The Parkesburg Lions Club will hold two community bench dedications on Sunday, July 30. One bench to memorialize Joann Carmen will be dedicated at 3 p.m. at Parkesburg VWF Post 4480, 406 W. Fourth Ave., Parkesburg. The second bench will be dedicated at 4 p.m. at the Wilde Funeral Home, 434 Main St., Parkesburg, to memorialize Thaddeus "Bud" Wilde.

Parkesburg Mayor John Hagen will be on hand at both events. Community members who would like to speak about the two honorees are encouraged to attend the ceremonies.

Carmen, who passed away in 2021, was the office manager of the Parkesburg VFW and a supporter of the Keystone Valley Fire Department. "She was in charge of the Parkesburg VFW for many years, and she was amazing," said Parkesburg Lions Club president Robin McKenna. "We have fundraisers at the VFW, and she was very supportive of the Lions Club."

Carmen's bench will be placed at the flagpole in front of the VFW, which also dedicated its sunroom in her memory.

Wilde, director of the Wilde Funeral Home, passed away in December 2021. He became a member of the Parkesburg Lions Club in 1977 and later served as club president. In February 2019, he was awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, the highest recognition given by the Lions Clubs International Foundation for community service.

The Parkesburg Lions Club has been collecting plastics to earn free benches as part of a recycling program offered by the Trex Company. The Lions Club placed its first bench in the community at the bus stop near the Parkesburg Library, 105 West St. It was dedicated to the late Jim Norton, a longtime Lions Club member and a past member of the Parkesburg Library Board.

The Lions Club also provided a "Buddy Bench" at Octorara Elementary School. McKenna explained that a Buddy Bench is available for students who are looking for friends. They can sit on the bench as a signal that they need someone to play with. The aim is that other children will invite the child on the bench to play with them.

The community is welcome to donate plastics for the bench program. Items such as grocery bags, bread bags, newspaper sleeves and dry cleaning bags are accepted, among other items. Currently, there are receptacles at the Parkesburg Free Library; Fulton Bank, 100 W. First Ave., Parkesburg; Octorara Elementary School, 104 Highland Road, Atglen; Gabe's Pizza Place, 428 W. First Ave, Parkesburg; the Octorara Area Food Cupboard, 714 Main St., Parkesburg; and Pine Creek Animal Hospital, 150 Pine Creek Drive, Gap.

McKenna reported that the Lions will continue to dedicate benches as donations of plastics come in from the community. "We can earn one every six months by (collecting) 500 pounds of plastics," she said. "They are made from Trex wood, so they are very sturdy. You don't have to paint them, so the maintenance is low."

For more information about the Parkesburg Lions Club and its activities, search for "Parkesburg Lions Club - New and Improved" on Facebook.