The annual Carbon County Hall of Fame banquet will be held Sunday, May 28, at Memorial Hall, Jim Thorpe.

The program will start promptly at 1 p.m. with the dinner, followed by individual inductions of 23 persons who attained athletic accomplishments.This year's inductees are:Palmerton - Bart Wagner, Gerald Rehrig and Art George.Lehighton - Dennis Rehrig, Jerry Serfass and Bruce Barry.Nesquehoning - Ed Wise, Robert Coombe and Thomas Zaengle.Lansford - Dennis Boyle, Dave Padora and Joe Petko.Jim Thorpe - Brad Shanfelt, John McGowan and John Searfoss.Summit Hill - Chris Zuber, Fenton Black and Jennifer (Blasko) Gaines.Coaldale - Evan Evans, Ed Hedes and Greg Posta.Tamaqua - Lisa Willing and Howie Miller.Banquet tickets can be purchased from the following Hall of Fame committee members: Danny McGinley 570-325-3550, Emmett McCall 570-645-2093, 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), Evan Evans (570-645-7716), Tom Bonner (570-386-2516), Herb Welsh (570-760-1744). Tickets are $35 for adults. For children under 12, the cost is $15.Below are the biographies for the Jim Thorpe inductees:Brad ShanfeltA 1993 graduate of Marian High School, Brad Shanfelt, a Jim Thorpe native, rewrote the boys' basketball records there before finishing as the top all-time scorer in the program's storied history.His 1,581 points in three seasons surpassed the mark of then all-time leading scorer Tom McLaughlin's 1,385 points. Since that time, two others, Joe Horvat and Eddie McLaughlin, have surpassed that number, but Shanfelt is the No. 3 leading scorer in the Colt program to this date.He set three other records while wearing the Blue and Gold, namely most points scored in a season (707), all-time scoring average in a season (24.4 ppg) and all-time career field goal leader (623).His efforts earned him the honor of 1993 Times News Player of the Year, and he was also named a First Team All Star in the Schuylkill Interscholastic Athletic League. Upon leading the Colts into the state quarterfinals, he was a Fourth team All State selection.Shanfelt was also a star track and field competitor for the Colts, running the 800-meter run and a leg of the fouor-by-800-meter relay team , as well as being a top high jumper, having consistently medaled in each of those events during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. As a freshman, Brad played tight end and defensive end in the Colts' gridiron program.Upon graduation, he went on to play basketball for Randolph-Mason College, Ashland, VA, where his basketball performances were equally impressive and rewarded. Brad averaged 12 ppg as a sophomore there and 16 ppg as a junior, a year in which he started every game and scored a career high of 28 points in a NCAA Division 3 tournament game. In those two years, he led Randolph-Mason in field goal percentage, finishing with a career average of 56 percent. In 1995, he was named Most Valuable Player of the First Virginia Bank Tournament, and he followed that up in 1996 by being named to the Scotty Wood All Tournament Team.Shanfelt is currently employed as the Director of Global Finance Technology for QVC, Inc., a leading multimedia retailer worldwide, headquartered in West Chester, for which he held various financial positions during a 15-year tenure. Previously, he worked for T. Rowe Price and AMF Bowling Worldwide.John McGowanJohn McGowan was a three-year star football player and wrestler at Jim Thorpe Area High School, where he graduated in 1981.On the mats, he was named the Olympians' Most Valuable Wrestler in his senior year, when he set a school record with 16 pins and received awards for pins, the most team points and the Bruce Pollock Award as a District 11 quarterfinalist. He won first place in the 1979 and 1980 JT Christmas tournaments.As a member of the Olympians' football teams, John was a captain and the Most Valuable Player in his senior year. He was named to the All East Central Region and Eastern Conference Class B all star teams as an offensive tackle. Defensively, he led the Red, White and Blue in tackles and sacks.But as a powerlifter and powerlifter and weight coach John really left his mark, having started the weight training program at Jim Thorpe as a volunteer football coach from 1981-1984. Eventually hired as a part-time strength coach at JT, the district later recognized powerlifting as a sport, resulting in years of outstanding performances by many Olympian students. That success led to John being named the 2006 recipient of the Lauretta Woodson Award from the PA Association of School Retirees in recognition of unselfish dedication and exemplary service to the district and the citizens of the state. In 2015, he received the Coaches Award from the PA State Coaches Powerlifting Associatiion in recognition of his many years of service and commitment to the advancement of high school powerlifting and his leadership in the Jim Thorpe program.John was inducted into the Jim Thorpe Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.John SearfossJohn Searfoss, Jim Thorpe, earned 11 varsity letters in his career before graduating from Jim Thorpe Area High School in 1987, including four each in baseball and football and three on the Olympians' cage teams.On the diamond, he pitched and played the infield positions, and was the leading hitter, as Jim Thorpe was a presence in the Schuylkill League and District 11 competition. He helped his teams win the 1984, 1986 and 1987 Schuylkill League Division III championships, and a District 11 AA runnerup and state qualifier in 1987.John batted .470 as a senior, when he was named to the league all star team and the Olympians' MVP.He was the Olympians' starting quarterback for four years, during which time he had back-to-back 1,000-yard passing seasons, including in 1986 when he set the school record with 1,491 yards passing. He finished his career with 3,591 yards passing, which is another school record.Searfoss was a Big 33 game nominee, team MVP, Mid Penn League MVP and Times News and Morning Call Player of the Week several times during his junior and senior years.On the Olympians' cage teams, he was a member of the 1985-86 Schuylkill League Division III championship team, which was runnerup in the league playoffs and was an Eastern finalist before bowing to Bristol. A point guard, he led the team in steals and assists.A graduate of East Stroudsburg and Wilkes universities and a teacher at Jim Thorpe since 1992, John was head coach of the Olympians' baseball team from 1998-2003, when his 2000 and 2002 teams won the league division titles and he was named Coach of the Year in 2000. He previously was an assistant baseball and basketball coach there, during which time the Olympians won league Division III baseball titles.He was inducted three times into the Jim Thorpe Sports Hall of Fame, individually in 2003, as a member of the 85-86 Eastern Finalist basketball team in 2005 and as a member of the 87 District 11 silver medal winning baseball team.He is married to the former Michelle Santore since 1997. The couple has two sons, Zachary and Skyler.