The Panther Valley Irish American Association has announced that their traditional St. Patrick’s Day Banquet will be held on March 17 at the Hilltop Community Center in Summit Hill. The 2022 banquet will be the 73rd in the Associations’ long history.

The PVIAA annually recognizes a community servant as their “Shamrock Award” winner and this year the honor will go to Paul R. McArdle Jr., who was chosen in 2020 but did not receive the award due to COVID-related banquet cancellations. McArdle will receive the award from association President Thomas Jones.

McArdle is in his 23rd year on the faculty at Palmerton Area High School, where he teaches 12th-grade economics, is a co-head of the Social Studies Department, co-adviser of the Environmental Club and was the adviser to the school’s Citizen’s Bee contestants for several years. McArdle also serves his hometown school district as the Panther Valley representative on the Board of Trustees for Lehigh-Carbon Community College.

Following a five-year stint as an assistant football coach for the Blue Bombers, he took over the head coaching duties for seven years, during which time he led the Bombers to three straight District 11 playoff seasons and competed in two District 11 championship games. His 2007 squad was the co-champion of the Colonial League, earning McArdle Colonial League Coach of the Year honors. At the time, the share of the league championship was only one of two league championships in the school’s history, the other one being in 1957. When he resigned, he was ranked second in coaching wins in Palmerton high school history.

McArdle moved on to his alma mater (Panther Valley), where he was an assistant to head coaches Lon Hazlet and Matt Davis for five years and is once again coaching football at Panther Valley under recently named head coach Mark Lavine.

He also was an assistant track and field coach for several years at Tamaqua, Palmerton and Panther Valley high schools. This year will mark his first as a head coach in the sport as he takes the reins at Panther Valley after being tabbed to lead their varsity and junior high programs.

Other community involvement activities include being a volunteer coach of CYO basketball, Little League Baseball, and PV youth basketball.

With Dr. Richard Vermillion and attorney Joseph Perilli, McArdle help found the Panther Valley Education Foundation, which later included officers Lisa Hiles and Kristin (Tirpak) Haas. The foundation funded educational opportunities for local students and teachers.

A member of the PVIAA since 1998, he is a former president and has been the association’s secretary/publicity liaison for the past nine years.

He operates McArdle Home Improvements in the summers; worked as an occasional TV-13 sports guest commentator; served as commissioner of the Summit Hill Adult Basketball League for a decade; and started a three-on-three charity basketball tournament in his hometown.

He is married to the former Anita Garfield, daughter of attorney Michael and Marianne (Bonner) Garfield of Summit Hill. Anita’s grandfather, the late Dr. Dennis Bonner, received the award in 1971. The McArdles have three children, Nick, a graduate of Kutztown University, and Riley and Chase, 10th-grade and sixth-grade students, respectively, in Panther Valley schools.

A son of former Shamrock Award recipient Paul McArdle Sr. and the late Gerrie (Wye) DeGiosio McArdle, Paul has two brothers, Gino and Antony DeGiosio, and two sisters, Claudia (DeGiosio) Krell and Mollie (McArdle) Dimicelli.

He is a member of St. Joseph Parish of the Panther Valley, Summit Hill.

McArdle graduated from Panther Valley High School in 1992 and King’s College in 1997, and received a master’s degree in 2004 from DeSales University.

The program will get underway on March 17 with a cocktail hour from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by the dinner and the program. Entertainment will be provided by the popular local band The McGeehan Duo, a father and daughter acoustic duo that covers many decades of “high energy” music. Tickets ($30 each) are available from association members Bob Crampsie, 570-657-1876; Pat Crampsie, 570-657-7598; and Jim Gurka, 570-952-1132.