Inductee Bios

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2020 Inductee Bios

Jen Carfagno

1994 PVHS Graduate – member of the Girls Track 4X800-meter relay team that qualified for the state championship track meet
1998 Penn State graduate
1998 Hired by the Weather Channel as a Travel Analyst for Outlook and hosted Weekend View
Co-host of Weather Channel’s AMHQ
Point person for Weather Channel’s tactical operations with the National Weather Service
Leader of weather camps around the country
2019 Inducted into Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center’s Meteorologist Hall of Fame for coverage of Groundhog Day

Jim Melwert

District-qualifying swimmer
All-State Honorable Mention for Water Polo
1993 Graduate of PVHS
2001 Hired at KYW Newsradio and worked up to Suburban Bureau Chief (only third person to hold this position in station’s history)
Covered stories such as conviction/sentencing of Bill Cosby and former attorney general Kathleen Kane, 2016 Democratic/Republican national conventions, Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno’s funeral, Hurricanes Sandy and Irene.
2012 Participated in Ironman Lake Placid competition
2016 Donated right kidney to aunt
Won numerous awards from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters and the Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcasters Association (PAPBA), including a first-place award from PAPBA for an hour-long special on his kidney donation to his aunt
Host for the Gift of Life’s Living Donor Recognition Ceremony
Swim coach for Team Philly’s Donate Life US Transplant Games
Honored as “Male Athlete of the Year” for Team Philly’s Donate Life US Transplant Games

Scott Fuhrman

1984 Began teaching career at Perkiomen Valley High School
Taught Physical Education, Driver’s Ed and Health
Also served as Assistant to the Principal at the High School and Middle Schools
1998 Led PVHS Football Team to its first-ever championship and district playoff appearance
Named Coach of the Year
Summit Award for Most Influential Person
Coached in the Montgomery County All-Star football game
Sports broadcaster for WPAZ and the PCTV Network

Meghan O’Donnell-Patton

1981 National Honor Society Secretary
1981 Senior Class President
1981 Graduate Perkiomen Valley High School
1984 President, Delta Zeta Sorority, Shippensburg University
1985 Grace Mason Lundy Award, Delta Zeta Sorority
1985 Graduate of Shippensburg University, BSBA Personnel and Industrial Relations
1994 Graduate of Villanova University, MS Human Organizational Science, Human Resource Development
2004 CHRO Abington Memorial Hospital
2007 Delaware Valley HR Person of the Year
2007 Adjunct Professor, St. Joseph’s University Masters – Strategic Human Resource Management Program
2007-2015 Eastern School of Arts and Technology, Board Member
2007 and 2015 American Society of Healthcare Human Resource Administration Annual Conference Presenter
2008 Vice President of HR and CHRO Abington Health
2008 Diversity Champion Award, Abington Health
2011, 2015, 2016, 2017 National Baldridge Examiner
2011-2013 Manna on Main Street, HR Committee Member
2014 Baldrige Fellow, Malcolm Baldridge Organization, NIST
2015 Senior Vice President of HR and ACHRO Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health
2020 Member, The Forum of Executive Women
2021 Board Member, For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation

Michael Hirsch

2006 Graduate of PVHS
2006 Led PVHS Lacrosse Team to Penn Valley League Championship
2006 Pottstown Mercury’s Player of the Year
Two-time First Team PVLL selection and earned All-ESPSLA honors as a junior and senior
2006 Named to the Under Armour all-American team and played in the inaugural All-America Lacrosse Classic
Two-time First Team All-Patriot League selection and named on the USILA All American team
2010 & 2011 Earned the Naval Academy’s Coach Wilis P. Bilderback Award for Most Outstanding Defensive Player
2011 Graduate of the United States Naval Academy
Graduated from the Navy Nuclear Power School and Navy Nuclear Prototype Training
2013-2016 Served aboard the nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, U.S.S. Albuquerque (SSN 706) and held multiple division officer roles
Served as Nuclear Programs Officer for the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) at Arizona State University, where he mentored over 100 students to become Navy and Marine Corps officers

