Wow! What a Month | November 2021
The Coal Crew and our collaborators marked milestones, celebrations and new beginnings in November. It was a great month that featured excellent work from the team and inspiring community events.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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!
