During Honeoye Falls-Lima Central School District’s Fall Weekend festivities, the HF-L Alumni Hall of Fame will induct four new members. Following are brief biographies for each inductee.
SALLY DONLON ZIMMER
Sally Donlon Zimmer graduated from Honeoye Falls High School in 1952. She was chosen for an Annual Good Citizenship Medal which the principal at the time said was “just as important as any school subject a boy or girl can master.” She certainly did master that. After graduating from high school, Sally attended Rochester Business Institute where she graduated with a degree in Medical Secretarial Science with high honors for outstanding academic work. She also took a Braille course in 1997 and was certified by the Library of Congress.
After graduation from RBI, Sally worked for George A. Hilleman MD (ENT) who was also Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Rochester. Sally was his medical secretary and office manager for 11 years.
Sally has been very involved in this community for many years. She started FISH (Friends in Service Here) and has volunteered as Chairman since 1974. She has been involved with setting up the local food cupboard–Combined Communities Food Closet. Her FISH group did the ground work for getting Meals on Wheels active in the Town of Mendon. She has been the coordinator for volunteers for the Town of Mendon Meals on Wheels for 28 years. She serves on the Consortium of Monroe County for acquiring drivers to drive those who no longer drive called Give a Lift. Most recently, she is involved in crocheting hats for our soldiers to wear under their helmets and hats for women who lost their hair while battling cancer.
Manor School Alumni remember Sally as the lady who taught them how to make homemade bread in third grade Colonial Days or how to make fruit leather in fourth grade Pioneer Days. In the 1950’s, Sally was co-leader of a Senior Girl Scout Troop. Sally also worked at HF-L Manor School as an aide to a student who was both blind and autistic. They became best of friends for life. She showed him that he was special and could accomplish and achieve many things. Former Principal of Lima School, Martha Fellows, named Sally The Annie Sullivan of Lima Primary.
In 1987, Sally’s husband Bill suffered aneurisms in his brain. Life changed drastically for Sally and her family. When Bill returned home for several months of treatment, he was confined to a wheel chair and required 24 hour care which Sally provided — for 18 years! Her advocacy enabled him to be surrounded by loved ones each day of his life. Through these years, she brought up her children and shepherded them into college, she dealt with medical problems, Social Security, and countless frustrations navigating the bureaucratic hassles over disability benefits. In the midst of it all, Sally thought of others — those who were caring for their spouses. She started a group called Support Our Spouses. Incredibly, she never stopped her volunteer activities.
One of her friends said, “Some days when there wasn’t a song in her heart, she sang in spite of it.”
Sally has been recognized for her many contributions. She received the Meals on Wheels Pioneer Award for 25 years of service from the Visiting Nurse Service, The Monroe County Volunteer Award for 2015, and the HF-L FISH Award for over 40 years of volunteering. FISH also received a Rotary Award.
Family is so important to Sally. She loves her Irish roots and traveled to Ireland with her daughter to discover and get to know family that are part of her heritage. She has enjoyed searching her genealogy and getting family members together.
Sally is so proud of her children and grandchildren and they are so proud of her. Her oldest son Chuck says she is a “pillar of strength.” Her son Andy describes her as a giver. He says she’s “the most amazing woman on the planet.” Daughter Mary Lynn says she is a “true inspiration” and says that her home has now become a second home for her five grandchildren as well as her grand dog (Mary Lynn’s). She says “43 Ontario St. will always be home to us with so many great memories.”
NANCY McGUIRE POOL
Nancy McGuire Pool is a 1964 graduate of Honeoye Falls High School. While in high school, Nancy was involved in soccer, volleyball, basketball, field hockey, and softball. She graduated in 1966 from Paul Smith College as a liberal arts major and she also played club volleyball and basketball there. In 1967, she graduated from SUNY Brockport with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Physical Education.
Nancy taught Physical Education at St. Agnes High School where a former St. Agnes student saw her as a wonderful role model for a group of rambunctious girls.
