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e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e [Music] can just grab a seat we’ll get this thing underway e e [Music] [Music] good afternoon everyone my name is Ted vay I am the President of the filbur garnet booster club welcome everybody here to the fourth annual filbur High School Hall of Fame ceremony today we have nine individuals going in two into our new wing of contributors and two of the greatest teams that’s ever played here at filbur high school so I ask everybody at this time to please rise Adam [Music] [Music] oh la [Music] [Applause] [Music] la [Music] [Applause] you see it it is now my pleasure to turn the rest of your afternoon over to a Hall of Famer in his own way the voice of Philipsburg Mr Mike Moore thank you Ted inductees relatives and Friends administrators and members of the state liner faithful good afternoon and thank you all for coming it is indeed my honor to be invited to serve as MC of this event as well as a member of the committee today this is being broadcast live on the Philipsburg High School athletics YouTube channel so if you still have a phone you can text those at home and tell them to get on that right away none of this would be possible today they’re calling in already how about that none of this would be possible today without the support of the Board of Education and School District administration and we are delighted to be joined this afternoon by superintendent and already a Hall of Famer Dr Greg [Applause] trol in approximately 120 years of Philipsburg High School sports there have been hundreds of great athletes and coaches I’ve been a fan for nearly 60 years and watching and reading about all the PHS greats has been a tremendous Joy with the space available in the new school the time was right to establish a Philipsburg High School athletic Hall of Fame and in 2019 that idea came to fruition a committee of school district administrators retired coaches exceptional athletes and Garnet booster club Foundation members selected the athletes and coaches who were inducted in September 2021 the committee today consists of retired school superintendent George shando retired District administrator of special services Mary Jane Deutsch retired coaches Ruth Gibbs Linda Snider and Dave Meyers booster club president Ted vay booster club vice president Wayne Holloway booster board of directors members Kyle perie and Jim hanis sa attorney and alumnist Brett marrow and myself the original committee established some achievements that automatically qualify for induction individuals who set School County or State records All State selections state champions thousand Point scorers all stars and multiport outstanding athletes they would include state championship teams both on the field or court and mythical Champions selected by the news media undefeated teams would also qualify teams and individuals have a 10-year waiting period for induction coaches have a five-year waiting period and only their time at Philipsburg is considered we also considered contributors defined as those like trainers volunteers and boosters with at least 20 years of service in order to make an inaugural Hall of Fame class induction ceremony manageable it was decided that there would be no more than 15 members we consulted Publications and information supplied by committee members from an opening list of more than 60 athletes coaches teams and contributors we asked committee members to select 30 the 27 nominees with the most mentions were then subject to a ballot where each Committee Member was to vote for 15 similar to the criteria for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame it was decided that a nominee would have to be named on 75% of the ballots for induction 11 inductees made up the inaugural class the committee decided that we then did not want any subsequent classes to be greater than 11 this year the committee began with a list of some 120 nominees and again we each voted for 30 that list was paired to the top 20 and ties this year there were 23 names on our final ballot and we were allowed to vote for 14 nine committee members voted so seven votes were required to achieve at least 75% of the vote two teams are also voted in annually from a list of nominees we had runoff until two teams reached more than 50% of the votes and this year was the first that we purposely selected contributors who will be recognized on a special plaque in the Hall of Fame area above the high school gymnasium we’re very pleased that so many are here this afternoon to induct the members of the most recent class this is certainly a fun job but it’s by no means easy the committee is not undertaking the responsibility for just one sport it’s the whole spectrum of boys and girls sports that in some cases go back over a hundred years congratulations to all the inductees your honor is well deserved your picture containing a brief list of your accomplishments is available for all to see on a wall just outside the upper entrance to the gym we had a reception for the inductees prior to the ceremony it was great to see the grinning faces of all the teammates who haven’t seen each other in a long long time our thanks to the dozens of donors who have contributed to the project their names are printed in the program more are coming in every day and we thank you for your support momentarily I will briefly list some of the accomplishments of each of today’s inductees each of the inductees have been invited to have a family member or friend or colleague present them the inductees will be presented with a plaque and will have their opportunity to address the crowd we ask ask each of the inductees and presenters to pose for a picture or two just to my right in front of Dave’s camera right there this is our fourth Hall of Fame induction ceremony some of the honores have gotten emotional that’s okay it’s a great honor and we’re happy that we can share the moment with you our first Speaker this afternoon is athletic director Kyle Fleming Kyle earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and his master’s degree from Lehi University Kyle first joined the Philipsburg School District as director of instrumental music in July 2008 after inheriting a band of 61 members Kyle and his staff were able to grow the program to an impressive 160 members strong by 2021 notable performances during his tenure include exclusive appearances at both the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and the Capital One Orange bow in Miami Kyle was appointed athletic director for the Philipsburg School District in March 20122 his passion for connecting State liner Athletics with the communities has been and continues to be a Cornerstone to his approach as an educational leader please welcome to the podium Philipsburg High School School athletic director Kyle Fleming good afternoon on behalf of our Philipsburg High School athletic department I would like to thank the garnet boosters the Philipsburg school district and members of the Hall of Fame committee for making today possible and to our 2024 inductees welcome home while this building in this room maybe a stark contrast to your memories of that beautiful school at 200 Hillcrest Boulevard our mission here Remains the Same work hard and win the day today you become one of five teams and 37 individuals in the history of our stored High School to join the athletic Hall of Fame it is important that we celebrate your accomplishments in order to get here today I’m willing to bet that celebrating was probably one of the last things on your mind in the spirit of a true State liner you ignored the temptation to bask in the glory and instead focused on that next practice the next offseason training or the next opponent on your schedule destined for greatness today we are reminded that life is too short not to celebrate every once in a while as we look around the room we reflect on the inductees who could not be here celebrating with us today celebrate for them celebrate for your family who helped you along the way celebrate for your teammates who always had your back celebrate for your coaches including Legends who are here with us today like coach Thad Turner and Tom fiser celebrate for Founders such as Peggy yoast who with an idea and a lot of determination founded the garnet booster rettes in her living room with a few friends in closing I thank you for sharing your athletic gift with our school I will do our very best to uphold your legacy with the utmost honor congratulations thank you Kyle our first contributor honor is the garnet booster club formed in 1969 to support the student athletes of PHS I invite those members present to gather off to my right Donald Fel was the first president his cabinet included Executive Vice President L DOTA Treasurer Orlando djalo secretary Ellsworth dong and public relations director Ron Maro the nine member Board of director directors included Ray Maro Tom corkran Walt Hartman s Ritz Al nasani Jim brono Rich barbadora Jim minichi and pep Rosetti vice presidents were put in charge of eight Sports since 1969 the foundation has donated more than $ 1.7 million to the high school and or more than 35,000 Philipsburg student athletes scoreboards field tarps wrestling mats weight room equipment dugouts and of course the annual Awards night are just some of the items donated over their more than 50 years of existence the organization has contributed tens of thousands of manh hours in the pursuit of Philipsburg High School athletic excellence in 2020 the club was reorganized into the 501c3 Foundation that it supports 27 Varsity Sports today its roles include more than 100 members led by President Ted V Vice President Wayne Holloway secretary George deoria treasur Jim hanac and a five-person board of directors accepting for the garnet booster club Foundation is President Ted [Applause] vay it’s just an honor to accept this on behalf of the booster club uh the Thanks goes out to those members that uh Mike read who had the to think of and developed this booster club everybody who has contributed as an officer or Board of director through the years and my current staff it’s an honor to what we do and we love serving the the high school and the student athletes and again we thank you [Applause] the garnet booster rettes began in the early 1970s as the garnet booster auxiliary more than 50 past and present members are here for the induction ceremony and we invite them all to join us off to my right [Applause] Viola stasak was the first president of the organization in September 1974 the name was changed to the garnet booster rettes Peggy yast was elected presid president of the then 69 member organization the booster rettes were Incorporated in 1975 the original trustees were Mary kapora H Joyce Boer Betty tury Janet Allen antonet Dominic Lydia rert and Lillian Viscomi the early group fundraising efforts included baskets of cheer a suit Club dinners and even Tupperware demonstrations the booster rettes annually raise funds to give1 $500 College scholarships to graduating PHS athletes they also contribute funds toward the male and female Garnet booster club founders award winners the booster rettes partner with the foundation on equipment and other purchases to support Philipsburg High School athletics today they are a dedicated group of Four Women and other game night volunteers who donate a significant portion of their time to supporting Philipsburg Athletics accepting for the garnet booster is President Jill perie just like to say thank you [Applause] our first team inductee is the 1970 PHS wrestlers we invite those team members present to please come forward and gather to my [Applause] right we are pleased to be joined today by coach Thad Turner team members Rick Thompson Jim mangino Bill Kavanaugh Mickey olivy Jack Thompson Don jezamine Bill kowalchuk and Dave Meyers coached by Hall of Fame member Thad Turner the 1970 wrestling team compiled a 13 and0 dual meet season outscoring the opposition 499 to 75 they extended the school’s unbeaten streak to 51 matches only one opponent reached double figures against the 1970 team that was Bethlehem Catholic at 13 the smallest margin of victory was 20 points out of the then 12 weight classes the team crowned eight District Champions Rick Thompson Bob jley Gary Dimo Jim manino Bill Kavanaugh Jack Thompson Don jezmine and Dave Myers they had six Regional finalists and added titles by Rick and Jack Thompson and Bill Kavanaugh Jack Thompson would win a state championship Bill Kavanagh would finish second and Rick Thompson fourth six members on that team had already or eventually earned state medals and the two Thompsons jerley and jezmine are among the school’s state champions here to accept on behalf of the 1970 wrestling team is coach [Applause] Turner for e anybody want to speak it’s been a long time since I’ve been back to fburg high school uh but brings brings back great memories uh seeing these young men there uh they’re not so young anymore and I can’t talk about youth either uh but thank you very much on behalf of all of these