The annual Carbon County Hall of Fame banquet will be held on Sunday, May 25 at Memorial Hall in Jim Thorpe.

This year's inductees are:Lehighton - Norm A. Frey; Jr; Robert Andrews; Lee "Put" Kuntz.Lansford - Ellen Ogozalek; Eileen Ogozalek; Tom Rosahac.Coaldale - Angel Donovan; Bill Edwards; Vince Gildea.Tamaqua - Frank Yusella; Wayne Shickram; Stan Dakosty.Jim Thorpe - Keith Miller; Drew Benyo; Dale Burnhauser.Palmerton - Gene Behler; Georgianna Messinger; Kathy Beck Dekorte; Donald Holland.Summit Hill - Cazzie Kosciolek; Marlene Basiago; Robert Wadyak.Nesquehoning - Mike Bonner; Bob McMichael; Joseph "Maxie" Damiano.Anyone looking for tickets to the banquet can contact any of the following people: Danny McGinley 570-325-3550; Art George 610-826-2830; Jake Boyer 610-751-6634; Tom Wehr 570-366-2694; Trevor Lawrence 570-645-4722; Emmett McCall 570-645-2093; Bob Gelatko 570-645-8652; Tom Pilla 570-669-6666; Bill Gardiner 570-669-6564; Evan Evans 570-645-7716; Vince Spisak 570-645-4542; Dr. Richard Miller 570-645-8567.No tickets will be sold at the door.The TIMES NEWS has been running brief biographies and photos of everyone in this year's class.Following are members of the 2014 Palmerton Hall of Fame Class.PALMERTONGene "Bucky" BehlerGene Behler is a 1973 Palmerton High School graduate who excelled in track and cross country for the Blue Bombers. Behler then went on to compete and set records for Rider University, a Division I school competing in the East Coast Conference.While at Palmerton, Behler lettered in all four years in track and represented Palmerton at the PIAA State track and field competition for three years. His primary focus was the 880 yard run, in which he finished in second place as a senior, and sixth place as a junior.Behler led the Blue Bomber track team to the 1973 District 11 Championship. He anchored both the mile and two mile relay teams to gold at the District meet. Competing in the 880 and 440, Behler won seven out of eight half mile races and six out of seven quarter mile races during dual meet competition in 1973. In 1972, he won six out of seven dual meet 880s and anchored the District 11 record setting two mile relay team and also finished second in the District 11 880.In cross country, Behler competed only in his senior year at Palmerton due to the fact that he played football in his freshman through junior years. As a captain of the cross country team, he finished first in 10 our of 11 Lehigh Valley League meets during the season. During the season, Behler broke six course records. In the District 11 meet, he battled to finish third and became the first Palmerton cross country runner to qualify for the PIAA State Competition in the sport. Running on Penn State's Blue Golf Course, Behler finished 31st out of 153 runners at the 1972 State Championships.For Behler's high school performance, he was chosen both Palmerton's Most Outstanding Track and Field Athlete and Most Outstanding Cross Country Athlete in his senior year.Behler was recruited to run track and cross country at Rider University. In 1975, he set Rider school records in the 880 yard run with a time of 1:55.6, and the 800 meter run with a time of 1:53.9. Other collegiate accomplishments include being a member of the Rider mile relay team and the anchor of the two mile relay team, when the teams set a school record at the Penn Relays and Princeton Relays, respectively.Gene and his wife, Lynn, have resided in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, for the past 10 years.Georgianna MessingerWhen one speaks of past distance runners at Palmerton Area High School, the first name that comes to mind is Georgianna Messinger, a 1984 graduate of the school.In cross country, as a freshman, she placed seventh at Districts, which earned her a trip to the State Meet at Lehigh University. As a sophomore, she placed first at the league meet, fifth at Districts, and 12th at the State Meet. As a junior and senior, she placed first at the League Meet and Districts, and fourth at the PIAA State Meet.In track and field, as a freshman, she placed third in the 1600 meter run at the league and district meets, as well as anchoring the 3200 meter relay team to first place at the League and District meets, qualifying them for the State Meet. In her sophomore year, she placed second in the 1600 meter run at the League and District meets. She also placed first in the 3200 meter run at the League meet and third at Districts. She anchored the 3200 meter relay team to first place at both the League and District meets. At the State meet, she placed 11th in the 1600 meter run and anchored the 3200 relay team to 13th place. In her junior year, at the League meet, she placed second in the 800 meter run, first in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs, as well as anchoring the 3200 meter relay team to a first place. At Districts, she placed first in both the 1600 and 3200 meter runs, as well as anchoring the 3200 meter relay team to first place. Moving on to the State meet, she placed fourth in the 1600, third in the 3200, and anchored the 3200 relay team to a fourth place medal. In her senior year at the League meet, she placed second in the 800 