The Office Fest at The Circle Drive-In The Office Fest is a single-day event celebrating the hit TV Show “The Office.” Scheduled to take place on July 15 at The Circle Drive-In, the day will feature themed activities such as bingo, trivia, and a scavenger hunt. Join in on the family fun.
Cooper’s Seafood House Celebrates 75th Anniversary Cooper’s Seafood House hosted a week-long celebration for its 75th Anniversary in April. The event featured food and drink specials and served as a fundraiser to benefit Saint Joseph’s Center as part of WNEP TV 16’s Go Joe 26 Bike Ride.
Act Out Theatre Group to Host Pride and Juneteenth Talent Shows Act Out Theatre Group is hosting its annual Pride and Juneteenth talent shows. Performers will take the stage on April 17 at 2 p.m. (Pride) and April 27 at 7 p.m. (Juneteenth). For more information or questions, please email info@actouttheatre.com.
FNCB Bank Adopts Families Employees from FNCB Bank, locally based since 1910, recently donated $1,100 in grocery gift cards and 200 gifts to 11 local families as part of the Bank’s annual “Adopt-A-Family” holiday project. More than 200 FNCB staff members participated this year in Adopt-a-Family, the Bank’s signature holiday gift-giving event. The program matches local families in need from the Catherine McAuley Centers of Lackawanna and Luzerne County, Children and Youth Services of Wayne County and Victims Intervention Program in Honesdale with those wishing to donate. “Since launching the program eight years ago, 91 families have been matched as well as filling wish lists at three amazing organizations,” said Mike Cummings, Senior Vice President, Marketing Manager. “Our team really gets behind this effort to make a difference in our community.” The Adopt-a-Family project is part of FNCB’s larger Community Caring initiative. As a true, local community bank, FNCB is making a difference through volunteerism, donations, and outreach programs.
G.R Noto Electrical Construction Earns 2022 GASE Award G.R. Noto Electrical Construction, Inc., has the pleasure to announce it has earned the 2022 Pennsylvania Governor’s Award for Safety Excellence (GASE). This award recognizes outstanding workplace safety. G.R Noto makes it a priority to protect workers and prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. G.R. Noto Electrical Construction, Inc., efforts help to make not only itself a safe work environment, but also Pennsylvania a much safer place in which to work. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Bureau of Workers Compensations stated they “were impressed with G.R. Noto Electrical Construction, Inc’s engineering innovations implemented since last winning the GASE award in 2016, most notably the Prefab shop and the Building Information Modeling System (BIM). G.R. Noto Electrical Construction, Inc. safety efforts have continued to result in incident rates well below industry averages.
Space Time Mead and Cider Works Collaboration Wins Best of Class Honey Hole Winery’s/Space Time Mead & Cidery Work’s “Collaboration Pyment” made with Pennsylvania Chambourcin grapes and local honey received a Double Gold medal and “Best of Class” at the American Wine Society’s (AWS) 2022 Commercial Wine Competition held in Bellevue, Washington. In 2021, their Collaboration Lavender Mead won American Wine Society’s (AWS) Commercial Wine Competition Best of Class Mead “What is so great about this recognition is that the mead was made from all Pennsylvania sourced ingredients including honey from local apiaries The Bee Keeper’s Daughter, and Murphy’s Bee Farm.” said Pete Aiello of Honey Hole Winery. “Northeastern Pennsylvania has some quality beekeepers!” “Happy to be winning this with our friends at Honey Hole Winery”, weighed in Dan Schreffler of Space Time Mead & Cider Works. “Not only winning Best of Class two years in a row, and receiving a high score of 96, and Double Gold is special.” Out of 7 collaboration wines, the Chambourcin Grape Pyment is their third double gold medal award winning mead. This is the 3rd American Wine Society’s Commercial Best of Class Mead won by Space Time Mead & Cider Works. Their next collaboration is under development and will be released in Spring of 2023.
