Dunmorean of the Month: Paul Jackson

Dunmorean of the Month - Paul Jackson

By Steve Svetovich

Dunmore’s Paul Jackson has been serving the community for 35 years through his advertising business PS Advertising Specialty Company. 

His wife Sharon was very much a part of it. But his beloved wife suddenly passed away at 62 after an illness this past Dec. 10. 

Now the long time Dunmore businessman is carrying on with the business, located at his home, 6 Debbie Drive, Dunmore, with the help of the couple’s daughter, Dana, 23.

Dana is also the assistant director of Crimson Company Performing Arts, the Dunmore High School Drama Club.

As marriage and business partners, Jackson and his late wife served the Dunmore community with zeal and love. His wife was his marketing and advertising partner in the business. Now his daughter Dana will help her dad carry on that tradition.

Jackson, 63, and his late wife always loved serving the Dunmore community and surrounding areas. Their customer base reached as far as Canada and Europe.

Jackson’s healing and grieving over his wife’s sudden passing includes telling the story and recalling lifelong memories of his loved one.

“She was very much a part of the business,” he said. “We’ve been in business since 1985 and she initially helped part time while working at North Penn Bank in Scranton where she was secretary to the president. She left that position in 2002 to work strictly with me for our PS Advertising business. She did a lot of presentations and most of the art work. She was very good at that. My daughter is going to try to fill some of that void now.

“I am able to find comfort in that my wife did not have to go through a lot of suffering. She was very sick and was facing a lot of suffering with a recent cancer diagnosis. I know she did not want to suffer. I find comfort through God that she is at peace.”

Son of the late William and Freda Jackson, the Dunmore businessman said he will continue to serve Dunmore and the general public.

“We match customers with promotional products that work with what they want to accomplish through advertising.

“Most of our customers are established. Most of our business is now done by phone or internet. We recently started online fundraising stores. Some of our customers from this include Dunmore High School, Marywood University, YMCA swimming, local dance studios and businesses. 

34126_134205526603868_2082152_n“We offer promotional and printing products such as calendars, apparel and clothing, signs, banners and business cards. We are very big on clothing and apparel.”

Jackson said his idea to start his own advertising business began when he was working for a local balloon manufacturer. 

“I asked my boss if I could sell my own balloons on the side. I got the okay to do it and people started asking me for pens, t-shirts and mugs. That’s how it all started. I decided to start my own advertising business in 1985.”

Jackson initially ran his advertising business from 1985 to 1994 in Dickson City. He and his late wife then bought a building in Scranton and ran it there from 1994 to 2008 before deciding to move it to the couple’s Debbie Drive home in Dunmore.

Jackson, a 1974 North Pocono graduate, and his late wife Sharon, a 1975 Dunmore graduate, were married 40 years before her passing. The couple’s daughter Dana is a 2014 Dunmore graduate and received a bachelor of arts degree in Theatre from Marywood University in 2018.

Sharon’s mother, Jane Seeger, Dunmore, died at 89 in May due to pancreatic cancer. Sharon was helping her mom deal with her cancer diagnosis while she was not feeling well herself. Her dad Bill Seeger, Dunmore, is now grieving over the passing last year of both his wife and daughter.

“My daughter and I have him over often for dinner,” said Jackson. “He is on his own, but we are a family. The people of Dunmore have been so kind and supportive to us during our grieving. They have been so wonderful offering us meals, comfort and plenty of emotional support. 

“My wife would want us to go on and we will continue to serve the community through our advertising company and business products. My daughter is slowly learning the business. We are grateful to the community for their ongoing support.”

Dunmoreans Nominated to Attend U.S. Service Academies

Congressman Matt Cartwright  has announced students from Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties nominated for appointments to attend the United States Service Academies, including two from Dunmore, Colby DeSando and Charles Valvano. 

Each student nominated by Congressman Cartwright will go through the academies’ competitive application process. If offered an appointment, the students will join their respective academy’s Class of 2024.

