Condron Media Partners with Sweda Advertising to merge into Condron Sweda Advertising

Sweda Advertising, established in 2004, and Condron Media, a 29-year-old firm, have combined forces to form Condron Sweda Advertising. The two firms have generated over $100 Million in collective client billings to date. The combined entity, Condron Sweda Advertising, boasts a deep in-house roster of 12 skilled, experienced team members comprised of Account Executives/Brand Managers, Media Planners, Content Writers, Graphic Designers, Audio/Video Producers/Directors, Public Relations Strategists, Print Managers, and Digital/Web Specialists offering 60 impactful advertising, marketing, and public relations services to clients.

Action Lift, Inc. Awarded Prestigious Crown Pioneer Award

Crown Equipment Corporation, one of the world’s largest material handling companies, recently announced the James F. Dicke Pioneer Award for 2022, along with the Summit and Ascent Award winners. 

Action Lift, Inc. in Pittston, PA, earned the prestigious Pioneer Award as Crown’s top-performing independent dealer in North America. This is the second year in a row that Action Lift has received this honor. In addition to the Pioneer Award, the company was awarded the Summit Award, which signifies the best overall Crown dealer within the same market size.

“We are thrilled to be named the Pioneer Award winner in addition to the Summit Award. I am very proud of the entire team at Action Lift. If it weren’t for their hard work and dedication, we wouldn’t have seen this level of success.” said Joe Mikiewicz, General Manager of Action Lift, Inc.

William F. Medico, President of Action Lift, added, “We are proud to represent Crown Equipment in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Our outstanding team went above and beyond to reach our sales goals while delivering exceptional customer service in the process.” This recognition marks Action Lift’s fourth Pioneer Award and its’ twenty-third Summit Award for outstanding sales and customer satisfaction as a Crown Equipment dealer. 

Scranton Area Community Foundation Receives National Recognition

The Scranton Area Community Foundation recently received reaccreditation with the nation’s highest standard for philanthropic excellence. National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations® establish legal, ethical, and effective practices for community foundations everywhere. “Meeting the National Standards benchmarks is a rigorous, comprehensive process,” said Randy Royster, board member of the Council on Foundations. “This accreditation is a significant accomplishment that indicates the Scranton Area Community Foundation demonstrates a commitment to transparency, quality, integrity, and accountability as it carries out its mission.”

The National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations® program requires community foundations to document their policies for donor services, investments, grantmaking, and administration. With over 500 community foundations accredited nationwide, the program is designed to provide quality assurance to donors, as well as to their legal and financial advisors.

“This is critically important to our donors,” said Laura Ducceschi, President and CEO of the Scranton Area Community Foundation. “When people make a charitable bequest or establish a fund, they are putting their trust in us to help carry out their legacy. They are counting on us to steward the investment wisely, honor their charitable wishes and, in some cases, provide lifetime income to a loved one. The National Standards accreditation says all of our practices are of top quality and ethical standards, and worthy of our donor’s trust.”

The Scranton Area Community Foundation works to meet critical community needs and support local causes, programs, and organizations. From improving access to equitable transportation; transforming the lives of women, girls, and their families; building the capacity of nonprofit organizations; advancing various causes in animal welfare; and ensuring all residents have access to safe and healthy housing, the Scranton Area Community Foundation is dedicated to helping to improve the quality of life in Northeastern Pennsylvania.  


The Scranton Area Community Foundation offers a range of charitable funds, allowing donors to advance a cause, support an individual organization, provide flexible support for community needs, or recommend individual grants. In addition to affirming the organization’s philanthropic services, the reaccreditation validates the Scranton Area Community Foundation’s grantmaking practices for the nonprofit community.

“Our National Standards reaccreditation is a significant accomplishment,” said Barbara O’Hara, Scranton Area Community Foundation’s board chair. “When people trust the Scranton Area Community Foundation with a charitable bequest, to establish a fund, or set up a charitable gift annuity, they do it knowing that we have met rigorous standards for donor services, investment management, grantmaking, and administration.”

