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PITTSTON TWP. &#8211; After a 10-month delay due to the pandemic, the Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce was able to celebrate its 100th birthday in Roaring 20s style at the Aviation Technologies hangar at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
				Over 230 members, family and friends of the GPCC attended the socially distanced event following CDC protocols. Attendees were handed out colored wristbands indicating vaccinated, fully vaccinated or not vaccinated at all.
				&ldquo;Pre-pandemic, we hoping for 300 plus because the large size of the hangar,&rdquo; Brandi Bartush, GPCC administrator/event coordinator, said. &ldquo;It all worked out with the count we ended up with. When the guys were setting up the tables, they had the measuring tape out to measure between tables.&rdquo; 
				Bartush admitted planning the event was trying at times, but she was happy with the outcome.
				&ldquo;It event was a combination of the business community getting out and to support the chamber and to celebrate the history of the chamber and what it all stands for in the Greater Pittston community,&rdquo; Bartush added. &ldquo;On the other side, people were coming up to us and saying, &lsquo;Thank you, thank you for doing this, we really needed a night out.&rsquo;&rdquo;
				Michelle Mikitish, GPCC executive director, felt the evening was a great accomplishment because of the success of the vaccination program.
				&ldquo;We were not sure how it was all going to unfold when we were doing the planning, but when the vaccination program stepped up, people felt more confident about getting out to enjoy the evening,&rdquo; Mikitish said. &ldquo;From an event planning piece, it was great with a few blips, however, once the band started playing and many people were just glad to get out, that everyone seemed to have a good time.&rdquo;
				Mikitish said the wristband program was successful, making everyone more comfortable during COVID.
				&ldquo;It was nice having the event because it was almost like celebrating two beginnings,&rdquo; Mikitish said. &ldquo;The beginning of the GPCC&rsquo;s next 100 years and the beginning of this new world after the pandemic.&rdquo;
				Attorney Joseph Burke, a past GPCC board president, served as master of ceremonies for the evening.
				Burke mentioned 100 years ago, the world was working their way out of a pandemic and asked for a moment of silence for those 3 million people globally that died from COVID-19 over the last 13 months.
				He went on to praise the efforts of the GPCC over the last 100 years that included many family members involved with the chamber.
				&ldquo;This room is filled with entrepreneurship that is generational,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;This is a celebration of 100 years of progress in Greater Pittston.&rdquo;
				Burke went on the mention the generations have been members of the GPCC such as the Insalaco family and the Joyce family, and of course, his own family mentioning his father as being a member and believing in the GPCC. He also singled out the worldwide success of Pride Mobility that started and continues in Greater Pittston.
				&ldquo;When we started out, we wanted to keep growing and the chamber was vital,&rdquo; Scott Meuser, Pride Mobility Products chairman and CEO, said, speaking of when Pride began in the late 1980s. &ldquo;The cohesiveness of the Pittston community was vital to Pride&rsquo;s early incubation period allowing us to grow and develop to the point where we could get our own R & D department with capability.&rdquo;
				Meuser knew he needed the backing of the GPCC to continue to grow to reach great heights in the mobility industry.
				&ldquo;Everyone in Pittston has always been a huge supporter of everything we&rsquo;ve done,&rdquo; Meuser said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;re here tonight, it resonates with me, it matters. The chamber was our launching pad, they helped get us off the ground.&rdquo;
				Charles Adonizio, owner of Greater Pittston&rsquo;s Atlas Real Estate and past GPCC board president, said he wouldn&rsquo;t have missed the 100th celebration.
				&ldquo;I&rsquo;m thrilled about tonight, and I couldn&rsquo;t be happier for the chamber and the community,&rdquo; Adonizio said. &ldquo;This is all about networking with all of our folks locally in the business, we network, we find out who we are, we work with one another, and we build a community.&rdquo;
				Adonizio, who has been involved with the GPCC for more than 30 years, has seen a lot of progress in those three decades.
				&ldquo;Thirty years ago, I was the new guy on the block and now I&rsquo;m the older guy now,&rdquo; Adonizio said. &ldquo;The community has come a long way. I hope we stay autonomous for the next 100 years. We have a great community and take pride in it remain autonomous and relish that.&rdquo;
				Adonizio gives credit to Pittston City Mayor Michael Lombardo for the city&rsquo;s renaissance bringing the downtown back from vacant and burnt-out buildings.
				&ldquo;I had a hard time insuring buildings 30 years ago and I&rsquo;m glad to see it&rsquo;s back,&rdquo; Adonizio added. &ldquo;The city is lockstep with the chamber and it&rsquo;s all coming back to fruition.&rdquo;
				Bob Besecker, Discover NEPA and Mericle Real Estate, introduced a video production to the audience produced by Discover NEPA featuring the GPCC.
				&ldquo;At Mericle, we work with hundreds of companies every year looking for new homes for their businesses,&rdquo; Besecker said. &ldquo;I can tell you first hand that the Greater Pittston area is held in very high regard by these companies. Pittston, as they say, is on the map.&rdquo;
				One of the highlights of the evening was when a glass art piece titled Desert Flower, valued at $30,000, was raffled off. The artwork was donated by SCHOTT North America.
				David Alunni, director of development and applications at SCHOTT, was on hand to pick the winning ticket for the artwork.
				Sandy Insalaco took home the prized sculpture, which was the creation of world-renown glass artist Christopher Ries.
				Mikitish and Bartush are focused on finishing strong in 2021 even during tough times of the pandemic.
				&ldquo;Michelle and I dedicated the first part of this year working on to ensure the 100th celebration was a success,&rdquo; Bartush said. &ldquo;So we will sit down and get our act together to figure out what are next event will be but we will definitely be moving forward to getting people out and out safely.&rdquo;

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Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce marks 100 years with Roaring 20s event