WVIA Radio Announces Joint Celebration of 50th Anniversary WVIA Radio and The Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic announce a joint celebration of their respective 50th anniversaries. The Philharmonic and WVIA will mark the occasion by collectively commissioning and presenting the world-premiere of Palma, a fable for narrator, young string players, young chorus, and symphonic orchestra with music by Paul Salerni and text by Dana Gioia. The event will take place at the Scranton Cultural Center in November 2023. Just as the Philharmonic commemorates its continued mission to present live symphonic performances and music education through multiple concert series and educational outreach programs such as Music in our Schools, Young People’s Concerts, and the NEPP Mentoring Program, WVIA is pleased to present this piece as a salute to its beloved WVIA Radio and its hosts. Erika Funke, Lisa Mazzarella, George Graham, Larry Vojtko and Paul Lazar collectively immerse our region in classical, jazz, and opera programming throughout the broadcast week along with Morning Edition each weekday, All Things Considered, and Fresh Air in the afternoon, and many favorite weekend programs such as Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me and WVIA’s own WVIA News and Keystone Edition. Dr. Paul Salerni, NEH Distinguished Chair in the Humanities and Professor of Music at Lehigh University, director of the Lehigh University Very Modern Ensemble, and founder and Artistic Director of the Monocacy Chamber Orchestra will collaborate with Dana Gioia, a former Poet Laureate of California and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Salerni and Gioia are no strangers to collaboration. Salerni’s one-act opera Tony Caruso’s Final Broadcast, with a libretto by Dana Gioia, won the National Opera Association’s Chamber Opera competition. Haunted, a one-act ballet opera composed by Salerni, with a libretto by Dana Gioia, is adapted from Gioia’s poem of the same name. Salerni, a lover of Italian fables, has written compositions in the past based upon two of his favorites: The Big Sword and The Little Broom and The Old Witch and the New Moon. This newly commissioned selection completes the trilogy of fable-inspired works. The work will feature the main character, Palma, who wrestles with the conflicting interests of toiling for basic survival and her desire to make music with a cherished violin. Palma is named after Salerni’s ninety-four-year-old mother who was born in Carbondale. Featuring the NEPA Philharmonic conducted by Mélisse Brunet, this special performance will continue WVIA’s tradition of educating young people and the Philharmonic’s tradition of nurturing young players in their musical gifts. The performance will include the participation of talented local children from the Choral Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania and a school string ensemble from the Abington Heights School District. Enthusiasts of Salerni’s work note that while his compositions are challenging for the most talented of professional instrumentalists, they deftly engage audiences of all ages. As such, this debut performance narrated by WVIA’s own Erika Funke is destined to be a cherished highlight for our Pennsylvania communities.This performance will be the final concert Mélisse Brunet will direct as the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic’s Music Director. Following the program, there will be a reception to thank Mélisse for her outstanding leadership and extend our warmest wishes for a brilliant career.
SWB RailRiders Broadcaster Honored by Ballpark Digest Ballpark Digest has named Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders voice Adam Marco as the 2022 Minor League Baseball Broadcaster of the Year. The publication annually honors the best achievements from across the industry and Marco is the second Scranton/Wilkes-Barre broadcaster to win this prestigious award. “If I had Adam’s skill set, I would have a much easier time articulating just how deserving he is of the award,” said Katie Beekman, the RailRiders General Manager. “His unwavering dedication to his craft, his quick wit and his vast knowledge of the game make him the perfect candidate for this award. The RailRiders are so proud of his accomplishments and we hope to enjoy his talents for many years to come.” Marco has broadcast over 1,500 Minor League Baseball games in his career. He joined the RailRiders in 2018 as the fourth lead voice in team history. A 2001 graduate of Mercyhurst College, Marco worked in terrestrial radio for seven years before starting in baseball in 2007 with the Williamsport Crosscutters. After two seasons with the Oklahoma City RedHawks, he became the broadcaster of the West Virginia Power. Over eight seasons with the Power, he also served as a group sales and corporate sales representative before taking on the club’s Director of Marketing role in 2014. Marco was honored by the South Atlantic League as their Media Relations Director of the Year that same year. He replaced former SWB broadcaster and current Cincinnati Reds voice John Sadak in 2018. Sadak won this honor from Ballpark Digest in 2013 after the RailRiders inaugural season at the revamped PNC Field, which earned their praise that season as Ballpark of the Year. Since 2018, Marco has also served the team in various roles, ranging from marketing to sales to promotions while handling the RailRiders media relations and maintaining the club’s website. “Broadcaster of the Year is one of the most important industry awards we present—broadcasters are the public face of every baseball team, so we take our decision very seriously,” said Kevin Reichard, Ballpark Digest publisher. “Adam Marco is one of the best in the business. He calls a great game, but beyond that he’s an integral part of the RailRiders’ success in many ways not seen by fans. We’re honored to recognize his accomplishments.” The RailRiders open to the 2023 season at home on March 31. Season tickets are available at swbrailriders.com or call (570) 969-2255 for more information.
