The Falcon Foundation inducted its Class of 2023 Thursday to the Connellsville Area School District Hall of Fame.
An induction ceremony was conducted 6 p.m. in the high school auditorium.
The new Hall of Fame members comprise:
- Edward Cope, introduced by Ken Washington.
- James Duncan, introduced by Andrea Swan.
- Dr. Michael Grace, introduced by Bob McLuckey.
- Lt. Colonel James Law, introduced by Shawna Little.
- Kyle Martin, introduced by Jane Sandusky.
- Jamie McPoyle, introduced by Jane Sandusky.
- John Nedrow, introduced by Ken Washington.
- Dr. Daniel Shelley, introduced by Ginny Beecher.
- Dr. Daniel Poole, introduced by Shawna Little.
- William Swink, introduced by Bill Wilson.
The Hall of Fame class was introduced Friday at Falcon Stadium before the Connellsville Area football team played host to Hempfield Area.
Edward Cope
Edward Cope, a 1964 Connellsville High School graduate, was nominated by Ceane O’Hanlon-Lincoln.
A retired photographer for the Herald Standard newspaper in Uniontown, Cope began his career at the Daily Courier in Connellsville as a staff photographer in 1968, remaining until 1981.
He also was a partner in a photography business in Connellsville with Charles Rosendale from 1971 to 1983.
He worked in the Monroeville area with the Daily-Tribune Review for a year and a half, then joined the Tribune-Review staff in Greenburg as a reporter/photographer for the Sunday edition.
He worked in Connellsville for more than 19 years, becoming bureau chief of the Tribune-Review Fay-West section. In this position, he wrote stories, edited copy, designed pages and continued to take photographs for the paper.
Cope left the Tribune-Review, for a part-time position as a photographer with the Herald Standard, soon received a full-time position and eventually was promoted to chief photographer.
In addition to photos, Cope produced video presentations for the Herald Standard website.
Cope has been recognized and received awards for outstanding work in photography — most recently as a 2007 finalist in the Golden Quill competition and third place from the State Society of Professional Journalists for a photo titled “In Memory of a Marine.”
He retired in 2011.
Photos spanning 43 years of his work were displayed in October 2012 in the Fayette County Courthouse Law Library. Cope has spoken on photojournalism at West Virginia University, several Pennsylvania state universities and numerous public schools.
Cope continues to contribute freelance photography for the Herald Standard and Daily Courier. He is a lifetime member of the New Haven Hose Company. Ed and wife Susan reside in South Union Township.
James Duncan
A member of the Connellsville High School Class of 1964, James Duncan was nominated by Vicki McWilliams.
He received a bachelor of science degree from California University of Pennsylvania in 1968 and a master’s degree from the university in 1971.
Duncan began his long and distinguished career with the Connellsville Area School District in January 1968, teaching fourth grade at the old Melcroft Elementary School.
The following year, he transferred to the new Saltlick Elementary School where he taught fifth grade.
In 1975, he researched and designed a remedial math program – a first for the school district. The Pennsylvania Department of Education listed it as a model program.
Duncan worked with the program part time and supervised a practicum math lab instituted in all district elementary schools.
In 1979, he began to supervise all remedial math and reading programs and in 1985 was hired as the district’s federal programs coordinator. Two years later Duncan became special education supervisor and later was named curriculum coordinator.
In 1998, he was hired as assistant superintendent and in 2005 became superintendent of schools, remaining in that position until he retired in 2009.
Duncan served the district for 41 years and went on to serve on the school board from 2013 through 2017.
McWilliams said she was honored to work with Duncan during his time as a district administrator and school board member.
She said he treated everyone with respect and showed appreciation for the hard work and dedication by others.
She stated Duncan was knowledgeable as an administrator because he had experience in so many positions, and because of his many years of service within the schools and the community.
McWilliams said Duncan could be depended on for giving good advice and he inspired to her to go back to college and earn a degree while she was in her late 30s.
Duncan was dedicated to his work but always emphasized “family first.” He is married to Nancy, and they have three children, Jim, Tammy and Robbie. The Duncans have five grandsons.
Michael A. Grace
A 1998 Connellsville Area High School graduate, Michael A. Grace was nominated by Jeff McWilliams.
Grace is president of West Virginia University Hospital and the WVU Health System’s chief administrative officer.
A health care executive for more than 25 years, Grace most recently served as the president and chief executive officer of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital, a 495 bed tertiary and teaching hospital.
In his role at Mercy, he carried on the hospital’s tradition of caring for all as the region’s safety net hospital while advancing the hospital as a key facility within an urban core of hospitals.
