Northeastern PA Native Returns as New CEO of Scranton Counseling Center After a national search, Scranton Counseling Center has selected Sarah Wodder, Psy.D. as the organization’s new President and CEO. Dr. Wodder, a northeastern Pennsylvania native, will be returning to the area to lead the community based, non-profit behavioral health organization. Dr. Wodder most recently served as an Executive Director of Edison Court, Inc., a Doylestown, PA child and adolescent residential and outpatient treatment facility for those with behavioral health issues. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, and her Master of Science in Community Counseling from the University of Scranton. She was awarded her Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia. She will assume her new responsibilities on September first, relieving Sal Santoli, the interim CEO, who will remain in a senior management position with the Center. “We are delighted to bring in Dr. Wodder to lead Scranton Counseling Center,” said Karen Clifford, chair of the CEO search committee. “Sarah’s commitment to quality, collaboration and team building, and her inclusive approach to partnership development will serve the Center and the community we serve well as we continue to grow and evolve in our new campus,” Karen concluded. “Having grown up in the Scranton area with deep roots in this community, I am thrilled to be chosen to lead Scranton Counseling Center and its professional staff of behavioral health specialists,” related Sarah Wodder. “My previous outpatient and residential experiences will be valuable in leading the devoted team at the Center in providing exceptional service to those in need,” she added. Dr. Wodder was selected after a four-month selection process that provided the search committee a significant number of regional and national applications for consideration. Philip Condron, the board chair of Scranton Counseling Center, relayed, “Dr. Wodder’s focus on our client services, staff training, and quality improvement enabled her to stand out among an outstanding list of applicants for the CEO position. Her background, experience and previous successes positioned her as our strong selection. We’re thrilled she accepted our offer.” Scranton Counseling Center is a community based, private nonprofit behavioral health provider serving children, adolescents, adults and families with mental health and substance abuse issues in Lackawanna Susquehanna and surrounding counties. The center recently moved into a new $15 million campus of facilities on the corner of Cedar Avenue and Cherry Street in South Scranton.
Northpoint Development Breaks Ground on New Warehouse NorthPoint Development, a commercial real estate developer specializing in industrial development, joined political and business leaders, the design and construction team, and the local community on July 28 to break ground for a new 432,640-square-foot warehouse. The $19.5 million, single-load industrial building, located in Forks Township, Pennsylvania, will promote and encourage development opportunities within the township for office, service, and manufacturing uses. This area will support residential growth in the community according to the zoning code and create 430 direct and indirect jobs and tax revenue to the township. Eric Watts, Director of Development for NorthPoint Development opened the groundbreaking ceremony stating, “This development will provide a lasting value for the community through job creation, tax revenue, and a capital investment of $38.6 million dollars. We are at the starting line of construction with anticipated excitement to announce we pre-leased the project to a confidential Fortune 50 company. Forks Township provides a competitive landscape with a strong supporting labor force, energetic community members, and the ambition to collaborate with private entities like NorthPoint.” Projects like Commerce 33 require execution and hard work from many partners who attended the groundbreaking; Forks Township, Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation, Quandel Construction, and Schlouch Incorporated.
Pocono Farms Country Club Association, Inc. Awards Scholarships At their Member-Member Memorial Dinner held on 7/23/21, the Pocono Farms Country Club Golf Scholarship committee awarded 4 Pocono Farms graduating seniors with a total of $5,500 in scholarship funds. The scholarship applicants were scored on their academic record, extracurricular involvement, community service, and their personal interview. Of all the applicants, Nikayla Phillips, Brianna Joseph, and Tyler Mui received the highest scores and were each awarded a scholarship. Emily Lesh was also awarded the Neil P. Carlson Memorial Scholarship. Pocono Farms Country Club Association has been awarding scholarships to deserving high school seniors since 2004 with a total of over $66,500 awarded during that time. Contributions to this fund are made by individual members through various golf outings held throughout the golf season, along with personal donations made. Scholarships have also been awarded through funds set up memorializing past golf members of the Club that gave so much of their time and effort to the Club. Golf is an integral part of the community at Pocono Farms. The golf scholarship committee and the golf members are proud to award these scholarships to these deserving high school seniors.
Performance Construction Services, Inc., A Quandel Company, Merges with Subsidiary, Susquehanna Supply Company Performance Construction Services, Inc., a Quandel Company, announces their merger with subsidiary, Susquehanna Supply Company, to form Performance Construction Company. Integrating the two companies offers an established history of heavy civil contracting and construction services solutions to their clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic market. Performance Construction Services, Inc. began in 1995 as the self-performing provider for Quandel Construction Group and has evolved over the years as a general contracting company specializing in heavy concrete, bridges, dams, and water and wastewater treatment plants. When Susquehanna Supply Company joined the Quandel family of companies three years ago, Performance Construction Services, Inc. added a long history of bridge construction, some of the most visible bridge projects in Northcentral and Northeastern Pennsylvania. Over the past three years, both Performance and Susquehanna Supply were managed by the same management team and shared many of the same administrative, labor, and equipment resources. The merger of Performance and Susquehanna Supply will allow them to: more effectively manage their business, their manpower, and their equipment to provide heavy civil contracting and construction service solutions to their clients, andcontinue to be a regionally recognized heavy-civil construction company implementing innovation and technology in water and wastewater, bridges, dams, concrete, and site development. “With the merger of these two companies into Performance Construction Company, we are in a stronger position to offer our clients construction solutions they need to address the challenges they face,” said Jerome Urban, president and chief executive officer of Performance Construction Company. The merger positions us to focus our combined industry experience and resources to help clients generate new value and succeed in today’s increasingly competitive market.” As they move forward together under one name, Performance Construction Company, they continue to deliver resilient, flexible solutions that improve their clients’ operations. While their name is changing, their core values remain the same – safety, integrity, exceptional service, commitment to excellence, and team. They are committed to leading, making a difference, and building a better future.
