Class of 2025 / Biographies
LTC Angela Bailey
Angela Bailey graduated from Zanesville High School in 1990, and she was a member of the Devilettes and a Spirit Captain her senior year.
After high school, at age 17, Angela joined the Ohio Army National Guard and went on to spend 34 years serving her country. She attended Ohio University and received her Bachelor of Science in Education, Master of Education Administration, and K-8 Principal Licensure. Angela spent many years serving as a mentor to parents of children with medical conditions. She sat on numerous boards, helped author several literature pieces, and is a mentor for the CARES Foundation.
Angela’s military assignments were vast and included such highlights as Drill Instructor for troubled youth in Perry County, Officer Recruiter, Senior Instructor and State Administrative Officer of the Regional Training Institute, State Education and Incentives Chief, and State Deputy Logistics Officer.
Angela’s most accomplished military assignment was Commander of 1484th Transportation Company. Under her command, she led not only her company of 180 soldiers, but also an active duty platoon of 60 soldiers while on a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan. The missions of the 1484th Transportation Company were vast and spread throughout Regional Command South, Southwest and Southeast Afghanistan. Tasks while in Afghanistan included Observation Posts, Entry Control Points, Airfield Operations, and Supply Support activities on Kandahar Airfield, as well as supplying 42 different Forward Operation Bases with cargo across 480,000 miles of Afghanistan. In addition, the 1484th TC managed the Humanitarian Yard aiding in the support of the Afghan Local Nations outside of the wire, distributing an excess of $2 million worth of life support goods for local Afghan families. The 1484th also worked directly with the Afghan National Army, training their soldiers on security as well as convoy operations.
Angela is currently a business owner who is passionate about the Downtown Revitalization. She is married to Joseph Bailey, a teacher at Zanesville High School, and together they have three children – Lincoln, Madison, and Reagan – who have all graduated from Zanesville High School.
Susan Straker Holdren
Susan Straker Holdren’s Zanesville High School roots run deep. Her grandfather, E.D. Cleary, was principal for 20 years when ZHS was known as Lash High School. Her parents graduated from Zanesville High School, as did Susan and her three siblings. Susan and her husband, Tom Holdren, have a blended family of four children, and two of those children, Sam and Laura, are Zanesville High School alumni. (Tommy and Sarah graduated from Tri-Valley.)
Susan and Tom are the proud grandparents of six amazing young people: Madelyn and Thomas Holdren IV, Amelia and Mitchell Henderson, and Will and Cleary Brewer.
The education she received at ZHS launched Susan’s careers in education and philanthropy. She completed her undergraduate degree at Denison University and did her graduate work at Ohio University. After a 30-year career as an educator, she retired from Zane State College as Professor Emerita in 2015, having served as Professor of English and Dean of Arts and Sciences.
Susan has been President and Executive Director of the J.W. & M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation since its inception in 1994; in 1999, the Foundation was named Outstanding Philanthropist by the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives. During its 30-plus years, the Foundation has distributed over $18 million dollars in funds, primarily in Muskingum County.
Susan received the Mary Townsend Professions Award through the Women of Achievement program in 2013 and Outstanding Part-Time Faculty Member, Outstanding Faculty Member (twice), and Outstanding Administrator awards during her tenure at Zane State College.
Susan is a former director of the First National Bank and Unizan boards; she served on the Denison University Research Foundation Board (1987 through 2019) and on boards at Bethesda and Genesis Hospitals (2013-2024). Susan was a founding board member of the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio and Enterprise Muskingum. She is a member of the Park National Bank Eastern Region Advisory Board, the Wilds advisory board, and the Muskingum County Community Foundation and Zanesville Art Museum boards. Susan chairs the board of trustees at Zane State College.
Maddie McGarvey
Maddie graduated from Zanesville High School in 2006. She was the all-time career leading scorer in basketball for both men and women when she graduated, and is still the women’s leading scorer with 1,558 points. She received many awards in the sport throughout her four-year career, including All-Ohio for three years and Player of the Year her senior year.
Maddie’s basketball career started early. When she was 10 years old, Maddie was the Gus Macker World Champion with three of her friends from Zanesville. They traveled to Orlando, Florida to compete. Maddie also played AAU for many years before her high school career. Her AAU team was State Champions in the 12-and-under division.
After high school, Maddie went on to nursing school, she received her associates degree in nursing from Ohio University, then went on to get her bachelor’s degree from Mount Carmel College of Nursing. Maddie is a specialized cardiac surgery intensive care nurse and is currently still working as a traveling nurse. She has worked at some of the top institutions throughout the country, including Cleveland Clinic, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, the R Adams Cowley Shock-Trauma Center at the University of Maryland, and Yale New Haven Hospital.
While working at Ohio State, Maddie was asked to go on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic for nursing by Midwest Medical Missions. She enjoyed the mission and looks forward to going on more in the future.
In her spare time, Maddie enjoys traveling the world. She loves skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer. She also enjoys spending time with her family and friends and experiencing new things. She is the youngest of three sisters and has two nieces and one nephew.
Chris Penny
Chris is a 1999 Zanesville High School graduate who also attended McIntire Elementary School and Roosevelt Junior High School. He was a National Honor Society student and a member of the boys’ basketball program from 1995-1999. Following graduation, Chris attended The Ohio State University, where he was a member of the men’s basketball program, graduating in June 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in in Family Financial Planning.