Nancy is now secretary extraordinaire at the Honeoye Falls-Lima High School. Nancy has been described as a common thread that connects the staff, the students, and the alumni; the one person in the District who has contact with every single student that graduates from HF-L; one who defines the very culture of our high school; literally, the hub. Her day begins at 6 a.m. when she opens the main office to welcome community members who are exercising by walking the halls.
Nancy is available to staff members who come to work early. She is there for students who come in early. She greets the substitute teachers and gets the school day started. She is everyone’s “go-to.” Nancy is sought out by staff and students alike for everything from organizing a field trip to microwaving a student’s lunch. She is often surrounded by students looking for a friendly face to talk to. One teacher tells how she would call Nancy and tell her she was sending a student to the office to “cool down.” Nancy was always willing to help the student feel better using her knack of saying the right words and maintaining the student’s self respect. They remember that.
She is also an active volunteer for numerous school extra-curricular activities such as Student Council, the senior class, SADD Club, and the athletic program. She has chaperoned many field trips and activities over the years. She supports the students by attending the majority of sporting events in the District both as a Supervisor and as a spectator. Nancy often travels to cheerleading competitions, robotics competitions, chorus trips, and playoff games to support and cheer on the students. Nancy provides assistance to coaches of every sport. She has kept the clock and kept the score book for Modified Soccer and Basketball as well as doing much of the behind the scenes work of collecting, washing, and repairing uniforms after each season. Nancy also keeps the clock for JV and Varsity Boys Basketball, JV and Varsity Girls Lacrosse. Nancy has volunteered countless hours collecting and reporting stats for sectional competitions. Nancy is a true advocate for athletics.
She is also a long standing member of Section V Athletics and she, herself, played softball for a semi-professional team.
Nancy is a single mother of two boys: Jim who graduated from HF-L in 1990, and Mike who graduated in 1997. She is also a grandmother to four grandchildren. Nancy is a surrogate mother to over 800 students, 100 plus staff members, and countless alumni. Nancy is reliable, honest, ever-present, and totally dedicated to the work she does. Nancy has been described by a co-worker as ALL things HF-L and she spends every single day promoting, sponsoring, and cheerleading our District. She has had incredible impact.
JOHN MOFFITT
John D. Moffitt is a 1975 graduate of Honeoye Falls-Lima High School. While in high school, John enjoyed playing ball and worked to organize two HF-L scholarships for fellow classmates who were lost tragically in a car accident.
John has been involved with the Honeoye Falls-Mendon Youth Baseball League since 1965, first as a player, then, through increasingly involved positions as an adult volunteer. John has been a player, coach, umpire, Vice President of the Board (1993-1999), and President (1999-2014). Among his many roles, he’s recruited and mentored new board members, developed league and tournament schedules, overseen the merger of the Honeoye Falls-Mendon and Lima Baseball Leagues, and been instrumental in maintaining the baseball fields for the safety and security of the players. In addition, he’s served as an umpire for local and nearby leagues. John currently serves on the Board as Past-President of Honeoye Falls-Mendon Youth Baseball. In his honor, Moffitt Field was dedicated in 2008.
Bob Jennejohn, a friend of John’s for more than four decades, wrote about John’s leadership, behind the scenes work on the baseball fields, and his ability to put kids first. “John is a good friend, a gentleman and a true role model for young and old alike. I can think of no one more deserving of this recognition.”
Additionally, John is a member of the Mendon Community Baseball Association, Honeoye Falls-Mendon Chamber of Commerce, Mendon Conservation League, and new Sentinel Advisory Board. He has also served our community on the Mendon-Lima-Honeoye Falls Youth Activity Compact Committee and the Mendon Recreation Commission (January 2004-December 2009). He has also worked for the HF-L School District as a School Bus Driver.
