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the voice of the abingtons abingtonsuburban.com | oct. 27, 2016
Griffin Pond’s annual FallFest will be at a new spot this year |PAGE 2
A new organization is raising awareness about lung cancer |PAGE 6
A South Abington Twp. student earns a special scholarship |PAGE 12
HomE AwAy from HomE Volunteers help refurbish Keystone’s veterans center by Linda Scott
Special to the abington Suburban Keystone College was founded in 1868 to educate the veterans returning from the Civil War. Veterans still remain an integral part of the college. The Elmer R. Hawk ’48 Center for Veterans recently got a facelift, thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Student Veterans of America and The Home Depot Foundation. The veteran center was made possible through the generosity of the Hawk family of Dunmore, in memory of the late Elmer R. Hawk. He was a business student at Keystone in 1947 and 1948, before joining his brother to help build the nationally known company Gertrude Hawk Chocolates company. The veteran’s center, located in Alumni Hall on the first floor, opened in 2015. During a recent Saturday morning, members of the Armed Forces Club of Keystone College and employees of the Scranton and Wilkes Barre Home Depot came together to complete the renovations. Improvements included widening
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Left to right: Johnson; Ratchford; Joe Popowycz, Home Depot Home Dickson City store manager; Matulevich; Gowarty; Welch; and Amy May, vice president of the Keystone College Armed Forces Club.
doors to make them compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The walls got a new coat of paint and new carpet was installed. The bathroom had grab bars installed, along with improved fixtures. The kitchen also got a makeover. “We had a small room before, that was 9-by-12. Now we have 1,500 square feet of space,” veteran club advisor Mark Gowarty said. “Veterans are not a typical college student. A veteran has real-world life experiences that they gone through, whether it’s been over in Iraq or Afghanistan or even back home. The newly renovated center gives the veterans a place to relax and do their school work. We want to thank Home Depot. Without them this would not have been possible.” “This is a home away from home and more than an office space,” said Dylan
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Welch, a Marine Corps veteran and president of the Armed Forces Club. He is a sophomore majoring in wildlife biology. “The center now has a quiet space to do homework, a place to watch television, a conference room, five computers, a kitchen and an office. The veterans have everything they need.” Fifteen Team Depot employees joined the veterans on a recent Saturday to finish installing the carpet. “Team Depot works with veterans groups. All of the Home Depot employees here today are volunteers,” Agnes Lippi Johnson, operation manager at the Dickson City Home Depot, said. “They get to spend time with the veterans and it is a nice partnership.” “This is a place all our own and is in a nice central location,” Joshua Matulev-
ich, club parliamentarian said. He has been in the Army National Guard for 18 years. “This is a place where veterans can communicate with other veterans. They shared the same experiences and they can reach out to the younger ones.” There will be a ribbon cutting on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at the center. The event will start at 11:30 a.m. Aaron R. Pytlik, an Army veteran, Keystone College freshman student and a member of the Armed Forces Club, will speak. Also speaking is Michael Iacavazzi, a Keystone graduate of 1967 and commander of the Pennsylvania State Department of the Disabled American Veterans and past Chapter Commander for the William C. Malia 1 Disabled American Veterans in Scranton. Lunch will follow the ribbon cutting in Evans Hall. This is the 11th year for