On May 2, 2014, Keystone Community Resources kicked off it's year long celebration to commemorate their 50th anniversary at Artworks Studio.  The celebration included a host of special guests, including some old familiar faces. 

Most notable of the days events included a presentation by the Mayor's office praising Keystone for it's years of commitment to serving people, as well as a proclamation identifying May 2, 2014 as "KEYSTONE COMMUNITY RESOURCES DAY" in the city of Scranton. 

This was the first of what will be an entire year's worth of celebrations, so keep your eyes open for additional events to commemorate this historic anniversary. 

On Thursday, May 28, 2014, Keystone held its annual Leadership Day event in the  Allied community Room in Scranton. Leadership Day has become an annual event  designed to highlight accomplishments and development. The day is focused on  bringing together all levels of leadership to communicate progress, growth and  opportunity across the agency.  
 
The morning agenda including discussions associated with new day services development, Safety Committee initiatives, and implementation of Medline Services for more cost effective supply purchasing.  The training department represented by Ward Stanford and Monica Seger presented a developmental leadership training titled “The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team.”
 
The afternoon session was filled with updates from departments across the agency,  including Human Resources, Facility & IT, Residential, Case Management and Day Services.  
  
Megan Tucker, Human Resources Generalist, provided information on the updated employee benefits package and open enrollment, where employees could review their current benefits, as well as consider alternative options. 
 
Sean McHale, Director of Facilities and IT discussed plans for the coming year to update many of the outdated computer systems in our homes and offices, an announcement that was applauded by the group.  
 
Stan Chotkowski, Director of Residential Services discussed the status of Foothold electronic health records, and the progress made towards implementation of this comprehensive system. 

Season Jackson, Case Manager Supervisor provided information about the ISP updates. She spoke about the specific aspects of the plans that would be changing, and how these changes could best be facilitated by our Program Specialist Team. 
  
Joy Smith, Senior Director of Residential Services, discussed potential development of two new homes located in New Jersey, and targeted to open by September 1, 2014.  Joy also reviewed the potential opportunities these programs will provide for our employees. 
 
Lisa Cunningham, Senior Director of Programs and Services spoke about the new and  exciting program development. She announced the opening of two new day programs in Wilkes-Barre and Tunkhannock, as well as future plans for a program in New Jersey. Target dates for the grand opening of the new sites are estimated for July, 2014.  

On February 27, 2014, a large group of family, friends, staff, and other 
program participants gathered at the 2128 S. Webster group home to 
celebrate Big Heart Award winners,  Colleen Bronson and Frank O’
Brien. 

Nominated by the Clinical team  and chosen as winners, Colleen and Frank  were not just thanked for the  kindness and willingness to help other that  they show on their own -- but  also as a couple.

Dean White introduced  the  winners while Kristine Durkin presented Colleen and Frank with their  awards.   Louis Bernacki and Stacey Strehle read the winning  nomination.

Both Frank and  Colleen were  excited and proud, standing with grins from ear to ear, and  thankful for their acknowledgments.  The celebration ended with everyone enjoying food  and cake while reminiscing and partaking in good conversation.