2019 Inductee Bios

Lisa (Thompson) Angleson

1981 District I AA Champion in 100-meter hurdles
1982 District I AA Champion in 100-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash, 300-meter hurdles and 400-meter relay
1982 PIAA Track & Field State Champion in 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles
1983 PIAA Track & Field State Champion in 100-meter dash and 300-meter hurdles (set state record)
1983 District I AA Champion in 100-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash, 300-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash
Four-time Bux-Mont League Champion
1983 Dannehower Award Winner
1983 Graduated from Perkiomen Valley High School
1987 Commissioned from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as a Quartermaster Branch Officer with a bachelor’s degree in science
Held various positions within the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve, training soldiers for deployment overseas for operations in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan
Received a Master of Public Administration from the University of Alaska
Received the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Air Assault Badge

Charlie Kramer

·1982 Named Head Wrestling Coach for PVHS
Led team to 258 wins during his tenure through 2007
1984 Named District I “Coach of the Year”
1986 Led District I Championship Team
1986 Named District I “Coach of the Year”
1986 Received the “Outstanding Young Educator and Coach” Award from the Skippack-Perkiomen Jaycees
1988 Led District I Championship Team
1988 Named District I “Coach of the Year”
1990 Led District I Championship Team
1990 Named District I “Coach of the Year”
1994 Led Tournament Team Champions in the Central Springfield Invitational in Springfield, MA
1998 Led Tournament Team Champions in the Peru Invitational Tournament in Peru, NY
1998 Received the Norristown Times Herald Nelson Stratton “Coach of the Year” Award
2003 Pioneer Athletic Conference Community Service Award
2009 Southeastern Pennsylvania Wrestling Regional Hall of Fame Inductee
Raised tens of thousands of dollars for the less fortunate through team fundraisers
Coached the team in 10 seasons of “Wrestling with Reading” to help elementary school readers in the district

Dr. Joseph DeSimone

1982 PVHS Graduate
1986 Ursinus College Graduate
1990 Earned Ph.D. in chemistry at Virginia Tech/Joined University of North Carolina faculty
2000 Oliver Max Gardner Award from the University of North Carolina
2002 Wallace H. Carothers Award from the Delaware Section of the American Chemical Society
2002 Engineering Excellence Award by DuPont
2002 John Scott Award presented by the Board of Directors of City Trusts, Philadelphia, given to “the most deserving” men and women whose inventions have contributed in some outstanding way to the “comfort, welfare and happiness” of mankind
2002 Co-founded Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions to commercialize a fully bioabsorbable, drug-eluting stent
2004 Co-founded Liquidia Technologies based on PRINT (Particle Replication in Non-Wetting Templates) technology
2005 American Chemical Society Award for Creative Invention
2007 Collaboration Success Award from the Council for Chemical Research
2008 Tar Heel of the Year by the Raleigh News & Observer
2008 Awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize
2009 National Institute of Health Director’s Pioneer Award and the North Carolina Award (highest honor the State of North Carolina can bestow to recognize notable achievements of North Carolinians in the fields of Literature, Science, the Fine Arts and Public Service)
2010 American Association for the Advancement of Science Mentor Award in recognition of his efforts to advance diversity in the chemistry PhD workforce
2012 Walston Chubb Award for Innovation, presented by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, to honor and promote creativity in science and engineering
2013 Launched Carbon, where he made scientific breakthroughs in the areas of green chemistry, medical devices, and nanotechnology
Earned U.S. Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award
2014 Industrial Research Institute Medal and the American Chemical Society Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success
2015 Recipient of the Kabiller Prize in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine and the Dickson Prize from Carnegie Mellon University
2016 Awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Barack Obama
2017 Awarded the 22nd Annual Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy and Employment
2018 Awarded the National Academy of Sciences Award for Convergent Science
Author of over 350 scientific publications and named an inventor on nearly 200 issued patents
Elected to all three U.S. National Academies – the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering

Thomas J. Keenan

Began teaching career in Schwenksville Union School District in 1959
Air Force veteran who served in Korea and Japan
Served as high school social studies teacher and department chairperson
Consistently commended for his rapport with students and his ability to engage them in the subject area
Served as advisor to Pep Club, Junior and Senior Class, Presidential Classroom for Young Americans
Voted “Favorite Teacher” by many senior classes
Supported students outside the classroom by attending events and activities
Stadium named in his honor

