The annual Carbon County Hall of Fame banquet will be held Sunday, May 28, at Memorial Hall, Jim Thorpe.

The program will start promptly at 1 p.m. with the dinner, followed by individual inductions of 24 persons who attained athletic accomplishments.This year's inductees are:Palmerton - Bart Wagner, Gerald Rehrig and Art George.Lehighton - Dennis Rehrig, Jerry Serfass and Bruce Barry.Nesquehoning - Ed Wise, Robert Coombe and Thomas Zaengle.Lansford - Dennis Boyle, Dave Padora and Joe Petko.Jim Thorpe - Brad Shanfelt, John McGowan and John Searfoss.Summit Hill - Chris Zuber, Fenton Black and Jennifer (Blasko) Gaines.Coaldale - Evan Evans, Ed Hedes and Greg Posta.Tamaqua - Lisa Willing, Howie Miller, Dennis Pastucha.Banquet tickets can be purchased from the following Hall of Fame committee members: Danny McGinley 570-325-3550, Emmett McCall 570-645-2093, Vince Spisak (570-645-4542), Art George (610-826-2830), Jake Boyer (610-751-6634), Trevor Lawrence (570-645-4722), Bill Gardiner (570-669-6564), Bob Gelatko (570-645-8652), Evan Evans (570-645-7716), Tom Bonner (570-386-2516), Herb Welsh (570-760-1744). Tickets are $35 for adults. For children under 12, the cost is $15.Below are biographies of the Palmerton inductees:Bart WagnerBart was the head coach of the boys' and girls' cross country teams at Palmerton Area High School during the years 1993-94 and 1997-98.Coaching the girls' team during this period, his teams had a fine record overall of 102 wins and only 29 losses. The wins are the most in the school's sports history, as were his wins in "league meets," where his coaching record was 83-21. He also during this stint coached Colonial Meet Champion Amanda Samok in 1995-96.Coaching the boys' teams during this same period, Bart's record overall was 76-55, and in league meets, he was 14-2.In 1995-96, Bart coached Jeff Dobias, who finished first in every run during the regular season, to the Colonial League Meet and the District 11 AA Championships.Bart also served as an assistant coach in the boys' and girls' track and field program in the Spring, from 1993-98, handling the boys and girls distance runners.During this period, he coached Jeff Minnich to his 3200-meter championship run in the 1994 Centennial League Meet.In 1995, his distance runners helped the Palmerton boys' team win the Colonial League and Colonial League Meet championships.In 1996, Bart coached the girls' 3200-meter relay team to the Colonial League Meet Championship. During the same year, he coached Amanda Samok in the 1600-meter run, where she won both the Colonial Meet League and District 11 championships.In 1997, He once again helped Samok win championships in the 800-meter and 1600-meter runs in the Colonial League Meet. She went on to win the District 11 AA 1600-meter run title.Bart coached Dobias when he won the 1998 Colonial League Meet championship in the 1600-meter run and the 3200-meter run. His coaching helped Dobias to be undefeated in nboth runs during the season.Bart's coaching efforts also helped Samok, for four years running, to qualify for the PIAA State Track and Field Meet each Spring. He was a coaching asset to both programs.Art GeorgeBorn in Palmerton, Art is a 1980 graduate of Palmerton Area High School who played basketball, baseball, cross country and golf for the Blue Bombers. He graduated in 1984 with a communications degree from Elizabethtown College, for whom he played basketball as well.A two-year starter and letter winner with 505 points as a senior, Art led the team in scoring and was second in rebounding as the Bombers posted a 25-7 record, won the Centennial League and the District 11 AA championships - the school's first since 1956 - and advanced to the PIAA State Tournament.Averaging over 15 ppg during the season, he hit for 17.6 ppg in districts and scored 25.5 ppg in the states.Art was a First Team Centennial League All Star, selected as the District 11 AA Tourney MVP by the Times News, and was named the Most Outstanding Senior Basketball Player at Palmerton.He set a game record with 18 rebounds in the Lehigh valley All Star Basketball Classic. As a junior, he averaged double figures and was a Second Team Centennial League All Star. He scored over 750 points in two varsity seasons.In baseball, he won three letters