Moon Tavern to Host RuPaul Star for Drag & Oktoberfest Get ready for a night of fabulous fun and fierce competition at Moon Tavern and Entertainment Complex on Saturday, October 5, as we host an unforgettable Drag Show & October-Fest Event featuring RuPaul’s Drag Race Star, PLASMA. This exciting event will include a Beer Fraulein & Lederhosen Costume Contest, followed by an incredible drag performance from PLASMA. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet PLASMA up close with our exclusive Meet & Greet tickets for just $50! Doors open at 6:00 PM, with the show starting at 8:00 PM. Whether you’re a die-hard fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race or just looking for a unique night out, this event promises to be an unforgettable evening filled with entertainment, costumes, and fun. Tickets are available now for $15 in advance and $25 at the door. For ticket purchases and more details, visit www.MoonTavern.com or call 570-290-8117 after 5:00 PM. Event Details: Date: Saturday, October 5 Doors Open: 6:00 PM Showtime: 8:00 PM Meet & Greet with PLASMA: $50 Tickets: $15 ADV • $25 @ Door
Marywood Celebrates First Anniversary of Construction Management Program Marywood University is planning to celebrate the first anniversary of its distinctive Construction Management program with a special event and announcement in October. The event, which will be held on Wednesday, October 9, 3 p.m., in the Center for Architectural Studies on Marywood’s campus, will provide attendees the opportunity to meet industry leaders, review student work, and take a “hard hat” tour. The event will also recognize the Sordoni Family by naming the Sordoni Construction Management Program in honor of their generosity in support of the first and only four-year construction management program in Northeastern Pennsylvania. For the last four decades, through The Sordoni Family Foundation, as well as their business, Sordoni Construction Services, Inc., the Sordoni Family has both aided in erecting buildings on campus and in philanthropically aiding the academic activities that take place within them. The recent naming opportunity provides resources to enhance the Construction Management Program within the School of Architecture, which reflects the reputation for excellence and expertise that Sordoni Construction Services, Inc. commands in the area. Construction management occupations are projected to grow by 8 percent in the next few years. The Sordoni Family’s support further expands and enhances the depth of the Marywood University School of Architecture, funds faculty for program expansion, improves the student experience through experiential learning, and sponsors guest lecturers in the field. Marywood University’s School of Architecture is the largest in the state of Pennsylvania. In addition to Construction Management, the School features renowned programs in Architecture and Interior Architecture, as well as the only Virtual Architecture program in the world.
Geisinger Going Pink, Hosting Health Talks to Combat Breast Cancer The system will also deploy mobile mammogram bus This October, in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Geisinger is doing its part to raise awareness about the importance of early breast cancer detection. Geisinger hospitals across central Pennsylvania will be lit up in pink, and the mobile mammogram bus will bring screenings to patients in underserved communities. Geisinger will also sponsor two free public education events: PA Health Talk: Genetics and Risk of Developing Breast Cancer will be held virtually Oct. 9 from 6 – 7 p.m. PA Health Talk: Comprehensive breast care, a discussion of breast cancer prevention and treatment, will be held at Geisinger Woodbine, 16 Woodbine Lane, Danville, Oct. 10 from 6 – 8 p.m. A virtual link will be available. To register for either PA Health Talk, visit events.geisinger.org. The pink mobile mammogram bus will be available at the following locations: Sept. 30 – Oct. 4: 1525 N. Church St., Hazle Township Oct. 7 – 11: 1 E. Norwegian St., Pottsville Oct. 14 – 18: 35 S. Mountain Blvd., Mountain Top Oct. 21 – 25: 1 E. Norwegian St., Pottsville Oct. 28 – Nov. 1: 1525 N. Church St., Hazle Township Patients can schedule mammograms through MyGeisinger or by calling 570-271-6000. “Early detection is one of the best ways to win the battle against breast cancer,” said Robin Skrine, M.D., director of breast health for Geisinger. “The American Society of Breast Surgeons and other leading health groups agree that lives are saved through annual mammograms beginning at age 40 — or earlier if there’s a history of breast cancer or other risk factors in a patient’s medical history.” Along with scheduling mammograms, Dr. Skrine urged women to attend the PA Health Talks to learn more about breast cancer and genetic risks. To learn more about breast cancer care at Geisinger, visit geisinger.org/breastcare.
