Member News August 18, 2021
The Exchange Hosting ArtFest this Saturday in Downtown Bloomsburg
After a year off due to the COVID crisis, ArtFest will take place on Saturday, August 21st, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. surrounding the fountain on the Square and up Market Street in downtown Bloomsburg, with more than thirty art and craft vendors, fine food vendors, and live music by local performers all day.
For the complete line-up of vendors, non-profit partners, and music, click here.
The event provides a lively, comfortable atmosphere for the general public to see art, meet and talk with artists about their studio practices, and purchase fine artworks. Attendance has grown by 100% since the move to the Square in 2017; in 2019, approximately 3,000 people attended.
Service 1st Honors Duck Derby Tradition by Supporting Local Organizations Despite River Levels
Due to high river levels resulting in safety concerns for their dedicated staff and volunteers, Service 1st Federal Credit Union did not hold their Annual Charity Duck Derby event along the Susquehanna River in Danville this year. In honor of this special tradition, the Service 1st Duck Derby Committee wanted to show their support for the community.
“Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not cooperate this year and due to safety concerns for our staff and volunteers, we were forced to resort to our Plan B,” said Brett Johnson, Duck Derby Committee Co-Chair and Vice President Lending, Service 1st. “At Service 1st, we strongly believe in supporting the communities we serve, and we’re happy to carry on this tradition and make donations to each of these eight great charities. We’re looking forward to being back on the river in 2022.”
If the Derby was held on the water, eight volunteers representing local charities who also participated in the Service 1st Community Savings Challenge held earlier this year, would have raced to the finish line aboard a duck shaped float. Due to the change in the event, Crissie, the Service 1st mascot, along with representatives from the credit union held a random drawing to award donations to these charities.
The following charities received donations this year: Keystone Mission, Wilkes-Barre ($1,000); Animal Resource Center, Bloomsburg ($500); Caring for Kids Backpack Program, Sunbury ($100); DIG Furniture Bank, Lewisburg ($100); Elysburg Food Pantry, Elysburg ($100); National Alliance on Mental Health, Williamsport ($100); The Gate House, Danville ($100); and West End Library, Laurelton ($100).
In 2020, Service 1st made the tough decision to cancel the Derby due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are looking forward to hosting the event again in 2022.
Bold Gold Media Group Employees Recognized
In the August issue of RadioInk, Michael G Stanton, General Manager of Bold Gold Media Group, was named as one of the Best Managers in Radio for 2021, out of all radio station managers in the USA. Stanton has spent over 30 years in the radio industry, with over half of those years as a manager of Bold Gold Media Group.
In July, Lisa Percevault, Senior Marketing Consultant with Bold Gold Media Group, was one of 20 women in the USA to be selected for the Radio Advertising Bureau’s “Rising Through the Ranks” program, which is held in conjunction with Broadcast Music, Inc (BMI) and Mentoring & Inspiring Women in Radio (MIW).
New Fund at Community Giving Foundation Supports Dementia Education and Advocacy in Region
The Community Giving Foundation is pleased to announce the creation of a new community impact fund in partnership with Dementia Friendly Susquehanna Valley (DFSV), a group whose mission is to bring awareness to the region about dementia through education, advocacy, and volunteer engagement in order to better support those living with dementia and their caregivers.
Marianne Kreisher and Marissa Marshall of Kreisher Marshall & Associates are the only certified elder law attorneys in Columbia and Montour Counties. They continue to dedicate themselves to the elder law profession, but always felt a desire to offer more to their clients and community. After becoming a Life Care Planning Law Firm, they were able to bring in social workers as elder care coordinators to better assist clients with care planning. They also partnered with Embodied Labs, a virtual reality platform that gives community members the ability to experience life in someone else’s shoes. Through all these progressions and experiences with clients and caregivers, Kreisher and Marshall recognized a need for community-wide education.
In early 2020, the staff of Kreisher Marshall & Associates became Dementia Champions through Dementia Friends Pennsylvania and spearheaded the Dementia Friendly Susquehanna Valley initiative in our region alongside a group of community leaders.
“Education and awareness are the foundation to making our region more dementia friendly. It’s our hope that by establishing this fund for DFSV, we will be able to provide dementia awareness and specialized programs to youth, first responders, financial institutions, and service industries,” explains Marshall.
DFSV’s vision is to make the Susquehanna Valley region a place where those living with dementia and their loved ones feel supported, understood, and included as valued members of our community. This new non-endowed fund will support projects and activities that promote this vision across Columbia, Lower-Luzerne, Montour, and Northumberland Counties.