and was a designated hitter/first baseman for the Bombers' 1978 Centennial League champions. As a junior, Art batted .444, third best in Carbon County, had 24 hits and 18 RBI, led the team in fewest strikeouts per at-bat (3-in-54), had a .566 slugging percentage and a fielding percentage of .960 at first base, and was an Honorable Mention Centennial League All Star.As a senior, the Bombers reached districts. He was a First Team Centennial League All Star at first base, again had the team's fewest strikeouts per at-bat (5-in-60), and had a fielding average of .976.At PHS, he batted .326 with a .970 fielding percentage. In Palmerton Legion Baseball, he was an All Star first baseman and, in his first pitching start ever, he threw a one-hitter.At Elizabethtown, Art won four varsity letters in basketball, was a three-year starter, scored over 600 points and played every position for the Blue Jays.As a senior tri-captain, he averaged double figures and shot 51 percent from the field. In 1983 and 1984, he won the John J. Shepard Jr. Scholarship for Academic Achievement and Athletic Performance.Art works at Air Products as an External Communications and Public Relations manager. Living in Slatington, he is the proud father of five children - Art IV (Tad), Tanner, Addison, Thatcher and Quintin.Gerald RehrigJerry is a Bowmanstown native and a 1955 graduate of the old Palmerton High School.While in high school, he varsity lettered three years in football, beginning as a starting guard in his sophomore year. To add to his credentials during his playing years, he played both offense and defense in all participating games, which was quite a feat, displaying his exceptional physical condition.In 1954, he was selected First Team guard on the All Lehigh Valley League football team for his outstanding play as a lineman. This was followed in 1955 with his selection to the First Team backfield on the All Lehigh Valley League team. This subsequently led to him receiving the award as the greatest contribution to the 1955 Palmerton High School football team.Jerry also participated in the track and field weight events of shot put and discus. His participation began in 1953 when he placed first in the shot put at the B'nai B'rith Lehigh Valley AAU Olympics Track and Field Meet. Throwing the shot put and discus during his high school days, he earned athletic letters in 1954 and 1955.Jerry graduated from Muhlenberg College in 1959, attaining an A.B. DEGREE. In 1956, he played football on the freshman team as a starting offensive guard and defensive lineman.In 1957, he moved up to the varsity, maintaining his position as a starting offensive guard and defensive lineman, where through the next three seasons, except when he was called upon to fulfill additional duties as a fullback. He was one of the finest at all assigned playing positions.In 1956, Jerry was introduced to college wrestling. He had never previously wrestled competitively since during the time he attended PHS, the school did not participate in the sport. Moving into his sophomore year, he shared varsity wrestling duties with another heavyweight wrestler while gaining a more practical and all-around knowledge of the sport.In his junior year, 1958, he developed into one of the best wrestlers the school had at the time, going 10-1 and finishing the year winning the Middle Atlantic Heavyweight championship. He also had 17 consecutive wins during the 1958-59 years.Continuing into his senior year, 1959, Jerry took third place in the MAC tournament, losing only to the year's heavy weight champion.He also lettered in track and field, throwing the shot put and discus. He was selected team captain in 1959. He was only one of two Muhlenberg athletes who lettered in three sports in 57-58-59.After graduating from Muhlenberg, Jerry joined the U.S. Navy. As a Naval aviator (1960-81), he conducted flight operations aboard the aircraft carriers Antietam, Wasp, Intrepid, Lexington, Yorktown, Saratoga, Ranger, Independence, Kitty Hawk, Constellation and Enterprise.Later, he worked for McDonnell Douglas/Boeing as a production test/training pilot (1981-2001), was a simulator instructor (2001-06) and served as a customer service representative (2006-09).Jerry is married for 56 years and has four daughters.