The annual Carbon County Hall of Fame banquet will be held on Sunday, May 24 at Memorial Hall in Jim Thorpe.

This year's inductees are:Palmerton - Jan Sosik, Nicole Levandusky, Joe Visnosky Jr., Charles "Biddy" Romig.Lehighton - Carl Wolfe, Wayne Wentz, George Tkach.Jim Thorpe - Mary Gillespie Whalen, Kevin Trice, Scott Kmetz.Nesquehoning - Katherine A. "Kitty" Curry, Anita Misantone, Robert "Bob" Rehatchek, James Agosti, Carl Mikovich.Lansford - Robert D. "Bob" Popik, John "Nini" Kranchick, Edward J. "Moose" Kosciolek.Summit Hill - Brad Miller, Joseph D. Perilli, Gary John Evans.Coaldale - Mike Frendak, Jack Evans, James "Blue" Bonner.Tamaqua - Mike Miorelli, Dave Lehatto, Charles Connelly.Anyone looking for tickets to the banquet can contact Danny McGinley (570-325-3550) or any other Hall of Fame committee member.During the next several weeks, the Times News will be running biographies of everyone in this year's class.Following are members of the 2015 Jim Thorpe Hall of Fame class.SCOTT KMETZA graduate of Jim Thorpe Area High School in 1984, Kmetz gave his athletic talents to both basketball and baseball throughout his high school career.In basketball, Kmetz collected varsity letters in three years ('82-'84), and in his senior season scored 597 points, which is the second most points scored in a season for JT boys' basketball history. He also averaged 22.9 ppg in that senior season, finishing second in the Panther Valley/Carbon County scoring race. He averaged 23.5 ppg in Schuylkill League games, as well. He became a member of the 1,000-point club at Thorpe, and at the time was only the fifth player in school history to do so. He finished his career with a total of 1,043 points and became the first father/son duo of 1,000-point scorers (father - Jack). As the Jim Thorpe MVP, Kmetz was selected to the Schuylkill League All-Star First Team, the District XI Boys Basketball Team, and was also Honorable Mention All-State for his impressive season.In baseball, Kmetz's impact spanned four years, as he earned a varsity letter all four years. As a sophomore, he pitched a no-hitter against Freeland MMI. As a pitcher, he thrived, setting school records for most wins for a career (16), most wins in one season (10), and also held records for innings pitched, strikeouts, ERA, home runs (11), runs scored (54), and RBIs (47). His batting average during his senior year was .408, and a .353 average for his career. He was the team MVP his junior and senior years, and was also named to the "Best in PA Baseball All-State Team." In 1983, he was the co-MVP for the Lehighton American Legion Baseball team, and the solo MVP the following year. In '82 and '83, he had tryouts with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and in '84 was in New York Yankee Scouting System. He played one season at Delaware Valley College in 1985, as well.Kmetz was inducted into the Jim Thorpe Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.As a basketball coach, Kmetz started as a JV coach at Cardinal Brennan High School in '97, and the Varsity coach at the same school the following season. Then, in 1999, he became the junior high coach at Jim Thorpe, before eventually earning the High School Varsity coaching position in 2001, where he coached for three seasons.MARY (GILLESPIE) WHALENMary Gillespie-Whalen graduated from Jim Thorpe High School in 1993, during which she accomplished many athletic goals. Her most significant contribution was becoming a member of the 1,000-point club, and also setting the three-point record with 136 treys. In both basketball and softball, she was named the team's MVP in both her junior and senior years. She was TV-13 Player of the Week on two different occasions, as well. In softball, she served as the co-captain of the only team in school history to make it to districts, and was also named to all-star teams in that sport, as well.After graduating from JTHS, she moved on to Cedar Crest College, where she immediately made her presence felt, as she became a starter in her freshman season. She ended up scoring a total of 1,197 points in her collegiate career. During her sophomore season, she averaged about 21 points per game, which ranked her 18th in the nation for AAA schools. She was awarded the team MVP in all four of her seasons, and was selected to all-Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) all-star teams in each season. She served as a great leader to her teammates and was the team captain her junior and senior years. She received the Varsity Award in her senior year at Cedar Crest, and was recently inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in April of 2014.KEVIN TRICEA member of the graduating class of 1977 at Marian High School, Kevin Trice was a four-year letterwinner as an offensive and defensive lineman, where he helped the Colts rise to excellence on the field in the 1970s. Leading the team to records of 10-1 and 9-1 in ('75 and '76, respectively), he won numerous honors for his dominating play on the line of scrimmage. He was selected for the offensive and defensive All-County teams, All-Southern Division teams, All East-Central, and the Big 33 Honorable Mention laurels. He was voted the most outstanding lineman of the 1977 Charity Bowl game and also played in the Unico All-Star game that season, as well. Trice was recently inducted into the Marian Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, for his outstanding football career at the school.Trice received numerous offers to play at the next level, but opted to enlist in the Army in August of '77. He continued to play football as a member of the Fort Benning (GA) Battalion Squad. After his discharge in 1980, he received a full scholarship to play at the University of Texas (El Paso), where his brother David was also playing on scholarship. Kevin played briefly before returning home to begin his working career at Kovatch Corporation.Kevin and his wife Nancy, had two children, Amanda and the late Kevin Jr, who passed untimely while a junior at Marian. Amanda and her husband Brad have three children - Parker, Mason and Myla. Upon Kevin's death, the Trices began a football scholarship in Kevin's memory, which recognizes a senior football player that plays with heart and a pure love for the game, like the Trices did before them.