Pleasant Valley High School will induct eight new members into its Hall of Fame.

This year, Pleasant Valley will recognize two classes since last year’s Hall of Fame ceremonies were canceled. The formal ceremony for the Classes of 2021 and 2022 will take place at 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 28. The inductees will then be introduced at halftime of that night’s Pleasant Valley’s home basketball game against East Stroudsburg South.

Kati Dempsey

Kati is a 2005 graduate of Pleasant Valley High School who went on to receive her B.S. in Biology from Bucknell University. She then attended Lehigh University, where she received her Master of Business Administration.

Kati is currently an Associate Director in the Corporate Strategy Office at Merck supporting Business Process Simplification and Strategy. Her primary focus and role is supporting imagine@Merck as a Design Thinking Lead. Kati is formerly trained in Design Thinking through Johns Hopkins University’s Executive Education, and continues to learn and grow as she expands her experience through facilitating Design Thinking workshops, and developing and instructing Design Thinking training.

Kati currently resides in Elkins Park.

Honors Received

... While at Pleasant Valley, Kati was a standout track and field athlete. She was a four-year letter winner as a jumper and sprinter. She is the school record holder in the high jump (5-8), and also a member of the school record 400-meter relay team at the time she graduated. Kati was also a state place winner in the high jump in both 2004 (second place) and 2005 (third place). She was the District 11 champion in the high jump in both 2004 and 2005, while also winning the long jump in 2005. Kati was MVC league champion in the high jump in 2004 and 2005, the long jump champion in 2004, the triple jump in 2003 and 2004, and the 300 hurdles in 2003 ... Kati earned the distinction of Times News Track and Field Athlete of the year in 2003, 2004, and 2005 ... Kati was also a member of the girls’ volleyball team, where she earned three varsity letters ... She was a member of the National Honor Society, a Scholar Athlete recipient, and was on the Distinguished Honor Roll all four years.

Mr. Dave Stefani

Dave is a graduate of St. Joseph’s High School in Kanosha Wisconsin. He then went on to the University of Wisconsin at Lacrosse, and later East Stroudsburg University. Dave holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, as well as Masters of Education in Sports Management and Educational leadership.

Dave spent 19 of his 40 years in education at Pleasant Valley in a variety of capacities. He was a Health and Physical Education teacher, the Dean of Students and an assistant principal.

Dave also coached several sports while at Pleasant Valley, including girls’ basketball, JV girls’ softball, and middle school and freshman football.

Dave resides in Harbor Cove, North Carolina with his wife Laura of 42 years. He has three children.

Honors Received

... Dave was the head coach of the Pleasant Valley girls’ basketball program for 11 years, where he amassed a record of 213 wins and 78 losses. As the head coach, Dave won six Mountain Valley Conference titles, including five in a row from 2000 to 2005. Dave also guided the Bears to a District 11 title in during the 2002-2003 season ... Dave was also an assistant softball coach for a team that won the District 11 silver medal.

Guy Morfesi

Guy is a 1976 Pleasant Valley graduate. He attended Moorehead State University in Minnesota on a football scholarship where he earned a degree in Metallurgy. Dave has been in the construction business for over 40 years. He has overseen the building of two of the largest projects on the east coast - the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center in Washington DC, and the Panorama Towers in Miami.

Guy resides in Wesley Chapel, Florida with his wife Michelle. They have four children.

Honors Received

... Guy earned four varsity letters in football, baseball, basketball, and track, but football was where he really excelled ... Guy was a member of the football team that had the first winning season at Pleasant Valley. Guy was a running back and linebacke,r and played in the Lehigh Valley All Star game. He was also nominated for the Big 33 Game. Guy also held the record for the longest field goal in school history with a kick of 47 yards. In both his junior and senior years he rushed for over 900 yards. He was in the top five in league scoring, and was named all-league linebacker.

Phillip Yetter

Phillip is a 2003 graduate of Pleasant Valley. He went on to DeSales University, where he earned his Bachelors of Administration and also his MBA.

After college, Phillip worked at DeSales University as Director of Alumni Relations, and then moved into fundraising. He left DeSales University and worked at Lafayette College in the Alumni and College Relations office. He then went back to DeSales University and became Associate Vice President for Major Gifts. Phillip left DeSales in 2015 to pursue the family business - Saylorsburg Lumber. Phillip recently acquired Argots Hardware in Effort.

Phillip’s community service includes being a youth baseball coach, board member of Keystone Athletic Soccer Club, and volunteer for the National Wild Turkey Foundation.

Phillip resides in Stroudsburg with his wife Amanda of 13 years. They have two children.

Honors Received

... Phillip was a four-year starter and letterwinner on the boys’ soccer team while at Pleasant Valley. The team’s record during his time at Pleasant Valley was 73-16-1. In 2002, Phillip was first team All Mountain Valley Conference, and was part of MVC championships in 2001 and 2002 ... While at DeSales University, Phillip also played soccer. He was named First Team All Mid Atlantic Conference in 2005 and 2006. He was named Second Team All Mid Atlantic Conference in 2004. In 2006 Phillip was named NSCAA All Region Third team. During his playing days at DeSales University they appeared in three Mid Atlantic Conference Championships and were crowned champions twice. They also appeared in the NCAA tournament in back-to-back years - the first time that occurred in school history.

