For each recipient of the Extraordinary People Inspiring Community Awards there was a musical performance and a video. The videos — which the Coal Creative video team produced — featured interviews with friends, family and colleagues of the winners.

Following the heartfelt videos, the recipients gave acceptance speeches. 

Dan Kimbrough received the new Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) Champion Award. His young son Luca presented the award. A chorus of “aww” burst from the F. M. Kirby Center seats when Luca promised to always be there when his dad won awards, even if he had to drive in from college.

“His son had the biggest smile and beamed with so much love,” said Jay Nguyen, Video Specialist.

Post-Production Manager Will McHale has a personal connection to the winner.

“Dan was my video professor at Misericordia University, where he gave me my first formal training in the world of video production,” Will McHale. “Getting the opportunity for our team to create videos to recognize his accomplishments, along with the accomplishments of the other recipients, was truly a proud moment for me personally.”

Jay and Will worked alongside Alex Manganella and Sam O’Connell to interview nearly 50 people and produce six videos.

Working behind the scenes, Alex has noticed a bit of a pipeline for EPIC Award winners.

“In our many years doing these videos, you see a pattern in that one year somebody is asked to speak on the behalf of their friend, then the next year they’re the one being nominated,” said  Alex, our Production Manager. “The networks you see at these events illustrate the saying ‘a rising tide lifts all boats.’”

Sam, our chief creative officer, has been working on EPIC videos for five years. He’s also seen the 2022 videos a lot — that’s the deal with video editing. Even though they’re old news, there’s something special about EPIC Awards night. 

“When we produce these videos, you watch them over and over again throughout the process,” Sam said. “But there is something about the energy in the room and hearing the honorees speak after the videos play that ‘hits different’ — as the kids say.”

Here are the 2022 EPIC Award winners. Congratulations, everyone!

Innovators of the Year Award

John Phillips, Josh Balz, Aaron Bruch, Kris Jones & Mat Giordano, Co-owners of Parlor Beverage

This award is presented to an individual or individuals with demonstrated ability to drive innovation within our region.

Volunteer of the Year Award

Amber Loomis, Director of Development & Community Relations, Osterhout Free Library

The Volunteer of the Year Award is sponsored by Community Bank, N.A. It honors an individual whose voluntary support of community-based and nonprofit organizations in the Greater Wilkes-Barre region not only allows these entities to better meet their mission but also attract and retain other volunteers.

DEI Champion Award

Dan Kimbrough, Owner of Park Multimedia

PNC sponsored the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Champion Award. This award recognizes an individual who strives to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion in their business or profession, has devoted time and energy to the DEI community in a meaningful way, has given back to the community, and, most especially, has generously assisted other minority groups in attaining their full potential.

ATHENA® Award

Zubeen Saeed, President & CEO of Building Blocks Learning Center

The ATHENA Award, which is sponsored by Riggs Asset Management, is presented to someone who has personified the highest level of professional excellence in her business or profession, has devoted time and energy to the community in a meaningful way, and, most especially, has generously assisted other women in attaining their full potential.

2022 Community Celebration Awards

The EPIC Awards final honor of the evening was for community celebrations. These awards go to organizations that marked significant milestones this year. The honorees are:

• Children’s Service Center of Wyoming Valley | Celebrating 160 years 
• American Institute of Architects of Northeastern Pennsylvania | Celebrating 100 years
• King’s College | Celebrating 75 years
• Luzerne County Transportation Authority | Celebrating 50 years 
• Cori’s Place | Celebrating 20 years

The post 2022 EPIC Awards first appeared on Coal Creative.

We made it to the end of another year. If your year has sucked, we hope 2022 rocks so hard for you. If your year has been great, congratulations, you should bask in the glow of your successes!

I can’t speak for the Coal Crew’s individual years, but as a company we have a lot to be joyful about. The team has expanded, making this Coal Crew the biggest group of creatives in our seven years as a company. Our video, social media and content teams all grew their capacity this year and we’ve turned out lots of incredible work.

Our year in review will focus on the three things we’re most passionate about: our work, our team and our community. There is a joke available about charging through the year like a COVID variant, but I promised to avoid those tropes, so… on to the review!

