A Career of Excellence, A Life of Faith

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Biography: Barry Sankey is a Sports Reporter for the Phoenixville Newspaper, covering stories relating to local, scholastic, collegiate and professional sports. Along with field reporting, Mr. Sankey writes columns, maintains a blog and manages interviews and meetings. Holding over 40 years expertise in the field of sports journalism, Mr. Sankey has received numerous accolades as well as being awarded the Keystone Press Award multiple times. Writing previously for papers such as The Mercury, The Philadelphia Bulletin and the Spring-Ford Reporter, has enhanced his proficiency, talent and craft to create an outstanding and successful journalist. Mr. Sankey is alumni to Temple University, where he achieved his Bachelor's of Arts degree in Journalism. He completed both the news-editorial and public relations sequences and also minored in political science because of his interest in politics and government. At the same time, he also worked long hours at the college newspaper, The Temple News, which was a daily papers at that time. He served as sports editor and managing editor during his stay at Temple in Philadelphia. He received the Keystone Press Awards in 1988 and 2008 as well as an Associated Press Managing Editors Award for deadline reporting in 2008. The Phoenix is now a weekly newspaper that comes out on Saturdays, but it was previously a daily newspaper known as The Daily Republican and then the Evening Phoenix. It is still part of the Journal Register Company chain so Mr. Sankey's stories also appear in other daily sister publications such as The Mercury in Pottstown, Daily Local News in West Chester and Times Herald in Norristown. Mr. Sankey has also achieved recognition in numerous Who's Who publications. He continues to be an active member of Congregation Mercy & Truth Synagogue in Pottstown, a Conservative group. He currently serves as secretary of the executive board and previously served as B'nai B'rith president and editor of the synagogue bulletin. He is well-versed in reading and chanting Hebrew, reading from the Prophets and conducting some services and prayers. Mr. Sankey appears regularly on Monday evenings on Ashford Radio throughout football season. Barry Sankey has always been a very family oriented individual. It is safe to say that his ongoing participation in religious and community services was greatly inspired by that of his parents. His father, Herman Sankey, was a very successful farmer and landowner whose legacy is kept alive by the citizens of Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Mr. Sankey gave endlessly to his community. As a longtime elected member of the Spring-Ford Area School Board, he devoted much of his time to their many meetings. The fact that this was a completely unpaid position demonstrates the sort of selfless contributor Herman Sankey was, always recognizing the absolute importance of education and the city's youth. During the notoriously unforgiving Pennsylvania winters, he worked on the local snow plow crew to help clear roadways, parking lots and residential areas, in order to maintain the regular flow of activity in his town and, most importantly, ensure the safety of its population. He was also a member of the Limerick Fire Company and the Limerick Lions Club, the latter of which is one of the oldest community service clubs in the Collegeville area. Historically, they've provided countless services to the Collegeville, Trappe, Schwenksville and West Norriton communities. Regardless of what language they speak, religion they practice, or politics they espouse, all Lions are dedicated to seeking out and helping those in need (please see http://www.collegevillelions.org/ for further info). Herman was married to Esther (Strom) Sankey and they shared many, many happy years of marriage and raising a family. Their daughter - Barry's sister - Sandra Sankey was also a very active member of society. She was an elementary school teacher in the Spring-Ford Area School District for 29 years, enriching the students' educational experience with her skill and experience. Like the rest of her family, she was quite active at the synagogue and in local politics. After serving several terms as the president of the Jewish Women's League known as "Sisterhood", Sandra became the first woman president of the executive board at the aforementioned Congregation Mercy & Truth. She was also president of Towne & Country Council of Republican Women and won election as a supervisor in Limerick Township, where she served briefly. Sadly, her term was cut short by her untimely passing, having succumbed to cancer at only 50 years of age. The Sankey family's roots run deep in Limerick Township, where there exists a Sankey Road, named after Barry's late grandfather, Abraham Sankey, who settled in the suburban area in 1913. The aforementioned Herman Sankey (Barry's father) lived in that house at one point, but no one else in the Sankey family ever did. The family lived on the farm at 47 Swamp Pike in Limerick, PA., which is part of the Spring-Ford Area School District. After selling the portion of the farm that included the family homestead, Barry moved to the Trappe/Collegeville area in 2005. Simply put: Barry Sankey undoubtedly carries on the family legacy of religious and community service, his countless accomplishments and contributions affecting the lives of so many. His faith, professionalism, generosity and humble nature have made him one of America's true heroes - not only in the field of Journalism, but in all fields. Here is a man whose strong family values and community involvement continue to serve as an inspiration to millions worldwide, while the extremely high quality of his work can be seen in every sentence he writes; every thought he forms. Thanks to his humanitarianism and accomplishments in the field of News Media, the entire Strathmore Publishing Family is proud to name him America's Industry Leader of the Year.