This March included several events and projects with our local chambers of commerce. Once again the women and men of Coal Creative had a busy month. Here’s what happened in the month of March.

Travis Antoniello Earns a Promotion

Web Developer Travis Antoniello added a second title to his position at Coal Creative. Aside from carrying on this role as web developer, Travis is now the company’s Technology Specialist. Travis is working across departments to implement new technologies. His eye to the future will make our teams more efficient and able to create the best content for our collaborators. 

Read Across America Day

On March 2, our CEO Holly K. Pilcavage read “What Pet Should I Get?” by Dr. Seuss to a group of second graders at Solomon-Plains Elementary School. The appearance was part of the Read Across America — an annual celebration of literacy and the birthday of the aforementioned Dr. Seuss. Holly’s reading partner was Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber CEO Lindsay Griffin.

Leadership Northeast Update

Leadership Northeast’s monthly session centered on “Appreciating Cultural Perspectives.” Camaryn Lokuta, a member of the leadership class and Coal’s Operations & Business Development Manager, enjoyed listening to fellow classmates share their cultural backgrounds. She was able to share photos of her family embracing their culture by making Polish and Italian foods. 

There was also a presentation by the Rainbow Alliance. Coal’s very own Holly K. Pilcavage and Jesse Macko along with fellow Rainbow Alliance board member Nick Marinelli delivered the presentation. 

International Women’s Day  Luncheon

The International Women’s Day Luncheon was attended by, from left, Jay Nguyen, Camaryn Lokuta, Sam O’Connell, Holly K. Pilcavage, Alijah Chamberlain, Samantha Bucher and Marleny Encarnacion.

The local celebration of  International Women’s Day took place on March 4 at the Westmoreland Club. The annual event is a collaboration between Dress for Success Luzerne County and the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber.

“It’s a very empowering and uplifting event every year,” said Coal Creative CEO Holly K. Pilcavage. “To have that many powerful women in one room is exciting in itself. There was a clear energy buzzing around as everyone got back together for this event for the first time since just before the pandemic hit in 2020.”

Holly, who serves as chair of the Women In Power Campaign and Dress For Success Luzerne County, was one of many people who organized the sold-out luncheon. 

Coal wasn’t just involved in the staging, several members of the team got to enjoy the empowering afternoon. Holly was joined by Jay Nguyen, Sam O’Connell, Marleny Encarnacion, Camaryn Lokuta, Samantha Bucher and our spring intern Alijah Chamberlain.

Non-Profit Council Presentation

Coal Creative was invited to present at the March 10 meeting of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber Nonprofit Council. Social Media Specialist Jesse Macko and Content Writer Adam Roberts discussed marketing automation with various nonprofit leaders around the region. Jesse shared insight into social media marketing, while Adam discussed email marketing.

4th Young Professionals Conference

Several members of the Coal Crew attended the day-long Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber Young Professionals Conference. The theme of the virtual conference was “Change Makers.” There were two tracks of breakout sessions that touched on topics ranging from wellness and personal finance to leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation. Jimel Calliste, President of the Wilkes-Barre NAACP, was the keynote speaker.

Scranton Chamber Hosts 153rd Annual Dinner

Coal Creative, represented from left by Will McHale, Jay Nguyen, Sam O’Connell, Holly K. Pilcavage, Alex Manganella and Camaryn Lokuta, at the Greater Scranton Chamber Annual Dinner. 

The Coal Crew was in attendance for the 153rd Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner on March 30. The event featured several videos made by our team of Alex Manganella, Jay Nguyen and Will McHale. The video team was joined by Camaryn Lokuta, Holly K. Pilcavage and Sam O’Connell.

NEPA Creative Public Reading Event 

The Cloudburst Reading Series kicked off on March 31 at Down Pour in Wilkes-Barre. The new quarterly literary event is a collaboration between NEPA Creative and the Etruscan Press. 

The authors at the reading included: Wayne Benson, poet, writer, and editor; Brandon McNulty, author; Bob Hill, Essayist with Untitled Magazine and Dawn Leas, poet.

Thanks for reading and remember to stay … Coal.

The post Wow! What a Month | March 2022 first appeared on Coal Creative.

Welcome Marleny Encarnacion to the Crew

Marleny Encarnacion is Coal Creative’s new Office Specialist

Marleny Encarnacion started at Coal Creative on January 31, which is the perfect day to get missed by the Wow! What a Month — January. So instead, we’ll celebrate Marleny’s first full month as our Office Specialist. She holds a dual role that handles financial and office management responsibilities. Marleny comes from the banking industry so you know she’ll make all the dollars make sense.

Welcome our Spring Interns

In February, our two excellent spring interns started their tenure at Coal Creative. Join us in welcoming Alijah Chamberlain, a senior at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, and Donald Ballou, a Wilkes University senior.

“I’m excited to get a good sense of a company’s operations and practices by the end of the semester, as well as learn a whole bunch of skills,” Donald said.

Alijah and Donald have jumped right in helping with several social media and content projects including NEPA Creative and Dress for Success of Luzerne County’s 31 Days of Women in Power campaign.

They’ve also taken over @coalcreativeinterns on Instagram. Give them a follow for regular intern hijinx. By the end of the semester they will also produce a video — one of our standard intern projects. We can’t wait to see what they create.

Coal Takes Home Gold at AAF Awards

CCO Sam O’Connell and CEO Holly K. Pilcavage accepted a Gold American Advertising Award on behalf of Coal Creative on February 24.

Coal Creative was recognized at the AAF of NEPA American Advertising Awards on February 25. CEO Holly K. Pilcavage and CCO Sam O’Connell proudly accepted the Professional Gold Award for Integrated Brand Identity Campaign for our work with The Bench Project. Our video, web design, social media and content teams all contributed to The Bench Project campaign.

“This is an absolute honor and so exciting knowing our entire team is involved with this one,” Holly said.

National Wear Red Day

February is American Heart Month, when government agencies and nonprofits promote cardiovascular health. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, so added attention to heart-healthy living is crucial.

As part of the initiative, the American Heart Association holds Go Red For Women on the first Friday of Heart Month. While heart disease is often associated with older men, it claims the lives of nearly 500,000 American women annually.

To mark the awareness day, the AHA encouraged everyone to wear red on February 4, 2022. We heard the call and donned red for our team meeting that day.

We were lucky enough to have some special guests from Riggs Asset Management who shared some money management tips with the team. They fit right in in their finest red outfits.

You can support the local Go Red campaign here.

Leadership Northeast Update

The Leadership Northeast core program explored Cultural Perspectives and Emotional Intelligence at their February gathering. Coal Creative’s Operations & Business Development Manager Camaryn Lokuta shared her thoughts.

“What really stood out to me from this program was our presentation on Viewpoint Diversity by Erin McLaughlin,” Camaryn said. “ It was an incredibly powerful and eye-opening presentation where we learned about our perspective of the world and how it differs from others.”

Scranton Chamber Women’s Network Lunch

Coal Creative was well represented at the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network Luncheon. The women of Coal, from left, include Holly K. Pilcavage, Samantha Bucher, Marleny Encarnacion, Alijah Chamberlain, Jay Nguyen and Camaryn Lokuta.

Coal Creative showed up in force at the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network Luncheon on February 16. All the women that fuel Coal attended the event at the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel in Scranton. Holly K. Pilcavage, Camaryn Lokuta, Samantha Bucher, Marleny Encarnacion, Jay Nguyen and Alijah Chamberlain represented our team.

Lehigh Valley Chamber Snow Ball 2022

Sam O’Connell, CCO, and Holly K. Pilcavage, CEO, attended the Lehigh Valley Chamber’s Snow Ball on behalf of Coal Creative.

Coal Creative’s CEO Holly K. Pilcavage and CCO Sam O’Connell ventured down the tracks to the Lehigh Valley on February 26 for the Snow Ball. The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce hosts the annual black-tie affair. This year’s beneficiary was the Lehigh County Humane Society.

