Alumni Hall of Fame 2022
Mr. Lannie Dietle, 1971 Graduate of Lakeview High School
Mr. Lannie Dietle is a 1971 graduate of Lakeview High School. He graduated with honors from California State College in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Education. He has over four decades of experience in the petroleum industry. He began his career with Agway Petroleum Corporation in Mercer, working in heavy truck repair and maintenance. He then worked as a design draftsman at NL Baroid in Houston, Texas. In 1982, he joined Kalsi Engineering, Inc. of Sugar Land, Texas where he was a principal designer working on the design, development, and troubleshooting of hydrodynamic rotary seals and related mechanical equipment. He has many successful seal-related inventions and has been awarded 39 U.S. patents, with other patents pending. He is the principal author of a rotary seal handbook and various seal-related articles and papers. He also mentored the next generation of seal engineers at Kalsi Engineering before his retirement in 2020. He is a life member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and received the 2020 Epsilon Pi Tau Professional Practice Award. He is also the author of the definitive book on the pre-1786 history of Fort Cumberland, Maryland and its environs. He resides in Maryland with his wife, Cheryl.
Mr. William “Bill” Foster, 1956 Graduate of Lakeview High School
Mr. William “Bill” Foster was a 1956 graduate of Lakeview High School. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts in both History and English from Shippensburg University, graduating in 1960. Mr. Foster was hired in the Fort LeBoeuf School District as a history teacher from 1960-1975 where he was an advisor, track coach, and teacher’s union president. Bill furthered his education at Penn State University, graduating in 1975 with a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration. He was granted a Letter of Supertendency that year. In 1976, Mr. Foster transitioned to the role of Assistant Superintendent in the Fort LeBoeuf School District. He held this role until 1986. Bill was then hired as the Superintendent of the Shenango School District in 1986. During his 14 years there, Mr. Foster was awarded the PA Music Educators Superintendent of the Year. Mr. Foster finished his educational career at Grove City College as an Associate Professor in the Education Department.
Throughout his seven decades in education, Mr. Foster was involved in the Waterford Borough Council, Waterford Lions Club, was a founding father of the Waterford Heritage Days, and was an officer on the Shenango Township Planning/Zoning Commission. He was also a softball coach, assistant Weblo’s Counselor, and volunteer at several charitable clubs. Bill was an active member and officer of the United Methodist Church Board. Bill was a devoted husband to his wife, Kathleen Sweeney Foster, for 55 years. They had two children, Erin Caruso and W. Scott Foster. He also enjoyed attending the events that his grandchildren participated in.
Mr. Fred Houser, 1942 Graduate of Stoneboro High School
Mr. Fred Houser was a 1942 graduate of Stoneboro High School. He proudly served in the United States Army from 1944 until 1946. He was with the Manhattan District, the Atomic Bomb Project in 1945 and 1946 at Los Alamos, N.M., participating in the high explosives development. Once discharged, Mr. Houser returned to the Carnegie Institute of Technology where he had started before his military service. He received a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1947. He went to work in the Motive Power and Card Department of Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, Greenville, Pennsylvania. From 1955-1974, Fred was an associate editor for Railway Age Magazine and later became the editor of a related magazine, Railway Locomotives and Cars. From 1974-1986, he was the manager of the Railroad Research Information Service operated by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Houser worked for the National Transportation Research Board in Washington as manager of mass transit research information services. He returned to Stoneboro after his retirement. He faithfully served on the borough council and was the president for a decade.
Mr. Houser enjoyed traveling the world with his camera. He visited six continents in his lifetime. Fred could also be seen at Lakeview High School events where he took pictures for local newspapers. He was a member of the Mercer County Historical Society, Greenville Railroad Park, Lakeview Northwest Development Committee, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Pennsylvania Conservancy, Stoneboro Lions Club and Free and Accepted Masons Lake Lodge 434, Sandy Lake. Mr. Houser was also a member of the Stoneboro Presbyterian Church.
Dr. James H. McConnell, 1955 Graduate of Lakeview High School
Dr. James McConnell was a member of the first graduating class of Lakeview High School in 1955. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from Indiana State Teachers College, graduating in 1959. He was hired by the Commodore Perry School District as an English and Social Studies teacher and later as a Guidance Counselor. He served as the boys’ basketball coach, winning a district championship. In 1965, James completed his Master of Education degree in Guidance and Counseling from The Pennsylvania State University. Two years after the completion of this degree, he became an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Cleveland Instruction Center at Allegheny College. He returned to public education in 1976 for 12 years in the Keystone School District. While there, he served as the Elementary School Counselor, High School Principal, Elementary School Principal, Supervisor of Pupil Services, and Curriculum and Instruction. Dr. McConnell completed his Doctor of Philosophy: Curriculum and Instruction from Kent State University in 1984. Dr. McConnell coached the girls’ basketball team there, winning a district championship. He returned to Kent State University from 1988-2008 as an Associate Professor and Emeritus Professor Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies. He finished his career in education at Clarion University from 2007-2013 as an instructor. Dr. McConnell has been widely published in educational publications throughout his career, as well as national presentations and workshops. He was recognized by The National Society of Leadership and Success in 2010 with the Excellent in Teaching Award. He had previously been granted NDEA Guidance and Counseling Fellowships from 1964-1965 and 1966-1967. He was selected as a participant in the first Pennsylvania Principal’s Academy in 1987.
Dr. McConnell is an active member of the Clarion First Presbyterian Church as an elder, adult Sunday school teacher, and Food Bag Ministry.
Mr. Gordy Opitz, 1975 Graduate of Lakeview High School
Gordy Opitz is a 1975 graduate of Lakeview High School. While at Lakeview, Gordy was one of the top all-around athletes in school history which earned him a place in the Lakeview Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018. After high school, he attended Westminster College where was captain of the baseball and basketball teams and a Dean’s List student. He graduated from Westminster in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts in Education. Gordy began his career as a teacher and coach in the Mentor, Ohio school district. After stints as a coach at Slippery Rock College and the Atlanta Braves farm team in Savannah, Georgia, he changed course and accepted a sales position at ComDoc Office Systems in Akron, Ohio in 1983. Over his 38 years at ComDoc, Gordy steadily advanced through the ranks as Sales Manager, Vice-President and Senior Vice-President to eventually lead the company as their President and CEO. While in this role from 2008 until his retirement in 2020, he guided the employee-owned company to record growth and an acquisition by Xerox. Mr. Opitz served on several national industry councils and was the Chairman of the Business Products Council Association. Throughout his career, he has been very active in his community, serving on the Akron Chamber of Commerce Board, as Board President of Family Services of Western Pennsylvania, and as Chair of Leadership Akron. Gordy presently serves as an Outside Director on the Board of Buckeye Corrugated Inc in Akron, Ohio.
Gordy was inducted into the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall of Fame and the Mercer County Hall of Fame in 2012. He resides in Gibsonia, PA with his wife Linda. Both of his adult children, Kyle and Kelley (husband Ryan Prentice) also reside in the Pittsburgh area, and he is the proud grandfather of Grace and Ella.