PD News

Greater Pittston Friendly Sons of St. Patrick President Patrick Bilbow announced that Joseph A. Heffers will receive the Greater Pittston Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Achievement Award when the Friendly Sons gather on March 17 for their 96th annual St. Patrick’s Day Banquet.

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Joseph Heffers

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Heffers is the son of the late John Heffers and Mary Golden Heffers. He was born and raised in Pittston, graduated from Pittston High School and Wilkes-Barre Business College, with a degree in Business and Accounting. He served in the Army from 1964 to 1967 in the Special Troops Unit at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He worked at Eberhard Faber in Mountaintop as Project Manager for 21 years, receiving the President’s Award from Eberhard Faber in 1986.

He later worked at Cooper Industries in Weatherly, as a Production Specialist and retired from InterMetro Industries in Wilkes-Barre. He is currently CEO and Manager of the Metro Wire Federal Credit Union in Plains.

Heffers is a Past President of the Greater Pittston Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick. He is on the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army in West Pittston and also is a member and former Financial Secretary of President John F. Kennedy Council #372 Knights of Columbus, their Council Choir and 4th Degree Assembly.

He coached several youth teams, Stoners Soccer, Jenkins Twp. Girls Softball and Girls Varsity Basketball at St. Mary’s Assumption School in Pittston. He is a member of St. John the Evangelist Church.

Heffers resides in Port Griffith with his wife of 38 years, the former Mary Catherine Shea. They are the parents of two children, Joseph, Elizabethtown; Mary Elizabeth Gregor, Plains. The couple has two grandchildren, Maxwell Wallace Gregor and Declan Joseph Gregor.

Bilbow also announced that Corporal William Gross and Trooper Robert Lombardo, both of the Pennsylvania State Police, will serve as Grand Marshalls for the 96th annual banquet.

Bobby Bilbow is General Chairman for the banquet. He is the son of the late Robert and Doris Bilbow and was born and raised in Pittston. He is a graduate of Pittston Area High School and Johnson College, where he earned an Associates degree in Biomedical Engineering.

He is the owner of two Cartridge World franchises in Wilkes-Barre and Bartonsville.

Bob is a member of Our Lady of Sorrows Church, West Wyoming, Hughestown Lions Club, Northeast Business Club, Wyoming Area Catholic School Advisory Board, along with being a volunteer youth basketball coach at Wyoming Area Catholic School.

Bob resides in West Wyoming with his wife, the former Maureen E. McLarney, and their two daughters, Morgan and MacKenzie.

Lombardo is the son of Dr. Joseph and Mary Lombardo. He is a 1991 graduate of Pittston Area High School and continued his education at Luzerne County Community College and Lackawanna Junior College studying Basic Emergency Medical Technician education, criminal justice and Municipal Police Officer education. His education continued at the Pennsylvania State Police Academy in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Corporal Gross is a 1987 graduate of Pittston Area High School. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in January of 1988. Corporal Gross applied to and received a position with the Pennsylvania State Police in November of 1994.