Cameron County Sports Hall of Fame

Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 5 PM – 8 PM

 Cameron County High School

 Emporium, PA 15834 

Hosted by Hometown15834

 Hometown Mentors, Inc. is pleased to announce the recipients for its biennial Cameron County Sports Hall of Fame. This year, there are two inductees. First is the long-time head coach of the Cameron County Football Team, Coach John Fragale. Coach Fragale grew up in Emporium, Pennsylvania and graduated from Cameron County High School in 1966. He served as the Head Coach for the 1999 Raider squad. He coached the Red Raiders for over 35 of years, until his retirement in 2012. In the course of his tenure coaching, Coach Fragale mentored hundreds of young men both on the field and off field, which earned him the nick-name of ‘Papa John.’

HMI will also induct the 1999 Red Raider Football Team. The 1999 Football Team is among the most successful sports teams in Cameron County High School history. The team notably achieved a 12-1 record, becoming both the Allegheny Mountain League and District Nine champions in the process. Some of the most memorable games during the 1999 historic season were the long-awaited twin victories over the rival Smethport Hubbers during the regular season and in the AML Championship Game, the record-setting 72-6 victory over the Ridgway Elkers, and the miraculous final drive and victory over the Sharpsville Blue Devils, which launched the Red Raiders to the final eight in the PIAA Class A playoffs. The 1999 Red Raider season ended with heartbreaking double overtime loss against the Bishop Carroll Huskies.

The 1999 Team and Coach Fragale will be honored in a ceremony held at the Cameron County High School Auditorium on Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 5 p.m. All are encouraged to attend this event, and there is no admission fee. Any attendee desiring to donate to HMI will be able to do so at the ceremony. Questions about this event may be directed to Annette Campbell, Hall of Fame Project Manager and Joe Malizia, HMI President.

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Some of you may ask, what is Hometown Mentors? 

 Below is a short description and further information can be found by visiting their website at 

https://hometownmentors.com

 "The founder of HMI saw real needs in her rural, Pennsylvania, hometown of Emporium for help in making day to day life just a little more pleasant and she felt that there must be more former residents who want to find a way to give back to the place they call “Home”. She couldn’t be the only one.

During the initial research on how, exactly, to help bring money, experience and encouragement back home, she found that one way would be to have a nonprofit with an IRS tax exempt status of 501(c)3. Many can affirm that not much can be done, in the form of getting grants and major gifts, without having this status. So, she went to work to form a nonprofit corporation that would help the people still living in her hometown to be encouraged to move happily into the future.

With the enthusiastic help of a handful of volunteers who share her passion and love of Emporium, PA, Hometown Mentors was created. The status of “nonprofit charity” was certified by the IRS on December 8, 2011.

Over the next few years, the theory was proved and many worthwhile projects, private donations and grants gave encouragement back home. This volunteer corporation began to show Emporium, PA that she was not alone and the future would include all of us together. Through the help of social media, former residents from all over the world raised their hands saying, I want to help. Working together with the resident mentors, these former residents give personal donations. Local agencies and foundations, along with state and national corporations give grants and HMI continues to work together with all the stakeholders in Emporium to prove this theory.

If you are interested in details of the projects, you can find more detailed information about HMI at our website: http://hometownmentors.com. The point is, that working together all of us can give back, pay it forward and make a difference in our hometown. A capitol building project is enthusiastically being studied to begin in 2018."