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 24 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, Howie Miller, Dennis Pastucha.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 bios for the Lehighton inductees:Dennis RehrigDennis Rehrig graduated from Lehighton Area High School in 1974. He lettered in baseball, basketball and football and was the recipient of the Lehighton Athletic Booster Club's Robert Kipp Memorial Trophy as the "Outstanding Senior Athlete." He was also the Indians' MVP in baseball.An outstanding baseball player, he was a pitcher, first baseman, third baseman and outfielder. He played for Lehighton Senior Legion and was a member of the All Star Team.Dennis played for Lehighton in the Pocono Mountain League in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during which time the team won regular season championships in six out of seven years. He was the league's Triple Crown winner and led the league in home runs. He divided his time playing with Lehighton in the PML and Saylorsburg in the Blue Mountain League.Dennis won many titles while playing with these teams, including batting, RBIs and pitching.He changed gears when he began playing fast-pitch softball in the Palmerton Church League. He also played for many years in the Upper Lehigh Slow-Pitch Softball League, as well many other leagues. He played various positions as a softball player and was a member of the Slatedale Slow-Pitch team in the Upper Lehigh League, which placed second in the Central Atlantic Regional Tournament in Waldorf, MD, in 1988. The team had a 41-3 record in that league.He had a short tenure playing for Jake's in the Flag Football League in 1978 and was also a member of the Knights in the Lehighton Adult Community Basketball League, where he was the leading scorer.He later started his coaching career in Walnutport Little League Baseball and continued in that role for about five years, when he began his basketball coaching career as an assistant with "Itch" Walck in the Palmerton Girls' Knee-Hi League. In 1986, the eighth grade girls' team had an 8-1 record.He then became the freshmen boys' coach at Northern Lehigh, advancing to the junior varsity squad. He coached with Dave Oertner, Phil Armstrong, Jeff Jones, Rich Oertner and Jeff Miller. While at Northern Lehigh, the varsity teams won Colonial League and District championships. Dennis retired from coaching basketball at the end of the 2013-2014 season after more than 25 years of coaching.Besides coaching, he spent many hours on the golf course. He was a member of the former Blue Ridge Country Club, Palmerton. He enjoyed golfing until back ailments made him decide to retire from the sport.Presently, Dennis is a PIAA football official. He has been officiating for more than 30 years, during which time he had the honor of officiating a PIAA state final, many league, district and Eastern PA finals, and also the All-American Bowl, consisting of the best players from all over the country.Married for 41 years to the former Nancy Snyder of Walnutport, Dennis has one son, Kyle, married to Jodi, and two grandchildren, Kenley and Greyson, of Glen Gardner, N.J.Currently, he is an accounting clerk at Horsehead Resources, Palmerton.Jerry SerfassJerry Serfass was a 1967 graduate of Lehighton Area High School. He was elected Class President in 10th grade and Student Council president in his junior and senior years. He served in the community as the Carbon County Red Cross High School representative. With his rugged good looks and gentlemanly manner, Jerry was adored by all the girls in school. For his physically rugged approach to athletics, he was admired by all of the guys. He was the epitome of a loyal friend, team player and hard worker.Jerry was a member of Lehighton's first wrestling team. The team competed at the varsity level for the first time when Jerry was in 11th grade. His work ethic allowed him to excel in the sport and he became LAHS' very first Lehigh Valley League Tournament wrestling champion and was elected to the All Lehigh Valley league First team by his opponents. He was declared Lehighton's wrestling MVP by unanimous acclaim.In his senior year in football, Jerry was a force that held the team together in an injury riddled season that finished up at 5 and 5. The team defeated Nazareth, East Stroudsburg, Slatington, Emmaus and Northampton. Jerry was recognized by his opponents when he was elected to the All Lehigh Valley League First team. He was selected as Lehighton's MVP for a second time.In Lehighton's second season of varsity wrestling, Jerry was named to the All Lehigh Valley League Wrestling Squad. He again won the league and tournament championships at 168 pounds and was voted Lehighton's MVP for a third time.That Spring, he placed fourth in the LVL long jump in track, showing his versatility and earning his seventh varsity letter.His high school career over, Jerry chose to continue his education at Kutztown State College. He elected to play football because "it was more fun to practice outdoors." There, he was a starter and three-year letter winner. His primary position was linebacker, but he also excelled in special teams play as a kickoff cover man.Jerry was a Kutztown State College NCAA Centennial Award recipient for "Dedication to the college game of football."After graduation, he married, began a family and a career at Kraft Foods. He loved the out of doors, especially hunting, fishing and gardening. Friends loved him for his "Jerryisms." For instance, to come immediately to the point was to "hit the nail on the face" and the succinct "There is no I in we."When it became apparent that his cancer was one opponent he could not defeat, Jerry was asked what he would like to be remembered for and his reply was, "Taking the neighborhood kids fishing." There is no I in we, indeed!Bruce BarryBruce "Bup" Barry is a graduate of Lehighton High who lettered in four sports before moving on to the U.S. Air Force Academy and then becoming an International Powerlifting Federation World Champion.At LHS, he lettered two years in football, during which time he rewrote several Lehigh Valley League records as a senior when he was Lehighton's Scholar-Athlete and an Honorable Mention All State player. As a senior, Bup attained All Lehigh Valley League runningback honors, leading the league in scoring and rushing.He also lettered two years on the Indians' wrestling team, where he was the 154-pound LVL champion as a senior, and then became the first Lehighton player to letter for four years in baseball, where he played in every game and started in all but one game in four years.At the Air Force Academy, he was one of two players to walk on and make the freshman team, and as a sophomore, was the JV team kicker. He went on to play rugby for his junior and senior years there, being a kicker on the Falcons' team. As a junior, he and his teammates won the Rocky Mountain Rugby Football league championship and the Aspen Ruggerfest.In his later years, Bup proceeded to become a big-time powerlifter, becoming the All Time Masters Raw World and American Record Squat for those 60 and above, winning the 198-pound class at 523 pounds and the 220-pound class at 545 pounds.He was an alternate for the Master Raw Powerlifting National team and previously held the record for Raw Squats (twice) in the age 60-64 93kg class. He also set the 198-pound class raw Squat and raw Classic Squat national records for the 60-64 age bracket.In the international Powerlifting Association, Bup set the world record squat and total records in the 220-pound class. Previously, he was the 198-pound world record holder in the Amateur Raw Squad, Deadlift and Total categories.Barry also established national records in the World Natural Powerlifting Federation, including the 198-pound 60-64 Raw Squat, Deadlift and Total categories and the 220-pound 60-64 Raw Squat, Bench, Deadlift and Raw Classic Squat competition. His 545-pound Raw Squat set a record in the 220-pound 60-64 competition of the Southern Powerlifting Federation and he set a world record in the Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate for the 198-pound 60-64 Raw Squat, Deadlift and Total competitions.The highlight of his career came last October when he lifted in the Masters 3 (60-69) 231.5-pound weight class, winning gold medals in the Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift and Total. A powerlifter since 2013, he has held and continues to hold World, North American, National and State records in numerous federations, and was dubbed a IPF World Champion in Tallinn, Estonia.