The Pleasant Valley School District held its Hall of Fame induction ceremony for the class of 2019 on Jan. 25 during which seven individuals were honored.

Grace (Bond) Arnold

Arnold graduated in 1945 from Chestnuthill High School, where she was class president. She did not play any sports during high school as there were no sports for women at that time.

She attended St. Luke’s School of Nursing and served as a nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem in the last few months of World War II. She is currently retired.

Arnold is the founder of the Chestnut Hill Alumni Association, and was a charter member of the Pleasant Valley Cultural Activities Committee.

She is also the founder of the Pleasant Valley Choral Society, for which she sang for 35 years. Being a local resident all of her life, Arnold’s family donated the land that currently houses the West End Fire Company in Brodheadsville. Arnold served as the Judge of Elections in Chestnuthill Township for 14 years and has been a lifelong member of the Zion United Lutheran Church in Brodheadsville.

Arnold is a member of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Order of the Eastern Star, Order of the Aramanth, and the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees. She is also a member of various historical societies and has donated many historical items to these organizations. Her interests include painting, performing music and restoring antique furniture. Arnold currently resides in Brodheadsville.

She was married to the late Charles H. Arnold for 53 years and has two children, Cynthia and Douglas.

Michael Froelich

Froelich graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in 1988 and attended Moravian College in Bethlehem, where he won the NCAA Division III national championship in the 142-pound weight class. He was Moravian College’s first national champion.

Froelich was named to the Middle Atlantic Conference 100 century team for wrestling in 2013. In high school, Froelich was a four-year letter winner in wrestling, a three-year letter winner in soccer, and a one-year letter winner in track and field. He was the first wrestler from Pleasant Valley to ever qualify for the District XI regional wrestling championships and to wrestle in the PIAA state championships.

He was the first Pleasant Valley wrestler to win a medal at states by placing sixth his senior year. Froelich was named the best overall male athlete at Pleasant Valley in 1988.

Christopher Brent Hixon

The third inductee is the late Christopher Brent Hixon. Hixon graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in 1986. In high school, Hixon was a member of the football, wrestling and track teams.

He was an honor student, the Varsity Club president, a member of the mock trial team, Student Senate and the spirit squad. Hixon received the spirit award for having the most spirit and dedication to Pleasant Valley.

After high school, Hixon joined the U.S. Navy, where he served as a machinist mate until 1992, when he transitioned into the Naval Reserves and served as both a machinist mate and a military police officer until retiring in 2013.

His awards and decorations include three Navy Achievement medals, a Good Conduct Medal, a Navy Reserve Meritorious Service Medal and a Navy Reserve Medal. He served in the Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

He never lost his passion for sports and became an athletic director for the Broward County public schools in Florida.

Hixon was honored throughout his athletic director career with a variety of awards including the 2007 FIAA Meritorious Award, the 2008 NIAAA State of Merit award, and the 2017 BCAA Athletic Director of the year. He was a great leader to his coaches and a true role model for his student-athletes.

Hixon was one of 17 killed in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, last Feb. 14. Pleasant Valley will be dedicating its new fitness room to Hixon on April 29.

Nick Konawalik

Konawalik graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in 1997. In high school, Konawalik was a four-year letter winner in soccer and track.

He was named to the 1996 Pennsylvania All State soccer team and he was the MVC most outstanding player. He played on the first boys’ soccer team that ever reached the District XI final, and he held the school record for shutouts as a goalie until recently with 22.

In track, Konawalik was a member of the 4 X 400 meter District XI championship team and was the MVC champion in the high jump, 400 meter run, and the 1600 meter relay team.

In his junior year, he was the MVC champion in the high jump and on the 1600 meter relay team. Konawalik was a member of the National Honor Society, the Student Government Association treasurer, an audio visual intern and a Halloween in the park volunteer.

Konawalik attended Houghton College and the University of Delaware, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in sociology with legal studies in 2001. Konawalik played soccer for both Houghton College and the University of Delaware.

At Houghton College he was named to the 1997 All Northeast Atlantic Conference team and was a two-year starter. At the University of Delaware, he was a two-year starter, named athlete of the week, and was on the Commissioner’s Honor Society. He attended East Stroudsburg University, where he earned his Master of Science in sports administration in 2004.

