategy for diversity, equity and inclusion. Samonte’s diversity and inclusion efforts will span all three nonprofit entities: The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, The Wright Center for Community Health and The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement. “I am excited about this new role,” said Samonte, who previously served as medical director of The Wright Center’s pediatric services. “Leading this journey is a privilege, since diversity, equity and inclusion are embedded within our mission.” The longtime pediatrician, who is a native of the Philippines, will work to educate faculty, staff and members of the broader community about diversity and inclusion matters such as those promoted by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s (ACGME) “ACGME Equity Matters” initiative. The ACGME initiative aims to drive change within graduate medical education institutions by increasing physician workforce diversity, and building safe and inclusive learning environments, while promoting health equity by addressing racial disparities in health care and overall population health. Samonte assumed her new role in late February. She already has coordinated The Wright Center’s participation in an upcoming continuing education series about LGBTQI+ inclusive health care. The series is being offered beginning June 1 through the Penn State College of Medicine’s Project ECHO network. Promoters say the series will help health care providers “meet the complex social, emotional and physical health care needs of their patients within a supportive and safe environment.” Additionally, Samonte will develop volunteer opportunities for residents and fellows that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion activities. She also will monitor and track the progress of The Wright Center’s diversity-related metrics. A Jenkins Township resident, Samonte earned her doctorate degree in medicine and surgery as well as a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines. She also earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Scranton. The Wright Center, which strives to be an optimal employer, has more than 600 workers in Northeast Pennsylvania and at its graduate medical education training partner sites across the nation. For more information, visit TheWrightCenter.org.
Federal REAL ID Enforcement Begins May 3, 2023 With the one-year countdown beginning today for the federal enforcement of REAL ID for commercial domestic air travel and other federal purposes, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) joined the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) and Philadelphia International Airport officials to remind Pennsylvania residents who want REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and photo ID cards and have not yet gotten one to gather the needed documents now to ensure they leave plenty of time to get their REAL ID before the federal enforcement date. To date, PennDOT has issued approximately 1.6 million REAL ID products. REAL ID is a federal law that affects how states issue driver’s licenses and ID cards if they are going to be acceptable for federal purposes, such as boarding a domestic flight or entering a federal building that requires federally acceptable ID upon entry. A federally acceptable form of identification (whether it’s a Pennsylvania REAL ID driver’s license or ID card, a valid U.S. Passport/Passport Card, a military ID, etc.) must be used for these purposes on and after May 3, 2023. There is no requirement that any resident obtain a REAL ID; PennDOT continues to offer standard-issue driver’s licenses and photo IDs. “Although a year seems like a long time to get ready, the deadline will be upon us before you know it. We encourage our customers who want a REAL ID to get one as soon as possible,” said PennDOT Acting Executive Deputy Secretary Melissa Batula. “We continue to focus on providing the best possible customer service to all of our customers as the federal deadline approaches.” Since March 1, 2019, PennDOT has processed about 8.3 million customers, with more than 1.6 million individuals choosing to opt into the REAL ID program. The remaining 6.7 million have chosen not to participate or use an alternative federally acceptable form of ID come the May 2023 deadline. “We see plenty of travelers who reside in neighboring Delaware and New Jersey who fly out of Philadelphia International Airport regularly, and like all travelers from out-of-state who want to fly after May 3, 2023, they also will need to have a REAL ID compliant driver’s license or other acceptable form of ID when they approach our TSA travel document podium,” said TSA Federal Security Director Gerardo Spero. “The REAL ID law is for all Americans who want to fly out of any domestic airport across the country starting one year from now. My advice is to go to your local state’s department of motor vehicles or department of transportation to get your upgraded REAL ID driver’s license now. Don’t wait.” Customers can obtain a REAL ID by presenting documents for verification and processing at any driver license center. Federal regulations require that to be issued a REAL ID-compliant product, PennDOT must verify the below documents: Proof of Identity: Examples include original or certified copy of a birth certificate filed with the State Office of Vital Records/Statistics with a raised seal/embossed or valid, unexpired, U.S. Passport;Proof of Social Security Number: Social security card, in current legal name;Two Proofs of Current, Physical PA Address: Examples include a current, unexpired PA driver’s license or identification card, vehicle registration or a utility bill with the same name and address; and Proof of all Legal Name Changes (if current legal name is different than what is reflected on proof of identity document): Examples include a certified marriage certificate(s) issued by the County Court for each marriage, court order(s) approving a change in legal name or amended birth certificate issued by the State Office of Vital Records/Statistics. If current name is the same as what is reflected on proof of identity document (usually birth certificate or passport), a customer does not need to show proof of legal name changes. Customers have three options for obtaining a REAL ID product: Customers may order their REAL ID online if they have been pre-verified and their REAL ID product will be mailed to them within 15 business days; they can visit any PennDOT driver license center that is open for driver license services, have their documents verified and imaged, and their REAL ID product will be mailed to them within 15 business days; or they can visit one of 13 REAL ID Centers and receive their REAL ID product over the counter at the time of service. For a full list of driver license centers and their services, please visit the PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services website, www.dmv.pa.gov. When a customer gets their first REAL ID product, they pay a one-time fee of $30, plus the applicable renewal fee (current renewal fee is $30.50 for a four-year non-commercial driver’s license, and $31.50 for a photo ID). The expiration date of their initial REAL ID product will include any time remaining on their existing non-REAL ID product, plus an additional four years, unless the customer is over 65 and has a two-year license. This expiration date structure means that customers won’t “lose” time that they’ve already paid for. After the initial REAL ID product expires, customers pay no additional fee, beyond regular renewal fees, to renew a REAL ID product. REAL ID-compliant products are marked with a gold star in the upper right corner, standard-issue (non-compliant) products include the phrase “NOT FOR REAL ID PURPOSES,” per federal regulations. Sample images can be viewed on PennDOT’s website. More information about REAL ID in Pennsylvania, including frequently asked questions and information on documents required for REAL ID, can be found at www.penndot.gov/REALID.