young these young men and they certainly appreciated your attendance and rooting for them all these years thank [Applause] you our second team induct deed is a 1983 boys basketball team they captured the New Jersey group three state championship number of those players and coaches are here today and we invite them to gather to my [Applause] right we’re joined by head coach Tom fiser assistant coach Mike Hughes and players Ned bolar Kevin boan Dame dumalski Colin frenzy Ken green Jeff Hawkman Paul souser Wayne stamitz Ed tarpy and Chris Troxel also present are the team completed the regular season at 15 and8 just like the March Madness National shipers the team coached by Tom fiser went on a six-game tournament run routing parcion 7646 defeating Summit 4337 outlasting Hover Park in overtime 5753 6259 to win the sectional title Emerson fell next in the group semis 5146 then the liners edged Ying in the title game 5352 at The Meadowlands Ken green made two foul shots with 8 seconds left to seal the victory the 21 season wins would set a School record Ed tarpy would lead the team in scoring averaging 18.3 points per game he would earn group three first team honors from the Northstar Ledger and would be honored as the eastn express Player of the Year green averaged 11.7 points per game his 165 assists were a new season record he was named to the star ledgers group three third team and express second team point guard Kevin boand would graduate with the career assists record he and Center Paul souser received honorable mention on the express all area team coach fiser would be the paper Coach of the Year here to accept on behalf of the 1983 boys basketball team is coach fiser thank you Mike let me first uh congratulate all our inductees this evening and the past ones that I see here and also the present ones being inducted today is in my view one of the most prestigious high school hall fames in the Lehigh Valley so congratulations to all I also want to have a a heartful thanks to the garnet booster club and the garer booster etts in my 26 years as athletic director here I knew exactly how important those two organizations were to support the athletes of Philipsburg high school so for that I say thank you again March 18th 1983 is the day that Philipsburg sent shock waves throughout the state of New Jersey winning a state boys basketball championship that has not been done since then since in the counties of Somerset Warren Hunter Sussex County have never won a boys basketball championship so that day is one of my I every March 18th I wake up and I have a smile on my face and uh I forgot my wife our anniversary one time but I did not never forget the March 18th date on behalf of my my two assistant coaches Mike use and Bruce Exley and Bruce uh desperately wanted to be here today but he’s he has some medical problems that he has to take care of but we Mike and Bruce and I are as proud today as we were on March 18th when we pulled one of the greatest upsets in njsi basketball history and it’s such a hard road to to to hoe because Philipsburg is in with the Hun uh the union and Essex County teams the East oranges of the world the plan Fields the elizabeths the lindens and we were able to jump around those hurdles and and bring home a state championship that obviously nobody ever thought what we would do in through the entire state so Mike and I and Bruce are so honored to have the opportunity to coach these individuals we do get we do get together uh occasionally pretty often recently because as the days go P they go by faster and we always mention Davey flowers probably one of the five best basketball players I ever coached at filbur Bobby Freeman obviously those two guys have passed and one of philis BG’s Legends Charles BBY was part of this team and we’ll never forget those three individuals just a quick recap we were uh winning the game by a point down in the Meadowlands and with eight seconds to go Ying scored a basket to put them up by one but Kenny Green stepped in and took a charge and in those days the player who took the charge had to make foul shots so to get a player’s perspective of that day I thought it was very appropriate to turn this mic over to Kenny Green the guy who made the two foul shots and brought Philipsburg basketball to the Forefront of New Jersey thank you [Applause] that’s about as close as I’ve gotten to hearing you say I made you famous um on behalf of my teammates uh I just want to thank the uh the organization and all the organizations who’ve been involved but particularly the Hall of Fame committee for your work and for giving us this distinct pleasure and honor um when I was thinking about what I might say uh and and I’ll be very brief to say really three things um the first one is that I was putting some thoughts together and and my wife Diane said okay well run it by me and I shared and she said well that’s all good but uh everybody does that stuff what about what’s really unique about your about your team and I thought about it and actually coach fish uh gave us what was unique about that team never done before never done since um and so I think that’s unique the second thing was you know what’s memorable and to me what’s memorable is not the championship game not those six games that we won or any other games that we won that year and was alluded to earlier uh by by Mike Moore I think was uh was mentioning this uh and and actually was our athletic atic director who who also said this for me what I remember is the practices I remember the summer leagues I remember being up on the on the old Courts at the old high school those are the times I remember because while the outcome of that game may have surprised many of us the people who are associated with the team and who are members of the team were not surprised at all by how it happened because the only way it happened is the only way it could have happened not because somebody played out of their mind on any one game not because people Rose above who they were it’s because we all finally understood what our roles were and played those roles to Perfection I would maintain of those eight losses that year not one of those teams was actually better than us we just didn’t play to our full capacity until we got to those last games so that’s what’s memorable to me is all the things that we did to prepare um I was welcomed to uh the high school basketball program by the right elbow of Steve ryac who’s here uh with us today Steve thank you for thank you for helping me understand what the game was all about and I got the opportunity when I was a senior to be guarded in practice every day by my my fellow induct de Colin frenzy but also by David flowers who by the way hardly played that year and the next year was The Express Times Player of the Year that’s the kind of team we have everybody played their role and did it to Perfection when it counted and the the last thing is um what what will be cherished and what will be cherished beyond that having had those experiences we have a lot of folks up here who’ve been very successful in their life and in their careers and in their family we are often away from each other for long periods of time but as I’m sure many of you have experienced with those people people who are closest to you who worked hard to achieve something together when we see each other it’s like no time has passed we walk right back into where we were and the conversation continues and for that I am grateful to all of you and I think we’re all grateful to this wonderful high school for providing us that opportunity and that experience which we were fortunate to capitalize on thank you very much [Applause] we can we can leave now okay thank you Justin Viscomi class of 2007 is the only state championship quarterback and 1,000 Point basketball scorer in Philipsburg High School History Justin set a School record for three-point shots and led the basketball team to three straight Skylands conference division titles and 10 Warren tournament Crown he earned Express Times all area first team honors as a junior and was the 2007 Express Times Player of the Year Justin averaged 18.8 points per game as a senior during that season Justin had a high of 40 points in a onepoint double overtime victory over 100 Central he had 920 or more point games Justin graduated as the fourth all-time leading scorer and had the sixth highest single season he had at least 35 double figure scoring games in his career as a football quarterback Justin led the team to a 12-0 record and the North two group four championship in 2005 and a 10 and two Mark and a state runnerup finish in 2006 he set school records for passing yards in a season with 2018 longest TD pass 97 yards and TD passes in a game with five at the close of the 2023 season Justin stood third all time in passing yards with 374 three second highest single season passing yards at 2018 fourth in career completions at 218 third in career touchdown passes at 31 tied for second in single season touchdown passes with 17 and at the same time tied for sixth best in a single season with 14 Justin is believed to be number two in career wins by a starting quarterback and in only two seasons Justin was a Star Ledger first team group four All State selection in 2005 he was inducted in the Philipsburg Easton High School of Football Hall of Fame in 2018 here to present Hall of Fame inductee Justin vomi is his father Russ vomi [Applause] that [Applause] that’s a few tough acts to follow wrestling team booster RS boosters basketball team I guess I could start up by saying when Justin was young to bring him to basketball games football games believe it or not in a double stroller with his twin sister when he was 11 months old and that’s when it all started with him to maybe someday play here basketball games he got a load of Mr fiser when how he acted on the sideline and he was okay with that when he was real small we’d walk to Green Street School baseballs basketball golf clubs football him and his twin sister and we’d play and play and play and then we’ go over to gos get chocolate milk ice cream that was like constant every day do it do it do it as we got older we always thought about going to games when we go to games he’d be like you know I want to play here I I want to be on this field I want to I want to play on this court because filbur was was built into and you know he had a lot lot of people touch him throughout his life and uh many years ago he’s like f five or six see Rick Thompson down at the Italian Club and he grabs him little wasone you’re gonna be a wrestler said no no Rick no no no he’s not going to be a wrestler 89 10 11 12 years old Youth Center every day shooting Hoops shooting Hoops practicing doing this doing that shooting with a tarpy who better every day am I right tarp always there play play play play play then I got older playing football you know he had so many great coaches and great people around him I asked a good friend of mine Chris tro I said Chris can can you work with you know do something with him so we go over to Bentley field and bring a couple receivers and tie and um and Zach were there and we’re doing this and we turn around look and he goes wait a I’m left-handed you know Justin’s right-handed so it was a little difficult but it was getting steps and doing this and doing that he goes wait I got an idea so he brings his brother John and who better learn how to play quarterback than from John that young so John was mimicking steps showing him touch passes how to do this how to do that so so he got he got a chance to learn from like and hear from and talk to three people those bir Legends athletes great people to guide him through his life besides his regular coaches you know besides all the accolades and trophies and wins you also we had to take there was tough losses everyone here played Sports you know you have tough losses they make you better and it made him better he come home we talk about what he did right what he did wrong we just keep going and lot lot of of things he did were watching TV how to play action how to do this how to do that but when he was little we always talked about it some day I want to take a knee football players the greatest play in sports you take a knee that means what you win so he got his wish down at down at piscat in Piscataway against against Piscataway at ruter he got to take a knee to cap of 12 in no season so that little kid thoughts happened junior year but what makes probably the most proudest is besides being a great father his beautiful wife Lauren his mom’s here his aunt a lot of friends lillan bomi and pton bomy now no boys we got girls but they’ll probably play some sports was October 28th 2005 we played Hillsboro shookie you remember the game no you don’t yes you do New York Times was there they’re interviewing people Ted was interviewed uh Mr fiser everyone but they asked just a few questions about Coach stem but they asked him and say well what’s it like and what made him a Philipsburg athlete and Philipsburg player besides his talent and his family and his coaches and his friends was he said