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Trinity Presbyterian Church welcomes five new members

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LPSCU Matching Funds Project benefits St. Patrick’s Church

<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; All Kiera Lantz, of Kingston, had to do was draw what looked like a squiggly, uneven box, add a Florida panhandle to the lower right corner, and point to the lower left.</p><p>Success! Her Pictionary teammates recognized her artwork as a map of the United States and gave the correct answer: &#8220;Southern California.&#8221;</p><p>But the popular sketching game, part of a Game Night fund-raiser for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Bridge on Thursday evening at the Woodlands, wasn&#8217;t always so easy.</p><p>Just ask Meagan Bedwick, of Wilkes-Barre Township, who drew a bell and, above it, a person chowing down on a some sort of food.</p><p>&#8220;Is it a slice of watermelon?&#8221; &#8220;A bowl?&#8221; &#8220;Fruit?&#8221; her team of husband Brian and parents-in-law Chris and George guessed, to no avail. They didn&#8217;t see the food as a taco, and didn&#8217;t guess the name of a popular fast-food chain.</p><p>When Diane Williamson, of Wilkes-Barre, had her turn at the easel, she drew a little figure holding a bottle, surrounded him with an oval and kept adding more accoutrements &#8212; but what were they? &#8212; as her team shouted guesses about babies and baby bottles and boats.</p><p>No one realized she had drawn a bartender, standing in the middle of a bar.</p><p>But the evening wasn&#8217;t about winning games as much as having fun.</p><p>&#8220;You&#8217;re up against a different team every time, so you get to meet different people,&#8221; said Tara Wagner, of Forty Fort, explaining how each four-person team would face a fresh set of competitors during 20-minute segments devoted to Family Feud, Celebrity and Pictionary.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a very &#8216;heart of a child&#8217; kind of event,&#8221; said her teammate and Geisinger Health Care Systems co-worker Alexis Duda, of Wilkes-Barre. &#8220;It brings out the fun, playful side.&#8221;</p><p>Speaking of children, the $35-per-person event benefits Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Bridge, a one-on-one mentoring program that matches caring adults, or &#8220;Bigs,&#8221; with children in need, also known as &#8220;Littles.&#8221;</p><p>Board president Eric Mahler said he looked at the event as an outreach into the community, a way to get more adults to consider becoming mentors willing to spend a few hours a week with a child.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re an all-volunteer program, supported by social workers,&#8221; he said, explaining there are 250 children on a waiting list, hoping to join the 350 area children who already are matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister.</p><p>&#8220;I might become a Big Sister, after my kids leave,&#8221; said Debbie Bryden, whose four-person team sported yellow T-shirts that proclaimed they were from Mama B&#8217;s Kitchen, the deli she owns in Plains Township.</p><p>While many four-person teams were made up of families, co-workers or groups of friends who pre-registered, the organizers were prepared to match up people who came as individuals or in groups smaller than four, Mahler said.</p><p>For more information about Big Brothers/Big Sisters, see bbbsnepa.org or call 800-955-4376.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Meagan Bedwick, of Wilkes-Barre Township, draws a Pictionary sketch during Game Night at The Woodlands, hoping her husband, Brian, and parents-in-law, Chris and George Bedwick, will correctly guess what she has drawn. Opposing team mates Maria and Greg Koons of Nuangola and Mary Ellen and Brian DelVecchio, of Mountain Top, at left, also are watching intently. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_TTL011517Gamenight1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Meagan Bedwick, of Wilkes-Barre Township, draws a Pictionary sketch during Game Night at The Woodlands, hoping her husband, Brian, and parents-in-law, Chris and George Bedwick, will correctly guess what she has drawn. Opposing team mates Maria and Greg Koons of Nuangola and Mary Ellen and Brian DelVecchio, of Mountain Top, at left, also are watching intently. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_TTL011517Gamenight2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Team mates Maria Conway, Ally Shatrowskas and Debbie Bryden, representing Team Mama B&#8217;s Kitchen, watch Diane Williamson, of Wilkes-Barre, draw a bartender surrounded by a bar. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_TTL011517Gamenight2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Team mates Maria Conway, Ally Shatrowskas and Debbie Bryden, representing Team Mama B&#8217;s Kitchen, watch Diane Williamson, of Wilkes-Barre, draw a bartender surrounded by a bar. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_TTL011517Gamenight3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">&#8216;Fred, Barney, Betty,&#8217; Scott Dana, of Kingston, said, and his wife, Alissa correctly guessed &#8216;The Flintstones&#8217; during the &#8216;Celebrity&#8217; portion of Game Night. Their team also correctly guessed &#8216;American Idol&#8217; host Ryan Seacrest and baseball great Joe DiMaggio. Having a co-worker also named Joe DiMaggio proved to be helpful, Alissa said afterward. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_TTL011517Gamenight3.jpg</photo2><caption2>&#8216;Fred, Barney, Betty,&#8217; Scott Dana, of Kingston, said, and his wife, Alissa correctly guessed &#8216;The Flintstones&#8217; during the &#8216;Celebrity&#8217; portion of Game Night. Their team also correctly guessed &#8216;American Idol&#8217; host Ryan Seacrest and baseball great Joe DiMaggio. Having a co-worker also named Joe DiMaggio proved to be helpful, Alissa said afterward. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Game Night raises funds, attention for Big Brothers/Big Sisters</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>