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2020 Hall of Fame

Milton Hershey School Inducts Top Alumni into 2020 Spartan Hall of Fame

Milton Hershey School is proud to honor its newest group of distinguished alumni, the 2020 Spartan Hall of Fame inductees.

The 2020 class of inductees celebrates the achievements of five alumni, two retired coaches, a retired music teacher, and two athletic teams, in the areas of athletics and visual and performing arts.

To be considered for induction into the Spartan Hall of Fame, an individual must be nominated and then approved by a selection committee. Nominees must have demonstrated good citizenship as students and since graduation.

Athletic inductees

Melissa (McDonald) Panek 1989

  • Participated in field hockey for four years, three and a half on the varsity squad

  • Named to the All-Conference Field Hockey team her senior year, 1988

  • Named to the Mid Penn Division II All-Star Field Hockey Team, 1987 and 1988

  • During her time on the MHS field hockey team, participated in the district play-offs, placing third in 1988

  • Participated in the Keystone Games and earned a bronze medal

  • Named to the Central Chapter Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, May 1989

  • Hershey Lions Club Scholar-Athletic Award, 1989

  • Participated for four years in softball, two years in basketball, and two years in swimming

 

John Grab, Announcer, Retired Teacher and Coach; MHSAA Honorary Member

  • More than 50 years of service as an athletics clock operator for basketball, from 1969 to the present

  • Coached middle school football from 1972 to 1984

  • Coached gymnastics in 1975 and 1976

  • Announcer for track meets during various years

  • Game announcer for football for 20 years, from 2001 to the present

  • Meet announcer for gymnastics from 1968 to 1976

 

Bob Schelhorn, Retired Teacher and Coach; MHSAA Honorary Member

  • Head junior high track coach from 1966 to 1977

  • Head varsity track coach from 1978 to 1982

  • Track/Capitol Area Conference League Champions in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1982

  • Varsity track dual meet record: 45 wins, 1 loss

  • Varsity track, District III AA Team Champions in 1980, 1981, and 1982

  • MHS’s first state gold medal winner was track team member Carlton Bleiler with a Shot Put of 59 feet, 4 inches in 1980

  • Varsity State AA Champions in 1980, 1981, and 1982

  • Head junior high seventh- and eighth-grade flag football coach in 1966 and 1967

  • Varsity/junior high football coach, from 1968 to 1984

  • Varsity football support staff – sideline crew/scoreboard operator from 1985 to 2015

  • Varsity swimming/diving judge – lane and relay judge and timer from 1965 to 1977

  • Coached one year high school ice hockey

  • Junior high girls’ basketball program score keeper and timer for one year

  • Junior high wrestling program scorer and timer for one year

  • Coached and volunteered for MHS athletics a total of 50 years

  • Art teacher at MHS for 39 years

 

1976 Football Team

  • First Capital Area Conference football championship for MHS since entering the league in 1962

  • Best record in school history: 9 wins, 1 loss

  • 200th MHS football victory vs. Harrisburg (17-0)

  • Won the Cocoa Bean game in 1976 (28-11)

  • Two players names to First Team All-Metro (Mike Slabonik, Offensive Guard; Byron Smith, Safety)

  • Directed by quarterback Bob Potts, three–year starter, who passed for more than 2,000 career yards; he was named as one of the Pennsylvania Big 33 Top 100 players in the state.

  • Included contributions by running backs Chris Wilder (+966) and Nigel Morris (+757) combining for 1,723 rushing yards

  • Included catches by receivers Doug Horsefield (10), Dennis Horsefield (14), and Bobby Lynn (16), combining for 40 receptions

  • Included 54 tackles by linebacker Marvin Klinger and 53 by linebacker Joe Kennedy

  • Was led by safety Byron Smith with six interceptions

  • The team was made up of leaders on and off the football field: National Honor Society – 12 members; Headmaster’s Society – 20 members; Student Body President, Marv Klinger; Senior Class Officers, Skip Kennedy, president; Bob Potts, vice president; and Bob Cavanaugh, treasurer

  • There were 22 well-rounded and versatile seniors; 12 three-sport athletes; and nine two-sport athletes

  • Team Captains: Bob Potts and Marvin Klinger

  • Head Coach: Ken Snyder

 

1984 Girls’ Cross Country Team

  • The year started with a one-point dual meet loss to rival Hershey High School. The team then went on to defeat Hershey at the Lebanon Valley College Invitational where MHS was meet champion.

  • The Lady Spartans then went on to win nine consecutive dual meet wins. They became Mid Penn Conference Division I dual meet champions. This division included the largest schools in the Mid Penn, Chambersburg, Carlisle, Cedar Cliff, Central Dauphin, Central Dauphin East.

  • The Lady Spartans were the Hereford Invitational Meet champions. The meet came at the end of the season and included most of Maryland’s schools. Mid Penn teams swept all four division championships: Chambersburg 4A, Carlisle 3A, Hershey 2A, and MHS 1A.

  • The following week, the Lady Spartans went on to become the Mid Penn Cross Country Meet Champions.