Don’t Miss Pennsylvania Senate Debate Live on NEXSTAR! NEXSTAR to host an exclusive live telecast of the debate between the candidates for U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania on October 3 AT 8 P.M. ET Nexstar Media Group, Inc. announced today that it will host an exclusive live multi-market telecast of a debate featuring the candidates for the United States Senate from Pennsylvania. Democrat Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick have committed to attend and all candidates who meet eligibility criteria will be invited to participate. “DEBATE NIGHT IN PENNSYLVANIA: RACE FOR THE U.S. SENATE” will take place on Thursday, October 3, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. ET, at the studios of WHTM/abc27 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and will be telecast and live streamed across the Commonwealth. Nexstar’s cable news network, NewsNation, will carry a simulcast of the debate nationwide. The one-hour debate will be available via broadcast or digital live stream to every Pennsylvania voter in every county of the state. The debate will bring together millions of viewers and will air on six Nexstar-owned or operated local stations serving the state: WHTM-TV (ABC) in Harrisburg/Lancaster, Lebanon, York, WPHL-TV (CW) in Philadelphia, WTAJ-TV (CBS) in Johnstown/Altoona/State College, WBRE-TV (NBC) in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton, WFXP-TV (FOX) in Erie, and WYTV-TV (ABC) in Youngstown, OH. In Pittsburgh, the debate will be carried by KDKA+. WETM2 in Elmira, New York, will live stream the debate, as will PIX11.com in New York City. Additionally, all radio stations throughout the Commonwealth will be provided free access to the debate. The debate will be moderated by WHTM/abc27 News anchor Dennis Owens, who will pose questions to the candidates focused on local and regional issues impacting communities across Pennsylvania. The election for U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5th. Voters must register to vote by October 21st. To register to vote, please visit https://www.vote.pa.gov/Register-to-Vote. For more information regarding the upcoming elections, including early voting dates, polling locations and voter identification requirements, please visit https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov. Anyone requesting media access should contact Leisha Beard at lbeard@abc27.com Your Local Election Headquarters: Pennsylvania Democratic U.S. Senate Debate Thursday, October 3, 2024 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EDT The U.S. Senate Debate will be carried on the following stations and websites: Station Network Market Station Website Social WHTM-TV ABC Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon, York, PA Abc27.com @abc27news WETMNBCElmiramytwintiers.com@wetm18newsWFXP-TVFOXErie, PAYourErie.com@jetfoxyourerieWYTV-TVABCYoungstown, OHWytv.com@33wytvWBRE-TVNBCScranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, PAPahomepage.com@eyewitnessnewstvWTAJ-TVCBSJohnstown, Altoona, State College, PAWearecentralpa.com@wtajtvWPHL-TVCWPhiladelphia, PAPhl17.com@phl17KDKA+INDPittsburgh, PA Kdka.com @kdka WPIX-TVCWNew York City Pix11.comPIX11+ stream WIVBCBSBuffalo, NYWIVB.com@wivb
Greater Scranton YMCA Appoints Next President & CEO On September 26, the Greater Scranton YMCA’s Board of Directors appointed Rich Surridge as the organization’s next President & CEO. Rich has worked at the Greater Scranton YMCA for 17 years, beginning his YMCA career in July of 2007. During his time with the YMCA, Rich served in various roles at the Greater Scranton YMCA and Greater Wyoming Valley YMCA. Previous to being appointed President & CEO in September and Interim CEO in June, Rich served as the Greater Scranton YMCA’s CFO from 2007-2015; the CFO for both the Greater Scranton YMCA and the Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA from 2015-2021; and, most recently, the CFO and COO at the Greater Scranton YMCA from 2021 through June of this year. “On behalf of the board of directors, we are thrilled to name Rich as President and CEO of the Greater Scranton YMCA,” said Megan Wolff Galko, Chief Volunteer Officer, Greater Scranton YMCA. “His passion and dedication to the Y makes him the perfect person to continue our legacy of serving a critical need within the Northeast PA community by offering healthy meals for children and seniors, training in water safety, encouraging healthy habits, and offering a safe place for residents of all ages to spend time with their friends.” As President & CEO, Rich’s primary focus will be ensuring the Greater Scranton YMCA’s successful operation, including membership, program development, volunteer recruitment, staff supervision, community relations, collaborations, budgeting, and financial results. “I am honored to serve as the next President & CEO of the Greater Scranton YMCA,” said Rich. “I will work diligently to not only continue the important work of our YMCA, but also to grow our programs to meet the changing needs of our community. Working alongside our dedicated staff team, I am so excited to be a part of the impact the Greater Scranton YMCA will continue to make on the lives of children, adults and families from across our community.”