do you know what he said he said it’s an honor to wear this uniform that’s what he said thank you Justin visc all right let me get this fish I’m going to pull you and just take this off and talk like this so I can’t stand still so poly Pace back and forth so bear with me um I didn’t write anything you know I kind of have an idea of what I want to say so I’ll just get to it and be pretty brief um obviously first and foremost the to the committee um you know as Mr Moore alluded to 120 years of athletes who have walked these Hall well not these hallways but the real high schools hallways um you know to be standing here today is just it’s an honor and a blessing something I’ll never forget and to all the voting commit uh members of the committee the booster the and the booster club um I thank you and this is an awesome event and I’m just proud to be a part of it uh my family obviously you know this psychopath to my right um you know he was obviously um very instrumental in My Success growing up um my mother can equally as important taking us to practice his games cooking dinners whatever it was uh my twin sister who was going to be here today she ended up waking up very ill this morning so she couldn’t make it um thank God because she would have probably stood up and reminded me that hey she has more touchdown passes against East than I do uh so it’s probably a good thing that she’s not here and then obviously my my wife and my two beautiful daughters Lillian and pton are here um they you know are they’re born into this now so uh they’re going to get used to wearing garnet and gray so um so I’ll probably just break it up real quick and be brief talk about basketball talk about football but you know growing up um I had the opportunity to play at the best youth club in town still Hill um you know had some great football coaches some of them you know who helped make me who are am today Mr Jim Daly who’s up there um was on our staff um Daryl slack liked him a lot because he’s also a Jet fan um Jimmy Flynn Jr and then of course lovey Jeff Lovitz you know all peber guys at heart and they were very like I said instrumental in uh allowing me to be here today and then as Russ alluded to um with with tarp um don’t let tarp lie to you uh there’s probably one person breathing oxygen that beat him in shooting contest and it’s me so if he tells you otherwise he’s full of it and then obviously TRS as well um and his brother John you know teaching me the nuances of playing position coverages uh touch passes play actions whatever it was so uh to both you and John I know he’s not here uh thank you I really appreciated everything you guys did for me when I was uh younger uh went into basketball then and the first person I really have to thank for basketball ball is fish because if anybody remembers fish got out as I was entering my freshman year and thank you fish because I don’t think I could have dealt with you for four years so you automatically get bumped up to the most important part of this right now um and then obviously I was uh very fortunate to be a part of one of the probably one of the greatest stretches of peber basketball outside of obviously the 83 team and the following team that won section uh being a part of three division championships in a row winning aun waren Crown uh you know it was all because of the great coaches that we had and the great teammates that I had uh the the Tony fries of the world on the staff the Mike Loos the Matt NES we had Harry Mora and then of course head coach Ryan Deets you know obviously taking over for a legend like fish is not easy to do and Deets probably remembers well because it didn’t start off well because I think we were 2 and 18 when I was a freshman does that sound about right something like that uh you know we weren’t very good and then obviously we kind of turned it around and de and trusted myself my back court mate Captain Rodney to be three-year starters at guards uh so because of his decision to believe in us you know we were able to have three great years win three straight division titles and obviously capit off with the H A Warren Championship down at North hunon High School so um but my teammates you know campon excluding uh you know the the John ludus of the world I know these names my sound like Chinese to a lot of you but um the chip bces of the world the Steve slacks Mike sokowski Jack Buckley cter cor not Roberto Mark mered there were so many teammates that because of them you know I wouldn’t be standing here today and I know that’s cliche to say but it is the honest God’s truth that without each every single one of those guys I’m not here today so to all them I know they’re not here but uh hope hopefully they get the message thank you and I really appreciate all of [Applause] you and then we get to the fun part with football obviously everybody here knows the pecking order of importance as far as Athletics go it’s football and wrestling you know we’re we all know that we all accept that um going into my freshman year um I you know I played quarterback for still growing up my whole life and we were fresh off of a uh Warren County midor football league championship had aspirations and obviously to be the starting quarterback on the freshman team obviously work my way up play some JV and then eventually take over um as a varsity starter and about two weeks into my freshman year I blew my arm out so a lot of people probably know this I didn’t even play football my freshman year I had to get surgery I was in a weird little cast for a while and it sucked but um you know had to do what I had to do and big credit to to to Dwayne brida our trainer he probably got sick of seeing me because I saw him pretty much every day for four straight years uh so I really appreciate all the help and support that he gave me during that time as well uh came back myself sophomore year uh became the JV starting quarterback about midseason and it wasn’t just me I had such a great staff on that JV team most notably my quarterback coach Keith Coleman also one of the greatest quarterbacks that’s ever wore garnet and gray having him in my side in my ear every single day he was Monumental and getting me to where I had to be uh also Michel loo another one of the most underrated athletes that’s ever walked foot in these hallways as well uh JV head coach John stillo my DC at that time Kyle Roy current principle The school you know so we had a great staff and they helped me and prepared me for you know what was coming the following year and then obviously coach ROM God Rest his soul had got out and then we kind of know the rest of the story guy better name name of Bob stem shows up big Burly scary guy that looks like he wants to just Maul you with his bare hands and he made fish look like a saint which is hard to do right fish um and obviously he took over believed in me and you know we were able to do some really good things and the two years I was under Center and and I can say this without any you know not to be hyperbolic or anything like that I’m not standing here today with Bob stem did not become the head football coach at phbr high school and that’s no lie he believed in me trusted me and I wish he was here I miss him I mean he’s one of if not the greatest coaches obviously that we’ve uh ever got to watch coach so rest in peace coach back to the cliche teammate things it’s you know I’d be here all day rounding off every single teamate I played football with you know we had probably uh know 60 guys on the roster kind of fluctuating every year but you know just to single out a few of them obviously the the Ian Deckers of the world you know he was a warrior the the mark Christians of the world world the Eric agus the uh the Blair Deckers the Ricky pzas the AJ Roberts Malcolm docs Eddie Reynolds I could be here all day rounding off all of them and the most important one my best friend Ry or die Mr Arthur Wright back there with his beautiful wife and his beautiful daughter as well [Music] and and I don’t care anybody says I might be biased he is the greatest running back that had ever laced up a paracletes at Philipsburg so um and to kind of close it out kind of referencing had Russ mentioned with the taking a knee part down at Piscataway I often got asked after you know I graduated you know what was the most fun you had what was the best game you ever played in you know people always would think when I would say uh we beat Easton or we made the 170 mile round trip bus ride up to MetLife Stadium and beat the living snot out of Bergen Catholic at overtime or scoring 40 in a double overtime win winning aun War County Championship but none of that I always tell that night uh when I was able to take that knee because that night kind of just embodied U the town and all the people that you know lives here lived here and just loved filbur Athletics for people who don’t remember I played like absolute dog crap in that state championship game actually threw a pick on the first play and it was just still one of the finest three hours of my life even though it was brutally cold I had to actually wear a patch for the first time I never worn one went into the halftime had to call up tomm o and purs and say dude you gotta get me a patch my hands are frozen and a big shout out to uh Mr reception as well a happy retirement uh Tommy ‘s the man who welld deserved him and joean very important to this community so happy retirement to them also a big Jet fan so go Jets Tommy out wherever you are uh but yeah we came out then obviously we just ran the ball over and over and over and over and over again and by the time we got to the fourth quarter Ian Decker could barely stand about 30 carries I believe for about a buck 70 a touchdown and then we’re up 156 minute and a half to go at our own 25 whatever we were at went to the S to get the play came back into the Huddle and all of our guys always held hands you know I never held hands being the quarterback at call the play I looked to my left I grabbed Kenny pill ‘s hand looked to my right Ian I think was throwing up cuz he was so tired grabbed his hand and I kind of paused kind of looked at the other 10 guys and excuse my French I said I love you guys let’s go this thing and we gets the ball Ian like I said couldn’t even run he just do forward picked up the first down the celebration was on and it led to obviously me taking that knee you know kind of just saying you this is why I wanted to do this didn’t care about throwing touchdown passes or scoring points or any of that crap none of that mattered I just wanted to be a part of something special and thankfully I was thankfully it was because of every single person uh coaching teammates the greatest fans in the state as well um it was all because of you guys and I don’t say this lightly I’m without each and every single one of you that’s here that lives in this town that loves this program I love you all and thank you so much I’ll end it with this uh this is such a great awesome event and obviously want to thank the school board uh the administration um the athletic department you know Kyle Fleming again taking over for a legend like fish it’s no easy task and you’re obviously doing a hell of a job and we appreciate the hell out of you and again I hope everybody enjoys the rest of the ceremony I’m really looking forward to hearing stories and you know other stuff from uh from everybody else who’s fortunate enough to be in this class so thank you guys so much God bless [Applause] Brian Dominic class of 1970 ranks as one of the all-time greatest three sport athletes in Philipsburg history as a senior quarterback Brian passed for 955 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for five additional scores Brian saved his best for last connecting on 11 of 11 passes for four touchdowns and scoring once on the ground in a 41-8 defeat of Easton he was voted the gamees MVP Brian earned Star Ledger and nor news second team group four an AP honorable mention all state honors Brian played three years of varsity basketball he averaged 16 and a half points per game and was honorable mention East pen league as a junior he averaged 22.3 points per game as a senior was the team’s High scorer in 20 of 22 games Brian had two 40 plus point games two 30 plus point games and had eight games in the 20s he had three games of 20 or more rebounds Brian was named East pen league first team and East pen League Co MVP he ended his career with 963 points Brian was a three-year Letterman in baseball he hit 315 as a junior shortstop second baseman with two triples three homers and 13 RBIs was named to the east pen League third team as a senior he was the East Penn League Allstar second baseman he hit 286 with 16 hits nine for extra bases and had 14 RBIs in the team’s 19 games his five home runs were second in the league Brian attended the University of Maryland on a football scholarship Brian passed away from pancreatic cancer in March here to accept for Brian Dominic is his teammate art Russo [Applause] thanks Mike um first I’d like to uh thank and applaud the committee for your tireless work um you preserve