By ROCHELLE A. SHENK Correspondent

Six Manheim/Manheim Central alumni will be inducted into the Manheim Central Hall of Fame during the 11th Annual Hall of Fame banquet at 4 p.m. March 31 at the Manheim Central High School.

The banquet begins with a social hour followed by dinner at 5 p.m. and induction ceremony presentations.

Board member Mike Clair said the Hall of Fame honors accomplishments of individuals who have brought recognition, honor, distinction and excellence to the Manheim Central school community. Nominees are alumni of Manheim Central or those who have made significant contributions to the Manheim Central school community over the course of at least 10 years. Names of those inducted into the Hall of Fame are on plaques that are displayed in two places in Manheim Central High School.

The cost of the Hall of Fame banquet is $30 per person. For information or reservations, call Mike Clair at 665-3232.

Inductees for 2012 are Henry "Hen" Bell, John Brubaker, Kurt Gibble, Richard Hammer, Carolyn Knight Peters and Hilary Waltman.

Henry "Hen" Bell is being honored as a Manheim Central teacher and basketball and baseball coach. A 1954 graduate of Columbia High School and a 1958 graduate of Millersville State Teachers College (now Millersville University), he was a four-year starter at second base at Columbia. From 1961 to 1971 he played fast pitch softball in the Lancaster Rec League and PA Major Softball League. His teaching career began at Hempfield High School in 1958, and he started his coaching career as an assistant basketball coach and head baseball coach in Columbia. In 1966 Bell moved to Manheim Central as a teacher and assistant basketball coach. He coached basketball on all levels, from junior high and junior varsity to high school head coach. Bell made his mark as coach at Central as the head baseball coach. During his 28-year career, his teams won eight section titles and four league championships. He was a two-time L-L League Coach of the Year and produced 27 consecutive winning seasons. Four of Bell's players signed professional contracts. Honors include the Lancaster County Sports Hall of Fame and the J. Freeland Chryst Sports Achievement Award by the Lancaster County Old Timers Athletic Association.

John Brubaker is being honored as an outstanding athlete and coach. A 1983 graduate of Manheim Central and a 1987 graduate of Millersville University with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Arts, Brubaker earned six varsity letters three each in football and track during his athletics career at Manheim Central. He was a three-year starter at running back and holds the career rushing record with 2,919 yards. As a sophomore, Brubaker was a member of Manheim Central's first-ever 10-0 team. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in both his junior (1,071) and senior (1,284) seasons and set school records with Most Carries in a Game (37) and in a Season (258). Brubaker was voted to the 1982 Big 33 All-Star team as a running back. In track, he set school records in the triple jump at 44 feet 1 inch and the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.1. At Millersville, Brubaker played varsity football three years and earned letters as a junior and senior. After graduation he returned to Manheim Central as an Industrial Arts teacher and continues in that position today. He began coaching football as an assistant in 1987 and served as junior varsity head coach from 1988 to 1991. Since 1992, Brubaker has been the Barons defensive coordinator. Brubaker also served as boy's track head coach from 1988 to 2002. During his tenure the Barons won two section tiles and had nine winning seasons. His track-and-field teams set 15 MC school records.

Kurt Gibble is being honored for his career in physics. An experimental and theoretical physicist, he graduated from Manheim Central in 1982, graduated with highest honors from Lehigh University with a degree in Engineering Physics in 1986, and earned a Ph.D. at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1990. He was a post-doctoral researcher at Stanford University with Steven Chu, Nobel Prize winner and current Secretary of Energy. In 1993, Gibble joined the physics faculty at Yale University and moved to Penn State in 2001. His research has advanced the accuracy of the world's best atomic clocks and has contributed to studies of the scattering of atoms at ultralow energies. He is an avid cyclist, qualifying for the U. S. Nationals on the track and road and finishing in the top 25 at the 1985 National Criterium Championship.

Richard Hammer is being honored for his career as a sportscaster. A 1952 graduate of Manheim Central High School, he attended Franklin & Marshall College from 1952 to 1954 and graduated from Temple University with a bachelor's degree in Communications in 1957. Hammer was the play-by-play announcer for basketball and football for Easton, Nazareth and Wilson high schools in Pennsylvania and Phillipsburg and Phillipsburg Catholic high schools in New Jersey as well as Lafayette College in Easton. He did the play-by-play announcing for Lafayette College in the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Neb. From 1967 to 1975 Hammer was a member of the NBC News Bureau in Cleveland, Ohio, serving as a sports reporter and weekend sports anchor on WKYC-TV and providing film reports on sporting events for NBC affiliates across the country including the Today Show. Some of his highlights include interviewing Cleveland Indians manager Frank Robinson on the Today Show and announcing a Cleveland Browns-San Diego preseason game and a Cleveland Indians-Kansas City baseball game. He called Gordie Howe's 700th goal, did baseball All-Star Game previews, Ohio State Rose Bowl specials and baseball spring training previews in Arizona and Florida. He also announced the Detroit Tigers pennant-clinching baseball game. Other coverage included U.S. Open Golf at Oakmont and Firestone Golf tournaments. He continues freelancing as a reporter covering Lafayette College football and basketball. Honors include the Lafayette College Sports Hall of Fame, PA District 11 Wrestling Hall of Fame, McDonald's All-Star High School Football game Hall of Fame, Easton's Schoolmen's Association Man of the Year and the Lifetime Service Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Link:
Banquet to honor Manheim and Manheim Central standouts