Hope
Gladys Hunt-Mason is known throughout the
McKeesport community as someone who is always giving
back, whether in her role in the McKeesport Area Ministerium,
International Village, Peters Foundation, Salvation Army,
McKeesport Community Fund, McKeesport Regional History and
Heritage Center, and McKeesport College Club.
In addition to her efforts to help her community thrive,
Gladys is sharing her story as a breast cancer survivor. She was
diagnosed 26 years ago, while working as a producer for
WTAE-TV.
“In all the stages of my life so far, I can look back and see how
God has put me in certain situations or positions where I can
be of service,” Gladys said. “When I was working as a producer,
I would talk to callers who were looking for more information
on a cancer-related story that we ran. When I told them I was a
survivor, I could feel the change in their voice. I could hear relief.
They knew they had reached someone who was listening.”
During a visit to UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital while
undergoing treatment for a second cancer diagnosis, Gladys
ran into a fellow survivor who was looking to expand a support
system for cancer patients in the Mon Valley. The Allegheny
County Breast Consortium recently added McKeesport to its
outreach area, and Gladys is featured on a billboard near the
Jerome Bridge, which connects Lysle Boulevard to W. Fifth
Avenue.
“Seeing survivors’ faces and hearing survivors’ stories gives
people hope,” Gladys said. “My hope is that something will strike
a chord with a woman and encourage her to say, “Maybe I should
have a mammogram. Maybe I should take better care of myself.’”
organizations, we will find acts of kindness for which we all can be proud.
Living the Message awards are intended to showcase these individuals and give
the community an opportunity to share its good news. Awards are given quarterly.
Using 250 words or fewer, describe how the individual of your choice embodies
one of the four words.
Jeffrey K. Blackwell loves his neighborhood and
everyone in it. A lifelong McKeesporter who has spent the past
42 years in the city’s Cultural and Educational Sector, or Library
District, Jeffrey is committed to maintaining friendships with
those around him.
Jeffrey and his wife Carol raised their sons, Todd and Troy,
with the “old school” notion that neighbors were like extended
family. They form bonds and look out for one another.
“I’ve seen a lot of kids from this neighborhood grow up into
grown men and women, who are now raising their own kids
here,” Jeffrey said. “I think of them like my kids in a way. Back in
the day, it took a village, a neighborhood, to raise a kid. I still
look at it that way.”
Neighbors and family members describe Jeffrey as a
loving man with a heart of gold – someone who would help
anyone and give them the shirt from his back. While he thinks
McKeesporters recognize him as they guy who used to walk his
gentle giant Mastiff-mix Bubba throughout his neighborhood
and the downtown area, he’s known for much more.
Despite a glaucoma diagnosis that has caused him to lose
much of his vision in recent years, Jeffrey still goes above and
beyond for those around him – sharing fresh vegetables from
his garden and mowing his neighbors’ grass when he’s finished
with his own.
“My eyes went bad a few years back, but I still do what I can
do,” he said. “I enjoy helping my neighbors and friends. The way
I see it, we all help each other in some way. It strengthens our
relationships and our neighborhood.”
For more information, contact the mayor’s office at 412-675-5020, ext. 605.
Nominations can be mailed to the mayor’s assistant Jennifer Vertullo, 500 Fifth
Avenue, McKeesport, PA 15132, or emailed to jen.vertullo@mckeesport-pa.gov. The
deadline for the next round of nominations is August 16, 2019.
MCKEESPORT AREA
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SUMMER 2019
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