2018 Inductee Bios

Joanne (Kehs) Conte

1982 Perkiomen Valley High School Graduate (Third in Class)
10-time Track PIAA State Champion
8-time PIAA Team State Champion (4 Years for Cross Country/4 Years Track & Field)
PIAA State Record-Holder for 30 Years in the 800M Run
First Female to Win the Dannehower Scholar-Athlete Award
World Record Holder and NCAA Division 1 National Champion (Villanova University 1985 Indoor 4 X 800 Relay)
5-time NCAA Indoor Track & Field All-American
6-time Big East Indoor Track & Field Champion
7-time Big East Team Champion
Big East All-Academic Team
Big East Conference Female Scholar Athlete of the Year – 1986
Villanova Student Athlete of the Year – 1986
Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
Summa Cum Laude Graduate with 3.91 GPA
Villanova Varsity Club Hall of Fame Member – 1996

Dr. Franklin Manley

Teacher, Coach and Administrator in Perkiomen Valley School District for 42 Years
1970 – Perkiomen Valley High School Principal
Oversaw the jointure between Schwenksville and Collegeville-Trappe High Schools
Founder of the Pioneer Athletic Conference
Heavily Involved with Perkiomen Valley School District Facilities Expansion
Located Site for Perkiomen Valley Middle School West
President of the Bux-Mont Athletic League
President of the Montgomery County School Principals Association
Member of the Pennsylvania State Association of Principals, Pennsylvania School Boards Association
Assistant to the Superintendent for Perkiomen Valley Schools

David Roberts

2007 PVHS Graduate
2004 AA State Medalist- Bronze
2005-07 Three Time AAAA State Champion
2007 District Champions
2004-2006 District One Champion
2005-07 All American Diving
2007 All American Swimming
2007 Mercury Swimmer Diver of the Year
2007 Summit Award for Career Achievement

Mary Fenstermacher

1954 Schwenksville High School Graduate
1974-1998 Perkiomen Valley high School PE Teacher, Field Hockey Coach
1985 District One Champion in Field Hockey
1987 PIAA AA State Champion in Field Hockey
1994 PAC 10 Champion in Field Hockey

William Neill

1977 PVHS Graduate
National Honor Society Member
1975, 1976 All Bux-Mont 1st Team
1976 PA All State Selection
1977 PA State Wrestling Champion
1984 Inducted into the PA Wrestling Hall of Fame
1981 University of Pittsburgh All American Defensive End
1981 All Big East Defensive End
1981 NFL 5th Round Draft Pick – New York Giants
1981 NFL All Rookie 1st Team DL
1981 New York Giants Rookie of the Year
1984 Played Nose Tackle for the Green Bay Packers

Jacqueline Trankle

1970-1972 Skippack Elementary Cafeteria Aide
1972-2012 Perkiomen Valley High School Secretary and Cafeteria Aide
1972-2015 Athletic Event Worker
Devoted Mentor to Perkiomen Valley Students, Staff and Community

William Fretz

Football Coach at Collegeville-Trappe High School with championships in 1957, 1958 and 1960
1959 Coach of Championship Baseball Team in the Inter-County Baseball League
1960 – Named Man of the Year by Skip-Perk Junior Chamber of Commerce
1971-1993 First Athletic Director of Perkiomen Valley High School
1971 Head Coach of North Montgomery County All-Star Team
Assisted with the creation of the Pioneer Athletic Conference

Steven Rich

2007 PVHS Graduate
2006-07 Band President
2014 Pulitzer Prize for public service
2014 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for domestic print
2014 Gerald Loeb Award for large newspapers
2014 American Society of News Editors Award for local accountability reporting
2014 GEN Data Journalism Award for best data-driven investigation
2015 George Polk Award for national reporting
2015 Associated Press Sports Editors Award for investigative reporting
2015 Sigma Delta Chi Award for public service
2016 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting
2016 George Polk Award for medical reporting
2016 Sigma Delta Chi Award for investigative reporting
2017 Peabody Award
2017 Associated Press Sports Editors Award for explanatory reporting
2017 Sigma Delta Chi Award for investigative reporting

Grant Wiley

1998 Defensive Player Of the Year – Times Herald
1999 PVHS Graduate
1999 Pennsylvania Big 33 Team
1999 Player of the Year – PCTV
1999 Football MVP – PAC 10
1999 Offensive Player Of The Year – Times Herald
1999 Player of The Year – Pottstown Mercury
1999 Prep Star All-American
2000 Big East Rookie of the Year While Playing for West Virginia University
2000 2nd Team Freshman All-American
2003 Consensus All-American
2003 Bronko Nagurski Award Finalist (Best Defensive Player in College Football)
2004 Signed with Minnesota Vikings as a Free Agent