A trio of leaders in law, human services and the arts are the newest members of the Historic Germantown Hall of Fame.

Theodore A. McKee, Mary Kay Meeks-Hank and William R. Valerio were inducted June 11 during Historic Germantown’s annual gala.

Proceeds from the event will help the nonprofit support 20 historic sites, green spaces and cultural resources in the Northwest Philadelphia neighborhoods of Germantown, Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill.

Money raised also will help bridge a $108,812 funding gap for Science Sleuths, a Historic Germantown program providing students from five neighborhood schools with hands-on learning experiences. A grant from the federal agency that underwrote the launch of Science Sleuths was cut by President Donald Trump’s administration.    

“A lot of people think that historic preservation is about bricks and mortar … but  we do that as much to preserve community as to preserve buildings,” Carolyn Adams, Historic Germantown’s board president, said in her opening remarks at the gala. More than 200 tickets were sold for the event held at Mt. Airy’s Commodore John Barry Arts and Cultural Center.  

“We preserve buildings for the next generation of Germantowners, which is why we put so much emphasis on our programs for children and youth,” Adams said. “Protecting our history in the buildings and in the life stories of our ancestors is really about protecting our community.”

“A heart connection”

The honorees were selected following calls for nominations by Historic Germantown, which also accepts suggestions from the community. A committee made the final decision, Tuomi Joshua Forrest, Historic Germantown’s executive director, told the Local.

The honorees share “a heart connection to Northwest Philadelphia,” he said. 

“Perhaps they were born and grew up here, were schooled here, worked here, lived here, or currently live here. Our honorees speak to why this place is and was important to them, their work, and their worldview.”

Theodore A. McKee

A prominent jurist, Judge McKee was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by President Bill Clinton in 1994. He served as chief judge from 2010 to 2016 and attained senior status in 2022. 

During an interview, McKee said his view of Northwest Philly has been shaped by “the richness of the people” who live there, and cited W. Mt. Airy as an integration pioneer.

In the 1950s and ‘60s, “blockbusting was going on, but people in W. Mt. Airy said, ‘We’re not doing this,’ and got together to stabilize the community,” McKee said. Today, “the level of community engagement is huge. It’s not about how will this affect ‘me,’ but how will this affect ‘us.’” 

Mary Kay Meeks-Hank

Meeks-Hank is the longtime executive director of Face to Face, a nonprofit that has served children and families in Germantown for 41 years.

“The architecture and the green space and the other things that make Northwest Philadelphia distinctive and special are all fabulous," she said.

"But I fell in love with Germantown because of the vulnerable, suffering people I've met over these many years — people burdened by intergenerational poverty, systemic racism, and a lack of access to quality education and health care.

"I'm thrilled to receive this [honor], because to me, it's a way of saying the names" of children and families Face to Face serves, Meeks-Hank said.

William R. Valerio

Since 2010, Valerio has served as the Patricia Van Burgh Allison director and CEO of the Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill. “This is an extraordinary honor not only for me, but for all of Woodmere,” he said.

“We reach across [neighborhood] names because this is a cohesive community, an extraordinary community with a beautiful spirit that comes from the architecture, nature, and the urban experience,” Valerio said. Being inducted into the Hall of Fame “is a signal Woodmere is doing our job right and having an impact across the neighborhoods.”