A Very Coal Valentine’s Day… in Song

The Coal Crew loves a good tune. So, for the official day of love — at least according to the heart-shaped box of chocolate industry — we collaborated on a love song playlist. Check out the playlist, our explanations and some fun GIFs, here.

Coal Milestones and Birthdays

We celebrated one work anniversary and two birthdays in February. Project Manager Jeremy Brown marked two years with Coal Creative on February 3. Coal Creative’s founder Gerard Durling had a birthday on February 4 and Web Developer Travis Antoniello celebrated his birthday on February 23.

I’m not sure what the groundhog had to say back on February 2, but I’m begging for spring to come early. Come rain, snow or sunshine, always remember to stay … Coal.

The post Wow! What a Month | February 2022 first appeared on Coal Creative.

Sam O’Connell Named Chief Creative Officer

Sam O’Connell has earned the distinction of being Coal Creative’s first-ever Chief Creative Officer. Sam, who most recently served as our Creative Director, has been a driving force at Coal Creative for more than five years.

“As a creative agency, we needed someone in this role to bring together all of our departments under one cohesive creative vision, ” said Coal CEO Holly K. Pilcavage. “Sam understands where the industry is headed and knows how to turn brilliant concepts into campaigns that work.”

Learn more about Sam and his new role in this video.

Stevie Award Ceremony

As we mentioned back when the winners were announced, Coal Creative President and CEO Holly K. Pilcavage won a Silver Stevie at the 18th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The “Maverick of the Year” award really captures Holly’s commitment to making things better than when she found them. 

Watch Holly accept her award here.

Masked Wrestler Premiere 

The Masked Wrestler Season 2 premiered on January 26. The popular independent wrestling show — created by Independent Wrestling TV and produced by Coal Creative — has six episodes planned. New episodes air Wednesdays at 7 PM ET. on IWTV. 

The first episode is available on YouTube.

Leadership Northeast Update

Leadership Northeast held its “Making Your Voice Heard: Communication/Media Program” at the beginning of January. The event was virtual because of the rise of COVID cases in the area. Operations & Business Development Camaryn Lokuta was one of the class members who joined online.

“We met with many members of the media who had a ton of great advice,” said Camaryn. “We learned about TV, newspaper and radio advertising.”

NEPA Creative Hosts Meetup with Etruscan Press

NEPA Creative — co-founded by Holly K. Pilcavage and Sam O’Connell — held its first workshop with the Wilkes University-based Etruscan Press on January 25. The Zoom-based meetup included a reading and in-depth Q&A with Dr. Phil Brady, an author and the Executive Director of the Etruscan Press.

“Just learning about the publisher right here in Wilkes-Barre was inspiring and exciting enough — But when Phil read a selection from his novel “To Banquet with the Ethiopians: A Memoir of Life Before the Alphabet” it was the icing on the cake,” Sam said.

Coal Milestones and Birthdays

January is a big month a Coal, especially when it comes to work anniversaries. 

First, on January 5, we celebrated Jon O’Connell’s birthday. Jon is our Director of Strategic Communication. 

On January 14, Samantha Bucher marked her third anniversary at Coal Creative. Matt Simoncavage, Lead Web Developer, Lead Designer and first employee, celebrated six years on the job on January 15. Web Developer Travis Antoniello also marked his third year at Coal on January 18. Thanks for the years of dedication and good memories, gang. 

Thanks for tuning in! Please remember to stay… Coal. 

The post Wow! What a Month | January 2022 first appeared on Coal Creative.

Sam O’Connell Makes 20 Under Forty List

Congratulations to Sam O’Connell, our Creative Director, on being named one of the 20 Under Forty by Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal. Sam earned the well-deserved recognition as a creative jack of all trades. We’re so proud of Sam for making this prestigious local list.

Samantha Bucher Tapped as Content Director

In December, Samantha Bucher was promoted to Content Director for Coal Creative. Samantha joined Coal as an intern and most recently held the title of Content Manager & Design Specialist. Samantha is a creative force and organization whiz. In her new role, she oversees our content team and strategy.

Coal Creative Named Best Place to Work!

Coal Creative was a Platinum Winner in the 2021 Times-Leader Best Places to Work survey.

For the second year in a row, Coal Creative was a Platinum Winner in the Times Leader Best Places to Work competition. We know that Coal Creative is a great place to work. It’s just nice to see it in print! Thanks to everyone who voted for us and to the Times Leader for holding the annual contest.

Bench Project Newsletter

Our collaborators at The Bench Project launched in 2021. In November, thebenchproject.net went live. In December, we collaborated on the first edition of their monthly newsletter: Bench Notes.

Bench Notes will keep you up-to-date on all things related to The Bench Project like the newest benches around the country. It’s a monthly correspondence from your friends at The Bench Project. Bench Notes also has opportunities to share your thoughts. Sign up today.

Masked Wrestler Filming

Earlier this month, the video team including Alex Manganella, Will McHale and Jay Nguyen, filmed season 2 of the very successful Masked Wrestler show. The crew is sworn to secrecy, so what they saw over two days in New Jersey is as under wraps as the identities of the masked wrestlers. When the show does air on independentwrestling.tv, we’ll share the finished product.

Leadership Northeast Update

Leadership Northeast had its monthly core program session on December 2. Operations & Business Development Camaryn Lokuta, shared her favorite part of the Collaboration/Arts & Recreation Program.

“My favorite part by far was the session we did with Leigh Pawling. She is an incredible local artist!” Camaryn began. “She made a large picture and cut it up into little squares, we then all painted our own square. The catch was we had no idea what the picture was so we just had to paint based on intuition. She then put all of our little squares back together — it was really awesome!”

The finished picture was of summer sun shining through the woods. The intuitive interpretations led to a unique and cool painting. 

Young Professionals Council Hosts Ugly Sweater Party

Holly K. Pilcavage, second from left, shows off her wreath-inspired outfit for the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber’s Ugly Christmas Sweater Holiday Party.

The ELEVATE Young Professionals Council put everyone in the holiday spirit with its Ugly Christmas Sweater Holiday Party at Rodano’s on December 8. Aside from being good old fashioned fun, the evening was a fundraiser for Valley Santa, which strives to ensure every kid in Luzerne County receives a toy for Christmas.

Coal Creative proudly sponsored the ugly sweater contest. Thanks to everyone who put on their holiday best — or worst — for a good cause. The festive evening was attended by our CEO Holly K. Pilcavage and Creative Director Sam O’Connell.

In case you’re wondering, Holly was a wreath.

Pittsburgh Celebrates Jingle Fest 

Jon O’Connell, Director of Strategic Communications, and Jeremy Brown, Project Manager, represented Coal Creative at the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce’s Jingle Fest.

Our team got to spread even more Christmas cheer at the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Jingle Fest on December 10. Coal’s Director of Strategic Communications Jon O’Connell and Project Manager Jeremy Brown represented the team and manned our table. Thanks to all the attendees who stopped by to chat.

Coal Creative Learns the Platinum Rule

The Coal Creative end of year meeting featured a virtual session with Jess Cronauer from Leadership Northeast.

Jess Cronauer from Leadership Northeast led an eye-opening program for the Coal Crew on December 17. Jess joined our year-end meeting to present “The Platinum Rule,” an assessment that determines each team member’s behavioral profile. By understanding everyone’s work style and personality type, teams learn to better interact with each other. The exercise fostered great connections and discussion.

A Very Merry Coal Christmas & Fire Awards

Our Very Merry Coal Christmas Virtual Gathering featured the “Fire Awards.”

Before taking some time off for the holidays, the Coal Crew fired up Zoom one last time in 2021 for a Very Merry Coal Virtual Gathering. CEO Holly K. Pilcavage and Creative Director Sam O’Connell hosted the first-ever Fire Awards. The light-hearted ceremony doled out superlatives to each member of the team. 

I won “Most Likely to Match Hat with Pants,” and honestly, I’ve never been so honored.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

We rounded out 2021 the way many do, by looking back at the year that was. We created a Year in Review that synthesised 12 months of Wow! What a Month into an historical snapshot of 2021. Coal Creative CEO Holly K. Pilcavage reflected further in her Letter from the CEO blog. Holly captured the hope that we’re heading into the new year with.  

