Philadelphia International Medicine President and CEO Edgar Vesga will join Mayor Jim Kenney, and Wawa Welcome America President and CEO Michael DelBene for a special unveiling of the 2019 Welcome America Exhibition entitled Philadelphia a Global Medical Hub since the 1700s. The unveiling will take place Thursday, June 20, 2019, at 10:00 am at Philadelphia International Airport, Terminal A-East (post security).
 
Special honoree: Dr. Stanley Plotkin, Wistar Institute Physician, Scientist, Scholar, who discovered the rubella vaccine (part of the MMR vaccination) and helped discover the rabies vaccine for canines and humans.
 
On Thursday, June 20, 2019, at 10:00 am, as part of the 2019 Welcome America Celebration, the Philadelphia International Airport will once again unveil a special exhibit, highlighting the city of Philadelphia. This year’s exhibit will feature Philadelphia as a global medical hub dating back to the 1700s.
 
The surprise exhibit will be unveiled during a ceremony at the Philadelphia Airport and will include remarks from Mayor Jim Kenny, Edgar Vesga, President, Philadelphia International Medicine, and Michael DelBene, CEO, Welcome America.
 
Philadelphia International Medicine worked closely with Leah Douglas, Director of Image and Chief Curator, Philadelphia International Airport, to lend advice and guidance for the exhibit.

“Philadelphia has always nurtured the spirit of creativity and innovation. As the city of “firsts,” Philadelphia has been a pioneer in healthcare since the 1700’s – from the creation of the first hospital, to identifying the mosquito as carrier of yellow fever to the first to discover the Philadelphia chromosome, a cure for Hepatitis B, and being the father of American Surgery. Philadelphia continues to lead the way in gene therapy, and many lifesaving discoveries. We are also the first World Heritage City in the United States,” says Edgar Vesga.
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About Philadelphia International Medicine Philadelphia International Medicine
Since 1999, healthcare organization, Philadelphia International Medicine (PIM), has been dedicated to connecting international patients, doctors, and practitioners with specialized services from world-renowned Philadelphia area hospitals. PIM’s current network of eight (8) hospitals includes Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple University Hospital, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital as anchor organizations and affiliate healthcare organizations include Wills Eye Hospital, Rothman Institute, the Vincera Institute, Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, and the Renfrew Center.

​www.philadelphiamedicine.com

By Graziella DiNuzzo

It’s not surprising that Dave DeLizza chose to major in engineering at Drexel University.

 “I remember dad would take me to his jobsites while the bridges were under construction to show me how they were built,” says DeLizza.  “The two I remember the most are the Girard Avenue Bridge (completed in 1972), and the Spring Garden Street Bridge over the Schuylkill (completed in 1965).” DeLizza was nine years old when his dad, who spent 30 years working for the City of Philadelphia as a Civil Engineer, took him to the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Spring Garden Street Bridge.

“Dad also had a drafting board set up at our house. I enjoyed watching him prepare house plans for side renovation projects,“ recalls DeLizza.

Born and raised in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, DeLizza learned to respect hard work while helping at his family’s neighborhood sandwich shop. 

Today, photos of children and grandkids line the shelves of Dave DeLizza’s office at Pennoni in Philadelphia. On July 1st, DeLizza will officially begin his role as the fourth President and CEO of Pennoni, succeeding Tony Bartolomeo who held that position for the past 20 years. DeLizza sits comfortably in his chair to talk about his career at Pennoni, which technically began in 1976 when he worked on the survey crew as a Drexel University co-op student. He would continue to complete all three of his co-op periods at Pennoni.

“I love my job,” smiles DeLizza.

Upon graduating from Drexel University in 1979, DeLizza asked founder and then President, C.R. “Chuck” Pennoni for a full time job and was told there weren’t any immediate openings. However, a few days later, DeLizza received a phone call that would place him on his successful career journey. “When I met with Mr. Pennoni he told me one of the engineers had resigned and he offered me the position of staff engineer.”
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“Dave has a proven track record of demonstrating our goals of excellent reputation, profit, and growth through strong leadership, as well as expressing Pennoni’s core values of honesty, integrity, and service in all business dealings with both external and internal clients,” said Chuck  Pennoni, in the recent press release announcing DeLizza’s appointment.

DeLizza has held various roles at Pennoni from Haddon Heights Office Director to New Jersey Regional Manager, Director of Strategic Growth and most recently Chief Operating Officer. Founded more than 50 years ago, Pennoni is an ENR Top 500 consulting engineering firm with 35 offices across the United States.

“When I worked out of the Absecon Office in New Jersey, working with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority in Atlantic City, it was like an engineer’s dream. We had so many challenges."