Before the end of another school year, the Parkland School District Education Foundation celebrated the accomplishments of the previous Parkland graduates at its fourth annual Distinguished Alumni Gala.

This year's event, "Fabulous '50s Sock Hop" took place May 4 at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center, Fogelsville.

Instead of place cards, old 45s were handed to arriving guests, who spent the evening in a reception hall decorated in pink and black, complete with giant painted ice cream cones and real miniature milkshakes.

The evening of celebration was attended by members of the foundation, Parkland School District board members, staff and educators, generous foundation sponsors, honorees and community members who share in the foundation's common goal of "Preserving Excellence, Building a Dream."

Buddy Lesavoy, president of PSDEF addressed the audience.

"It's amazing what this foundation has accomplished in four short years. Since its inception, the foundation has contributed over $400,000 back to school district," he said.

Lesavoy especially thanked the lead gala sponsors at Coordinated Health, Computer Aid, Inc. and Service Electric Cable TV as well as Scholarship level sponsors, Justin Sheftel Memorial Fund and The Tustin Group.

The excellence and talents of the proud Parkland community shone throughout the evening.

From the emcees to the entertainment, Parkland students and alumni did it all.

The emcees for the program were Erich Joella and Stacy Stauffer.

Joella has been teaching at Parkland since 1996 and is the assistant director for Visual and Performing Arts director and music teacher at Orefield Middle School.

Stauffer, a 1991 Parkland graduate, worked for WFMZ and WBRE in Wilkes-Barre and has anchored for NBC 10 News and Fox News in Philadelphia.

Currently, she has earned a spot as one of QVCs on-air hosts.

Even the entertainment for the evening was provided by Parkland talent, featuring the Parkland High School Jazz Ensemble during the cocktail reception, a performance by the Middle Schools' Combined Chorale of songs from the musical "Grease" and the featured performer, Joe Sibilia, an accomplished singer and entertainer and Parkland graduate filled the room with story and song during the dinner hour.

The spotlight of the evening, however, was to introduce five very special former Trojans, who are the 2015 Inductees to the Parkland School District Education Foundation's Wall of Honor.

Video vignettes of each of the inductees were produced from start to finish by the student members of the Parkland Morning News.

Inductee Curtis Schneck hails from the Class of 1951.

Also a graduate of Penn State, Allentown campus, he started the Curtis E. Schneck, Inc. building company in 1964, which began developing housing communities in 1967, which now include Crestwood Heights, Meadow View Farms, Wayside Manor II, and Fairland Farms.

Schneck is an active member of the Pennsylvania and National Home Builders Association and co-founder of the Upper Lehigh Historical Society.

A husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Schneck is noted throughout the community for his service, dedication and support of educational efforts for students throughout the Lehigh Valley.

Schneck is currently building homes with the aging population in mind.

"I am really lucky to be able to promote the concept of Universal Design or "Aging in Place" which means there are no steps and no barriers between rooms, allowing older people to stay in their homes and not end up in retirement communities," Schneck said.

Inductees Dawn Spence '84 and Donna Spence-Katcher '76 are sisters, who raise money and awareness in support of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Spence is an ALS community ambassador and received the 2014 Betsy Fink Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award.

Spence-Katcher was a player on the 1975 Parkland PIAA first State Softball Championship and in 2007, was inducted into the Lehigh Valley Softball Hall of Fame.

In 2005, Spence-Katcher was diagnosed with ALS.

Together, they formed Donna's Dugout ALS Walk Team, which, as of 2014, has raised more than $130,000 to help others living with ALS.

"It was a huge honor to be amongst these other gentleman in the community, whose accomplishments seem so much more than what we have done," said Spence-Katcher. "I'm one of the few who is able to be an advocate, to be able to walk, talk and speak for those who can't."

Her sister commented.

"I wish the plaque could put everybody, all the family and friends on the team, because it's a whole crew of family and friends that make Donna's Dugout what it has become."

Jason Toff, the youngest-ever inductee, graduated from Parkland in 2004.

Toff received a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School.

He is currently the general manager of Vine, Twitter.