Our wish for 2022 is for your path to be onward and upward. And may you always remember to stay… Coal. You know we will!

The post Wow! What a Month | December 2021 first appeared on Coal Creative.

Wow! What a month it has been.

Coal Creative Birthdays

We celebrated three birthdays this month. The first was Camaryn Lokuta, our Operations & Business Development Manager, on November 6. Content Manager & Design Specialist Samantha Bucher’s birthday was November 25.

The third birthday was Coal Creative’s. Our company turned 7 on November 17. We rang in the milestone by giving away some sweet Coal swag. We also kicked butt, as we strive to do everyday.

Happy Workiversary, Sam

Sam O’Connell is our Creative Director and a massive influence on our approach to collaborations. Sam has been on Team Coal for five years! Congratulations on a half decade of great work. You can check out Sam’s anniversary video, here.

TheBenchProject.net is Live

The Bench Project — a global movement to bring reflection and connection through journaling in nature — has officially launched its website, 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 map component is pretty unique to anything we’ve done,” said Web Developer Travis Antoniello. “Visitors are able to create public and private listings for their benches, with each bench having a virtual journal element.”

“We were essentially building a mini social platform within the website,” added Lead Web Developer Matt Simoncavage. “It was a huge test of our UX/UI skills.”

Writers Note: Learn more about UX/UI from Travis and Matt, here. 

The Bench Project has a goal to set up benches in all 50 states. The map also serves as a great representation of their progress. Less than a month after launching, the directory already covers seven states.

The website is also home to the Bench Project Shop. The store has everything from Bench Project merch to benches and the supplies to start your own community or family bench.

“We went pretty in-depth with the store as well, setting up multiple variations for each product,” Matt explained. “The custom benches — for example — each come in different styles (Bench, Glider, Loveseat) and with different bundle options too, so there’s a lot of ways to customize your order.”

Want to learn more about community and family benches? Visit ​​TheBenchProject.net/getstarted.

Rain Can’t Wash Out Alejam

At center is Danny Lykens — co-founder of Kraken Boardsports — flanked by Coal Creative’s Sam O’Connell and Alex Manganella at Alejam 2021.

Our Creative Director Sam O’Connell and Production Manager Alex Manganella packed up some cameras and headed to Susquehanna Brewing Company on November 13 for the Kraken Boardsports Annual Alejam.

“We were super stoked to once again be a sponsor of Alejam — one of our favorite events of the year,” Sam said. “As part of our sponsorship, we filmed snowboarders in action, getting pulled by the signature Kraken Winch over a patch of snow, jumps and rails in the SBC parking lot.”

Despite rainy conditions, the boarders hit the snow. There was also live local music and plenty of SBC beer.

The Holiday Market at Midtown Village

Coal Creative’s Video Specialist Jay Nguyen shows off the essentials — a camera and a hot beverage — at the Holiday Market at Midtown Village on November 27.

Video Specialist Jay Nguyen attended the Holiday Market at Midtown Village on November 27, as part of our continuing Wilkes-Barre tourism series. Jay captured footage of the Small Business Saturday market that — aside from a slate of local vendors — also featured a Nutcracker performance and a tap dance lesson.

Coal Sponsors Wyoming Valley Chamber Annual Dinner

Coal Creative sponsored and attended the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner on November 18.

The Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner drew a large crowd to Mohegan Sun Pocono on November 18. Among the throngs of well-dressed professionals was a group from Coal Creative, the event’s creative sponsor.

The Coal team included: Jesse Macko, Jay Nguyen, Travis Antoniello, Alex Manganella, Camaryn Lokuta, Sam O’Connell and Adam Roberts.

The dinner, which was also live streamed, featured a collection of Coal Creative videos that highlighted the evening’s winners. You can watch those videos now on the chamber’s YouTube channel.

Coal Paints the Snow Bank

Members of the Coal Creative team decorated the Luzerne Bank front windows for the holidays.

Every year, the businesses in downtown Wilkes-Barre decorate their windows for the holiday parade. This year, we were tasked with designing and decorating the Luzerne Bank Building windows, just six floors below our office.

Sam O’Connell, Creative Director, dreamed up the scene featuring dastardly snowmen who trick an innocent rabbit out of his carrots. The Snow Bank rouse helps supply noses for the no-good snowmen.

The Coal Crew, which included Holly K. Pilcavage, Jay Nguyen, Matt Simoncavage, Travis Antoniello, Will McHale, Alex Manganella, Camaryn Lokuta, Samantha Bucher and Jesse Macko, brought the vision to life. Our art will remain on the bank windows for the rest of the month.

Coal Crew Celebrates Friendsgiving

You didn’t think we’d miss a chance to get together for Thanksgiving did you? The Coal Crew is always down for a gathering — even if it’s via Zoom. Our Thanksgiving Eve gathering was a chance to relax and play games before the holiday break.

While we connected over the computer, we all had some treats to bring us closer together. We all enjoyed snacks from Cupcake Chromatography and incredible custom-labeled candles from Noteology.

Leadership Wilkes-Barre Update

Coal Creative’s Operations & Business Development Manager Camaryn Lokuta provided the following dispatch from the Leadership Northeast’s November Core Program event.

“The Volunteerism and Servant Leadership Program was wonderful! Specifically, I really enjoyed a very powerful exercise that fellow classmate Dan Kimbrough took us through. Everyone was split up into groups and — without knowing it — assigned to represent a different minority group.

There was also a group of people assigned to be cops, the chamber of commerce, etc. The cops and chamber were told which table represented which minority group, and how to treat each one.

Throughout the exercise you can see that several tables were incredibly frustrated by how they were being treated — there were some really heated moments. Then, you had some tables that were having the time of their lives. At the end each table was told which minority they were and we had a really fruitful discussion about it.”

R.A.I.N. Hosts Safe Zone Workshop

Sam O’Connell and Jesse Macko, Coal Creative employees and Rainbow Alliance Board Members, attended the Safe Zone Workshop on November 5.

The Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Rainbow Alliance’s newly formed Rainbow Alliance Institute of the Northeast (R.A.I.N.) presented a free Safe Zone Workshop on November 5 at the THINK Center. The session, which was led by Wilkes University professor Dr. Helen H. Davis included, “basic LGBTQ+ terminology, information on gender-inclusive language and best practices to make our businesses and our neighborhoods safe and welcoming for members of the LGBTQ+ community.”

Coal Creative’s Social Media Specialist Jesse Macko and Creative Director Sam O’Connell, who are also involved with the Rainbow Alliance, attended the workshop.

Coal CEO Attends Lehigh Valley Chamber Annual Meeting

Coal Creative CEO Holly K. Pilcavage attended the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting on November 10.

On November 10, Coal Creative’s CEO Holly K. Pilcavage attended the Lehigh Valley Chamber’s Annual Meeting. The high-energy event was jammed with attractions like aerial performers and a wrestling ring.

Northeast Sight Services Awards Banquet

Northeast Sight Services held its annual awards banquet on November 4. Sam O’Connell, Creative Director and Camaryn Lokuta, Operations & Business Development Manager, were on hand to support  the organization’s mission to help blind and visually impaired people in the area live their best lives.

GPCC Holds Autumn Annual Breakfast

The Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce hosted its Autumn Annual Breakfast on November 12.  Coal CEO Holly K. Pilcavage attended the breakfast, which included a presentation from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance.

Women’s Network Series Continues in Scranton

The Greater Scranton Chamber’s Women’s Network Series was attended by Coal Creative’s Samantha Bucher, Camaryn Lokuta and Jay Nguyen.

The Greater Scranton Chamber hosted its Women’s Network Series on November 17 in Dunmore. The president of Johnson College, Katie Leonard, Ed.D., delivered great insights during her speech. Coal Creative’s Camaryn Lokuta, Operations & Business Development Manager, Samantha Bucher Content Manager & Design Specialist and Jay Nguyen, Video Specialist attended.

