Excela CEO, Ohio entrepreneur join honored Greensburg Salem alumni; late coach gets new award

A hospital executive and an entrepreneur with an engineering background this year will join distinguished alumni honored at Greensburg Salem School District.

John Sphon of Greensburg, a member of the graduating class of 1975, and Bill Lendl, a 1980 graduate who lives in West Chester, Ohio, will be recognized on April 21 at a dinner organized by the Greensburg Salem Education Foundation.

Sphon, who is set to retire at the end of March as CEO of Westmoreland County-based Excela Health, plans to continue as a trustee of the recently combined Excela and Butler health care systems. Lendl began his career as a process engineer with Procter & Gamble and now leads a wealth management company and a real estate company, ventures that he started after retiring from a corporate career.

Late Greensburg Salem cross country and track coach Steven Snider will posthumously receive the foundation’s inaugural distinguished service award.

According to the foundation, the distinguished alumni award recognizes district graduates for “dedication to their profession, public service and community and, most importantly, for being a role model for the youth.”

Sphon has 37 years of experience as an executive in the health care field. His previous roles at Excela Health include vice president of Excela Health Diversified Services and of the health system’s Physician Practice Network.

He previously served as president of Excela’s MedCare Equipment Company and is a board member of the Westmoreland County Economic Growth Connection.

Lendl holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State and a master of business administration degree from the University of Notre Dame.

His career took him to Europe, California, Maine, Texas and Indiana. He was site leader at a Merck pharmaceutical location that became the third largest private employer in Ohio’s Butler County.

Lendl serves on the Miami University Business Technology Education Board. He was recognized as Citizen of the Year in 2014 in West Chester, where he has been named to local government and event committees.

He is a founder of Flags Over West Chester. The program raises money for local Boy Scouts, who place U.S. flags on nearly 600 participating properties for six patriotic holidays.

Snider died last year, at 72, after a lengthy battle with heart complications. He taught physical education and health at Greensburg Salem for 36 years and also coached middle school wrestling and high school track and cross country teams. He coached the girls cross country team to a PIAA championship in 1993.

He also coached at Saint Vincent College.

His former players remembered him as an effective motivator who boosted his teams with year-round conditioning and pithy pre-match sayings while younger coaches valued him as a mentor.

The Greensburg Salem track and field complex was named in his honor.

Snider’s son’s, Nathan and Matthew, also became coaches.

Nathan Snider noted one of his father’s favorite sayings was, “It’s a beautiful day.”

“He touched a lot of people,” Nathan Snider said.

The dinner is set for 6:30 p.m. at Ferrante’s Lakeview Restaurant in Hempfield, following a cocktail hour beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The cost to attend is $30 per person. Visit gsedfound.com to register for the event. Email anitaleonard65@comcast.net for additional information.