Konawalik worked as the marketing chairman for Conference USA. He then moved on to Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment as the general manager.

He recently started his current job as the director of brand marketing for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Konawalik lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife of 16 years, Lori, and his three children, Aiden, Carter and Evan.

Tom Kresge

Kresge graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in 2006. At Pleasant Valley, Kresge was a four-year letter winner in basketball.

He helped lead the team to three consecutive MVC championship games, winning the MVC title in 2003. He was named the 2006 MVP for the mountain valley conference, the 2006 player of the year by the Pocono Record and the 2005 and 2006 Times News player of the year. He was a two-time Morning Call first team player and was named to the MVC first team three consecutive years.

Kresge currently holds school records for rebounds in a season and rebounds in a career.

He is the second all-time leading scorer for Pleasant Valley. Kresge attended Wilkes University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2010.

He attended Northampton Community College, where he earned his mortuary science degree in 2012. While in college, Kresge was named the 2007 Freedom Conference rookie of the year. He was a three-time first team Freedom Conference selection and a Middle Atlantic third team selection. He ended his career at Wilkes as the fifth all-time leading scorer and the leading rebounder in school history.

He was the first player in Wilkes history to score 1,500 points and have more than 700 rebounds.

Kresge is the fifth-generation funeral director at the William H. Kresge Funeral Home in Brodheadsville. He also gives back to his community. Kresge was a volunteer coach for the boys’ basketball team at Pleasant Valley for four years.

He sits on the board of directors for the west end ambulance association as well as the Eastern Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association. He is a member of the Western Pocono Lions Club.

Staff Sgt. Michael C. Reyes

Reyes graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in 2006. At Pleasant Valley, he was a four-year letter winner in football and track.

In football, he was captain of his team and was named to the 2005 All MVC team as a receiver and a defense back. In track, in 2006, he was the MVC champion, district champion and a state qualifier in the 300 meter hurdles. He also placed in the 1600 meter relay in both the MVC and District XI.

After graduation, Reyes attended Wilkes University for two years before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps in November 2008.

Since enlisting, Reyes has been deployed to Afghanistan two times, once to Japan and South Korea, and currently is on deployment.

While serving, Reyes has been awarded six Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, The Combat Action Ribbon, two Navy Unit Commendation Medals, three Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Medal, three Afghanistan Campaign Medals, three Sea Service Medals, the Korean Defense Medal, The Global War on Terrorism Medal, The NATO Afghanistan ISAF Medal, the Recruiting Ribbon, seven Certificates of Commendation and sixteen Meritorious Masts.

Reyes also coached in the Semper Fi Bowl Game as a mentor to the football athletes.

Reyes lives in Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, with his wife, Amy Hosking Reyes.

John-Henry Zarzycki

Zarzycki graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in 2002. While at Pleasant Valley, Zarzycki was a four-year letter winner in wrestling.

He was a fourth-place finisher in the PIAA state wrestling tournament his junior year and a second-place finisher his senior year, which is the highest any wrestler has placed in Pleasant Valley history.

He was the first Pleasant Valley wrestler to reach 100 wins and also the first wrestler to win the Northeast Regional tournament. Zarzycki was named both the Times News and Pocono Record Wrestler of the Year in 2002. He was a two-time high school All American as noted by the Mid Atlantic Wrestling Association.

Zarzycki was also the District XI wrestling scholar athlete for 2002. Zarzycki participated as a DARE role model, an Honor Society member and a Special Olympics volunteer.

He was awarded the Good Citizenship award from the State of Pennsylvania in 2002. Zarzycki attended the University of Maryland and received his Bachelor of Science in kinesiology in 2006.

At the University of Maryland, Zarzycki was a two-time athlete of the week for the ACC. He finished in fourth place in the ACC tournament and was ranked in the top 20 in NCAA Division I by WIN Magazine. Zarzycki placed second at the Penn State Open Tournament. He was also named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic Honor Roll in 2003. Zarzycki is the Senior District Manager at ADP.

He also gives back to his community. He was a volunteer coach for the Pleasant Valley wrestling team for two years. He helped the team set the record for most wins in school history, the highest place finish in the District XI tournament which was third, the highest state ranking for the wrestling team which was eighth place.

Zarzycki lives in Effort with his wife, Jennifer, and their daughter, Madelyn.