We hope you have a safe, relaxing and restorative holiday season. Try your best to stay warm and always remember to stay Coal!

The post Wow! What a Month | November 2021 first appeared on Coal Creative.

*Writers Note: Ok, fine. This recap isn’t frightening at all, but I’m really into the term “scary sojourn” and its use cases are very limited. Moving right along…

Filming Begins for Wilkes-Barre City Tourism Series

If you’ve been to a Wilkes-Barre City event recently, you may have seen members of the Coal Crew with cameras soaking in the scenes. We are working with the city on a series of tourism videos.

“The objective is to demonstrate all that Wilkes-Barre has to offer, whether it be the culture, economic opportunities, outdoor recreation, events, low cost of living, etc.,” said Alex Manganella, Production Manager.

Alex and the team have been collaborating with Mayor George C. Brown and Tyler Ryan, Executive Assistant to the Mayor, to showcase what makes Wilkes-Barre a great place to live.

Watch this space for the finished videos!

Charles Barber Honored at Luzerne Foundation

The Luzerne Foundation recognized retired President Charles Barber for his 21 years of service at the organization’s annual meeting on October 20. Charles retired in June after successfully growing the Luzerne Foundation’s market value from $2 million to more than $50 million.

In the lead-up to the meeting, Alex Manganella, Production Manager, and Jay Nguyen, Video Specialist, secretly created a video to recognize Charles.

“This is a fun type of video. In order to honor Charles Barber, Jay and I had the opportunity to interview various friends, family and peers of his,” said Alex. “It’s a unique position to be in. By the end of production, we felt like we knew him personally — without ever having met him.”

The video debuted in front of the assembled crowd at the Westmoreland Club, which included Coal Creative’s Social Media Specialist Jesse Macko and Operations & Business Development Manager Camaryn Lokuta.

Camaryn Lokuta, our Operations & Business Development Manager and Jesse Macko, our Social Media Specialist attended the The Luzerne Foundation Annual Dinner on October 20.

Students Shadow Coal Crew

At center is Samuel Savistski, a King’s College student who recently shadowed Coal Creative. Shown from left are: Jay Nguyen, Alex Manganella, Jesse Macko, Samuel Savistski, Holly K. Pilcavage, Camaryn Lokuta and Samuel O’Connell.

It’s always great to have students visit us in the office. We were lucky enough to have two different students shadow the team recently. Samuel Savistski, a King’s College freshman, spent two weeks shadowing the Coal Crew. Samuel has an interest in design and computer science. He had a chance to sit down with most of us to learn about our backgrounds and roles at Coal.

Gina Galada from MMI Prep shadowed the team for a day. She came with a general interest in marketing and left with some insight into the field.

Thanks to both of you for your interest in Coal Creative and good luck with your studies.

Coal Creative Presents DIY Branding Kit webinar

Creative Director Sam O’Connell and Director of Strategic Communications Jon O’Connell A.K.A the Brothers O’Connell, hosted a branding webinar for Biz Sugar Live on October 27.  The session included the ingredients of a successful marketing campaign. If you missed it — or loved it so much you want to watch again — you can view the presentation here.

Leadership Northeast Celebrates 40 years

Leadership Wilkes-Barre — now known as Leadership Northeast — has been impacting our business community for 40 years! They celebrated with a cocktail gala on October 1 at the Woodlands. Leadership Northeast has helped shape Coal Creative. Holly K. Pilcavage, Class of 2018, Sam O’Connell Class of 2020, and Camaryn Lokuta, Class of 2022, were in attendance. Coal Creative is a proud sponsor of this great event.

Leadership Northeast Class of 2022 Check-in

The current Leadership Northeast class, which includes our very own Operations & Business Development Manager Camaryn Lokuta, held its second monthly event on October 7. The session was called the Vision and Mission program.

“We talked all about crafting a mission statement that is effective. The key takeaway for me was that a mission statement should stand the test of time,” Camaryn explained. “It really made me step back and think about my own personal mission and how I had never really thought about it up until that point. I now have a personal mission statement that I can always come back to — a cornerstone if you will!”

Coal Crew Joins Pittsburgh Young Professionals

Coal Creative’s Jon O’Connell and Jeremy Brown attended the Pittsburgh Young Professionals Day event on October 1.

As regular readers know, the Coal Crew likes to get out in our community. Usually, that’s in Northeastern Pennsylvania. For Jeremy Brown, Project Manager, and Jon O’Connell, Director of Strategic Communications their home community is Pittsburgh. The pair attended the 4th Annual Pittsburgh Young Professionals Day celebration on October 1.

Wilkes-Barre Marks Birthday with Oktoberfest

The City of Wilkes-Barre hosted its 150th birthday and Oktoberfest on the first Saturday of the month. Our CEO Holly K. Pilcavage  and Creative Director Sam O’Connell joined the celebration, which included live music, food trucks and local breweries.

Diamonds in the Woods Helps Dress for Success Luzerne County

Coal Creative’s own Camaryn Lokuta, Holly K. Pilcavage and Sam O’Connell attended the Diamond in the Woods event on October 7.

We had the opportunity to sponsor and attend Dress For Success Luzerne County’s annual Diamond in the Woods event. The lovely evening at the Woodlands benefited the empowering work that Dress for Success does for women in our area.

Coal was represented by Sam O’Connell, Creative Director, Holly K. Pilcavage, CEO and Camaryn Lokuta, Operations & Business Development Manager. No one from the Coal delegation was lucky enough to find the real diamond that Simon and Co. Jewelers placed in a single glass of champagne. I guess there’s always next year!

Legislators Update Wilkes-Barre Business Community

Camaryn Lokuta and Holly K. Pilcavage attended the Legislative Forum on October 8.

The Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce welcomed state and local lawmakers to their Legislative Forum on October 8. Holly K. Pilcavage, CEO and Camaryn Lokuta, Operations & Business Development Manager, were among the attendees at the Westmoreland Club. The legislators discussed various topics impacting our local business community, education and infrastructure.

Osterhout Library Event Delivers Brews and Views

The Coal Crew representatives at the Brewsterhout rooftop event, from left, are Camaryn Lokuta, Holly K. Pilcavage, Spence Dieffenbach, Alex Managanella and Sam O’Connell.

At the end of the day on October 8, a few Coal Creative folks made the short trip from our office to the Intermodal for the 12th Annual Brewsterhout Rooftop Party. We are proud to sponsor this fundraiser for the Osterhout Free Library. Coal Creative CEO Holly K. Pilcavage, Operations & Business Development Manager Camaryn Lokuta, Production Manager Alex Manganella and Creative Director Sam O’Connell enjoyed local brews and food with a view.

Coal Helps Distribute ‘Be Kind’ Signs

The Rainbow Alliance, Coal Creative and NEPA Pride Project distributed “Be Kind” signs at the Osterhout Free Library.

Coal Creative, the Rainbow Alliance and the NEPA Pride Project collaborated for the second year of the Be Kind initiative. The group distributed 125 “Be Kind” yard signs designed to spread kindness and inspire meaningful conversations. Volunteers handed out signs at the Osterhout Free Library on October 16. The volunteers included Jesse Macko, Holly K. Pilcavage and Sam O’Connell, who double as Coal Creative employees and Rainbow Alliance board members.

Diamond City NAACP Holds Freedom Banquet

Shown from left are Holly K. Pilcavage, Coal Creative CEO, and Sam O’Connell, Coal’s Creative Director, at the NAACP Annual Freedom Dinner in Wilkes-Barre.

CEO Holly K. Pilcavage and Creative Director Sam O’Connell attended the NAACP Wilkes-Barre Branch #2306 Annual Freedom Banquet on October 15. State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta delivered the keynote address at Genetti’s in Wilkes-Barre.

Spooky Sessions Close Out NEPA Creative Meetup Season

One of the many pumpkins that got a slick new paint job at the October NEPA Creative Meetup at Kirby Park.