Grace previously served as vice president of operations for UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside Hospital, overseeing daily operations for the 520-bed tertiary facility.
He also served as vice president for the Heart and Vascular Institute service line and held several leadership positions within the Physician Service Division academic practice plan, including executive administrator roles in the Cardiovascular Institute and the Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Grace maintains fellow status in the American College of Healthcare Executives. He completed his bachelor’s degree in health care administration, his master’s degree in business administration and his doctorate in organizational change and leadership.
Lt. Col. James M. Law
James M. Law, a 1999 Connellsville Area High School graduate, was nominated by his mother, Mary Ann (Law) Cominsky.
She said Law has always been a good family man, keeping in touch during deployments. Comisky said Law holds his wife Elana and son Rocco in high regard as they have sacrificed a lot during his five deployments.
Comisky said he has always been ambitious and driven to accomplish or surpass any expectations, takes pride in being an Air Force officer and tries to go above and beyond what is expected of him.
In his 22-year U.S. Air Force career Law earned numerous awards and promotions.
Law has earned the rating of master navigator with more than 3,200 hours in the T-43A and C-130 E/H aircraft. Law serves as commander of the 179th Operations Group of the Ohio Air National Guard in Mansfield, Ohio.
The 179th Operations Group comprises of more than 150 Air National Guard members.
Law began active duty in 2000, stationed at Dover Air Force Base as a metal technology specialist.
He received a bachelor of science degree in industrial technology from Southern Illinois University. In 2004, he joined 911th Airlift Wing Air Reserve Station in Pittsburgh, and received a master of business degree in of business administration management from Seton Hill University in 2005.
Law was selected to be a C-130H navigator and graduated from officer training school at Maxwell Air Force Base in 2006.
In 2008, he returned to the 911th Airlift Wing in Pittsburgh and in 2013 joined the 179th Airlift Wing as a dual status technical instructor and navigator of the C-130H Aircraft.
Law has served as chief navigator, chief of standards and evaluations, squadron director of operations, and 179th Operations Support Squadron commander.
He has participated in multiple deployments in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Freedom Sentinel, Inherit Resolve, and Spartan Shield.
His 22-year career has led to numerous educational and training experiences, five deployments and 24 awards and decorations.
Law has received the Combat Readiness Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and Air Force Expeditionary Service Medal.
He entered the Air Force in basic training in September 2000 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in June of 2019.
His mom said she has talked to many of his fellow officers who have conveyed how impressed they are with James. They cite his dedication, fairness, ability to multi-task and his level-headedness in any situation. It all adds up to great leadership ability and a very prominent career in the Air Force.
Kyle Martin
A member of the Connellsville Area High School Class of 2004, Kyle Martin was nominated by Craig Richter, Divito Corteal and Adam Faris.
Kyle was an excellent student at Connellsville Area and an outstanding wrestler.
He was an important member of some very good Falcon teams, wrestled for Penn State Fayette and became the school’s first national champion.
After college, Martin went into teaching, has served 14 years in the Connellsville Area School District and now teaches middle school social studies.
Previously, he taught English at the High School.
At the middle school, he has sponsored a history club that has been recognized nationally and was awarded a Civil War Trust Field Trip Scholarship in 2015.
Martin has organized fundraisers to help preserve the land at Gettysburg National Military Park, organized the second largest Civil War Festival in Pennsylvania in 2015 and he has taken students on annual trips to Gettysburg and Washington, D.C.
In Washington, his students dedicated a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Wrestling continues to be a major part of Martin’s life, serving as head wrestling coach at Norwin High School.
Previously, he served as the assistant coach at Penn State Fayette, is involved in coaching the USA Wrestling Team and is the only active USA certified coach from Pennsylvania.
Martin help coach Team USA at the 2019 Pan American and World Championships and was the lead coach/educator for Pennsylvania’s national team.
He has coached 14 national champions.
Martin has authored several articles in wrestling publications and has been a presenter at state and national wrestling conferences.
Richter said Martin has proven through the years that he is a teacher and coach who cares about his students and athletes, investing time and effort to help them be successful.
Martin tries to do this in a manner in which the spotlight is on students and athletes, not him.
Richter feels strongly that Martin is deserving to be inducted into the Connellsville Area School District Hall of Fame.
Corteal emphasizes the amount of time and effort Martin puts in to teaching and coaching. He says Martin always put forth his best effort as a student and as an athlete, and he uses that background to positively influence students in the classroom and athletes on the wrestling mat.
Adam Faris applauds Martin for teaching and coaching, emphasizing Martin’s experiences as a championship wrestler has led to his tremendous success in coaching locally, regionally and on a national level.
