Members of our Alumni Chapter had fond memories of last year's Spring Banquet at the NCR Country Club.  The elegant surroundings, epicurean delights, and attentive service all made for a most memorable evening.  So it came as no surprise that the Board decided to return to NCR this year.

Obviously this decision sat well with many members, in that almost 50 Penn Staters came out for an evening of good food, good cheer, and the bon mots of Lou Prato, former director of the Penn State All Sports Museum. Here's a rundown of all who attended:  Mike and Mary Beth Anthony; Marilyn Beebe; Joe and Marvia Bradley; Ken Copella; Bernie DeLong; Debbie Downes; the Art Feliciangeli Family; Vic Folwarczny and Sandy Wallace; Bill Fry; Bob and Janie Gehman; John and Joan Glaser; John and Trisha Hannah, Ed and Lisa Koveleskie; Bob and Edie Kreider; Sonia Leach and her dad, Earl Leach; Lou Prato and his wife; Scott and Michelle Prato; Bob and Cindy Puskar; Lou and Marguerite Sharp; Bob and Helen Swab; Sam and Kandi Tahmoush; Jim and Sally Valeri; and, John and Ruth Whitaker.

What's that old saying about a rose between two thorns?  Never mind — we couldn't possibly think of Ken Hershberger as a "rose" between the likes of lovely Marilyn Beebe and Janie Gehman.

And speaking of lovely ladies, herewith we proudly present three more of them.  Adding color, style, and beauty to the festivities were (l to r) Sally Valeri, Debbie Downes, and Mary Beth Anthony.

Here's a crowd, including Ken Hershberger and Lou Prato, intent on looking at an important event on TV.  Maybe they're watching Barbaro win the Kentucky Derby.

Are these four distinguished looking gentlemen or what?  Left to right are Ken Copella, Jim Valeri, Lou Sharp, and Bill Fry.

Here one of those "once in a lifetime" memorable moments.  Look at the expression of surprise on John Glaser's face as Edie Kreider helps him open a gift package.  Although not shown here, the gift was a beautiful Penn State tie given as a token of appreciation for John's two years of inspired leadership.

The tradition of quality leadership goes on.  Here's Sonia Leach, our new Chapter President, as she addresses the banquet crowd.  Sonia will assume her presidential duties this summer.  

Attractive place settings are always a feature of our Spring Banquets.  Here we see an arrangement of flowers, lions paw napkin holders, and cut-out reminders of our main course culinary items — beef and chicken.  

Lou Prato was our featured speaker. As the outgoing Director of the Penn State All Sports Museum, he held us spellbound with his many stories of Penn State athletes.  Lou knows Carl and Ronnie Stravinsky, and he recounted some of Carl's football experiences at Penn State. He mentioned that Carl was a starter in 1938, the same year that Ridge Riley penned the first Football Newsletter. He also told us the only Penn Stater who's ever won an individual Olympic gold medal was Horace Ashenfelter, '52, who won the Steeplechase in Helsinki. 

Lou said that Joe Paterno has a philosophy he tries to convey to his players, which is summed up as:  "Not all of you will want to be here, and not all of you should be here.  What's important is not how good a football player you are at Penn State, but what kind of a man you are 20 years from now."

Some of Lou's observations about Penn State football in 2006 are:  "Look for a 3-4 defense with great linebackers . . . Morelli is a great passer . . . the offensive line stinks . . . the secondary is new, but fast and good . . . and the defense will be strong."

When asked how long he thought Joe will there, Lou replied, "Hell, I don't know."

Lou authored The Penn State Football Encyclopedia; he has a new book to be available in August, entitled What it means to be a Nittany Lion. The chapter expresses its thanks and appreciation to Lou for a most informative and entertaining talk. 

A long-time friend of Penn State and a regular at our chapter functions is Art Feliciangeli.  In recognition of his devotion to Penn State, Art is shown here receiving a special award from outgoing chapter president John Glaser. 

Art's family members were in attendance to help honor him, and we thought it only proper to show them in this photo composite.

Lou Prato and Jim Valeri take a few minutes to pose for this picture.  They've known each other for years, and we'll wager many of you didn't know it was Jim's suggestion that led to Lou being our guest speaker. 

We caught Soon-to-be-Chapter President Sonia Leach and Joe Bradley in conversation after dinner.  We learned that Sonia and Joe worked together during Sonia's first military tour at Wright Patterson AFB.