NEPA Creative held its final meetup of the year at Kirby Park on October 19. Attendees embraced the season by painting pumpkins as the sun set. The chilly fall air and complete darkness before 7 PM made it clear that outdoor meetups need to be put on ice for the next few months.

The darkness enhanced the second breakout, which was a spooky script reading. The kids and scaredy cat adults who came for the pumpkin art, bowed out before the cell-phone lit reading of the “Stranger Things” pilot.

Young Professionals Take Bench Walk

Members of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Network pose in front of a bench at Twin Oaks Farm.

A group from the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce Young Professional Network got to experience the peace and connection of The Bench Project — our new collaborator. The Young Professionals met at Twin Oaks Farm in Shavertown on October 22 to walk the three-mile Bench Trail. Each of the 31 unique benches on the property has a weatherproof bag with a journal and pen. Visitors are invited to sit, reflect, read and write.

Big things are happening for The Bench Project. Visit their website for more information.

Coal Celebrations

On October 9, CEO Holly K. Pilcavage marked her five year anniversary at Coal Creative! Congratulations on five wonderful years and here’s to many more.

Watch Holly’s anniversary tribute video.

Happy Birthday to our Post Production Manager Will McHale. Will celebrated another trip around the sun on October 14. Happy Birthday, Will. We hope you had a great one!

The post Wow! What a Month | October 2021 first appeared on Coal Creative.

Coal Creative’s Holly K. Pilcavage wins Stevie Award

Congratulations to Coal Creative President and CEO Holly K. Pilcavage on earning the Silver Stevie Award for Maverick of the year!

The world’s biggest congratulations to Coal Creative President and CEO Holly K. Pilcavage on earning a Silver Stevie Award at the 18th Annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. She received the “Maverick of the Year” award, which aside from being the best named award, recognizes “female individuals who have affected positive change in their companies and/or industries.” Holly’s nomination for the award noted her commitment to the Rainbow Alliance, Dress for Success Luzerne County and NEPA Creative.

The judges commended Holly for her, “unwavering commitment to service and activism, driven by a desire to make her community better.” That about sums it up, judges. We totally agree! Thanks for always striving to make things better, Holly. Congratulations!

As she is always quick to do, Holly shared the honor with the Coal Creative  team.

“We continue to create something so incredible here and I cannot thank you enough,” Holly told the Coal Crew. “I don’t do any of it alone and I see this recognition as a win for us all.”

With that said, thank you for my — I mean our — Stevie Award!

Jon O’Connell Joins Coal as Director of Strategic Communications

Jon O’Connell is the Director of Strategic Communications at Coal Creative. Welcome aboard!

We’re overjoyed to announce Jon O’Connell as our Director of Strategic Communications. Jon has been working hard behind the scenes for more than a year. Jon develops earned media strategies and deploys multichannel content plans for our collaborators. He’s also a musician, father and transplant Yinzer. Keep an eye out for him at Pittsburgh-area networking events.

“At Coal Creative, Jon brings a tremendous focus on detail to everything he does,” said Creative Director Sam O’Connell (yes, relation). “As a veteran journalist, his focus on discovering the truth while making an audience feel something, transitioned seamlessly into the field of marketing.”

Sam calls his older brother his longest collaborator, going all the way to the crib.

“Jon recently referenced a childhood experience of drawing grand battle scenes — no doubt inspired by Narnia or Lord of the Rings. I would draw with a flurry and sketchy style the scope and size of what this epic battle was. From that sketch he would go in and add the details to all of the characters. This collaborative method has not changed, but adapted to the various endeavors throughout our lives.”

Young Professionals Awards Highlight Community

The Coal Creative team showed up in force at the Young Professionals Award. Shown from left is Gerard Durling, Alex Manganella, Jay Nguyen, Jesse Macko, Holly K. Pilcavage, Sam O’Connell, Camaryn Lokuta, Spence Dieffenbacher and Adam Roberts.

The Wyoming Valley Chamber Young Professionals Awards was equal parts tailgate party and swanky night out. As the sun set over the Garden Drive-in, an impressive turnout emerged from cars and mingled in front of the well-appointed stage and movie screen. The screen would soon be alight with videos and graphics made by presenting sponsor Coal Creative.

Young Professionals Chair and Coal CEO Holly K. Pilcavage and Vice Chair Anthony Melf shared hosting duties. In coordinated red outfits, the pair piloted the show through a who’s who of community personalities and grateful winners.

One of those presenters was our Creative Director Sam O’Connell, who announced the Hero of the Year Awards. See the full list of winners here.

The last award of the night was the Inspiration Award, which was given to  Ahmad Ali, Director of Membership and Community Engagement at the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce and Christine Meluskey, CFRE, Director of Development and Marketing at the Wyoming Valley Children’s  Association (WVCA). Ahmad and Christine were recognized for the creation of #570Day. The social media celebration of the 570 region was launched on May, 7 2021 with promising results.  Here is the video highlighting their work.

Scranton Chamber Celebrates Industry Career Camp

Coal Creative helped celebrate the Greater Scranton Chamber’s Industry Career Camp on September 15. At left is Sam O’Connell, Creative Director, and at right is Alex Manganella, Production Manager, with the students.

Congratulations to the middle and high school students, who recently completed the  Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce’s Industry Career Camp. The free summer program — presented by Skills in Scranton — introduced participants to the many industries that thrive here in NEPA.  Creative Director Sam O’Connell and Production Manager Alex Manganella attended the closing session on September 15.

Leadership Wilkes-Barre Class Bonds During First Sessions

The Leadership Wilkes-Barre 2021-2022 program kicked off with its two-day opening event in early September. Camaryn Lokuta, our Operations & Business Development Manager, is a proud member of the class.

Day One featured a history lesson and walking tour of Wilkes-Barre, interspersed with ice-breakers and team building.

“The second day was all about learning your leadership style and how to interact with other leadership styles,” Camaryn explained. “I LOVED this lesson — it was so informative and I will definitely carry it with me for my entire career.”

Before they were dismissed for the month, the class was split into project groups. Camaryn left impressed with the quick transition from strangers to friends.

“Everyone broke down their walls and really opened up to each other, it was truly beautiful,” said Camaryn. “It makes me so excited to see what is in store!”

NEPA Alliance Hosts Networking Reception

Camaryn Lokuta, Coal Creative’s Operations and Business Development Manager, attended the NEPA Alliance Networking Reception on September 16.

Camaryn represented Coal Creative at the NEPA Alliance Networking Reception on September 16. The event brought business folks from around the area to Kalahari Resort in Pocono Manor.

NEPA Creative Meetup: Underwater Photography and Flower Arrangements

Participants in the NEPA Creative Meetup select flowers for their mason jar arrangements at Kirby Park on September 21.

The monthly NEPA Creative Meetup was yet another example of the vastness of our creative community. The session opened with mason jar flower arrangements, provided by Patchwork Planting. Once the beautiful bouquets were set aside, photographer Amy Bezek threw the attendees into the deep end, so to speak. The owner of Amy Bezek Photography gave a great presentation about underwater photography.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by Kirby Park. NEPA Creative will be back in the same pavilion on Tuesday, October 19th at 6PM.

Coal Creative Volunteers for United Way Day of Caring

Coal Creative participated in the United Way of Wyoming Valley Day of Caring on September 22. Back row from left includes Alex Manganella, Camaryn Lokuta, Samantha Bucher, Will McHale, Travis Antoniello and Adam Roberts. Front row from left is Matt Simoncavage, Holly K. Pilcavage, Jesse Macko, Sam O’Connell and Jay Nguyen.

The Coal Crew donned a rainbow array of “Live United ” t-shirts and gardening gloves for the United Way of Wyoming Valley’s annual Day of Caring. We joined scores of volunteers who were dispatched all over Wilkes-Barre to tackle various beautification projects. The Coal Crew and several other groups climbed into the flower beds along River Street for some much-needed weeding.  I came to appreciate the occasional horn blast of thanks from passing motorists. Though the first time, it was a bit unsettling to be honked at while stooped in the bushes, yanking roots and avoiding pokey stuff (is that the horticulture term?).

