2026 IHM Sisters Celebration
Registration or Sponsorship
Be a part of the 2026 IHM Sisters Celebration honoring the IHM Spirit shown by Dr. Joseph Bannon, his wife, Tracy Bannon and Teddy Michel, and benefitting the retired Sisters of IHM
Friday, July 31st at 5:30 pm
Upper Main, Nazareth Hall,
Marywood University
Your attendance and/or donation
- helps support the retired IHM Sisters.
Even the best plans could not have anticipated the rising costs that impact the Sisters’ care — health care, prescription medications, technology, transportation, and more. Because of this, and a significant drop in vocations, we need your help for our retired IHM Sisters — women who have dedicated their lives to service, asking nothing in return. - will honor our 2026 Spirit of IHM award recipients – Dr. Joseph Bannon, his wife, Tracy Bannon and Teddy Michel.
- and will help the retired IHM Sisters who spent their lives showing up for others — teaching children, comforting the sick, strengthening communities, and living their faith with humility and love.
Dr. Joseph Bannon
and Tracy Bannon
Dr. Bannon is a highly respected, board-certified and fellow-ship-trained general and colorectal surgeon whose distinguished career spans more than 30 years. A graduate of The University of Scranton and Jefferson Medical College, he has combined clini-cal excellence with a deep commitment to education, leadership, and research— particularly in the area of colorectal cancer. He has served in numerous leadership roles, including on the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons, and as past president of both the Lackawanna County Medical Society and the Pennsylvania Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Bannon is an associate professor of surgery at the Geisinger College of Health Sciences School of Medicine where he was a founding faculty member and serves as Chairman of the Admissions Committee. He is also the Program Director of the General Surgery Residency at Geisinger Northeast. His longstanding commitment to his alma mater includes founding membership of the Univer-sity of Scranton’s Medical Alumni Council, service on the University’s Board of Regents and the Board of Trustees. He is a recipient of The University of Scranton’s Frank O’Hara Award for Medicine and an Honor-ary Degree Recipient.
Tracy Bannon, a 1984 graduate of The University of Scranton, has devoted her life to serving others, par-ticularly the most vulnerable. Tracy has played an active role in supporting her alma mater as well, serving as a University Trustee and engaging in efforts that strengthen its mission and community. She currently serves as executive assistant to the President at Scranton Preparatory School, where she dedicates her time to helping the school and its students. In the broader community, she has held leadership and volunteer roles across numerous organizations serving disadvantaged and disabled children and adults. She was the founder and moderator of the St. Joseph’s Center Junior Auxiliary and the IHM Summer Service Program, and served on several boards, including St. Joseph’s Center Foundation and Auxiliary, The Lackawanna Blind Association and the United Way. Her compassionate leadership has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Roseann Smith Alperin Award and The University of Scranton’s Frank J. O’Hara Dis-tinguished Alumni Award and Scranton Prep’s Ignatian Award.
The Bannon’s reside in Waymart and have five children — Patrick, Charlie, Matthew, Maggie, and Kevin — and eight grandchildren. Together, Jay and Tracy embody a life of generous service—giving self-lessly to their family, their University, their community, and those most in need. Their shared commitment to faith, compassion, and uplifting others makes them truly deserving of the 2026 Sisters of IHM Spirit Award!
Teddy Michel
Teddy lives by the call to “go forth and set the world on fire,” bringing energy, compassion, and what he fondly calls “Minnesota Nice” to Northeastern Pennsylvania. A lawyer by training and a plumber at heart, he was raised in a four-generation plumbing family in the Twin Cities—an upbringing that instilled in him the value of hard work, humility, and service.
After graduating from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Teddy began a lifelong commitment to service through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. His year in Anchorage, Alaska, with the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association proved transformative—most especially because it was there that he met his wife, Cindy, a fellow volunteer. Married in 2002, the couple continued their shared mission with a second year of service in Nashville, Tennessee, where Teddy accompanied newly arrived refugees at Catholic Charities and Cindy served families in crisis at Nashville Safe Haven.
Returning to Minnesota for graduate studies, Teddy earned his law degree from the University of St. Thomas School of Law, completing more than 500 hours of service along the way. In 2007, he began his legal career in Pennsylvania as a legal aid attorney with North Penn Legal Services, advocating for those most in need. He later served as law clerk to the Honorable James M. Munley of the United States District Court, an experience he considers a profound professional blessing.
In 2017, Teddy stepped away from the daily practice of law to help launch the Ignatian Volunteer Corps of Northeastern Pennsylvania (IVC of NEPA), where he now serves as Director. Through this faith-based program, men and women age 50 and older are invited into meaningful service, sharing their time and talents with more than 30 local nonprofit organizations. Under Teddy’s leadership, IVC continues to grow as a vibrant expression of faith in action across the region.
Teddy’s commitment to service extends throughout the community. He has held leadership roles with local bar associations, served as Board Chair of NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania, and remains active with Lackawanna Pro Bono’s Elder Law Clinic. He also supports global education initiatives through the SCOPE Foundation in El Salvador. His dedication has been recognized with the University of St. Thomas School of Law’s “Living the Mission” Award and the Robert W. Munley Distinguished Service Award from Lackawanna Pro Bono.
Beyond his professional and volunteer work, Teddy is a devoted husband and father, an enthusiastic youth hockey coach, and a man deeply grateful to call Northeastern Pennsylvania home. He and Cindy reside in Archbald with their children, Nick and Sage, as they joyfully anticipate welcoming a new baby this spring. Through his life of faith, service, and joyful commitment to others, Teddy truly embodies the Spirit of the Sisters of IHM.
