Hall of Fame

Gavin DeGraw learned to play the piano and sing at Fallsburg’s Benjamin Cosor Elementary School.  At Fallsburg High School he participated in music and musical theater. After graduation, he attended Ithaca College and Berklee College of Music. 

In 2003, at the age of twenty-six, Gavin DeGraw became a well-known song writer and musician with the double-platinum hit song, “I Don’t Wanna Be.” This was the theme song for a popular teen television series, “One Tree Hill,” and would make Gavin’s name familiar to millions of fans throughout the world.  The song reflects on his life growing up in Fallsburg.  He was proud of his roots. 

Gavin DeGraw has received nominations for his songwriting from the leading music associations and the Grammys.  In his own words, Gavin acknowledges his family for motivating him to continue pursuing music.  Fallsburg schools nurtured his passion as well.  FHS music teacher John Lusk says, “No one from Fallsburg ever dreamed a more audacious dream than Gavin DeGraw.  He wanted to make it big and he did.  He practiced, learned, persevered, and practiced some more.  And then he made it.” Gavin has inspired Fallsburg students to dream big and never give up.  

In 2008, Gavin returned to Benjamin Cosor Elementary School to present 250 backpacks filled with school supplies so his hometown kids would be ready for the new school year.  A few years ago, Gavin donated his own baby grand piano to Bethel Woods Center for the Performing Arts.  It is being used in the New Conservatory at Bethel Woods, a place for children and young adults to learn and perform.  As Bethel Woods CEO Darlene Fedun says, “We hope the piano inspires children and young adults the same way it inspired Gavin in his own songwriting.” Fallsburg acknowledges Gavin DeGraw, who dared to dream.

Mel Mednick served the Fallsburg Central School District with distinction for over twenty-five years.   As a counselor, mentor, director of plays, and coach, Mel developed an incredible rapport with many students.  In the process, he had a major impact on the Fallsburg community and surrounding area as well. Mel created the “We Are Family” Program in the Town of Fallsburg in the early 1980’s to bring the entire community together to curb drug and alcohol problems affecting the Town.  Over five hundred residents went to this meeting and enrolled in the battle against these addictions. In 1982, Mel Mednick brought a chapter of Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) to FCSD.  The thrust of this student run group was to foster members to make positive decisions and choices in their lives—to not drink and to not take drugs. Mel earned several awards for his work at Fallsburg including the Young Volunteers DARE Service Award, the Sullivan County Youth Service Award, and the Citizenship and SADD Service Awards.  The most important “award” for him was the knowledge that he was listening to and helping guide young people.  Steve Vegliante, a former student, credits Mel Mednick for altering the course of his life.  He was a rebellious teen when he first came to Fallsburg.  A conversation in Mel’s office changed him forever. Vegliante remembers that Mel spoke to him as a person, not as a child.  Vegliante affirms that “many of us were better students and became better men and women because Mel loved and guided us.”

After retirement from counseling, Mel Mednick won election to the Board of Education where he continued to advocate for students until his death in 2009.  His daughter-in-law, Shari Mednick, described him as a “man who served his community and always put the needs of others before his own.  His love of Fallsburg was unwavering.”

Martin Van Vleet graduated from Fallsburg High School with the Class of 1954.  He was Athlete of the Year for his excellence in baseball, basketball and soccer.  After college and four years in the US Army, Martin returned to his alma mater as a guidance counselor and basketball coach in 1963.  He retired in 1991 as the winningest boys’ varsity basketball coach in the history of Fallsburg High School.  His total of 345 victories still stands unmatched.  Among these victories are eight DUSO League championships and three Section IX titles in three different classifications.  But these numbers tell only one side of Martin’s story.

Colleagues and players extol Marty’s virtues as a human being who earned the respect of everyone on and off the basketball court.  Simmie Williams is a former player that remembers his coach as a “man that valued winning, but valued his players more.”

When he announced his retirement from the Fallsburg faculty, accolades poured in from rival coaches all over the Hudson Valley asking him to reconsider and thanking him for being a wonderful competitor, a mentor to his players and a true gentleman.

