The 96th Penn Manor Alumni Banquet was held on Saturday, April 16th in the Penn Manor High School cafeteria. This year, alumni who have chosen a career related to the field of education were saluted. Three alumni were honored and inducted into the Distinguished Alumni Wall of Honor – Dr. Daniel Witmer (Class of 1956), Dr. Joseph McSparran (Class of 1961) and Dr. Dean Hess (Class of 1968).
Dr. Daniel C. Witmer graduated from Penn Manor High School in 1956. He earned his B.S. and his Master’s from Millersville University, his Principal’s Certificate from Temple University in 1970 and his Ed.D. in 1976 from Penn State University. After serving in the U.S. Army, Dr. Witmer taught science at Manheim Township School District from 1962 until 1970 and later was Assistant Superintendent at Dallastown School District. From 1980 to 1990, he was Superintendent of Schools at Conestoga Valley School District where the special education and arts annex bear his name. Dr. Witmer served as President of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce from 1990 to 2000. He is a gifted metal sculptor and has been very involved on numerous community boards in the Lancaster area such as Rotary, United Way, YMCA and Lancaster County Art Association. A scholarship received from the Penn Manor Alumni Association made college possible for him.
Dr. Joseph E. McSparran graduated from Penn Manor High School in 1961. He went on to graduate from West Chester University with a B.S. in Secondary English, earned his Master’s in Educational Administartion from Fairfield University in Connecticut in 1970 and his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983. Dr. McSparran began his administrative career in education in the Manheim Central School District in 1971 as Assistant High School Principal. He served as Superintendent of Schools from 1990 to 1995. From 1996 until the present time, Dr. McSparran has been employed as a professor at Kutztown University. He is a published author. His most recent endeavor is a brochure, “The Other Freshmen Fifteen: Surviving First Semester” for first year college students to help them navigate the critical transition to life on a college campus. In 2010, Dr. McSparran gave the commencement address for Kutztown University.
Dr. Dean R. Hess graduated from Penn Manor High School in 1968. He graduated from Messiah College in 1972, earned his Master’s degree from Millersville University in 1980 and his Ph.D. from LaSalle University in 1994. Dr. Hess currently teaches Anesthesia at the Harvard Medical School and is Assistant Director of Respiratory Care at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Hess has published over 200 papers and 7 books, done extensive medical research and won many prestigious awards such as the Forrest M. Bird Award for Lifetime Scientific Achievement. He has been the Editor-in-Chief of Respiratory Care, the official science journal of the American Association for Respiratory Care since 2008. Dr. Hess has lectured extensively throughout the United States as well as in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa and South America.
