TOWAMENCIN – Various North Penn alumni came home this past Saturday night to be honored by the North Penn Alumni Athletic Association (NPAAA).

This year, eight athletes and four sports teams were inducted into the Hall of Fame, one individual was named the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and for the first time, an individual received the NPAAA Special Recognition.

The NPAAA has been awarding scholarships to high school seniors and recognizing outstanding individuals and teams since the association’s founding in 2000. To date, including this year’s recipients, the NPAAA has installed 140 individual athlete plaques, 31 team plaques, 5 Lifetime Achievement plaques, and 5 special recognition plaques on the walls of North Penn.

To kick off the evening, the honorees were treated to a tour around the building to see changes and reminisce about their own time at North Penn.

Everyone, honorees and spectators, was then ushered into the auditorium to begin the recognition ceremony. Thomas Strickland, NPAAA President and member of the NPHS ’62 class, started off the ceremony by giving a speech in which he talked about the history of NPAAA, briefly discussed the honorees, and introduced the emcees, Joe Heyer and Kyle Berger.

Heyer introduced the first honoree, the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Patricia Henry. Henry was previously recognized by the NPAAA back in 2008 when she was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

As a graduate of the NPHS class of 1967, Henry came back to teach and coach at North Penn. She earned much success in her time as a coach; for she won eight league championships, one PIAA State Title and oversaw four individuals and eleven relay teams achieve the status of All-America. Currently, Henry is the Senior Associate Director of Athletics at Harvard University.

Talking about North Penn today, Henry said that “it’s a different place than the one I left decades ago. This place is really, really hopping and it’s fabulous.”

Henry was also honored Friday when she delivered a speech and held a question and answer session for members of the current North Penn student body.

After Henry’s recognition, Berger began the introduction of the eight athletes named to the Hall of Fame: Dave Costlow (’99), Daniel Finacchio (’88), Steve Johnston (’97), Christine Albright Kerber (’59), John Raeburn (’92), Andy Serang (’94), Jim Williams (’92), and Jeff Yeakel (’94).

Each inductee took the time during their acceptance speech to thank their mentors, teammates, and especially family that has helped them on their journey through North Penn and beyond. On top of that, honorees also thanked North Penn for the tremendous opportunities.

Williams owed his success in college to North Penn because it “prepared him to be the best possible student” and athlete. Similarly, Costlow commented on his time at North Penn saying that it was “foundational” on his path to success.

Raeburn spoke for all of the athletes when he said that this was a surreal experience because a lot of them “never imagined that [they’d] be back here tonight”.

The next honoree made history, for Daniel Gallagher (’90) is the first individual to receive the special recognition from the NPAAA.

Said to be “one of the most versatile athletes to ever come through North Penn High School”, Gallagher was a dedicated athlete during his time in North Penn as a member of the Track and Field and Bowling teams. While still at North Penn, Gallagher also competed in the Special Olympics in Track and Field, Aquatics, Basketball, and many more.

The love and passion Gallagher had for athletics carried on past North Penn, for to this date he has completed two half marathons, over a dozen 5Ks and 10Ks, and also biked 1100 miles from Los Angeles, California to Santa Fe, New Mexico in eleven days.

Just like other inductees, Gallagher said that he is here tonight “because of the many opportunities he had in the North Penn School District”. He went on to thank each and every one of his coaches that played a part in his success.

Gallagher finished off his speech by encouraging the audience to “have courage, set goals, accept challenges, and grow [your] self-esteem”.

To finish out the ceremony, four North Penn sport teams were inducted into the Hall of Fame because of their state championships victories. Among the inductees were the 2006 Boys Indoor Track and Field team, 2007 Boys Cross Country team, 2008 Boys Indoor Track and Field team and 2008 Boys Cross Country team.

The four teams each had a representative speak about their team’s success. All of them touched on the fact that the bond was not broken between “their brothers” and “second family”.

“It’s a great honor,” commented Zack Montijo, a member of the  ’07 cross country team and ’08 track team, “Seeing all of these guys and seeing my coaches is excellent. This is as [close] as I get to being emotional these days.”

The night ended with a reception in the sports lobby where the honorees and spectators could catch a glimpse of the new plaques hanging on the wall.

“Overall, the night went really well,” said Thomas Strickland “I thought the inductees were very well spoken. They did a nice job of expressing themselves and [showing] their appreciation for their time at North Penn and being inducted into the Hall of Fame.”

The North Penn Alumni Athletic Association is always looking for more support. To find out more information or to make a donation, check out the NPAAA Knight Site: www.npaaa.org.