Nicknamed “The Ice Man” for always keeping his cool as a player, he was the consummate gentleman on the court, never having a technical foul called by a referee.  A man of great moral character, always ready to listen and help students on their path as a counselor and a coach, his guidance influenced hundreds of students to become coaches, doctors, lawyers, and police officers.

In 1989 he earned the Franklin Select Circle Award for Coaching presented by Scholastic Magazine.  Two years later he and his wife Lyal retired to Sarasota, Florida where he continued to work with young people in a basketball league.  Coaching was his calling, and Martin Van Vleet made a difference in the lives of youngsters until his last days.

Raised in Woodridge, NY, Andrew Neiderman graduated Fallsburg Central High School in 1958 and received a B.A. and M.A. in English from the University of Albany.  He taught English for twenty-three years at Fallsburg Central where he inspired 1000’s of students and mentored dozens of teachers as Department Chair, teaching Film, directing plays and musicals, and coaching wrestling and weight-lifting. During his tenure he introduced the English Lab, where students tutored others in an effort to improve writing and other skills.  He encouraged students to come out of their shells, act in plays, and contribute to the school as a whole.  “He taught me the can do, will do, the show must go on philosophy,” wrote Wayne Anderman in his recommendation.  As town historian, he wrote a history of Fallsburg in celebration of its 150th Anniversary.  Mr. Neiderman fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a writer by publishing dozens of books under his own name and that of novelist V.C. Andrews after her death.  His works are known world-wide and have been made into films and television dramas, including “The Devil’s Advocate” and “Flowers in the Attic.” Although he left the area in the 1980’s, the Catskills remain part of his legacy as reflected in the characters and settings of his published works.  In his own words:  “I have never forgotten Fallsburg.” 

A 1960 graduate of Fallsburg Central High School, Dr. Gary S. Hoffman received a BA in Biology at Binghamton’s Harpur College, an MS in Zoology from Howard University, and his Medical Degree from the Medical College of Virginia.  Specializing in internal medicine and rheumatology, he served in the armed forces, veteran’s administration and several hospitals for fifteen years. In 1987 he became head of Vasculitis and Related Diseases at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD.  Vasculitis, a blood vessel inflammation, is the underlying feature of a family of uncommon but extremely important diseases. At Cleveland Clinic in 1994 he established the Center for Vasculitis Care and Research and has received global acclaim for his research.

For over thirty years, he has provided compassionate care for thousands of people, trained hundreds of medical personnel, and mentored dozens of doctors world-wide. As a result of his work, vasculitis patients are not only surviving, but thriving.  Even while doing this work, Dr. Hoffman remained in touch with Fallsburg through support and guidance he gave a local family when treating a daughter for vasculitis.  In recommending him, colleague Dr. Carol Langford said, “His career exemplifies what a Hall of Fame recipient should convey (to high school students) that through hard work and dedication, one can achieve great things that can benefit mankind.”   

Robert Longo retired in 1984 after thirty-five years as an outstanding art teacher in FCSD.  One of his students and later a colleague Eileen Kalter remembers him for inspiring her and countless others with a life-long appreciation of art.  Another colleague Terry Dungan acknowledged him for his full involvement with the life around him and enriching everything with his art:  “His notion of service, giving his time and art to his community has been the hallmark of Bob Longo’s life.”  Mr. Longo has been honored with numerous awards for his own artwork and contributions to supporting Sullivan County artist societies.  He earned the highest achievement in Lionism—the Melvin Jones Award.  His award-winning commemorative pins adorn the jackets of proud Lions members throughout the world.  He is designing the pin for the International Convention in 2018.  Woodridge Kiwanis awarded him as Everyday Hero for his incredible mural of the O&W Railroad in the Village.  Mr. Longo is very proud to have served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.  At 96, he stays in touch with the few survivors of his squadron and their families. Robert Longo is a treasure to Fallsburg.

Born in 1925, Jack moved with his family to a farm/bungalow colony in South Fallsburg in 1933.  He graduated South Fallsburg High in 1943 and served in the Army Air Corps. He finished college at Columbia University and law school at NYU.  After marriage to Shirley and the birth of Keith and Audrey, they moved to South Fallsburg.  He immersed himself in law practice and civic involvement.  As Keith states, “The two things my father taught his children and grandchildren to value most were family and community, particularly service to the community.” He served the South Fallsburg Fire Department, the Fallsburg Lions Club and the South Fallsburg Synagogue.  He worked with county, state and national agencies and bar associations and received numerous awards of recognition. When Jack witnessed national chains absorbing local banks, he founded the Community Bank.  

