The Carbon County Hall of Sports Hall of Fame committee will hold its 2025 induction dinner and program on Sunday, May 25, at the Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company hall.

The ceremony will honor 17 inductees from five Carbon County communities and Coaldale and Tamaqua who were selected for the honor by committees representing each of the towns. The doors will open at 12:30 p.m. and the banquet will commence at 1:45.

The inductees include:

Coaldale: Dennis Gildea and Sami Vavra.

Jim Thorpe: Corey Cinicola, Justin Young and Chris “Chopper” Figura.

Lansford: Bob Thomas and Charles “Sparky” Williams; special recognition: Brenda Banks.

Lehighton: Roger Neff, Jean Buskirk and Thomas A. Schaeffer.

Nesquehoning: Frank J. Damian, Bobby Agosti and Elizabeth “Lisa” (Evans) Johnson.

Summit Hill: Casey Lawrence and Richard D. Smith Jr.

Tamaqua: Michael W. Hromyak Jr. and Jon Bonner.

Tickets to the event are available from the following: Dan McGinley, 570-325- 3550, Vince Spisak, 570-645-4542, Jake Boyer, 610-751-6634, Trevor Lawrence, 570-645-4722, Bill Gardiner, 570-669- 6564, Bob Gelatko, 570-645-7565, and Evan Evans, 570-645-7716.

The Times News will begin running the biographies of the inductees by town on Saturdays. The inductees representing Lehighton are as follows:

Roger Neff

Roger Neff was a star wrestler and football player at Lehighton Area High School from 1982-85.

Until 2014, he was one of only two wrestlers to have won over 90 percent of their bouts. He was one of only nine wrestlers (including his brother, Glenn Neff) to be both District 11 and Northeastern Regional champions - this with only three years of wrestling under his belt - no wrestling exposure before high school. He wrestled the best in the AAA, competing against two top wrestlers from Liberty, Easton and across the state to Pittsburgh.

Roger was also a member of the Lehighton football team that was the District 11 runner-up, losing only to Liberty High in Bethlehem.

After he passed in 2013, the family discovered papers indicating Roger had received multiple college offers, including Lehigh University and a number of major western universities (Iowa, Oklahoma and Nebraska) for his wrestling accomplishments. He attended nearby East Stroudsburg University and coached at Jim Thorpe Area High School.

In 1988, Roger transferred to North Idaho College, where he became an All American and then coach of the NJCCA, whose teams had wrestlers who attained 14 national and 259 All American honors (the NJCCA record). While making his home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Roger began training for the Olympics. He was an alternate for the 1992 Barcelona team, becoming a trials finalist in both freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling.

In 2000, Roger left coaching to get back into the ring himself and simultaneously joined Dave Smith Motors (largest auto dealer in he Northwestern U.S.) in the sales department. Roger found a supportive corporate leadership staff which afforded him time off for athletic training. He became involved in mixed martial arts and a second career took him all over the U.S. (including residencies in Las Vegas to train with world champions in mixed martial arts and Brazilian Ju Jitzu, Rico Rodrigues and John Lewis), as well as the UK and United Arab Emirates.

All the while, he was honing his sales skills (he was a natural here as well) and his competitive nature was evident. Dave Smith’s support paid off. By 2008, Roger was awarded Sales Professional of the Year as Chrysler Corporation’s top salesperson in the country.

In 2010, Roger opened his own successful gym in Coeur d’Alene, with athletes competing with some of the best, from Ken Shamrock and the famous Lion’s Den gym.

Gone too soon, Roger died in 2013. He packed a lot of life into the years he had with us.

Jean Buskirk

Jean Buskirk played Little League Baseball in Franklin Township from 1980-85 and started on the 12U 1983 District 18 finalist Franklin Township All Star team, playing third base. She also was selected to be a member of the 13U all star team while continuing with Franklin Township at the Babe Ruth level.

Jean also excelled in the Lehighton recreational softball and baseball leagues, as well as in track and field.

She graduated from Lehighton Area High School in 1989, but not before earning nine letters and achieving the Top Scholar Athlete award for her graduating class. She started for four years on both the basketball and softball teams and was selected as an all-league player in both sports in her sophomore, junior and senior years. She led the Indians to the 1987 Centennial League softball championship. Jean was also a member of the cross country team in her senior year and played off-season softball for the Slatedale club and played basketball in the summer league in Emmaus.