Jamie McPoyle
A science teacher, Jamie McPoyle has left his mark on the Connellsville Area School District and the community. He was nominated by Bridgette Camp.
Transplanted from the Philadelphia area, McPoyle has selflessly given of himself to educate and empower students and teachers in the Connellsville Area School District since being hired here in 2005, enriching the community he has adopted as his home.
McPoyle began his career at Junior High West from 2005 through 2012. He has excelled in teaching science, while encouraging the use of technology in his instruction to lead the district and its students in the 21st century.
He was among the first educators to incorporate the use of iPads, clickers, and interactive white boards, giving a glimpse at the types of technology that became widely used by the time his first students graduated.
When Junior High West closed in 2012, McPoyle moved to the high school, where he continued to help shape the lives of the future Connellsville leaders as a teacher, coach and mentor.
Active in the Connellsville Area Education Association, he served as a building representative and treasurer before serving as president from 2018 through 2022.
Bridgette contends every teacher and student in the district has benefited from his tireless advocacy for quality education.
He was also a founding member of the union’s Community Action Committee, which is responsible for participation in the Halloween parade, Polar Bear Club, community egg hunt and Heart to Hope Telethon, among others.
McPoyle’s leadership did not stop at his classroom door.
He demonstrated willingness to go above and beyond through his volunteer efforts in civic organizations and community events that have affected the lives of the students in the Connellsville Area School District and others.
He has done this through his fundraising, Austin Field renovations and disc golf project.
McPoyle organized the Youghzilla Race, Earth Day activities and was involved in Boy Scouts, Wels Program and the Connellsville Parks and Recreation Board.
Camp said that throughout her years of learning and teaching in the district, she has always been impressed with the level of commitment the district’s educators have shown for students.
However, she cannot think of another educator who was not born or educated in the Connellsville area, who has dedicated his or her life to the children of Connellsville to the degree in which Jamie McPoyle has.
She concluded that he might bleed the green and white of his hometown Philadelphia, but his heart is 100% Falcon blue and white.
John J. Nedrow
A 1951 Connellsville High School graduate, John J. Nedrow was nominated by his daughter, Jennifer Wilkerson, son John L. Nedrow and wife Tammy Nedrow.
Jennifer said John J. Nedrow began his education at age 4 in the old Melcroft Elementary School. From grades nine through 12 he attended classes at the old Connellsville High School on Fairview Avenue.
Nedrow was active in school, participating in football and track for the Cokers. As a senior, he was voted class president and received a full athletic scholarship to George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he played football and baseball.
In 1956, Nedrow received a degree in education, returned home to Melcroft and was hired by the Connellsville School District to teach junior high health and physical education – also coaching football and track and field.
He married the love of his life, Marilyn Ruth Marsh Nedrow, and they raised their family in the mountains. Their children, John L., Joseph and Jennifer, all graduated from Connellsville Area High School.
The Nedrows have three grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
With his passion for teaching and coaching, Nedrow devoted 36 years of his life building strong relationships, showing students respect and teaching them lifelong skills they could use long after they completed their educations. He never passed up an opportunity to help a student in need or one who was bullied.
He often took students under his wing who had no positive role models at home, trying to help them succeed despite the problems they faced.
Nedrow was an excellent coach who liked to win. However, it was more important to ensure players had great experiences in junior high, learned fundamentals of sports and learned what it meant to give 100%.Nedrow was more concerned about long-term results, striving to help players find success in high school and beyond.
He was a great team player in the school district’s total sports program and taught younger Connellsville athletes to be the same.
Wherever John Nedrow goes, he runs into former students and athletes he had taught and coached, Jennifer said.
He is always treated with the utmost respect, and these former students let him know how his honesty, kindness, fairness and respect as their teacher and/or coach greatly influenced them.
In 1992, after 36 years in teaching and 34 years in coaching, Nedrow retired. He dedicated his life to the students he served, their families, the Connellsville Area School District and the community. He was a great example to his students and to his fellow teachers and coaches.
His children are proud of their father, and they say he deserves to be selected into the hall of fame.
Dr. Daniel H. Poole
A 1998 Connellsville Area High School graduate, Dr. Daniel H. Poole was nominated by his mom, Pamela E. Poole.
Poole has had a remarkable teaching career.
He received a bachelor of science degree from West Virginia University, served as a graduate assistant at Ohio State University, was a research assistant at Penn State University and is a professor at North Carolina State University.
At North Carolina State, he has excelled in his profession in reproductive physiology animal science.
Through the years, Poole has received numerous teaching honors, is well respected by the students, staff and administration and has achieved full-professor status.
He serves on many committees at the university and has held numerous administrative positions.
Poole has spoken about animal science throughout the United States and various nations.