The Wright Center Celebrates First Graduate of NIMAA Medical Assistant Program A collaborative program between The Wright Center for Community Health and the National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement (NIMAA) has graduated the first student from the initiative that seeks to address the national shortage of clinical medical assistants. Melissa Lemus of Scranton, the first graduate of the program, has been hired as a certified medical assistant by The Wright Center for Community Health to work at the nonprofit’s Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave. A medical assistant is responsible for assisting doctors and nurses in providing care to patients in hospitals, doctor’s offices and other health care facilities. Duties include recording and updating medical histories and contact information in patient files, scheduling patient appointments and performing standard care procedures, such as taking blood samples, health coaching, measuring and recording vital signs, and more. The NIMAA program educates and trains students over 29 weeks to become certified clinical medical assistants. The program, which requires a commitment of 32-36 hours per week, combines flexible online learning with a paid internship at one of The Wright Center for Community Health’s primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne or Wayne counties. Participants may be eligible for federal assistance and other cost-defrayment options. Students who are accepted into the program receive personalized training with experienced medical professionals at The Wright Center for Community Health during the clinical portion of their education. After completing the educational component, students are eligible to take the National Healthcareer Association Medical Assistant examination to receive their certified clinical medical assistant credential. The employment outlook for medical assistants is projected to grow 18% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 104,400 openings are projected annually on average, over the decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For more information about the training program, contact Carla Blakeslee, The Wright Center’s clerkships coordinator, at blakesleec@thewrightcenter.org. Or visit nimaa.edu.
Northeast PA AHEC 1st Annual Health Career & College Exploration Event Northeast PA Area Health Education Center (NEPA AHEC) in partnership with Northern Tier Industry & Education Consortium (NTIEC) held the 1st Annual Healthcare Career & College Exploration Event on Friday, October 14th from 10am-4pm at the Viewmont Mall, Dickson City. This event had over 35 vendors including colleges, universities, and healthcare organizations who were there to educate students on the health career programs they had to offer, scholarships, healthcare employment opportunities as well as employment incentives. Six school districts bussed students to this event and over 200 high school students attended. This is what some of the participants had to say: “At this event, students were able to walk around and visit each table. The tables were made up of both College representatives and employers. This was a great way to branch out and learn more about this field. We had a great time, while still learning and better our understanding of these opportunities.” “This event allowed me to explore colleges, and even job opportunities all in one place!” “I learned a lot about all the different colleges around me and it helped me narrow down my choices.” “The exploration event really helped me figure what colleges I want to go to and helped me betterdetermine what career pathway I want to experience.” “I really enjoyed this time and opportunity I was given, and I feel like it really helped me explore myoptions going into healthcare.” This event was made possible through grant funding, courtesy of the Scranton Area Foundation,Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation, and Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance. NE PA AHEC and NTIEC partner together to broaden our reach to help students explore careers and create their individual professional journey. Plans have begun for next year’s event to be held Thursday, October 12,2023.