Greater Scranton YMCA Announces Retirement of President The Greater Scranton YMCA announces the retirement of its esteemed President & CEO, Trish Fisher, due to health concerns. Trish’s unwavering dedication to the development of the Greater Scranton YMCA during her ten years of service will forever be appreciated, and they express gratitude for her. During Trish’s tenure, the Greater Scranton YMCA underwent nearly $10 million in capital improvements, including the renovation of the welcome center and the creation of a commercial kitchen, teaching kitchen, universal locker room, power cycling room and more. Under Trish’s leadership, enrollment in its Early Childhood Education Programs has more than tripled, which motivated the opening of its second Early Learning Center in Olyphant in April of this year. The YMCA’s membership has also tripled during this time, fully rebounding from the hardships incurred during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Throughout the pandemic, Trish was proud to continue paying all staff, even during the times when the facility was forced to shut down. Since Trish joined the Greater Scranton YMCA, $10,963,376 has been raised to support these efforts and continue fulfilling the mission of turning no one away for an inability to pay. Trish played an integral role in the establishment of the Greater Scranton YMCA’s Year-Round Food Program, which provides daily breakfast, lunch and snacks to the children in their care. Understanding the importance of year-round education for all children, Trish spearheaded the implementation of the Summer Scholars Program at the Mid Valley and Dunmore School Districts. The program operates for six-weeks during the summer months, is free of charge and is targeted to rising first, second and third grade students who are struggling with reading. The members, staff, and volunteers are profoundly grateful to Trish for her cause-driven leadership and wish her all the health and happiness in the world as she enters her well-deserved retirement!
The University of Scranton Ranked in U.S. News For more than 30 consecutive years U.S. News has ranked The University of Scranton in the top 10 “Best Regional Universities in North.” U.S. News & World Report has once again ranked The University of Scranton among the top 10 regional universities in the north, placing Scranton No. 6 in its 2025 edition of the “Best Colleges” guidebook, which became available online today. This marks the 31st consecutive year the U.S. News has ranked Scranton in the top 10 in its category. U.S. News ranked Scranton No. 6 among “Best Regional Universities in the North” in its 2025 “Best Colleges” guide, marking the 31st consecutive year that Scranton was ranked in the top 10 universities in its category. U.S. News also ranked Scranton No. 6 in its category for “Best Undergraduate Teaching,” a selection of the top colleges in the nation that express a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching. Three of Scranton’s academic programs were among the top 50 in the nation. U.S. News ranked Scranton among the nation’s “Best Undergraduate Programs in Analytics” at No. 26 in the U.S.; “Best Undergraduate Programs in Accounting” at No. 41; among the “Best Undergraduate Programs in Finance” at No. 43. Other programs also enjoyed national recognition: “Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs” at No. 149; and among “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” at No. 190 (where a doctorate is not offered). Scranton’s was also listed among the 584 “Best Undergraduate Computer Science Programs” in the nation. Scranton also ranked No. 248 among America’s “Best Undergraduate Business Programs,” which listed only schools that hold accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). For these program listings, U.S. News only ranked schools holding the highest recognized national accreditations in their fields. The rankings were based solely on dean and senior faculty recommendations from peer institutions. In addition, U.S. News ranked Scranton No. 53 as a “Best Value Regional University in the North,” which compares academic quality of programs to cost of attendance. This is the 11th consecutive year U.S. News has recognized Scranton as a “Best Value” school. Scranton was ranked No. 116 in its category in “Top Performers on Social Mobility,” which looks at the success of schools that enroll and graduate students who were awarded with Pell Grants. U.S. News uses data on nearly 20 measures of academic quality to rank bachelor’s degree colleges in America. For its rankings, U.S. News considers a range of quality indicators that include a peer assessment of academic excellence; faculty resources; financial resources; graduate indebtedness; freshman retention; graduation rates; Pell graduation rates, and graduation performance rates, which compares a school’s actual graduation rates with predicted graduation rates based on characteristics of the incoming class. U.S. News ranking analysis also includes student selectivity, as measured by SAT or ACT scores and high school ranking of students in the top 25 percent of their class. U.S. News categorizes colleges for their rankings based on the official Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classification of universities. The 2025 U.S. News “Best Colleges” rankings became available online Sept. 24.
