Lacawac to recognize honorees for 2023

LAKE ARIEL, PA — Lacawac Sanctuary Field Station and Environmental Education Center will celebrate its eighth annual Farm to Plate fundraising gala at the Historic Watres Lodge at Lacawac on Saturday, August 12.

This year’s event is presented by the Scranton Area Community Foundation. The dinner sponsor is Brookfield Renewable US.
Tickets are available online at Lacawac.org.

Each year Lacawac chooses to honor community members and those that have helped shaped Lacawac’s future.

This year Lacawac’s dinner committee and Board of Trustees have chosen to honor the following:

Lifetime Achievement in Preservation—Mark and Courtney Peterson
Mark and Courtney live on a farm in Lackawaxen Township in Hawley, PA, where they raise Hereford beef cattle and have two pet donkeys and one cat. Most of the property, however, is undeveloped forest with a small stream traversing throughout.

Mark is a veterinarian and runs a highly specialized referral clinic in New York. He also serves as adjunct professor of medicine at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University. Mark is known for his clinical research and teaching in small animal endocrinology. He has published more than 600 journal articles and chapters, and is a frequent speaker at veterinary conferences around the world.

He is an avid reader and enjoys long walks with his wife and donkeys.

Courtney is a semi-retired teacher. She taught adult ESL (English as a Second Language) in Japan and subsequently served as a classroom, physical education and wellness teacher.

Her passion is running. In memory of her father, who introduced her to running, she has run a marathon (26.2 miles) in each of the 50 states, which she completed in 2015. Her knees have since wised up, and now she runs slower and shorter distances. Courtney spends her free time volunteering for local organizations—from helping environmental causes, to advocacy for children.

They are grateful to be able to donate their land to Lacawac. Mark and Courtney appreciate land conservation and realize how important it is to protect undeveloped habitats needed for wild animals to survive and thrive and trees to do well.

Given both their backgrounds, they strongly agree and believe in Lacawac’s mission to enhance research, education and preservation. They feel comfortable that Lacawac will ensure their land will remain beautiful and undeveloped for all future generations.

Corporation of the Year 2023—Scranton Area Community Foundation

The Scranton Area Community Foundation has been working to enhance the quality of life for people across the Northeastern Pennsylvania region since 1954, serving the community as a steward, a grant maker, a charitable resource and a catalyst for change and growth.

With assets of more than $57 million and an additional $40 million under management and more than 315 charitable funds, the Scranton Area Community Foundation has distributed over $7 million in grants and scholarships in 2022.

The foundation offers a variety of charitable planning tools such as donor-advised funds, charitable gift annuities, scholarship funds and charitable trusts to help people leave legacies and maximize the impact of their giving to causes and charities they care about.

The foundation leads various initiatives, including Women in Philanthropy, the Center for Community Leadership and Nonprofit Excellence, NEPA Moves, NEPA Thrives and the NEPA Animal Welfare Collaborative.

Additionally, the foundation hosts and facilitates NEPA Gives and the NEPA Learning Conference.

The Scranton Area Community Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, tax-exempt organization confirmed in compliance with National Standards of U.S. Community Foundations.

Person of the Year 2023—The Logan Family of the French Manor

The Logan family purchased the French Manor Inn and Spa in the year 1990. Ron and Mary Kay Logan embarked on a venture that would redefine the very essence of romance and indulgence.

The property on Huckleberry Mountain now boasts the original impeccably maintained manor building and carriage house, with the addition of two mountain view suite buildings, a four-diamond full-service restaurant, a resplendent saltwater pool and a sanctuary-like full-service spa.

Daughters, Genevieve (Logan) Reese and Bridget (Logan) Weber have taken over the family legacy and have grown the family business over the past decade to include a green spa, “Le Spa Foret”; a new restaurant, “Sound Bites at The Jam Room”; and retain the prestigious AAA Four-Diamond Award for both lodging and dining for 20 consecutive years.

They welcome the addition of Genevieve’s son, William, to the business. William is a graduate of Penn State (Corporate Communications, Social Media Marketing) and a current master’s program candidate at East Stroudsburg University.

The French Manor is a family business and it firmly believes in a strong community and encourages stewardship and growth. Genni and Bridget instill their compassionate approach into their exceptional staff, empowering them to give back and contribute to the community.

During COVID, the French Manor staff was seen twice a week distributing food for the Salvation Army at the Newfoundland library.

They wanted to do more for the community and took advantage of a matching program with the Wayne County Community Foundation, which led to the start of the Newfoundland Library Community Fund, which currently has over $25,000 for future community projects.

Genevieve and Bridget donate a lot of their time to their community, serving on volunteer boards, working at local fundraisers and supporting local businesses. Genevieve is a member of the Wallenpaupack School Board, Wayne County Hotel Tax and Tourism Promotion Committee and the Newfoundland Library board, and is current vice chair of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau. Bridget has been instrumental in the community, donating her time to projects small and large, including the Wallenpaupack Girls Soccer program (booster president), Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau Regional Marketing Committee, and working on major fundraising events such as Taste of the Poconos (which the Newfoundland Library sponsored).

The French Manor strives to be a steward for the environment; encouraging their guests and staff to recycle and reuse. They put thoughtful decisions into the products they buy, to ensure that the planet is taken care of.

This is why Lacawac Sanctuary is such a priority to the philanthropic ideology of the Logan family, and why they choose to be a major donor each year to this organization.