and honor you know the filbur Legacy and traditions and all the hours you’ve put in and also my friend Dave Theon who passed who was on your committee I just wanted to point that out because the tradition of filbur are very important to all of us and I appreciate and thank you for it it’s my honor to extol the virtues of a extraordinary athlete at filbur Brian Dominic on behalf of his fiance Michelle chipowski his daughters Sarah and Hannah and his grandchildren you know Brian was an extraordinary athlete at fburg and I think Mike you said it best when you with your statement he was one of the greatest three sport athletes in the history of filbur and I look around and I see some of them Johnny e is one I mean we’ve had so many great athletes in fburg high school and to be honored as one of the best and in my area era maybe the best three- sport athlete is quite an accomplishment you know Brian could have probably been a good candidate in each individual sport he was that good he was a phenomenal football player basketball and baseball and Mike you mentioned this also the 1969 filbur Easton game when you look at the statistics there was no quarterback in the history of filbur who played a better game 100 plus years than Brian Dominic 11 for 11 passing and what people don’t remember I watched the game that Brian played quarterback and ran the ball like a fullback he ran over people every other play Brian broke to the outside against e and bowled over two or three players it was an extraordinary performance one for the ages Brian’s athletic career was even more exceptional than most you see Brian didn’t have the assistance of his parents par s growing up his parents died when he was in his Youth and I believe before he got to high school his brother Tom who was a great coach at peber actually raised Brian and in this era where we have clubs we have associations year round in sports most most guys play one sport a year and concentrate on that we have aaou we have travel teams we had none of that back then Brian played for the wck team and I remember as a sophomore in high school playing basketball first time I met Brian coach said we’re gonna have an eighth grader come up and practice with you fellas I mean that was almost unheard of sophomores looked down at freshman for an eighth grader to come and play basketball with us was unheard of and then I met Brian and you know what Brian probably could have started on our sophomore team he was that good so again the accolades are all there for Brian and as I look at Brian’s career he was more than just a sensational athlete at peber you know Brian was a deep thinker introspective he was a poet and author I played Tri County League Baseball in the summer we were both in college and most of us chattered in between Innings sometimes talking about girls Brian was in the corner of The Dugout in every inning I saw him reading studying so finally Barry Cooper Smith who’s on the team I said what’s Brian doing in between Innings and I went over and took a look at the book he was studying Oriental religion while we’re playing baseball that’s the kind of guy Brian was he became a known author and a poet later in life you know I played ball with Brian um and those those days football at least people didn’t move up no matter how good you were so I he wasn’t a teammate in football uh basketball he did come up baseball he wasn’t but I got to know Brian more when he was Ill with cancer Brian came to my office and shared with me you know personally some of his life you know he loved his family he loved Michelle his fiance his children his grandchildren especially proud of grandson who played for Central Catholic who actually looks like a blooming star and a lot like Brian but Brian to put it all in perspective you know was a man’s man growing up and playing sports and I look back on our conversations and one thing we had in common we started sharing stories about bber about what it meant to grow up in this town play ball play football especially and one of the things that we both agreed upon was that you know we had coaches that made us men or at least taught us to be men and I didn’t wrestle for Coach Turner although he tried to recruit me a couple times but I played for Harold Bellis another icon but there were coaches across the board who taught us not only how to play sports and be the best but how to be a man if you lost as a freshman or sophomore in any event you didn’t speak on the bus so Brian and I were talking about different stories and one particular Brian loved and it was about my uh playing experience but Brian loved it and I’d like to share it with you but it tells you a little something about the peber way I’m playing quarterback my senior at peber Les Kish is coaching William Allen on the other side I called a couple audibles the uh the whole team on William Allen pointed to the back pointed to the hole so I talked about to the guys in the Huddle we’ll fake them out I’ll call it as a run at the line of scrimmage and Audible and we’ll throw a pass I went over to I said I better call timeout and speak to Mr Bells because I knew his character and personality said Mr Bellis um short touchdown Les Kish is on the other Sidelines we had the same plays as Les Kish three back through the E holes 38 the AUD was anything but one which is the play action I’ll go back and call as a run at the line of scrimmage I’ll tell them in the Huddle it’s a pass Mr Bells grabbed me by the face mask I think he lifted me off my feet said son you’re a peber we don’t win football games by trickery so so Brian and I regaled in the those kind of stories and he agreed with me that um matter what you do in life playing for sports for fburg and seeing this outpouring it’s true it was something very very special so on behalf of the uh Dominic family I’d like them to kind of come up because I’d like them to receive the award Michelle could you come up with uh is Sarah here this is Antonio the quarterback his grandson I was telling you about why don’t you give it to you the picture thank you [Applause] Bill duette class of 1966 was a three- sports star at Philipsburg a record setting college quarterback and an outstanding college coach and administrator as a senior in the fall of 1965 Bill threw for 912 yards in nine games with nine TD passes he averaged 15.7 yards per completion he threw for 1279 yards in his career which included a couple of starts for The Undefeated 1964 team and he had four straight games with two TD passes Bill led the state liner basketball team in scoring as a Junior and senior he Ted 306 points as a junior reaching double figures in 17 of 20 games he had six games of 20 points or better and averaged 15.3 points per game as a senior Bill had 13 double figure games with four games of 20 or more in Baseball Bill was the East pen league first team second baseman in 1966 bill was a three-time honor able mention all America quarterback at e stoutsburg u he was the ecac all East and Player of the Year in 1969 he passed for 5,197 yards and 45 touchdowns over three seasons winning 20 of 25 games in 1968 bill made the Associated Press All State first team he is still in the top 10 at East stoutsburg in career completions yards and touchdowns and he’s a member of the ESU Hall of Fame Bill coached football for 29 years as an assistant at Philipsburg head coach at Palmerton and Parkland High Schools and then went to Washington and Jefferson College where he served 16 years as associate head coach he helped direct the president’s football team to a record of 137 37 and two including 14 president Athletic Conference championships and two appearances in the NCAA division 3 national championship game Jette coached track and field and men’s and women’s golf his golf teams won six Pac titles and he won the PAC Coach of the Year award six times Bill became athletic director in 2006 he retired in 2013 and was inducted in the WJ Hall of Fame in 2018 here to present Hall of Fame inductee bill duket is his daughter Stacy duket [Applause] Hawkins good afternoon my my name is Stacy duet Hawkins and I have the honor and the privilege to speak to you today about my dad B duet we are all here today to celebrate the accomplishments of each of the individuals being inducted into the 2024 Philipsburg Hall of Fame but for me I’d like to just tell you about my dad from my perspective as well as those who played alongside of him from 1962 to 1966 growing up we always had ties back to Philipsburg my grandparents lived here until they passed my Aunt Ruth also attended um Philipsburg high school and she now lives here my dad’s very best friend since probably birth Donald Winkler he would have been the best one to come here today to introduce my dad and tell you story after story about their Antics growing up in Union Square and also about all those Sports they played together he sadly passed away three years ago and he’s left me some pretty big shoes fill so to start when I was a kid as most kids do with their parents I really didn’t appreciate or know all of the things that my dad had accomplished in his life it wasn’t until his 50th birthday that I really began to have an appreciation of what an athlete he was growing up I had decided that I would put all of his newspaper clippings and pictures into a scrapbook well that one scrapbook turned into four and I was creating it and I had a glimpse into the past and I was truly amazed amazed at all that my dad had accomplished my mom and dad were high school sweethearts here in Philipsburg a true love story to say the least and have been great role models for my brother BJ and I they are a true team in every sense of the word and it wasn’t until I became a parent myself that I realized that the sacrifices it takes to work full-time and to still have your family feel like they are the most important thing in the world my mom and my dad did that for BJ and I my dad worked as a coach and a teacher and that job was 7 days a week and when in season he was always on the home visits he was watching films and he was always always on the phone but no matter what he always had time for his family so in preparing for today I struggled a good bit because I am a dukette and that means that I am a procrastinator by Nature thanks Dad I struggled to put into words how very proud I am to have him as a father I can write and I write pretty well but to stand and talk in front of a bunch of people is a little bit intimidating so since I wanted to know more about my dad back in his time in high school I decided to talk to two of his friends that he he’s friends with today and back then and still today the first one is Mr Jimmy Bellis he played football and basketball with my dad in high school and his father was my dad’s football coach Mr Mr Bellis gave me some great stories about knowing my dad but the best advice was probably don’t make the speech too long there’s a lot of people and honestly nobody wants to hear more than five or 10 minutes so his first story was about how my dad was a fantastic standout peeee player for all the sports when they were growing up but in high school their freshman year there were about 150 kids that were trying out for the football team and that was basically half of the Freshman Class all of them wanted to have a shot at making the team you’d find out if you made the team if you got a tap on the shoulder and said go get fitted for a uniform and there were three days of tryouts the thing was my Uncle Don was so worried and he kept saying Billy is really good he just doesn’t have the size of most of the kids our age and what that meant my dad was very very tall and he was very very thin so Mr Bella said my Uncle Don was more worried about my dad making the team than himself he would say he’s such a great player I just really hope they get to see his potential well needless to say my dad got that tap on the shoulder and he was fitted for his uniform until I started putting those scrapbooks together I honestly had no idea that my dad played any other sport but football so to discover that he also played basketball and baseball was really a great surprise Mr Bellis relayed to me that he was always super perplexed about my dad’s Corner shot in basketball he always made that corner shot he very rarely missed so he said when they were at practice the only time he really tried to guard him was when he went to the corner because he never missed that shot he attributed this to the fact that growing up in Union Square he had no backyard it was a hill straight up out back but my dad would go out there and he would practice his Corner shot so it goes to show you that you can practice anywhere as long as the want and the commitment is there it really doesn’t matter where you practice as long as you do Jim’s dad was the head football coach at Philipsburg while my dad played as well as the assistant coach for basketball and head baseball coach so needless to say that Harold Bellis knew my dad quite well as an understatement Jim also told me a story that my D that his dad had told him he said that my dad loved to throw the football he loved