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Sunday, April 28, 2024 | 10:33 AM
Hempfield events coordinator Tom Evans holds the American flag for the national anthem before Hempfield plays Mifflin County in a PIAA first-round softball game June 5, 2023, at Robert D. Kalp Field at Hempfield Area High School.
Hempfield events coordinator Tom Evans holds the American flag for the national anthem before Hempfield plays Mifflin County in a PIAA first-round softball game June 5, 2023, at Robert D. Kalp Field at Hempfield Area High School.
Tom Evans retired as a teacher and athletic director from the Yough School District in 2020.
But he really hasn’t stepped away completely from the high school sports scene.
Evans has been an event coordinator at Hempfield and remains on the WPIAL board of directors, most recently as the junior high representative.
Evans also has been a PIAA official for more than 38 years and has served on various committees with the WPIAL.
At Monday’s 68th annual Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete banquet at Ferrante’s Lakeview, Evans will receive the Michael and John Ferrante Memorial Award for his work promoting the sport and student-athletes.
“It’s an honor to be selected,” Evans said. “There are a lot of great people that have received this award and to be mentioned with them is a privilege.
“I was just trying to do my best to help promote high school athletes and teams. I’d like to thank Yough, Hempfield and the WPIAL for providing me that opportunity.”
Evans called the late Paul Zolak his mentor. Zolak, who recently passed away, was an athletic director at Belle Vernon, Ringgold and Bethel Park.
Evans was the 2016 WPIAL Athletic Director of the Year and was given the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Distinguished Sport of Merit at the State Athletic Directors Conference in 2019.
“I didn’t consider being an athletic director as a job,” Evans said. “I felt it was a privilege.”
Evans has been a golf steering committee member, financial tournament manager of the wrestling committee, liaison for the football and soccer championships at Acrisure Stadium and Highmark Stadium, a member of the WPIAL Hall of Fame committee and member of the WPIAL board of directors.
He is a past president of the WPIAL Athletic Directors Association.
Evans also taught middle school civics for 36 years.
“I’m leaving with great memories at Yough,” Evans said. “I had two great secretaries in Ellen Kearns and Francine Huss, and I worked with a lot of great coaches at the school.”
Some of those memories included the softball team winning a WPIAL title in 2011 and PIAA championship in 2016 and the basketball team making the WPIAL championship game in 2005.
Evans, a Donora native, graduated from Ringgold High School and PennWest-California.
KDKA sportscaster Josh Taylor will be the guest speaker at Monday’s banquet, which also will recognize the Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete Excellence Award nominees.
The sponsors are Excela Health, Drs. Geoff and Greg Bisignani and Ferrante’s Lakeview.
JOHN AND MICHAEL FERRANTE MEMORIAL AWARD WINNERS
1984: Frank Buscanics
1985: James Weir
1986: Robert Rodebaugh
1987: John Bacha
1988: Donald Hall
1989: Henry Funk
1990: Lawrence Dalla Betta
1991: Frank “Patsy” Malpezzi
1992: Oliver “Ollie” Molter
1993: Howard “Huddie” Kaufman
1994: Gary Garrison
1995: Robert Van Atta
1996: Ralph W. Snyder
1997: Ronald Peduzzi
1998: Joseph Mucci
1999: Judge Charles E. Marker
2000: William “Bill” Abraham
2001: Joseph E. Pellis
2002: Bob “Spike” Melago
2003: Ralph R. Conde
2004: Bob Trautwine
2005: William “Bill” Priatko
2006: James “Jim” Farrell
2007: Dave P. McNichol
2008: Ron Firment
2009: Gerald Page
2010: Patrick Ratesic
2011: Raymond Zsolcsak
2012: Tom Traynor
2013: Bob Murphy
2014: Carl Davis
2015: Art Tragesser
2016: Paul Schofield
2017: John Sullivan
2018: Bob Kalp
2019: Lynn Jobe
2020: Ron Colland
2021: Chuck Tursky
2022: Roy Hall
2023: LaRoyal Wilson
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at [email protected].
