The Phoenixville Area School District Wall of Fame Committee announces two new inductees to the Wall of Fame. The 2024 inductee is John “Jack” Ertell, and the 2025 inductee is Amy Elizabeth (Reimer) Kovach.
Mr. Ertell was a teacher and administrator with the Phoenixville area School District for 32 years, teaching world cultures, American history, sociology, minority and ethnic studies, and American cultures. He earned a master's degree in history from Westchester University with additional graduate studies at Temple, West Chester, and Penn State, where he received certification as a secondary school principal. He served on several faculty committees including two Middle States committees, class advisor to class of 1972 and 1993, faculty advisor to the Future Teachers of America Club, and a member of the Student Assistance Programs for ‘at-risk’ students. He was very active in the Phoenixville Area Education Association and served two years as president.
During his tenure with the Phoenixville Area School District, he served in the athletic department for 25 years as faculty manager from 1973 to 1994, and as the Athletic Director from 1984 to 1998. As the Athletic Director, he oversaw the establishment of boys and girls soccer as interscholastic sports, expanded coaching staffs, established the position of the Athletic Trainer, and was an advisor to the Booster Club, as well as the Washington Field Lighting Committee. He helped him transition the Phoenixville Area School District into the Pioneer Athletic Conference as it is today, serving on many league committees, including Chairman of the Athletic Directors Committee.
Mr. Ertell retired from Phoenixville Area High School in 1998 and went on to teach for another 18 years as an adjunct history instructor at both Montgomery County and Delaware County Community Colleges, teaching Ancient Civilization, the Middle Ages, Modern European and American history. He fully retired in 2017 after 50 years of teaching.
Mr. Ertell is active in many community organizations, often serving in leadership capacities. He was chairman of the Phoenixville Civil Service Commission, a member of the Phoenixville Kiwanis Club for 25 years, and a founding member of Camp 90 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. He's a founding board member of the Schuylkill River Heritage Center, where he has served for 20 years. He served two terms on the Pennsylvania State Archives Historic Records Advisory Board and has been recognized by the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation as a champion of the community. He is an active member of the Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area for over 25 years, serving in many capacities including the archive’s chairman, newsletter writer, and public speaker, and five years as its president. He's a longtime active member of St. John's Lutheran Church in Phoenixville, leading adult education classes for over 20 years, and serving on the social ministry, Christian education and finance committee, and almost 30 years on the church council, including nine times as congregation president.
Amy Elizabeth (Reimer) Kovach is a 2010 graduate of Phoenixville Area High School. She was a member of the high school varsity girl’s tennis team, the National Honor Society, and the Fund for Women and Girls – Girls Advisory Board.
She graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and from Villanova University with a master's degree in environmental engineering and water resources. She holds certifications in fundamentals of engineering and principles and practice of engineering and was a member of the Society of Women Engineers.
One of her local notable engineering contributions includes the expansion of Longwood Gardens and campus of Villanova University. Her project earned “Project of the Year” from Delco PSPE for her work on the Villanova campus, “Drosdick Hall Expansion,” which offers an opportunity for the training of future generations of engineering students.
Amy founded “Amy's Purple Warriors,” a fund dedicated to raising money, awareness and support for pancreatic research and those impacted by pancreatic cancer. Sadly, Amy passed away from pancreatic cancer on January 26, 2025.