NFF Chapter Leadership Award Recipients

2014 Larry Palko

  • Chapter Schuylkill/Pottsville (PA) Chapter
  • Year 2014

Biography

Dr. Larry Palko has established himself as an essential force and one of the primary leaders of the Schuylkill/Pottsville Chapter, located in the Pennsylvania coal region, which recently held its 53rd Annual Scholar-Athlete Banquet.
 
After receiving his undergraduate degree from Shippensburg State College, Palko went on to get master’s degrees from Kutztown State and Lehigh University, and he received his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Nova University. A dedicated educator, Palko retired after 35 years in public education where he held several titles including teacher, coach and principal. Not one to sit around in retirement, Palko continues to work in several roles, including as an Adjunct Professor at Wilkes University, a student-teacher supervisor at Penn State and Western Governors and as a mentor in the Inspired Leadership Program at the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
 
Palko currently serves as the chapter vice president, and he has headed up the Scholar-Athlete Executive Committee for the past 25 years. Chapter President Dave Holley stated that the chapter would not have achieved its success without Palko’s leadership, which includes maintaining the chapter’s website, organizing the scholar-athlete orientation program and serving as emcee at their banquet every year.
 
Each year the chapter honors 14 area high school scholar-athletes and presents them with a blue blazer with the chapter’s logo embroidered on the front. They also invite freshman scholar-athletes from the high schools in hopes that they will be inspired to return as an honoree.
 
“The Schuylkill Chapter Scholar-Athlete program is a signature event and one of the most important activities on our scholastic calendars,” stated Palko. “For more than 50 years it has created a strong bond in our communities and our schools. It is an important part of the Coal Region sports story, and I am grateful for the opportunity and the privilege to have been a part of it.”
 
Palko lives in Pottsville with his wife Lorraine.