The Carbon County Hall of Sports Hall of Fame committee will hold its 2026 induction dinner and program on Sunday, May 24, at the Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company hall.

The ceremony will honor 25 inductees from six Carbon County communities, and Coaldale and Tamaqua who were selected for the honor by committees representing each of the towns.

The doors will open at 12:30 p.m., and the banquet will commence at 1:45 p.m.

The inductees include:

Coaldale – Christa (Mantz) Evanko, John Molotzak and Dr. Karoline Vavra.

Jim Thorpe – Walt Schlenner, David Reese and Joe Rader.

Lansford – John “Jack” Steber, John Hackash Jr. and Jake Figner.

Lehighton – Glenn Neff, Jacen Nalesnik and Rick Kirkendall.

Nesquehoning – Dr. Mark Makovec, Mike Makovec, Ryan Richards and Mike Lopata.

Palmerton – Geno Roberts, Darryl Roberts and Jerry Snyder.

Summit Hill – Ed Shober Jr., Fred Cinicola and Victor Koshuta.

Tamaqua – Brayden Knoblauch, Emma Kuczynski and Amber Carroll.

Tickets to the event are available from the following: Dan McGinley, 570-325-3550, Vince Spisak, 570-645-4542, Jake Boyer, 610-751-6634, Trevor Lawrence, 570-645-4722, Bill Gardiner, 570-669- 6564, Bob Gelatko, 570-645-7565, Evan Evans, 570-645-7716, Jeff Hager, 610-737-2577, and Brandon Heffelfinger, 570-273-5555, or 570-449-6664.

The Times News will begin running the biographies of the inductees by town on Saturdays. The inductees representing Jim Thorpe are as follows:

Joe Rader

Joe Rader graduated from Jim Thorpe Area High School in 1993, and when his basketball career was over, he was the all-time leading scorer in school history, compiling 1,348 points.

Rader received three varsity letters in basketball. He was a two-time MVP, averaging over 20 points per game in each his junior and senior season. Rader’s teams qualified for the District 11 playoffs in each of his three years on the varsity.

During his junior year of 1991-92, the Olympians finished as the District 11 runnerup with an overall record of 20-8 and a league mark of 11-3. The following season, he captained the Olympians during the 1992-93 season, when he scored a total of 485 points.

Rader scored in double figures in 52 of his final 53 high school games with a career high of 31 points. He was a two-time First Team selection of the TIMES NEWS; represented the Pocono Region in the Keystone Games; was on the Sesquicentennial 1993 Boys Basketball Team; and was selected to the Fifth Team All-State Team in 1992-93 that included both Class A and AA players.

At that time, Rader was only the second player in the history of Jim Thorpe to make any of the All-State teams in basketball. Don Herman was the other, making the first team in 1972.

He averaged double figures in three consecutive campaigns, 12.4 as a sophomore, 20 as a junior and 20.2 in his senior year.

Joe was named to the Fifth Team (A and AA) All State after the 1992-93 season.

After graduating from Jim Thorpe, Rader went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Muhlenberg College, where he also earned a varsity letter in basketball. He received his M.ED. from Widener University and his ED.S. in Educational Leadership from Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida.

Since that time, Rader has been a special education teacher at Collier County, Florida. He was the head varsity basketball coach at Palmetto Ridge High School in Naples, Florida, from 2004-11, and has been the head coach at Baron Collier High School, also in Naples, from 2012-present.

Rader lives in Naples with his wife, Jen, and their two sons, Mason and Quinn.

David Reese

David Reese graduated from Jim Thorpe Area High School in 1995 and during his athletic career there he distinguished himself as a three-sport star.

Dave earned four letters in football and wrestling and three letters in baseball.

On the mat, Dave compiled an overall record of 71-32, including a 20-5 mark in his senior year.

During his wrestling career, he finished in third place in the 1992-93 Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament at 125 pounds, which he followed up with first place finishes in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 tournaments.

His greatest achievement in wrestling was winning the 1995 Schuylkill-Carbon Interscholastic Athlete League in 1995, wrestling in the 125-pound weight class.

Dave was a Blue Ridge TV 13 Athlete of the Week in September, 1995.

During his football career, he was named to the Times News All Area Football Team as a linebacker in both 1994 and 1995.

After his graduation, he became an assistant wrestling coach at his alma mater, serving during the 2000, 2001 and 2002 campaigns.

Dave is the son of Rose Reese and the late Randy Reese. He is married to Diane (Sommers) and together they have two children. Keira is a senior and Brian is a freshman at Jim Thorpe Area High School.

The family resides in Jim Thorpe where Dave is employed by the borough.

Walter Schlenner

Walter Schlenner, a lifelong resident of Jim Thorpe, is well-known throughout the area for his athletic ability and coaching style in basketball and football.

His love of sports started when he was a youth and played quarterback for his knee-hi football team. Playing under the direction of Ralph Lennon and John Maehrer, the signal-calling duties sparked Walt’s love of the sport and eventually led him to an amazing high school career.

Playing basketball in the junior high for the Hammers of St. Joseph’s Catholic School, Jim Thorpe, he refined his shooting style and made many shots from outside the arc when three-pointers were not recognized. Under the coaching of Phil “Pip” Rader and Randy Rabenold, Walt was nicknamed “The Garbage Man” because he could pick up any loose ball and make a basket out of it.

In high school, he earned a total of seven varsity letters in football and basketball. As a quarterback for the Olympians in his freshman year, under the direction of the legendary coaches Angelo Konstas, Ed Lucas and Jim Kroculick, he was part of the only undefeated Jim Thorpe football team in 1966.

In that undefeated season, the team was 8-0, with five shutouts, scoring 245 points (30.6 per game) and only allowed 28 points the entire campaign.

In 1969, Walt was a member of the Olympians’ grid team that won the Carbon County-Panther Valley Trophy with a record of 8-2.

He and his 1966 and 1969 teammates were inducted into the Jim Thorpe Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and 2019, respectively, for their outstanding seasons.

In his senior year, Walt was selected to receive the coveted Phil Heraty Award for leadership and sportsmanship, prompting Coach Lucas to say, “Walt was one of the most talented quarterbacks to ever represent Jim Thorpe in all of my years of coaching.”

In 1969, Walt was named the team’s Most Valuable Player.

Walt eventually started a career in coaching, initiating a Girls’ Basketball Booster Club program in 1996 for girls in fifth and sixth grades. The program grew to have an annual participation of over 100 girls. His coaching eventually led him to being named seventh and eighth grade girls’ coach at Jim Thorpe, a post he held for four years, after which time in 2000 he became the Jim Thorpe girls’ varsity basketball coach, a post which he held for three years.

In 2007, Walt utilized his knowledge of basketball to become a PIAA basketball official and went on to become well-known in the Schuylkill and Colonial leagues. He maintained his PIAA status, however, in 2020, he was offered a coaching position again, this time for the boys’ freshmen/junior high basketball teams at Jim Thorpe. Since that time, he has led his teams to four wining seasons.

Spiritually, Walt is a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in the Heights, Jim Thorpe, where he has served as council president for over 30 years.

Walt is currently retired but continues to stay active in coaching.

He is married to Fay (Kemmerle) Schlenner since 1980, and they have two daughters, Karen Schlenner Pruyne, wife of Eric, of Cheshire, CT, and Tiffany Schlenner Engel, wife of Ryan, of Shavertown. They have four grandchildren, Adley, Amaris, Zoe and Alexander.