January

One of our biggest projects from 2021 was mostly completed in 2020. Matt Simoncavage, Lead Web Developer and Designer, and Travis Antoniello, Web Developer, built and launched three new websites for PA CareerLink® of Luzerne County. The Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton and Pottsville offices — and the corresponding websites — are one-stop service centers for residents looking for employment, training and hiring needs.

Travis celebrated his second year at Coal, as did Content Director Samantha Bucher. Matt, who proudly holds the distinction of Coal Creative’s first employee, marked five years on the job in January.

February

When you flip the page to February, you’ll find another Coal Crewmate celebrating an anniversary. Project Manager Jeremy Brown reached the one year mark on February 3.

Websites were flying off the shelf in February 2021. We launched new websites for Alvernia University’s O’Pake Institute and Valleybrook RV.

The web team also completed our new and improved website. The revamp included a new Mission and Values page, an improved portfolio section and our community impact page.

In February we learned we won a first-full of 2021 AVA Digital Awards.

Platinum Award Winner: The safety promo video for the Young Professionals Awards.

Gold Award Winner: The Maxx Strength Airsled video.

Gold Award Winner: The new Brier Moving website.

Honorable Mention: The Pro-bono poster for the KISS Theatre Production of Journey of the Noble Gnarble
Honorable Mention: The 2020 Census video that we created pro-bono with Wilkes-Barre Mayor George C. Brown.

March

March was a magnificent month of recognitions for Coal Creative.

The Wilkes-Barre City census video won an American Advertising Federation (AAF) NEPA Silver Award.

We received the Best Practices in Community Involvement Award at the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce SAGE awards.

And to round things out, Coal Creative earned gold in Best Ad Agency and Best in Video Production at the Times Leader Media Group’s Best of the Best Awards.

April

This is going to look intentional, but there was one big piece of news in April: me! Content Writer Adam Roberts started a four month streak of new team members. I write blogs, newsletters and social media captions. In my spare time I wear and think about hats.

May

Video Specialist Jay Nguyen joined the team in May. Jay shoots and edits a range of video projects for our award-winning production team. Off the clock, Jay is a foodie and anime fanatic who enjoys traveling with friends and trying new things.

On May 21, our Post Production Manager Alex Manganella marked three years at Coal Creative.

May saw the launch of the new maplehillcemetery.org. Coal Creative partnered with the Maple Hill Cemetery Association to redesign their logo and website to coincide with the cemetery’s 150th anniversary. We also created videos of the 38-acre property in Hanover Township.

June

University of Scranton senior Vic Fini joined the team this summer as our social media intern.  Vic did great work, especially on NEPA Creative social media. She also graced us with these NEPA Hidden Gems for her final video project. The Goshen, NY native will graduate this spring with a major in marketing and a minor in social media strategy.

On June 8, eight members of the Coal Crew met at Mohegan Sun Arena for the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber’s  2021 EPIC Awards. The award show was a great way to see people and celebrate the exceptional work that took place in 2020. The Coal Creative team made videos and graphics for the event.

On June 24, the Fourth Annual NEPA Sings culminated with a YouTube broadcast and an in-person viewing at the Garden Drive In. Our video team filmed the 10 finalists’ performances at the THINK Center in May. NEPA Sings benefits Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Luzerne County.

July

July was the beginning of  the Jesse Macko era at Coal Creative. As our Social Media Specialist, Jesse helps our collaborators plan, implement and engage on social media. Jesse is our resident coffee expert who enjoys spending time with friends and exploring.

Jesse and the rest of the Coal Crew had a day of bonding on July 23 for Coal Creative Team Building Day. The event brought our semi-remote team together for a day of fun activities and delicious local food.

August

August marked the fourth year at Coal for Post-production Manager Will McHale. At the beginning of the month, Camaryn Lokuta marked her one-year anniversary. By the end of the month, she was promoted! Camaryn is now our Operations & Business Development Manager.

Three of us participated in Storytime with WVIA this summer. The initiative allowed educators and other community members to make videos of themselves reading children’s books. Check out story time with Holly, Samantha and Adam.