Marion Munley, Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer Munley Law is pleased to announce that Partner Marion Munley was named a 2022 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer. The Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list is an elite group of plaintiffs’ attorneys chosen from all over the United States. Marion Munley, along with Munley Law Partner Daniel Munley, were the only two attorneys in Northeastern Pennsylvania to be named to this year’s list. Marion has been named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list every year since 2019. In 2007 and 2019, she was also named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America guide. Marion is widely recognized as one of the most prominent and widely respected lawyers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She has won many multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts for injury clients throughout the United States, including one of the largest truck accident settlements in history. She is triple board certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in Civil Trial Law, Civil Practice Advocacy, and Truck Accident Law. She is the second woman in Pennsylvania to become board certified as a Civil Trial Advocate. Marion regularly presents cutting-edge truck accident trial techniques at legal conferencesthroughout the country. She currently serves on the American Association for Justice’s Board of Governors and on its Executive Committee. She was the first woman to become the Chair of the AAJ Trucking Litigations Group in 2018 and received the Robert W. Munley Champion of Justice Award in 2020. She regularly presents cutting-edge truck accident trial techniques at legal conferences throughout the country. She has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America since 2013 and was named the 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” for Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs in Northeastern Pennsylvania. She has been on the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list for the past 18 years and is consistently recognized as one of the “Top 50 Women Lawyers in Pennsylvania” by Super Lawyers Magazine.
HNB Supports The Cooperage Project The Honesdale National Bank was once again authorized to make approved contributions under the Commonwealth’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program. HNB designated $5,000 of their approved allotment to The Cooperage Project, located in Honesdale, PA. The funds, donated by HNB, will support the ‘innovative educational program,’ Romping Radishes: A Healthy Living Class for Kids, and Pop-Up Club, a STEAM program for middle school students. HNB President & CEO, Thomas E. Sheridan Jr., stated, “The Cooperage Project is an organization that is extremely important for the growth and education for our local youth.” He continued, “HNB is pleased to support this program to engage students in learning more about innovation and creativity.” Arrah Fisher, Executive Director of The Cooperage Project, stated, “The Honesdale National Bank’s continued support of nonprofit organizations like ours is truly exemplary. In these particularly difficult times, your generosity is a testament to HNB’s dedication to strengthening our community.” She stated, “We are honored to accept this contribution.” The mission of The Cooperage Project is to offer a range of instructive and entertaining activities that will engage, challenge and enlighten. Through a variety of programs, we will inspire people of all ages to both embrace diversity and celebrate shared experience in order to create a deeper sense of community.
SACF Women in Philanthropy Initiative Awards Grants Women in Philanthropy (WIP), the initiative of the Scranton Area Community Foundation that focuses on empowering and transforming the lives of women and girls in the Lackawanna County region, proudly announces the recipients from its 2022 grants cycle, awarded after a highly competitive grant process. A total of $40,000 in grant funding was awarded to seven local nonprofit organizations during the Women in Philanthropy Quarterly Meeting held at the Colonnade in Scranton on Wednesday evening, April 27. The recipients included nonprofits Along the Way ($10,000), the Catherine McAuley Center ($7,500), Dress for Success Lackawanna ($4,000), Johnson College ($5,000), Lackawanna College ($2,700), The Wright Center ($3,500), and the Women’s Resource Center ($7,300), all to support innovative projects and/or programs that work to transform the lives of women or girls across the Northeastern Pennsylvania region. The grant award recipients and grant amounts were selected by Women in Philanthropy supporters, who had the opportunity to vote after hearing presentations from each of the nonprofit organizations.