being in command of the team and trying to get that win Mr Bellis had a different philosophy when coaching his coaching style was more run the ball control the game and have a good defense but my dad being young he liked to pass the ball a lot and control the game in that way a number of years after my dad graduated and became the head coach of other local high schools Mr Bellis had mentioned that now that my dad was a head coach funny how his coaching style had now become run the ball control the game and have a good defense so now the student had become the teacher it was a full circle moment for sure I also spoke with Mr chip climber who played football basketball and baseball with my dad throughout High School speaking with him not only brought tears to my eyes but it reinforced what I already knew about my dad and I’d like to share that with you the first thing he told me was there are three words that you can use to define Bill duette Dependable competitive and optimistic sorry he was the epitome of a team player always acting in the best best interest of the team and his teammates no matter what the sport Duke as he was called by his teammates was one of the most unselfish players he had ever had the pleasure of competing with playing wasn’t about him it never was it was about the pleasure of just being with your teammates lastly what separates him from others is not that he wanted to win no matter what in what the sport was but through all the competition and the ups and downs he never lost his sense of humor he was always up and ready to play the next game talk his teammates up and be the kind of leader that they needed talking with these two really resonated with me and confirmed what I already know that I am very lucky and blessed to be his daughter for as competitive and sports-oriented as my dad was and still is sadly I did not get that genan he’s always been our biggest supporter of myself and especially my brother BJ in all of his special Olympic events he and my mom also have a very full sports schedule watching all of their grandchildren they watch everything from soccer to basketball to baseball karate cheer dance volleyball you name it they go so that Jee that missed me went right into my kids and they get to carry on a tradition of sportsmanship leadership and collaboration so on that note it’s my pleasure to introduce my dad Bill duet [Applause] wow um I’ve been to a number of these things over my career and uh I know that there’s a couple things that you need to do and the most important one is not be long uh so I only have about 20 or 30 minutes that I can sum up my uh my experience I I was really pleased to see the band there at the beginning uh it reminded me obviously I still remember most of the words from the national anthem uh oh oh yeah the alma Mo too huh uh but I thought they were there in case it got too long they would start playing uh but just in case before we before we get started I did tell my family that if I was going too long just to stand up start clapping and give me that Ovation and I’ll know it’s time to leave when you uh when you do a Hall of Fame acceptance speech there are a couple things you have to be you have to you have to take care of you have to be thankful you have to acknowledge those who helped you and influenced you during the course of your career uh you have to explain what you learned uh that’s that’s an important one and you have to tell a story uh well you know I’m I’m I’m going to tell a couple little ones but I’m not going to tell any big ones and you have to end it on a high note so on that uh members of the Hall of Fame committee uh the booster club Mike uh I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this award and this recognition uh that a kid from Union Square uh would be recognized like this uh was not in my mind when I started my career with the uh Philipsburg pal the Eagles baseball team and believe it or not cavalo’s Clinic basketball over in eastern YMCA that’s a uh a far far run for me uh people used to ask me that lived elsewhere where exactly do you live when you were growing up and they used to tell them if you come from the bridge from east to Philipsburg and don’t make a left or right and you just run straight into those buildings you’re in my downstairs you know that’s where that’s where I grew up that’s where I uh uh I I I actually truly did go both ways uphill to school I went to sikra school which was uphill on South Main Street and more Street uphill to the to the high school uh the good high school as was mentioned before uh all the great teams that have been honored and all the great teams that have gone through all the great players that have gone going through Philipsburg um it’s it’s just unbelievable to me that my name came up in the conversation uh I know I I knew I played three Sports I wasn’t all State uh I I did not play on a state championship team uh but I am really thankful for the award because I think I did the things that I needed to do in the time that I needed to do it and it certainly was a foundation for me uh in my career going forward uh when you’re from Philipsburg you learn a few things uh like not talking on a bus on the way home if you lose uh you you do those things and and it’s and it’s a serious business uh until you get to the next day and that’s how you continue to go uh I need to recognize some people in the audience uh my wife Shirley class of 66 uh in August we’ll be married 55 years uh my my daughter Stacy who you’ve already met who I’m very proud of my son BJ uh who yeah he’s got his hands up back there uh they’ve gone through a lot with me and the moves and and uh I really appreciate their love and support um my my daughter’s husband Chris their four children my grandchildren uh they’re doing the things that I did when I was young uh only I know my parents didn’t follow me around everywhere I went my dad basically said you want to play football sure he drove me there dropped me off and told me to get home you know you want to play basketball yep okay go there this is where the sign up is didn’t come to very many games until we got to high school but now you know I’m I’m at everything my wife is at everything uh because that’s what you do when you’re a grand when you’re a grandparent uh you want want to support them and do the things that they think are important uh my sister Ruth who may be the biggest wrestling fan in Philipsburg history uh cannot make it today she was Ill uh put all this together with a family coming in uh she was not able to make it uh but uh now that I know it’s on YouTube she’ll be able to see it I have my nieces here Jenny and Kate uh they came up from uh one came from Charlotte another one came from the DC in order to uh to to see this here I am okay and I really appreciate their support and interestingly enough I was surprised today by uh Jennifer Winkler ballsy who came with her family now Jennifer is Don Winkler’s who my daughter mentioned daughter and they came to support me uh I remember last summer uh she got her master’s degree in nursing in and lives in Connecticut so my wife and I BJ drove up went to Connecticut saw her get her master’s degree in nursing uh and I told her that uh her dad would be here had he been alive so I took his place and that’s really appreciative I’m really appreciative that they made it today along with her family where do we go from here when you play three Sports you get a lot of coaches and you meet a lot of people but the coaches that I had were outstanding Harold Bellis Al son ofius uh they two two of the three Sports because uh Harold also coached baseball uh and he is just like uh Mr vomi had said you know you do something wrong you know you’re out of line you know as uh as was mentioned before learned a lot from Harold coached in the same coaching staff as uh herb ster Bob stem two Hall of Famers now uh Phil ROM come to think of that was a pretty good coaching staff uh and we and I learned an awful lot from them uh all through the all through the time that I coached when I was uh teaching at Phillipsburg uh matter of fact I was reminded that I was the social studies teacher for Mary Jane uh when she was in high school uh of which I did not remember which is a lot of times now I don’t remember things uh but uh uh I appreciated that she remembered me uh I hope it was for good reason Jean Pam Yankee Ed jley Dave klouse were all my younger coaches uh and one of the things that my daughter left out of uh her introduction was the fact that uh uh when we cut for when Philipsburg cut for their freshman team with all the people that were out there they sent notes around to school at the end of the day so that you would be able to go get your uniform after school was over I was one of the last five guys that got their uniform I was pretty sure I was going to be a basketball player uh but uh as things worked out uh the sport that uh that I partook in uh that I liked was the one that I basically made a career out of uh and I really appreciate the fact that uh I was good enough and they were recognized any kind of talent that I may have had uh to put me on that team uh unlike Mr Viscomi I did not play quarterback for the Philipsburg pal I basically was a defensive end offensive end and when I went out for football I went out for quarterback and people asked me why I went out for quarterback I said well they’re the ones to get their name in the paper you know that and that’s basically why I went out for quarterback you were able to handle the ball hand the ball off you had a little bit more control the things I learned from those people the things I I learned from playing the game and being from Philipsburg uh very Simply Be gracious when you win a loss is an opportunity to get it right the next time hard work works if you work hard it works and my favorite coaching axom uh that I heard is that luck is when preparation meets opportunity and basically I’ve been pretty lucky I’ve had great opportunities hopefully I took it away the last time I spoke to a group in uh Philipsburg was 1970 uh and I remember it because I was a senior in college just out of East straussburg and I wasn’t graduated yet and I got a call from the Philipsburg Longhorns to come and address their them at the banquet I remember talking about uh our preseason football camp at strawsburg uh where we went to quanico and trained with the Marines for a week uh it was interesting it was my first experience at public speaking uh and again I’m thankful for that opportunity because I’ve had to use that opportunity many many times over the course of my career and brings me to where I’m at uh I’ve been thankful uh I told you who influenced me told you what I learned maybe told a story or two uh but you got to end on a high note so I want to say thank you and beat Easton [Applause] Johnny E Class of 1962 was Philipsburg basketball’s first 1,000 Point scorer finishing his career with 1,184 points Johnny was in double figures in 10 games as a sophomore he climbed to 419 points as a junior averaging 19 points per game and beating Easton for the first time in 15 years he was in double figures in 22 out of 23 games as a senior scoring 558 points he had 20 or more in nine consecutive games Johnny recorded more than 500 career field goals he had a 54-point game against Frenchtown still the single game record he outscored future Collegiate All-American and ABA star Larry Miller of kataka 3533 although caddy won the game Johnny averaged 24.3 points per game as a senior that is still tops in school history he was named to The Star Ledger third Team all state all groups and group four first team the nor news named him to their group four second team he was selected All County by the Washington star in Hackettstown Gazette Johnny was also an outstanding football player he scored two TDS as a halfback on the 1960 state championship team he led the seven- win 1961 team with six touchdowns and added 23 of 28 conversions for 59 points he had 60 carries for 411 yards and a team leading 6.9 yards per carry he caught a team High 19 passes for 274 yards and four touchdowns in 19 6061 he lettered in football basketball baseball and track he played third and short on the garded infield and was a high jumper in track here to present Hall of Fame inductee Johnny e is Carl czo [Applause] [Applause] it’s an honor to be here I want to First congratulate the boosters like everybody else you guys are wonderful and also the other inductees from 1958 to 1962 John E was a force to be reckoned with on the football field the basketball court the baseball diamond and the track he was a four sport athlete and he lettered in all of them he also broke records as you heard some of them still stand John was a good athlete I’ve known John since third grade he was he had talent and we knew it right away he came up from North North End and uh on a transfer and we knew right away he was probably the best athlete in our school brenzinger uh great school on Congress Street in Philipsburg which is now gone but John took that talent and with toughness and tenacity and preparedness