He did not set out to become a teacher.
However, his passion for animal science led to the desire to share his enthusiasm with students, to educate future veterinarians, producers and animal scientists.
Poole has authored or coauthored numerous articles dealing with animal science.
He is committed to help his students and others work hard and intelligently to meet the needs of animal agriculture and address the challenging issues of global food security.
Poole volunteers at community events including blood drives, food festivals, and 4-H endeavors.
Poole is available to help in the community, with local farmers and with children who show animals at local and state fairs.
Among his awards: Young Animal Scientist Award in Education, American Society of Animal Science Award, North Carolina State University Animal Science Club Hall of Fame and North American Colleges and Teachers Agriculture Educator Award.
He serves on the American Society of Animal Science Southern Section Board of Directors and is the chairman of the Southern Section ASAS Physiology Committee.
Poole has served as program coordinator for the North Carolina Cattlemen’s Annual Conference.
He takes great pride in helping mentor young faculty members at the university.
Poole is married to Dr. Carrie Pickworth and they have three children. The family lives in Zebulon, N.C., where the family jointly manages a sheep farm. Pamela Poole is proud of her son’s accomplishments and contends he is deserving of recognition in the Hall of Fame.
Dr. Daniel Shelley
A member of the Connellsville High School Class of 1964 and former Connellsville Area School District educator, Dr. Daniel Shelley was nominated by Donna Murray.
Shelley has been accorded the status of professor emeritus by Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and Robert Morris University.
He received a bachelor of arts degree and master’s degree in arts from Penn State University and a doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh.
Shelley was hired by the Connellsville Area School District as a 5th grade teacher in 1973, remaining until 1987.
He was instrumental in developing the district’s gifted education program on the elementary and secondary levels.
Shelley created for the gifted program an annual four-day Marine Science Education Project at Wallops Island, Va.
In 1987, he accepted a professorship in education at Edinboro, where he excelled as a professor of education. In addition, he served as principal of the University Laboratory School for two years.
Shelley served as the chairman of the Elementary Education Department from 1993 through 2001.
At Robert Morris University, he developed an elementary education program which achieved national accreditation.
Shelley created the Robert Morris student teaching and study abroad programs. He remains active with his own research and authored or co-authored more than 24 articles for national education journals.
He made presentations at international conferences in England, France, Spain, and Costa Rica, among others. Retired from his full-time faculty position at Robert Morris in 2020, he continues to teach selected courses as a part-time faculty member.
Shelley has a son, Daniel, an electrical engineer, who lives with his family in England.
William Swink
A 1982 Connellsville Area High School graduate, William Swink was nominated by Bill Wilson.
Swink attended Arizona State University and California University of Pennsylvania. He received a degree in business administration from the University of the State of New York.
His coaching career began at Connellsville Junior High West, where he coached both wrestling and football.
In 1991, he and wife, Andrea, moved to Virginia where he coached for 25 years and taught business and marketing classes.
He began his coaching career in Virginia as a volunteer coach at Stafford and C.D. Hilton high schools.
Swink became an assistant wrestling coach at North Stafford High School, later serving as head coach.
He became the head wrestling coach at Osbourn Park High School and then Colonial Forge High School, where his teams had incredible success.
Colonial Forge won Virginia State Championships in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2016. It was also the state runner-up three times and won numerous district and regional championships.
During his years at Colonial Forge, his team’s overall record was 395 wins, 74 losses and 1 tie.
Swink was inducted into the Virginia Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016 and was voted Virginia Coach of the Year for Wrestling on four occasions.
He coached 23 individual state champions, was named USA Wrestling’s chairperson of the year in 2015 and presented USA Wrestling’s President’s Award in 2017.
After Swink’s success at Colonial Forge, he became activities director and athletic director of Spotsylvania High School and the state chairman of the Virginia Wrestling Association.
Under Swink’s leadership, Spotsylvania’s athletic program enjoyed great success in boys and girls sports. He retired from Spotsylvania in 2021.
Swink returned to Connellsville, where he was named head varsity wrestling coach.
The Falcons finished second in the WPIAL Tournament and 15th in the PIAA Tournament.
The Falcons ended up with an overall record of 23 wins and 4 losses. One of his wrestlers, Jared Kesler, won an individual state championship.
Swink has initiated numerous activities to promote the wrestling program on all grade levels and to get the community more involved with the program.
Wilson contends Swink’s significant contributions to youth sports and his tremendous success as a wrestling coach make him deserving of placement in the Falcon Foundation Hall of Fame. The Falcons enjoyed another very successful wrestling season this past winter.
Joe Abramowitz is a Daily Courier staff writer.
Source: Daily Courier