Ask Coleman Plecker how Northeast Sight Services has helped him, and the Dallas man has a simple answer.
“How about saving my life?” he said.
Plecker, 78, said he lost his vision about 8 years ago, due to what may have been the combination of a stroke and the effects of glaucoma. At first, the former pro golfer said, “I saw no reason to live.”
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But Northeast Sight Services got him involved with water aerobics, supplied bus transportation to the pool, and led him to other people who had experienced vision loss — people like Diane Yakimowicz of Nanticoke, who helped him realize he wasn’t alone.
“She’s my best friend in the world,” Plecker said Wednesday evening as he sat with Yakimowicz and her daughter, Donna McIntyre, at the Woodlands in Plains Township. The trio were among close to 300 guests who gathered to celebrate Northeast Sight Services at its 20th annual awards dinner.
Award recipients included Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, recipient of the Marion Pollock Community Partnership Award; John Yudichak, Distinguished Community Service Award; James Brogna, Golden Anna Cervenak Community Impact Award; Nanci Romanyshyn, Visionary Advocate Award, and Kayla Penzone, Arline Phillips Achievement Award.
When she was growing up in Carbondale and slowly losing her peripheral vision, Penzone was a client of Northeast Sight Services. She fondly remembers such activities as bowling and berry picking with other teens in the Camp Sight program, and learning skills that helped her become independent. Now 25, she lives in Michigan and works for AAA.
She attended Wednesday’s dinner with her mother, Jeannine Penzone, and her service dog, Kane, whom she described not only as “my second set of eyes” but “more of a best friend.”
Honoree James Brogna, a vice president at Allied Services who accepted the Golden Anna Cervenak Community Impact Award, said he knew and admired the award’s namesake for her efforts as a volunteer.
“I never thought I’d be getting this award someday,” he said. “I’m speechless.”