Pittston Resident Selected as Hometown Scholar Endorsed by the Wright Center The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education has announced that Moriah Bartolai, Pittston, has been selected as this year’s Hometown Scholar and will attend A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA). She becomes only the second area resident – and second Wright Center-endorsed candidate – to enter The Hometown Scholars program. As a Hometown Scholar, Bartolai’s training at ATSU-SOMA will be unique from other medical schools. After spending her first year on campus in Mesa, Arizona, she will return to Scranton, training in the classroom while also rotating through The Wright Center for Community Health’s clinical settings at least once a week. Bartolai, 23, began her studies this month. Through a partnership with A.T. Still University, The Wright Center’s Hometown Scholars Program targets and recruits future physicians, dentists and other medical professionals from Northeast Pennsylvania who want to serve as an aspirational example for young people in our region. The program was created to support the applications of compassionate, community-minded individuals interested in becoming a doctor or other medical provider who want to serve the region they grew up in. Along with meeting the rigorous requirements to apply to medical school, a Hometown Scholar must spend time in a community health center and receive the recommendation of a community health center leader. In Bartolai’s case, her endorsement came from Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and chief executive officer of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “Moriah is dedicated to becoming a highly skilled, compassionate primary care osteopathic physician and healthcare leader who will both serve and advocate for vulnerable populations, communities and humanity,” said Dr. Thomas-Hemak. “Notably, she is to become a first generation physician.” Bartolai, a 2016 alumna of Scranton Preparatory School, began working at The Wright Center’s Mid Valley and Scranton practices last year, serving as a medical scribe. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, she earned a bachelor of science degree in microbiology. “I’m excited and thrilled for this Hometown Scholars opportunity,” she said. “When I received the call, I realized I would finally be able to move forward in achieving a major milestone … a milestone I’ve been working towards for the last few years.” One of about 160 medical students in ATSU-SOMA’s Class of 2025, Bartolai will gain exposure to clinical settings sooner than many of her counterparts at other medical schools, which typically don’t offer clinical rotations until the third year. “It does give you a leg up,” said Bartolai. “I’m going to get a lot more patient experience than I would at any other medical school.” The Hometown Scholars program at ATSU-SOMA was developed to address the workforce needs of the nation’s community health centers, which provide affordable care to traditionally underserved populations, including low-income individuals and people who face other barriers to healthcare. Today the program is helping to create a pipeline of exceptional, community-minded medical and dental students who are committed to serving in America’s health centers. Educational opportunities are available for aspiring physicians, physician assistants and dentists. To learn more about these Hometown Scholars opportunities, please contact The Wright Center’s Office of Clerkships at 570-591-5132 or email howellse@thewrightcenter.org.
Human Resources Center, Inc. Becomes NADSP Members Human Resources Center, Inc. is becoming a NADSP Member organization with the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP), which demonstrates a dedication to Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), other employees, and people receiving services. Through NADSP Membership, HRC is taking proactive steps to invest in staff development and allocate resources to elevate the status of DSPs, by providing the tools needed for success in their work. “As a member of NADSP, we can now offer our direct support professionals an increased opportunity to expand their knowledge and to further develop new skills sets as they support individuals with disabilities,” says Darlene Glynn, HRC’s CEO. HRC is initiating its NADSP Membership in 2021, which will continue throughout the calendar year. HRC will use NADSP Membership to advance its mission to serve and support individuals with disabilities in the Northeast Pennsylvania region. “Especially in the midst of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it’s critical that we show DSPs that they are essential,” says Joseph Macbeth, President and Chief Executive Officer of NADSP. “NADSP Membership means that organizations are going from praise to promise – not just acknowledging the work of DSPs, but especially providing tangible support and advocacy.” HRC is a 501(3)c nonprofit organization based in Northeast Pennsylvania providing support and services to individuals with disabilities in Wayne, Pike, Carbon, Monroe, Lackawanna, and Susquehanna counties. Established in 1973, HRC began as a passion project to serve an underrepresented group of the community by promoting inclusion and acceptance. Over four decades later, HRC has grown into a devoted institution of over 400 caring and qualified individuals with a shared goal in mind: serve and support. With its NADSP membership, employees of HRC will be able to access a robust library of archived webinars on subjects important to DSPs, receive e-newsletters, take advantage of discounted rates for the NADSP E-Badge Academy and the annual NADSP Conference, as well as apply a 10% discount for NADSP Training offerings. Along with these member benefits, HRC will be featured on NADSP’s website, highlighting their dedication to the people they employ, and the in turn, the people they support
Berger Furniture & Mattress Matches Car Wash Proceeds Berger Furniture & Mattress and the Dickson City Fire Department hosted their second annual car wash. The event raised $863 to support the volunteer fire department. Berger Furniture & Mattress matched the proceeds up to $500 bringing the total up to $1363.
Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple Receives National Endowment for the Arts Funding The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple (SCCMT) was invited to submit a Fiscal Year 2021 application for the Arts Engagement in American Communities Grant Program (AEAC) and has received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support teaching artists salaries for its upcoming Youth Theatre Program Summer Camp. The Arts Endowment identified the Scranton Cultural Center as eligible to apply for and receive this grant and after submitting the application, was awarded the funding. The National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Arts Engagement in American Communities (AEAC) supports arts projects in all artistic disciplines, extending the National Endowment for the Arts’ reach to communities across the United States. These grants engage the public with diverse and excellent art in geographic areas underrepresented in our grant making portfolio. Grants are available for professional arts programming, including, but not limited to, presentation of artists or artworks, marketing and promotional activities, educational programs, and organizational planning. The Scranton Cultural Center Youth Theatre Program Summer Camp offers in-person and virtual opportunities for young performers in PreK through 12th grade. The program is open to all students, regardless of experience or financial means. This year’s program runs from July 12 through August 21. To learn more about session details and registration, please visit SCCMT.org/camp.
Scranton Area Community Foundation Announces 2021 James F. Swift Scholarship Recipients Twenty students from thirteen different high schools in the area have been awarded a prestigious scholarship through the James F. Swift Scholarship Fund administered by the Scranton Area Community Foundation, which provides $5,000 per year for each recipient for up to four years to assist with continuing education expenses. The James F. Swift Scholarship Fund has awarded over $3.2 million since 2008, benefiting over 220 local students to date. Created in 2002 through a gift by Mr. James F. Swift to the Scranton Area Community Foundation, the James F. Swift Scholarship Fund provides support for higher education for students graduating from high schools in Lackawanna County. Following Mr. Swift’s death in 2006, the Scranton Area Community Foundation gratefully received a significant gift from his estate to the scholarship fund which has allowed a great number of students from Lackawanna County the opportunity to pursue their academic and professional goals through higher education. The scholarship aims to provide an ongoing stream of matriculation at Lackawanna County colleges and universities. It is the goal of the Scranton Area Community Foundation to award 75% of the scholarships to students who plan to attend institutions of higher learning in the Lackawanna County region. Scranton Area Community Foundation President and CEO Laura Ducceschi praised the generosity of Mr. Swift, noting “he has left a permanent and enduring legacy for the young people of our region. His scholarship fund makes higher education more attainable for generations of students.” James F. Swift Scholarship Recipients pictured: Row 1: Gabrielle Snee, Rebecca Lucas, Liz Stone, Olivia Manarchuck, Taralyn Reilly, Ryan Coleman. Row 2: Hannah Carr, Maura Turi, Jillian Brennan, Alexis Tanana, Ava Decker, Caitlin Doughton, Gerardo Sanchez Garcia, Gwyneth Serowinski, Fione Evans, Korey Kruk. Row 3: Hunter Geise, Ben Thompson, Antonio Pugliese, Nicholas Guerra, Ashley Capone, Taylor Seprosky, Jenna O’Malley. Row 4: Christian Snee, Jacob Vituszynski, Joshua Vituszynski, Claudia Pitts, Tyler Muskey, Marguerite Flynn, David McKenney, Eric Spivak. Also in photo: Cathy Fitzpatrick, Grants and Scholarship Manager, Scranton Area Community Foundation; and Frank Caputo, Grants and Communications Coordinator, Scranton Area Community Foundation. 2021 James F. Swift Scholarship recipients missing from photo: Michael Rodyushkin, Cameron Butka, Matthew Howard, Hailey Matechak, Kayla Rose, Sara McCormac, Meredith Purcell, Sofia Capozzi, Marisol Olivares. In addition to the 20 new recipients, there were 55 James F. Swift Scholarship renewals in 2021. The following students are recipients of a James F. Swift Scholarship Renewal in 2021: Shannon Baransky, Tanner Begin, Calista Calabro, Christina Carachilo, Emma Coar, Andrew Cummings, James Docalovich, Collin Ennis, Austin Glidewell, Marilyn Hoskins, Daniel Jaggars, Rebecca Johnson, Tiffini Kalt, Meghan Keenan, Benjamin Koshinski, Tori Kovalchick, Kristen Lello, Ximena Maldonado, Mark Melesky, Brooke Mickavicz, Gia Occhipinti, Marley Palmere, Megan Purcell, Julia Romanovich, Amanda Sakulich, Nina Sampogne, Kaitlyn Savage, Natalie Sottile, Christopher Talluto, Makenna Thorpe, Evan Tremback, Ryan Turlip, Alexandra Valvano, Anna Van Wert, Stone Wormuth, Alec Yanisko, Drew Yanni.