and all that other hard work he became one of the best athletes at Philipsburg high school has ever seen at least in my opinion John started with some motor disabilities as a young man and he took those disabilities he he had to wear high top shoes he had to exercise every day uh he had to wear braces but he took determination and positivity and turned a negative into an asset I generally feel myself that John because of that became an even better athlete I first like I said I first met John third grade at brenzinger and I knew right away I recognized and I think every boy in the class recognized that John was an outstanding athlete by 8th grade that came to fruition because I never saw this before and I taught here and I never saw it afterward maybe it happened maybe it didn’t but Mr Miller the wrestling coach and Mr Quinn the basketball coach Mr Jean Quinn they came to Binger school and met with John and his mother because those two guys both wanted JN to play their sport John was a heck of a wrestler also I’ve seen him pin people in five seconds no exaggeration anyhow one of them was my friend anyhow that that’s a first to me that by eighth grade they were out to get them and and that was really the beginning of one of the greatest State liner careers that you’ll ever see I I just think he’s phenomenal he was a halfback on the football team and a kicker and he scored more points than anybody in Warren County when we were seniors and that back then we had six high schools and he had more points in football I’m talking about than anybody uh he also had the highest on our team yards per carry average and he was a great pass receiver you heard all that uh but if you were really looking for John you could find him on the basketball court up at the project or sometimes maybe he came to brenzinger I’m not sure but uh he practiced a lot and he practiced so well that as was mentioned and it’s worth mentioning again 54 four points in one game no three-pointers allowed and that record still holds special special person he also was a high jumper he could jump higher than his height you try that sometime and uh I know I’m six foot or 6 foot one and I don’t think I could do five foot but anyhow uh he also played third and short stop third and short stop is where you put your best athletes if if you’re a baseball coach and again showed that leadership and all that other stuff after high school he went to Junior College in Kentucky and he also went to Moravian College for a while but back then uh in the 1960s uh John was drafted into the Armed Forces and he went in the United States Army again he showed his quality John E in two short years with the draft went from private if you know the the thing it’s like five steps to Sergeant I mean that’s fantastic to me again uh he worked about 40 years in Ina Rand in the cost accounting department and uh he was one of the last workers at Ina before they closed the Philipsburg plant and again that shows you something John is accompanied today by his wife Rosemary Rosemary could you stand up please and his daughter Michelle please stand up and Michelle’s husband Terry Wallace and John is very very proud of the fact that his granddaughter Michaela is here today would you guys all stand up please I want them to stand up and the reason why I want him to stand up is I want you to take a good look at them because they support John E through and through but they are red Rovers cheerleaders cheerleaders anyhow John is also the proud father of a son Johnny who sadly is not here with us but Johnny in my mind very short I’ll say this is here because the ex always show up they show up and they show up well but he’s here great athletes and good athletes good athletes show up they score they perform they block tackle whatever they do great athletes they score they perform all those other things block tackle whatever they do but great athletes have something else great athletes have this aura about them and that aura is that everybody around them from the managers to the coaches to all the players rise a step or two and that my friends is John E that’s John E I felt myself and I I know you want to be as good as him even though you can’t you want to be as good as him you want to be like him anyhow in spite of all the athletic stuff and in spite of uh all the eye pooing statistics that John has John is a very very humble man always was like I said I’ve known him all my life he’s old school all the way all the way practice work hard just like Bill duat said John is a winner and I don’t know anybody with a bigger heart than John EK he had it he didn’t tell you he had it he didn’t speak a lot if you were his opponent he quietly beat you if he was with you you knew you knew you knew you wanted to be just like him and he was a he was all along this he was a team man he was a family man and he by far are is not was I shouldn’t have said was he’s a gentleman he’s a gentleman and he’s tough and he’s confident don’t kid yourself and he’ll play you nose to nose as hard as he can but he’s tough and is confident anyhow today I am so happy to be here and now because I very with great respect and with a great sense of Pride very great sense of pride my classmate my teammate my friend John E congratulations John come on up here and I am so proud that you are being inducted in the philb High School athletic Hall of Fame one more thing it’s a great day to be a liner folks good afternoon I want to thank Carl who uh like you said uh we’ve been uh friends since the third grade and he is also a fellow athlete and uh I want to thank you all for being here and supporting all these other great athletes and I would like to thank the selection committee for in conducting me along with all these other athletes it’s a very truly a humbling experience you know you don’t get here by yourself you have a lot of help along the way and I was lucky enough here at filbur high school to have a lot of great coaches and it started in football then basketball baseball and track that’s a funny story about track I didn’t really go out for track uh one day in gym class they brought the high jump standards in there and these guys were showing me how to do this but before the class was over I was jumping hireing anybody they had on the track team so Mr Leonard came to me and said we’d like to have you on the track team I said ‘ye but I’m playing baseball he said ‘well we’ll work something out with Mr Bellis so they did so the arrangement was if you don’t have a baseball game you can come to the track meet so that’s what I did and fortunately I I earned enough points to get my letter and became a a four-letter man that year and I was also lucky enough to have a lot of great athletes that I played alongside of I had allers multiport athletes and they all made me a better athlete I came to phsb BG High to be a wrestler but jean Quinn the basketball coach he took a chance on a 5 foot5 118b kid and it all worked out Mr Miller wasn’t too happy about it he didn’t talk to me for two months but we became very good friends after that in basketball I played three years with guys who were record centers I was a break able to break all their records instead a few of my own with the help of my teammate now I decided before I came here that I wasn’t going to mention names because I don’t want to let anyone out I had some great All State players that I played with and great teammates who helped me accomplish what I accomplished but it wasn’t all about setting records it was more about the sports manip competition being part of a team making friendships that would last a lifetime but one thing that will always stand is that I was the first 1,00 point scorer fburg high school basketball history and with that I will always be a Philipsburg State liner thank you for your support and enjoy the afternoon thank [Applause] you Sid Fowler class of 1952 was Philipsburg first state champion wrestler finishing on the top of the podium in 1951 and 1952 in those days Philipsburg competed in the Lehigh Valley league with Easton Nazareth Allentown Bethlehem and Northampton they wrestled each team twice finishing at 6 and four in 1951 Easton would finish 10 and0 State liners nearly got them the second time losing only 20 to9 among Sid’s 1951 match victims were future Nazareth District 11 champ John Wilson who fell 95 in the first duel and 73 in the second Sid won his first title at 104 pounds in 1951 at the Elizabeth Armory defeating Dave corn of vinand Sid had quite the Rivalry with Easton’s dick Finelli who had become a three-time district 11 Champion Fowler won two decisions as a junior Finelli won two one-point decisions as a senior Finelli would lose only five times in his high school career three times at States and twice to Sid fower Sid won his second Crown at 115 pounds in 1952 again at the Elizabeth Armory defeating Wayne Danielson of tck Zid was named a Star Ledger top 10 best wrestler of the 1950s and here to accept on behalf of the late Sid fower is his stepson Jim Sadam [Applause] [Applause] thank you um as Mike said uh Sid was my stepfather since I was eight years old until just several years ago he passed away at 82 and I know if Sid were here today he would have been very very humbled by this uh award and he’d also be very embarrassed Sid did not like attention he didn’t like people pointing at him and saying you did this or you did that he would have definitely not been uh up for that but speaking for his family my sisters Becky and Jan and all our extended relatives we are exatic he very proud of what he did when you think about it he was not only a two-time state champ this was in the 50s he was the very first state champ for peber high this wasn’t in the Glory Days with all the uh 33 other well I guess there was a total of 30 won other state champs but he did it and we are very proud that he was able to do this and I think if Thad Turner was his coach he would have won four times thank you Holly Hughes a member of the class of 1965 was a field hockey and basketball Allstar who went on to play collegiately at Wilmington College in Ohio and at Glassboro State Holly tied is the second leading scorer with 10 goals on a 90 And1 field hockey team in 1962 she scored seven goals on a 9 and3 team in 1963 and according to a 1966 edition of the Free Press Martin Malisa broke Holly’s record of 17 goals in a season most likely in 1964 Holly was a two-time East Penn league first team basketball player and was honorable mention as a sophomore she is credited with at least 20 double figure scoring games including two 28o efforts and a 27o effort she was a key member of the 6364 East pen League champions and she scored more than 533 points in her career Holly played field hockey basketball volleyball and softball at Wilmington she was a conference Allstar in field hockey she finished her college career at Glassboro state where she played two years of softball while concentrating on her studies Holly taught at Bridgewater ritton high school for 10 years where she coached field hockey softball and swimming she also served as head softball coach at Lafayette College an assistant field hockey coach for four years here to present Hall of Fame inductee Holly Hughes is her coach and fellow Hall of Famer Ruth Gibbs [Applause] thank you um first of all a quick congrats to uh all of the Hall of Famers and I have the distinct pleasure of having to seen everybody but Sid fer complete their career here at Philipsburg High School all you guys what a great class this is terrific class um Holly was uh before her time uh back in the early 60s um before Title 9 ever even was in anybody’s mind at that point uh when we started our first varsity teams in field hockey and basketball um put Philipsburg girl Sports on the map right away um and Holly was a gamer she was a gamer we played half court basketball but but we played field hockey that where we ran a 100 yards so it never really made any sense back at that point but anyway um Holly was a gamer she just wanted to play that’s all there was to it it didn’t matter what sport anywhere if she were playing today here at Philipsburg high school with the offerings that we have for the girls Sports she wouldn’t know which way to turn um Holly was a great shooter on the basketball court scorer on the field hockey field be became an outstanding bowler she’s a great golfer really good softball player she’d have a tough time in today’s age trying to decide what to do as far as participating in girl Sports um she uh hated to run so to try to get her to work out and get ready for the season was a was a chore for me all the time but when it came game day it was all about it it was all about it um Holly definitely was one of the greatest athletes to play here back in the day early on before things really exploded and um once Title 9 came and she finally decided to get her degree and uh get into teaching and coaching she had some very successful uh situations there um Holly deserves to be here uh the early people that set the stage for women’s Athletics here at the high school is the result of her being that early person