The Carbon County Sports Hall of Fame will hold its 27th Annual Induction Ceremony on Sunday, May 29, at the Franklin Township Fire Company hall.

Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. and the banquet will begin at 1:45.

Tickets to the dinner program are $35 for adults and $15 for children under 12 and can be purchased from the following committee members: Danny McGinley, 570-325-3550, 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, and Evan Evans, 570-645-7716.

Inductees were selected in 2020 but because of COVID-19, no ceremonies were held in the past two years. They include:

Coaldale

– Gene Collier, Bob “Bogie” Griffiths and Bernie Radocha.

Jim Thorpe

– August “Matt” Long, Jim McHugh and Eric Schrantz.

Lansford

– Michael Lukac Jr., Brian Raabe, George Neyer and Peter Prosper (George LaRover).

Lehighton

– Suzanne (Rehrig) Howland, Tom Keer and George E. Zellers Jr.

Nesquehoning

– Dr. Michael S. Bales, Gerry M. Farnsworth and Dr. Richard G. Miller.

Palmerton

– Jeff Dobias, Amanda (Samok) Rex, Rodney Strohl and George Schmidt.

Summit Hill

– Robert Bydlon, Joseph Gillespie and David McAndrew.

The Lehighton inductees include:

Suzanne (Rehrig) Howland

Suzanne (Rehrig) Howland is a 1991 graduate of Lehighton Area High School, where she earned Centennial League All Star status in field hockey and basketball and competed in the 400, 800 and 1600 meter runs and the 3200 meter relay team for four years.

While at Lehighton, she earned nine varsity letters in track (four), basketball (three) and field hockey (two).

In her senior year, 1991, she was named Most Valuable Player of the field hockey and track teams. She was a member of the Centennial League All Star field hockey game, playing goalie. She was named to the Centennial League team in the annual LARC Girls’ Basketball All Star Game.

Suzanne continued her athletic success at Albright College, where she was recruited to play field hockey and basketball and run track at the Division 3 level. She elected to play basketball for two seasons, 1991-92 and 1992-93, earning two varsity letters.

She graduated in 1995 with a dual degree, earning bachelor of arts degrees in Sociology-Family Studies and Elementary Education. She received the 1995 Cura Award for developing a tutoring partnership between the Reading School District and Albright from 1993-95.

Howland continued her education by receiving a Master in Special Education Degree (2000, East Stroudsburg University), an Educational Leadership-Principal Certificate K-12 (2007, Penn State University) and her Superintendent Certificate (2017, University of Scranton).

She taught in Massachusetts and in the Pleasant Valley School District, and, since 2000, has been employed by the Lehighton Area School District.

In 2012, she was named elementary principal at the East Penn and Franklin schools in the district, and since 2017 has been principal of the high school.

Suzanne resides in Lehighton with her husband, Dr. William Howland. They have two children, Addison and Anna.

Tom Keer

Tom Keer, a 1985 graduate of Lehighton Area High School, quarterbacked the Indians to an impressive 30-3 record and two Centennial League championships (1982 and 1984) before taking his talents to Lehigh University where he played for legendary coach John Whitehead.

He and his teammates’ success at LAHS also included the first undefeated (11-0) regular season in the school’s history.

Signs of Tom’s prowess showed up at an early age, as he was a semifinalist in the National Punt, Pass and Kick competition. He went on to call the plays for the Indians’ 9-1, 10-1 and 11-1 seasons, garnering numerous honors and awards along the way. Before he left town, he collected 10 varsity letters, four in football, three in basketball and two in baseball.

His honors included being named honorable mention QB in the Centennial League as a sophomore, followed by First Team league honors as a QB and honorable mention as a D-back as a junior, and being named First Team QB, D-back and Punter as a senior.

Tom was the Morning Call’s defensive back of the year in both 1983 and 1984, the same years in which he was named an honorable mention selectee at that position.

In his senior year, Keer was Lehighton’s football MVP and Offensive MVP; the school’s Scholar-Athlete; and the school’s Outstanding Male Athlete. He was the Times News scoring leader as a junior.

Along the way, Keer set the Indians’ record for TDs in a season (18 in 1984), TDs in a career (45 from 82-84), records that held up until 2009 and 2013, respectively. He finished his scholastic career by playing in the 1985 LARC All Star Game.

Moving on to Lehigh, Tom earned varsity letters in 86,87 and 88, playing QB, safety, cornerback and nickel back, doing the punting and kickoffs, and playing “gunner” on special teams.

On the basketball court, Keer tallied 890 points in three seasons (82-85), and twice had career high games of 26 points (vs. Salisbury in a District 11 game in 1984 and vs. Tamaqua in a district tilt the following year, when he played every minute of a triple overtime game). He led the team in rebounding in 84-85, when he was also the team captain; was named the 85 Centennial League Second Team; and played in the 1985 LARC All Star Game.

On the diamond, Keer pitched, played first base and outfield and was a designated hitter for the Indians in 1983 and 1984. In the latter season, he led the team in hitting and RBIs and once went five-for-five at the plate.

Tom graduated from Lehigh in 1989 with a bachelor of science degree in marketing. He and his wife, Christine, reside in Franklin Township and are the proud parents of three children, JT (football at Wilkes), Sarah (field hockey at Temple) and Daniel (baseball at Shepherd), all who have excelled academically and athletically.

He is employed as a sales consultant for JV Carter and is also the co-owner of Mill Run Properties with his brother Bill.

An avid outdoorsman and hiker, Tom is working his way towards completing the Adirondack 46 high peaks with his brother Joe.

George E. Zellers Jr.

A talented baseball player, he made that sport his passion, as George E. Zellers Jr., a 1976 graduate of Lehighton Area High School, became a familiar name in that sport throughout the area and region.

He played on the diamond for the Indians from 1972-75, and later was an outstanding softball player for a number of teams throughout the area, including the Weissport Merchants.

Today, George is joining his father, George E. Sr., as a Lehighton inductee in the county hall, as the elder Zellers was inducted in 1996.

At Lehighton High, in addition to playing baseball, George Jr. competed on the Indians’ freshmen and JV gridiron teams and wrestled as a ninth grader.

As baseball became his first love, George went on to play Legion Baseball for American Legion Post 314, Lehighton, 1972-77, and later moved on to coaching and administrative duties in the sport.

He coached in the Franklin Township Little League, where he was also the vice president, from 1986-97, and became the District 18 Little League Administrator in 1997, holding that position for four years.

He managed the Lehighton Legion baseball team from 2001-2010, during which time he became vice president of the Lehigh Valley Legion Baseball League in 2009, which he served until 2016. George also served as an advisory board member of the Allentown Ambassadors from 1997-2003, and is a former officer of the Twin Valley Softball League.