Now that a lot of the Irish festivities are pretty much over, the last bit of business is the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Dinner on, what else, St. Patrick’s Day and the celebration of the Irish Woman of the Year Luncheon happening today; both festivities at The Banks Waterfront.
City of Pittston Mayor Michael Lombardo will be honored at Man of the Year at the St. Patrick’s Day Dinner, while Erin Burke Weiss will be honored today as the Irish Woman of the Year.
I’m sure Erin’s celebration is bittersweet with the passing of her father, Billy Burke. Billy’s veins bleed green 365-days a year, in fact so much so, the Friendly Sons decided to change the annual President’s Award to the William “Billy” Burke President’s Award in his honor.
Billy was a great guy and he would always greet you with a handshake and smile. For some odd reason, I never referred to him as Billy; it was always ‘BillyBurke,’ like it was one word. He will be greatly missed and never forgotten, that’s for sure, especially in the Friendly Sons community.
Congratulations Erin, no doubt, your dad and mom had front-row seats for today’s luncheon.
I did want to give a shout out to the winners of last weekend’s Little Miss and Little Mister Leprechaun contest, Sophia Weber and Jack Patrick McGarry, respectively. Close behind were runner-ups, Elia Cerulli and Patrick Johnson.
The St. Patrick’s annual Pub Crawl was, once again, a huge success and congrats to the organizers for doing such a great job.
M. Mayo Striping did their annual thing painting the centerline on Main Street green along with a few shamrocks thrown in for good measure.
Many of you don’t know, but Mayos does all that work for free while charging nothing for the paint. Owners Ben Gadomski and his daughter Jennifer have kept up with that tradition and most likely will for years to come.
Also thank you to Fr. Elston of St. John the Evangelist, Pittston, for hosting the St. Patrick Mass to start the day’s activities yesterday.
In a few weeks, the Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but on an alternate date, Friday, March 28 at Fox Hill Country Club.
This year’s Distinguished Woman is Rose Ferentino Grimes, to whom I admit, I never had the privilege of speaking to other than saying hello here and there when out and about.
Rose’s article honoring her as the Distinguished Woman appears in today’s edition where you will get to know a little bit about her life.
Other than knowing her son, Atty. Jarrett Ferentino, I didn’t know much about her background and let me tell you, she was breaking down barriers as a female businesswoman in a male-dominated business.
You will read how she over came heartbreak and sadness to be one of the insurance industry’s leaders on a national level.
She has overcome so much adversity in her life including two husbands passing away, the most recent just about a month ago.
One thing I found out about Rose and her resilience is, the words ‘no’ and ‘never’ are not in her vocabulary.
Rose is one strong woman and a great role model for many – male or female.
Congratulations Rose on all of your accomplishments as well as our deepest condolences on the lost of your husband Charlie.
Speaking of women, Michelle Mikitish and Brandi Bartush, president and administrator, respectively, at the Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce, are front and center in promoting all businesses in Greater Pittston.
They work hard, sometimes on a shoestring budget, to make things happen for local businesses.
This past Friday, the Chamber held the annual Mid-Winter Breakfast (I think we should change it to Geological Spring Breakfast) and as always, it was so well attended. It just goes to show you how local business owners respect, and I’m sure admire, the work of both women to keep a Chamber of Commerce in Pittston.
The duo can’t compete with the Chambers of Scranton and Wyoming Valley with their large staffs and budget, but they do give them a run for the money.
This weekend is the end of geological winter and you can almost feel the changes in the air. Granted, we have about three more weeks of the calendar winter to endure, but just saying it’s geological spring makes me feel better.
This weekend, all of the high school winter sports programs came to an end with the exception of those that took District 2 titles at the Mohegan Pennsylvania Arena and will be moving on towards a state title.
Spring sports practices are underway and it won’t be long before we hear balls and strikes being called or ‘On your mark, set, go’ for track & field season.
How many of you actually heard birds chirping in the morning as I did? It’s one of the most pleasant sounds, especially after a long winter.
Now granted, I may be pushing the spring season a bit, because I know far too well we have received some dandy snow storms in the month of March, but I’m being an optimist. As a matter of fact, one of the largest single storm snowfalls I’ve ever seen happened in March many years ago.
Quote of the Week
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” — Maya Angelou
Thought of the Week
“Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others” — Amelia Earhart
Bumper Sticker
“Some leaders are born women.” — Geraldine Ferraro
