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<p>Despite balloons being delivered to the office celebrating my &#8220;40th&#8221; birthday, I turned 33 last week. Tuesday, to be exact.</p><p>My friend Kim found it humorous to bring big 40th birthday balloons to the office, which gave everyone around a chuckle. Some even believed that I was in fact turning that special age, but I had to explain that it was merely a joke.</p><p>Even though it wasn&#8217;t a milestone birthday, I still enjoyed it.</p><p>We had a family dinner out on Thursday evening.</p><p>My mother called asking me where to go, and as I pondered for a few minutes I thought of one of my favorite childhood spots that I used to go to with my grandmothers many moons ago: Villa Roma at Harveys Lake.</p><p>It&#8217;d been years since we visited the sisters, Lilly and Jeanne, at the famous Harveys Lake eatery, known for its beloved seafood and Italian dishes, character and cast of characters.</p><p>Lilly has such fabulous spunk, that she instantly puts you in a good mood. We enjoyed chatting with her from her familiar spot behind the cash register, before heading into the main dining room, where we saw our family cousin, Councilman Ed Kelly, his wife Joan, and some of their family. Ed is my father&#8217;s first cousin, so it&#8217;s always a treat for the two to catch up.</p><p>At our table, we were joined by my Uncle Jim and family friends Lana and Nancy, who are more like aunts to me than anything else.</p><p>That&#8217;s really all I wanted: a simple night at a nice restaurant with family.</p><p>If you haven&#8217;t been to the Villa Roma in a number of years, like I hadn&#8217;t, you should stop by. The food and atmosphere were just as I remember years ago.</p><p>On my actual birthday on Tuesday, I went to the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce&#8217;s EPIC Awards at the Kirby Center for the Creative Arts at Wyoming Seminary.</p><p>EPIC stands for Extraordinary People Inspiring Community.</p><p>Community leaders were honored for their activism, innovation and volunteerism, and it was great to see. I remarked on Facebook that it was truly an inspirational evening, and it was.</p><p>Our reporter Dan Stokes quoted ATHENA Award recipient Tara Mugford Wilson during her acceptance speech as saying, &#8220;Stand up for yourselves, your beliefs and your convictions. Don&#8217;t be afraid to ask questions.&#8221;</p><p>That was one of the many inspirational lines of the evening.</p><p>She, along with Innovator of the Year Geisinger Dr. Pugazhendhi Vijayaraman, Volunteer of the Year Cathy Fields McHugh and Presidential Award winner Patrick Leahy, shared stories that resonated with the crowd and kept in theme with the evening.</p><p>Several organizations received awards for longevity: the City of Wilkes-Barre, The Luzerne Foundation, North Branch Land Trust and the Allan P. Kirby Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Wilkes University.</p><p>To top off the night, a reception afterwards featuring restaurants like Kevin&#8217;s Bar &amp; Restaurant, The Beaumont Inn, Ruth&#8217;s Chris Steakhouse, Jonathans Restaurant, Pour Coffee House and more were on hand for food and drink while guests mingled and congratulated the winners.</p><p>For me, it was an epic way to spend a birthday.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Mike McGinley</p><p>Around Town</p></bylineMeta></div><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: An epic way to spend my birthday