3 Selected to Receive Distinguished Alumni Awards at Upcoming Williamsport Area School District Education Foundation Recognition Evening

The Williamsport Area School District Educational Foundation (WASDEF) has selected three Williamsport Area High School graduates to receive Distinguished Alumni Awards for 2024.

The Distinguished Alumni Awards honor WAHS graduates who have made outstanding contributions to their professional fields, achieved significant success, or demonstrated exceptional service to their communities.

The following individuals have been notified of their selection and invited to receive an award at the second WASDEF Cherry & White Appreciation Night on September 19th at the Michael Ross Event Center at the Trade and Transit Center II in downtown Williamsport.

Frances Tipton Hunter, Class of 1914, will be posthumously awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award.

Hunter’s career as an American illustrator flourished from the 1920s to the late 1950s. Born in 1896 in Howard, she experienced adversity early on when she lost her mother at age 6, which had a profound effect on her artistic perspective. Raised by her aunt and uncle in Williamsport, Hunter’s talents emerged during her high school years. After graduating in 1914, she moved to Philadelphia, where she honed her skills at the Philadelphia Museum of Industrial Arts, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Fleisher Art Memorial, earning honors from each institution.

Her career began in New York City, where she illustrated children’s fashion for department stores, eventually gaining recognition for her work in such important magazines as “A Woman’s Domestic Companion” “Collier’s” – “Freedom” AND “Women’s Home Journal”.

Hunter gained fame for her illustrations of children and their pets, popular subjects among illustrators of her era. Her work, including a successful series of paper dolls for “Ladies’ Home Journal” and her contribution to “Frances Tipton Picture Book” She strengthened her reputation. But those were her covers “Saturday Evening Fasting” catapulted her to the forefront of illustrators. Between 1936 and 1940, Hunter created 18 covers for the publication, capturing the innocence, joy, and subtle intricacies of childhood with a blend of charm and realism. Her work remains a testament to her status as one of the most distinguished illustrators of her time.

She died in 1957 at the age of 60 in Philadelphia.

John Maietta ’67 will receive the Outstanding Alumni Award for Humanitarian Service.

Maietta’s distinguished career reflects his deep commitment to both military service and professional communications. He served in a variety of capacities in the Army Reserve, Army National Guard and active-duty Army for over 38 years, culminating in his retirement as a colonel in 2010. His dedication included active duty in the Balkans, Iraq and supporting wounded soldiers, earning him numerous military decorations, including the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star. Alongside his military service, Maietta built a successful career in public relations, raising awareness and funds for numerous nonprofit organizations and serving as the spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

After retiring, he continued to pursue his passion for history, earning a master’s degree in applied history from Shippensburg University in 2014. Since then, he has become a dedicated educator, giving over 700 presentations on a wide range of historical and cultural topics to audiences throughout central Pennsylvania. His commitment to community service is equally notable; he helped lead a fundraising campaign for a veterans’ memorial in his hometown and supported various cultural and healthcare organizations, including the James V. Brown Library, the Williamsport and Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Susquehanna Health System. His lifetime of service and accomplishments was recognized in 2011 when he received the Pennsylvania Public Relations Award for Excellence in Public Relations.

He lives in Mechanicsburg with his wife and former classmate, Judy.

Joe Person ’88 will receive this year’s Outstanding Alumni Award.

A standout football player, Person was a starting tight end for the 1986 Williamsport Area High School Eastern Conference team and the team’s leading quarterback. He continued his football career at William & Mary, where he played as a tight end from 1988 to 1992, contributing to the team’s NCAA Division I-AA playoff appearances in 1989 and 1990. His outstanding contributions to the team earned him a place in the Tribe Football Walk-On Hall of Fame.

In addition to his athletic accomplishments, he has built an impressive career as a sportswriter over the past 32 years. He was the lead reporter for the Carolina Panthers from “Athletic” since 2018, after eight years of covering Panthers games “Charlotte Observer” and another eight years covering football at the University of South Carolina “Country”. In recognition of his work, he was named the 2022 North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association (NSMA). His career highlights include covering major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, World Series, Masters, Final Four, College World Series, MLB All-Star Game and the Pro Bowl.

He lives in Charlotte, NC, with Beth, his wife of 26 years. The couple has three children: Lucy of New York, NY; Ellie, a student at the University of South Carolina; and John, a junior in high school.

This year, since the program began in 2012, 26 graduates have received Distinguished Alumni awards. To see a complete list of past inductees or for more information about the program, visit www.wasdeducationfoundation.org.

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