Among the hearty weed-decimators was Samantha Bucher, Coal’s Content Manager & Design Specialist. Samantha usually works from her Royersford, PA home, but made the two-hour trek from the Philadelphia suburbs to the Wilkes-Barre riverfront.

“To me, Day of Caring is a way to directly impact the community. While I don’t live in the Wyoming Valley anymore, it’s the area I work in, where some of my friends live, and where many of our collaborators are growing their businesses in,” Samantha, a King’s College graduate explained. “It’s the place I went to school, where I discovered my passions, and where I met my partner. It will always hold a special place in my heart. If there’s any chance I can show up and make a difference there, I’ll take it – no matter the drive.”

An Evening in CASAblanca Helps Foster Kids

Holly K. Pilcavage, CEO, and Sam O’Connell, Creative Director, attended An Evening in CASAblanca on September 23.

An Evening in CASAblanca, the annual fundraiser for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Luzerne County, drew more than 200 people to The Banks in Pittston on September 23. The elegant evening, which was attended by Holly K. Pilcavage, CEO, and Sam O’Connell, Creative Director, benefits the organization’s mission to be a voice for abused and neglected kids in Luzerne County.

Coal Crew Represents Rainbow Alliance at Multicultural Parade

Coal Creative’s Holly K. Pilcavage, Jesse Macko and Sam O’Connell walked in the City of Wilkes-Barre 4th Annual Multicultural Parade with fellow members of the Rainbow Alliance Board of Directors.

Three members of the Coal Crew, who double as directors for the Rainbow Alliance, walked in the City of Wilkes-Barre’s 4th Annual Multicultural Parade on September 25. Coal Creative CEO Holly K. Pilcavage, Creative Director Sam O’Connell and Social Media Specialist Jesse Macko were joined by Rainbow Alliance Chair Anthony Melf and fellow board  of directors member Arthur Breese. The parade and festival were beautiful reminders of the diversity and culture of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The Great Gaytsby

Saturday, September 25 was a full day for Holly, Sam and  Jesse, who swapped their daytime rainbow garb for 1920’s evening wear. The trio plus Production Manager Alex Manganella danced the night away at the 2nd Annual NEPA Pride Project Gayla. The well-attended Great Gaytsby party benefited the NEPA Pride Project’s Scholarship Program and their mission to celebrate, educate and demonstrate the power of local arts.

It’s always an honor for us to be part of community events. Thanks for reading and always remember to stay Coal!

The post Wow! What a Month | September 2021 first appeared on Coal Creative.

Two Celebrations. One Farewell.

Our ultra-talented Post-production Manager Will McHale celebrated four years at Coal Creative on August 17. Thanks to Will for always rising to the moment with a creative idea or a good joke.

On August 11, super-star Business Development Manager Camaryn Lokuta marked her one-year anniversary. By the end of the month, she was promoted! Camaryn will now manage business development AND operations. Camaryn’s dedication to the crew and the community keeps us moving forward.

We had one bittersweet goodbye this month, as our Social Media Intern Vic Fini returned to the University of Scranton. Vic did great work this summer, especially on NEPA Creative social media. She also graced us with these NEPA Hidden Gems for her final video project. Good luck, Vic!

Third Round of NEPA Alliance ‘Get Connected’ Begins

Early in the pandemic, it became clear that a strong web presence was going to be essential to small businesses weathering the changing economy. Some brick and mortar operations needed to shift to e-commerce. Others needed to figure out how to reach their customers online with new information or services.

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance (NEPA) partnered with creative agencies including Coal Creative, BlackOut Design and Design Done Right, to meet the need. The Get Connected program allows local businesses to get custom solutions from area web developers and designers. Depending on their situation, they can focus on their website, e-commerce or social media.

The program is currently in the third round. It’s been a great opportunity for us to use our expertise to help fellow NEPA small businesses. In the first round, we worked with the Peaceful Potter on an e-commerce project.

The Kingston-based pottery school, studio and gallery had a website, but needed to upgrade its shop. Web Specialist John Martin was tapped for the project. John worked with owner Eileen Keats to create an easy-to-use platform to schedule and pay for different courses.

“I realized how large an e-commerce project can become,” John said, looking back. “Even for small businesses, like a pottery class, there can be a lot of different product variables to manage.”

Visit peacefulpotter.com/shop to find all the courses available at the Peaceful Potter. We’re excited to keep the momentum going with round three of Get Connected.

Osterhout Free Library Gala is September 10

This month we released the Osterhout Free Library’s London Calling Gala Promo Video. Our video team collaborated on this stylistic explanation of the gala.

Last year, we presented a virtual gala. This year’s event will be in-person at the Westmoreland Club on September 10. While that portion of the event is sold out, a virtual silent auction will take place from September 7 to 10.
Our team is putting the finishing touches on a video for the London Calling Gala. It will highlight Evergreen Honorees Barbara Maculloch and Barbara O’Donnell along with the important work of the library.

Submission Still Open for Live Out Proud Poetry Contest

NEPA Creative, our community arm, has partnered with Rainbow Alliance and NEPA Pride Project for the brand new “Live Out Proud” Poetry Contest. The contest invites the LGBTQ+ community to express themselves through poetry.

The first place entry will receive a $300 Visa gift card and a basket of local products as well as features in various news and culture publications.

We’re excited to be part of this awesome creative contest. Our own Samantha Bucher, Content Manager & Design Specialist, stepped up to serve as one of the judges. Aside from the constant churn of excellent content Samantha creates for our collaborators, she is also a published poet. Her work has appeared in Aurora: The Allegory Ridge Poetry Anthology, The Northeast Poetry Review, Atomic No. 26, Poetry in Transit, the Delta Epsilon Sigma Journal and The Scop.

The deadline for the “Live Out Proud” Poetry Contest is September 5 at 11:59 PM. We asked Samantha what she’d say to anyone considering entering the contest.

Take it away Samantha:

“Poetry has this reputation of being lofty and unreachable. Some people think they can’t be poets. But at its core, I think poetry is about celebrating the moments that make us human. It aims to capture stories, moments, feelings, and experiences. Anyone can write poetry, and in terms of self-expression, I think everyone should.

The ‘Live Out Proud’ poetry contest aims to serve as a medium to elevate the voices and stories of NEPA’s LGBTQ+ community. We want to hear about you and your experiences. Whether you are a first-time poet or a seasoned professional, we want to hear from you. We want to hear your story.”

If that doesn’t get the creativity pumping, I don’t know what will. You can find the contest rules and entry form here.

Coal in the Community

If you follow us on Facebook or frequent this blog, you know that the Coal Crew gets around. Here’s a breakdown of some of the great community events we attended in August.

Fore!

Coal Creative sent a foursome to the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber golf tournament. Our crew of Holly, Sam, Alex and Tatum Neiderhiser walked away with the Most Honest Team distinction.

The Coal Creative foursome at the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber golf tournament included, from left, Sam O’Connell, Alex Manganella, Holly K. Pilcavage and Tatum Neiderhiser.

Holly and Camaryn took another trip to the links for the Greater Pittston Chamber Women’s Network Golf Outing August 9. There were no awards, but I’m certain they were honest!

Storytime

We were honored to participate in Storytime with WVIA. Throughout the pandemic different business people, educators and community leaders have read children’s books on the WVIA Education Facebook page.

Holly led off with an awesome reading of “Too Hot to Hug,” by Steve Smallman. Samantha shared a lovely reading of “Under the Same Sky” by Britta Teckentrup. Stay tuned for another storytime by Coal Creative next month.

More

• Camaryn attended the Leadership Wilkes-Barre Core Program 2021-2022 overview on August 17 at Rikasa.
• Brandon’s Forever Home held its Love My Selfie Event on August 20. The annual gathering brings together teen girls and local women for confidence-boosting and informative presentations. Holly has participated four times.
• Coal Creative was the presenting sponsor of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber Elevate Young Professionals Network Cookout on August 25. Several of our team members were among the crowd at Kirby Park.

Members of the Coal Creative team at the Young Professionals Cookout.

