During Fall Weekend festivities at Honeoye Falls-Lima High School, the district will induct five new members into its Alumni Hall of Fame. Following are brief biographies of the inductees.
Writer Meg LeFauve is photographed on October 2, 2015 at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)
Meg LeFauve
Honeoye Falls-Lima High
Class of 1983
Meg LeFauve is an Oscar nominated screenwriter for the Pixar film Inside Out, as well as a film producer and director. She graduated from Honeoye Falls-Lima High School in 1983. As a child, she loved to watch The Wonderful World of Disney, and is honored to be writing and directing the upcoming animated Disney film Gigantic, with Nathan Greno.
Meg moved to the Rochester area as a teenager and came to Honeoye Falls-Lima High School. She describes it as a place where she learned to work hard for what she wanted, to strive to have real friendships, and to become her own person. Meg’s life shows that it is possible to have huge dreams and, with hard work and a will to not give up, achieve those dreams.
After high school, Meg got her Bachelors in Science degree from Syracuse University with a dual major — Screen Writing and English. Her life’s work led her through the movie industry, from a Talent Agency Assistant, to a producer and President of Egg Pictures (Jodie Foster’s production company), to a working screenwriter. For many years, Meg was a highly successful executive and producer in Hollywood. She was producer of The Baby Dance which was nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe and also received a Peabody Award. She also produced The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, which won a Spirit Award for best first feature. She was finding success as a film producer, no easy task in Hollywood, but then Meg decided to risk it all to try for her dream, being a writer.
Meg is now a screenwriter who has written independent and studio live action films, as well as animated movies for Disney and Pixar. Along with co-writing Inside Out, she also wrote the Pixar movie The Good Dinosaur. One friend and co-writer says, “Meg is a magnificent writer who approaches stories from her soul. She digs deep into the emotion and pulls out wonderful characters.”
Meg is married to filmmaker Joe Forte. They live in Studio City, CA. with their two sons, Aidan and Julian. Her friend and coworker Julie Lynn of Mockingbird Pictures says, “She helps her sons to know that each is so important. Her life is an extraordinary balancing act, but Meg knows what’s important and when it’s important. She thinks deeply and has a wonderful emotional intelligence that provides ballast in any storm to all her dearest friends.”
Kelly Paganelli
Honeoye Falls-Lima High
Class of 1986
When Kelly (Baumer) Paganelli’s family moved to HF-L from Hilton, Kelly dove right into both the academic and athletic activities offered at HF-L and was inducted into the National Honor Society. A threesport athlete, Kelly became well-known for her prowess in cross-country running, Nordic Skiing, and track. Kelly’s Nordic Ski coach, Bernie Gardner, notes Kelly’s incredible skills as a high school athlete. He cites the fact that Kelly actually tied Joan Smith, HF-L’s very own two-time Olympian, at Sectionals. However, even during these competitive experiences, Kelly showed her care for those around her. Kelly’s sister, Kim Douglas, clearly remembers a varsity ski race at Mendon Ponds when Kelly could likely have easily taken the lead over many. However, when poor conditions caused another skier to crash in the woods, Kelly stopped her own race to be sure the girl was fine, not finishing her own race until the girl’s coach arrived. Early on, Kelly’s concern for others over her own self-interest was firmly engrained within her.
Kelly continued to make a difference as she pursued her college education at Saint Lawrence University. During her time at Saint Lawrence, where she earned her BA in English, Kelly was captain of the Nordic ski team. She started the university’s first-ever women’s cross-country team. To do this, Kelly had to first find the funds, the support and a coach, all of which Kelly made happen. Today, this team competes as a Division III national program. Upon graduating from Saint Lawrence, Kelly worked at the Monroe County Medical Society, where she was in charge of a program to establish a positive relationship between the public and the medical community. She then married her college sweetheart, Mark. They returned to Kelly’s high school community to raise their family and HF-L has certainly reaped the benefits of this decision. While raising her sons, JT and Charlie, Kelly became actively involved in many aspects that would better both the school and its community. Kelly was PTA president at Lima, Manor School, Middle, and continued her PTA involvement at the high school. She has been involved in the spring clean-up for the school’s Green Team. Kelly has continued her involvement in high school sports programs by serving as PR director for HF-L’s Nordic Ski Swap, which helps make skiing affordable for local families. Her relationship with Bernie Gardner has continued to this day, as she volunteers her time to help him host the Sectional and State championship races at Harriet Hollister State Park. In Bernie’s words, “Kelly Baumer is the invisible glue that holds things together.”
Kelly’s volunteerism extends to organizations affecting everything from our own local community to that of a more global scale. Kelly serves as lector at Saint Paul of the Cross in Honeoye Falls, and is a part of their Faith Formation Program. She assisted with the Mendon Public Library’s Capital Campaign and helped to raise the funds necessary for the town’s current state-of-the-art facility. At present, she continues to work as the Assistant Children’s Librarian.
Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lang II
Honeoye Falls-Lima High
Class of 1988
Growing up, Peter was extremely verbal and could talk forever on a topic, especially if it was related to history. In high school, Peter was officially diagnosed with having issues related to dysgraphia. However, as with all he attempted, Peter put his mind to graduating from HF-L. He went on to earn a BS from SUNY Brockport and is currently completing an Executive MBA at Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California. Peter is fiercely loyal to his family and community and is always willing to give his all and do his best at whatever he attempts.
One friend reflected: “I can still remember watching him struggle up a hill near his house, towing behind him all his Pop Warner football equipment. It was a labor of love. He continued to play the game he adored through high school and college.”