September

We officially welcomed Jon O’Connell as our Director of Strategic Communications in September. Jon develops earned media strategies and deploys multichannel content plans for our collaborators. Jon works from his home in Pittsburgh. Over the course of the year, he’s become more and more involved in local networking groups.

Coal Creative CEO Holly K. Pilcavage earned a Silver Stevie Award at the 18th Annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business in September. Holly received the “Maverick of the Year” award, which recognizes “female individuals who have affected positive change in their companies and/or industries.” Congrats, Holly!

The Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber Young Professionals Awards was another amazing night out at the Garden Drive-in for the Coal Crew. The drive-in movie screen was alight with videos and graphics made by us — the presenting sponsor of the evening. Young Professionals Chair and Coal CEO Holly K. Pilcavage and Vice Chair Anthony Melf shared hosting duties, while our Creative Director Sam O’Connell presented the Hero of the Year Awards.

September saw the launch of a new monthly blog that we call Creative Juice. Creative Juice is an opportunity for our subject matter experts to bring outsiders into their worlds. The first three editions were made with excellent insights from our web, video and social media teams, respectively.

• Web Terms You Should Know
• Video: From Vision to Views
• Inside Developing a Social Media Plan

October

On October 9, CEO Holly K. Pilcavage marked her five year anniversary at Coal Creative! We put together this little tribute video to mark the occasion.

On October 20, Social Media Specialist Jesse Macko and Operations & Business Development Manager Camaryn Lokuta attended the Luzerne Foundation’s annual meeting. The event recognized retired President Charles Barber for his 21 years leading the organization. Part of that recognition was a video made by Alex Manganella, Production Manager, and Jay Nguyen, Video Specialist. The video included interviews with Charles’s colleagues, friends and family.

November

November 17 is Coal’s birthday so you know we had a good time ringing in year seven! Creative Director Sam O’Connell also welcomed a big milestone with his five-year anniversary.

This month was the official launch of TheBenchProject.net. The new website is home to the Bench Project Directory — an interactive map of all Bench Project benches, along with descriptions and a virtual journal. The website also includes a video shot by Alex Manganella and Jay Nguyen back in July. We’re so excited to see what the future holds for The Bench Project.

The final Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce event of the year was the Annual Dinner on November 18. Seven members of the team represented Coal Creative, the event’s creative sponsor. Our video team’s work was featured on-screen. You can watch those videos on the chamber’s YouTube channel.

December

In December, Samantha Bucher was promoted from Content Manager & Design Specialist to the Content Director. In her new role, Samantha drives our content strategy and execution.

On December 23, the Times Leader for once again named Coal Creative as a Best Places to Work platinum winner! We all know Coal Creative is a sweet place to work, it’s nice to be recognized by the voters.

The Coal Crew had a pair of chances to hang out in December. Mid-month we held our annual meeting that allowed us to look back at 2021. The open forum helped us set the tone for 2022. Two weeks later we had another Zoom gathering, this time to celebrate the holidays. It’s always nice to see the crew, especially in these trying times. (Dang! I was so close!)

We hope you have a restful holiday season. See you next year, and don’t forget to stay Coal!

The post Coal Creative Year in Review 2021 first appeared on Coal Creative.

The pandemic-friendly Garden Drive-in will host the 6th Annual Young Professionals Awards, allowing us to get together, while staying apart. Coal Creative is excited to be this presenting sponsor, in partnership with Times Leader Media Group.

There are a lot of reasons to get jazzed up about the Young Professionals Awards. Here are three reasons we can’t wait for the YP Awards.

1. The Young Professionals Network

The awards show is the biggest annual event for the Young Professionals Network. The group, which is part of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, is dedicated to networking and career development for local people under age 40. It offers people on the front 9 of their careers a place to socialize, build leadership skills and connect with their contemporaries. The YPs also give back! They donated $2,500 to local charities last year. In the pre-social distancing days, the group also held  various events like bowling and kickball tournaments.

Within the Young Professionals Network is the YP Council, which is chaired by Coal Creative CEO Holly K. Pilcavage. The council meets bi-monthly to network and plan. They are the muscle behind events like the YP Awards, along with smaller gatherings like a cookout in August. The Council is also a great place for Young Professionals looking to get more involved.