• Holly and Sam went west. Well, to western Pennsylvania, for a series of meetings in Pittsburgh this month.
• Greater Pittston Chamber held its 101st Annual Dinner and Outstanding Business of the Year Award Presentation on August 26. Holly and Sam represented Coal at the dinner.

Thanks for checking in. We’ll see you around town. Remember, stay Coal!

The post Wow! What a Month | August 2021 first appeared on Coal Creative.

When I joined Coal Creative at the end of April, my colleagues were primarily a collage of  shoulders and heads on my computer screen. Honestly, it barely registered as strange. People piled into cars to watch NEPA Sings on a drive-in movie screen without hesitation. We all adjusted to reality because what else could we do?

It’s ceaselessly cool to come on board at such a time of transition. This community — in which I’m lumping everyone who lives in NEPA but especially the creatives, business owners and young professionals — is badass. We’ve made it through.  It’s time to celebrate our resiliency. Wow! What a month!

Welcome Jesse Macko

Another month. Another addition to the Coal Crew. Our exciting streak of new employees rolls on. In July, Jesse Macko started as our Social Media Specialist. He is leading the charge on social media, helping our clients plan, implement and engage on their channels. 

Jesse is a Penn State alumni and coffee-obsessive who likes exploring, listening to music and spending time with friends. As of this publication he has successfully executed two latte art hearts. He hopes to do more and I hope to drink one. 

Sips Among the Stacks

Osterhout Free Library was yet another community organization to host its first event since last year. Sips Among the Stacks honored Barbara Maculloch and Barbara O’Donnell — known to many simply as “The Barbs.” The Barbs were the original founders of the Osterhout Gala in 2006. 

Members of the Coal Creative team were among the sippers in the stacks. We also got video, which will be used at the 2021 Osterhout Gala. The gala is September 10 at the Westmoreland Club. The theme will be “London Calling.” Learn more about the upcoming gala here.

Filming for Bench Project

On July 15, Production Manager Alex Manganella and Video Specialist  Jay Nguyen travelled to Twin Oaks Farm in Shavertown to shoot video with one of our newest collaborators: The Bench Project.

Beth and Lenny Romanowski welcomed Alex and Jay to their organic farm where they specialize in garlic and grow a range of produce.

“Beth and her husband gave us a tour of the benches that circle the whole farm and into the woods,” Jay said. “They shared the history of some of the benches and how they represented something or someone.”

A golf cart trip around the property took the foursome to an elegant white bench for an interview with Beth. 

“She talked about what the Bench Project is about and showed us the bags that are secured to the benches. Each bag consists of a notebook and a writing utensil for visitors to write down any thoughts they might have,” Jay explained.

The visit ended after a bit more filming, including drone footage of the farm. Stay tuned for the premier of this video.

Sunsets on SOMA

Sunsets on South Main drew a large crowd to Midtown Village in WIlkes-Barre on Thursday, July 15. Many members of the Young Professionals Network were in attendance.

Sunsets on South Main, a pop-up happy hour series hosted by the Diamond City Partnership,  brought food, drink and music to the streets of Midtown Village on Thursday, July 15. It also brought out many members of the  Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber Elevate Young Professionals Network, including Holly K. Pilcavage, Coal CEO and YP chair;  Jesse, Social Media Specialist;  Sam O’Connell, Creative Director and Camaryn Lokuta, Business Development Manager.

Sunsets on South Main is held every third Thursday. There are still two more happy hours left this summer. We’ll see you there on August 19 and September 16. 

Rockin’ The River

The Rockin’ The River Concert Series, which took over The River Common at Millenium Circle for three Fridays in a row, delivered live music to the banks of the Susquehanna. The free concert featured a mix of tribute bands and east coast recording artists.  

The series is officially in its third year. Last year, organizers pivoted due to COVID-19. The performances were mobilized by way of a flatbed truck. The temporarily-dubbed “Rockin’ The County”, transported live bands around Wilkes-Barre, Hazelton, Pittston, Nanticoke and Kingston/Forty Fort over a five-week stretch. 

NEPA Creative Meet up

NEPA Creative hosted two breakout sessions during it’s July Meetup. Shown from left are NEPA Creative Co-Founder Sam O’Connell, artist Mitchell Bagnas, comedian Angelia Petrillo and NEPA Creative Co-Founder Holly K. Pilcavage.

NEPA Creative once again welcomed a big group to Kirby Park for its monthly Creative Meetup. Mitchell Bagnas presented a talk called “What goes into being a professional artist?” Agelia Petrillo led an improvisation class with tools for professional and personal life. 

An unofficial theme of “stepping out of your comfort zone,” emerged, according to Sam, Coal’s Creative Director and NEPA Creative Co-Founder.

“I say this because between the incredible, side-splitting improv session led by Angelia Petrillo and the thoughtful presentation from artist and first-time public speaker Mitchell Bagnas — everyone tried something new and left with something special,” said Sam, who added his takeaway was a print of a three-headed duck by Mitchell.

NEPA Creative will be back at Kirby Park on Tuesday, August 17 at 6PM for its monthly meetup. Visit the NEPA Creative Facebook page for more information as the date approaches. 

Chamber Joint Member Mixer

Members of the Greater Pittston Chamber and the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber met for a joint mixer on July 21. Holly, Sam and Camaryn Lokuta, from Coal Creative, were among the attendees. The event was held at Susquehanna Brewing Company in Pittston. Discounted beer, hot dogs and a good time were all on tap.

Wilkes-Barre Law and Library Association Reception

Coal Creative CEO Holly K. Pilcavage, center, accepts a donation from the WIlkes-Barre Law & Library Association on behalf of Dress for Success of Luzerne County.

The Wilkes-Barre Law & Library Association made donations to 18 different organizations at their summer outing on Friday, July 23. Holly accepted a donation on behalf of Dress for Success Luzerne County. Holly is a Dress for Success board member and a lay member of the Wilkes-Barre Law & Library Association. 

“We truly have an incredible network of individuals representing the law and decision-making on a local and state level based right here in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Holly shared. “They understand the importance of supporting our community through the various nonprofits with forward-thinking, impactful missions.”

Brandon’s Forever Home

Brandon’s Forever Home is one local organization that is carrying on with virtual events. They have been hosting 30-minute Q&A sessions about foster care and adoption during the pandemic. Director Lori Ogurkis and our Executive Assistant Missy Nenstiel field questions on Zoom and the discussion is live streamed on Facebook.

“I think it is incredibly useful for people who are thinking of becoming foster parents,” said Camaryn, our Business Development Manager. “They get so many incredible questions! 

The Q&A sessions will continue every other month going forward. Learn more about the next event and sign up for the Zoom link here.

Marketing to Millennials

Holly and Samantha Bucher, our Content Manager and Design Specialist, delivered a virtual presentation for the Wilkes University  Small Business Development Center (SBDC) on July 28. “Time to Rethink Your Playbook: How to Market to Millennials and Gen Z” bridged the gap between generational trends and purchasing decisions. 

“Millennials get a bad rap, but in reality, this is a varied generation that spans decades,” Samantha explained. “In 2021, Millennials can be anywhere from 25-40 years old. These are recent college graduates, entry-level workers, parents, managers, and more who don’t all fit into the stereotypical millennial mold.”

The presentation explored ways to update your marketing strategy to reach the Millennial and Gen Z demographics.

“When looking at the key traits of generations on paper, it’s interesting to see what carried over from previous generations, what was left behind, and what was improved upon,” said Samantha. “For example, many millennials are socially-conscious and care about a brand’s values. They tend to make very loyal customers. This is also true for Gen Z, but members of this generation take it to the next level. They are more likely to seek out truth and mobilize for causes they believe in.”

River Paddle

The Wyoming County Chamber’s “Water Trail to Ale Paddle” combined the area’s natural beauty with a local brewery on Thursday, July 29. Holly, Sam and Alex joined other chamber members for a leisurely two-hour paddle from Howland Preserve Launch to the launch at Tunkhannock Riverside Park. When the kayakers reached their destination, they were treated to food and beer flights at Nimble Hill Brewing.

