Five people who are making a difference in their communities were recognized during the annual Hometown Heroes celebration Monday, Nov. 3. Honorees were nominated and selected by members of the freshman class. Details...
This annual event, sponsored by the chaplain’s office, recognizes five people who are making an extraordinary difference by touching lives and strengthening their home communities. These community heroes were nominated by members of the freshman class through their Elon 101 classes. The five honorees were selected by freshman class officers.
This year’s Hometown Heroes are:
- Alex DiSanto, Harrisburg, Pa. (nominated by Kellie Szabo)-The son of Italian immigrants, DiSanto persevered through a childhood with little material wealth as the youngest of eight children. After turning down an offer to play basketball at Duke University, he served in the Combat Engineers Batallion of the U.S. Air Force in Korea before opening his own business and founding a local chapter of Habitat for Humanity in Dauphin County, Pa.
- Frances Finnegan, Timonium, Md. (nominated by Stephen Dahlem)-In 1996, Finnegan established a center for learning disabled students at Loyola Blakefield school. After years of dedicated work, she established a successful learning support program which continues to provide students academic support and guidance. She is continuously pushing young men to achieve extraordinary goals and to work to their fullest potential both academically and socially
- Emily Goodson, Newport News, Va. (nominated by Cary Mitchell)-Since childhood, Goodson has overcome numerous obstacles. Adversity did not stop her from being a committed member of several high school organizations, participating in countless musicals and graduating cum laude. Goodson has served her community by volunteering at church, performing art related community service and coaching a middle school Forensics team
- Andrea Long, Conover, N.C. (nominated by Nicholas Turner)-Shortly after losing her husband to cancer, Long was diagnosed with breast cancer. Grueling treatments did not put a damper on her passion for teaching French. Throughout her fight for life, she remained devoted to her students and provided a living example of what it means to live with hope and determination. She was recognized as Catawba County Teacher of the Year in 1999 and is now an instructor at Lenoir-Rhyne College
- Carla Zentmyer, Middleton, Wis. (nominated by Christina Zentmyer)-A dedicated adoptive and foster parent, Zentmyer gives faithfully to her community. Following a lengthy legal process, she adopted a young toddler in March 2003 whose life was gravely impacted by his birth mother’s heroin addiction. Her courage to make provisions for children in need of love and care has been an inspiration for her community. She serves as a foster parent today.