On May 6, CASA volunteer Gary Williams and his wife Denise were honored with the Susan Merrill-Constance Kozel Award at the Peace & Justice Center’s yearly Peace Awards Dinner for their time, generosity, and dedication to their community.

Gary has been a court appointed special advocate since 2014 and is currently on his 4th case. In those years, Gary has donated his time, his compassion, and his consistency to seven children.

He is dedicated and empathetic, two important characteristics of a great advocate.

CASA of Luzerne County is not the only beneficiary of Gary’s kindness.

He is a volunteer tax preparer for CEO, he is a tutor at the McGlynn Center, and a member of St. Therese’s Social Justice Committee. He drives for Meals on Wheels, Dinners for Kids, and the American Cancer Society. He also serves on the boards for The Back Mountain Memorial Library, Dinners for Kids, Luzerne County Head Start, Meals on Wheels, The McGlynn Center, and Pocono Northeast Resource Conservation & Development Council.

Gary’s wife, Denise, is a lay minister and Mercy Associate. She has been involved in the Commission for Economic Opportunity’s Penny Wars for the Poor for more than 20 years. She is also involved with Fair Districts PA.

Gary and Denise are shining examples of compassion and love for their community and are beyond deserving of this recognition for all they do.

Congratulations to them both!

*NEPA Sings winner Talia Johnson. Photo by Kyle Kraemer*

THANK YOU for making our second annual NEPA Sings event a resounding success!

This year featured 12 of the most unbelievably talented singers in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and we are so grateful to them for sharing their gifts to help raise awareness and funds for CASA of Luzerne County.

Our winner, Talia Johnson, wowed the crowd of almost 300 with her flawless rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”

To hear Talia perform her winning song on PA Live, click here! You can also watch the amazing video of Talia performing another Whitney hit during the show’s finale by clicking here.

We also want to thank all of our sponsors, especially PNC and Geisinger for signing on as our presenting sponsors for the second year in a row.

We’re also grateful to Republic Audio Studio for providing Talia with a 3-hour studio recording session and the chance to produce her own demo. And thank you to Assured Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania for sponsoring our runner-up prize — a music store gift card presented to Marina Rinkunas.

The money raised from events like NEPA Sings allow CASA of Luzerne County to reach more of the children in the local foster care system.

In January 2017, our program had 18 volunteer advocates. Because of the support from our community, we now have 41 advocates who are speaking up for the best interests of 60 children.

Our goal is to ultimately provide a volunteer advocate for each of the 440 children currently in dependency.

Thank you — every sponsor, advertiser, performer, ticket purchaser, supporter — for helping us work toward that goal.

We look forward to seeing you at NEPA Sings again next year!

CASA volunteer Gary Williams honored

Thank you for making NEPA Sings ROCK