She graduated in 1993 from Bloomsburg University and was a four-year member of the softball team, leading the team to four NCAA championship final appearances, including a second-place finish, two third-place finishes and a fourth-place finish. She was named to the NCAA All Mid-Atlantic region teams in 1992 and 1993 and the 1991 and 1993 All NCAA Tournament teams.

She was a four-time All PSAC East selection and a three-time All Region first team choice. Jean was a two-time first team All American, a two-time ECAC Division II South Region Player of the Year and the 1993 PSAC East Player of the Year. She graduated as Bloomsburg’s all-time leader in career hits with 235 and helped the Huskies to a four-year record of 170-25.

After her collegiate athletic career, Jean was selected to try out for the USA Olympic team in 1993. She made it to the second round of the final 60 where she was selected to participate in the 1994 Olympic festival. She went on to play ASA fast-pitch softball at the Class A and Major levels and participated in numerous ASA National Championship tournaments, helping her teams finish as high as national runner-up. She was named an ASA All American four separate times.

Jean also has had several stints as a collegiate softball coach. She coached at West Chester University for the 1995-97 seasons as an assistant and then interim coach. She was an assistant coach at Wilkes University from 2017-19 and has been an assistant coach at Muhlenberg College from 2020 to the present.

Jean is currently employed as a senior project manager in the information technology industry. She earned a master of science degree in information technology from Penn State University and also earned her project management professional certification from the Project Management Institute.

Thomas A. Schaeffer

Tom Schaeffer was a prominent figure in the Lehighton Area High School athletic programs for over 45 years as an assistant coach and head coach in three different sports.

He graduated from Muhlenberg College in 1959 and began his teaching career in chemistry at Lehighton. Tom served as the Science Department

chairman, grades K-12, from 1967-2000.

In 1970, he earned a master’s degree in chemistry-geology from Colby College. In 1972, he was awarded the Benjamin Rush Award for being one of the top 10 chemical educators in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Tom began his coaching career in 1960 as the JV basketball coach. The following year, he was named head basketball coach, a position he held until 1971. During his head coach tenure, four players were named to All State teams. Later, from 1982-87, he was the freshman basketball coach, then JV coach from 1989-93, and finally, varsity coach again from 1993-94. He was also the girls’ basketball coach from 1975-76, including a season the team went 18-5, a Lehighton Area High School best record ever.

Tom was also responsible for the introduction of the golf program at Lehighton. He began as an advisor to the Golf Club and in 1965 became the head coach of the newly-formed golf team. He served as head coach for an astounding 40 years before leaving that position in 2005. During his tenure, the golf team won six Centennial League championships and five tournament championships. Five of his players reached the PIAA state tournament and nine went on to compete at the college level.

Tom also had a passion form baseball. He was named JV baseball coach from 1976-77 and then was named head coach in 1978. He led the LAHS baseball team from 1978-96, a total of 18 years. Six times, the team qualified for the district tournament. Eight of his players went on to play baseball at the collegiate level. To provide baseball expertise after the school year, Tom supervised and instructed in the Lehighton Junior League baseball program from 1970-92, helping young ball players refine their skills and learn more about the game of baseball.

Tom was more than a coach to his players. When a player indicated a desire to further his athletic career at the college level, Tom wrote letters of recommendation and made personal phone calls to college coaches on behalf of his players. His success in assisting players from golf, baseball and basketball teams to reach the collegiate level reflects his dedication to these students.

Tom was also known as the voice of Lehighton Indian football from 1968-2005. During this time in the press box, he gave football fans knowledgeable commentary of the game every Friday night. Tom was a valuable supporter of the Indian football program, realizing the importance of athletic programs for the students at Lehighton High.

Tom’s career at Lehighton while coaching three sports and supporting Lehighton athletics yielded some astounding numbers - 41 years teaching chemistry, 22 years coaching basketball, 40 years coaching golf and 19 years coaching baseball. Throw in 22 years as a supervisor and coach for the Lehighton Junior League and 37 years as the voice of Indian football and you realize that Tom Schaeffer gave a lifetime of dedication and sacrifice to the Lehighton Area High School athletic programs.