The Bangor Slater Athletic Hall of Fame honors individuals, establishes pride, and preserves the tradition of the Bangor Athletic program by honoring those who have made a significant contribution to athletics in the Bangor Area School District.
Chris Due was the recipient of seven varsity letters and a major contributor to the success of three Bangor Slater athletic teams from 1983 to 1986. He played three years of varsity football, serving as team captain in 1985. He played basketball during the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons. During his senior year, the basketball team won the Colonial League championship. He was also a member of the track team in 1983 and 1984.
His football honors include Second Team All Colonial League selection in 1984 and First Team All Colonial League selection in 1985, both times as defensive end. Chris was chosen to play in the Lehigh Valley All Star Football Classic in 1986 and was also the Scholar Athlete representative for the 1985 football team.
After graduation from Bangor High School, Chris received an associate's degree from Lehigh Carbon Community College in 1997 where he majored as a physical therapy assistant. He continued his education at Moravian College where he graduated in 1990 with a major in biology. While at Moravian, he played football from 1987 to 1989 and was a member of the MAC Championship Team in 1988. He served as the Scholar Athlete representative for the Moravian College football team in 1989.
He is currently a licensed physical therapist assistant in the state of Pennsylvania and is employed by St. Luke's Hospital. He is in his second year of graduate school at Neumann College in Aston, PA, where he is working towards a Master's Degree in Physical Therapy. He and his wife, Michele, have two daughters, Maggie, age 5, and Carrie, age 2.
Top Rodney Heard was a standout athlete for the Bangor Slaters. He was the starting running back for three years in football, the starting 2nd baseman for three years in baseball, and a sprinter for two years on the track team. He was a member of the Colonial League Championship Football Team in 1987 and 1988. He was also a member of the District XI Championship Team in 1987, Bangor's only undefeated and untied team. The team was District XI runner up in 1988.
In his senior year, Rodney served as team captain and was honored as First Team Colonial League running back. He received a nomination to the Big 33 Football Classic as a running back, and played in the Lehigh Valley Football All Star Classic as a linebacker. He also received the Sherwin Albert Career MVP Award. He graduated with three career records:
- Rushing yards: 2171
- Touchdowns: 26
- Points scored: 164
- Rodney's baseball statistics are equally impressive:
- 34 Runs scored in 1989 (1st all time)
- 42 Career stolen bases (2nd all time)
- 7 Career triples (2nd all time)
- 66 Career runs (5th all time)
- 43 Career walks (5th all time)
- 57 Career hits (10th all time)
- 34 Career RBI's (12th all time)
- .406 Batting average in 1988
In 1988 and 1989, Rodney was a sprinter for the track team during baseball season and qualified for the district meet both years. He was 4th in the 100M dash at district’s in 1988 and 2nd in the league meet in the 4x100M relay in 1988 and 1989.
Rodney graduated cum laud with a BS from East Stroudsburg University in 1995. He later received a diploma from the Information Computer Systems Institute in 1998.
He is currently a systems analyst and wellness coordinator for MetLife in Scranton. He is pursuing his M.S. degree with a graduate scholarship at Marywood University. He and his wife Pam, a health and physical education teacher, live in North Abington Township.
Alicia Miller Karner earned eleven varsity letters in field hockey, basketball, and track and field while competing for the Bangor Slaters. Four of her letters were earned in field hockey where she set records with 50 career goals and 18 goals scored in a season. In 1991, she was selected as team captain and MVP. She was selected for Colonial League Honors in field hockey three times: Honorable Mention in 1989, 2nd Team in 1990, and 1st Team in 1991.
As a member of the basketball team, Alicia earned three varsity letters. She was selected as Most Improved Player in 1989-90 and MVP in 1990-91. She was also the team captain in 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Alicia competed as a hurdler and a runner on the track and field team where she earned four varsity letters. She was the Colonial League Champion in the 110 high hurdles in 1991 and a member of the record setting 400-meter relay team in 1992
After graduation from Bangor High School, Alicia attended LaSalle University and played field hockey in 1992. She received her degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 1996. She also coached the JV field hockey team at Wilson High School in 1997 and 1998.
Alicia currently serves as District Chief of Staff to State Representative Lisa Boscola. She is the President of Bangor Borough Council and a member of the Bangor Economic Development Corporation Board.
She and her husband, Larry, a Bangor graduate, are expecting their first child.
Duane Miller lettered three years in football at Bangor High School where he served as team co-captain and played halfback and safety. He was regarded as an outstanding defensive tackler. He was also a two-year letterman in basketball where he was noted for his two-handed set shot. He lettered two years in baseball as well, playing positions in the outfield.
