Fund established in honor/memory of 2 SV graduates, veterans

Republican & Herald, Pottsville, Pa.
·2 min read

SHENANDOAH — Fundraising efforts are underway to benefit the new Shenandoah Valley Sports Locker & Veterans Support Fund in honor and memory of graduates Brian Rooney and his friend Mike Reese.

Local dentist Sasha Sherry, secretary of the Greater Shenandoah Area Chamber of Commerce, indicated at the chamber’s April meeting that the renewal of her golf rivalry tournament, with chamber Director Michael Vernalis, will benefit the nonprofit’s fund.

Rooney, according to the meeting minutes, was a 2007 graduate of Shenandoah Valley, where he was “a star player in football, basketball and baseball” and “embodied the competitive spirit that all Blue Devils strive to (attain).”

He was voted into the Shenandoah Valley Wall of Fame in 2020.

After graduation, Rooney enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was stationed in Germany and had an 18-month deployment on active duty in Mosul, Iraq, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was an infantry/supply specialist and received numerous awards and medals.

In May 2019, he was diagnosed with brain cancer, “attributed to his time in Iraq from exposure to the ‘burn pits,’ ” Sherry wrote.

Following a nearly five-year battle, Rooney passed away Dec. 19, 2023.

Reese, whom Sherry described as Rooney’s “best friend,” passed away Feb. 6, 2014. She provided no other details.

“This fund is to honor their friendship, their competitive spirit, their dedication and love of Blue Devil Baseball, Football and Basketball, along with financial support for our local veterans,” Sherry wrote.

Sherry and Vernalis, who, with his sister, Lisa Vernalis, operates the Vernalis Restaurant at 32 S. Main St., locked horns on the golf course last year to raise money for charitable endeavors.

The 2024 renewal of their faceoff, called the “Brotherly Battle for Brian Golf Tournament,” is scheduled for June 9 at Eagle Rock, Route 924 just north of Sheppton.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the new fund may drop donations off at the Vernalis Restaurant or at Sherry Dental, 10 S. Bowers St.