CELEBRATION Hibernians to honor man and woman during St. Patrick's Day event

The two will be recognized for their impact on the community and service to the club.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Ancient Order of Hibernians, Joseph T. Nally Division 6, will hold a St. Patrick Day luncheon at noon March 17 at St. Patrick Church, 1410 Oak Hill Ave., following the 10:30 a.m. Mass.
Cost of the luncheon is $15 and includes a complimentary beverage.
Honored at the event will be Tom Carney, Irish Man of the Year, and Joan Giba, Irish Woman of the Year.
The honorees
Born in Youngstown and raised on the South Side, Carney is the eldest son of William E. and Ruth V. (Cumley) Carney. He served as an altar boy at St. Patrick and graduated from Ursuline High School.
From 1959 to 1962, Carney served as a Specialist 4th Class with U.S. Army in Berlin, Germany, and can still speak conversational German. He was a member of the Operating Engineers Local 66 for 40 years, retiring in 1999.
A member of the AOH for 25 years, Carney was honored in 2005 with the first Commander Barry Award. For the past four years he has served as hall steward at the Hibernian Hall on Southern Boulevard, and he has held the office of vice president and recording secretary for Division 6.
He has volunteered for many projects including the Gathering of the Clans, the Youngstown Feis and the St. Patrick Day Parade Committee, and was instrumental in winning the St. Patrick's Day Parade Best Float Award in 1983.
Carney and his wife, Teresa, have been married for 42 years and have four children and five grandchildren.
Giba was born and raised in Youngstown, the eldest daughter of Gregory and Mary Louise (Doyle) Bardon. She attended St. Brendan Elementary School and Chaney High School. She was an administrative assistant with the Cafaro Co. for 16 years. For the past 17 years she has been the project manager of International Towers, and she has been a certified affordable-housing manager since 1990.
A member of Midwest Affordable Housing Management Association, Giba is serving her 13th term on the board of trustees and has been a national affordable-housing professional executive since 1994.
An active member of the Ladies of the Ancient Order of Hibernians for five years, she serves the organization as parliamentary adviser, and received the LOAH 1, 2 and 3 degrees in 2005.
She was the YWCA Woman of the Year in 2002 and an Athena Award nominee in 2003, and was recognized in the International Who's Who of Public Service. A member of Yo-Mah-O Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Assistants for 15 years, she was the chapter's 1997 Secretary of the Year and served as president of the Ohio Division for the 2002-03 term.
During a four-year term on the IAAP Ohio Division Board, she spoke to inmates at Marysville Reformatory on "How to Interview with a Criminal Record," and her resource material later was used as a textbook for all students in the employability skills area course of study.
She and her husband, John, have been married for 21 years and have two children and four grandchildren.
The AOH is a Catholic, Irish American Fraternal Organization that sponsors many programs associated with promoting Irish heritage.