meter run, first in the 1600 meter run, first in the 3200 meter run, as well as anchoring the 3200 meter relay team to a first place. Running at Districts, she placed first in the 1600 meter run, first in the 3200 meter run, and anchored the first place 3200 meter relay team. At the 1984 State Meet, she became the second State Track Champion from Palmerton, placing first in the 1600 meter run, and setting the school record with a time of 5:02, which still stands today. She also placed fifth in the 3200 meter run and anchored the 3200 meter relay team to a 10th place finish at that same state meet.Georgianna took her running ability to East Stroudsburg University, graduating in 1988. While there, she became the school's first NCAA Division II women's track and field All-American, placing seventh in the 10,000 meter run at the National Championships in the 1986, setting a school record of 35:53, which remains in tact today.In 1999, Georgianna was inducted into the East Stroudsburg University Sports Hall of Fame.She moved back to the Palmerton area in 2007 and has been teaching Health and Physical Education for the past 25 years at Mahoning and Shull-David Elementary schools in the Lehighton Area School District.Georgianna is the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. David T. Messinger.Kathy (Beck) DekorteKathy is a 1988 Palmerton Area High School graduate.She participated in cross country in 1984, in field hockey from 1985-87, in track and field from 1985-87, and in basketball from 1984-88.Kathy stood out as one of the finest basketball players in the school's history. She amassed 1800 career points, which broke the school's girls' scoring record in the school, at the time. In her senior year, she averaged 24.7 points per game, as she shot a remarkable 59.3 percent from the field. She also shot 71.2 percent from the free throw line, averaged 9.3 rebounds per game, and totalled 742 points throughout her senior season. She also had 689 rebounds during her career. Kathy was a member of the District 11 Girls' All-Star team in 1987 and 1988. In 1986-87, Palmerton was 23-3 and crowned Centennial League champions. In her senior year, the Bombers had a 22-8 record.Kathy later went on to Moravian College where she continued to break records.She school career records in scoring (1,936 points), as well as rebounds (1,014 rebounds). She earned ECAC Rookie of the Year in 1988-89. She was named the MAC Southwest and ECAC South Player of the Year in 1991 and 1992, and was a two-time Kodak All-American in those same two years. She was named the Champion USA/WBCA Division III Player of the Year in the 1991-92 season. She was a three-time Mid-Atlantic Conference All-Star, and her team was the MAC Champions in 1991 and 1992. The team played for the NCAA Division III National Championship in 1992, and she was also a member of the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team. The Lady Greyhounds were 31-2 in her senior season, when Kathy received the Greyhound Award as Outstanding Female Athlete in 1992.In 2002, she was named to the Moravian College Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the Lehigh Valley Basektball Hall of Fame a year later in 2003. Her jersey was retired in 2004 (#33). In 2013, she was inducted into the Middle Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the MAC 100 All Century Team.Kathy, along with husband Todd, and their four children - Nathan (16), Eli (15), Jesse (13), and Aliya (10) - live in the Lehighton area.Donald HollandDonald Holland was a most outstanding high school athlete who played football, basketball and baseball at Whitehall High School Zephyrs. His team won the District 11 Basketball Championships in the 1948-49 school year.After his high school graduation, he attended Gettysburg College where he lettered in football for three years for the Bullets. He graduated from college in 1954 with a BA degree in health and physical education.After college, he served two years in the U.S. Air Force. He left the service in 1957 with the rank of First Lieutenant.From there, in 1958, he began his teaching career in the Palmerton Area School District, where he taught health, physical education and science for 35 years. During those year, he was as an assistant coach in football and basketball as well as head coach for boys basketball and track and field.Donald had great coaching success in boys track and field from 1959 through the 1967 seasons with an overall record of 53-16. During that time, he had two undefeated teams. They were 7-0 in 1961 and 9-0 in 1964. He coached 21 individual Lehigh Valley League Meet Champions and had 18 individual and three relay teams win District 11 Class B Champions and he coached three individual PIAA State Champions.He coached three Lehigh Valley League Dual Meet Championship teams; four Lehigh Valley League Meet Championship teams and coached six District 11 Class B Championship teams.Donald retired from the Palmerton Area School District in 1993 and resides in Palmerton, along with his wife of 40 years, the former Connie Bollinger. He has three children: Terry, Vicky and Shelli.Donald also worked at the Blue Ridge Country Club for many years.