and it gives me great honor today to present her for the uh honor of being inducted into phsb Burg High School Hall of Fame Holly first of all I’d like to thank the Hall of Fame committee I know firsthand that it’s not easy they put a lot of time into it and they really deserve ve a round of applause thank you I’d like to just thank Philipsburg high school for being here I mean I I loved being in high school loved it played four years of hockey four years of basketball and as coach Gibb said I would have played anything if we had it the next season but we didn’t we only had two seasons so we did what we could and I loved every bit of it I will say that my class of 1965 was an unbelievable athletic group of girls I mean we had great girls in 1965 so many of my teammates deserve to be here standing where I am and I’m so glad that one of my teammates and one of my best friends since I was in first grade is also going to be honored today that is a great great honor for our class of 1965 plus you have some of our boys being honored today 1965 I think that class will always be remembered as being very athletic I’d like to thank my family and friends that came and supported me today I really appreciate it uh and that’s it I’m done thank you George Hummer class of 1965 was a three- sports star who earned All State honors as a football player and is remembered by some as a member of one of the best linebacking tandom in Philipsburg High School history the 1963 football team would finish 71- one and allow 68 points George was a second Team all state selection the 1964 football team finished 80 and one as a middle linebacker George spearheaded a defense that surrendered just 46 points and posted six shutouts George was selected norc news first team All State all groups The Star Ledger had him second all groups and second group four George played Collegiate football as a center and linebacker at Arizona State starting on both sides of the ball he was a whack all academic selection George is a member of the Philipsburg eastn Football Hall of Fame on the basketball court George was second on the team in scoring in 1963-64 and third in 6465 he averaged 9.8 points per game in 6465 with a high of 20 against Easton on the diamond George was a starting infielder in 1964 hitting in at least 13 of 21 games with four multi-hit games and as a senior George was a first team East pen League outfielder George is unable to make it here today and he will be presented with his plaque at a later date Steve Jalan class of 19 19 65 was an outstanding track distance Runner played three years of varsity football and two years of varsity basketball Steve ran the mile all four years winning 35 of 43 starts and set a record of four and a half minutes as a senior breaking the mark set in 1939 he won the 880 in 25 of 35 starts he was fifth in the state in the 880 in 1963 and 64 when there were 72 Runners and seventh in 1965 when he set the school record of 1583 the record had been set in 1933 or 39 he graduated with the East pen League record in both the 880 and mile as a sophomore through senior Steve also participated in the broad and triple jumps with 11 first place finishes and 133 second or third place finishes at the East pen Le meet he finished fifth in the broad jump as a senior and third in the triple jump as a senior while winning the 880 in the mile at both meets Steve was a double figure scorer on the 6364 and 6465 basketball teams he averaged 13 points per game as a senior and 10 n as a junior he had career highs of 26 versus Pottsville 25 versus Allen and 24 versus Central Catholic on the football field Steve was a two-way starter in the back field as a senior on The Undefeated 1964 team he scored touchdowns in three of the first four games he broke a hand in the fifth game which then limited his play on offense he had six interceptions on the season as a junior he suffered a knee injury in the second game of the season he had at least two interceptions on the season he also lettered in football in 1962 as a sophomore and led the team with five interceptions news media Accounts at the time did not always list individual interceptions Steve was credited with at least 13 career interceptions Steve pundit as a freshman at Mansfield State by December 1966 he had enlisted in the Marines and was serving in Vietnam he returned to Mansfield State and earned six Varsity letters in football cross country and track earning his degree in 1972 Steve Tau and coached football and track at Point Pleasant Beach High School from 1972 through 80 and at brick memorial from 1980 through 2007 he retired in 2007 please welcome to the podium Hall of Fame and duct D Steve Jalan [Applause] I’d like to thank the committee I’m both humbled and honored at the same time I’d like to recognize that my family has uh shown up here to uh kind of guide me on here um I want to talk a little bit about about my journey to being here and that is um it all started at dishwater Hill I think everybody knows about uh um that uh Bob stem’s uh recognition there and uh I also uh grew up in that area and it was probably what stemmed me to be what helped me to be uh the athlete that I I turned out to be um my my Outlook was such that uh um we live right across from the disposal plant yet we had an ouse right above us um needless to say when the wind shifted it was not the best um also um I learned a lot about sacrificing and uh also um in in many regards with the um Advent of of living in that area um it was one of U being perseverance was was a very important for me um in the winter time you learn a lot about pers perseverance because when you had to go to the ouse in Dead Winter you either chose not to or you had to make the little journey up the back of the steps to get to that area um in addition we had no car sometimes we didn’t have electricity um I can remember one Christmas we didn’t we didn’t have uh any presents um so it was a very humble beginning but this town the my Stu fellow students I have to say um that’s how I got here and I want to go over uh some of the the things in a couple of minutes but uh um without I don’t know any other town but um uh it was a great place to grow up in um I had uh um my first beginnings of thinking I had some athletic ability um was when um well first it was uh the the local guys Bob stem and his group of people they would go up to I don’t know if you remember most of you may not remember Yos Market but on the top of the Little Mountain there Yos Market they had had a u a field and we would uh go up to that field and we would um and I was very young at the time um we would clear that field to play football before the football season started and uh I used to hang around there and I I eventually as I got older a little bit older um I was able to get in there and uh find out what it was like because I try to tackle those big guys that were uh already going towards High School Steve wesy some of some of the the locals in the in that area they would let me get in there and and find out what it was really like so that was my beginning that I thought well maybe I have some athletic ability um the second part of my journey was when I joined Pop Warner uh palal football I had coaches Lou DOTA I had Sharky djalo I had uh Rich djo who was an all state player dick Dow Rumple and boty kirp now that was quite a lineup we went to California Florida on all these trips U and L and I I I really got a feel because um my mom basically raised us my brother and I and my father was non-existent um so they gave to me not only the techniques and and the the ability to play they also uh gave me a a um feeling of of a role model and and May and a and a father figure towards towards me so that was the beginning um Lou DOTA would always have a smile on his face when I came up I I would just have to walk up um the street get up to walers Park and then we would uh have practice and and I would uh um be so thankful because it was a way of me uh showing I had some some ability and and I and I uh and I I really gained a lot of Knowledge from them and and they were really really outstanding uh to help me on my journey towards towards this uh again being a inducted into the Hall of Fame is still I’m still trying to focus on that um in the winter uh Chad Meers was my wrestling coach um I was uh 90 and 95 pounder um I wrestled with him he he taught me a lot about technique and uh confidence because you know wrestling you’re out there you’re out there on your own and uh and I really uh uh admired him because uh he taught me that and u a little bit of in terms of the the going to the F Youth Center coming back uh uh down to my house and and U he would uh would ask me if I wanted to ride or anything else but uh I was somewhat embarrassed um to um to have anybody come and see where we live um then it was baseball with with Mr Dominic Mr Tom Dominic Brian’s father and uh he was he was very um how can I say he he was very uh helpful and to me I I I wasn’t a real good baseball player I I remember a couple times being uh trying to um shag a a Fly ball and it hit me in the head head so I didn’t have that depth perception um then he tried me in the in the uh first base and I was kind of good but uh n wasn’t uh like where am I GNA put this guy um I finally became a catcher that was my position being a catcher and uh I was able there to to Blossom a little bit I I I did have the ability to hit and I was fast so I could steel bases so that’s why he kept me on there and he gave me some of the best advice that I ever had and that was he said to me Steve when you go to high school you’re going to be a great track runner so my High School coaches um two of them that I will I will outline here it was uh Mr herb he he was my uh track coach he he became like a father figure to me and uh he was very uh helpful in uh not only track and and and showing me how to uh run and do all these other things but uh he he took a liking to me and and we u i remember my uh girlfriend my wife now 56 years um we Babys sat for them while he went out and um I can remember they came back late and um I drove my wife Kathy home her mother was right at the door and she said uh you can leave and don’t come back for a week so she was grounded and I and uh and I couldn’t see her for a week um Mr Conwell Who I Really uh really really latched on to he was my uh secondary coach and the running back coach um he he was outstanding he’s he got me to go to Mansfield and um he really really showed the uh um the techniques and everything to be a pretty good runner um but I can remember I think it was the I think it was the um maybe the brick game The Brick Township game where um I had broken through the line and I went down and I was running for a touchdown and um back in those days everybody had reconditioned uh boots like for uh for um your your football shoots I tripped I was going into score and I tripped so I dove into the end zone so I scored I came back and uh one of the coaches said Mr Bellis wants to talk to you and I said oh okay I was thinking maybe I was going to get a a little you know gratitude of a nice job he said to me son don’t ever do that again so I went to my coach and I said uh Mr Conwell what did I do he said he thought you were hot doging but that was Mr Bellis and and he was you know um he didn’t want to pass I I was a I I felt I was a pretty good receiver and and in some cases I wish Bill duet um I wish I played with with him at a time because uh I was I felt I was a good receiver and and you know how he can throw I mean um I think I would have been and he would have been uh having a a pretty good good receiver but it was uh you know three yards in a line of you know you know dust but uh he Mr uh Conwell did get me into uh Mansfield and uh I decided at Mansfield that I I I punted for the um varsity and then and then uh Thanksgiving I uh got out of school I left school and I I went to work at wle paper I just decided I it wasn’t for me and and I just I just left um but some of the students and this is what I want to emphasize about the class of 5 I think it’s one of the top uh classes of of all time and I’m I might be exaggerating but uh I I I think it is and some of the students um they were so they were so great I still had my situation with the no car and all that other stuff in dishwater Hill and and they they never said anything in terms of uh um talking about it or what my POS positions were there and stuff um the the two individuals that I kind of hung around with a lot we were like The Three Amigos it was Eddie Muna and it was George Hummer who wasn’t here today um George was in my home room for four years and um every I guess it was maybe once a week or every so often I sat behind him all four years so I was behind him like that and he would reach behind with his big hands and squeeze my knees I would give out a Yelp and Mr rosolowski would say uh George he knew EXA exactly what what was going on um George and uh he he was just an unbelievable athlete very quiet but he would do so certain things that uh were he would initiate some some situations now Eddie Maslanka