National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations® is the first program of its kind for charitable foundations in the United States.

The Scranton Area Community Foundation is on a mission to enhance the quality of life for all people in Northeastern Pennsylvania through the development of organized philanthropy. With nearly $90 million in assets under management and more than 300 charitable funds, the Scranton Area Community Foundation distributed over $6 million in grants and scholarships in 2022. The Foundation has served as a steward, grantmaker, charitable resource, and catalyst for change since 1954. The Foundation leads various initiatives including Women in Philanthropy, the Center for Community Leadership and Nonprofit Excellence, NEPA Moves, and the NEPA Animal Welfare Collaborative. Additionally, the Foundation hosts and facilitates NEPA Gives and the NEPA Learning Conference. More information about the Scranton Area Community Foundation can be found at www.safdn.org.

The Community Foundations National Standards Board is a supporting organization of the Council on Foundations and is responsible for the quality, value, and integrity of compliance with National Standards. For more information on the National Standards Board, visit its website at www.cfstandards.org.

Quandel Enterprises Names New Chief Risk Officer

Effective March 13, 2023, Quandel Enterprises has named Jerome Urban chief risk officer for the entire Quandel Enterprises family of companies. As chief risk officer, he will work closely with Quandel Enterprise’s executive team and board of directors to innovate, implement, and strengthen our risk management initiatives in response to the ever-changing landscape of the construction industry.

Urban previously served as the president and chief executive officer for Performance Construction Company, a Quandel Enterprises company. He began with the team in 2006 when he started his career in construction as an estimator. Since that time, he has served as an assistant project manager, project manager, project executive, and vice president of operations.

“We are confident that Jerome will bring value and insight into this new role that enables our continued success,” says Greg Quandel, president and chief executive of Quandel Enterprises. Urban is known among his peers to be a team-builder with a keen understanding of the construction business. His focus on enhancing the firm’s clients’ experience through innovation, continuous improvement, and commitment to excellence and exceptional service has made him an integral member of Quandel’s leadership team.

The Wright Center’s Dr. Pancholy receives Designation

The fellows of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) has named Dr. Samir B. Pancholy, program director of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship, a Master of the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (MSCAI) – a designation held by fewer than 100 interventional cardiologists worldwide.

The MSCAI designation recognizes physicians who have demonstrated excellence in interventional cardiology and a commitment to the highest levels of clinical care, innovation, publications, and teaching.

SCAI was founded in 1978 with a mission to lead the global interventional cardiovascular community through education, advocacy, research, and quality of patient care. SCAI has dedicated its work to advancing the profession and is the designated society for guidance, representation, professional recognition, education, and research opportunities for invasive and interventional cardiology professionals. The society has more than 4,500 members, according to SCAI.

Dr. Pancholy has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts in reputed international journals, has published several practice-changing randomized controlled trials, and has developed multiple procedural techniques to increase the safety and efficacy of the procedure of cardiac catheterization and catheter-based intervention. His research and educational programs in the area of transradial access (catheterization from the artery in the wrist) have been credited with the widespread adoption of the technique in the U.S. and worldwide.

He also invented several devices that make cardiovascular procedures safer, more effective, comfortable, and cost-effective. Dr. Pancholy holds more than 70 patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark office.

SCAI will recognize Dr. Pancholy at the SCAI Scientific Sessions in Phoenix, Arizona, in May. The conference brings together the international interventional cardiology community to share the latest clinical data, procedural guidance, and advanced expertise.

“Dr. Pancholy richly deserves this prestigious honor from SCAI,” said Dr. Jumee Barooah, the Designated Institutional Official for The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education. “He shares his expertise with our fellows who travel from around the world to learn from him. He has improved access and quality of cardiac care for countless people thanks to the 37 fellows who have graduated from our fellowship program since 2009.”