2. The Award Honorees

The awards are a chance to celebrate the incredible work being done by young professionals in NEPA. There is a lot to choose from. This year alone, there were more than 100 nominations.

Holly and Vice Chair Anthony Melf,  had the honor of announcing the finalists earlier this month on Facebook. Three finalists have been selected for each category. The winners will be revealed live during the ceremony.

The list of finalists is available here.

3. We Get to Make Cool Stuff

The final reason that Coal Creative is excited for the 2021 Young Professionals Awards is it’s another opportunity for us to create. Allow us to “pivot to video.”

Our video team created this Friends-inspired promotional video for the YP Awards. Thanks to the Young Professionals who joined us for this fun shoot that transformed current-day Wilkes-Barre into Manhattan circa 1994.

The creativity didn’t stop with this promo. There is another video that will kick-off the event on Tuesday, September 14.

We hope to see you all there!

The post Get Ready for the 2021 Young Professionals Awards first appeared on Coal Creative.

Vic is a senior in the University of Scranton’s marketing program, who hails from Goshen, New York. Over the past few years in Scranton, she’s discovered her own favorite spots. For her video project, Vic tapped locals for their input.

A post on the Coal Creative Facebook page brought in a great cross-section of gems. Vic also created specific call-outs — like this restaurant post — on the NEPA Creative Facebook page, which she helped run this summer. 

“I wanted to use social media as a way for people to share their favorite hidden gems,” Vic said. “Our Coal community was very open to sharing their favorite spots!”

The video highlights an array of local businesses and natural resources. The 5 Hidden Gems of NEPA are:

• Rodano’s Restaurant and Bar, Wilkes-Barre
• Edward’s Garden Center, Forty Fort
• Lackawanna River Heritage Trail, Luzerne, Lackawanna, Susquehanna and Wayne Counties
• Adezzo Coffee Shop and Lounge, Scranton
• Ricketts Glen State Park, Benton

“My favorite thing about the video is the variety of places that I included in it,” Vic reflected. “I was not able to include ALL the unique places that our followers shared, but the business/locations that I chose all fall into different categories.”

Before her internship began, Vic said she was interested in learning about the flow of a creative agency and how projects transform from an idea to a finished product. At the end of her time at Coal Creative, she was struck by how deeply branding drives the process. 

“When working at an agency and having many different clients, it is important for your designs and language to stay in line with that client’s brand,” Vic said.

The post Coal Creative Intern Discovers NEPA Hidden Gems first appeared on Coal Creative.

The 3rd Annual Young Professionals Conference will take place on March 3rd from 9:00AM to 3:30PM. This all-day event is designed to connect and engage the young professionals in the NEPA region through a series of breakout sessions led by various public figures and thought leaders.

Coal Creative’s own Holly Pilcavage is the current Chair of the Young Professionals Council and planned the conference alongside Vice Chair Anthony Melf and Wyoming Valley Chamber team members Michaela Benczkowski and Ahmad Ali. Holly also led a breakout session in 2019 called When To Lead & When To Follow- Lessons in Leadership!

“I am incredibly grateful we are still able to deliver the conference this year virtually,” Holly says. “While we’ll be missing packing everyone into the THINK Center for the opening, I believe the day will still be incredible and attendees will walk away with a ton of valuable resources and knowledge.”

This year’s Keynote Speaker is none other than Dr. Lauren Hazzouri, licensed psychologist and founder of Hazzouri Psychology, a full-service Scranton-based practice! Among the several awesome things Dr. Lauren does for our community, she also provides evidence-based education for Gen-Z girls and young women through her website, nottherapy.us. Dr. Lauren is hands down one of the most inspirational people in NEPA- see for yourself at this year’s conference!

With safety in mind, this year’s conference will be held virtually- but don’t worry, it’ll still be PACKED with awesomeness. Breakout sessions will each be 30 minutes in length and will cover topics including wellness, leadership development, goal setting, and more. As if that doesn’t sound amazing enough, Coal Creative is actually a breakout session sponsor at this year’s event!

