Little Rowan James McKee  entered the world at 4:02am on January 1st at Wayne Memorial Hospital. Born to mom, Kierstyn Slocum and dad, Devin McKee, both of Susquehanna, Rowan weighed in at 6 lbs, 4 oz and stretched 19 inches long.  

Pictured (l-r) are: Joyce Bannon, RN; Devin McKee; Kierstyn Slocum holding baby Rowan; Denise Viola, DO.

The first child for both parents, Rowan’s delivery physician was Denise Viola, DO, gynecologist-obstetrician with Women’s Health, part of Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers.  The staff at New Beginnings, Wayne Memorial’s Birthing Suites unit, presented the family with a basket of goodies and a box full of hand-made blue clothes, knitted specifically for “the first baby” of the year by a hospital volunteer who prefers to be called simply “a loving friend.”  Grateful and thrilled, the new parents accepted the gifts and posed for a photo with baby Rowan and the staff. Congratulations Slocum-McKees.

After almost three decades in public service – starting as the Susquehanna County Treasurer and ending as the Republican Caucus Chairwoman of the Pennsylvania State House of Representative – State Representative Sandra Major has announced she will not seek re-election in 2016.

“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the people of Wayne and Susquehanna Counties,” Major said. “Throughout my public service career, my goal has always been to help improve the lives of the people I was elected to represent.”

“I am proud of the place we call home, and I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish to help make Northeast Pennsylvania a better place to live, work, and raise a family,” continued Major.

“My time as an elected official has been a blessing. I have had the opportunity to meet and become friends with countless people during my career,” said Major. “I will always be humbled by the level of support the people of the 111th District have given me over the years.”

Serving in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since 1995, Major has built a strong reputation on providing accessible constituent service, reducing taxes and state spending, and bringing more job opportunities to the people of northeast Pennsylvania.

She is a member of the Committee on Committees and several legislative caucuses, including Agriculture, Antique and Classic Car, Asthma, Cancer, Career and Technical Education, Community College, East Central, Fair, Firefighters and Emergency Services, Gas and Oil, Legislative Energy, Lupus, PA Winery, Pro-Life, Rural Health, Sportsmen and Timber.

State Representative Sandra Major also is a member of the board of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, one of the nation’s leading student aid organizations.

Active in her local communities, Major serves as a member of the board of the Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains, the President’s Advisory Council for Keystone College, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, the National Rifle Association, and the First Presbyterian Church in Montrose.

The Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains is pleased to report that 2015 proved to be a very charitable year.  The Foundation provided more than $1,250,000 in charitable and educational assistance in six states, with the majority of the assistance being provided in northeastern Pennsylvania.  Families, individuals, and organizations established fifteen new charitable endowments with The Community Foundation to provide assistance to such worthy causes as assistance to local school districts and student organizations, college scholarships, animal shelters, cemeteries, and other community projects.  The Community Foundation is currently managing more than $12 Million in charitable assets comprising 200 permanent endowments.

We thank our corporate donors that in 2015 contributed toward our Pennsylvania Education Improvement Tax Credit program.  This helped provide tuition assistance to deserving Pre-K through 12th Grade students attending schools in Bradford, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Montour, Northampton, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming Counties.  This program also helped special projects in the Blue Ridge, Lackawanna Trail, Montrose Area, Mountain View, and Susquehanna Community School Districts. 

In 2015 we were also pleased to begin our partnership with the Pennsylvania Bankers Association to help provide the EverFi Financial Literacy program in High Schools throughout all of Pennsylvania.  Furthermore, we were proud to be recognized as the Outstanding Foundation of the Year by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, as well as the Community Advisor of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Career and Technology Educators.  We will work hard to live up to these honors.

The Community Foundation is pleased to assist our donors with their charitable goals.  On their behalf we are proud of our accomplishments in 2015 and look forward to continued charitable growth in 2016.  For more information about The Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains please feel free to visit our web site at www.community-foundation.org or call us at 570-278-3800.  We wish all a very prosperous and charitable New Year.

For the tenth consecutive year NEP Telephone, headquartered in Forest City, has made a generous contribution to the Pennsylvania Education Improvement Tax Credit Program administered by The Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains.  For the 2015-2016 academic year the regional telephone company has contributed $30,000 which will help provide tuition assistance to hundreds of students from low and moderate income families who attend Pre-School and tuition based K-12 schools in northeastern Pennsylvania, as well as funding special programs in the public schools.  The Community Foundation has administered the Education Improvement Program since 2003 and in that time has raised more than $2,500,000 for education assistance for 3,000 students attending 44 schools in eight counties in northeastern and central Pennsylvania, as well as funding projects in the Abington Heights, Montrose Area, and Susquehanna Community School Districts.  Including this recent donation, NEP Telephone has contributed more than $300,000 for education assistance since 2006. Community Foundation President, Peter Quigg, states that “NEP Telephone has been an outstanding supporter of education in our region and their incredible generosity over the years has been a great help to local families and schools.” 

In addition to this education assistance the Tourje family, proprietors of NEP Telephone for many generations, also hold the Jessie Osgood Tourje Memorial Fund at The Community Foundation that provides funding for special projects in the Blue Ridge, Forest City Regional, Mountain View, and Susquehanna Community School Districts.  Over the years this permanent endowment has provided assistance for special projects such as Industrial Arts programs, anti-bullying assemblies, weather stations, libraries, computers, outdoor classrooms, and tele-conference courses with the Philadelphia Art Museum.  NEP Telephone provides telephone, internet, and television service in northeastern Pennsylvania.  Visit www.nep.net to learn more about their services.  For more information about the work of The Community Foundation please visit www.community-foundation.org.