Growing up in HF-L, Peter was active in the Explorer program through the Mendon Fire Department, worked for the Mendon highway department and was a member of the varsity football team. After high school, Peter enlisted in the Marines, went to officer candidate school and worked his way up through the ranks to become a Lt. Colonel. On his last deployment to Afghanistan he directed and executed more than 400 combat patrols and operations against the enemy and 49 deliberate named operations. His actions facilitated the capture or termination of nine named objectives. Peter oversaw the execution of the only Commander’s Emergency Response Program in the Bagram Ground Defense Area, completing 45 humanitarian projects valued at over $1.3 million dollars. On his last deployment Peter provided training for an entire battalion of troops from Eastern Europe. As a result of his bravery and attention to duty he was awarded the Bronze Star. Lieutenant Colonel Lang’s personal decorations also include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with three gold stars, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with one gold star. He has also deployed 8 other times and has traveled to multiple countries including Egypt, Haiti, United Kingdom, Norway, Jordan, Korea, Greece, Bulgaria, Germany, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Japan. Peter has spent his adult life serving his country and done so with unrelenting perseverance, steadfast devotion to duty, honor and gratitude. Recently retired from the Marines, Peter now calls Glendale, California his home and works for Paychex.
Peter and his wife Sarah have five children: Caroline, Delaney, Emily, Aisling, and Aidan.
Colonel Wade T. Gordon
Honeoye Falls-Lima High
Class of 1991
Wade T Gordon, an orthopaedic trauma surgeon, graduated as class valedictorian from Honeoye Falls-Lima High School in 1991. While in high school, Wade performed in the school musical, and was a three sport varsity athlete in soccer, wrestling, and track. Upon graduation, he attended the United States Air Force Academy, where he graduated with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Philosophy. He was a distinguished graduate, 27th in the order of merit out of 983 graduates, and was recognized as the outstanding graduate in philosophy. Wade went on to receive his medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City. He stayed in New York for residency in orthopaedic surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and after serving a tour as an Orthopaedic Surgeon at Nellis AFB in Nevada, he completed fellowship training in orthopaedic trauma at the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. He has been stationed at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) since 2008, currently holds the rank of Colonel, and serves as the Program Director of the DOD’s largest orthopaedic surgery residency program there at Walter Reed.
Wade is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, and the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society, and serves on the Trauma Content and Trauma Program Committees of the AAOS. He is actively involved in educating the future leaders of military medicine, and is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and teaches the DOD Combat Extremity Surgery Course for deploying surgeons, as well as teaching foreign surgeons in Ukraine, Uzbekistan, England, and France. He has twice been chosen as the outstanding resident educator at WRNMMC, in 2010, and again in 2017.
Wade has also been a productive researcher. He has published over 30 peer reviewed articles and book chapters, focusing on combat casualty care, is known worldwide for his expertise in this area, and is the primary investigator at WRNMMC for the Major Extremity Trauma Research Consortium. He has himself been deployed multiple times, and has served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Qatar, and has performed over 3,000 surgeries on combat wounded troops.
Many letters in support of Wade’s nomination echoed “the educational and social experiences that Wade received in the Honeoye Falls-Lima school system are the foundation for his successes at the United States Air Force Academy, Columbia University Medical School, in his professional medical career, and in his personal family life. He is an excellent example of the well-rounded adults who are developed at HF-L – combining academics, athletics, and social activities.” Wade resides with his wife Janeene and two sons in Bethesda, MD.
Stephen E. Tschiderer
Honeoye Falls-Lima High
Class of 2002
Steve Tschiderer, a professional firefighter and New York Army National Guardsman, graduated from Honeoye Falls-Lima High School in 2002. While in high school he was part of the 2001 and 2002 Nordic Skiing New York State Champion teams. He also played men’s varsity soccer, was part of the track team and was a member of Boy Scout Troop 10.
His friend David Friedlander describes him as a gifted, tireless person who uses his talents to benefit others in a myriad of ways from the Town of Mendon to the City of Rochester, the country, state, and the United States. He is always working to save lives to protect people and property, and to teach and instruct others along the way.
After high school, Stephen enlisted in the New York Army National Guard. His education consisted of Army basic training, Combat Medic School, Paramedic School, Flight Paramedic School, Critical Care School, Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Fire Officer Development courses, and various technical rescue courses.
Steve serves as a Staff Sergeant in the NY Army National Guard; his current assignment is Platoon Sergeant and Company Senior Critical Care Flight Paramedic. Steve has been deployed twice as a National Guardsman, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as a combat medic and flight medic respectively. While in Iraq, he was shot in the chest by an insurgent sniper. Saved by his body armor, he continued to fight and was instrumental in the capture of the sniper and his spotter. During the capture he used his skills as a medic to save the life of the enemy sniper who had been wounded after shooting Steve. Steve was deployed a second time, this time to Afghanistan working to save lives in the back of a helicopter.
Steve now is a career firefighter with the Ridge Road Fire District in Greece, NY. He is also the Chief of the Mendon Fire District where he has been a member for 16 years. He has held every rank from Firefighter, Lieutenant, Captain, Assistant Chief, and now District Chief. He is one of the department’s most experienced and skilled members as well as a patient and dedicated instructor. Steve also works with area SWAT teams as a medic. He is there to aid any injured officer or civilians during SWAT operations.
Husband and father, Steve lives in Mendon with his wife Amy and two young boys, Jackson and Lucas who attend HF-L. Their family are parishioners of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Mendon.
David Kester, a Fire Commissioner of the Mendon Fire District, says, “Steve is the kind of man kids want to be when they grow up and the kind of man old men wish they could have been.”
