“Hamid does more work for the Exeter School District in one week than most of us do in a lifetime,” Exeter Community Education Foundation President Kenneth P. Levan said of Hamid Chaudhry, owner of the Kenhorst and Exeter Dairy Queen. Chaudry was one of four new members who were inducted into the Academic Hall of Fame Saturday, Nov. 8, in the Exeter Township Senior High School Auditorium.
The new Hall of Fame members were inducted amid Exeter Senior High School’s brightest minds. Immediately following the Hall of Fame ceremony, 54 students were inducted into the Claude W. Dundore Chapter of the National Honor Society.
The Hall of Fame inductees spoke directly to the NHS students to encourage them to continue their paths toward academic excellence. “You can be a guy named Hamid who speaks broken English and [be successful] if you are willing to pay your dues and work hard,” Chaudry said.
Although Chaudry has never worked for or attended the Exeter Township School District, he was chosen to be inducted to the Hall of Fame because of his devotion to the Exeter community.
Chaudry is a Pakistani-American who owns the Exeter Dairy Queen along with several other businesses. He uses his places of business to help raise money for various causes that benefit the Exeter School District.
“The thing that first impressed me about Hamid is his deep and profound respect for education and for educators,” Levan said of Chaudry.
In addition to helping with various causes benefitting the Exeter Township School District, Chaudry has championed causes for surrounding school districts in his quest to help local children get the best education possible. Chaudry has been recognized by national news outlets for his philanthropy, and he is known on a first-name basis to many people living in the Exeter area.
The Hall of Fame also inducted two new members who were former Exeter High School students, as well as a former Exeter teacher.
Mark Letcher was selected for his work teaching future teachers how to teach. He graduated from Exeter Senior High School in 1990. He holds degrees from Millersville University, Southern Illinois University and the Ohio State University. He currently works as a teacher educator, specializing in adolescent literacy, and trains preservice English Language Arts teachers.
John T. Fidler, class of 1970, was president of student council and editor of the Exeter Echo his senior year. He holds degrees in English from Ursinus College and the University of Chicago. An award-winning writer with the Reading Eagle, he teaches courses in writing and literature at Reading Area Community College. His writing has also appeared in the The Washington Post and the film journals Senses of Cinema and Cineaste.
Levan described Fidler as a journalist who always writes from a “moral point of view.”
“He’s always out there fighting for what’s right in the world,” Levan said referring to Fidler’s work as a journalist.
Karen McElhattan was a mathematics and Spanish teacher for 35 years. She spent 33 of those years teaching in the Exeter Township School District. She coached basketball and football cheerleading for 15 years. The highlight of her career was organizing and chaperoning the 2007 student trip to Spain.
McElhattan said she was “humbled and deeply honored” to be inducted to the Hall of Fame. After speaking about how much she enjoyed her 35 years of teaching, McElhattan spoke directly to the National Honor Society inductees. “I hope you choose a career you love and stick to it for 35 years,” McElhattan said.