Jul 4, 2015 4 min read

The first Washington City Summer SportsFest Banquet honoring former coaches, athletes and leaders throughout the city was held last year and was considered a big success. Last year’s event honored Guy Montecalvo (football), Ron Faust (basketball), Laila Brock (track), Tony Patterson (outstanding community leader), Dan Petrola (youth sports), Brian Davis (football), the 1984 and ’86 Washington High School boys basketball state championship teams and the 2001 Wash High state champion football team.

This year’s banquet will be held July 24 at Julian’s Banquet Hall in Washington. Festivities begin at 6 p.m.

This year’s honorees include Dr. Michael Edwards, Joyce Ellis, William Fleissner, Elizabeth Proudfit, John Yanni and the Wash High 1990 Football team.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling 412-577-8100 or emailing utalk_tomucho23@yahoo.com.

The following is a brief bio of each honoree.

Dr. Michael Edwards is a 1991 graduate of Washington High School who earned a full football scholarship to Edinboro University.

In 1999, Edwards earned a Master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh in Psychology and Education. Seven years later, he graduated with an Educational Specialist degree from Nova Southeastern University, and earned his doctorate In Organizational Leadership in 2011.

Since 2001, Edwards has worked as a school administrator, behavior specialist and clinical therapist.

Edwards was raised by Shelly Edwards has three daughters, Olivia (25), Kashmere (23) and Sierra (19).

Ellis has been dubbed the dancing queen. She was successful with dance instruction for 37 years before retiring July 4, 2009. She owned four dance studios throughout Washington County.

Ellis has taken on the challenge of reviving the LeMoyne Community Center in Washington. The Center sat vacant for four years after a fire and flood left the building inoperable. Within the first year, Ellis started Camp Challenge at the Center. Along with being executive director of the LeMoyne Community Center, Ellis has completed work on a movie, television show and commercial over the past year.

Fleissner is a 1962 graduate of Washington High School, where he lettered in track and basketball. He graduated from Waynesburg College in 1966 with a degree in Elementary Education and received a master’s degree from California University. He taught in the Washington School District for 46 years. Fleissner coached track, boys basketball and girls basketball, winning numerous section titles. The 1992 Wash High girls basketball team won the WPIAL AAA championship and the 2001 girls team was the WPIAL AA runner-up.

Fleissner has four children: Chad, Brent, Todd and Cigi.

Elizabeth Proudfit was one of the best female basketball players ever in the Washington-Greene area. She led Washington High School to three section championships and a WPIAL Class AAA title in 1992. In the process, Proudfit scored 1,951 points, the most by a female in school history, and was named the Observer-Reporter Player of the Year three times. As a senior, Proudfit averaged 21 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals per game.

A valedictorian, Proudfit attended Harvard University, where she was a four-year starter and a co-captain on the basketball team. She finished her Harvard career in the top 15 in school history for career points (1,113), steals (162), assists (402), and three-point field goals (120). She was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 1993 and was first team All-Ivy in 1996. Proudfit co-captained the Crimson team that won the Ivy League title in 1996, the first Harvard team to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

She received numerous academic awards, including the Radcliffe College Association Award as the top female athlete in the Harvard class of 1996.

A 1970 graduate of Slippery Rock University with a degree in health and physical education, Yanni began teaching in the Washington School District in 1970. He coached in the district for 37 years. Yanni coached a variety of sports, including boys basketball, girls basketball and baseball, winning many section championships.

He coached the girls basketball team that won the 1992 WPIAL championship and a team that advanced to the PIAA semifinals.

In baseball, Yanni helped guide the Prexies to one PIAA championships and two WPIAL titles.

The 1990 football team, under the direction of Montecalvo, was one of the best Prexies teams, winning 12 straight games before losing to Bishop Canevin in the WPIAL Class AA championship game, 21-20, at Three Rivers Stadium. The team reached the No. 1 spot in the state rankings and was led by captains Marvin Merriweather, David Sadler, Keith Cushenberry and Terry Vaughn.