Walk to Cure Diabetes held in Greensburg

Their message was simple: help us help kids. Teaming up was the theme at a corporate recruitment event for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the annual Walk to Cure Diabetes.

Scott Kroh is the President and CEO of Ronbindale Energy, but he also is the Westmoreland Walk Committee Chair. He recognized committed sponsors and welcomed potential participants to breakfast at Greensburg County Club on Tuesday morning. Terry Reese , the Walk's Corporate Chair, made sure other companies knew how committed Reese's company -- Overly Manufacturing -- is to raising money for diabetes research.

Joining them in the efforts to recruit new corporate sponsors and teams were JDRF board member Terry Daughenbaugh , who has a granddaughter with type 1 diabetes, and Dave Hanna of First Commonwealth Bank, former Corporate Chair of the walk and JDRF board member.

But the real pitch came from a real-life story. Robin Watson told the crowd about her daughter Paige , 5, who fights diabetes with an insulin pump she has worn for the past three years.

Paige and her mom will be at the Westmoreland Walk on Sept. 11, 2010 at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. Development manager Jennifer Zgurich and development coordinator Sandie Spear urge you to team up, too. Enter a team in the walk by calling 888-528-8788.

-- Jennifer Miele

Sparkling sounds

Like the legendary swallows returning to Capistrano, so too does Lou Stein and All That Jazz return yearly to Ligonier to open the outdoor summer concert season.

Wednesday's warm, sunny weather was perfect for the May installment of Jazz on the Diamond , as music lovers assembled on benches, many with lunches in hand, to enjoy the program.

In a nod to the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, guest vocalist Rob Dandrea opened the show with a medley of patriotic favorites, including "God Bless America" and "This Land is Your Land."

Saxophonist Stein, accompanied by Chuck Kerrigan on drums and Jerry Melega on keyboards, then segued into an hour's worth of jazz, blues, rock and even polka standards.

Jazz on the Diamond is sponsored by the Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Seen with toes tapping: Ted and Marilyn Krushinski , Ed and Marge Williamson , Walter and Shirley Fetzer, Jan Best , Jane Ball , John Trovato , Carol Mitchell , Nancy Anderson , Dave and Jackie Huffman , Bonnie Saxman and young Hunter Wright.

-- Shirley McMarlin

Bridging the gap

By proclamation of Mayor Karl Eisaman , Thursday was "Transatlantic Bridge Day" in Greensburg.

The designation paid tribute to a continuing partnership between the Westmoreland Museum of American Art and the LVR-Industriemuseum in Oberhausen, Germany, which focuses on the art that grew out of the steelmaking heritage of each museum's home area.

In the past year, art and creative writing students at Greensburg Salem High School and their German counterparts have participated in a program that has included the development and exchange of artworks including sketchbook journals and stop-motion films based on drawings. Local students have used pieces from the Westmoreland's "Born of Fire: Valley of Work" collection for inspiration.

On Thursday night, representatives of the museum and the school came together at the Westmoreland to discuss the program and unveil kiosks highlighting work included in this "Building a Transatlantic Bridge" collaboration.

Following Eisaman's reading of the proclamation, presentations were made by Katie Barnard , the Westmoreland's director of education and visitor services, and Greensburg Salem High School art teacher Kelley Audia . The school district's community liaison, Anita Rometo , provided a virtual tour of a trip she and Barnard made to Oberhausen to visit the school and museum. Rometo said plans are for the partnership to continue in the next school year.

Museum staffers seen enjoying the program were director/CEO Judy O'Toole , curator Barbara Jones and marketing director Judy Ross , along with Charlene Bidula and Jessica Zamiska .

Others on the scene included David Ludwig , Allison Ross , Lois Kemp , Betsy Hoeldtke , Hans and Gudrun Garkisch , Jeanie Snodgrass , Rosemary Yost and GSHS students and project participants Clair Swauger , Tim Hoffelder and Rachel O'Toole .

-- Shirley McMarlin

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