Former Nittany Lions quarterback coach Jay Paterno will be the guest speaker when the Wayne-Pike Penn State Chapter hosts its Annual Dinner on Tuesday, May 28 at The Settlers Inn in Hawley.
The Chapter will also honor Mary Anne Linde as its Alumna of the Year and award scholarships to six area students.
Mr. Paterno, son of legendary Penn State football Coach Joe Paterno, spent 22 seasons coaching, including 17 years on the Penn State staff. 2011 was his twelfth year as the quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator. In his nine seasons as Penn State's recruiting coordinator, Penn State ranked in the National Top 20 eight times, including five Top 10 Finishes and two National No. 1 rankings. He recruited several players who went on to compete in the NFL.
Off the field, he has been active in a number of areas. He is the executive director of Nets4Nets, a non-profit agency devoted to fighting malaria in Africa; serves on the board of The Mount Nittany Conservancy; served on the board of the National MS Society's Central Pennsylvania Chapter for several years; and chaired a fund-raising campaign for The Centre County Youth Services Bureau.
In 2008 and 2012, Mr. Paterno worked on the Obama presidential campaign as a surrogate speaker, making appearances around the state of Pennsylvania. In the fall of 2010 he gave the opening speech for Vice-President Joe Biden at Penn State. Currently, he is a bi-weekly columnist for StateCollege.com writing on topics from athletics to education to politics to current affairs. He has lectured classes in psychology, and labor and industrial relations, as well as in Penn State's College of Communications and internationally-known Smeal College of Business.
Mr. Paterno has also given speeches on leadership and team-building for private industry groups, and has spoken at charity fundraising events from coast to coast, as well as to The Commonwealth Prevention Alliance—a Pennsylvania State-wide substance abuse prevention group. His appearances on behalf of Penn State include speeches to alumni groups as far west as Los Angeles.
He has appeared on many television shows, including Good Morning America, Katie Couric, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Mike and Mike, and on every major network's evening news. He has also been interviewed on several national talk radio shows and in markets across the country.
Mary Anne Linde, '68, Home Economics Education is this year's Wayne-Pike Penn State Chapter Alumna of the Year honoree. She and her family are long-time supporters of Penn State and have donated to several major building projects at the Worthington Scranton campus.
They have established the Linde Family Business Mentoring Program there, which provides an opportunity for junior and senior level students enrolled in the baccalaureate degree program in Business to enhance their educational experience through advanced instruction and participation in special programs and projects.
In addition, Mary Anne serves on the Penn State Worthington Scranton "For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students" Committee. She is the corporate secretary for E.R. Linde Construction, Inc. and Leeward Construction, Inc.
Among her community service interactions she has volunteered at the Stephens Memorial Golf Tournament since its inception. She lives in Honesdale and is married to Eric Linde and is the proud mother of five children and 12 grandchildren.
The evening begins at 5:30 PM with cocktails, followed by dinner at 6:30 PM. Tickets are available at the following locations: Art's Apparel, Teeter's Furniture and the Greentown Branch of The Dime Bank. For any questions, please call Wayne Garafola at 570-676-5577.
