Ben Tielle was named the grand marshal of the 2025 Pittston Tomato Festival.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
2025 Pittston Tomato Festival Grand Marshal Ben Tielle, former Pittston Tomato Festival committee member, displays the t-shirt searching for a kidney donor in 2019. Tielle, 58, of Pittston, is at stage 4 kidney disease and is seeking a kidney donor.
Tony Callaio file photo | For Sunday Dispatch
58-year-old Pittston native, Ben Tielle was named the grand marshal of the 2025 Pittston Tomato Festival.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PITTSTON — Ben Tielle has been a part of the Tomato Festival going back to 2001 and has been a steady and hardworking volunteer. Due to health issues in the last few years, Ben has stepped back, but this year he will be front row, center as the 2025 Pittston Tomato Festival grand marshal.
“Ben has been a dedicated and longtime volunteer whose impact on the festival can’t be overstated,” Mary Kroptavich, Pittston Main Street manager, said. “For years, he proudly ran and oversaw the Festival merchandise stand, putting in countless hours behind the scenes to help make the festival a success. His passion, reliability, and warm spirit were a staple of the event.”
“When I got the call, I was totally overwhelmed, I never expected it,” Tielle said after getting the word he was selected as the 2025 grand marshal. “I was so excited and I’m still so excited, but I just feel so honored and I feel the entire (Tomato Festival) committee should be recognized.”
Tielle, 58-years-old and a lifeline resident of Pittston, was a very active volunteer initially and was rewarded for his dedication when he was asked to serve on the Tomato Festival Executive Board.
Throughout the years, Tielle served in whatever capacity he was needed until he was asked to oversee the Tomato Festival merchandising booth.
“I love the Tomato Festival, I love everything about it, I love everything it stands for and I’m very proud of Pittston,” Tielle said. “The whole transformation of the city has been remarkable and the festival was always so important and saw the need to dedicate so much of my time to it.”
In 2016, Tielle suffered a heart attack resulting in open-heart surgery to repair the damage. The heart surgery failed, and seven-stents were installed. The seven-stent procedure accelerated kidney disease and he has been on disability since 2016.
He has been on dialysis since 2019 and has been on a transplant list for a new kidney since.
In 2019, his fellow Tomato Festival committee decided to get behind Tielle’s drive to get a kidney and announced the “B+ For Ben” campaign to create awareness for his struggle to find a kidney donor hoping one or more possible donors would surface.
So far, he is still waiting and anticipating receiving a kidney in the near future.
He recently switched hospital donor programs from Jefferson in Philadelphia to UPMC at Harrisburg, PA and feels very confident a kidney could be found.
Over the last several years while waiting on a kidney, he has been doing dialysis had some three-days a week.
Even though he stepped away from his services and duties at the Tomato Festival in 2024, he vows to return back to the festival once he receives a new kidney.
“While taking a step back from working at the festival, once I get my kidney, I would love to return, maybe not in my former role, but anything to help where needed,” Tielle added.
“Although his health challenges eventually made it difficult for him to continue in that role, his contributions have left a lasting mark on our festival family,” Kroptavich added. “Honoring Ben as grand marshal is our way of saying thank you — for his years of service, unwavering commitment, and the heart he’s brought to the Pittston Tomato Festival.”
In order to get Ben back on the Tomato Festival team, he needs to be healthy with a new functioning kidney.
If you are interested in finding out about a kidney donor program or would like to see if you are match for Ben, reach out to him at 570-430-1924.