The Young Professionals Conference is something our team looks forward to each year, and we know you’ll love it, too. To register for this can’t-miss virtual event, click here.

The post Coal Creative is Proud to Sponsor the 2021 Young Professionals Conference! first appeared on Coal Creative.

The AVA Digital Awards is an international competition that recognizes the talent and hard work of creative professionals responsible for the planning, concept, direction, design, and production of digital communication. In 2019, we walked away with three awards in two categories – an INCREDIBLE honor. This year, we are even more thrilled to be recognized in THREE different categories: Platinum, Gold, and Honorable Mentions!

In the Platinum category, we were awarded for our safety promo for the Young Professionals Awards (check it out here). “It was a fun throwback to the 80’s,” says Alex, our Production Manager. “We’ve filmed a few promos with Will Beekman before and he’s always a blast to work with. It was a nice bonus to see it up on the big screen at the drive-ins during the event.”

In the Gold category, we were honored for two projects, the first being a video our incredible video team created for  the Maxx Strength Airsled (watch it here). If you aren’t familiar with Maxx Strength, they specialize in creating fitness equipment designed to provide the absolute best user experience and to increase human performance.

Also in the Gold category, we received an award for our work on the Brier Moving Company website. Brier Moving Company is a fully licensed and insured moving company located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Brier Moving specializes in full-service residential and commercial moves, as well as in-house moves and unloading and packing services. Our rockstar web team was tasked with “building everything from the ground up,” as Matt, our Lead Web Developer & Lead Designer puts it. Check out the Brier Moving website here to see what we did!

Last but not least, Coal Creative received awards in the Honorable Mentions category for two projects. These projects were done pro bono in collaboration with community members we hold near and dear to our hearts. The first project was a poster we designed for the KISS Theatre production of Journey of the Noble Gnarble. Our amazing Content Manager & Design Specialist Samantha worked alongside the KISS team to create the poster for the production, which was based on a popular children’s book. “I read the book and tried to base my illustrations on the original illustrator’s character designs to fit the style of the production,” Samantha shares. “It was so much fun to create and collaborate with the KISS team.” Click here to see the beautiful poster Samantha created!

The final Honorable Mention we received was for our work with Wilkes-Barre Mayor George C. Brown in creating a video promoting the 2020 Census. The goal of the video was to illustrate just how important it is to fill out your city’s census. In a city of over 40,000 people, filling out the census helps to determine how much federal aid is provided to repair public roads, improve parks and housing, determine the price of school lunches, and much more. To watch the video, click here!

We would like to thank not only the AVA Digital Awards, but our community partners and Coal Creative team members as well. We look forward to diving into more exciting and inspiring projects in the year ahead!

The post Coal Creative Wins Big at the 2021 AVA Digital Awards first appeared on Coal Creative.

The MarCom Marketing and Communications Awards celebrates excellence in marketing and creativity and recognizes the hard work of industry professionals. Our team was recognized back in 2018, when we were selected as Gold winners in two different categories. This year, we couldn’t be more happy to be honored for THIRTEEN projects in THREE categories: Honorable Mentions, Gold, and Platinum!

Our team was recognized with three awards in the Platinum category, which is an incredible honor and something we are super proud of. The first project was a video our talented video team created for the Maxx Strength Airsled (check it out here). Maxx Strength specializes in creating fitness equipment designed to provide the absolute best user experience and to increase human performance. “The Maxx Strength team is always so fun to work with,” says Alex, our Production Manager. “Their products give us a chance to really take risks with dynamic, high energy camera movements, and the Airsled promo is a perfect example of that. High contrast lighting, tons of action, and speed ramps in the edit helped show off how truly exciting this product is.”

The video team also received a platinum award for their work with Heller’s Gas in creating The Heller’s Gas Difference video. Heller’s Gas has been supplying propane products and custom fireplaces to residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers in the Mid-Atlantic Region since 1941. Our team worked tirelessly to create a video that truly showcased what makes Heller’s Gas stand out from the rest (check it out here).

