As the 165 seniors from Tyrone’s Class of 2006 finish their final exams, model their prom gowns and tuxedos, sign their yearbooks, and invite their guests to graduation celebrations, these students also find themselves anticipating Commencement 2006, where they will hear Some Wisdom For Living from a hometown speaker who has spent his life as a public servant.
For their 122nd commencement ceremonies set for 7 p.m. on Friday, June 2 in the high school auditorium, the Tyrone School Board has invited one of the school’s most distinguished alumni to address the Class of 2006 – the honorable Samuel E. Hayes Jr. As a student, soldier, high school teacher, legislator, agriculture secretary, college instructor and family man, Mr. Hayes has touched the lives of countless citizens in this state, this country and the world, as well as family and friends in his hometown.
As a student, Sam Hayes Jr. graduated from Tyrone High in 1958, when the high school stood on Lincoln Avenue, and when the school conducted commencement from the Wilson Theatre, now the home of Burger King.
Following high school, Hayes advanced his education at Penn State University and graduated from the university with a bachelor of science degree. Eventually, he earned a masters degree in education, along with his principal certification.
After his college graduation, Mr. Hayes joined the Army for five years and served his country as a soldier in the Vietnam War in Asia, where he earned the Bronze Star. Years later, his three sons would follow him into the Army.
Upon his return to Tyrone from Southeast Asia, Mr. Hayes worked as teacher of history and geography at Tyrone Area High School from 1968 until 1970, beside such history stalwarts as Dorothy Crawford, Merle Stonebraker and John Weymers.
In 1970, duty once again called Mr. Hayes away from his hometown. However, this time, Sam’s duties did not beckon him to far-away Asia, but instead to nearby Harrisburg. Beginning in 1970, and continuing for 22 years until 1992, Mr. Hayes served his town, state and country as a legislator and lawmaker in the House of Representatives. During his 22-year tenure in Harrisburg, Mr. Hayes worked as Majority Leader and Whip for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Even in this new century, his constituents still remember that as state representative, Sam never forgot the people who had voted him into office as their spokesman.
In 1997, Republican Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge appointed Mr. Hayes to his cabinet as Secretary of Agriculture. This came as little surprise to many citizens in Tyrone who knew of Sam’s aptitude for farming, learned long ago in his high school days, under the watchful eye of his Ag teacher father, the late Samuel E. Hayes Sr. Mr. Hayes served capably for six years as Secretary of Agriculture from 1997 until 2003.
Then in 2003, this energetic Tyrone citizen embarked on some new avenues of public service, many of which relate to college endeavors. He became a trustee at Penn State University. Presently, Mr. Hayes volunteers as an instructor at Huntingdon’s Juniata College and Mexico’s University of Guanajuato. Without compensation, he lectures on topics ranging from the Legislature and the law-making process, to state government and public administration. Constantly concerned about the welfare of college students involving Pennsylvania, Mexico and Poland. At both Penn State and Juniata College, scholarships have been established in his name to honor Mr. Hayes’ devotion to leadership, public service and young people.
Most importantly, throughout his distinguished life of public service, Samuel E. Hayes Jr. has led by example. Nowhere does that example shine forth more brightly than in the members of his family. Mr. Hayes is married to the former Betty Lee Keister, a native of Turtle Creek, near Pittsburgh. A graduate of Penn State, Mrs. Hayes recently completed a 30 year tenure as an elementary school teacher – three of which were in State College and 27 years on Tyrone. Sam and Betty Lee are the proud parents of three married sons, all of whom diligently have served their country as soldiers: Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Hayes of the Pennsylvania National Guard, Army Helicopter Pilot Lee Hayes and Sergeant Erick Hayes, who presently works as a manager for United Parcel. As Tyrone seniors witness their high school days fade into memory, one thing is certain: speaker Samuel E. Hayes Jr. will offer them a commencement message on June 2, 2006 that will stay in their memory for years to come.
