Firefighter Training Held at NET Credit Union’s New Location Taylor Borough Fire and Rescue recently held a training session at NET Credit Union’s new location, 900 S. Main Street in Taylor, PA on Monday, April 26th, 2022. The new location is the former Via Appia. Wesley Jones Jr., Rescue Captain with the Taylor Borough Fire Department, contacted NET to utilize the building before demolition begins. The training was open to all local volunteer fire departments. Chinchilla Hose Company of South Abington Township, Greenwood Fire Resuce, Old Forge Fire Department and West Pittston Hose Company all joined the Taylor Fire Department. All participants practiced search and rescue and roof ventilation drills. NET Credit Union plans to open their third branch location in Taylor sometime in 2023. NET Credit Union is currently working with architects, Hemmler and Camayd, on a plan. NET Credit Union is excited to be a part of the Taylor community and further this relationship with the fire department. The Taylor Borough Fire and Rescue hosted an additional training session on Sunday, May 1st at NET Credit Union. The more trainings held, the safer our community will be. NET Credit Union appreciates all first responders and values their dedication to protect our communities.
Gerrity’s Increases Starting Rates Gerrity’s Supermarkets is very proud to announce that they have raised the starting rates for all positions. The family-owned business has also rolled out annual raises early for most existing employees. As an added incentive, the company also continues to offer a new hire bonus of up to $500. According to Joe Fasula, Co-owner of Gerrity’s, the ongoing labor shortage continues to make it difficult to find and hire people. “We know that our team is the reason for our success. We want to reward the people who got us here and we want to find more people so we can make everyone’s job easier. We recognize that the store with the best team is going to give the customer the best experience,” said Fasula. All full-time starting rates have moved to $14 per hour. Skilled positions like butchers, cooks, cake decorators, and bakers start at $17, and butchers and cooks can go as high as $20 depending on experience. On the job training is offered for all positions. Most part time positions start between $10 and $12 depending on position and availability. The result of the rate adjustments is an increase in average hourly rate of 8% over 2021, and that was 10% higher than 2020. Fasula does not anticipate needing to increase prices as a result of this change. “If it wasn’t for the higher sales that supermarkets have experienced over the past two years, we could never have been able to afford a wage increase like this. We have more employees in our departments than most other stores because we make so many of our products from scratch.”
Knowles Insurance Announced Continued Family Participation Matthew Knowles launched the fourth generation of his family’s participation in the insurance business when he recently joined Knowles Insurance, headquartered in downtown Scranton. Matthew brings his large market, large client, cyber liability insurance experience to the agency as the firm’s cyber risk practice leader. He spent years in New York City specializing in complex cyber liability insurance programs for clients in the $100M – $5B revenue range. During his years with Willis Towers Watson, a multinational risk management, insurance brokerage, and advisory company, Matt managed the cyber insurance programs for numerous banks, private equity firms,manufacturers, and health care organizations. Over 30 years ago Robert J. Knowles, Jr. purchased the firm from the previous generation and has served as the agency’s principal since that time. “We’re delighted to have Matt return to northeastern Pennsylvania and bring his cyber liability experience to expand our agency’s expertise,” related Robert Knowles Jr. “And I’m equally proud to have Matt continue our history of providing a full range of insurance products and risk management solutions to our broad base of clients,” he continued. Matt added, “This is an ideal time to join the company and offer enhanced cyber risk services to our business partners. This is a time when businesses throughout the country are challenged with technology risks in a digital environment and many business leaders are unsure where to look for guidance. We can assist them from both an insurance and risk management perspective. I am excited to join a company that continues to evolve and adapt in order to meet the needs of the market.” Knowles Insurance is a full-service insurance firm serving corporations, organizations, and families throughout the 22 states from their corporate headquarters in northeastern Pennsylvania. The firm has provided a variety of specialized insurance services to businesses and individuals for almost 90 years.“We are fortunate to have a superior management team and devoted staff as we’ve grown the business over the last quarter century,” stated Robert Knowles, Jr. “Susan Kelly and Todd Zimmerman have been instrumental to our success during that time. With their dedication we have built a reputation on establishing long term relationships with our clients by reducing their total cost of insurance risk.” The firm previously known as Knowles Associates has recently rebranded as Knowles Insurance with a new logo and signage for their corporate headquarters building.
NEPIRC Welcomes Mark Morgis to its Team of Experts To better assist manufacturers in capitalizing on growth opportunities, addressing workforce challenges and implementing new technologies, NEPIRC gladly welcomes Mark Morgis to its team of professionals as its Mechanical Engineer. Mr. Morgis is a lean manufacturing champion and Six Sigma Black Belt who brings with him over 25 years’ experience and an impressive resume, which includes engineering expertise with companies like OSHA, Sealy, Inc., Marathon Boat Group, InterMetro Industries, Wyman-Gordon, RAD Engineered Wood Products, OTEX Specialty Narrow Fabrics and Clarcor Air Filtration Products. Within those companies, Mr. Morgis led plant startups and ongoing operations, drove continuous improvement efforts, and implemented systems, processes, and procedures that increased productivity, efficiency and profitability. Mr. Morgis also has experience in establishing international manufacturing production facilities and has attained several recognition awards in the areas of safety, quality, productivity and efficiency. Mr. Morgis’ educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University.
