<\/p>\n
PITTSTON \u2014 Mary Rossi, who may have an Italian last name, is in fact 100% Irish. She will get a chance to revisit her Irish roots at the Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce Women\u2019s Network St. Patrick\u2019s Dinner on Thursday, March 12, at Fox Hill Country Club, when she will be honored as the 2026 Distinguished Woman of the Year.<\/p>\n
Born Mary Keller, a 1977 graduate of Meyers High School, she has been a central figure in Downtown Pittston for many decades, working for the Joyce family in the insurance industry.<\/p>\n
Over the years and a few mergers later, Rossi is still vital, working as the administration director, now under Brown & Brown.<\/p>\n
Rossi spent two years at Bloomsburg University before leaving school and taking a job at King\u2019s College\u2019s Public Relations\/Development Office for 10 years.<\/p>\n
Eventually, she married her husband, William, before settling down in Old Boston while raising her twins, Nico and Ashley, 36 years ago.<\/p>\n
When she returned to the workforce, she worked part-time for the Joyce family before taking a full-time job as the executive secretary for Joseph Joyce Sr., the company\u2019s president. She has proven herself as a vital member of the business throughout the years.<\/p>\n
One of the most important ideas she and friend Kristy Rosiak created was the Miles for Michael Foundation in honor of Michael Joyce, then just 43 years old when he succumbed to cancer in 2006.<\/p>\n
For the last 20 years, Miles for Michael has raised enough money to give away an incredible $1.5 million to those in need with cancer.<\/p>\n
Today, at 66, Rossi is proud to be named Distinguished Woman of the Year and looks forward to celebrating the night with her family and the ladies of the Women\u2019s Network.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was an absolute joke, but I was crying so hard, I cried the whole day,\u201d Rossi said when she was notified by the chamber of her award. \u201cI knew what the award was about, but never pictured myself as one of the recipients.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michelle Mikitish, president of the Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce, said the choice was easy this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe chose people that do what they do, and they put their head down, and they do their job every day, and it\u2019s what defines them,\u201d Mikitish said. \u201cThey are so good at it, and they know they are making an impact, but they are not thinking about themselves, but how it impacts others. Mary has done that with Miles for Michael and Northeast Cancer and St. Joseph Marello Church.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mikitish went on to say, \u201cWhen we see someone who gives so much of themselves, this is our way of saying, \u2018Thank you for doing what you\u2019re doing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
As a recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Women Award, proceeds of the St. Patrick\u2019s Dinner will go to a nonprofit of Rossi\u2019s choice, which is Miles for Michael.<\/p>\n
To donate to Miles for Michael, call Mary at 570-603-7815 or visit https:\/\/luzfdn.org\/types-of-funds\/miles-michael-fund\/.<\/p>\n
If you are interested in attending the St. Patrick\u2019s Dinner hosted by the Women\u2019s Network, visit pittstonchamberpa.chambermaster.com\/eventregistration\/register\/4210 or email Brandi Bartush at info@pittstonchamber.org.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PITTSTON \u2014 Mary Rossi, who may have an Italian last name, is in fact 100% Irish. She…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-120201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-scranton","9":"tag-scranton-headlines","10":"tag-scranton-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}