For the second year in a row, the Panther Valley Irish-American Association has selected a woman who has been involved in community, church and school activities to receive its Shamrock Award.

When the association holds its 68th Annual St. Patrick's Day Banquet, Mary (Schilling) Hnat, a longtime presence in the Panther Valley and her hometown of Coaldale, will be the guest of honor, the association paying tribute to the dedicated role she played for many years in the community.The dinner program will be held in Summit Hill's Community Center on St. Patrick's Day,March 17, where PVIAA President Brandon Gurka will present the Shamrock Award to this year's honoree, and the association members will continue a tradition of celebrating their Irish heritage that started back in 1948."I was really surprised, but honored," said the 2016 award recipient. "I know not many women have received the award, and I feel very special that they (PVIAA members) would consider me for such a prestigious honor." Hnat is the seventh female winner, behind Agnes McCartney, Sr. Mary Florence, Patricia Haughton, Margaret Kozuch, Loretta Bonner and Kathy Crampsie.She reflected, "Growing up, Aunt Alice (Schilling) instilled in us the great pride she had of our Irish heritage, and that's something that has been passed in our families. We have always been interested in our heritage and how Irish values affected our lives."Those values - commitment to family, community, church and school - resonate throughout Hnat's life."To us, life is about family and faith, and I was fortunate to be able to help support things that centered around those things," said Hnat, who lives with her husband, Joseph "Pirate," at 24 W. High St. in Coaldale.The mother of four boys, Hnat says she is proud to see her children now giving back to their own communities, a quality which built the family life of the Panther Valley communities.The lifelong resident of Coaldale is a daughter of the late Thomas (Gildea, Maloney) and Cecelia (McGeehan) Schilling and graduated in 1967 from Marian High School.She and her husband have four sons, Joseph, and his wife, Tracey, and their daughter, Nilah, of Melbourne, Florida; Corey, and his wife, Janet, and their sons, Justin and Connor, and daughter, Molly, of Wayne; Kyle, and his wife, Dawn, and sons, Chase and Blake, of Clarks Summit; and Ryan, and his wife, Amy, of Scranton.She has five siblings: Carol, wife of Tony Pajakinas of Summit Hill; Tim, and his wife, Ann Marie, and Cletus, both of Coaldale, Thomas, deceased; and Alice, wife of Scott Frederick of Ringtown.Her community involvement dates back over four decades, when in 1975, she started a weekly story hour for children ages 4 and 5 in the Coaldale Complex, which later evolved into a 4-H program for children from Lansford and Coaldale under the Schuylkill County 4-H program.She was a den mother for many years for Pack 762 of Coaldale, helped start a venture scouting troop and assisted Scout Troop 762 of Coaldale. In 2002, Hnat was the recipient of the Broad Mountain District Scouting Award of Merit for her many years of involvement in Scouting.Active in the CYO program at St. Michael's in Lansford, she served as coordinator for the program for many years and assisted as a basketball coach for fourth- and fifth-grade boys for two years. She and her husband were honored for 20 years of service to CYO by St. Michael's in 1998.Hnat served as treasurer of the St. Michael's School Association for many years and helped to re-establish the CHOSE program for Coaldale youths in 1976 and assisted in starting the Mini-Olympics, annual Halloween party and annual tree-lighting events.She was treasurer of the 100th anniversary of Coaldale Borough and served on many of the committees.She has helped with fundraising for the Lansford Little League, Marian boys' basketball program and the Miners Memorial new ICU project.As a member of the former St. Mary's of the Assumption Catholic Church in Coaldale, she coordinated the altar servers, was involved with fundraising efforts, sang in the choir and served as a Eucharistic Minister. She is a member of St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church in Lansford, where she served on the finance committee.She is a past president of the Panther Valley Daughters of Mary, a past president and current member of the Panther Valley Women's Club and a member of the Friendship Club of the Tamaqua Area.When her niece, Ashley Frederick, became ill with an autoimmune disease and started her own nonprofit organization, "Pages of Positivity," Hnat got on board, doing fundraising and serving as treasurer of the group, which sends journals to people with illnesses, stressing positive thoughts to help them deal with their difficulties.She retired from the Jim Thorpe National Bank in 2014.The banquet will begin with a social hour from 6-7 p.m., followed by the dinner and the program. Tickets to the dinner can be obtained from the following association members: Summit Hill, Bob Crampsie, 570-645-7621, and Billy O'Gurek, 570-527-6693; Lansford, Emmett McCall, 570-645-2093; Coaldale, Robert Ames, 570-645-3587.