FCSD was a very important part of his life. Jack Leshner, first member of the Fallsburg Hall of Fame, hails Jack as a tireless believer and worker for public education that resulted in twenty years of service to the School Board including many as President.  Leshner worked actively with Jack Ingber and observed him further the excellence of the district’s reputation as the hallmark of education in Sullivan County.  Jack Ingber was a true pillar of the Fallsburg community.  In the words of daughter Audrey, “He was vibrant until the very end, and his vibrant force continues to stay with us after he’s gone.”

In her letter of nomination, former student and long-time Fallsburg teacher Eileen Kalter acknowledges Spencer Tunick as another prominent world figure bred “in our little town in upstate New York.”  He attended Benjamin Cosor Elementary School from Kindergarten through seventh grade where Robert Longo taught him art.  Longo precedes his student as a 2017 Hall of Fame inductee. He is proud of Tunick’s accomplishments and describes his photographic installations as “most creative in very unconventional ways.” Once the artist has met and selected several hundreds of volunteers, he places them, without their clothing, in massive group arrangements. In these architectural configurations that he creates, the human bodies mingle with country landscapes and city settings to make new shapes and forms.  

Since 1994, art lovers world-wide have witnessed this magic transformation in over 75 installations.  He has earned prestigious commissions from Art Basel in Switzerland, Institut Cultura in Barcelona, Mambo Museum in Bogota and many others.  A former teacher at Benjamin Cosor Elementary School and lifelong Fallsburg follower of Tunick’s achievements, Madeleine Weisman, says of Tunick, “I have known him all his life. I am not surprised by the beauty and sensitivity in Spencer’s work.  He always remembers his teachers and friends at Fallsburg Central. He is deserving of selection to the Fallsburg Hall of Fame.”

A graduate of Fallsburg Central High School in 1968, Lester Cohen received a B.S. and M.S, in Civil Engineering at Boston’s Northeastern University.  In 1978, he began a more than forty-year career at The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, which together with Harvard University make up the Center for Astrophysics.  He became the Chief Engineer of the Structural Analysis & Design Group.  His work on two of NASA’s great observatories—the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope, to be launched in 2021—earned Lester Cohen the 2009 NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal and numerous recognition awards.  He is proud that he shares the same award as Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson.  Lester’s colleagues at NASA acknowledge that his technical brilliance and integrity are unrivaled.  He has distinguished himself as the top mechanical engineer in the development of space telescopes.  

He has been described as a technical wizard.  His accomplishments as a son of one of Fallsburg’s outstanding educators, Ms. Blossom Cohen, as a family man, and as a man of deep religious faith, attest to his integrity and depth of character.  Lester has inspired countless students to pursue technological fields that he believes are the route to a greater good for all. NASA’s mission success has been, and will be in the future, directly dependent on Lester’s contributions.  As one of his close associates has said, “Lester is a true unique national asset to NASA and the nation and an exceptional friend and colleague.”

After Dr. Louis Lemberger graduated from FCHS in 1954, he earned a B.S. Degree in Pharmacy, Magna Cum Laude, from Brooklyn College and a Ph.D. and M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He achieved the rank of Senior Surgeon, the medical equivalent of Commander, in the US Navy. He was appointed Director of Clinical Pharmacology of the Eli Lilly Laboratory, a position he held until his retirement in 1993. He is the first person to simultaneously hold both a scientific and administrative title for a pharmaceutical company.  

Dr. Lemberger discovered and developed many life-saving drugs, including the anti-depressant Prozac, the first drug of its kind.  Later he helped develop the anti-psychotic Zyprexa, the anti-emetic Cesamet, and Permax for treatment of Parkinson’s disease.  He was the first physician to administer these compounds to a human being,  

These drugs earned Eli Lilly and Company billions of dollars.  When Dr. Lemberger was asked about his own remuneration from his work, he replied, “The company paid me a salary and gave me the facility to develop this drug (Prozac) that has helped millions and millions of people.  That’s the real reward.”

