School announces new Hall of Fame honorees

FREEHOLD — What do a state legislator, a college professor, a broadcast journalist, the president of an amusement park and a rocket scientist all have in common?

They all graduated from Freehold High School and will be the 2009 inductees into Freehold High School’s Hall of Fame.

Once again, members of the Freehold High School Hall of Fame Committee are preparing to honor a group of graduates who have distinguished themselves in a variety of fields and who have proven themselves to be positive role models to current students.

Teacher Susan Schrott, who chairs the Hall of Fame Committee, announced the 2009 Hall of Fame honorees:

• New Jersey legislator Clifton T. Barkalow, class of 1926, who is being honored posthumously;

• Professor Daniel Boyarin, class of 1964, an author and professor at the University of California at Berkeley;

• Kevin Christopher, class of 1969, a broadcast journalist in Lexington, Ky.;

• Mark Kane, class of 1972, the president of Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson;

• Dr. Howard Kanner, class of 1987, who is a rocket scientist.

A banquet to honor the inductees will be held on April 2, 2009 at the Battleground Country Club, Manalapan. Tickets are $40. To buy a ticket or to place an ad in the event program, contact Schrott at 732-431-8360.

Schrott said these graduates deserve to be recognized for their accomplishments.

“We are so proud of them. These people have gone on to excel in their field and they deserve to be honored. This is a tiny high school and look at what these people have done,” she said.

Schrott, who is an FHS graduate, said the strong sense of community is one of the things that makes the high school unique.

“Everyone knows Freehold High School is a well-kept secret. It needs to be recognized for that,” she said. “Until you’ve walked the halls of the high school and have gotten a sense of Colonial pride, you cannot know what it’s really like.”

The newest inductees into the Quarter Century Club — staff members with 25 or more years of service to Freehold High School — will also be honored. They are Vincent Serencko, William H. Spaholz, Kent Zerby, Edna Kelly, Al Bennett, Ruth Schwimer, Paul Mitchell, Hal Schanck, Fred Carter, Dorothy Stutzman and Earl Stillwell.

— Clare Marie Celano