Another project we were honored for is the Brier Moving Company website. Brier Moving Company is a fully licensed and insured moving company located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Brier Moving specializes in full-service residential and commercial moves, as well as in-house moves and unloading and packing services. Our hardworking web team was approached to help “build everything from the ground up,” as Matt, our Lead Web Developer & Lead Designer puts it. “We worked on the logo, the website, business cards, everything,” Matt shares. Travis, our Web Developer who works alongside Matt, chimed in on what it was like working on the project, saying “We had a fun opportunity to design a homepage slider around the company’s motto,  “From small jobs to tall jobs”. We got to bounce some ideas back and forth and ended up with a neat result at the end!”

In addition to the Platinum category, Coal Creative was also honored with awards for the following projects:

Gold Winners

• Business Builders Media Website

• Young Professional Awards: Safety Promo

• AllOne | Food Security Program Infographic

• The Masked Wrestler | Pilot Episode

• studio BE: Meet Your Center

• NEPA Sings 2020

Honorable Mentions

• Boost Business NEPA Website

• Tunkhannock Borough Website

• Dinosaurs Before Dark | Poster

• The Masked Wrestler: Tournament of Mystery | Logo

We would like to thank not only the MarCom Awards for all of these incredible honors, but our community partners as well. We would not be able to do this if it weren’t for the continued support and faith our partners have in Coal Creative. We look forward to diving into more fun and exciting projects in 2021!

The post Coal Creative Honored at the 2020 MarCom Awards first appeared on Coal Creative.

Each year, the Times Leader recognizes numerous local businesses, both big and small, who have provided care and compassion for their employees and have gained the reputation of being a great place to work. This is the third year in a row that Coal Creative has been celebrated as a Best Places to Work honoree, but the award means so much more to our team this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic has presented some challenges and obstacles we’ve had to overcome. 

“Working during a global pandemic has definitely come with its share of challenges, but our team has grown and adapted so much!” says Camaryn, our Relationship Manager. “Coal Creative is all about collaboration and this has proven that not even a pandemic could come between that!”

Samantha, our Content Manager & Design Specialist shares the sentiment, saying “every day, I am thrilled that I get to work at Coal Creative. Since my first day, I have been a part of a great environment where I am free to be creative and given the space to learn and grow as both a designer and a human. I love working alongside my team to bring amazing projects to life for both our collaborators and our community.”

We would like to thank the Times Leader Media Group, as well as everyone who voted for us for this incredible honor. We hope to continue our legacy and maintain our reputation as one of the best places to work for years to come!

The post Coal Creative Receives Platinum Recognition in 2020 Best Places to Work first appeared on Coal Creative.

Northeast Sight Services is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping blind and visually-impaired people in our communities by providing needed services and preventing vision loss through education and early detection. Northeast Sight Services cares for people of all ages through services like adjustment to vision loss, in-home support, independent living and social events, and eye learn programs.

Due to the current pandemic, the event will be held virtually in lieu of an in-person function. That means you can still support Northeast Sight Services without having to leave the comfort of your home! What could possibly be better than donating to a good cause while hanging out in your sweatpants? To make the event even more special, this year the Coal Creative team is excited to share that we will be creating all of the promo videos as well as the event night video! Check out one of our favorites here.

The cool thing about the No Show Awards Dinner is that your support simply comes from purchasing a ticket- no fancy evening attire required! Click here to learn more about the event.

The post Northeast Sight Services to Hold No Show Awards Dinner first appeared on Coal Creative.

This year, Coal Creative’s very own Samuel O’Connell will be part of the panel “Video as a Means of Telling Your Club’s or Organization’s Story,” alongside several other prominent creators within our creative community. “I’m really excited to be on the panel with a few of my local video production heroes,” Sam says. “As Creative Director, I collaborate with the various teams at Coal Creative. From web development, social media marketing, to PR, graphic design and strategy — But the power of storytelling through video will always be my first love.”

At Coal Creative, we are always grateful for new opportunities to expand our horizons and get involved with our community. We love our local AAF chapter and hope to partner with them again in the future! To learn more about the AAF of NEPA, visit https://aafnepa.org/.

The post Coal Creative to Sponsor the 2020 AAF D2 Conference first appeared on Coal Creative.