Although he received scores of distinguished awards from peers in the medical and pharmaceutical profession, no honor was as great as when people approached Dr. Louis Lemberger, teary-eyed, to shake his hand and say, “Your drug saved my sister/my child/my uncle’s life.”

After graduation from FCHS in 1971, Dr. Myra Young Armstead received a B.A. in Government from Cornell University, an M.A. in International Relations, and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago.  She taught at the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill in nearby Hyde Park, NY.  The goal of the school shaped Dr. Armstead’s career—to realize social justice by humanitarian efforts through the heart, mind and vision of our youth both here and abroad. She is the Lyford Paterson Edwards and Helen Gray Edwards Professor of Historical Studies at Bard College.  

Dr. Armstead is a person of deep intellectual thinking and a passion for students and the underserved. She taught in Bard’s pioneering Prison Initiative that was recently highlighted in a four-part documentary on PBS.  She champions the cause of creating housing options for women leaving long-term drug rehabilitation programs and seeking full re-entry into society.

Myra Young Armstead is dedicated to the study of black history and culture in New York State.  Her many publications include the recent Freedom’s Gardener: James F. Brown, Horticulture and the Hudson Valley in Antebellum America. She received the Frederick Douglass Award from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and numerous academic fellowships.

“Seeking our Fortune in the North: The African American Population of Sullivan County, New York from 1930 to 1980,” pays homage to her grandparents and other black families that migrated from the Deep South to Sullivan County.

A lasting legacy of these journeys were many outstanding FCHS graduates, such as Dr. Myra Young Armstead.

After graduating from the FCHS class of 1968, Jamienne Studley earned a B.A. degree magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Barnard College in 1972 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1975.  She has enjoyed an outstanding career in education, women’s health, and civil rights advocacy.  Ms. Studley became the first woman president of Skidmore College, Associate Dean and Lecturer at Yale Law School, and President of Public Advocates Inc.  She served as special assistant on food and health issues at HEW/HHS during the Carter Administration, and many roles in the Clinton and Obama Administrations at the U.S. Department of Education, including general counsel, Deputy Under Secretary and acting Under Secretary.

Currently Ms. Studley is the sixth president of WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), a higher education association and regional accrediting agency committed to student success.  

Colleagues admire and respect her “for listening, collaboration, and building bridges.”

Barnard presented Studley with a Distinguished Alumna Award in 2007 for her service to students of America, through advocacy, as a college president, as an attorney for an advocacy organization, and for service in the Federal Government. The SUNY System awarded her an Honorary Doctorate in 2016.

In a commencement address at FCSD in 1998, Ms. Studley acknowledged the school, her family and the Village of Woodridge for helping shape her values.  Her grandfather, Benjamin Cosor, served the District Board for over 47 years and as President for 38.  She especially thanked fellow HOF member music teacher Joseph LaRuffa for imparting valuable life lessons. 

As a Calcutta teenager, Esther Grossman made the 1948 Indian Olympic Team as a track and field athlete.  Because of unrest in India with the death of Gandhi, the team could not compete in the London Games.  After emigrating to New York, she earned a full scholarship to Brooklyn College in Physical Education.   She taught Physical Education at Fallsburg High School for over 35 years. She was Athletic Director and coached championship teams in field hockey and volleyball. Esther transformed shy young students with little sense of athletic ability into strong young adults.  She was a role model to students and helped dozens obtain college scholarships.  Many went into teaching physical education.

Ms. Grossman mentored dozens of teachers and coaches.  Active in the Fallsburg community,  she operated Pleasant Valley Day Camp, where many children spent  summers.  She trained counselors that became FCSD teachers.  Former students and campers credited Esther for encouraging them academically and athletically to have success in college.  One student said, “Look at the hundreds of young women's lives similar to mine, and you'd see the amazing positive power that just one woman had on the future of many FCHS students.” 

After retiring from FCSD, Esther Grossman continued with the day camp.  Indicative of her joy of life and physical exercise, she remained active after moving to Florida.  With the courage earned on the playing fields, she battled with ALS over the last year of her life.  She raised over $8000 for the ALS Walk in her local community just before she passed away in 2010.

