Summit Hill native John L. "Crimpet" Crampsie, the owner and founder of the largest commercial/industrial real estate firm in the Lehigh Valley, will be the guest speaker for the 66th Annual Banquet of the Panther Valley Irish-American Association which will be held on Sunday, March 17, at The Grand Ballroom of Kelly's Irish Pub and Restaurant, Lansford.

Crampsie will offer the keynote address during the annual program in which his boyhood classmate and longtime friend, Thomas Bonner, retired educator and football coach, will be recognized as "Irishman of the Year" by being presented the association's annual Shamrock Award.The event will open with a social from 4-5 p.m., followed by the dinner and program, where Bonner will receive the Shamrock Award from PVIAA president Tim Kurchak.NAI's current Business Manager with specialties in industrial real estate and property management, Crampsie never forgot his Panther Valley roots, appropriately applying the "Summit" name to the company after he founded it in 1982 to provide a proactive approach in brokerage services, investment sales, property and asset management, building services, development, and advisory services that attained excellent business results for local, national and international clientele.As one of the founding principals of NAI Summit, Crampsie serves as Broker of Record. With over 20 years of experience in all facets of real estate, he has extensive knowledge of marketing, leasing, lease negotiations and disposition of assets and handles all tenant relations and associated property management duties for NAI Summit.The guest speaker has strong ties to the Panther Valley area in general and the PVIAA in specific. He is a son of the late former Summit Hill Police Chief John L. Crampsie and his wife, Margaret (Shober) Crampsie, R.N. His father, "Jack," received the Shamrock Award in 1982, and his brothers, James and Robert, were recipients of the honor in 2004 and 2007, respectively. Another brother, Edward O'Brien, a former executive director with the national United Steelworkers of America, was the guest speaker at the traditional dinner program in 1998.Crampsie and Bonner were classmates at the former St. Joseph Parochial School, Summit Hill, before Bonner went on to graduate from Marian High School and Crampsie, from Panther Valley High School in 1967.Crampsie is a Vietnam War veteran who was the guest speaker in 2011 during the traditional Memorial Day services held at his hometown parish's cemetery, St. Joseph's in White Bear.Besides his military service, he earned a bachelor's degree from Kutztown University and a master's degree from Lehigh University.Very involved in the Lehigh Valley community, he is a board member VIA of the Lehigh Valley, a program for youths and adults with disabilities, and a founding board member of Turning Point of Lehigh Valley, which assists victims of domestic abuse. He is also a volunteer at the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Center, Allentown, and formerly volunteered at the St. Luke Hospital, Fountain Hill.He is married to the former Marianne Costello of Coaldale. The couple has one daughter, Lauren, who is the Chief Marketing Officer of Ogilvy and Mather North America, one of the largest marketing communications companies in the world. She and her husband Jason and their son, Drake, reside in Manhattan, N.Y.Paul R. McArdle Jr., Summit Hill, will serve as master of ceremonies for the dinner program. Entertainment for the evening will be provided by the father-and-son folk duo of Pat and Shane McGeehan.During the program, the guest of honor (Bonner) will be honored for his years as a teacher, initially at the former St. Joseph Parochial School, Summit Hill, and then for over 29 years in the Tamaqua Area School District, and for his 28 years as a successful football coach at Marian, Panther Valley, Tamaqua, Marian and Blue Mountain high schools.Tickets to the dinner can be obtained from the following association members: Summit Hill, Bob Crampsie and Billy O'Gurek; Lansford, Emmett McCall; Coaldale, Robert Ames and Tim Hoben; and Tamaqua, Tom McCarroll and John Tracy.