Every year, Mt. Lebanon High School recognizes several of its alumni who have worked to improve the lives of others, have been involved with community service and/or have excelled professionally. Administrators, faculty, students and alumni serve of the selection committee. The 2013 Great Alumni are:

Dr. Jason Bacha (1998). Bacha works for the Texas Children’s Hospital Global Health Service Corporation in Mbeya, Tanzania, as a pediatrician. As the co-clinical director at the Mbeya Pediatric Clinic, Bacha provides direct clinical care to more than 2,000 children living with HIV/AIDS, TB or malnutrition. Bacha also mentors and trains African medical personnel, develops social programs for the local Mbeya teenage population and initiates HIV outreach programs for several Tanzanian communities.

In 2003, Kim Frock (1978) led a team of educators in founding the Alternative School for Math and Science in Corning, New York. The idea for the middle school grew from Frock’s concern over declining achievement levels in middle and high school students in New York’s southern tier. Since the school’s inception, Frock has served as administrative head and board treasurer on a volunteer basis. The school was an Intel School of Distinction finalist in 2007.

Preston McMurry Jr. (1955) founded McMurry Inc., a marketing and advertising firm. In 1992, McMurry founded Theresa’s Fund, a charitable organization that has raised more than $49 million for causes dedicated to combating child abuse and family violence in Arizona. He is the 2002 Greater Arizona Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Philanthropist of the Year. In 2003, Ohio State University Alumni Association bestowed him with its coveted Citizenship Award. This year, McMurry received the Lipsey Outstanding Arizona Philanthropist Award.

In the past 35 years, Richard Lackner (1974) has developed an award-winning football program at Carnegie Mellon University. He was elected to the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and was recognized as the UAA Coach of the Year after five different football seasons. In 2006, D3football.com named Lackner the All-South Region Coach of the Year. Lackner’s lifetime record as CMU’s head football coach is 181-90-2—making him the university’s most winning coach ever.

During his senior year at Mt. Lebanon High School, Bill Roth (1983) was the voice of the football and basketball teams. The experience led him to a professional broadcasting career, and he is now known as the voice of the Virginia Tech Hokies. The lead play-by-play announcer of the Virginia Tech football and basketball radio broadcasts, Roth hosts a weekly radio show, has been honored 10 times as Virginia’s Sportscaster of the Year and was inducted into Virginia’s Sports Hall of Fame. Since 2002, Roth has sponsored the Bill Roth United Way Kids Day, an annual event that provides disadvantaged youths with an opportunity to meet  the University’s athletes. He has worked with the Virginia Tech police to develop unique emergency training modules that promote campus safety for the Virginia Tech faculty, staff and visitors.

Since 2003, Eric Schmude (1978) has worked tirelessly on behalf of the Arthritis Foundation, Autism Speaks, Virginia Repertory Theater Company and the Tourette Syndrome Association. In 2008, the Arthritis Foundation named him its National Volunteer of the Year. After the 2009 death of his high school friend D.R. Papalia, Schmude and another classmate organized a local golf tournament to benefit Papalia’s children’s college educations. Pitney Bowes, his employer, has recognized him for his outstanding contributions to the Pitney Bowes Vision of “One Company” on four different occasions.