DMVA to Host Virtual Veteran Town Hall

The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) will host the first in a five-part series of virtual Veteran Town Halls on Wednesday, March 16, from 5-6:30 p.m., according to Rep. Karen Boback (R-Lackawanna/Luzerne/Wyoming). The topic will be veteran suicide prevention, with a focus on the support and resources available to veterans throughout the Commonwealth.

“As majority chairman of the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, I am pleased the DMVA has made suicide prevention the topic of its first virtual town hall of the year,” said Boback. “It is critical that Pennsylvania veterans know what resources are available to them when they need someone to talk with about their emotional issues.”

Attendees can participate by using a WebEx link. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of the presenters live through the chat feature. They should visit DMVA’s website at www.dmva.pa.gov, Twitter of Facebook pages for the WebEx link. 

The series of virtual town halls will provide the Commonwealth’s nearly 800,000 veterans with a convenient platform to learn and ask questions about programs and services earned through their military service.

The following are the dates, times and topics for the four remaining 2022 Virtual Veteran Town Hall events:

May 18, 5-6:30 p.m. – Serving Older Veterans.
July 13, 5-6:30 p.m. – Resources for Homeless Veterans.
Sept. 14, 5-6:30 p.m. – Transportation Issues Facing Veterans.
Nov. 2, 5-6:30 p.m. – Honoring Veterans for Their Service and Sacrifice.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the Scranton Cultural Center Way

The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple is once again the place to celebrate this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade!  The Center’s annual St. Patrick’s Parade Day Party will begin at 11:00 AM on March 12 and will continue until 4:00 PM.  Admission is free and live entertainment will be provided by Kilrush.  In addition, several parade performers will continue their acts at the SCC for all party-goers to enjoy, from bagpipers to step dancers and more!

Admission is FREE to the public as the Scranton Cultural Center’s gift to the community.  A cash bar and light fare will be available for purchase.  Please note that the Scranton Cultural Center requires masks for all patrons unless actively eating or drinking.  Full venue policies can be found at SCCMT.org/covid.

The 2022 St. Patrick’s Parade Day Party is sponsored by The Society of Irish Women, the Hilton Scranton & Conference Center and LT Verrastro.

Andrea Owen – EMPOWER Conference Keynote

Life Coach, AndreaOwen.com

Presentation: Master Resilience: Excel in Mental Tenacity to Bounce Back Stronger From Problems and Difficulties

Challenges and struggles will always be a part of work and life, and the key to thriving during these times is resilience.

  • Understand clearly that your life challenges are invitations to your best and most tremendous life.
  • Build superior mental stories so that you can quickly see when your inner narratives are holding you back and learn to create more empowering ones.
  • Recognize your values so you’re clear on what’s important about the way you live your life, and have a “map” to help you navigate life’s challenges.

Results: Women will leave this keynote or workshop with renewed enthusiasm for what makes them stronger and wiser, research-driven tools on both how to master their mindset, as well as dependable strategies to help them re-navigate when they get “lost”.

Bio:

Andrea Owen is an author, global speaker, and professional certified life coach who helps high-achieving women maximize unshakeable confidence, and master resilience.

She has taught hundreds of thousands of women tools and strategies to be able to empower themselves to live their most kick-ass life through speaking, her books, coaching, and her wildly popular podcast with over 3 million downloads.

Andrea is the proud author of How To Stop Feeling Like Shit: 14 Habits That Are Holding You Back From Happiness which has been translated into 18 languages and is available in 22 countries, as well as her inaugural book, 52 Ways to Live a Kick-Ass Life: BS Free Wisdom to Ignite Your Inner Badass and Live the Life You Deserve. Her latest book, Make Some Noise: Speak Your Mind and Own Your Strength came out in August 2021.

Andrea is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) from The Coaches Training Institute, a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation, a SHE RECOVERS® coach, as well as a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator; a modality based on the research of Dr. Brené Brown.

Andrea holds a Bachelor of Science from California State University in Kinesiology with a specialty in Health Science. She has been featured on The Huffington Post Live, xojane.com, NBC, and Entrepreneur.com. 

She has facilitated many workshops for girls hosted by Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty whose efforts inspire and empower women and girls to live confidently and change the world around them.

In addition, Andrea has been sober for close to a decade and is active in the world of recovery.

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Janet Donovan – EMPOWER Conference Keynote

President and CEO, Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania

Presentation: Resilient Together:  Building Your Personal Board of Directors

Learn to think differently about your networks and discover how to build a personal board of directors to inform you, help you advance your goals, and support you during setbacks. Explore the differences between mentorship and sponsorship and how mentors and sponsors can become part of your board to help you build growth, optimize opportunities, create resilience to overcome setbacks.

Bio:

Janet Donovan is the president and CEO for Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania. She is a retired U.S. Navy Two Star Rear Admiral and former Deputy Commander in the Office of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the Navy with more than 20 years of executive experience in strategy development, talent management, and collaboration. She has completed numerous professional development and executive training courses in strategic planning, strategic communication and innovation, coalition-building, finance and accounting, cyber security, risk management and ethics.

Janet received her law degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. She has seen firsthand the character-building impact that Girl Scouts can make in the lives of young women and believes Girl Scouting provides a distinctive experience to prepare our next generation of confident and capable leaders.

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Lackawanna County Commissioners Encourage Donations for Ukraine

As we all know, there is a horrific war going on in the Ukraine. St. Vladimir’s Ukrainian Catholic Church is organizing a drive for medical supplies and monetary donations to help the military and the citizens of the Ukraine.

Items requested are: toilet paper, non-perishables, diapers, pain medicines (Advil, Tylenol), gauze, bandages, and any other basic first aid items.

If you wish to donate the medical equipment, it can be dropped off at the church on 430 N. 7th Avenue, Scranton.

The supplies and monetary donations will have to be submitted by Friday, March 4, at 9 a.m. A shipping airfreight company in Philadelphia will leave Saturday and will land in Poland. The supplies will then be sent to the Ukraine over the weekend.

Monetary donations are also accepted. You can Venmo Olena Shemchuk at @Olena-shemchuk with your donations. ALL the proceeded will go directly to where they are needed the most.