The Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame is sponsoring an essay contest for local high school students.
The contest is open to Northeast residents who will be freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors at any high school during the 2012–13 academic year.
Participants are asked to submit a 750- to 1,000-word essay on the theme, Uncovering Northeast Philly: What Makes Northeast Philadelphia Special?
The deadline is Sept. 26.
The grand prize is a $2,000 scholarship to Holy Family University and an iPad.
Honorable mention prizes include gift certificates to local businesses. The teacher with the most students entering the contest will receive a gift certificate to the Dining Car.
Entries should be emailed to lrotoli@holyfamily.edu
The Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Mayfair Community Development Corporation in partnership with Holy Family University, Historical Society of Frankford, the Northeast Times and City Councilman Dennis M. O’Brien.
The winner of the essay contest will be honored at the next Hall of Fame induction ceremony, scheduled for Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. at Holy Family University’s Education and Technology Center.
The 2012 inductees will be:
• Frank Shuman (1862–1918), an inventor and solar power pioneer.
• The Rev. Leon Sullivan (1922–2001), a civil rights leader and anti-apartheid activist.
• Ed Kelly, a business and community leader.
• Chris Ferguson, an astronaut.
• Unity Monthly Meeting Frankford (founded 1682), Byberry Monthly Meeting (1683), Pennepack Baptist Church in Bustleton (1688), Trinity Church Oxford in Lawndale (circa 1698), Presbyterian Church of Frankford (1722), All Saints Episcopal Church, Torresdale (1772) and Campbell AME Church in Frankford (1807).
The first group of inductees consisted of Tom Gola, Joan Krajewski, Aid For Friends, Harry Silcox, Thomas Holme, Henry and Mary Disston and St. Katharine Drexel.
The second group featured Benjamin Rush, Robert Purvis, George “Butch” Ballard, Sister Mary Scullion and Special People In Northeast Inc.
The Hall of Fame is funded by local sponsors. Among the recent donors was 3rd Fed Bank. Jack McCarthy, the Hall of Fame project director, accepted a check from bank president and CEO Kent Lufkin. ••
For more information, visit the Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame page on Facebook or go to http://www.frankfordhistoricalsociety.org/fame1.html