As President of Be-Mar Associates Roller Skating, a Honeoye Falls, family owned and operated business since 1957, John has brought fun to many children through movement and music. He is also a partner in Dipper Dan Ice Cream Parlor, another family business operating in Honeoye Falls since 1989.
John’s love of his community culminated in 2009 with his election to the position of Mendon Town Supervisor. He was unanimously elected to serve as President of the Monroe County Supervisors’ Association in January 2016. In this role, he dedicates his time to on-going learning and sharing of critical information to make all nineteen towns across the county run as efficiently as possible.
James P. Merzke, Town Clerk of Mendon, states, “I have worked with quite a few elected officials in my career and John has an extraordinary ability when it comes to dealing with people. His genuine nature and knowledge of whatever subject he’s addressing (usually gained through extensive and exhaustive research on his part), allow him to discuss any topic with anyone without emotion or bias.”
John is a lifelong resident of the Town of Mendon. He resides on Ontario Street in the Village of Honeoye Falls in the past home of his grandparents. His grandfather, Harland P. Moffitt, was also Supervisor of the Town of Mendon, serving for 22 years. John has taken a vested interest in restoring the Moffitt homestead. He lives there with his wife, Carol, a staff member of Honeoye Falls-Lima Manor School. They have two grown children, Heather and Jack.
ROB SANFORD
Rob Sanford is a member of the millennial HF-L Class of 2000. Rob has always been interested and involved in education and helping others. During his time in high school, Rob dedicated many volunteer hours at St. Rose church and also helped tutor fellow students in math. Rob has maintained his dedication to his church as a Youth Group Leader and Religious Education instructor and lector.
Rob attended SUNY Geneseo, earning his Bachelors of Science degree in Education and Masters of Arts in Literacy. Rob has made a career out of his love of teaching and helping others. After graduating college, Rob decided to come back to his hometown community of HF-L and become a teacher to make an impact and a difference in the young lives of the area. After teaching at the Manor School for four years, he joined the HF-L Middle School as a 6th grade teacher in 2008 and quickly became a valued peer to the entire team. Letters of praise were received from parents, former students, peers, and the list goes on. Each with the common thread of Rob giving freely of his time, his exceptional character, selflessness, generosity in spirit, dedication, inclusiveness, and huge heart. In fact, Rob just decided to continue his education and begin his work on an administrative degree at the University of Rochester this fall.
Manor School Principal Jeanine Lupisella shared, “ Rob is the kind of teacher that truly invests himself in our children. The students who he serves know how much he cares about their learning as well as their sense of self. He himself is one that continues to learn, challenging himself to stay present with current research in teaching methodologies and technology.”
Volunteering has always been an important part of Rob’s life. Just a few of the activities he’s been involved with:
Students Against Drunk Driving
County wide Big Brother/Big Sister program at Geneseo
Lima Recreation Committee Treasurer and Chairperson
Venture Crew Leader of Boy Scouts of America
Odyssey of the Minds Coach and District Coordinator
Community Ski Club Advisor at Bristol Mountain
Modified Coach for cross country, track and field, and lacrosse as well as flag football intra murals
American Cancer Society Relay for Life Team Captain
New Teacher Mentor
Chairperson for the Middle School Improvement Team
United Way Day of Caring
Leader of People to People Student Ambassador Program
Rob is a member of the Board of Directors for the nonprofit organization, Linking Hands for Learning. This group raises funds to build schools in a rural Nicaraguan community. Rob donated time and money to build schools twice, each time bringing school supplies he purchased himself and with donations. He returned to Nicaragua on his own to volunteer at the schools he had previously helped to build.
Fellow 6th grade teacher, Patty Crabb summed it up by saying, “Rob truly believes that each of us can make a difference in someone’s life, even in small ways, and he teaches his students that anything is possible.”
In addition to all of Rob’s other activities, he has also been a member of the Honeoye Falls Community Concert Band and Pittsford Fire Department Band. Rob resides in Honeoye Falls with his wife Annie.
