Charles M. Hughey Award Recipients

St. Clair neurologist looks to start scholarship

  Long before Dr. Mark Hospodar became a neurologist for St. Clair Medical Group Neurology, he was a standout two-sport student athlete at Ft. Cherry High School. Though Hospodar says he was just mediocre at football due to his size, he still earned a starting position on both sides of the ball. He also excelled at wrestling and even went on to wrestle at Allegheny College. As well, Hospodar was a standout student in the classroom. 

  In recognition of his academic and athletic accomplishments, Hospodar was awarded the Dr. Charles M. Hughey Award his senior year in 1972. Each year since 1964, the award has gone to a senior student athlete at Ft. Cherry with the highest GPA. The award was named after Dr. Charles M. Hughey, who practiced medicine in McDonald for 36 years. Hughey is also this writer’s grandfather. 

 Those who received the award have since gone on to a variety of successful careers, including in law, engineering and medicine. Now, Hospodar is looking to add a scholarship component to the award that would aid future recipients with their college tuition. 

  “The idea is to give scholarship dollars to students who receive the award, not as a beauty contest but to try to give the kids something to look forward to,” says Hospodar. “The kids who received it, these are all smart kids who enjoyed a fair amount of success.” 

 Hospodar is attempting to contact as many of the former recipients of the award as possible. Once a 501(c)3 has been established, he’s hoping to solicit donations and possibly organize efforts to fund the scholarship portion of the award. 

 By all accounts, Hughey would have approved of Hospodar’s career. In 1987, he graduated with his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School and then became an attending physician at Presbyterian Hospital and Mercy Hospital. He joined his current private practice with St. Clair Health in 1992 and will soon begin teaching medical students at Duquesne University Medical School as they start their neurology rotations.  

  Hughey practiced medicine out of an office in his home in the heart of McDonald from 1936 to 1969. There, he treated patients for everything from colds to broken bones, and worse. With no emergency rooms in the immediate area, his office was oftentimes where victims of catastrophic mining and car accidents would first be stabilized before being transported to a hospital in Pittsburgh. 

 A go-to doctor in a rural town surrounded by farmland, Hughey also delivered hundreds of babies, many of whom are now seniors living in the area. Oftentimes, he accepted payment in the form of a chicken or even just a handshake. 

 “Everybody was a patient  of him in McDonald I think,” says Hospodar, who grew up in the town. “He was an icon of the community and the go-to person for medical advice.” 

Hospodar was a patient of Hughey’s, too. He even remembers the doctor making a call to his house.
“No higher level of respect could have been had for him,” Hospodar says.

 Like Hospodar, Hughey earned his medical degree from the Pitt School of Medicine. He was also a member of a number of different professional medical associations, including the Washington County Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of General Practitioners. 

He passed away in 1969 at the age of 58. 

 Anyone who would like to contribute to the Dr. Charles M. Hughey Award or has contact information for a past recipient is asked to contact Hospodar at Mhozpodar@gmail.com. A list of past recipients can be found below:

Past Dr. Charles M. Hughey Award Recipients

1964 - Robert Bissett
1965 - Alan DePaoli
1966 - Richard Descutner
1967 - John Somsky
1968 - Jay Allison
1969 - Alan Ondovick and Duane Brautigam
1970 - Greg Cowden
1971 - Richard Semenick
1972 - Mark Hospodar
1973 - Ernal Kevin Browett
1974 - Christopher Adrien Bonnet
1975 - Richard Loughman
1976 - Robert McCaffrey
1977 - David Weidner
1978 - Michelle Caldwell
1979 - Scott Koradio
1980 - Walter Kosiak
1981 - Cynthia McKean
1982 - Lori Meute
1983 - Christopher Wilson
1984 - Heather Johnston
1985 - Carla Kern
1986 - Judith Phillis and James Moore
1987 - Robert Vosnick
1988 - Mary Lynn Koraido and Scott Augustine
1989 - Bradley Unruhv 1990 - Michelle Samarin
1991 - Brant Miller
1992 - Elizabeth McCalmont
1993 - Kristen Longstreth and John Roble
1994 - Mary Godwin
1995 - Matthew Eberts
1996 - Kristen Beddion
1997 - Matthew Dennis Glass
1998 - Howard Dale Bish Jr. and David Michael Blanchard
1999 - Julie Ann Caldwell
2000 - Kathryn Patricia Romestan
2001 - Angela Jacobs
2002 - Kristen Loughery
2003 - Alex Markivich
2004 - Rachel Hillbery
2005 - Alycia Anne Brown
2006 - Katherine Suzanne Powell
2007 - Jacqueline Lee Sanford
2008 - Michael Anthony Liebert and William Addison Sharpnack
2009 - Marissa Nicole Miles
2010 - Elizabeth Marie McVicker
2011 - Danielle Lynn Spinden
2012 - Margo Marie Darragh
2013 - Riley Marcel Sember
2014 - Cheyenne Shea Shankle
2015 - Philip Andrew Baker
2016 - Bailey Ann Dunks
2017 - Courtney Marie McIntyre
2018 - Madeline Kendra Krocker
2019 - Lindsay Bracall
2020 - Sarah Wolfe
2021 - Lane Miller
2022 - Emma Blickenderfer
2023 - Lily Hoch
2024 - Ava Menzies
2025 - Emily Frankovich

Dr. Mark Hospodar

August 22, 2025