He also serves as the director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at the Veterans Administration Center, Wilkes-Barre, and as a professor of medicine at the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Scranton.

Dr. Pancholy is board-certified in internal medicine, with additional certifications in cardiovascular diseases, interventional cardiology, advanced heart failure, and transplant cardiology. He earned his medical degree from B.J. Medical College in India, and completed his residency at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. Dr. Pancholy completed fellowships in interventional cardiology and cardiovascular diseases at the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital and Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education offers Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Internal Medicine, Regional Family Medicine, National Family Medicine, and Psychiatry residency programs and fellowships in Cardiovascular Disease, Gastroenterology, and Geriatrics.

For more information about The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570.866.3017.

Local Partnership Program, NEPA RISE Now Accepting Applicants

NEPA RISE: Readiness In Skilled Employment is currently accepting applications for their third cohort, set to begin in July of 2023. Interested applicants must be 18 years of age or older, reside within either Lackawanna or Luzerne Counties and currently have a Household Income within 250% of the Federal Poverty Line. Eligibility will be confirmed after an applicant applies online at RISENEPA.org. Interviews will be scheduled now through June 2023, and the program will begin in July 2023.

Lackawanna College Offers Early Explorers Program

The Lackawanna College Environmental Education Center invites children ages three to six years old and their guardians to attend Early Explorers, a program aimed at providing children with a lifelong, meaningful relationship with the natural world. Classes will be held every Thursday from April 20 to May 25, 2023, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lackawanna College Environmental Education Center (LCEEC) located 93 MacKenzie Road, Covington Township, PA 18444.

Early Explorers is a program series that offers discovery-based learning that changes with each season. Using the natural world as a catalyst for growth and development, children will explore natural sciences, gain sensory awareness, creatively express themselves, and practice using large and fine motor skills while developing critical social skills. 

During each class, children will have the opportunity to hike and explore the various habitats on the 211-acre property, which includes a forest, meadow, open field, and a stream. Children will also gain first-hand experiences with plants and animals. Each week will feature a different nature-related topic including Super Seeds, Awakening Amphibians, For the Birds, Animal Mothers, Spring Winds and Little Sprouts.

Enrollment is now open. The cost is $40 for the series of six classes. Registration is limited, and pre-registration is required. This is an outdoor program, so please dress for the weather. For more information or to register, contact Lackawanna College Environmental Education Center at (570) 842-1506 or email yaniks@lackawanna.edu.

2022-2023 Winner of NEIU Poetry Out Loud Regional Competition Announced

Kendal Pauline, a senior at Hazleton Area Arts and Humanities Academy is the 2022-2023 NEIU Poetry Out Loud Regional Competition Winner and has been named First Runner Up in the 2023 Pennsylvania Poetry Out Loud (POL) State Championship.

“AieNEPA and The Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit is so very pleased to have a strong partnership with WVIA,” said Catherine Richmond-Cullen, Ed.D., Director of AieNEPA. “The Pa Council on the Arts has promoted the National Endowment on the Arts project, Poetry Out Loud, for more than 10 years. Our partner region is the only one in the Commonwealth working with our regional PBS affiliate. The opportunity for young creatives to recite works of poetry on television and radio is amazing. Our gratitude to WVIA cannot be overstated.”

“We are proud to take part in the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts statewide Poetry Out Loud program,” said Liz Faist, aieNEPA Assistant Director. “We are grateful to our schools, teachers and students for their participation and dedication. What a fantastic opportunity to be able to share the students’ recitations with the community on such a professional platform. We are truly grateful to WVIA and our POL (Poetry Out Loud) sponsors that make this event possible.”

“WVIA Education is thrilled to take part in Poetry Out Loud, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation, which has given millions of talented high school students like Kendal a space to share their unique voices for more than fifteen years,” said Vicki Austin, Senior Director of Grants and Education. “We appreciate the loyal support of the Overlook Estate Foundation, Inc. and our partners, NEIU 19 and Arts in Education of Northeast PA, without whom this could not happen.”

