Distinguished alumni join Monessen’s Wall of Fame

By the MVI

The chilly temperatures and rainy weather couldn’t dampen the spirits of those who attended the inaugural Wall of Fame dedication at Monessen High School.
The festivities kicked off Friday with an alumni marketing tailgate party before the Greyhounds’ game against Carmichaels.
The Wall of Fame Red Carpet event was held Saturday in the high school’s auditorium. Guests were treated to complimentary desserts after the alumni were introduced and inducted to the Wall.
All of this year’s seniors received free tickets for themselves and one guest.
Sarah Graby, a 1999 Monessen graduate and the founder of Sparkle My Head Scarves, pitched the idea to the school district based on her interaction with another member of the inaugural class of inductees, Ed Filipowski (Class of 1979).
Graby said meeting Filipowski helped her start looking into other Monessen natives who’d gone on to great acclaim in their careers.
This year’s inductees are:
• Ed Filipowski (’79), whom Vogue Magazine referred to as one of the fashion industry’s most powerful, dedicated and kind public relations men. Filipowski was a partner in KCD Worldwide, the leading fashion services agency.
• John and Margaret Husher (’50), whom Graby said have been extremely generous to the school district, establishing the Husher Scholarship Fund for Monessen students in the 1990s and donating more than $5 million in grants and scholarships over the years. John Husher worked as an electrical engineer, invented the first linear integrated circuit on a silicon chip and has obtained 16 patents in addition to writing 10 books.
• Actor Frances McDormand, who was born in Illinois but moved to Monessen and graduated from Monessen High School in 1975. After several successful films, her breakout role came as pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson in the Coen Brothers’ 1996 film “Fargo.” The role earned her an Oscar for Best Actress, a feat she has repeated twice through roles in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017) and “Nomadland” (2020).
• Michael Moorer (Class of 1985), a former heavyweight boxing champion, renowned personal fitness trainer and certified NRA gun instructor.
• Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Yakovac (’67), who spent three decades with the U.S. Army, where he received the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit three times and the Army’s Meritorious Service Medal seven times. Prior to retirement, he was director of the Army Acquisition Corps and military deputy to the Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. Yakovac joined global consulting firm The Cohen Group in 2008 as a senior counselor.

At Saturday’s Wall of Fame ceremony, from left, are Terry Husher (brother of John Husher), Jay Husher (son of honorees John and Margaret Husher), retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Yakovac, Virginia Monaghan (former Monessen High School teacher of honoree Frances McDormand), Judy and James Filipowski (sister-in-law and nephew of honoree Ed Filipowski) and Michael Moorer. To purchase this photo and more from our online photo gallery, go to our website at www.monvalleyindependent.com.

Michael Moorer and Joseph Dalfonso

Terry and Jay Husher are shown.

Monessen High School Wall of Fame presentation.

Sarah Graby, at left, is shown with Judy and James Filipowski, sister-in-law and nephew of honoree Ed Filipowski. Judy is holding a photo of Ed at the Monessen High School Wall of Fame presentation.

U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Eric Hudak is shown with retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Yakovac at the Monessen Wall of Fame event.