After graduation, Chris enlisted in the U.S. Army and was selected to become a member of the prestigious 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), the Army's official ceremonial unit and escort to the president. During his duty there, Chris participated in over 50 high profile ceremonies in the National Capitol Region to include the state funerals of former Presidents Reagan and Ford, as well as the Presidential Inauguration of George W. Bush. He also participated in over 150 full honor funeral processions in Arlington Cemetery. In 2007, Chris attended Officer Candidate School, commissioning as an Air Defense Artillery officer, where he would go on to serve a total of 11 years on active duty, including a deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2010-2011. In 2015, Chris transitioned to the National Guard, where he served as a Branch Chief for the Multi Agency Augmentation Command in the District of Columbia National Guard. During the next decade, Chris was activated to support numerous operations to include the state funeral for President George H.W. Bush, Operation First Amendment Support in response to the George Floyd protests, and Operation Capital Guardian in response to the January 6th insurrection. Chris retired from service as a Lieutenant Colonel in December 2024 after 21 years of service.
Chris’s military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Action Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, and the Parachutist Badge.
Chris has also earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and currently works in financial services for Morgan Stanley in New York City. He lives in New Jersey with his wife Allison, and their two children, Jason and Evelyn.
Dr. Craig Shannon, M.D.
Craig was born on June 5, 1979, in New York City. In 1985, the family moved to Zanesville, where he attended Westview Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High, and Zanesville High School. Craig played basketball, tennis, and was a member of the marching and jazz bands. He and his twin sister, Katie, graduated from ZHS in 1997.
Craig attended Miami University, preparing to enter medical school He followed his father to The Medical College of Ohio, and graduated from the University of Toledo Medical School. He then matched to the neurosurgical residency at Westchester Medical Center in Westchester, N.Y.
During his residency, Craig spent 2011 in a research program, awarded a $50,000 research grant from the Neurosurgery Research & Education Foundation. His project was the treatment of spinal cord injury, utilizing stem cell therapy in conjunction with anti-inflammatory compounds. His ultimate dream was to do a spinal fellowship to aid patients with spinal injuries and deformities.
In October 2011, Craig was diagnosed with aggressive large B cell lymphoma. He had several years of radiation chemotherapy and, finally, a stem cell transplant. During this time, Craig never lost sight of finishing his residency. He planned to work with his father someday.
Craig joined the Brain and Spinal Cord Group in Westchester, N.Y., as an attending physician in 2016. He established his practice in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., at Vassar Brothers Medical Center, and, in 2018, became one of the youngest directors of neurosurgery at VBMC. He then had the opportunity to work with his father, offering a special father-son dynamic team to their patients. Due to his health issues, he understood his patients’ health issues.
Craig continued to play basketball and tennis, and he joined the Trump National Golf Club to perfect his golf swing.
Craig passed away on October 29, 2021, survived by his parents, Michael and Linda Shannon; his twin sister, Katie Bestic, and her husband, Joseph; his younger sister, Kristen Walsh, and her husband, Christopher; and his nieces and nephews Olivia, Owen, Tatum, Ellie, Bridget, George, and Margaret. He also had his beloved Pit Bull, Madison, who went through his illness with him.
1995 State Championship Basketball Team
Lines of waiting spectators often stretched all the way out to Blue Avenue. Once inside the ZHS gym, the bleachers were filled and the temperature began to rise. And that was before the junior varsity game even tipped off.
The 1994-95 boys basketball season was a relentless march to the school’s first state championship in 40 years. The Blue Devils weren’t an unknown – at one point, they were ranked as high as No. 17 in the nation – but it wasn’t until the St. John Arena clock showed zeroes in an overtime Division I championship game win over top-ranked Cleveland Heights that they were validated.
They had all the ingredients, starting with a charismatic point guard, Edwin Young, who was named state tournament MVP. Slade Galloway was the long-range threat. David Houston and Josh Ohlinger were the muscle up front, surrounding a rising star Seth Martin in the post. Cedric Hall was the backcourt complement for Young, while Noah Joseph and Gerry Myers provided key minutes off the bench.
The tournament run began with a sectional win over East Liverpool in a matchup that was more like a regional game. They then slid past Marietta in the district, and the big hurdles arrived. The Blue Devils nudged Massillon Jackson and then pulled away from Warren Harding to take the Canton Civic Center regional.
Next was defending state champion Westerville North. ZHS gritted out a 48-47 win. Then came No. 1 Cleveland Heights in the championship game. The Blue Devils clinched the 69-68 overtime victory on Martin’s banked-in free throw.
Along the way, ZHS beat three ballyhooed Ohio State recruits: Jami Bosley (Jackson), Shaun Stonerook (North), and Mr. Basketball Damon Stringer (Heights).
The state title fulfilled the plan of young head coach Scott Aronhalt, who said when he was hired five years earlier that his team’s goal would be to win state championships. He – along with assistant coaches Bill Romine, Jeff Moore, Rich Shuman, Jeff Stitt, and Kevin Witucky – saw that through.
The rest of the Blue Devils’ roster included Etienne Norris, Kurt Allen, Brett Little, John Hodges, Ari Pelkonen, and Sherron Singleton.