Dear John,

It was a busy week in the District for me with a lot of time spent in Luzerne County.

On Tuesday, I headed to SCHOTT Manufacturing in Duryea to announce a multi-million dollar defense contract I helped secure for the specialty glass company. 

The $2.7 million contract will supply Launch Tube Windows manufactured by SCHOTT in support of the U.S. Army's Stinger Missile program. 

Thanks to the innovations that have been part of SCHOTT’s DNA for more than 130 years, more Stinger Missiles will be headed to President Volodymyr Zelensky as we stand with Ukraine and its people.

Kudos to SCHOTT and all of its employees for their cutting-edge skills at manufacturing high-performance components that enable reliable and precise defense systems.

The company's ground-breaking innovations have helped our own service members create a safer world and will further support Ukraine in its battle for liberty over Russian tyranny.

You can read the Times Leader's coverage of the press conference here. 

Also this week, I had the pleasure of visiting the folks at Luzerne County Head Start, which promotes school readiness for kids five-and-under.

Specifically, the program provides children in Luzerne and Wyoming Counties with a developmentally appropriate early childhood education and offers comprehensive health, nutrition and additional family support services. 

After meeting with Head Start leaders to discuss the critical services they provide area families in need, I was invited to participate in story hour with a great group of kids. 

Success in elementary school and beyond starts with a quality pre-school education. Thanks to Luzerne County Head Start, our youngest citizens have every opportunity to gain school-readiness skills regardless of their families’ income. 

On Thursday, I toured the new offices of the Luzerne County Convention & Visitors Bureau, which recently moved into the renovated historic train station in Wilkes-Barre.

During my visit, I was updated on current and future projects of Visit Luzerne County, including its sponsorship of events like the Fine Arts Fiesta, the Briggs Farm Blues Festival, the Luzerne County Fair, the Pittston Tomato Festival, the Plymouth Kielbasa Festival, and the Edwardsville Pierogi Festival.

The group also shared plans for the 5th annual Rockin’ The River concert series, which will take place in July. 

For more information on these events and more, click here.  

After spending a solid few days in Luzerne County, my office capped off a busy week by hosting my annual Municipal Leaders Summit at Northampton Community College's Monroe County Campus.  

More than 70 mayors, township leaders, council members, fire and police chiefs, and college and university representatives attended the event where I was able to hear, firsthand, the challenges facing government leaders and their constituents across the entire 8th Congressional District and what priorities I should set moving forward. 

All in all, it was a successful week in the District and I look forward to updating you next week on what's going on in Washington. 

Be safe and well,