  • The next week, they became the PIAA Class AA District Three Champions.

  • The next week, they became the PIAA Class AA State Runner Up.

  • Mid Penn Division One (the big schools) League Champion, 7-0

  • Team Captains: Joanne (Troischt) Gagnon and Rose Reiley (deceased)

  • Coach: Timothy Landenberger

 

Visual and Performing Arts inductees

Bruce “Buddy” Anello 1965 (deceased)

  • Sixth-Grade Choir in 1957

  • Played in the Spartan Orchestra from 1963 to 1965

  • Played in the Varsity Band from 1961 to 1962

  • “Buddy was a leader in whatever activity he was involved with. He quietly supported and instructed younger members of each group. He was the team player. Enrolled at an early age, he was a Spartan through and through. Brown and Gold ran through his veins.” – Courtesy of a classmate

  • MHS Gold Star Alumnus; he died in service to his country in Vietnam on May 31, 1968.

 

Kira Huntzinger 1990

  • Acropolis, 1989-1990

  • Spartan Spirit, 1989-1990

  • Jazz Band, 1987-1990

  • New Horizons, 1988-1990 as a drummer and singer

  • Marching Band, Drum Line, 1986-1990; Drum Line captain, 1989-1990

  • Concert Band, Percussion Section, 1986-1990

  • Choir, 1986-1990

  • District Chorus, 1988-1989

  • Beyond VPA: Softball Statistician, 1987-1990, Student Senate, Leadership Society, SH Officer

 

Michael Bordner 2000

  • Performed in every school play from 1997 to 2000.

  • Participated in every parent weekend performance since he joined the school as a child at age 7 through senior year.

  • Performed two years with the Spartan Players, a select group of performers who entertained audiences while stage crew changed from one set to another.

  • International Thespian Society, grades 11 and 12

  • Sang with Gospel Choir, grades 10 through 12

  • Performed with the Varsity Band, grade 11

  • Sang with the Varsity Choir, grades 9 through 12

  • Voted by his classmates as the school’s best male performer in the 2000 edition of Spartan Spirit.

  • Lead actor, representing MHS, in “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” at the International Thespian Society in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The cast was then selected to perform at the International Thespian Society in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he was nominated and awarded a scholarship to the Mike Lemon Casting Agency in Philadelphia, 2000

  • While in Philadelphia, Michael was selected as a finalist for the casting of Jamal Wallace in the motion picture film “Finding Forrester,” a 2000 drama starring Sean Connery. Unfortunately, Michael had already committed to serve in the U.S. Army.

 

Kara (Bailey) Yoder 2006

  • Scholastic Art Award recipient in 2002

  • Created an extensive portfolio of artwork for AP Studio Art; some of her work is still displayed in MHS art teachers’ offices.

  • Participated in Art Media Club during grades 8, 9, and 10.

  • Won three MHS Purchase Awards in 2006, artists from outside of MHS review and identify artwork to be purchased by MHS for its permanent collection.

 

Sam Lappano, Retired Music Teacher and Director of VPA

  • Employed by MHS from 1988 to 2012

  • As Director of VPA, Sam initiated the full-length traditional Spring Musical in May 1999. He also coordinated an original spring show to celebrate the MHS Centennial Celebration in 2009.

  • He implemented a summer arts program and established the first high school piano keyboard lab program.

  • As a teacher at Catherine Hall, he increased the performances for the sixth-grade choir, the seventh-and-eighth-grade choir, and the Catherine Hall Handbells. Annual membership in both choirs was usually 130 students. The Handbell Choir annually performed for many area events, including performances for then Gov. Tom Ridge at the Governor’s Mansion.

  • For several years, he sponsored annual trips to a Broadway show for the top music student in Catherine Hall.

  • Annually, Sam and his wife, Debbie, an MHS Middle Division teacher and choir accompanist, sponsored student picnics at MHS and also at their home. They frequently took outstanding Catherine Hall students home for day visits and activities.

  • In 1990, he was a presenter and speaker at the Pennsylvania State Music Educators Conference in Hershey, where he demonstrated the sequencing capabilities of the Macintosh computer.

  • After his retirement, he and Debbie continued their association with MHS, playing in the pit band for the annual spring musical from 2013 to 2019.

  • He has played in professional bands and combos for many years. He has also played in the pit orchestra for many shows at the Hershey Theatre and for live shows at Hersheypark. He currently (before COVID) plays in a band in Myrtle Beach and hopes to continue to do so in the future.

  • In 1992, he was named a National Apple Teacher Fellow for his work with Apple Computers and music instruction.

  • In 1993, he was a speaker at the World Conference on Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia in Orlando, Florida, sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Computers in Education.

  • In 1991, he taught computer workshops for Temple University.

Individual photos
John Grab
Bob Schelhorn
Anello, Bruce F. '1965-1
Kira Huntzinger
Michael Bordner
Karastan Bailey
Samuel Lappano
Football Offense 1976
Football Defense
New Cross_Country_1983-84
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