After high school Duane played football on the Muhlenberg freshman team where he was awarded a football for key defensive play for an interception in a win over Temple. He attended Muhlenberg for one and a half years and then continued with evening classes for ten years. He is one course shy of a BS degree in psychology.
He served as the Bee Hive Youth Center Supervisor for 20 years. He was also mayor of Bangor for 16 years, from 1974 to 1989. He served on the Northampton County Council for four years, from 1990 to 1994. He taught Sunday School for eight years and served on the church council for six years. He also sings in the church choir.
Duane has been married for 46 years and has four children and eight grandchildren. He is the owner of Miller's Paint & Wallpaper Stores where he has been employed for 44 years.
Martha Heard VanEtten was a starter for the Slater girls basketball team in her sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school. She earned three varsity letters and was the leading scorer during her junior and senior years. She served as captain of the team during her senior year and was frequently the co-captain of the team during her junior year, earned by merit, based on her performance in the previous game.
She feels that she was part of something extraordinary because the team was undefeated in league play during all three of her years on the team, 1971-72, 1972-73, and 1973-74. She acknowledges the other team members and Coach Dolores Faust for the team's success.
Martha has a B.S .in Business with an emphasis in marketing from the College of New Jersey where she was elected to Delta Mu Delta, a national honor society in business administration.
Martha, a market research analyst, worked for the Gallup Organization in Princeton, NJ for eight years. She is currently employed by ARBOR Opinion Research, where she has worked for the past 14 years. She is married to Scott VanEtten, an environmental chemist.
Charles Sandwick, a 1944 Easton High School graduate became head track coach at Bangor High School in 1960 and continued to coach until 1979. In 1962, he started girls track, which he coached for four seasons. He also started a boys cross country team in 1971, which he coached for 13 seasons, ending in 1983. During the 1960’s and 1970’s he volunteered his time to organize a summer track program for boys and girls from the entire Slate Belt. Team members competed in local and Junior Olympic meets.
His coaching records include:
- 1966 Penn Relays - Mile Relay Team High School Class Winner
- 1968, 1976, 1977 - Lehigh Northampton League Track Champs
- 1968 - District XI PIAA Class B School Champs
- 1968 - State Track Meet - Kim Bellis took firsts in the long and triple jump
- 1976 and 1977 - District XI Boys and Girls Cross Country Champs
- 1976 and 1977 - Colonial League Boys and Girls Cross Country Champs
After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He served aboard a battleship in the Pacific Theater and in Europe and Asia before discharge in August 1946. He attended Lehigh University from 1946 to 1950 on the G.I. Bill. He received his B.A. from Lehigh, his master's degree from Temple University, and studied in a Ph. D. program at Ohio State University.
He began his teaching career in a one-room school house in Williams Township in 1950. In 1954 he joined the teaching staff at Bangor High School. He retired from the Bangor School District in 1982, but continued to coach cross country for one additional year. He became a registered track official and officiated at school and college meets in the Lehigh Valley.
He served as mayor of East Bangor for two terms (1975-1982) and is a past commander of the Brown & Lynch American Legion Post in Palmer Township. He is also a member and past president of the Sertoma Club (50 years), a member of the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and a member and past president of the Northampton County Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees.
He is married to the former Anna Mae (Maisie) Steckel. He has two daughters, Linda Tona (BHS 1973) and Susan Spencer (BHS 1976). He and his wife have nine grandchildren.
Dick Smith served as the assistant football coach for Bangor High School football under head coach, Paul Farnan, for 24 years (1975 to 1998). He coached the offensive and defensive linemen and served as defensive coordinator from 1983 to1996. During his coaching tenure, the Slater football team achieved the following honors:
- League Championships
- 1987, 1988, 1990, 1997
- District XI Championship
- 1987
- District XI Runner-up
- 1988, 1992
- Eastern Conference Championships
- 1997, 1998
He is a 1967 graduate of Pius X High School and a 1971 graduate of Kutztown University, where he received a B.S. in Elementary Education. In 1977, he received his Master's Degree in Elementary Education from East Stroudsburg University. In 1992, he obtained his Elementary Principal Certification from Lehigh University.
He is currently in his seventh year as principal of the DeFranco Elementary School. His wife, Ann, is the school nurse at Five Points Elementary School. They live in Bangor and have two sons: Ryan, a BHS graduate, who is in his fourth year of medical school, and Michael, a first year law student at Syracuse University.