While in high school, Toff implemented the Peers Assisting Learning Support program, which has since expanded beyond the school halls into a nonprofit organization providing summer camps for teenagers with Down syndrome.

In his video vignette, Toff comments on his inspiration for creating PALS.

"When I was a junior at Parkland, I went to my aunt's birthday party. My aunt has Down syndrome.

"I remember driving back from that pizza party and wondering if we could have the same sorts of experiences at Parkland High School."

"The goal of PALS is to foster relationships with people...to create events where people with and without disabilities can have fun being together," he said.

That was over a decade ago, and today PALS at PHS is still one of the most active and admired clubs at the high school.

In a very short time, Toff has catapulted to success, but he still gives credit to his family and Parkland for his success.

"I definitely did not ever imagine I'd be here 11 years out of high school. It feels good," Toff said.

Ken Zellner from the class of '63 was honored for his love of education.

Receiving his Bachelor of Science in elementary education and Masters of Education from Kutztown University, Zellner returned to Parkland School District as a teacher and administrator.

He has been an adjunct professor for Muhlenberg College and Lehigh and Kutztown universities and has received numerous accolades and awards for his excellence in teaching including the Presidential Award for Excellence in science and math Teaching and the "Excellence in Teaching" Congressional Citation from the state House of Representatives.

As educator, husband and father, he has impacted the lives of innumerous students and members of the community, some of whom he says he had the opportunity to catch up with during the evening.

"It was just an amazing night and I actually connected with some of my former students tonight," Zellner said. "Of course, I knew Curtis Schneck very well and it was such an honor to go in with him."

The Parkland School District Education Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization that exists to raise money and in-kind contributions for the benefit of students, curriculum, and facilities.

It states its primary goal is to raise funds to promote, enhance, and supplement the educational and co-curricular programs for the benefit of students and staff in the Parkland School District in order to preserve a tradition of excellence and help build the dreams of children in our community.

Examples of funded items are in the form of "Celebrate Innovation" grants that PSD staff can apply for and that are designed to enrich the curriculum, benefit a wide range of students, staff or community members, have measurable educational benefits, and are financially sound.

Three such grants were featured with a slide illuminating the impact the grants had on students and curriculum.

Elementary students enjoying a music class were the focus of the "Fostering the Four C's with Classroom Instruments" grant used to purchase alto, soprano and bass xylophones along with four hand drums.

The purchase of these instruments assisted the elementary approach to teaching music and added interest to music.

The "Stand Up for Learning" grant provided four adjustable height desks and stools which will be used in the classroom to accommodate students with a need for movement, especially students with ADHD.

The third grant was "Vex Robotics."

This grant provided Vex Robotics kits to increase the Engineer Club to three teams working on separate robots.

According to Robert Yocum, Technical Education/Engineering teacher,

"In Vex Robotics, they give you a different task every year and the students have to collaboratively design and build a robot that is going to solve whatever task they come up with."

These grants were just a few of the multitude of ways the PSDEF supports the district.

To do so requires funding and during the gala guests bid on silent and live auction items.

Many of the hottest items up for auction were pieces of artwork and crafting created and donated by Parkland students.

"They know they're giving back, knowing they are helping pay for kids coming up after them," commented school board member Lisa Adams.

The teachers also find the foundation is a way of giving back and showing pride in their district.

"The teachers are immensely proud to work in a community that values education as much as Parkland does," said Sandi Gackenbach, a foundation member, president of the teacher's union, and teacher at Springhouse.

In his closing remarks for the evening, Richard Sniscack, superintendent of Parkland Schools spoke of the changing demographics of the district and asked the question, "How do we transition from an agricultural school to a suburban school?"

"Diversity in this district is what makes it special," said Sniscack, who thanked the education foundation for its outstanding efforts to meet the increasing demands on public schools.

"I'm so proud to say our students and staff are heeding these challenges and have succeeded in all areas, continuing to raise the bar in academics in the arts and athletics," he said. "For four years, the foundation has had the strength to battle these challenges, but needs your continued support in doing so.

"With that support, we promise to keep providing a comprehensive educational program that is rich in visual and performing arts and athletic opportunities for our children."