Stacy Frantz

Stacy graduated from Pleasant Valley in 1995. She then went on to Lincoln Technical Institute where she graduated in 1998. She is currently a Supervisor in accounts receivable for Olympus Corporation of the Americas. She also mentors interns and employees who look for assistance and is an advocate for the legal team.

Stacy is currently a volunteer softball coach at Stroudsburg High School. She also provides private pitching lessons to athletes in the surrounding area. Stacy resides in Kunkletown and has one child.

Honors Received

... While at Pleasant Valley, Stacy was a four-year letter winner in softball, and a two-year letter winner in field hockey ... Stacy has been perceived as one of the best, if not the best pitcher to graduate from Pleasant Valley. She earned All Centennial League Honorable Mention her freshman year, Second Team her sophomore year, First Team her junior year, and First Team Mountain Valley Conference her senior year. She holds school records in season ERA (0.18), career ERA (0.36), season strikeouts (187), most strikeouts in a game (16), and career strikeouts (over 600).

Melissa Ruschak

Ms. Ruschak graduated from Wilson High School in 1988 where she played softball, tennis, track, and also participated in the band. She then went on to Bloomsburg University, where she received her Bachelors of Science in Business Education, and then got her Masters in Computer Education from DeSales University.

Ms. Ruschak has been employed as a teacher at Pleasant Valley for 28 years where she has been the FBLA advisor, assistant softball coach, class advisor, Mock Trial advisor, Leo Club advisor, as well as Computer Club advisor.

Ms. Ruschak resides in Easton.

Honors Received

... During her time at Pleasant Valley, Ms. Ruschak was named Pennsylvania State FBLA Advisor of the Year for the 2001-2002 school year. In her 20 years as the FBLA advisor, she helped raise over $100,000 for State Project Charities. Under her guidance, her FBLA clubs were ranked No. 2 in the state twice, and had countless top 10 rankings. As the FBLA advisor, they qualified for National FBLA competitions, as well as having top 10 nationally ranked competitors multiple times ... Ms. Ruschak has logged thousands of hours doing community service as an advisor.

Jamie Gould

Jamie is a 2002 graduate of Pleasant Valley, where he was a standout athlete.

Jamie is employed at Gould’s Produce and Farm Market, which is the family business. The farm is a fourth generation family-owned farm and is run by Jamie and his family.

Jamie resides in Kunkletown with companion Teia of 10 years. They have five children.

Honors Received

... As a Pleasant Valley student athlete, Jamie was a three-year letter winner for the soccer team. He was named to the Pennsylvania All-State Team in the 2000-2001 school year. Jamie finished with 64 career goals, which is second all time in school history. Jamie holds school records for most goals in a season, along with most points in a season. He was named Times News Player of the Year in 2001, and Pocono Record Player of the Year in 2000. Jamie was the Channel 13 Male Athlete of the Year in 2001, and was named Athlete of the Week twice that year. He was also named to the First Team Morning Call All-Area Team in 2000 and 2001 ... The 2001 boys’ soccer team was the first team ever to beat Parkland in route to a league championship and District 11 silver medal ... As a basketball standout, Jamie earned First Team All Mountain Valley Conference honors in 2002. He also earned First Team Times News and Pocono Record honors in 2002 while making the VIA All-Star Basketball Classic the same year ... Jamie was named Male Athlete of the Year at Pleasant Valley in 2002.

Douglas C. Arnold

Doug is a 1974 graduate of Pleasant Valley High School. Doug went on to Kutztown University, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Special Education and Elementary Education and graduated in 1978 with honors. He then earned his Master of Education in Secondary Administration from East Stroudsburg University in 1983, and his Administrative I Certificate from Marywood University in 1995. Doug earned his Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibility from Marywood University in 1998, and his Ph. D. in Education Administration in 2005.

Doug held several different teaching and administrative positions, but his most recent, prior to retiring, was Pleasant Valley’s Superintendent of Schools, a position he held from 2007-2013.

Doug resides in Brodheadsville with his wife Dora of 38 years. They have two children.

Honors Received

... While at Pleasant Valley, Doug played football and was named the school’s scholar athlete. He received All League honors and was a team captain ... During Doug’s time as an educator, he served on several different educational organizations such as the Executive Board of the National Association of Pupil Services, Executive Board of Pennsylvania Association of Pupil Services, Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, National Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals, and The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ... Doug was also involved in multiple community service efforts such as Salvation Advisory Board, where he served as Chairman, Advisory Board for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and West End Park and Open Space Commission, where he also served as chairman ... Doug was also Vice President of the Monroe County Historical Association, along with being a member of the Monroe County Children’s Roundtable ... Doug received the McGowan Medal for Excellence in Doctoral Studies as well as the A. Mitchell Palmer Award, which is the highest community service award bestowed upon an individual within Monroe County ... Doug also received the William Booth Award, one of the highest awards conferred upon an individual by The Salvation Army ... Doug was inducted into the East Stroudsburg Meritorious Hall of Fame ... Doug also received the Family and Community Service Award from the Rotary Club of the Stroudsburgs.