CHESTNUTHILL TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- There was special recognition Thursday night for a Monroe County native who was killed in a school shooting.
Chris Hixon, a graduate of Pleasant Valley High School, who was originally from Monroe County, was shot and killed in Parkland, Florida in February but not before helping to rescue some of his students.
With a unanimous vote from the school board, Pleasant Valley High School's fitness center will soon bear the name of the graduate who died a hero.
Chris Hixon, who attended Pleasant Valley High School and was originally from Effort, was one of the teachers killed during the school shooting in Parkland, Florida in February.
Now to honor Hixon and his heroic efforts in saving his students, the school board voted to place his name at the fitness center.
“We want everybody to always remember that, even though he was far away, he still remembered he came from Pleasant Valley and he graduated from here,” Rocco Seiler told the board before it made its vote.
Seiler, Hixon's close high school friend and current middle school principal at Pleasant Valley was pivotal in making this happen.
“What he did is above and beyond what anybody would do,” said Seiler. “When you give your life for your students, that's the epitome of someone's who's an educator, who's just a great person.”
Among those at the board meeting, Chris`s sister Natalie.
“It`s just amazing,” said Natalie Hixon. “We as a family just want to say ‘thank you’, I know thank you is just too small of words but for us, it means a lot.”
“After what he did at that high school, it brings you a tremendous source of pride to know that this community means so much to us and that he's a part of this community and he did something like that,” said Pleasant Valley High School principal Matthew Triolo.
This is the second time this week that Hixon's brave deed received recognition.
On national television, Hixon and two other parkland teachers were honored at the ESPY Awards.
“It was very impressive and very humbling, just to know that the nation is behind us, through all of this,” said Natalie.
The school district says since Hixon's death in February, it knew wanted to name something on school property after him. It was only a matter of deciding what to name in his honor.
“At Parkland, he helped design the fitness center, so I said that just makes sense,” said Seiler.
Seiler says once Chris Hixon's name is up at the fitness center the plan is to hold a dedication ceremony with the school community and Hixon's family.