Frigid temperatures and what seemed like snow every other day kept us all busy battling the elements throughout the month of January. Even for those of us used to the typical winters in Northeast Pennsylvania, we know it’s been cold when 30° seems like a mild day.

Now that January has come and gone, each of us continues to work on our list of goals we want to accomplish in the coming months. The Back Mountain Chamber is no different. All of our committees have been hard at work planning for our traditional annual events as well as coming up with some new ones.

The first BMC event of the year will be the Fourth Annual Mardi Gras Awards Dinner, which will take place Feb. 13 at the Apple Tree Terrace. It’s still not too late to register for this enjoyable event, so hurry onto the Back Mountain Chamber website to register before all the tickets are sold out.

We are already making plans for the BMC Spring Food Drive, which will tentatively run from March 4 through March 24. More details will follow next month when we firm up those dates and finalize the drop-off locations. All donations will go to the Back Mountain Food Pantry for the benefit of families in the Dallas and Lake Lehman school districts.

Another perennial favorite BMC event is the Back Mountain Business Expo and Community Event. This will be our ninth Annual Expo, which will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25 at the Sandy and Marlene Insalaco Hall on the campus of Misericordia University in Dallas.

This event is a fantastic opportunity for local companies and community organizations to showcase all their available products and services to the public. It’s also an opportunity for members of the community to meet with a representative of each company or organization and make that all-important personal contact. This event is worthwhile not only for members of the public, but also for our vendors.

Last year, we had 55 vendors and more than 450 visitors. As is our custom, there will also be an historical presentation immediately following the Expo at 6:30 pm. Our speaker this year will be Wilkes-Barre City Councilman Tony Brooks, whose topic will be the Butler House Restoration — the story of oldest house in Wilkes-Barre and history of three generations of Butlers from 1731-1860.

Our monthly luncheons are also a favorite for many at the Back Mountain Chamber. It’s an opportunity to see fellow members in a relaxed setting and catch up on what’s new. It’s also interesting to hear what our featured speakers have to say about a variety of topics.

On Jan. 11 at the Appletree Terrace, Dan Meuser, Congressional candidate for Pennsylvania’s 11th District, spoke to a group of over 50 people about his business, political and personal experience and how he feels those combined experiences make him qualified for the United States Congress. Everyone at the luncheon especially enjoyed the lively and informative question and answer session that followed Dan’s presentation.

The February luncheon will be on Feb. 8 at Fire and Ice when our speaker will be the Honorable Richard M. Hughes, III, President Judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas.

As always, if you wish have your community event placed on the “BMC Events Calendar” on our website, please email details to bmcbussdev@gmail.com, and we will include your event.

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Chamber Notes

Atty. Tom Mosca

Atty. Thomas Mosca is president of the Back Mountain Chamber. His column appears monthly in the Dallas Post.