U.S. Service Academies Nominees Colby DeSando“Each student nominated is among the best and brightest of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and they represent the next generation of great American leaders,” Cartwright said. “I want to thank these outstanding young adults for their willingness to commit to serving their country. They give me hope that our best days are surely ahead.”

Colby DeSando, son of Michael and Lori DeSando is a graduate of Dunmore High School. He has been nominated to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.

Colby currently attends Virginia Tech and is a member of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Marching Band. While at Dunmore High School, Colby was vice president of Students Against Destructive Decisions and a member of Health Career Club and the marching, concert, and jazz bands. 

Colby is an active member of his community, serving as the Public Safety Head Chairman City and State at the Keystone Boys State in 2018 and a Keystone Boys State counselor in 2019. As a member of the Sea Cadets, he was both a Seaman and Assistant Leading Petty Officer. 

U.S. Service Academies Nominees Charles ValvanoCharles Valvano is the son of Guy and Kellie Valvano and a senior at Dunmore Jr./Sr. High School. Charles is a member of the National Honors Society, Dunmore High School Yearbook, TACT, and the Health Service, Engineering, and Students Against Destructive Decisions clubs.

He won first place in the 2019 Northeast Pennsylvania Bridge Building Competition and went on to place first in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and 26th internationally. Charles is on the varsity football and track and field teams. He was also 2018 Scranton Times Division III Coaches’ All-Star Defensive Selection and is a co-captain of the football team.

Charles is a member of the U.S Naval Sea Cadets and was the recipient of the Dart Drones Scholarship. Charles has been nominated to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD and the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, CO.

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Other local nominations include Lance Corporal Michael Huntington, Dallas, currently serving as a musician in the United Marine Corps Band, also nominated for the Naval Academy; Tyler Kotowski, Scott Township, nominated to the U.S. Air Force Academy; Stephen  Postupak, also of Dallas, a member of the Air Force ROTC at St. Joseph’s University, also nominated to the Air Force Academy; Jakob Quanbeck, Clarks Summit, who has been nominated to the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Navy Academy and the U.S. Military Academy; Dylan Rowland of Carbondale, who is currently majoring in mechanical engineering at Penn State University and is a part of the Army ROTC Nittany Lion Battalion nominated to the U.S. Military Academy.

Actors Circle To Present “Rule of Three”

Actors Circle is presenting Agatha Christie’s Rule of Three, which features three short plays: Afternoon at the Seaside, The Rats, and The Patient

Directed by Kate Martin and Peter Miles the show continues Thursday through Saturday, Feb., 6, 7, 8, at 8 p.m., and Sunday Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. 

Tickets are $12 general admission, $10 seniors,and  $8 students.. This trilogy is presented at Providence Playhouse, 1256 Providence Road. in Scranton. 

Call 570-342-9707 for reservations or email to tickets at actorscircle.com. Reservations are held until 10 minutes before show time.

Dunmoreans who are working on this show include Crista Gaskill and Katie Gardier, as well as Dunmore native Cathy Rist Strauch.

Other members include: Marnie Azzarelli, Emma Holmes, Emily Knoepful, Gerardo Barone, Rafe Rickard, Justin O’Hearn, Katie O’Hearn, and Grace Kapacs. Stephanie Booth,  Connor Martin, and producers Lou Bisignani and J.P. McGowan.

Afternoon at the Seaside concerns a whimsical day by the sea in a British resort, where an emerald necklace has been stolen and the inspector must investigate an extraordinary mix of characters. 

The Rats features adulterous lovers, Sandra and David, who are called to the Torrance’s flat for evening drinks, only to find nobody home. What first appears to be a simple mix-up of dates, turns to something far more sinister when the pair are locked in and then framed for murder.

In The Patient, the title character has been horribly injured in a fall from her balcony. She is unable to communicate, and it could have been an accident, attempted suicide, or even worse, a cold-blooded murder. As relatives gather around her hospital bed, the tension builds as Mrs. Wingfield tries to convey a message that could solve the mystery.