Palmerton Area School District is set to receive three new athletic scoreboards courtesy of just over $62,000 in donations from a local communications company and several individuals.

New gymnasium scoreboards will be dedicated to legendary Palmerton basketball players Bill and Bob Mlkvy.

The district’s board last week approved a $22,064.50 donation from Pencor Services Inc. toward the purchase and installation of a scoreboard in Palmerton’s athletic stadium, and two $20,000 donations, one from Fred and Rosalie Reinhard and another from Donald Reinhard, for the purchase and installation of two new high school gymnasium scoreboards.

“We’re very thankful for these donations,” Palmerton Athletic Director Kyle Porembo said. “These are going to be a major upgrade for us and to have the support of these individuals and Pencor is really tremendous.”

Porembo said Palmerton would start the design process immediately following the school board’s approval.

The current stadium scoreboard, which is more than a decade old and was also purchased with the help of a Pencor donation, has had its share of issues over the past several years, going out in the middle of games.

In the fall, Palmerton reported that three LED logic boards for the stadium scoreboard were replaced at a cost of $1,450.

Bob Mlkvy’s son Richard spoke before the board.

“The family is absolutely honored to have them recognized for their contributions to the community,” Richard Mlkvy said. “Every time we went by that park in back of Lehigh Avenue, my dad would tell me how they played all day long and wouldn’t come home until the sun set. Palmerton basketball meant so much to him. I know he’d be thrilled and my uncle is as well.”

Bob, a 1957 graduate who passed away in 2016, scored 1,925 points in his Bomber career and led the team to three straight league titles. Palmerton also played for a state championship in 1956 against Farrell. A two-time all-state honoree, Mlkvy was named a Parade All-American in 1957.

Bill, 92, played at Palmerton from 1946-48 and led the Bombers to the 1948 Lehigh Valley League Championship. He went on to star at Temple University, scoring 1,539 career points, and spent one season in the NBA with the Philadelphia Warriors.

According to Porembo, Palmerton’s new gymnasium scoreboards will include certain in-game basketball statistics, showing the number of the players on the floor as well as their points and number of fouls.

“We’re really looking forward to this and anticipate installation sometime this summer,” Porembo said. “It is also going to give us an opportunity to help out some of our other schools by repurposing the current high school gymnasium scoreboards.”

Palmerton plans to move one of the high school scoreboards to the junior high school gymnasium and the other one to Towamensing Elementary.