Half of the Change Maker honorees are shown with their awards during the Light Up the Valley event on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday night.
Sam Zavada | Times Leader
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Dustin Douglas and the Electric Gentleman performed on the main stage at the Light Up the Valley event on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday night.
Sam Zavada | Times Leader
Half of the Change Maker honorees are shown with their awards during the Light Up the Valley event on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday night.
Sam Zavada | Times Leader
A crowd gathered in the Midtown Village area of Downtown Wilkes-Barre for the Sunsets on South Main (SOMA) show, which preceded Light Up the Valley.
Sam Zavada | Times Leader
The Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce held, for the second time, its Light Up the Valley event on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. There, they handed out Change Maker awards to over 40 people.
The Change Maker awards, according to the Chamber’s website, were given to local individuals “who have consistently strived to make the Wyoming Valley a brighter place, through their efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion; volunteerism; or innovation, as well as additional efforts that improve the overall quality of life in the Wyoming Valley.”
“This year, coming into it, we wanted the public to nominate who they thought was making change, so that got bigger and better,” said Lindsay Griffin-Boylan, president and CEO of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce.
This year’s Change Maker award recipients included: Denise Acosta, Meghan Barlow, Ellie Bartoli, Sarah Borland, Tanya Brown, Amanda & Ron Bruza, Ann-Marie & Kevin Coughlin, Kalen Churcher, Kelly Dessoye, Amiee Dilger, Nancy Frey, Regina Graham, Sam Harris, Sarah Harris, Bobby Hughes, Shea Hughes, Joanna Jinks, AJ Jump, Jacob Kelley, Kelly Ann Kenney, Nathaniel Kenney, Malinda Knipfer, Glynis Johns, Gina Malsky, Toni Mathis, Anthony Melf, Kevin O’Boyle, Melissa Obuch, Denise Ogurkis, Rachel Olszewski Conrad, Ismael Ortiz, David Pearson, Gordon Pearson, Elizabeth Perez, Devin Reese, Kevin Sickle, Katie Spencer, Adam Thalenfeld, Teaira Washington, Erica Zangardi and Maegan Zielins.
“I think a lot of the time we’re focused on the negative, but this shows that there are so many people in this area that are positive and are really doing great things to move it forward,” Griffin-Boylan said of the honorees.
Before the awards were given out, PA live!’s Chris Bohinski and Rachel Malak welcomed the honorees and attendees to Public Square for the presentation. They introduced the Dance Theater of Wilkes-Barre, which performed a quick opening number before the awards ceremony got underway.
The Change Maker recipients were announced by Dr. George Avetian of Geisinger 65 Forward Health Center.
After the each of the Change Maker awardees accepted their prizes, members of the Misericordia University baseball team were welcomed on stage in recognition of their recent NCAA Division III baseball championship.
In addition to the awards ceremony, the event had a festival feel, attracting around 40 vendors to Downtown Wilkes-Barre for attendees to explore. For comparison, the first Light Up the Valley event last year had around 15 vendors.
Among the promotions at Light Up the Valley were the shirts, emblazoned with the phrase “Be the Light,” that were for sale. Proceeds from the shirt sales went to Brighter Journeys, a local non-profit which helps children with special needs.
The event also featured live music from Dustin Douglas and the Electric Gentleman on Public Square’s main stage. Nearby, in the Midtown Village area of Downtown Wilkes-Barre, the Sunsets on South Main (SOMA) show preceded Light Up the Valley on Thursday night. This was an intentional near overlap, with the organizers of both events recognizing the other.
“We love our friends at [the Diamond City Partnership], so we definitely wanted to collaborate with them,” said Grundowski, senior manager of program engagement with the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce.
“We just really love the summertime, and hanging out in the community in Downtown Wilkes-Barre, so we really just wanted to collaborate and have two great events on the same night.”
According to Griffin-Boylan, Light Up the Valley is, as its mission suggests, an opportunity for the community to recognize some of the lesser-known local figures who are doing good things for the area.
“You’re reading about what these people are doing in our community, and it’s incredible,” said Griffin-Boylan. “For us, it’s just an incredible honor to be celebrating them tonight, and really introduce the community to what they’re doing.”