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Outdoors with Tom Venesky: A learning process with no end

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Swartz, Smith announce engagement

<p>&#8220;Which one do you want?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I think the 911,&#8221; I said to a friend.</p><p>Or, maybe the classic vintage one on display.</p><p>I also like the Boxster. It&#8217;s compact and fun and all sorts of fabulous.</p><p>The 911, though, was my first pick.</p><p>Heck, these days, you could make a GoFundMe page for just about anything, so why not this? I&#8217;d enjoy one of those swanky 911s and I&#8217;m sure my social media tribe would be happy to click the link and offer a few dollars toward my cause.</p><p>Jokes aside, the 911s are beautiful. Actually, everything Porsche is beautiful.</p><p>I saw it firsthand Thursday night at the grand opening of Porsche Wyoming Valley &#8211; the grandiose dealership on Highway 315 in Plains Township that looked more like a luxury lounge than a car dealership (seriously, if you want to feel like you&#8217;re on vacation, stop by and see this place).</p><p>There were cigars, specialty beers, passed hors d&#8217;oeuvres and food tables from the Westmoreland Club.</p><p>There was Denny Corby, the interactive magician and comic. He was easy to listen to and fun to watch for his 20-minute show that included several audience members (his next show of note is Saturday at the F.M. Kirby Center, if you&#8217;re interested in seeing him live).</p><p>And there were friends from long ago, like Lee Ann Connolly, who I keep up with on Facebook but rarely see in person. Her family and mine have been acquainted for a long time, and I have fond memories of attending Jenny Lynn Academy with her daughter, Meaghan, so seeing her made my night. We had some great laughs and talked about our lives today.</p><p>All of this was put together &#8212; and brought together &#8212; by Steve Ubaldini Jr., the general manager and man in charge of the special weekday affair.</p><p>I love Steve. If you don&#8217;t know him, you should. He&#8217;s fun, intelligent and one of the hardest workers I know (his wife, Meaghan &#8212; Lee Ann&#8217;s daughter &#8212; filled me in on his impressive work schedule).</p><p>He has worked tirelessly to ensure the Wyoming Valley Porsche and BMW dealerships are operating in top form.</p><p>Kudos to Steve and his team for hosting an event that lasted three hours. The only time I recall being in a car dealership that long was when negotiating for lower pricing.</p><p>With that event over and the weekend in full effect, I&#8217;m thinking about the Fourth of July. What to do, where to go, how to celebrate?</p><p>Frankly, I&#8217;m not sure.</p><p>Every year I seem to have something new on the agenda: a party, a vacation, a gathering of sorts somewhere.</p><p>This year, though, I&#8217;m thinking of ringing it in at Kirby Park.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre City Special Events Coordinator Patty Hughes is making quite the case for the city&#8217;s annual fireworks show.</p><p>Especially this year, with the holiday falling on a Wednesday, I might celebrate Wilkes-Barre-style at a place we&#8217;re lucky to have in our own backyard.</p><p>See you at the show.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Mike McGinley is the Times Leader Media Group&#8217;s major accounts executive. Reach him at mmcginley@www.timesleader.com or 570-704-3945.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Around Town: Porsches, friends and preparing for the Fourth of July