Another strong class: Uniontown High School unveils its inductees for this year鈥檚 Hall of Fame
Roberto M. Esquivel | TikTok成人版
Tony Mercadante is still amazed every year when the Uniontown Area High School Academics, Arts and Athletics Hall of Fame unveils its latest class.
“Each year I wonder if we can have a better class than the year before,” said Mercadante, who helped form and is the board chairman of the Uniontown Hall of Fame. “And every year it seems that class is just as packed with amazing inductees as the last. It just goes to show you how much talent Uniontown has produced over the years and not just in sports.”
The Uniontown Hall of Fame’s 11th group of inductees has been revealed and includes basketball stars Gregory Elias Gabriel (1981) and Dana G. Vaughns (1988), and football star Kevin “Age” McLee (1973) in the Athletics category, Red Raiders football squads from 1951 and 2002 in the Teams category and former football head coach and athletic director John Fortugna in the “Coach” category.
Bob Genevese (1955) will also be inducted in the Special Recognition category along with Charles Castor (1949).
Also chosen for induction are Dr. Nicole L. Dice (2003), Charles R. “Chuck” Haines (1958) and Dr. Rebecca R. Maddas (1998) in the Academics category, Arnold D. Amber (1968), Caitlin O’Connor (2007) and Bert Sesler (1979) in the Arts category and Daniel Robert Coffman (2007) in the Vo-Tech category.
The class of the 13 individuals and two teams will be recognized at 6:15 p.m. at Bill Power Stadium before the football game between the Red Raiders and Brownsville on Friday, Aug. 30. The class will be officially inducted at the Hall of Fame Brunch to be held the following morning (Saturday, Aug. 31) at 9:45 at the school cafeteria.
“We had over 280 attend last year and over 500 the year before when we had a double-class,” Mercadante pointed out. “It’s still a very popular event every year.”
Mercadante feels there are plenty of other potential Hall of Famers out there in all categories that maybe have been forgotten over the years.
“There’s probably so many more deserving candidates out there that we don’t even know of,” Mercadante said. “I keep trying to put it out there, pushing for nominations from perhaps some people who may have been forgotten over time.”
Tickets are $30 for the Hall of Fame Brunch and ceremony can be purchased by contacting Mercadante at 301-643-1499 or by email at acmerd@msn.com. Tickets can be purchased at the door.