Johnson College CTC Students Receive Forklift Operator Certifications Dr. Katie Leonard, President & CEO of Johnson College, congratulated students from The Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County for receiving certification for completing Johnson College Continuing Education’s Forklift Operator Training Course. The forklift operator training is designed to familiarize students with OSHA Powered Industrial Truck Operator Training Requirements (29CFR Standard 1910.178 and ASME B56.1), provide current training requirements under the newly adopted standards, and assist participants in becoming an authorized operator of forklifts through theory and tactile testing. Instructional topic include pre-operational inspection, picking up, traveling, and placing loads, parking procedures, and practical operation. For additional information on Johnson College, please call 1-800-2-WE-WORK, email enroll@johnson.edu, or visit Johnson.edu.
Howard Gardner MI Charter School Board of Trustees Appointments Marie Angelella George, Ph.D., CEO, of Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Charter School (HGMICS) in Scranton is pleased to announce that Catherine Richmond-Cullen, Ed.D, and Dino J. Galli have been named to the school’s Board of Trustees. Members of the Board of Trustees oversee educational programs, fiscal affairs and school policies. Specializing in arts education, Dr. Richmond-Cullen’s distinguished career includes national, state and regional accomplishments. She is the CEO and Founder of The Creative Life Alliance and President of neuroLEARN, where she provides curriculum and professional development services to schools and community organizations. She also serves as the Director of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Partnership Program at the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit (NEIU). Her areas of expertise include curriculum development, grants administration and development, budget management, and marketing and public relations. Dr. Richmond-Cullen holds an A.B. in Elementary Urban Education from Boston College, an M.S. in Counseling from Marywood University and an Ed.D in Educational Administration from Temple University. She resides in Moosic. Mr. Galli has enjoyed a distinguished career in the building and construction industry in northeastern Pennsylvania. He is a retired Vice President of Preconstruction and Operations and Lead Estimator at Sordoni Construction Services in Forty Fort. His portfolio encompasses a diverse and impressive project list, including multi-million dollar construction projects. Mr. Galli is skilled in all areas of estimating, including preconstruction budgeting, value engineering, and the development of Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) projects from conception to contract. He holds a B.S. in Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, and he is a Green Advantage Certified Practioner, a LEED accredited professional, and a member of the American Society of Professional Estimators. Mr. Galli resides in Dunmore.
Attorney Neal M. Thatcher Joins Myers, Brier & Kelly, LLP as Partner Myers, Brier & Kelly, LLP is pleased to announce that Neal Thatcher has joined the law firm as a partner. Dan Brier, a firm principal, commented that “with his years of experience as lead corporate counsel for energy companies active in the burgeoning Marcellus and Utica Shale regions, Neal is highly qualified to provide sophisticated and practical advice on energy related legal matters including transactional real estate, acquisitions, divestitures and complicated commercial litigation. With opportunities to work with law firms throughout the country, we are thrilled that Neal decided to bring his significant knowledge of the energy sector to Myers, Brier & Kelly. I am confident he will be an invaluable addition to our already accomplished corporate, litigation and energy teams.” Prior to joining Myers, Brier & Kelly, Thatcher provided counsel to some of the biggest names in the energy field ranging from startups to nationally recognized companies. For over a decade, he served as senior counsel to The Williams Companies, Inc., a Fortune 500 energy infrastructure company that is one of the largest pipeline transportation and midstream businesses in the United States. While at The Williams Companies, Neal served as primary and lead counsel for various midstream business segments, including those in Northeast Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Eastern Ohio. He has negotiated, structured and drafted commercial agreements and energy transactions with values over $100 million, and has been a key deal team member on major acquisitions and divestitures, including transactions valued in excess of $1 billion. Neal has also successfully managed and provided strategic oversight on complex commercial litigation matters. Thatcher has earned numerous leadership awards recognizing his individual and team achievements and has served on the boards and committees of several local nonprofits. A Dunmore native, Neal currently resides in Throop with his wife Shannon and their three children, Colin, Brendan and Ryan.
The Wright Center Physician Recognized by ACP The American College of Physicians (ACP) recently recognized Dr. Jignesh Y. Sheth, chief medical officer for The Wright Center for Community Health and senior vice president of enterprise IT, clinical operations and education integration, during National Mentoring Month for making a positive impact on the internal medicine community through mentorship. Dually board certified in internal medicine and addiction medicine, Sheth received a certificate of appreciation from ACP in recognition of his commitment to mentoring and the positive impact of his mentorship in the internal medicine community. National Mentoring Month is observed every January. Sheth received the national honor after Dr. Sandeep Mandal, a postgraduate year-one resident physician in the Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Internal Medicine Residency, shared with ACP how his mentor has had a positive impact on his life and medical residency. “Mentors play an important role in the development of their mentees and the greater internal medicine community,” Dr. Darilyn V. Moyer, CEO and executive vice president of ACP, wrote in a letter addressed to Sheth. “We are grateful for ACP members like yourself, who share their experience and expertise through mentorship in order to help their internal medicine colleagues grow and advance personally and professionally.” In addition, Sheth also sees adult patients for primary care, and internal and addiction medicine at The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn. He is accepting new patients. To make an appointment at the Mid Valley Practice, call 570-230-0019 or go to TheWrightCenter.org.
