A Sunday tribute to Howard Grossman may have made him sound larger than life. The career advocate of our region’s potential died Jan. 26 at the age of 91, evoking sweeping praise for diverse reasons.
Prominent regional leaders noted his involvement in Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Jewish Family Services, the Economic Development Council of Northeast Pennsylvania (now NEPA Alliance), the Wyoming Valley Art League, and the Pittston Memorial Library. That may sound like quite a lot for one lifetime, but it was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
For many years, Grossman proved an insightful contributor to a vast range of projects and topics. Part of that, of course, was through his work with the Economic Development Council, a position that often made him the go-to person when big news — good or bad — hit the headlines.
A study of bookings at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport shows local air travelers depart from other airports about a third of the time? Grossman points out it may sound bad, but a review done three years earlier showed it was worse, with about half using other facilities.
Pocono Northeast Railway shuts down? Grossman —through the Development Council —helps arrange a meeting with county and state representatives and officials from at least two other rail operators to discuss the impact and options.
The federal government considers possible closure of the Tobyhanna Army Depot, the region’s largest employer? The Development Council musters data and public support to avoid such an outcome. When a Blue Ribbon Task Force is formed to spare the depot, Grossman serves as chair.
But there was much more. When the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts struggled to erase a $54,000 deficit some three decades ago, Grossman sat on the Center’s board of directors and supported a change of management.
The same year, the relatively new Earth Conservancy set up a Land Use Planning Committee to research and analyze potential use of 17,000 acres of former coal company property, and Grossman was one of 21 unpaid committee members.
He served as a board member of Lacawac Sanctuary, a 500-acre sanctuary in Wayne County, donated by Arthur Watres and his mother in 1966 to ensure preservation and promote environmental education.
He worked as a member of Northeastern Baseball, a nonprofit sports organization created to support the region’s Triple A baseball team, the Red Barons (a franchise since replaced by the RailRiders).
We could go on, but the point is obvious. With Grossman’s death, Northeast Pennsylvania lost a titan among regional supporters, a true champion of our area’s endless possibilities in many diverse fields. He rightly earned the praise voiced by various officials in Sunday’s article. As Diamond City Partnership Executive Director Larry Newman put it:
“As a planner, he championed regionalism, better land use and transportation policies, and the value of strong civic leadership. He was equally passionate about the arts or about the challenges faced by grandparents raising grandchildren. But Northeastern Pennsylvania’s potential, and the need for our communities to embrace a positive self-image, were two topics that were particularly close to his heart. Howard strongly believed that, by planning and working together, we could craft a better future for our region.”