The Blue Mountain All-Sports Hall of Fame will hold its 2013 induction ceremony at halftime of tonight's football game between Blue Mountain and Wyomissing.
A pre-game gathering will be held for inductees, their guests and all current Hall of Fame members at the Eagles' Nest. Following the game, a reception will be held at Roman Delight Restaurant, Orwigsburg.
Seven members will be inducted as part of this year's Hall of Fame class.
The following people will be honored:
Luke Brown
A 2001 graduate, Brown played football and baseball for the Eagles.
Brown played guard, middle linebacker and defensive end on the football team and catcher for the baseball team, earning three letters in each. He helped the squad to back-to-back District 11 Class AAA titles during his junior and senior seasons, earning Schuylkill County Football Coaches Association first-team and Republican-Herald All-Area first-team honors and helping the Eagles to the PIAA quarterfinals.
As a senior in 2000, Brown earned SCFCA first-team and Reading Eagle All-Anthracite Big School first-team honors.
Brown currently lives in Schuylkill Haven with his wife, Ashley, and daughters Haylee and Rylee. He works in the concrete and masonry field.
George Day
Day, a 1989 alumnus, played football and basketball and ran track and field.
He finished his playing career with a school-record 1,739 career yards and 19 touchdowns after rushing for 1,105 yards and 11 TDs as a senior. He was second-team All-Anthracite, second-team All-County, a Big 33 nominee, a North-South All-Star and the Eagles' Scholar-Athlete representative.
Day won two letters in basketball and three in track and field, where he anchored the school-record setting 400-meter relay team.
After graduation, Day continued his football and track careers at Susquehanna University, earning accolades for his performance at the school in both sports, including Susquehanna University All-Century Team recognition in football.
Day currently lives in Lake Forest, Ill., with his wife, Brenda, and sons Jonathan and Padraig. He is employed by Lehigh Valley Capital Group as an investment advisor.
Bob Fessler
Fessler is a 1976 graduate and competed in baseball, earning three letters, basketball and football.
He played quarterback, running back, middle linebacker and kicker for the Eagles, throwing for 1,000 yards as a junior and leading the team in tackles and yards per carry as a senior. He was a team captain, the school's football Scholar-Athlete, All-East Regional and played in the Schuylkill County All-Star Classic.
Fessler was a member of the 1975 Schuylkill League championship basketball team, and he played left field, right field, third base and first base for the baseball squad.
After graduating, Fessler played football at Susquehanna University, earning four letters and captaining the team his senior year. He earned several all-star team recognitions, was inducted into the university's Hall of Fame in 1988 and All-Century Team in 1999. He holds the career (451), game (25) and season (151) tackles records for the Crusaders.
Fessler lives in Reading with his wife, Alayne, and children Dan, Matthew and Neal.
Tara Furer-Romig
A decorated swimmer and track and field athlete, Furer-Romig earned eight varsity letters in the two sports as well as playing volleyball and soccer for the Eagles before graduating in 1993.
She earned multiple Schuylkill League medals in diving (gold), 400- and 200-yard freestyle relays (silver) and broke the 500 freestyle record as a sophomore. Furer-Romig earned a silver in diving at the league meet as a junior and seventh-place honors at the District 11 Championships.
Furer-Romig captured gold in the 50 backstroke, breaking the record at the league championships as a senior. She was nominated as MVP, attaining 300 points and leading Blue Mountain to Schuylkill League and Lower Anthracite Aquatic Festival championships.
In track and field, Furer-Romig competed in the long, triple and high jumps, winning gold in the long jump at the Schuylkill League Championships and Schuylkill County Relays.
Furer-Romig graduated from Albright College with a degree in business and has worked in real estate since 1995 and works for Prudential Landis Home Sales. She is married to Timothy, and has three children, Mackenzie, Erica and Zachary.
Dale Gauker
Gauker, a 1959 graduate, played football, basketball and baseball for the Eagles, starring for the football team at guard and linebacker.
A co-captain as a senior, Gauker was selected for the North-South All-Star team and East-West All-Stars.
He was a center for the basketball team from freshman to junior year, earning two varsity letters, and played baseball as a junior and senior.
After graduation, Gauker became a tower climber based out of West Chester, a brick-layer for Cresswell Masonry and worked for the family on the Gauker Dairy Farm.
Gauker has been married for 25 years to his wife, Deborah, and they have 4 children Troy, Christian, Trish and Dennis and two grandchildren, Nicole and Christian Gauker.
Laurence O'Rourke (honorary)
A 1955 graduate of West Mahanoy Township High School, O'Rourke played basketball for four years and was captain his senior season.
After graduation, O'Rourke entered the United States Navy where he was an air controlman. Upon completing four years of military service, Larry entered East Stroudsburg State College, graduating in 1962.
O'Rourke was a teacher at Blue Mountain for 37 years, coordinating the work-study program and mentoring young people in various summer positions such as Headstart, the Neighborhood Youth Corps and the United States Youth Conservation Corps.
For the last 24 years, O'Rourke has been a prominent sports radio broadcaster, beginning his career in Mount Carmel at WSPI. Since 1999, he has been a sportscaster with the Pottsville Broadcasting Company, giving us play-by-play and color commentary. During his radio career, he has covered nine state football championship games, seven state basketball championship games and two baseball state games, in addition to the weekly Friday night Schuylkill County matches.
O'Rourke is married to his wife, Joyce. Their son, Larry, passed away in 2011. He also was a member of the Blue Mountain All-Sports Hall of Fame. Larry and Joyce have a daughter, Jennifer, and twin grandsons Ryan and Sean Brueninghaus.
Nate Sausser
Sausser, a 1995 graduate, played football and baseball for the Eagles, earning eight varsity letters.
He played running back, safety and returned kicks and punts for the football team. Sausser set the single-season rushing record (1,473 yards) and single-game rushing record (254) as a senior. He was was twice selected as Republican-Herald Offensive Player of the Week and placed nine times on the 10 -yard Honor Roll. He was an All-Anthracite Big School Offensive Back of the Year, an SCFCA South All-Star and WNEP Channel 16's Sportstar of the Week for Nov. 10, 1994.
A center fielder for the baseball team, Sausser helped the Eagles to three District 11 playoff appearances. He was named first-team Republican-Herald All-Area Baseball and was a member of the Schuylkill County Legion All-Star team.
Nate continued his athletic career at Delaware Valley College, lettering in both football and baseball. He transferred to Thaddeus Stevens State School of Technology majoring in carpentry, earning several honors.
Upon graduation from Thaddeus Stevens, Sausser started his own business, Sausser Contracing. He and his wife, Mara, live in Schuylkill Haven and have two children, Indy and Jakoby.