The Lehighton Education and Athletic Foundation announces that four Lehighton Area High School graduates have been named as the 2024 Graduates of Distinction.

LEAF honors graduates who have achieved a lifetime of noteworthy success in their chosen career and have further distinguished themselves by contributions to society at the local, state or national level.

The 2024 Graduates of Distinction will be honored at a banquet at the Lehighton American Legion, Post 314, beginning at 6 p.m. May 17. For ticket information, contact Tim Tkach at 570-657-6700 or email at sharptkach@yahoo.com.

The application period for LEAF’s 2025 Graduates of Distinction will end Feb. 28. The application can be found at LEAF-Foundation.org. Those selected as Graduates of Distinction for 2025 will also be honored with the 2024 selectees at the banquet on May 17.

The four selected as the 2024 Graduates of Distinction are:

Maynard Ahner II Class of 1984

Maynard Ahner II graduated from Lehighton Area High School in 1984. He applied for and was awarded an appointment to the West Point Class of 1988 and began his four years at West Point in June 1984. Maynard was a Distinguished Graduate and Rhodes Scholar candidate when he completed his West Point education in 1988 and earned his B.S. in aerospace engineering. Maynard went on to receive his M.S. in business administration in 1992 from Boston University.

After several tours in the U.S. Army, including a tour as the commander of B Company, 249th Signals Battalion at Fort Belvoir, and service with the Texas Army National Guard, Maynard began a 25-plus year career in the banking industry with a position as the chief information officer for Eagle Capital Mortgage. He then spent two years as the director of information technology for BNY Mellon.

In 2001 he began working for PNC Bank in various positions over 14 years, culminating with being named business information officer, senior vice president, Enterprise Credit Services. Maynard was then hired as a technology executive for Bank of America, a position he remained in for two years.

In 2017, he was named general manager of the Software Division for Finastra, one of the largest financial/technical companies in the world.

Because of his extensive experience and expertise in technology in the banking industry, he moved to Wells Fargo Bank as a product management executive responsible for commercial banking strategy and transformation. Maynard is currently chief technology officer and Product Management Group leader — Commercial Banking Organizations, for Wells Fargo. He leads a team of executives focused on Al enablement, cloud delivery and agile business value delivery.

Maynard is a governing board member of Evanta and a board member of the Versana Fintech board. He also served on the Kansas Workforce Commission and acted as the coach for youth soccer and baseball teams.

Maynard was named PNC’s Chairman Circle Winner Award in 2004 and 2008, and was named the Best Global Product Manager for Finastra in 2020. He continues his affiliation with West Point, acting as Class of 1988 treasurer and class gift chairman and helping recruiting efforts as a district West Point recruiter.

He and his wife, Jennifer, are active in church and community activities, supporting the Salvation Army and animal rescue programs in their area.

They reside in Grapevine, Texas, and have four children — Amelia, Charlie, William and Jessica. Amelia and Jessica are U.S. Air Force Academy graduates currently serving in the Air Force.

Rick Merluzzi Class of 1975

Rick Merluzzi graduated from Lehighton Area High School in 1975. He continued his studies at Penn State University, where he graduated in 1979 with a B.S. in civil engineering.

In 1981, Rick was then selected for the MBA program in international finance at Drexel University and received his MBA degree in 1983. His executive studies continued throughout his career with courses at Harvard and Columbia universities, and the University of Virginia’s Darden School: Center for Creative Leadership.

Rick began a successful business career with Mobil Oil in 1979, where he worked for eight years as a project engineer and financial analyst. The next 10 years he worked for FMC Corp. as a marketing manager and business director.

In 1998, he was named president of Edlon Inc., a specialty manufacturer of fluoropolymer-based products. During his seven years at Edlon, he successfully integrated the merger of two acquired companies that expanded the Edlon’s industrial footprint.

In 2005, he was selected as president and CEO of Pennex Aluminum, a Metal Exchange Corp. (MEC) subsidiary. Under Rick’s innovative leadership, Pennex quadrupled in size via acquisitions and organic growth.

During this spectacular growth period, Pennex was recognized by the industry as the number one company in customer satisfaction. After serving as CEO at Pennex for three years, Rick was named in 2012 as president of manufacturing for MEC, assuming responsibilities for all MEC worldwide companies. Then, in 2015, Rick was selected as CEO of MEC, a position he held for eight years. In 2023, Rick became executive vice chairman of MX Holdings, a position he currently holds.

Rick currently serves as a board member of Pennsylvania Global Business Advisors, the Penn State Distinguished Alumni board, Penn State board member for executive and graduate programs, member of the board of directors for the Aluminum Extruders Council, United Way, and is chairman of the Friends and Family Against Prostate Cancer.

He has been presented with numerous awards for leadership in the nonferrous metal industry and has been recognized for his many volunteer hours for community projects.

Rick and his wife, Kathy, also created a $40,000, four-year scholarship to Penn State for Lehighton Area High School students interested in pursuing a degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). Students must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average and meet other eligibility requirement to continue to receive scholarship funds.

