СŷƵ

Skip to content

Breaking News

Bob Hartman did it his way and leaves Whitehall and District 11 proud of his tenure

Bob Hartman is proud of what he accomplished in his leadership roles at Whitehall and with District 11 athletics, but is excited about the next phase of his life. (Keith Groller)
Bob Hartman is proud of what he accomplished in his leadership roles at Whitehall and with District 11 athletics, but is excited about the next phase of his life. (Keith Groller)
PUBLISHED:

Bob Hartman is showing off his key chain these days, which now features just one key — his car key.

He no longer has keys for every facility on the Whitehall-Coplay School District campus, keys he needed in his job as Whitehall High’s athletic director over the last 23 years.

Hartman resigned that position effective at the end of the school year and has also relinquished his position as District 11 chairman, a post he held since 2014, and as vice president of the PIAA Board of Directors, a position he held since 2020.

He has been honored by his fellow athletic directors and members of the local sports community in recent weeks as he begins a new job with Digital Scoreboards, a company that has former Whitehall-Coplay superintendent Bob Steckel serving as its chief operating officer.

A few hundred people showed up at a picnic held in his honor on June 21, including PIAA Executive Director Robert Lombardi.

“It was so cool to be around so many people I care about and spent a lot of time with in my career,” Hartman said. “I’ve got family, friends, so many people who are close to me who were here today, people I’ve cared about for a long time.”

Hartman said his last day was on June 20, and it felt good to turn in his keys.

Bob Hartman, Whitehall AD, speaks during a ceremony to retire Whitehall and Penn State boys basketball legend Pete Lisicky's number in a ceremony Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, at Whitehall High School in Whitehall.
Bob Hartman, Whitehall AD, speaks during a ceremony to retire Whitehall and Penn State boys basketball legend Pete Lisicky’s number in a ceremony Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, at Whitehall High School in Whitehall.

“I put the keys on the desk and walked out, and it seemed like any other Friday,” he said. “I really haven’t had that buyer’s remorse moment at all. I hope I don’t. I am sure I will get emotional at some point. But I haven’t had that yet, and I think it’s because I have something else coming, something I am looking forward to.”

Lombardi said Hartman has served the PIAA well for a dozen years.

“He has been at the absolute foundation of all the things we do,” Lombardi said. “You know what it’s like at your day-to-day jobs and trying to get through things. Imagine trying to get 32 people, who are all Type A, pulling in the same direction. It’s very, very difficult, and Bob did that better than anyone. We have an outstanding board president in Frank Majikes. One of the reasons Frank was so effective was that he had Bob as his wingman. Bob Hartman had his back.

“Bob has also changed our board because he emphasized that we need to meet in person. We need to have good conversations and bring your issues to the table. He understands the difficulty in being a district chairman and the ability to bring his own issues to the board, but also he understood that what’s good for the local [district] may not be good for the whole. He dances that dance better than anyone on our board.”

Hartman, who was an athlete and coach at Whitehall before becoming AD, believes he is leaving both Whitehall and District 11 in good hands.

Jeff Pukszyn, the former Moravian University football coach who has been on the Zephyrs football staff for two years and spent one year as assistant AD, is the new Whitehall athletic director.

Bangor athletic director Steve Panczer will be the new District 11 chairman, and Nazareth’s Ray Ramella has been promoted to vice chairman.

“No one is irreplaceable, and we have a lot of great people in place,” Hartman said. “Panczer’s going to be awesome; Puksyzn is going to be awesome.”

Panczer understands he has big shoes to fill.

Whitehall athletic director Bob Hartman, pictured at a news conference in 2016, has announced his retirement after 23 years of running the Zephyrs athletic program. He will serve the school through the end of the current school year. (HARRY FISHER / СŷƵ)
Whitehall athletic director Bob Hartman, pictured at a news conference in 2016, has retired after 23 years of running the Zephyrs athletic program. He will serve the school through the end of the current school year. (HARRY FISHER / СŷƵ)

He said at the Hartman celebration: “District 11, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, the PIAA … we’re all better because of him,” Panczer said. “I love the guy. The reason Bob is so good is because he puts kids first. The thousands of athletes who have come through Whitehall High School and District 11 have had better experiences because of that man. There’s no question about that. He will give credit to others, but he doesn’t give himself enough credit. He had a vision, and it’s not easy to make that vision come to fruition. He did it because of his leadership. I consider him a mentor, a friend and I just hope he doesn’t hit the ‘decline’ button on his phone when he sees I am calling him.”

One “kid” who especially appreciated Hartman’s care and concern for student-athletes has gone on to be the most well-known athlete in the country at the moment, Saquon Barkley.

In a video that was presented at Hartman’s final school board meeting, Barkley said: “I just want to say congratulations on your retirement, and I can honestly say I am not in the position I’m in today without you. I am forever grateful. My family’s forever grateful. I know Whitehall is going to miss you, but know you made a lot of changes in people’s lives and had a great impact on their lives. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

In his time at Whitehall and District 11, Hartman oversaw a vast number of improvements to the athletic campus at Whitehall, and made sure to hold number retirement ceremonies for players like Pete Lisicky, Dan Koppen and Barkley. He also pushed to have the weight room named in honor of John Bendekovits.

He also had dealt with a few league changes as well as adding two classifications to PIAA tournaments. He had to navigate a steady stream of discussion about recruiting, transfers, and various pushes for the PIAA to revamp its various state tournaments so that boundary schools would compete against boundary schools and non-boundary schools would go against non-boundary. There were also disciplinary actions that had to be taken with certain schools.

In all matters, Hartman tried to be fair and was transparent when the media sought answers.

He was pretty clear in where he stood on things and was not afraid to ruffle feathers when he expressed his opinions, but his decisions were always based on what was best for the kids at Whitehall and in District 11.

Asked how he’d like to be remembered, he was clear.

“I just hope they think I gave it my best for all of our kids at Whitehall,” he said. “I wanted to give them the best opportunities and best experiences. I know that we never made everybody happy, and honestly, you’re never going to be able to do that. But we tried our best to give the student-athletes the best experience possible. That was always the goal.

“And that was the same with District 11, although there are different concepts there, and your concern is all schools and not just one. I think we achieved that most of the time. No one’s ever perfect. I hope people think I gave it my best. I just always felt there was never a wrong time to do the right thing.”

Hartman will be one of 15 new members inducted into the District 11 Hall of Fame on Oct. 19.

It was Hartman who began the Hall of Fame, believing it was an opportunity to showcase the depth of talent in District 11 athletics, whether it was star athletes, coaches, officials, or media partners.

He was not involved in the voting and didn’t advocate for himself, but received unanimous support from the committee.

 

RevContent Feed

More in High School Sports