NEPA Sings Wrap Up Party

While some of us were paddling through the endless mountains, Camaryn was celebrating the success of NEPA Sings. Everyone involved in the event, which was broadcast on June 24 at the Garden Drive In, was invited to the wrap up party at Kevin’s Bar and Restaurant in Kingston. Coal Creative had the privilege of being involved throughout the NEPA Sings process. Sam served as a judge during the audition process and our video team produced the finals broadcast.

Now let’s barrel into the month of August. We hope to see you out in NEPA. If you see us, say hello and remember, always stay coal!

The post Wow, What a Month | July 2021 first appeared on Coal Creative.

Welcome our summer intern

The Coal Crew has been missing a piece since the pandemic stunted our internship program last spring. Life took a huge step back to normal this month as we welcomed our first summer intern in more than a year.

Vic Fini joined the team as a Social Media Intern. You can learn about Vic’s aspirations, her job description and why no one wants to take on Coal Creative in a softball game, here. 

EPIC Awards  

Coal Creative was on hand at the Epic Awards on June 8. Shown from left are Madison Kaminski, Jay Nguyen, Holly K. Pilcavage, Adam Roberts, Camaryn Lokuta, Alex Manganella, special guest star Spence Dieffenbach and Sam O’Connell.

The Coal Crew was represented on stage, on screen and in the audience at the  2021 EPIC Awards on June 8. The event, which was virtual last year, marked a return to in-person celebrations. 

The Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber hosted a heart-warming evening that honored the innovators, nonprofits and people that make our area special. The socially distanced event took place at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. 

Coal Creative’s CEO Holly K. Pilcavage, who also serves as the chair of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber Elevate Young Professionals Network, introduced the first award of the evening with her fellow committee members. 

The program was full of work by Coal Creative. Our team created the tone-setting videos that introduced the honorees and brought our vibrant community to the jumbotron. Our design work was dappled around the area in graphics that flashed on video boards and circled the upper deck.

Coal’s contribution to the night wasn’t just on screen. Several team members handled the pre-show scheduling, coordinating and management that makes up what Holly rightfully dubbed “the behind the scenes magic, AKA chaos.” 

There were no signs of chaos during the polished evening. The program brimmed with gratitude that we were in the same room. The same was true at Coal Creative’s table of eight.

“It was my first time hanging out with the Coal Crew outside of the office and I had a blast,” said Jay Nguyen, our Video Specialist who joined the team just in time to work on the EPIC videos. “When my work displayed on the screen, I went through a lot of emotions at once! I felt mostly thankful for the help of the team for bringing those videos to life.”

NEPA Creative Meet up 

The NEPA Creative meetup at Kirby Park on June 15 featured three breakout sessions, including one on abstract painting.

NEPA Creative’s June Meetup was co-hosted by NEPA Rainbow Alliance and celebrated LGBTQA+ community members in honor of Pride Month. Thirty-five people gathered in Kirby Park  for three unique breakout sessions. Attendance was back to pre-pandemic levels, a sure sign that the yearlong layoff hasn’t dampened the spirit of NEPA’s creative class. 

“We are so fortunate to have this community that chooses to get engaged and try new things along the way,” said Holly, Coal’s CEO and NEPA Creative’s co-founder. “We are creating something extremely special here and it isn’t possible without every single person choosing to show up and be a part of something larger than themselves. I am just all around grateful.”

The sessions included abstract painting and poetry writing, hosted by Nikki Berlew and Alyssa Duffy. There was also a drag performance followed by a discussion about gender, led by Anne Wolfe/Andrew Oddgenus.

NEPA Creative will be back at Kirby Park on July 20th at 6PM for its monthly meetup.

Visit the NEPA Creative Facebook page for more information as the date approaches.

NEPA Rainbow Alliance PrideFest

NEPA Rainbow Alliance had a full month of events around the region for Pride. The month culminated in 2021 NEPA Pridefest: Live Out Proud. 

This year’s Pridefest was a microcosm of the times, having been planned as a virtual event. The hour-long broadcast, created by Coal’s video team, was broadcast on the Rainbow Alliance’s Facebook page. But thanks to loosening restrictions, there were four watch parties that brought the community physically together. 

Ole Tyme Charley’s Pub & Grill in Plains, The V-Spot in Scranton and the Vesuvio’s in Wilkes-Barre and Drums welcomed revelers and shared the broadcast. 

Holly and Sam O’Connell, our Creative Director, are deeply involved with the NEPA Rainbow Alliance, serving as board members and co-marketing chairs. 

While PrideFest was the crown jewel of the month, the organization hosted an awesome range of Pride events. They held several Pride flag raisings around the region and the Mr. and Mrs. PrideFest pageant among other things.

We’re grateful to be involved with this group of advocates and to celebrate the incredible LGBTQ+ community in NEPA. 

Leadership Wilkes-Barre graduation dinner

Creative Director Sam O’Connell was part of Leadership Wilkes-Barre’s Class of 2020. Business Development Manager Camaryn Lokuta will start the program later this year.

Coal Creative had a passing of the torch at the Leadership Wilkes-Barre graduation dinner on June 10. Sam was honored as a member of the class of 2020. Camaryn Lokuta, Business Development Manager, will take the mantle when the 2022 class kicks off on September 9.

Camaryn is excited to join Sam and so many others who have participated in Leadership Wilkes Barre. 

“I have heard that you learn incredible things through this program and I am extremely eager to be a part of such a prestigious organization,” Camaryn said. 

studio BE mindful meditation breaks 

An invitation to a virtual meditation class has spurred a healthy new habit around here. Our friends at studio BE held a centering meditation class at noon on June 14. The 15-minute session was attended by several Coal team members, both in the office and remotely. Since then, several of us have taken advantage of studio BE’s live classes, including Zumba, as a mental reset.

“Agency life — CEO life even — is a wild ride. Every day is full and fruitful,” Holly explained. “Any opportunity to slow down, even for a short spell, is useful in ensuring I am actually present in my day.”

You can sign up for a 14-day free trial at studio BE, gaining access to their meditation, yoga and other classes, at their website. If you attend the 12PM centering meditation, you may be among friends from Coal Creative. 

Women in Business Golf Program 

Camaryn Lokuta, Business Development Manager and Holly K. Pilcavage, CEO, participated in the Women in Business Free Golf Program at the Wyoming Valley Country Club.

FORE!

Holly and Camaryn stepped into the tee box on June 18 at the Wyoming Valley Country Club. They both ventured onto the golf course for the first time for the Women in Business Free Golf Program. 

“I was nervous going in because I have heard that golf could be a frustrating sport, but I had a ton of fun and learned A LOT,” Camaryn said. 

Holly and Camaryn hope to bring their new skills to area golf tournaments soon.

Boost Business NEPA – Spread the Love campaign 

Boost Business NEPA, a collaborative initiative to help businesses impacted by the pandemic, launched it’s 20-day Spread the Love Campaign on June 1. The campaign collected and matched donations for local small businesses with less than 20 employees. 

NEPA Sings 

Coal Creative attended NEPA Sings on June 24 at the Garden Drive In in Hunlock Creek. From left are Camaryn Lokuta, Holly K. Pilcavage, Sam O’Connell, Matt Simoncavage, Will McHale and Travis Antoniello.

The winner of the Fourth Annual NEPA Sings competition was crowned June 24. Last month, the Coal Creative video team filmed the 10 finalists’ performances at the THINK Center. The show was broadcast on YouTube and at the Garden Drive In in Hunlock Creek. Viewers, both online and at the drive-in voted on the winner. Several team members attended the viewing party. NEPA Sings benefits Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Luzerne County. 

Speaking of music…

The Coal Crew whipped up a playlist perfectly designed for summer. We’ve got you covered for all your road trips and beachside beverages with this eclectic and totally coal set of songs. 

So, roll down the windows, crank up The Wallflowers and alway stay coal!

The post Wow, What a Month | June 2021 first appeared on Coal Creative.