Rick and Kathy reside in West Chester. Rick literally has a family of engineers: his wife has a degree in chemical engineering from Notre Dame; son Rick has a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Cornell; son Alex has a civil engineering degree from Lehigh; and son Andrew has a chemical engineering degree from Villanova.

Thomas A. Polk Class of 1950

Thomas A. Polk (deceased) was a 1950 graduate of Lehighton Area High School. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served during the Korean War.

For 13 years he rose through the enlisted ranks, serving at various locations including duty on the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga.

In 1963, he was selected for Officer Candidate School and was rewarded with a commission in the Navy as an ensign. After his Navy retirement in 1974 as a lieutenant commander, Thomas worked for and earned his associate degree from Cecil Community College in 1978.

Thomas’s naval career spanned over 24 years as a member of the Navy’s enlisted and officer corps. His tours took him all over the world, including Panama, where his oldest daughter, Tedi-Anne, was born.

During his tours in the Caribbean area, one of his assignments was the aide to the admiral in charge of Caribbean operations. This experience led him to be named for two special assignment tours in the Pentagon on the Navy Staff.

The first was as the aide to the vice chief of Naval Operations (VCNO), Adm. Claude Ricketts. The second, based on his outstanding performance with Ricketts, was the aide to the chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Adm. David McDonald. Thomas’s selection for the two important assignments reflected his unique perspective of naval life, having served as both an enlisted member and an officer. His experience was well respected, and that experience made him an invaluable asset on the Navy Staff, particularly with his duties as aide to the VCNO and CNO.

After leaving the Navy, Thomas moved back to his Lehighton home. He continued his service to the military by working with Lehighton’s American Legion Post 314, the Wounded Warriors Program, Gary Sinise Foundation and the highly successful Trees for Troops Program sponsored by Yenser’s Tree Farm.

Thomas also contributed to many charities, including the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Lehighton Library, Lehighton Fire Association and the Lehighton Ambulance Association. He further served the Lehighton community as the Lehighton zoning officer for many years.

Thomas also had four generations of his family that served in the Navy — himself; his son Thomas II; grandson Marc; and great-grandson Derrick.

Thomas had four children, Thomas II, Tedi Anne, Tina and Timothy, and four stepchildren, Fiane, Donnalyn, Barbara and Charles. His widow, Dolores Polk, currently resides in Lehighton.

Dennis Yenser Class of 1964

Dennis Yenser is a 1964 graduate of Lehighton Area High School, where he lettered in football and baseball, playing all four years in both sports, and was named captain for both sports in his senior year.

After graduating, Dennis enrolled in the prelaw program at New Mexico State University, where he received a scholarship to play football and baseball. He was a member of the New Mexico State Aggies baseball team, where he played four years and was the team captain in his senior year. He also played a year on the Aggies football team.

While at New Mexico State, he enrolled in the U.S. Army ROTC program and upon graduation in 1968 received his commission in the as a second lieutenant. After graduation, he was assigned to Advanced Infantry School, basic helicopter training, and then, in 1970, advanced helicopter training, at Fort Stewart, Georgia. In 1970-71, he flew combat missions in Vietnam in the UH-I Huey helicopter, facing everyday threats while flying in a dangerous war zone.

He left his Army active-duty position at Fort Carson in Colorado in 1972 and joined the Pennsylvania National Guard as a helicopter pilot from 1972-77. During that time, he also flew helicopters for Keystone Helicopter, evaluating the viability of power lines in eastern Pennsylvania.

His career took a pivotal turn when he became co-owner of Yenser’s Tree Farm in 1971 and then co-owner of Sensinger’s Greenhouses in 1975.

For the next 40-plus years, Dennis dedicated his life to providing Christmas trees, shrubs and flowers to local businesses, other growers and individual customers in the Lehigh and Mahoning valleys.

Dennis was a 26-year member of the Pennsylvania Flower Growers Association and served a term as president of that organization. He also was a 41-year member of the Pennsylvania Christmas Tree Farmers Association. Dennis has been recognized in both his affiliation with Sensinger’s Greenhouses and Yenser’s Tree Farm.

In 1993, the Pennsylvania Flower Growers Association honored him with Pennsylvania’s Grower of the Year Award for his outstanding management and success at Sensinger’s. In 2003, Dennis was again honored by the Lehighton Chamber of Commerce as its Business Person of the Year, citing success at both Sensinger’s Greenhouses and the Yenser Tree farm.

As a Vietnam veteran, Dennis has been regularly active in military events supporting all veterans. He is a lifetime member of American Legion Post 314 in Lehighton and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. In each organization, he has generously given of his time, funds and effort for programs. Each year, he maintains the Vietnam Memorial on Third Street in Lehighton. He was instrumental in establishing the successful Trees for Troops program that began in 2005. Every year, about 1,000 Christmas trees grown at Yenser’s Tree Farm, purchased by local businesses and individuals for a small donation, are sent to military personnel all over the world. This effort continues to this day and is proudly supported each year by Dennis and the entire Yenser family.

Of significant note has been his volunteer service at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. He is a cemetery committee member and has managed and maintained burial records for the last 40 years.

Dennis currently resides in Lehighton, with his wife, Jane. They have three children — Amanda, Laura and Jon.