After graduating from Fallsburg Central School in 1970, Sari Feldman earned a B.A. in English from Binghamton University and an M.S. in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her lifelong passion for reading led her to pursue a career as a public librarian, which spanned for over forty years. She worked for the Cleveland Public Library in Ohio, Onondaga County Public Library in New York, and Cook Memorial Library in Illinois. But most significantly, she served as the Director of the Cuyahoga County Public Library in Ohio for over sixteen years. During her tenure as director, her library was considered one of the most robust and busiest libraries in the country. It even earned the prestigious Library Journal 5-Star recognition for ten consecutive years. Some of her most notable accomplishments include starting a successful foundation and initiating a $100 million project that helped replace nine and renovate twelve branch buildings. In addition to her work as a librarian, she taught graduate-level courses as an adjunct professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies for fourteen years.

Ms. Feldman’s devotion to books extended beyond her retirement as Director of the Cuyahoga County Public Library. She went on to serve as president of the American Library Association and Public Library Association. While president for both organizations, she represented America’s libraries on a national and global scale, visiting over a dozen countries as a guest of the United States State Department and various international associations. Currently, Ms. Feldman is a member of the corporate boards for Overdrive and RB Media. She is also a policy fellow for the Washington Office of the American Library Association, consultant for June Garcia LLC, and columnist for Publishers Weekly.

Sari Feldman will forever leave a lasting impact on the public library system in the United States. Many of her colleagues are deeply grateful for her relentless commitment to preserving our right to access free books and information.

Dr. Steven Scheinman has had a remarkable career in academic medicine.  After graduating from Fallsburg Junior-Senior High School in 1969 Steven earned an A.B. Summa Cum Laude from Amherst College and an M.D. with honors from Yale University.  He completed a residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Nephrology at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Steven began his distinguished career as an academic nephrologist by joining the faculty at SUNY Upstate Medical University in 1984.  His team located the gene on the X chromosome responsible for Dent Disease, a rare inherited kidney disease causing kidney stones and renal failure in males, and this led to the identification of the responsible gene.  This was the first gene for kidney stones that anyone discovered.  His team went on to find genes for other kidney diseases as well.  His work earned him numerous awards and international recognition within the medical community, and gratitude from the patients with Dent Disease.

In addition to his distinguished work as a medical scientist, physician and teacher, Dr. Scheinman has made a difference as a leader.  He has held in leadership positions for national organizations in medical education.  At SUNY Upstate he served as Chief of Nephrology, Senior Vice President and Dean of the College of Medicine.  He then moved to Pennsylvania as President and Dean of The Commonwealth Medical College, which became the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, for which he also was President and Dean as well as Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of the Geisinger clinical system.  His leadership of that school, from 2012 through 2021, was considered transformative and left a lasting legacy. 

After graduating from Fallsburg Junior-Senior High School in 1976, Michael earned a B.A. from SUNY Cortland and an M.A. from SUNY New Paltz. He was determined to eventually return to Fallsburg as a teacher and coach. He first landed a position as a substitute teacher at Crystal Run Village in Middletown, New York. Additionally, he was a member of the coaching staff of the Sullivan County Special Olympics soccer team.  That team won two state championship titles.

In 1985, Michael fulfilled his dream of becoming a high school social studies teacher at Fallsburg. He was also the coach of the soccer, volleyball, basketball, and soccer teams and SGA advisor. Michael had an unwavering commitment to ensuring that his students reach their fullest potential. He was instrumental in helping students receive athletic and academic scholarships upon graduation. Under his leadership as SGA advisor, his club received national gold status for their successful volunteer activities. Several of his students were even named state-level officers. 

In addition to being an educator, Michael was also a member of the Town of Fallsburg Board for sixteen years and a Town Planning Board member for six years. One year after retiring from teaching in 2014, Michael was elected to the Fallsburg Board of Education.

Throughout his career, Michael has embodied the true spirit of being a Fallsburg Comet. His family, friends, colleagues, and students are eternally grateful for his unparalleled commitment to the betterment of others.