Ed Ed and I we we kind of hit it off right away and when I say hit it off right away he’s the one that broke my wrist I got a cast on it so when we had practice what they first of all made they made the cast so it could come off so I could play in the games and and uh and uh uh but it looked like a great big hand like and every time we had any kind of uh scrimmages I made sure Eddie knew where that hand was going to hit every so often to remind him what happened um Ed and I uh worked at rle paper um I can remember um when Eddie came to me and he said uh um we’re going to join the Marine Corps I said what he said yeah all the other guys are joining we don’t want to get drafted I said let me think about it so I said yeah maybe maybe we should I went to my girl friend Kathy and I said to her uh Eddie and I just joined the Marine Corps and her reply was you did what and all through you know my tour in Vietnam and coming back we got we got married Eddie was our was my uh main man um George Hummer was in in in my uh way procedures and um we we decided Well I decided after after working at wriggle paper for a year and something I decided to go back to Mansfield I decided to go back to college and when I told my girlfriend well my wife at that time because um we were married and we had our first son my son Stephen and uh I said I got to go back to college the guys at the the mill keep telling me you you got to leave it’s no place to to uh raise a family uh you’re going to be here and you’re just going to you know go back back to school so I decided to go back to mansvi and I said to my wife I’m going I decided to go back to college and what was your reply you did what so back we go I go back to college it was no car we had a young son I got some GI benefits it was me punting for the football team going to away games track team going to away games I broke the school record I was second second and fourth in the the uh League championships and all the meanwhile my wife was taking care of Stephen and then all of a sudden she told me I’m pregnant and I said we did what so here we were with two kids and now trying to get myself through college which I did and it was all because of her while I was doing all those other things and I was only a a c student so I had to go to the library to study I had to go to uh some of the classes were at night and I had to stud so much that I had to underline the books I had to do all these things because again I was a was not a great student but she was at home many times alone and taking care of the kids because I had to go to uh you know I was going to college and I think perhaps um if it wasn’t for well not perhaps but it wasn’t for her I I would have never graduated I’ve never would have never been here in terms of having a a degree and and going going uh to teach at uh Point Pleasant Beach and then brick memorial um I love teaching and U I had a great career I had u a coach track at Point Pleasant Beach I had an individual who plays second in the Nationals we wanted to pen relays now this is a small school it’s only like 800 people in the school point point Pon Beach had a 66 high jumper I had a individual that won the Easterns two years in a row 1518 800 meter I mean I had some good times these kids and then at the I coached football and then I coach football and track at brick memorial I I I had a great career and um again my family the rolling family became my the my salvation with with the kind of uh accepted me and um I’m I’m just so thankful that uh I was able to to get here and I still can’t believe um this is happening um um and as you can see I just I just I just can’t uh say enough for the uh program for the individuals who have set this up and and I’m very thankful and I I hope that uh um the people of phsb know that this was a this is a great community and it’s an outstanding uh place to uh grow up and live I tried to get a um job here and I I did not I was not uh hired at all so I found at the last minute I found a job at The Point Pleasant Beach and that’s where I’ve lived uh lived and coached I I taught for 30 35 years and uh I am just so so happy that uh uh this recognition um shows that uh it wasn’t me that did everything to get here it was a lot of you my family and a lot of friends who uh Through The Years made it possible thank [Applause] you and at the close Steve is going to have books outside those two books we talked about at the uh reception Joe Sassaman member of the class of 1965 was a field hockey and basketball standout she was a four-year field hockey and basketball starter in basketball Jill was a three-time East pen league First Team selection and was a unanimous selection as a senior the 6364 team captured the East pen League Championship Jill was in double figures in at least 24 games scoring 620 career points Jill tied as the second leading scorer on the unbeaten 1962 field hockey team with 10 goals she scored at least nine goals in the 63 team with a record of nine and3 Joe is a standout athlete at Trenton State playing field hockey basketball and Lacrosse after college she began teaching ing at beler high school retiring after 32 years Jill coached field hockey basketball and softball at beler in a coaching career lasting from 1971 to 1996 County Cedars were field hockey sectional Champs in 1982 92 and 96 and they were named The Express Times top team in 1996 Joe was inducted in the New Jersey Scholastic coaches association Hall of Fame in 1988 and here to present Hall of Famer Jill Sassaman is her coach and fellow Hall of Famer Ruth Gibbs [Applause] okay um long day um Jill and Holly were uh Mutt and Jeff they were uh two teammates that uh meshed unbelievably on the field hockey field and on the basketball court um we talked about Holly she was the gamer Jill was the quiet Assassin of the group um you never quite knew where she was until bang the ball went into the back of the goal cage or there was a bucket on the basketball court always when it counted the most um Jill just uh laid back and uh and just did her job and and they had just great times together and like hly said uh that Class of 65 was quite a group and these two particularly for my first experience as a coach um certainly made my job easy and both of them again today would also be highly successful especially as Shooters in the basketball court both of them were really really good um Julie did a great job uh continuing her playing career at Trenton State and then to come back to badier and had a really really successful time in coaching there and um uh one of the stories that hits me is that Jill’s mom mij and Holly’s mom Jenny at times would try to get behind the goal cage on the field hockey fields and wave dollar bills in front of them to score and uh you know they they were a great pair the whole the whole gang right there in that in that 65 class all of you guys there alone um very happy to um have Jill be also in the New Jersey state coaches association Hall of Fame and um she’s just uh done a fantastic job right on through and I couldn’t be again happier to have her join us in the phsb High School athletic Hall of Fame Joy sassman I’d like to congratulate all the other inductees in the class of 20 24 and I’d like to thank a lot of the following people that helped me attain this award today first of all thank you to the committee I know that they’ve spent many hours um I don’t know how they could dig up is the information they could on especially on Holly and myself because um it goes uh back when time just began which we didn’t realize that’s what it was going to be but I’d like to um again thank you for all your time and effort eort that youve put in year after year with this award very humbl and proud to accept that this year I’d also like to congratulate or to thank the school district for all the support you have given to the athlet athletes here in athletics the programs that you have provided for so many of us especially back in 1961 when we were the first class the 19 1965 class of 1965 to have four years to play Inter Scholastic Sports both field hockey and basketball um that was we just guess took for granted that this is just the way it was but now I realize back then that this is not the way it was but we were fortunate to have those programs um started so that we could participate in them I’d also like to thank my classmates many of who came today many who supported us back in 1961 through 65 either as cheerleaders who Miss Gibbs would always make sure we had cheerleaders to cheer us on and also just their support sitting in the stands or behind the fence wherever we were playing such new uh a new thing for many of my classmates to get involved in because we didn’t have such programs here at that time these classmates of mine probably fortunately we only had the two sports so that in the spring we were freed up so that I could change my hats from playing sports to become more social with them so we could get ready for our special events our freshman Frolic our sophomore hop our Junior Prom and our senior banquet and so there for those classmates also have a special place in my heart because I know back then they were supportive of me being class Treasurer we kind of had to organize everything so I had the time to do that with them even though I’ve tried to say I had my day in the Sun and I’m not available for a lot of their activities today I also like to take time to um thank my teammates who I had the privilege to play with over over those four years some of which I have bonded with and become and have been close friends with for many many years those those who are always there to support and be with in our ups and downs of life and I’m forever thankful that those teammates not only did they play sports with me but they stayed good friends and always can count on them as we learned because without these people I would never be able to be here today to do what I have done I am also forever thankful for my parents and my family who has have instilled in me perseverance responsibility respectfulness and to be a humble person PHS became my home away from home where Miss gives started to fill that part of my life she instilled these same values and led me to achieve my potential she taught us how to conduct ourselves on and off the playing fields it wasn’t about the x’s and o’s and actually we probably didn’t have a lot of x’s and o’s back then anyway but it was about being the best that you could be or whatever you whatever you did or whatever you were going to become it’s called life thank you Miss Gibbs for all that you taught us and for being that special special person in my life these foundations have carried me through my college Years and to might to be a dedicated teacher and a very successful coach it was all about able to teach about being a team player about teaching the skills of sports but most importantly about teaching about life both in the classroom and on the playing fields Miss Gibbs my parents family led me to be the one that I am today what I am was and what I am today and I am forever thankful for them so in closing I’d like to say thank you again to the committee to my classmates and teammates to my parents and family Miss Gibbs I will always be thankful for all the people past and present who have helped me along the way I was and always will be a proud State liner [Applause] ladies and gentlemen that brings our ceremony to a close please let me leave you with a couple of messages the committee is always looking for help we don’t claim to know everything about an athlete coach or some team that you feel are worthy of induction of what will be our next class or Beyond we’re soliciting nominations for our next class to be selected this fall that information is posted on the garnet booster club Foundation website at Garnet BC foundation.org please don’t hesitate to reach out to any member of the committee or drop a line to the athletic office at the high school information can be very hard to come by especially in the sports that traditionally have not received as much coverage by the local news media we ask that you Source any claim you’re going to make make on behalf of your nominee so that the committee is able to verify the information if you have a scrapbook that could be of some assistance we’d love to see it secondly the garnet booster club Foundation committed thousands of dollars to get this started a number of donors have stepped forward to cover the costs of the individual plaques and the Hall of Fame individual and team displays any donations are gratefully accepted if you’re interested in making a tax deductible contribution please reach out to the foundation or the athletic department lastly we’d like to get a Hall of Fame class photo in front of the plaques above the gym out by where you were earlier in the cafeteria we know that a lot of people want to reach out to the inductees so can we please ask that all the inductees report back through the cafeteria to have their picture taken in 10 minutes thank you very much for coming today and we look forward to seeing you for the next class in April