The 2023 Poetry Out Loud Regional Competition premiered on WVIA-TV Thursday, April 6 and is available to watch anytime, on-demand at wvia.org as well as on the PBS and WVIA Apps.

To learn more about Poetry Out Loud, please visit https://www.poetryoutloud.org.

WVIA Mission

WVIA educates, inspires, entertains and fosters citizenship, diverse cultures, and perspectives to nurture community.

Steamtown National Historic Site Increases Access

Effective immediately, visitors now have access to the following indoor areas between 10 am – 4 pm:

History Museum, Louisville & Nashville Railway Post Office Car; Erie Business Car, Cut-A-Way exhibit, Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Box Car; and Rutland Caboose.

The reopening of these areas is a welcome addition to the roundhouse, railyard, and grounds which continue to remain open.

Just as an FYI for you all, not to be published on social media just yet: the visitor center, theater, and remaining portions of the technology museum will have longer term closures until our heating system can be permanently fixed.  We do not have an anticipated reopening date for these spaces. We will be setting up a TV and small viewing area for the “Steel and Steam” movie on the third floor of the History Museum and beginning in May, will have an information desk staffed by volunteers. We will need to work with our NPS regional and national communications offices to develop a Press Release or official statement with an update on the building closures and heating systems.

Steamtown Celebrates National Park Week 2023 starting Saturday, April 22

We’ll mark this celebration with cab tours of the Union Pacific “Big Boy,” ranger-guided programs, and locomotive shop tours.  Please see attached flyer for program details throughout the week.

Guided tours of the locomotive shop are planned to be offered daily at 12noon throughout the summer.

Summer Hours begin Monday, April 24

Steamtown will be open from 9am-5pm, daily.

Train Rides resume for 2023 on Thursday, May 11

Short Train Rides

  • Our short train rides, the Scranton Limited or Caboose Experience, will operate Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, as staffing permits. Departure times are: 10:30am, 11:30am, 1:15pm, and 2:30pm.
  • Tickets are $6.00 for adults and kids over the age of 5; kids 5 and under are $1.00. Tickets must be purchased on-site at the Information Kiosk, the day of your visit. Tickets are valid all day and for ANY departure time on the date of purchase.
  • Seating availability is first come, first served; we recommend getting in line 15-20 minutes ahead of scheduled departure time.
  • The Caboose Experience will be offered in lieu of the Scranton Limited on dates we offer longer excursion rides, as staffing permits.

Excursions – view 2023 schedule (bottom of page)

  • Pricing varies depending on the destination:
    • Adult (ages 12-61) $25.00-$55.00;
    • Senior (ages 62+) $23.00-$50.00;
    • Youth (ages 3-11) $18.00-$33.00;
    • Child (ages 2 and under) $1.00.
  • Tickets for our Summer Excursions may now be purchased in advance online through recreation.gov. Additionally, for those not comfortable with the recreation.gov platform, excursion tickets may be purchased on-site at the Information Kiosk. All ticket sales will be credit card only.
    • Tickets for our Summer Excursions (May-Aug) now available.
    • Tickets for our Autumn Excursions (Sep-Oct) will be released 90 days before the excursion date.

Railfest – Saturday, June 17, 2023

Save the date!  Details are still being ironed out, but we will be hosting our event to celebrate the industrial heritage of the area in conjunction with Anthracite Heritage Museum’s Arts on Fire event at the Scranton Iron Furnaces.  A free shuttle will be available to provide transportation between sites.  We have also put out a request for proposals from Mobile Food Vendors for the event, please spread the word. More information here.

As with all events and programming at Steamtown NHS, items identified above are subject to change and cancellation.  Our website is the best place for the most up to date information: Alerts & Conditions – Steamtown National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)